The operating room was completely empty, the patient nowhere in sight. Only a nurse remained, cleaning up the aftermath.
Startled, the nurse looked up and said to Dr. Mu,
"The patient was taken for an X-ray by three interns from the ER."
Dr. Mu was furious.
"X-ray? The patient was prepped for surgery! What are the names of those interns?!"
The nurse, eyes sparkling, replied dreamily,
"One of them is Xia Tian—the intern who saved that man in McDonald's."
Xia Tian?
That video had gone viral, and Dr. Mu had seen it too. Though the patient was saved, he disapproved of such dramatic public heroics. Using a kitchen knife in a fast-food restaurant? Inexcusable. Reckless.
His opinion of Xia Tian was already poor. And now the kid had stolen his patient?
With a cold expression, he snapped,
"Stop cleaning. Find Xia Tian and have them bring the patient back. The surgery isn't over."
The nurse gave a quick nod and ran off.
Ten minutes later, she returned, out of breath.
"Dr. Mu, Dr. Xia said the patient doesn't need surgery anymore."
"He's been sent to the ward."
What?!
Was the intern out of his mind?
Dr. Mu was livid. He had sped through his previous procedure just to get here early. And now the patient was gone? Who gave an intern the authority to make that kind of decision?
"Which bed is he in?"
"Bed 18, in Orthopedics."
Bed 18 had just been vacated that morning—by one of Dr. Mu's own patients. He knew the place well and stormed off toward Orthopedics.
As he approached the ward, he heard a group of young doctors excitedly gossiping.
"Unbelievable! That intern's technique was insane!"
"I've been a doctor for three years and I can't even compare!"
"Three years? Even Dr. Mu and Dr. Liu don't have hands that precise!"
"That intern's skills are beyond both of them!"
"Shh—Mu's here!"
The group quickly scattered as Dr. Mu entered, face dark as thunder.
At 35, Dr. Mu was in the prime of his career—young, talented, already a deputy director, and being groomed as Dr. Liu's successor. He had every reason to be proud.
And now an intern was allegedly better than him?
"Don't you people have work to do? Go!" he barked.
The group dispersed. Dr. Mu marched into the room, face taut with fury.
Inside, a seasoned orthopedic doctor—five years of experience—was applying a cast to the patient's leg. Xia Tian and the other two interns assisted quietly on the side.
Seeing this, Dr. Mu nearly exploded. He clenched his teeth and growled,
"Who gave you permission to move the patient?"
"The surgery hasn't been done. The plate hasn't been set. Do you want him crippled for life?!"
The doctor applying the cast calmly pushed up his glasses and said,
"I reviewed the new X-rays. There's no need for internal fixation. A cast will suffice."
"No need?"
Dr. Mu whipped out the original scans, seething.
"Take a good look at this—tell me he doesn't need surgery."
He had taken the film with him when he left the OR.
The young doctor glanced at the scan and fell silent.
"...This..."
He quickly grabbed the new scan, placing them side by side.
Both showed three fractures—the tibia broken into four segments in the first, while in the second, the bone was aligned neatly, the fracture lines barely visible.
"Wait... which one is real?"
Xia Tian stepped forward.
"Both are real. The second one was taken after I performed a closed reduction."
"Closed reduction?" the doctor gasped.
"An intern did that?" he muttered in disbelief, examining the film.
"Holy sht*!"
Dr. Mu glared at him before turning to Xia Tian, lecturing him sternly:
"I know you got some attention for what you did at McDonald's. People online are singing your praises. But don't let it get to your head."
"You're still an intern. That man lived maybe partly because of your efforts, but more likely because of his own strong will to survive—and sheer luck."
"Saving one life doesn't make you a savior. Humility and discipline are vital in medicine. You should know that after all these years in med school."
As he spoke, Dr. Mu compared the two films.
Then he froze.
"...Holy sht*!"
"All three fractures... perfectly aligned?"
He stared at Xia Tian in utter disbelief.
"You're telling me you did this with just your hands?"
Snap!
What kind of question was that? If it wasn't surgery, and there were no implants, what else could it have been?
He looked at the scan. Then at Xia Tian.
Back to the scan. Then back at Xia Tian.
Again. And again.
Each glance more frenzied, eyes glinting with a manic excitement—like a junkie spotting their next hit.
"I'm taking this to the Director."
An hour later, the lights above OR #2 flicked off. Exhausted surgeons exited one by one. After a grueling hour of emergency intervention, they had lost the patient.
The steel pipe had pierced the sternum—and the heart.
They attempted resuscitation five times. The heart never beat again.
Everyone was numb. Trauma this severe left little room for hope. They had expected the worst.
While scrubbing out, Dr. Zhang sighed,
"I wonder how the fracture patient's surgery went. Plate set already?"
"What do you think of Dr. Mu? Will he let my intern assist?"
Dr. Liu chuckled,
"You haven't changed—always looking out for your students."
"Mu's a good man. Solid hands. He's going to take over my post one day. If your intern gets to assist him, that's a real opportunity."
Dr. Zhang nodded in relief.
"That's what I wanted to hear."
"Let's head out."
As they stepped outside, they saw Dr. Mu pacing at the door. He held two scans in his hand and walked up to Dr. Liu with urgency.
"Director, about the fracture patient—intern Xia Tian did a closed reduction. This is the follow-up film."
"Tell me if it isn't a holy sh*t moment."
Dr. Liu frowned, mentor-mode activating.
"Watch your language."
"No need to make a scene. What if the patient hears you?"
"An intern performing a reduction? What if he made things worse?"
He lifted the film—
One second later:
"...Holy. Sht.*"