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

The announcement in the waiting area repeated number 43.

Before number 43 could even stand up from his chair, two young men squeezed in through the door.

The one walking in front was supporting the other, urging, "Slow down, don't fall on me."

The person being helped had his head down, his collar was soaked with sweat, and the back of his hands were sunburned.

The patients waiting in line at the window immediately became unhappy.

"Hey, why are you cutting in line?"

The young man who helped the man didn't even turn around; he just led him to the triage desk: "Doctor, please take a look at me first. My brother has been out in the sun all day and has a slight fever."

Lin Ye put down his pen and looked at the person being supported.

"What's your name? How old are you?"

The man who helped the person up quickly reported, "Ding Yong, 26."

"Do you have a cough or sore throat? Have you had diarrhea recently? Have you been in contact with anyone else who has a fever?"

Ding Yong opened his mouth but couldn't say anything for a long time. His coworker Liu Kai, who was helping him, looked anxious and immediately said, "Nothing's wrong. We were doing exterior wall insulation work today. He started work at seven in the morning and was in the sun for almost eight hours. He said he had a headache at noon, but he insisted on not walking. Just now, when we were crossing the road, his legs gave way and he sat down on the ground. I called him three times but he didn't respond. He rested for ten minutes before he recovered. I had to drag him here."

Ding Yong shook his head a beat later, his voice hoarse: "It's nothing... just from the sun. I'll be fine after a rest. I can get some medicine. I have to rush to finish the work tomorrow, otherwise the foreman will deduct five hundred yuan, and I won't get the full progress payment for this week."

Lin Ye picked up the temperature gun and scanned his forehead. The screen showed a temperature of 39.8°C.

Lin Ye scanned his wrist, which read 36.5°C, and then scanned Ding Yong's neck, which read 39.7°C.

"How long do you feel you've had a fever?"

Lin Ye looked up at him, and Ding Yong mumbled, "I felt a little dizzy at noon."

Just then, a semi-transparent blue system window suddenly popped up in front of Lin Ye:

Emergency Room Early Warning System

[Risk Factor: Increased risk of severe illness related to high fever.]

[Abnormal symptoms: Sluggishness, nausea, weakness, and muscle aches after exposure to high temperatures.]

[Key gaps: True body temperature, level of consciousness, urine color, history of seizures/syncope.]

Lin Ye's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly nudged Ma Hao, who was still in a daze, saying, "Go get a folding chair and let him sit down first, so he doesn't fall while standing."

Ma Hao, who had been slacking off on memorizing exam points, turned around and went to get a chair when he saw this. Liu Kai helped Ding Yong sit down, but Ding Yong was still stubborn and wanted to stand up: "No need to sit, I'm fine. I have to go back after I get the medicine. The insulation board for the remaining half of the wall hasn't been installed yet. The foreman just sent a WeChat message urging me to hurry up."

Lin Ye ignored him and continued asking Liu Kai, "How much water did he drink today? Did he go to the toilet? What color was his urine? Did he experience any leg cramps?"

Liu Kai thought for a moment before saying, "It's so humid today, the sun is so hot that even metal sheets are burning hot. Our clothes are constantly getting wet and then drying. The two of us only drank four bottles of mineral water together, and I didn't even see him go to the toilet. When we were resting by the roadside earlier, he said his leg cramped twice and he was grimacing in pain. I bought him a bottle of iced soda, but he only took two sips before vomiting."

"So when he was sitting on the ground just now, did he not know anything?" Lin Ye pressed.

"Pretty much. I called his name but he didn't respond. His eyes were open but staring blankly. It took almost ten minutes for him to come to his senses and say he didn't know what had happened."

Liu Kai started to panic as he spoke, "Doctor, this isn't just a regular fever. Could it be that he caught something from being in the sun?"

"It's too early to say. I'll call a senior doctor to come and take a look."

Lin Ye turned to Ma Hao and instructed him, "Go to Teacher Qin's office and call him over. Tell him there's a patient with a high fever at the triage desk, and the situation isn't quite right."

Ma Hao responded and ran off quickly. Just then, Nurse Zhu returned from the break room with a water cup. She glanced at Ding Yong, who was sitting in a chair with a flushed face, and her brows furrowed instantly: "Why is your face so red?"

"After being exposed to high temperatures for eight hours, the patient's forehead temperature was 39.7 degrees Celsius. The patient was unresponsive, had experienced transient syncope, had reduced urination, and had a history of muscle twitching."

Lin Ye briefly explained the situation. Without saying a word, Nurse Zhu put the water cup on the triage desk, temporarily stopped the queuing system outside, turned around and took the underarm thermometer and blood pressure cuff. She first placed the thermometer under Ding Yong's armpit, and then tied the cuff to measure his blood pressure.

At this moment, Qin Hai followed Ma Hao over. He walked up to Ding Yong, first touching the skin on his neck, then flipping open his eyelids, and softly asked, "Can you hear me?"

Just as Ding Yong was about to speak, he suddenly leaned forward and gagged twice.

Five minutes later, Nurse Zhu took out the thermometer: "Director Qin, axillary temperature 40.2℃, blood pressure 90/58, heart rate 132."

Qin Hai's face immediately darkened. Lin Ye added from the side, "His coworker said he sweated profusely today, hadn't urinated for nearly eight hours, had two episodes of muscle spasms in both lower limbs, and fainted just now for about ten minutes. He was sluggish after waking up."

Qin Hai nodded, then turned and called to the nurse next to him: "Push a wheelchair over and take him to the red zone intensive care unit. Put him on cardiac monitoring, and immediately draw blood for gas analysis, electrolytes, creatine kinase, liver and kidney function tests, and coagulation tests. Collect a urine sample for routine urinalysis. Establish an intravenous line first, and place ice packs on the sides of his neck, armpits, and groin for physical cooling."

Several patients waiting nearby looked over. When Ding Yong heard that he had to go to the red zone, his voice became anxious: "I just have a fever, a fever-reducing injection will do! I have to work tomorrow, the money deducted is enough for me to eat for half a month!"

Qin Hai reached out and pressed his shoulder, saying softly, "If you want to live and earn this wage, listen to me. This isn't just a simple fever."

Liu Kai panicked, his palms sweating as he gripped his phone: "Doctor, the foreman is still urging us to go back to work. Can I call him and tell him? What if he considers us absent without leave?"

"Go ahead and call. Just say you're in the hospital and the doctor won't let you leave."

Lin Ye patted him on the shoulder, and Liu Kai nodded repeatedly. He quickly went to the side to make a phone call, his voice trembling.

Ma Hao quickly pushed the wheelchair over, and several people helped Ding Yong sit in it and walk towards the red zone. Ding Yong leaned against the back of the wheelchair, his eyes half-open and half-closed, his reactions becoming slower and slower, and when his name was called, he only gave a vague "hmm".

Not long after, the laboratory reported the critical values: blood gas analysis showed a pH of 7.31 and lactate of 4.2 mmol/L, indicating metabolic acidosis. Shortly after, the initial creatine kinase result came in: 12876 U/L.

Upon hearing the numbers, Qin Hai immediately said to Lin Ye, "Call Director Zhang of the Intensive Care Unit and tell him that there is a patient with high fever and a high risk of multiple organ damage who needs an urgent consultation. Also, prepare the ice blankets."

After he finished speaking, he added, "I told you to hit him."