Zhao Yuan was unaware of the events that transpired after he left.
After leaving the traditional Chinese medicine market, he took the subway back to school. His earlier excitement had already cooled. To kill time on the subway, he summoned the Information Leaf and immersed himself in studying the medical knowledge left behind by Wu Peng.
In recent days, in addition to the Essence and Qi Theory and the Yin Yang Theory, he had also mastered the Five Elements Theory and the principles of Qi and Blood. He was currently studying the Zang Fu Theory.
The medical knowledge recorded on the Information Leaf was a thousand times more profound than what was in his textbooks, but it was not obscure. The wording was simple and easy to understand, the explanations were clear and thorough, and it cited many case studies, making it very easy to learn and comprehend without feeling tedious or dull in the slightest. This was also the reason why Zhao Yuan was able to master several fundamental theories in just a few short days.
Zhao Yuan was completely engrossed in his reading. The crowded subway had no effect on him whatsoever.
A few stops later, a noisy clamor came from the adjacent car.
"Is there a doctor? Is there a doctor on the subway?"
"Someone's sick! They collapsed on the floor! Someone, come help!"
"Help! Someone needs help!"
People turned to look in the direction of the voices, and some even pushed their way through the crowd to see what was happening.
The shouts also caught Zhao Yuan's attention, and he quickly made his way to the next car.
When he arrived in the adjacent car, he saw a crowd gathered around a middle-aged woman lying on the floor. The woman was foaming at the mouth, motionless, her condition unknown.
"What happened?" some people who had rushed over from other cars asked curiously.
Someone who had witnessed the event immediately began to explain: "That woman, she was just standing there fine a moment ago. I don't know what happened, but she suddenly started foaming at the mouth and collapsed. At first, we thought she was trying to fake an injury for money, but when we looked closer, it didn't seem like she was pretending. Unfortunately, none of us know any medicine, so we have no idea how to help her. All we can do is stand here and worry…"
After hearing the witness's account and seeing the middle-aged woman's condition, Zhao Yuan immediately shouted, "Everyone stop crowding around! Spread out, spread out now! We need to keep the air circulating!"
The crowd, anxious and unsure of what to do, thought Zhao Yuan's words made sense and quickly did as he said, backing away.
"Young man, are you a doctor? Quick, see what's wrong with her," an old man said anxiously, looking Zhao Yuan up and down.
The people around him chimed in.
"Yeah, buddy! If you're a doctor, please save this woman. It looks like she's not going to make it!"
"I've already called for an ambulance. I told them to meet us at the next station. But with her condition, I don't know if she can last that long!"
"Buddy, hurry up and check on her! If you need any help, just say the word!"
Everyone on the subway was concerned about the condition of this stranger. The brilliance of humanity shone brightly at this moment.
Since there were no doctors and the woman's condition was critical, Zhao Yuan had no choice but to steel himself and step up.
He knelt beside the middle-aged woman and reached out to feel for a pulse at her neck and for breath at her nose. His already grave expression darkened. The woman had no pulse or respiration. Her condition was critical; she needed immediate chest compressions!
Chest compressions were taught in the third-year surgery course. Fortunately, when Zhao Yuan was an assistant in the anatomy building, he had watched third-year students practice chest compressions on a mannequin and had also listened in on the key points explained by the professors.
He calmed his mind and quickly ran through the procedure for chest compressions in his head. After checking the woman's mouth and confirming there were no obstructions, he interlaced his hands, placed them on the lower third of her sternum, leaned his upper body forward, locked his elbows, and pressed down hard.
One…
Two…
Three…
Zhao Yuan continued performing chest compressions without stopping.
The onlookers all held their breath. Some even clasped their hands together, praying silently for the middle-aged woman.
Time ticked by, second by second, but the woman's condition showed no improvement. Beads of sweat covered Zhao Yuan's forehead, but he refused to give up, continuing the emergency procedure.
Finally, after about fifty or sixty chest compressions, the woman's heartbeat and breathing returned one after another, and her eyes fluttered open.
This scene set off a wave of cheers throughout the car.
"Her eyes are open! She opened her eyes!"
"He really saved her!"
"Holy crap, this kid did an amazing job!"
"That's incredible! She had no heartbeat or breath, and he still brought her back! Absolutely incredible!"
Although the people were complete strangers to the middle-aged woman, at this moment, they were all celebrating her rescue with joy and excitement.
Zhao Yuan was also incredibly excited. Feeling for the woman's pulse at her wrist, he felt it beating and asked with concern, "Ma'am, how are you feeling?"
"Awful." The middle-aged woman, who had just returned from the Ghost Gate, seemed extremely weak and spoke without any strength.
"Just hang in there a little longer. Someone has already called for an ambulance, and they'll take you to the hospital at the next stop," Zhao Yuan said, comforting her while closely monitoring her condition in case anything changed.
Soon, the subway stopped at the platform. As soon as the doors opened, subway staff who had been alerted ran up with a stretcher. With the help of the crowd, they lifted the middle-aged woman onto it while reassuring her, "Ma'am, the ambulance is almost here. Don't worry, you're going to be okay."
"Mm," the woman replied weakly. She grasped Zhao Yuan's hand and said with sincere gratitude, "Young man, thank you. If it weren't for you, I would have died today. Please, give me your contact information. When I'm better, I must visit you to thank you for saving my life."
Zhao Yuan waved his hand and politely declined. "Ma'am, it was the right thing to do. I appreciate the thought, but you should hurry to the hospital."
The subway staff also expressed their gratitude to Zhao Yuan before carrying the woman off the train and rushing toward the exit where they had arranged to meet the ambulance.
Watching the woman being carried away, Zhao Yuan let out a long sigh of relief. Immediately, he felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him.
Someone immediately stood up and offered him a seat. "Here, buddy, take this seat."
Someone handed him a bottle of water. "Have some water. Don't worry, I just bought it before I got on, and I haven't drunk from it." Another person offered him tissues. "Quick, wipe off your sweat. Look at you, drenched in sweat. You must be exhausted. Thank you for your hard work."
Even more people simply smiled and gave him a thumbs-up.
In their hearts, Zhao Yuan was a superhero. And at that moment, Zhao Yuan felt a warmth spread through his own heart.