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

"This bed in the emergency room can come over, but there's another one that was just wheeled in. Can you wait ten minutes?"

The sounds from the CT room came through the stethoscope, mixed with the low hum of the machines running.

Qin Hai neither answered "yes" nor "no".

His voice was already hoarse, and when he spoke, it had a rough, sandpaper-like quality.

"How much longer until the one ahead?"

There was a half-second pause on the other end of the phone.

"The flat scan has just been placed on the shelf, and it will take at least seven or eight minutes. The enhancement hasn't even started yet."

Qin Hai tucked the receiver over his shoulder, his eyes never leaving the monitor.

"Nurse Zhao, recheck the blood pressure. Review the consciousness and abdominal signs again. Lin Ye, write down the time the CT room calls back."

Lin Ye had just put down his pen when he raised it again.

11:43 PM.

A call came in from the CT room.

The inspection ahead is not yet complete; please ask if you can wait for about ten minutes.

Halfway through writing this line, the blue text frame at the edge of my field of vision silently lit up.

[Emergency Room Warning: Effective Treatment Window Shortening.]

[Public evidence: Atrial fibrillation stopped anticoagulation, lactate 5.6, abdominal pain inconsistent with physical examination, and heart rate continued to rise.]

[Risk aspect: Deterioration of condition during waiting and transfer.]

Lin Ye held the pen cap between his teeth, and his tongue tasted a faint plastic flavor.

He didn't look up or say anything unnecessary.

Nurse Zhao had already tightened the blood pressure cuff again, pressing the cuff edges against the elderly man's loose cuff.

The elderly woman was curled up on the stretcher, her lips were white and dry, and her hand was pressed around her navel. Her family member stood at the foot of the bed, the registration form crumpled into a hard crease.

"Ninety-two fifty-eight."

After reporting the heart rate, Nurse Zhao glanced at it again.

One hundred and thirty-two.

Qin Hai said into the phone, "Did you hear that?"

The CT room quieted down for a moment.

"I heard you. But my person is already on the machine, so I can't just pull them out."

"I didn't ask you to pull."

Qin Hai kept his voice very low.

"Leave the enhanced access route open first. Once the previous one is finished, immediately take over this one. We'll bring the monitor over; if it becomes unstable en route, we'll turn back for emergency treatment."

The sound of keyboard clicking could be heard from the other end of the phone.

"Then don't just send a regular wheelchair; bring oxygen and emergency medication. I'll also call an radiologist."

"It wasn't a wheelchair to begin with."

Qin Hai hung up the phone and turned to look at Lin Ye.

Did you get the name of the anticoagulant?

Lin Ye spread the medicine bag out on the edge of the treatment cart. The bag was worn and frayed, with only half of the product name and a line of small print remaining.

The family members were so anxious they were almost in tears.

"I really didn't know. He usually takes it by himself. A while ago, his gums were bleeding, and he said the bleeding was scary, so he stopped taking it. I told him to ask a doctor, but he thought it was too much trouble."

Lin Ye poured the pills into his palm without making a judgment immediately.

"Do you still have the medicine box? Do you have any medication purchase records or outpatient prescriptions on your phone?"

The woman hurriedly unlocked her phone.

I couldn't solve it the first time.

It took me a second time to get to the desktop, and my fingers were swiping randomly on the screen.

"I'll look, I'll look."

When the general surgery doctor on duty arrived at the entrance of the red zone, he still smelled of hand sanitizer. Without asking who had called him, he reached out and touched the old man's stomach.

The old man was in so much pain that he tried to hide behind the bed rails.

"Don't press it."

The general surgeon stopped and switched to a gentler palpation.

"There's no obvious board-like abdomen. The pain is so severe, yet the abdomen isn't hard?"

Qin Hai handed over the blood-stained paper.

"Lactate 5.6. Atrial fibrillation, anticoagulation stopped for about a week. Blood pressure dropped from 1066 to 9258, heart rate 132."

The general surgeon's previously furrowed brows completely relaxed.

"Has the vascular surgery department arrived yet?"

"In the elevator."

Just as he finished speaking, the elevator door outside the red zone clicked open.

The vascular surgeon on duty brought in the consultation clips, a white crease creased along the edge. He glanced at the monitor first, then at the person on the bed.

"How long should I stop anticoagulants?"

Lin Ye relayed the information he had just obtained.

"The family said about a week. The specific name of the medication is still being verified, but it is suspected to be an oral anticoagulant. The patient has had atrial fibrillation for many years, has a history of leg swelling once, and the history of thrombosis is unclear."

The vascular surgeon did not use the word "suspected".

"What about your kidney function?"

Nurse Zhao tore off a piece of newspaper containing the test results she had just vomited and patted it on the treatment cart.

"Cretin level is 128. It's not entirely risk-free, but it doesn't seem like we can wait until tomorrow to get checked."

When the woman heard the word "risk," her face turned even paler.

Will making that kind of film damage my kidneys?

Qin Hai glanced at her.

"There are risks, so we need to inform you. But his pregnancy is more urgent right now. Don't ask about kidney damage yet; listen to what they say about why we can't sit outside and wait."

The vascular surgeon took over the conversation directly.

"We suspect there's a problem with the blood vessels in my abdomen. If the blood vessels are truly blocked, there will be no blood flow to the intestines, and it will cause serious damage if left untreated. The scans are to clearly show where the blockage is, not just for aesthetic purposes."

The woman gripped her phone, her voice trembling.

"Can't you even wait ten minutes?"

No one immediately gave her a good answer.

The old man suddenly hunched over and let out a muffled groan.

The heart rate on the monitor jumped to 138.

Just as Lin Ye was about to take a step forward, Qin Hai reached out and pressed down on his medical record folder.

"Don't act on your gut feeling."

Lin Ye suppressed his anger.

"The blood gas analysis results haven't returned yet. The pain started more than an hour ago. I could sit before my number was called, but I couldn't stand up when it was. My blood pressure continues to drop."

He paused for a moment after saying this.

"Is there enough space for the CT scan team to pick us up and wait?"

Qin Hai glanced at him.

"This sentence can be said."

The vascular surgeon has already connected to the CT room.

"I'm on duty in vascular surgery. The patient in the emergency room has abdominal pain, atrial fibrillation, and has stopped anticoagulation. His lactate is 5.6, and his blood pressure is dropping. As soon as the previous patient comes out, I take him first. We go over there to review the scans."

The person on the other end of the phone didn't ask again if I could wait.

"We'll call you when the machine becomes available. Don't block the entrance, and bring a supervisor."

Nurse Zhao pushed the oxygen cylinder over and bent down to turn the valve. Her half-cold meal was still next to the computer at the nurses' station, with chopsticks resting diagonally on the lid.

"He barely ate two bites of food."

She was cursing, but she was already controlling the oxygen supply.

"Close the bed rails. Family members, don't follow us to the machine door. Take the signing board with you first, so you won't be unable to find anyone to sign later."

The woman was jolted awake by her words and quickly stuffed her phone into her pocket.

Lin Ye meticulously recorded the CT room phone call time, blood pressure retest, arrival of general surgeons, and arrival of vascular surgeons.

When he wrote "Prepare for transport with monitoring" in his handwriting, the blood gas test strip came out of the machine.

Nurse Zhao tore it off, saw the lactate section, and the curse stopped in her throat.

"Lactate six point three."

Qin Hai took the paper.

The red zone was briefly quiet.

The vascular surgeon closed the consultation clip.

"No need to guess anymore. The film needs to be made as soon as possible."

The phone rang in the CT room almost simultaneously.

"The one in front has come out. You guys push it now."

Qin Hai fastened the railings of the flatbed.

"Take the monitor with you. If the road is unstable, turn back and try to save the patient."

Nurse Zhao loosened the brakes on the flatbed truck.

As soon as the bed wheels started moving, the old man grabbed the bed sheet again.

Lin Ye followed beside the bed, holding the notebook tightly in his hand.

The lights in the red zone slid across the sky, one grid at a time, as if cutting those ten minutes into even more fragmented sounds.