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

At 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, Lin Ye and Ma Hao changed into white coats and signed their names on the shift handover board.

The day shift doctor put the last patient's record folder back in its place, rubbed his neck, and walked out of the nurses' station.

"You handle the front desk, I'll handle the observation area." Ma Hao hung his stethoscope around his neck, picked up a stack of forms, and said, "There are three family members inside who are still debating whether to admit their children to the hospital. I'll go talk to them. If there's any commotion outside, call me anytime."

"Go."

He walked to the No. 1 resuscitation bed, habitually checked the oxygen and negative pressure suction ports on the wall, and then glanced at the green self-test light on the defibrillator.

The phone at the triage desk rang at that moment.

As soon as Lin Ye turned around, the triage nurse put down her stethoscope and waved directly in his direction.

"Dr. Lin, I'd like to see a new patient. The patient walked in, complaining of nausea and vomiting twice, and numbness in the lips."

Lin Ye walked quickly to the reception desk.

The patient was a middle-aged man in his fifties, being supported by his son, who was in his twenties. The man's name was Zheng Deyong. He was pale, clutching his stomach with one hand, and his brows were tightly furrowed.

"Doctor, please take a look at my dad quickly," the son said anxiously. "He vomited twice, even bringing up yellow bile, not long after dinner. He keeps saying his lips and tongue are numb. Could it be an allergic reaction to seafood? Or a mild stroke?"

Lin Ye pulled over a chair for Zheng Deyong to sit down.

Have you ever had high blood pressure, diabetes, or heart disease?

As Lin Ye asked questions, he took out a small flashlight to examine the patient's pupils.

"No, I'm usually in good health, it's just that my joints hurt a little on rainy days."

"Can you move your hands and feet? Is the strength on both sides the same?"

Lin Ye looked at Zheng Deyong.

Zheng Deyong raised his hands, clenched his fists, and stomped his feet on the ground, his voice somewhat muffled.

"I can move... I have all the strength, but my lips feel numb, like they've been numbed, and I feel a constant unease in my heart."

Lin Ye quickly went through it in his mind.

The patient's limbs show symmetrical muscle strength, pupils are equal in size and round, and while speech is slurred, logic is clear, ruling out large-area acute cerebrovascular disease. There are no large rashes on the body, breathing is stable, and auscultation of both lungs reveals clear sounds, suggesting no severe anaphylactic shock.

"Nurse Zhao, bring over an electrocardiogram machine and connect it to a pulse oximeter."

Lin Ye turned and called out.

Nurse Zhao pushed the cart over, helped Zheng Deyong attach the blood oxygen probe, and then connected the electrocardiogram leads to his wrist and ankle.

The blood pressure readings are 135/185. Blood oxygen saturation is 98%. Heart rate is 82 beats per minute.

A set of data that appears to be very stable.

Lin Ye stared at the screen of the electrocardiogram machine.

The normal sinus rhythm was quite steady, but after several consecutive normal waveforms, a wide and abnormal wave suddenly appeared, which was a premature ventricular contraction.

Just as he was about to issue a blood test order to further investigate electrolytes and markers of myocardial damage, the air at the edge of his field of vision suddenly distorted slightly.

A familiar pale blue color emerged.

Lin Ye paused for half a second.

Since he became a full-time resident physician, he hadn't seen this kind of system notification indicating an extremely high risk for a long time.

He subconsciously waited for that familiar line of text: disease name, probability of misdiagnosis, and treatment recommendations.

However, the pale blue halo was extremely empty.

There was no diagnosis, no probability, not even a single extra word.

Only a line of cold white numbers silently danced in the very center of my vision:

【11: 45】

【11: 44】

【11: 43】

Lin Ye's pupils suddenly contracted.

He understood instantly.

The system has stopped "feeding" us; the nanny-style guidance during the residency training phase has completely ended.

This string of cold, hard numbers represents the absolute countdown to the patient's remaining life in this world.

In eleven minutes, Zheng Deyong will die.

What kind of disease can kill someone in just over ten minutes?

A major blood vessel ruptured? Blood pressure is stable.

Tension pneumothorax? Breath sounds are clear.

Myocardial infarction? The electrocardiogram does not show extensive ST segment elevation.

Lin Ye's gaze was fixed on the screen of the electrocardiogram machine.

The large, abnormal premature ventricular contraction reappeared, and two consecutive premature ventricular contractions occurred, forming a short run of ventricular tachycardia.

Then it changed to alternating between a normal wave and a premature beat, forming bigeminy.

My heart is becoming extremely agitated, like an engine about to explode due to a short circuit.

Severe numbness of the lips and tongue, violent vomiting, and a rapidly deteriorating malignant arrhythmia.

A bolt of lightning seemed to cleave through the fog in Lin Ye's mind. Neurotoxicity combined with extremely potent cardiotoxicity—this was a classic case of poisoning!

"What did you eat tonight?" Lin Ye suddenly turned his head, staring at Zheng Deyong's son, his voice rising abruptly, carrying an undeniable sense of pressure. "Did you eat wild mushrooms? Did you eat any unknown wild vegetables? Most importantly, did you drink the medicinal wine you brewed yourself!"

The son was startled by Lin Ye's sudden stern tone and stammered, "I...I drank a small cup of medicinal wine for treating rheumatism. It was brought from the countryside a few days ago by someone. They said it was made with aconite root and would promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis..."

Aconitum carmichaelii.

The moment those two words were uttered, Lin Ye felt a chill run down his spine.

Aconitum carmichaelii, Aconitum kusnezoffii, and Aconitum carmichaelii are common herbs used in folk remedies. They contain aconitine, an extremely potent toxic component.

Aconitine poisoning has a very short incubation period. It directly attacks the central nervous system and vagus nerve. More fatally, it greatly increases the excitability of the myocardium, causing irreversible ventricular tachycardia, which eventually leads to ventricular fibrillation, or cardiac arrest.

The lethal dose of pure aconitine is only 0.2 milligrams.

The countdown timer in my field of vision jumped to [08:15].

"Send the first resuscitation bed immediately!" Lin Ye ripped the lead clip off Zheng Deyong's wrist, pushed the wheelchair towards the resuscitation area with both hands, and at the same time gave instructions to the nurses' station, speaking at a speed like a machine gun, "Nurse Zhao, establish dual intravenous access! Bring the defibrillator over and attach the electrodes directly to the patient's chest! Immediately draw lidocaine and amiodarone, ignore the forms, just draw them into the syringe and hold it in your hand!"

The atmosphere in the emergency room was instantly ignited by this series of rapid instructions.

"What happened?"

Hearing the commotion at the front desk, Ma Hao rushed out of the observation area.

"Acute aconitine poisoning, ventricular fibrillation is imminent!"

Lin Ye moved Zheng Deyong onto the emergency bed.

Ma Hao glanced at the reconnected multi-functional monitor, and his expression immediately changed.

The heart rate on the screen had soared to 140, the waveform was distorted, and large premature ventricular contractions were raining down like a storm.

"I'll go prepare the gastric lavage machine!"

Without wasting a word, Ma Hao turned and rushed towards the equipment room.

"Doctor, what happened? I just drank some medicinal wine!"

The son stood beside the emergency bed, watching the medical staff rushing around the room, his voice trembling with tears.

"That's highly poisonous." Lin Ye pressed his hands firmly on Zheng Deyong's shoulders to prevent him from moving around agitated. "Go outside to sign the papers, don't block the way by the bed!"

The countdown has reached [03:10].

Nurse Zhao had already deftly cut open Zheng Deyong's shirt and firmly attached the defibrillator's electrodes to the skin below his right collarbone and along his left anterior axillary line.

Another nurse quickly inserted an indwelling needle into the patient's arm and connected it to saline solution.

"Lidocaine is ready."

Nurse Zhao raised the syringe.

"Administer 50 mg of lidocaine intravenously first!"

Lin Ye stared intently at the screen.

The medication was quickly injected into the vein.

However, aconitine has an extremely strong toxic effect on the myocardium. After the first dose of antiarrhythmic drug was administered, the waveform on the monitor did not show any signs of improvement; instead, it became even more chaotic.

Zheng Deyong, who could barely speak at first, is now completely unable to answer questions.

His eyes rolled upwards listlessly, blood-tinged foam spilled from the corners of his mouth, and his limbs began to twitch violently and uncontrollably.

【00: 45】

【00: 44】

Lin Ye stood at the head of the bed, his gaze shifting rapidly between the monitor screen and the countdown timer in the corner of his eye.

He could even hear his own heart pounding, but his hands were incredibly steady, without the slightest tremor.

He defused the danger in advance and attached the defibrillator electrodes to the patient ahead of time. These were the ten-odd minutes he snatched from the clutches of death.

【00: 03】

【00: 02】

【00: 01】

The monitor emitted a piercing long beep.

The waveform on the screen completely lost its regularity, turning into a chaotic jagged, fragmented wave.

Ventricular fibrillation. At this moment, the heart completely loses its pumping function and falls into a fatal spasm.

"Everyone, get out of bed!"

Lin Ye roared and pressed the 200 Joule charging button on the defibrillator with his left hand without hesitation, while simultaneously pressing the discharge button with his right hand.

A muffled thud.

Zheng Deyong's body bounced violently on the emergency bed before falling heavily back down.

The night outside the emergency room was still deep, but inside the resuscitation room, everyone's eyes were fixed on the small screen of the monitor.

The green waveform representing life and death gradually straightened into a straight line after the intense interference, and then a faint but complete peak emerged.