Plague Doctor

Chapter 308: Two Girls

“See what Xie Yiman is currently experiencing ourselves?” Gu Jun turned to ask Deng Ximei for clarification, “What do you mean by that?”

“I mean...” Deng Ximei elaborated with uncertainty, “We are technically her audience off the stage, so we share a unique bond with her. Perhaps we can try using that bond to see what she is going through, to see how we can help her.”

Gu Jun understood it immediately, she was suggesting he build a mental bond with Xie Yiman. This was not as easy as it sounded. First of all, they were not in Dreamlands and there was no close relationship between Gu Jun and Xie Yiman. Gu Jun and Wu Siyu could do it because of their training and Gu Jun shared a Spirit Children bond with Deng Ximei, but Xie Yiman did not fit either of these criteria. This was also probably why despite the sense of illusion since Gu Jun stepped into the room, none had not been triggered.

The encephalograph became more and more abnormal and Xie Yiman started to show signs of epilepsy. Her face twitched slightly and the patches that resembled the monster’s tentacles wiggled. The doctors prevaricated over two possible solutions to wake her up, one was instantaneous and the other slower. Both solutions required the cessation of respiratory muscle relaxant and anaesthesia. The instant solution was to use 5L/min of oxygen flow to control the patient’s breathing and to speed up the patient’s discharge of drugs, the patient was predicted to awaken within 1 to 5 minutes. The slower solution had a buffer period where the drug would be replaced by disoprofol. The drug would be given for 3 to 10 minutes to travel through Xie Yiman’s system before the other steps were taken. For this method, the patient was predicted to awaken within 5 to 15 minutes. The final step of both solutions was for the patient to be injected with fentanyl to prevent and ease possible hallucination from the awakening.

Normally, the doctors would go with the latter. This was because most patients suffered from mild hallucination after being manually awakened from a coma, some symptoms included agitation, incoherence and random mumbling. Without the buffer, the patient would suffer from too intense of a stimulant upon waking up, it would not only injure the patient physically but also mentally, leaving behind multiple side effects. But considering Xie Yiman’s condition, the team of anaesthetists was stumped, both solutions provided its set of problems.

“Doctor Gu, what should we do now?” The main anaesthetist, Lee Weiyuan, asked urgently, he left the decision with Gu Jun, “Fast or slow?”

“Ah Jun, her blood pressure and heart rate are climbing.” Uncle Dan noted with nervousness, “I’m afraid she won’t be able to hold on should we drag this out longer.” Many medical experts were watching the live feed of the sickroom at the headquarters. However, none of them provided any comments because it had already been decided that Gu Jun would personally handle this case. Furthermore, no one was more familiar with the patient’s condition than the doctors attending to her.

“No, take it slow!” Gu Jun shared a different opinion from Uncle Dan. He said with determination, “Go with the disoprofol, try to control her awakening within 10 minutes.” He believed if they attempted the awakening without the buffer, it would increase the patient’s blood pressure and heart rate further. Even if she was ultimately rescued, her heart would be seriously damaged. But the greater danger lied with her mental state. The rash decision might cause the collapse of Xie Yiman’s self-consciousness and she’d be dead in a manner of speaking.

“Prepare the disoprofol stat!” The team of anaesthetists moved to oblige. If there was no accident, the patient would awaken after 10 minutes. Gu Jun turned to study the encephalogram and her other vitals like blood pressure and SpO2. The mild convulsion was more pronounced on Xie Yiman’s body. Who knew what she was experiencing in this semi-conscious state... He turned to look at Deng Ximei and came to another decision. Gu Jun uttered darkly, “Ah Mei, come, we’ll give it a try. You have a closer connection with her, so you’ll lead the way.”

“Okay.” Deng Ximei nodded. The two then walked closer to the bed. Without standing in the anaesthetists’ way, they reached out to touch a rash on Xie Yiman’s face which was scarred from the scratching. Knowing what they were attempting, Uncle Dan ordered softly for the rest to be as quiet as they could and keep away from the duo. Gu Jun started to focus and the blurriness of the illusion intensified. Clearly a supernatural influence claimed its stake over Xie Yiman. If he did not wear the protective gear, and was physically touching her, the feeling might be more intense.

To make an analogy, Gu Jun was currently pacing outside a door that was already open but he was unable to walk through. But at that moment, another mental presence arrived. He could detect the scent of morning dew in the air, Dirty-minded Yu did not lie, it was Deng Ximei. Gu Jun followed this mental presence and walked through the door to enter Xie Yiman’s mental world...

Instantly, Gu Jun was enveloped by itchiness, it was as if every cell and every pore in his body was itching but he was unable to move. “Fuck...” Now Gu Jun understood how Xie Yiman felt. Constant itchiness was a kind of pain, it could impact even the strongest mind. But Gu Jun could still hold on as his ball of fury burned away some of the itchiness.

The sense of illusion coalesced. In the darkness, he saw the figure of a young woman running ahead. He screamed loudly, “Xie Yiman! Xie Yiman, come back! It’s time to wake up!” The young woman turned around and Gu Jun’s heart quivered. The girl’s face was barely recognizable, patches of skin were falling from her face. They revealed small worms that crawled all over her skin. She seemed to suffer from dermatitis exfoliativa... With a flash, Gu Jun saw the face covered in scales... His heart sank, was this skin disease a prodromal stage of human mutation? If this stage was allowed to continue, what would Xie Yiman and the other patients mutate into?

Seeing the young girl turn back, Gu Jun shouted again, “Xie Yiman, don’t go! Come back!”

“Captain Gu.” The girl said with strange cheeriness. She reached up to pluck away a piece of her flaking skin and fling it to the side. She continued in a strange voice, “I am not Xie Yiman, if only... If only I am Xie Yiman...”

Gu Jun was startled, this was unexpected. “Then can you tell me who you are.”

“Captain Gu, isn’t this supposed to be nothing more than a normal skin allergy...?”

The girl asked as she plucked away more and more flakes of her skin to reveal the scales crawling with worms. “I went for treatment at midnight and took the shot... I’ve paid so much money, money that I’ll need to livestream for months to earn back... so why, why... why does this still happen to me?”

...

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