The jeep suddenly lurched onto the dirt road, its four tires scraping against the ice, the ear-piercing screeching sound of friction barely fading before the entire vehicle, like a crazed steel behemoth, roared and crashed into the snow-covered landscape.

Jianmin gripped the steering wheel tightly with both hands, the veins on the back of his hands bulging out, and he pressed the accelerator all the way to the bottom of the gas tank.

The car sped along the icy dirt road, bumping so violently it felt like it was about to fall apart, each violent jolt kicking up mud and snow half a person's height.

In the back seat, Li Baotian was practically lying on top of Lao Xu.

The hand pressing on the wound never dared to loosen its grip for a moment, its fingers filled with blood.

Da Niu cradled Lao Xu's head, his voice trembling:

"Old Xu, wake up!"

"Open your eyes, do you hear me?! Brother Shanhe is already here!"

Upon hearing this, Old Xu's eyelids drooped, his lips turned blue, and after a few swallows, he managed to squeeze out a sentence:

"...Brother Shanhe".

Zhao Shanhe turned his head to the side, his dark eyes fixed on him.

Old Xu's eyes were already somewhat unfocused, and his lips trembled as he tried to force them out:

"You've come..."

"I'm entrusting my mother to you..."

Upon hearing this, Da Niu's eyes immediately welled up with tears.

Zhao Shanhe's face suddenly darkened, and he opened his mouth to curse:

"Bullshit!"

"Trying to shirk responsibility, are you?!"

"The person hasn't even breathed their last, and you're already telling me what to do after their death?!"

His voice was fierce and aggressive, as if he wanted to forcefully pull Old Xu's breath back from its downward spiral.

"Old Xu, let me tell you—"

You won't die today.

Old Xu felt a lump in his throat from the scolding, and even his already vacant eyes flickered.

Zhao Shanhe stared at him, his tone stern and unwavering:

"How the hell are you?"

"You haven't even married a wife yet, and you want to kick me to the curb now?"

"We didn't even get to drink at your wedding, and you're trying to renege on our debt?"

"You still haven't paid back the wine you owe us, or the feast you owe us!"

"Open your eyes!"

"Did you hear me?!"

Old Xu's eyelids twitched twice, and he actually managed to open them a little more. His lips trembled, and he mumbled a reply:

"...I heard you."

Da Niu's eyes were red-rimmed, but his hand supporting Lao Xu's head steadied more firmly, and he kept muttering:

"Yes, Brother Xu, it's good that you heard it."

"Don't sleep, you'll be fine once we get to the hospital."

In the front row, Dazhuang leaned against the passenger seat, his left shoulder covered in blood.

With each bump in the car, his face paled a little, but he didn't utter a sound the entire time.

After a long pause, he finally spoke in a hoarse voice: "Brother Shanhe. This is my fault. I was careless and didn't search thoroughly, which allowed Scarface to take advantage of the situation... Old Xu's shot, and my shot, were both mistakes on my part. This blame... is mine."

There was a moment of silence in the car, with only the roar of the engine and Old Xu's heavy breathing.

Zhao Shanhe looked at the rolling snow curtain ahead, his eyes gradually turning cold.

"Stop taking all the blame."

Zhao Shanhe's voice was cold, yet it carried an unwavering steadiness: "I know you did your best. Get well first, and then we'll kill that bastard together."

Da Zhuang gritted his teeth, his eyes burning, and finally only managed a low response.

Jianmin slammed on the gas pedal, the jeep whipping wildly across the snow, roaring as it hurtled towards the stark white lights. His voice trembled as he shouted, "We're here! Brother Shanhe! We're here!!"

The jeep screeched to a halt, blocking the entrance to the county hospital's emergency room. Before it had even come to a complete stop, Zhao Shanhe flung open the door and roared towards the duty room on the steps: "Doctor! Doctor!! Save lives!!"

……

The jeep screeched to a halt, blocking the entrance to the city hospital's emergency room. Before it had even come to a complete stop, Zhao Shanhe flung open the door and roared at the stark white lights:

"Doctor! Doctor!! Help!!"

The emergency room entrance was already chaotic late at night, and the on-duty nurse had just looked up when she saw a pool of blood inside the car door.

There was a man in the back seat who was half-dead; the blood on his shoulder had soaked through his cotton-padded coat.

There were two more people lying on the ground beside them, their hands covered in blood. The one in the front passenger seat had also been shot, and half of his body was soaked. There was another person curled up motionless in the trunk.

The nurse's face immediately changed, and she yelled at the top of her lungs, "Quick! A stretcher! Bring the stretcher over here!"

"Emergency Surgery! Someone come quick! There's a gunshot wound!"

That shout seemed to wake the entire floor. The on-duty doctor and two nurses practically ran out, their wheels making a loud clattering sound as they rolled on the concrete.

"Which injury is more serious?!"

The doctor had barely uttered those words when Zhao Shanhe yanked open the back door of the car:

"The one in the back seat."

"quick!"

Da Niu and Li Baotian practically pounced on Old Xu to carry him onto the stretcher.

Li Baotian didn't dare to loosen his grip on the wound the whole way; blood dripped down the back of his hand, leaving a trail of blood along the side of the stretcher.

The doctor lifted the blood-soaked cotton-padded coat, and his face darkened at just one glance: "The wound is still bleeding, take him in quickly! Prepare for debridement, stop the bleeding first! Notify the on-call surgical team!"

As soon as Old Xu was lifted onto the stretcher, he looked like he had only one breath left. His head tilted to the side, and his eyelids slid down.

"Old Xu!" Da Niu panicked and took a step forward.

Zhao Shanhe grabbed the edge of the stretcher and growled in a low but fierce voice, "Open your eyes!"

Old Xu's eyelids twitched violently, and he exhaled a mouthful of bloody air, managing to open his eyes a crack again.

The doctor pushed the stretcher inside, shouting without turning his head, "Family members, don't block the door! Move aside! Quickly!"

Several people rushed into the emergency room, where the incandescent lights made the blood on the floor shine.

The stretcher wheels hit the threshold with a loud thud, and Old Xu was jolted.

Several nurses were already prepared at the door of the emergency room. As soon as the door was opened, the stark white light inside shone out.

"Push them in!"

"Cut open the clothes!"

"What's your blood pressure? Take it quickly!"

"Prepare hemostats!"

A barrage of orders rained down, instantly throwing everything inside and outside the door into chaos.

Zhao Shanhe stood at the door, his eyes fixed on the stretcher being pushed in, until Old Xu's pale, bluish face completely disappeared behind the door, then his Adam's apple bobbed violently.

The door to the emergency room slammed shut. A moment of silence fell outside.

Before he could even catch his breath, a nurse next to him frowned, looking at the soaked patch of his cotton-padded coat on Da Zhuang's left shoulder, and asked urgently, "You're also injured?!"

Da Zhuang stiffened, instinctively wanting to shrink back. He was about to say "It's okay" in a hoarse voice, but before he could finish speaking, Zhao Shanhe suddenly turned his head and killed the rest of Da Zhuang's words with a single look.

Zhao Shanhe stared at Dazhuang's sleeve, which was now red and black, a barely perceptible tremor flashing in his eyes. His voice was hard and deep: "Put the bleeding down first! This kid's tough, don't let him stubbornly hold on here, hurry up!"

The nurse didn't dare delay and quickly called to another person, "Quick, help this one over there too!"

"And one more?"

No sooner had they finished speaking than a muffled thud came from behind. The group turned around and realized that Zhao Shanhai was still crammed into the trunk.

Jianmin yanked open the trunk, and the stench of blood mixed with the cold wind rushed out.

Zhao Shanhai was curled up inside, his face swollen like a pig's head, the blood on his waist was dried and wet in layers, he was half unconscious, and only a few trembling breaths could be heard.

The nurse glanced at it and frowned immediately: "This one was shot too?"

Zhao Shanhe glanced at the mangled flesh in the trunk, his eyes cold and devoid of any warmth: "This is the suspect. He's the one who fired the shot. Stop the bleeding and don't let him die."

Upon hearing this tone, the nurse's heart tightened. She didn't dare to ask any more questions and quickly called for someone to lift him up.

When Zhao Shanhai was touched, he let out a groan that was out of tune, and his eyelids twitched twice, as if he wanted to wake up but couldn't open them at all.

Da Niu stood at the door of the emergency room, his chest still heaving violently, but his eyes were fixed on the door.

Jianmin wiped the snow and sweat from his face, leaned against the wall and took a couple of deep breaths before realizing that his legs were so weak they were almost floating.

Li Baotian's hands were covered in blood, and only now did he dare to slowly loosen his grip.

As soon as I removed my palm, I realized that my whole hand was numb and my knuckles were stiff like they didn't belong to me.

He looked down at the dark, shiny blood on his palm, his throat tightened, and he opened his mouth but couldn't utter a word.

Just then, a series of hurried and chaotic footsteps came from the end of the corridor.

"Brother Shanhe!"

Erga was covered in snow and was still out of breath; he had practically run all the way here.

His hair and eyebrows were covered in frost, and the tip of his nose was red from the cold. He rushed over, glanced at the emergency room, and then looked at the blood-covered figure in the corridor. His expression changed instantly, and his lips moved, but he couldn't say anything.

Zhao Shanhe didn't turn his head, his voice very low:

We'll talk about it later.

"Has Director Liang arrived yet?"

Ergaizi's Adam's apple bobbed, and he quickly nodded:

"They're here."

"Right now—"

Before he could finish his sentence, a series of light footsteps came from the other end of the corridor.

Several people instinctively turned their heads to the side.

Liang Tiejun was standing at that end.

His coat wasn't fully buttoned, and his hair was disheveled, as if he had rushed all the way here and was completely soaked by the wind and snow.

But what was most striking was his face. It was ashen, his eyes were bloodshot, and he was only holding himself together by his skeletal frame.

As he walked over, his gaze first fell on the door of the emergency room, paused for two breaths, and then slowly moved to the faces of Dazhuang, Li Baotian, and Da Niu.

Seeing the blood all over his body and face, his lips twitched, his Adam's apple bobbed violently, but he couldn't utter a single word.

The wind in the corridor seemed to suddenly become lighter.

Zhao Shanhe stood still, looking at Director Liang, his voice not loud, but very steady: "Director Liang."

Liang Tiejun raised his eyes, his voice hoarse: "The person... has been taken in?"

Zhao Shanhe nodded.

Liang Tiejun lowered his eyelids, as if he had finally managed to release the last bit of breath he was holding, but his hands were still trembling involuntarily.

He stared at the red light above the emergency room door, and after a long pause, he managed to squeeze out a hoarse sentence: "...The person has been saved. The Red Star Factory...cannot afford any more deaths now."

As soon as those words were spoken, the air in the corridor seemed to freeze.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Shanhe abruptly looked up at him, his eyes gradually darkening.

The light outside the emergency room was still on, making everyone's face look pale and bluish.

Liang Tiejun stood there, but his back seemed to have become even more hunched than before.

"Liang Jiajun...is dead."

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