When I'm on the night shift, all the department heads can't sleep.

When Wu Deming was waiting in line for the enhanced CT scan, his wife also arrived.

A woman in her sixties came in carrying a bag of steamed buns, which she had probably bought on the way. When she saw her husband lying on the stretcher with a monitor attached, she almost dropped the bag of buns.

"Old Wu, what's wrong? You were perfectly fine when I left."

Wu Deming raised his eyelids slightly and moved his mouth, but couldn't utter a complete sentence.

My wife panicked and turned to find a doctor.

"He could walk by himself when he came last night, so why can't he speak properly now?"

The day shift supervisor switched over from their computer.

"Sister, don't panic. His blood pressure is low and he's a bit weak. We'll do a contrast-enhanced CT scan right away to check if there are any problems with the blood vessels in his abdomen."

"Blood vessels? What blood vessels? Didn't they say the CT scan was normal last night?"

"Last night's CT scan was a regular one, so we couldn't see inside the blood vessels. This time, we need to administer a contrast agent to see them clearly."

My wife stood by the flatbed cart, clutching the bag of steamed buns. Her eyes were red, but she didn't cry.

"Then hurry up and do it. You need to sign it, right? Give it to me, I'll sign it."

Zhou Min handed over the informed consent form, saying as she did so.

"There is a possibility of allergic reactions to contrast agents, but the probability is low. However, his kidney function has not yet recovered. If his kidneys are not in good condition, the contrast agent will put some strain on them. We need to make these risks clear to you."

My wife's eyes darted off halfway through the conversation, she probably didn't understand much. But she still lowered her head and signed her name on the paper.

The strokes are crooked and uneven, and the last stroke goes out of bounds.

Kidney function returned at that moment. The day shift nurse jogged over with the test results.

Creatinine level is 128.

The supervisor on the day shift glanced at it.

"It's a little high, but not too outrageous. Weighing the pros and cons, the contrast agent must be done. Keep up with the fluid replacement, and drink plenty of water after the procedure to flush out the contrast agent."

Lin Ye helped push a section of the flatbed cart during the transfer. It wasn't his job, but they were short-handed, and he and Ma Hao were the closest people in the corridor.

When he pushed the trolley to the entrance of the CT room, he handed it over to the day shift nurse and the people in the CT room.

"That's enough," Zhou Min called out to him from behind.

Lin Ye stopped in his tracks.

"The day shift will take over from here. You're not on the schedule, so this is enough help."

Lin Ye stood at the entrance of the CT room, watching the stretcher being wheeled in. Wu Deming lay on it, his head turned to one side, the monitor's leads dangling beside the stretcher.

As he turned to walk back, Ma Hao followed.

"Brother Ye, what do you think he is?"

Lin Ye did not answer.

"Let's wait for the movie."

"I suspect there's a problem with the blood supply to the intestines. It's atrial fibrillation, and the blood clot has gotten into the mesenteric artery." Ma Hao said in a low voice, as if afraid someone would hear that he was wrong.

Lin Ye glanced at him.

"You can guess all you want, but don't say it in front of the patient and their family."

"I know, I know," Ma Hao said, shrinking his neck slightly. "I'm just telling you."

The two didn't discuss the topic again on their way back to the emergency room. Sunlight streamed in through the windows in the corridor; it was noon, and someone carrying a lunchbox walked from the direction of the cafeteria, the aroma of food wafting down half the corridor.

Lin Ye then realized he hadn't eaten anything. He took one bite of the sandwich and threw it back on the table.

Ma Hao also smelled the aroma of food, and his stomach rumbled. He touched his stomach, feeling a little embarrassed.

"Brother Ye, have you eaten?"

"no."

"Shall I get you some food? The cafeteria still has some."

"No, let's wait for the results."

Ma Hao didn't mention dinner again. After walking for a while, he spoke again, but in a low voice.

"Where do you think the problem lies this time?"

Lin Ye thought for a moment.

"After the checkup, no one confirmed that he was back. This loophole is more critical than who asked what questions."

Ma Hao nodded and didn't press the matter further.

When Zhou Min returned to the emergency room nurses' station, she was on the phone.

"Yes, general surgery? There's a 61-year-old male in the emergency room who came in with abdominal pain. He's on anticoagulant for atrial fibrillation, his lactate is 5.1, and his bowel sounds are weak. He's currently having an enhanced CT scan. I'll send the images to you as soon as they're ready."

She hung up the phone and saw Lin Ye standing there.

"Are you still there?"

"Wait for the film results."

Zhou Min looked at him for two seconds.

"You know that no matter what the outcome of the film is, you're no longer in charge of the rest of the project, right?"

"I know."

"Then what are you waiting for?"

Lin Ye thought for a moment.

"I want to know what it is."

Zhou Min didn't chase him away anymore. She probably thought the reason was acceptable.

Lin Ye leaned against the wall next to the nurses' station, his hands in his coat pockets.

While I was waiting, a light suddenly appeared in the corner of my field of vision.

It wasn't the previous countdown, nor was it a red dot. It was something he had never seen before.

Like a semi-transparent label, floating on the edge of vision, with only a few lines of text on it:

[Unclosed loop marker: Level 2]

[Target patient: Wu Deming, 61 years old.]

[Abnormal match: Abdominal pain disappeared/ Physical signs continued to worsen/ Vascular layer not covered on plain CT scan.]

[Recommended actions: Verify vascular-related medical history and monitor contrast-enhanced imaging.]

The label flashed twice, then dimmed, but didn't disappear; it simply receded to the far corner of the field of vision.

Lin Ye stared at those few lines of text for two seconds.

When did this appear? The system only showed countdowns and risk probabilities before, never this kind of label.

He remembered. Last night, before closing his eyes in the dormitory, he thought he saw something flash by. He was too sleepy to see clearly.

So that's what it is.

Twenty minutes later, the CT room received a call.

The call was answered by his supervisor on the day shift. He grunted twice, then his face darkened.

After hanging up the phone, he looked at the image transmitted on the screen and clicked the mouse a few times to zoom in.

"The main trunk of the superior mesenteric artery is occluded. The distal branches show poor contrast."

He turned around and looked at Zhou Min.

"Notify the general surgery and vascular surgery departments that the patient should be wheeled back immediately after the procedure, and not waited at the CT room entrance."

Zhou Min was already making the phone call.

Lin Ye stood next to the nurses' station, looking at the blood vessel on the screen that should have been lit up but was not.

His phone vibrated.

I looked down and saw an unread message from that unfamiliar number.

"Li Wencheng, the patient you had last night, had his blood drug concentration drop to 1.8 today. The cardiology department said it's temporarily stable."

Lin Ye looked at the message and rubbed his thumb against the edge of the screen.

This time he replied with two words.

"Thanks."