Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 392 Low point
Dozens of kilometers away, outside the ICU, more and more people gathered, including descendants of the Qian family who arrived one after another.

Especially those who are not related by blood, each of them carries significant weight.

Meanwhile, just a door away, inside the ICU, a heated discussion is taking place.

"Should we put them on ECMO?"

"The problem with Professor Qian is not lung oxygenation and spontaneous circulation, but rather multiple complications caused by a lung infection that are affecting other organs."

"Why did your heart rate suddenly slow down so much just now? You seem a bit more relaxed, Mr. Qian?"

However, before the previous discussion had even ended, new changes occurred.

"Doctor! Bed number one's blood pressure, heart rate, and oxygen saturation are all approaching normal levels... the electrocardiogram has returned to normal, and spontaneous breathing function has improved!"

The series of good news stunned the experts, but they showed no joy on their faces.

A word flashed through my mind: a final burst of energy before death.

This is not superstition in Chinese culture, but rather a pattern summarized from countless observations throughout history.

Sometimes, when a person is near death, the brain releases its last adrenaline, causing a surge in blood flow to all organs, which restores their condition and makes them forget their pain.

Some of these effects are due to the cells' compensatory energy expenditure at any cost, which increases the patient's appetite and improves their consciousness.

This is not the case for everyone; it usually only occurs in patients with a strong will to live and long-term chronic diseases, but it is also known as "last compensation".

The sudden increase in symptoms actually alarmed the experts.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Cough cough cough! Cough cough! Ugh!"

At Beijing North International Airport, in a restroom near the arrivals exit, Zhai Da leaned against the sink, feeling like he was about to cough his lungs out.

After a while, a mouthful of thick phlegm, streaked with blood, fell into the clean white pool. The passengers nearby, who were already looking over because of his exaggerated coughing, now kept their distance even further.

Zhai Da gave him an apologetic look. According to what Xiao Liu said, he should have a severe lung infection, but it was not an infectious disease.

After taking a few deep breaths, Zhai Da reactivated his "psychic powers," straightened up, and walked outside.

He was actually unable to walk for a long time, and his strength was reduced to less than one-tenth. Every step he took was only possible because of his newly acquired abilities, which made him appear relatively normal.

Xiao Lu, who was anxiously waiting at the entrance of the men's restroom while holding Zhai Da's coat, immediately asked, "Zhai Da, was that your cough just now?"

Zhai Da couldn't explain much; enduring the pain consumed most of his energy, and time didn't allow for any delays.

Upon reaching the exit, Li Tiantian, along with several of her staff, prepared to welcome the returning filming crew.

While everyone else was still waiting for their luggage, they saw Lu Siwen accompany Zhai Da out ahead of time.

As Li Tiantian approached, she said, "Welcome back, Mr. Zhai. Where is your luggage?"

But when she got closer, Li Tiantian was startled. Although he was wearing a mask, Zhai Da didn't look well.

"What are you"

Zhai Da calmly said, "I have some urgent business to attend to and need to leave first. Do you have your car?"

"Yes, yes."

Lu Siwen wanted to go too, but Zhai Da stopped her: "Xiao Lu, you stay here and help me with my luggage."

"But.."

"Listen to me. I'll only feel at ease if you take it; there's something important inside."

There was a lot of equipment in the several suitcases.

He really didn't want to say anything more, so he could only stare at Lu Siwen in silence.

Lu Siwen bit her lip, meeting her gaze without fear: "I can help you wait for your luggage, but the purpose is to get you to the hospital as soon as possible. Go to the hospital immediately, and I will come find you later."

Zhai Da nodded: "Don't worry."

He then stepped completely out of that boundary and called for Li Tiantian to follow.

"Take me to the 'General Hospital of the Army'."

Li Tiantian followed closely behind in her high heels: "Are you really sick? Do you need to call an ambulance? There should be one at the airport."

Zhai Da shook his head: "No, you can take me there, just don't call me!"

If he were taken by ambulance, given his current critical condition, the ambulance's instruments would immediately detect it, giving him no chance to hold on, and he would likely be taken to a nearby hospital.

Even if they arrived at the hospital, their movements would be restricted, making it impossible to deliver the longevity lock to their teacher.

As he spoke, Zhai Da took the sunglasses off Li Tiantian's head and put them on his own face.

To cover those bloodshot eyes.

"Just hurry up."

It takes about 50 minutes to get from Beijing North International Airport to the General Hospital of the Army. During this time, Zhai Da sat silently in the nanny van, only coughing occasionally when he couldn't help it.

Li Tiantian brought up a few topics, but Zhai Da just hummed in response.

In reality, he was suffering from illness all the time.

The telekinesis allows him to act relatively normally, but the physical pain and mental anguish are still occurring in their entirety.

Finally, the car stopped. Zhai Da got up and got out, but his legs gave way and he almost fell again. Li Tiantian helped him up: "Mr. Zhai, which department do you want to go to? How about we go to the emergency room?"

Zhai Da waved his hand: "That's enough. You guys go back. The production team has a dinner party tonight. You can go in my place. Just tell them I'm tired and need to rest."

At this moment, "Xiao Liu," who had been waiting, came over. Seeing that someone was there to meet her, Li Tiantian stopped worrying. Public figures usually keep their health conditions confidential, and if they have any special illnesses, they are unwilling to tell the outside world.

After Li Tiantian left, Zhai Da followed Xiao Liu to the ICU ward where Qian Lao was located.

This hospital has a total of five ICUs.

Outside the gate, a large crowd had gathered, many of whom Zhai Da knew.

There aren't many descendants of the teacher, but they are all fourth-generation descendants. The rest are his former students, former officials, and people sent by various departments to find out what's going on.

Zhai Da is somewhat special, but he should not be underestimated. He is not a young man who has sprung up by climbing the social ladder. Even in the beginning, his status as a well-known writer made the teacher-student relationship a beautiful story. Now it is even more extraordinary. Therefore, no one was surprised by his arrival.

After glancing around, Zhai Da did not see his teacher's wife.

So he found a familiar face in the corner, his teacher's grandson, Qian Lei, who was about ten years older than Zhai Da, in his early thirties, and currently served as a deputy regimental-level staff officer in the army, but was actually a PhD in aerospace materials, he just chose the military route.

We've bumped into each other occasionally before, and because we're relatively close in age, we're quite familiar with each other. "How's the situation?"

Qian Lei shook his head: "Before, someone would come out to communicate about once every half hour, but it has become less and less frequent, and now no one comes out for an hour."

Zhai Da comforted him, "It's a good thing that fewer people are coming out; it means things are stable! Cough cough cough!"

A violent coughing fit occurred, and Qian Lei glanced at Zhai Da in surprise, only to find that Zhai Da's complexion was also not good: "What's wrong with you?"

"Just got back from the US, a little tired from the journey. By the way, is there a chance for a visit?"

Qian Lei shook his head: "They don't allow us into the ICU; going in would only cause trouble."

Zhai Da pondered for a moment, considering his strategy.

He brought a longevity lock, but it was difficult to put it on the teacher in the ICU at that time. Not to mention how to get in, even if he did put it on, the nurses might take it off as soon as he turned around.

An old metal object that is of no benefit to treatment will not be allowed to remain on an ICU patient.

So he had already made up his mind on the way here.

While in the airport restroom, he used a Polaroid camera to take a backup of a "temporary prop" with the corresponding effect: a piece of paper.

His idea was to secretly put it in the teacher's palm.

In his past life, he was very familiar with the ICU mechanism because of his mother. Comatose patients usually have a squeezing device in their palms, which is to make it easier for nurses to adjust the direction of the IV drip and to prevent the patient from convulsing and injuring themselves by gripping it tightly.

As long as the [Temporary Longevity Lock] can be obtained by the teacher, the effect of "acute failure of immune organs" alone will be enough to help him get through this ordeal.

But the question now is, how do we do that?
Zhai Da leaned against the corner of the wall for support. He was much weaker than he looked. The ability description clearly stated that "telekinesis" weakens fatigue, hunger, weakness, and fear. At this moment, he could only use about 50% of his normal power, which was not enough to fully support his body.

With her hands behind her back, she secretly took out the [Pure Gold Secret Staff] and tapped it lightly, instantly opening up the white model's vision.

The entire hospital was largely shrouded in darkness, obscuring the ongoing surgery upstairs, the tug-of-war between doctors and patients downstairs, and the unconscious teacher in a hospital bed.

Even with 90% of the negative effects absorbed, the giant still did not awaken. Zhai Da could share the burden of illness, but not of aging. Several hours of torment from the illness had already depleted too much of his energy.

A moment later, Zhai Da frowned to himself.

There are a lot of surveillance cameras in this ICU, I don't know if it's because they are responsible for important patients or simply to keep records of the medical process. Also, there was a group of people surrounding the teacher.

The plan to secretly slip the note through the crack in the door is probably not going to work. The treatment scene has turned into a ghostly scene!

Just as he was pondering this, the ICU door was pushed open, and a chief physician in his sixties looked at the crowd outside and sighed inwardly: "Old Qian's condition has stabilized for the time being."

Upon hearing this, everyone's faces lit up with joy, but they fell silent as soon as they heard the second half of the sentence.

"But we cannot rule out the possibility that it is compensatory, so I suggest that the family prepare themselves and allow three minutes of visitation after fifteen minutes."

Although it's a bit awkward to pronounce, the meaning couldn't be clearer.

After multiple rounds of tests and observations, Mr. Qian's health did improve significantly, but the problem was that it was too sudden and defied common sense.

After much discussion, the possibility of a final burst of energy before death could not be ruled out. Out of humanitarian concern, the family was allowed a brief visit, even though Mr. Qian had not yet regained consciousness.

The doctor said, "Prepare protective suits. Only two people can come in to maintain order during treatment. You two should discuss it."

The group looked at each other, somewhat bewildered.

Qian Lei stepped forward: "My father hasn't returned yet. As the eldest grandson, I'll go check on him. There's another person I could consider."

Zhai Da immediately stepped forward, no longer caring about modesty: "As a disciple of the teacher, I also want to see him."

Actually, there are others who are more qualified than him, but he reacted quickly and spoke first.

Most of the others didn't realize what was happening, or weren't related by blood, and that was the end of it.

Zhai Da breathed a sigh of relief. This opportunity was too precious to pass up; it was exactly what he wanted!

Or perhaps it was a stroke of luck, a serendipitous encounter?
Just as they were about to go inside, and the nurses brought them protective suits, and the two were about to put them on, a trembling figure came from around the corner. It was none other than 90-year-old Madam Qian.

The old woman said firmly and simply, "I want to go in and take a look."

Even without Zhai Da's intervention, many younger relatives immediately began to advise that, according to custom, if an elderly person has health problems, especially someone who is very old, their spouse should avoid being present, because emotional distress could cause both of them to collapse.

But the old woman was extremely determined and wouldn't listen to any persuasion: "I'm over ninety years old, and I've thought about it countless times. I just want to see him properly one more time."

The descendants had no choice but to agree.

Qian Lei looked at Zhai Da, who had struggled to put on his protective suit, and said apologetically, "Then Mr. Zhai, we'll just have to let it go."

Just as he was about to turn around, Zhai Da grabbed Qian Lei.

His voice was a little hoarse: "Let me in."

Qian Lei stopped in his tracks, his eyes showing surprise, confusion, and a hint of dissatisfaction.
"I am the eldest grandson!"

Zhai Da simply looked at Qian Lei with unwavering sincerity and repeated himself.

"Brother Lei, let me in."

Qian Lei gave Zhai Da a deep look, and in that instant, many thoughts flashed through his mind.

A moment later, he took off the hood of his protective suit and let out a long sigh:

"Go ahead. Perhaps your grandfather will be happier to see you than to me, his eldest grandson."

Zhai Da replied solemnly, "No, thank you anyway."

Ten minutes later, the ICU door opened again, and the nurse led Zhai Da and Mrs. Qian into the ward.

The familiar scene, the incessant beeping of the medical equipment, Zhai Da, supporting his weak body, finally arrived at the bedside.

The teacher's eyes were closed, and he was wearing a ventilator mask and was unconscious.

Zhai Da narrowed his eyes slightly
Because he saw the last thing he wanted to see: "the agony of death".

The "Eight Sufferings" set grants the ability to see the countdown to death of the deceased, depending on the closeness of the relationship. Passersby can often only see a few hours in advance, while close relatives are unaware because they have never seen it on those around them.

One reason I felt confident going abroad was that this countdown hadn't appeared above my teacher's head.

Even now, despite all the methods he's used, the teacher still has a string of numbers above his head.
Two hundred and eighty hours is twelve days?

This was the longest countdown he had ever seen, signifying the weight of the teacher-student relationship.

But this is not a good thing.
Without hesitation, Zhai Da grasped the teacher's hand and, using a magic trick, hid a note inside.

next moment.
The countdown to certain death has temporarily disappeared.

(End of this chapter)