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

The red light outside that operating room was still on.

Outside the intensive care unit next door, a cold white light casts a shadow over a row of benches, making even the access control lights on the wall seem devoid of warmth.

When Qin Hai rushed over from the operating room, his phone was still in his ear, and the call screen was still lit up.

Liang Shumin's son was already standing by the door.

The man was in his thirties, his jacket zipper undone, as if he had run all the way up. He clutched his phone in his palm, the screen showing over a dozen missed calls, with the navigation page still displayed at the bottom.

He saw Qin Hai and rushed forward first.

"Are you from the emergency room?"

Zhou Min, the deputy director of the day shift, is still here, standing at the door with the contact list in her hand.

She didn't let him squeeze in.

"You're Liang Shumin's family, right? Don't block the door. If you stand here, it'll be hard for them to get the cart out."

The man's voice was strained, and even the last syllable of his words was tense.

"My dad's already had surgery, why is he still relying on medication? My mom just called me and said she's urinating less. Why didn't you take an X-ray first? If you sent him to the operating room without an X-ray, who would be responsible if something went wrong?"

These words landed at the doorway, and even Liang Shumin's wife, who was sitting on the bench, looked up.

She was still holding the ICU access card in her hand.

She looked up at her son.

"The doctor just said that it's not like everything will be fine after the surgery."

The man turned around in a panic.

"Mom, can you understand? You nod at everything they say. Do you know what really happened before Dad went in?"

The old man couldn't respond to a single word.

The access card in her hand was slightly bent from being squeezed.

Qin Hai didn't rush to speak.

He first looked at the indicator light above the ICU door, then at the record in Zhou Min's hand. The anger he felt outside the operating room was still lingering in his throat.

"Is the vascular surgery department located there?"

Zhou Min nodded, the pen still firmly held between her fingers.

"The vascular surgeon on duty and the intensive care physician are both here. The nephrologist just called back and will come over later to check the urine output and creatinine levels."

Qin Hai then looked at Liang Shumin's son.

"If you want to know about the subsequent condition, go listen to what the intensive care unit and vascular surgery department have to say. The emergency room will only tell you what we saw when we received the person, what we did, and what time they were brought in."

The man gritted his teeth as his phone screen lit up again.

"Then you tell me."

Lin Ye stood half a step behind Qin Hai.

The folder in his hand was brought from the emergency room; the edges of the papers were already soft from being turned over.

A line of blue text suddenly lit up in the corner of my field of vision.

[Emergency Room Warning: Family Misunderstandings Escalating.]

[Risk Area: Breaks in critical information flow could lead to secondary delays.]

[The evidence provided includes: continued reliance on vasopressors post-surgery, low urine output, lack of preoperative aortic CT angiography, and inconsistent information from the family.]

Lin Ye turned his gaze back to the notepad.

The access card in Liang Shumin's wife's hand was bent from being squeezed.

Lin Ye pressed the notebook into his palm, the edges of the pages digging into his fingers.

Qin Hai handed him the folder.

"Report the time."

Lin Ye turned to Liang Shumin's page.

"Liang Shumin, 64 years old. When he arrived at the emergency room, his blood pressure was only 76.44, he was sweating profusely, and his pulse was very weak. In his abdomen," Lin Ye pointed to the physical examination record, "a suspected pulsating mass was felt at the time."

Just as the man was about to interject, Qin Hai raised his hand to stop him, speaking in a low voice.

"I've finished listening."

Lin Ye continued.

"Bedside ultrasound showed significant dilation of the abdominal aorta with surrounding hypoechoic areas. Lactate level was 4.6, and hemoglobin was 78 g/L. Upon arrival, the vascular surgeon determined that the possibility of a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm was extremely high."

The man's breathing became a little heavier.

"That can also be used to make films."

Qin Hai took over the conversation.

"It's possible to film. The prerequisite is that the person can withstand the transfer and inspection."

He pointed to the blood pressure reading on the record.

"His blood pressure was already like this at that time. Even after the first bag of blood was transfused under pressure, his blood pressure was still low. When he was being transferred to the operating room, it dropped to 68 or 36. By the time the aortic CT angiography was performed, the image might be clearer, but he might not even make it to the operating room."

The man stared at those numbers.

He is not a doctor.

But even ordinary people know that the numbers 68 and 36 are wrong.

The intensive care unit door opened a crack from the inside.

The vascular surgery doctor on duty came out, still wearing his mask, and the bedside record in his hand had a horizontal crease from being folded.

"Liang Shumin's family?"

The man immediately turned around.

"I'm his son. I just want to ask one question: Was the surgery not done well? Why hasn't he woken up yet?"

The vascular surgeon did not allow him to break the problem apart.

"The rupture has been treated. But he arrived in shock with a lot of retroperitoneal bleeding. Just because surgery can treat the rupture doesn't mean he'll wake up immediately or his blood pressure will stabilize right away."

The man's anger momentarily faltered.

"Then why do we still rely on medicine?"

The intensive care physician also came out from inside.

He held the latest bedside notes in his hand.

"The medication cannot be stopped yet. The low urine output indicates that the kidneys are not yet stable. We need to monitor the situation closely, as any of these factors—blood clotting, rebleeding, infection, or kidney function—can cause problems. We must keep a close eye on it."

Liang Shumin's wife stood up.

"That's what the doctor just told me."

The man turned to look at her.

This time she didn't avoid it.

"I understand. The doctor said they're still trying to save him, so they can't say he's recovered yet."

Liang Shumin's son's phone lit up again.

He glanced at it but didn't take it.

On the bench, Liang Shumin's wife tucked the access card into her palm.

Zhou Min flipped to the last page of the contact list and touched the blank space with her pen.

"Yesterday, we only listed your son's phone number here, not your backup contact. We're adding that today. From now on, whatever the doctor says, you and your mother will hear the same version. In the emergency room, we only record the time you arrived, the time you were rushed, and the time you were admitted."

The man looked at that column.

His name was just added.

The phone number was followed by the date written by Zhou Min.

His voice lowered a little.

"I'm not here to cause trouble. It's just that no one has explained things clearly to me the whole way."

Qin Hai's tone remained harsh, so harsh it didn't sound like he was trying to comfort him.

"So now let's clarify things one by one. You asked why the ER didn't wait for the X-rays, the answer is that they couldn't afford to wait at the time. You asked why they're still relying on medication now, we have to listen to what the ICU says. He's not stable yet."

The man's phone rang again.

The screen displays "Auntie".

He didn't answer.

"When will my dad wake up?"

The intensive care doctor looked at him.

"We can't give you that right now. Let's see if we can gradually reduce the medication for high blood pressure, increase urine output, and stabilize blood clotting."

The vascular surgeon added a comment.

"We also need to prevent further bleeding."

The man's face paled even more.

Will there be more bleeding?

"There is that risk."

The vascular surgeon did not speak definitively.

"Therefore, we cannot call it peace now."

Lin Ye wrote this sentence next to the record.

It's not peace.

He still requires intensive care.

He had just finished writing when the intensive care nurse handed him a new record sheet.

"Your urine output is still low in the last half hour. Your blood pressure medication hasn't brought it down."

The intensive care doctor took the paper and glanced at it.

"Have you arrived at the nephrology department yet?"

The nurse looked back down the corridor.

"We've reached the elevator."

The man also looked over.

At the end of the corridor, a nephrologist hurried over, carrying a consultation kit.

Qin Hai closed the folder.

"Lin Ye, keep the timeline from the emergency room here. How should the kidneys be assessed later, including listening to the nephrology and intensive care unit?"

Lin Ye nodded.

"clear."

The nephrologist stopped at the door, glanced at the papers in the intensive care doctor's hand, and skipped the pleasantries.

"How much urine did you produce?"

The intensive care physician handed over the bedside record.

"Still low. Creatinine is also rising; acid, base, and potassium levels will be discussed in the next group."

The man took half a step forward.

"Adding another department, doesn't that make it more serious?"

The nephrologist looked up at him.

"I'm not trying to scare you. His kidneys are also being affected now, so he needs to see a doctor as soon as possible, otherwise it will be difficult to treat later."

The man slowly loosened his grip.

The phone screen went dark.

Liang Shumin's son did not push any further.

He looked down at the papers, his thumb slowly tracing the blood pressure line, and his voice lowered.

The blue text box lit up again at the edge of the forest's field of vision.

[Stage Feedback: Key information gaps have been filled in.]

[Current risks: Postoperative shock, acute kidney injury, and misunderstandings with family members have not yet been fully resolved.]

Lin Ye did not speak.

After reviewing the new records, the intensive care physician turned and walked inside.

"The family members are waiting outside. The nephrology department will go in to see the patient first."

The access control light flashed briefly.

The intensive care unit doors were closed again.

The man stood outside the door and finally stopped asking why they weren't filming.

He just stared at the door.

"So what can I do now?"

Qin Hai took the access card from Liang Shumin's wife and handed it to him.

"Answer the phone. Don't spread rumors. Whatever the doctor says, your family should keep only one version of events."

The man caught the access card.

There is a faint crease on the card.

He looked down for two seconds.

"I see."

Just then, the phone inside the ICU rang again.

The nurse called out from behind the door.

"Director Qin, the nephrology department needs to check his previous emergency room blood gas analysis and medication administration time."

Qin Hai looked back at Lin Ye.

"Find the part about the emergency room."

Lin Ye opened the notebook.

The paper was spread out under the corridor light.

Following Liang Shumin's line, blood pressure, urine output, and creatinine levels were listed one after another.

The forest was turned to the bottom, and the pen tip stopped at the last line.

He didn't dare write the words "the condition is stable".

The nurse's voice from inside the door added another sentence.

"Also, the blood pressure medication isn't lowering it for the time being."

Liang Shumin's son, who had just loosened his grip, tightened his hold on the access card again.