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

The moment six night market diners burst through the emergency room's glass door, the triage desk was completely blocked.

Some people were vomiting so hard they couldn't straighten up, leaning against public trash cans; others were squatting on the ground, groaning in pain; and family members were even holding their phones up to nurses' faces, yelling, "Can't you hurry up?! The whole table is poisoned!"

Nurse Zhao slammed down the triage call button: "No taking pictures in the emergency room. If you want to complain, go outside the main gate and take a picture of the door number."

The person filming the video stubbornly retorted, "So what if I kept evidence?"

Nurse Zhao pointed to the vomit swaying at his feet: "Don't step on it and trip; that's the biggest piece of evidence we can get."

The nurse on duty next to me immediately rushed over with disinfectant powder, mopping the floor and sprinkling the powder with lightning speed. The pungent smell of disinfectant mixed with the sour odor wafted up from the corridor, making my eyes sting.

Qin Hai stood with his hands on his hips in the center of the hall, his voice drowning out all the cries: "Proceed according to the triage! Those who can walk on their own go to the infusion area; those whose blood pressure drops or who are disoriented go straight to the emergency room. The head nurse is to call for backup immediately."

The entire emergency room seemed to be suddenly switched to the highest gear, clicking as it operated at full speed.

One phone call after another was made.

"Add beds to the infusion area and reserve five observation beds."

"The laboratory has opened a green channel for group incidents, prioritizing blood routine, biochemistry, and vomit sample tests."

"Two people from the security department should come to maintain order and prevent family members from blocking the emergency room door."

"The duty officer reports a suspected foodborne outbreak."

Ma Hao was filling out information at the triage desk, Jiang Peng was checking vital signs one by one with a finger oxygen meter, Sun Zhiqiang was watching the initial IV infusion and blood drawing process, and Nurse Zhao was leading a team to guard the vomiting area to prevent patients from falling if no one was paying attention.

Lin Ye gripped the handrail of the stretcher and pushed Deng Jun directly into the emergency room.

Deng Jun's wife rushed in, her fingernails pawing at the emergency room door: "Doctor! He ate at the same table as us, why is he the only one in the emergency room?"

Lin Ye braked the flatbed to its limit next to the emergency bed: "His pupils are constricted, he's sweating profusely and drooling, and he has muscle fasciculations; it's not just simple food poisoning."

The woman looked bewildered: "What tremors? He just couldn't vomit and was feeling suffocated!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Deng Jun suddenly burst into a violent coughing fit, saliva dripping uncontrollably from the corners of his mouth, his breathing as rough as a broken bellows.

Nurse Zhao's expression changed drastically: "There's too much airway secretion."

Sun Zhiqiang rushed to the bedside, pried open his eyelids, and glanced at his pupils: "Organophosphate poisoning?"

Lin Ye nodded: "Highly suspicious."

"Where did the organophosphates come from?" Deng Jun's wife stamped her feet anxiously. "We just had a barbecue!"

Lin Ye tapped his fingertips on the medical record folder as he asked, "Did he come into contact with pesticides during the day? What does he do for work?"

The woman froze, "He... he was spraying pesticides in a vegetable field on the outskirts of the city. He said he took a shower this afternoon before going there."

Qin Hai lifted the curtain and walked into the emergency room: "Where are his clothes?"

"I put it in the basket of my electric bike."

"Nurse Zhao, notify the security department to seal the clothes separately and prevent anyone from touching them. Activate the organophosphate poisoning emergency plan."

Lin Ye added, "Everyone who came into contact with his clothes must register their information to prevent secondary contamination."

Qin Hai glanced at him: "Make it into the process."

The woman's face turned pale instantly: "R-really pesticide poisoning?"

The muscles in Deng Jun's arm twitched uncontrollably, and he was finding it increasingly difficult to breathe.

The crimson countdown in the forest was glaringly obvious; 34 minutes remained.

"Prepare atropine, notify the pharmacy to prepare sufficient pralidoxime, contact the emergency intensive care unit, and prepare an intubation kit." Qin Hai gave the orders quickly without pausing. "Draw venous blood to check cholinesterase activity."

Nurse Zhao had already pushed the emergency cart to the bedside, and the medicine box made a crisp sound as it hit the tray.

The noise in the lobby suddenly intensified, with the remaining five diners banging on the triage desk and shouting, "Why did he go into the emergency room first? We're poisoned too!"

Ma Hao was sweating profusely with anxiety: "Your vital signs are stable right now, let's give you IV fluids and draw blood, then wait for the results!"

A man in a vest reached out and grabbed the collar of his white coat: "I'm vomiting bile, and you're telling me it's stable?"

Jiang Peng stepped in front of Ma Hao, raising his voice to its highest point in the emergency room for the first time: "Severe vomiting doesn't mean it's the most dangerous! The person inside is almost unable to breathe!"

The man was startled by the shout and his hand loosened.

Taking advantage of the situation, Ma Hao put the three-color triage wristbands on several people's wrists: "Red wristbands are for priority treatment, yellow wristbands are for examination and fluid replacement, and green wristbands are for registration and observation. If you really want to see a doctor quickly, follow the color of the wristband. If you all block the door, no one can move."

The group of people were grumbling and cursing when they were finally led by the nurse to the infusion area.

Inside the emergency room, Deng Jun's oxygen saturation began to drop.

Doctors from the emergency intensive care unit are still on their way here.

Qin Hai looked at Lin Ye: "Keep a close eye on his airway secretions and breathing rate, and report any changes immediately."

Lin Ye nodded.

The system didn't provide the dosage of atropine, nor did it indicate the optimal time for intubation; it simply fixed the scarlet countdown line firmly in front of his eyes.

Deng Jun suddenly convulsed, and a distinct wet rales came from his throat.

"Oxygen saturation is 88%, and it's still dropping!" Nurse Zhao shouted, staring at the monitor.

Qin Hai immediately raised his hand: "Prepare for endotracheal intubation."

Deng Jun's wife cried and tried to rush to the bedside, calling out, "Old Deng!"

Lin Ye reached out to stop her: "Don't touch him, there might still be pesticide residue on his body. Let the doctor treat him first."

The woman cried, her whole body trembling: "He said he smelled of medicine this afternoon, and I scolded him for not washing properly before going out to eat..."

No one had time to comfort her.

After Qin Hai and the emergency intensive care unit doctor who had just arrived completed the intubation, Deng Jun's oxygen saturation finally started to rise slowly.

Deng Jun's wife's legs gave way, and she slumped against the wall, her hands still covered in mud from her sleeves when she pulled her husband up. Nurse Zhao handed her a pair of medical gloves and wet wipes: "Wipe your hands first, don't rub your eyes."

The woman stared blankly at her hands, and a sob caught in her throat.

The results of the cholinesterase test are in; the activity is significantly reduced.

The diagnosis of organophosphate poisoning has been confirmed.

The test results for the five diners outside also came out one after another, all of whom had common acute gastroenteritis, most likely related to unclean food from the night market.

Six people eating at the same table somehow managed to contract two completely unrelated illnesses.

If Deng Jun were to be put into the infusion area with the others, he would probably suffocate silently amidst the noise of vomiting and screaming in pain.

At 3 a.m., Deng Jun's vital signs stabilized, and he was transferred to the emergency intensive care unit for continued treatment.

Qin Hai leaned against the nurses' station, his voice hoarse and deep: "Everyone stay behind, we'll have a five-minute debriefing."

No one is sitting here.

The floor had just been mopped and still smelled of disinfectant; it felt cool to the touch.

Qin Hai looked at Lin Ye: "There were so many people just now, why did you single him out as the one who was wrong?"

Lin Ye pulled out the medical record he had just finished writing and pointed to the physical examination section on Deng Jun's page: "His symptoms are different from the others. Everyone else has gastrointestinal reactions such as abdominal pain and vomiting, but he only has constricted pupils, drooling, profuse sweating, and muscle fasciculations. When questioned, he also had a history of pesticide exposure during the day."

Only after he finished speaking did he realize that his throat was dry and sore, and his voice was terribly hoarse.

Nurse Zhao handed him a cup of warm, lightly salted water: "Take a sip. In a mass incident, your voice is also a vital resource for emergency treatment."

Qin Hai nodded, his gaze sweeping over Ma Hao and Jiang Peng standing beside him.

"Remember this. In group incidents, don't just focus on who's the loudest. Pull out the quietest, most unusual person and investigate them separately first."

Outside the emergency room, the rain started to fall again.

Lin Ye looked at the empty triage bench, the remaining triage stickers in his hand becoming damp with sweat.

The entire brightly lit emergency room was awake, just like him.