53: Chapter 53 Long-Term Goal: Establishing a Foothold in the Red Zone

9:00 PM.

The last wave of patients had been treated, and the Red Zone entered a relatively calm period for the night.

Lu Chen sat in the Duty Room, reviewing his work for the day.

On his first day in the Red Zone, he had received and participated in a total of twelve cases.

Among them, he independently performed Suturing for eight.

He assisted Zhao Yaqin in three resuscitations.

The remaining one, a case of anaphylactic shock, he assisted Wu Fan with.

In all eight Suturing cases, without exception, every patient expressed high recognition for the results.

Three of the patients specifically asked for Lu Chen's name and schedule before leaving.

Two patients, before leaving the Red Zone, said something similar to other trauma patients waiting for treatment.

"Let that young Dr. Lu suture you; you definitely won't regret it."

This kind of word-of-mouth efficiency was more effective than any advertisement.

By around 8:00 PM, an interesting phenomenon even occurred in the Treatment Area.

Two trauma patients, after learning that Lu Chen was treating other patients, actually expressed their willingness to wait.

One was a chef who had cut his finger with a kitchen knife; the wound wasn't large and could be handled with ordinary Suturing.

The other was a delivery guy who fell off his electric scooter, with a scraped knee and a small laceration.

Neither was in a hurry, both stating they would wait until Dr. Lu was free to handle it.

Sun Ji happened to be standing nearby.

He was originally going to take over, but the patients explicitly stated they wanted to wait for Lu Chen.

Sun Ji's expression wasn't exactly pleasant, but he wasn't angry either.

He just stood there, looking at the two patients waiting quietly in the Treatment Area, and remained silent for about five seconds.

Then he turned and left, muttering something under his breath.

"Fine, they're asking for you by name, I've got nothing to say."

Lu Chen overheard this.

After finishing with the patient at hand, he walked over to Sun Ji.

"Dr. Sun, I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize. Your technique is indeed good; it's normal for patients to choose you."

"But this isn't good; it affects the efficiency of the Red Zone. In the future, urgent wounds should be handled by whoever is available. We can't disrupt the workflow because of patient preferences."

Sun Ji glanced at him.

"You're quite open-minded."

"That's just how it is. The Emergency Department is about efficiency, not the service experience."

Sun Ji gave a slight smile.

"Alright. I'll handle the urgent ones as needed, but for the non-urgent ones, I'll still pass them to you. Your Suturing results are indeed better than mine; there's no reason for me not to admit that."

"You're too kind, Dr. Sun."

"Stop calling me 'Teacher.' I'm only two years older than you. Just call me Sun Ji."

The two of them reached a tacit understanding.

Whoever was free would handle urgent wounds, while non-urgent ones that could wait would be prioritized for Lu Chen.

...

10:00 PM.

Lu Chen took a hot shower and returned to the Duty Room.

He took out his phone to check the system panel.

[Updating Skill Panel...]

[Suturing (perfect level): Progress 38/100 → 52/100]

When Lu Chen saw this number, his eyes lit up slightly.

It had increased by 14 points in a single day.

Back in the Yellow Zone, his Suturing progress usually increased at a rate of only one or two points per day.

Today alone was equivalent to a week's worth of progress in the Yellow Zone.

And this was even with the 50% bonus from the Emergency Surgery Skill Enhancement Card.

The Suturing cases in the Red Zone were more difficult and more numerous, so the efficiency of gaining experience points was indeed far beyond that of the Yellow Zone.

[Basic Surgical Operations (Proficient Level): Progress 88/100 → 93/100]

Basic Surgical Operations also went up by 5 points; only 7 more points were needed to break through to the Master Level.

[Internal Medicine Diagnostics (Skilled Level): Progress 91/100 → 93/100]

Internal Medicine Diagnostics increased by 2 points. This skill mainly relied on cases from the Resuscitation Room to advance. He hadn't participated in many resuscitations today, so it grew slowly.

But it didn't matter; the Red Zone was never short of resuscitation cases.

[Manual Hemostasis (Master Level): Progress 42/100 → 42/100]

Manual Hemostasis hadn't moved; there were no scenarios requiring this skill today.

[Laparoscopic Appendectomy (Master Level): Progress 78/100 → 78/100]

Laparoscopy hadn't moved either, for the same reason.

[Basic Theory of Emergency Medicine (Entry Level): Progress 95/100 → 97/100]

Basic theory increased by 2 points, only 3 points away from breaking through to the Skilled Level.

If he read for another two hours tonight, he should be able to make it up.

[Current gratitude points Total: 280 → 395]

The gratitude points increased by 115.

The eight Suturing cases plus the three resuscitations he participated in contributed a total of 115 gratitude points.

This growth rate was good.

At 1,000 points, he could perform one lucky draw. At this rate, he could save enough for a draw in about five to six more days.

Looking at the data on the system panel, Lu Chen made a simple plan in his heart.

Short-term goal: Push the perfect level progress of Suturing above 80, break through Basic Surgical Operations to Master Level, and break through Basic Theory of Emergency Medicine to Skilled Level.

Mid-term goal: Save up 1,000 gratitude points and do a lucky draw to see if any good items drop.

Long-term goal: Gain a foothold in the Red Zone, accumulate enough experience with high-difficulty cases, and lay the foundation for becoming an Attending Physician in the future.

There was one more very important goal.

Make money.

A Resident Physician's salary was a step higher than that of standardized residency training. Combined with overtime pay and bonuses from the Emergency Department, he could take home about eight to nine thousand a month.

He sent three thousand to the Orphanage every month, kept his own living expenses within two thousand, and saved the rest.

Not enough.

It was still not enough.

The Orphanage needed to repair its roof this year. Director Mother had mentioned on the phone that repairing the roof would cost at least fifty thousand yuan.

Fifty thousand yuan would take him more than half a year to save based on his current salary.

If any unexpected expenses arose in the meantime, it might take even longer.

So he had to find a way to increase his income sources.

But now was not the time.

He had to practice his skills first. Once his technique was there, the money would naturally follow.

...

Lu Chen closed the system panel and picked up the Emergency Medicine textbook by his bed.

He turned to the chapter on Advanced Life Support in Cardiopulmonary resuscitation and began reading.

After reading for about an hour, his phone lit up.

[Shen Xiaoning: Dr. Lu, you worked hard today!]

Lu Chen glanced at it but didn't reply immediately.

Another thirty seconds later, Shen Xiaoning sent another message.

[Shen Xiaoning: You were really amazing today. I heard Sister Meng say you're the best Resident Physician at Suturing she's ever seen.]

Lu Chen thought for a moment and replied.

[Lu Chen: That's what Sister Meng said, not what you said.]

[Shen Xiaoning: I think so too! But I'm not a doctor, so my word doesn't count.]

[Lu Chen: Your word counts too. A Nurse's opinion is very important.]

The other side was quiet for about ten seconds.

Then a message popped up.

[Shen Xiaoning: Then I say you're very amazing! Does that count?]

The corner of Lu Chen's mouth twitched slightly.

[Lu Chen: It counts. Thanks.]

[Shen Xiaoning: Hehe]

[Shen Xiaoning: Goodnight, Dr. Lu! Keep it up tomorrow!]

[Lu Chen: Goodnight, you should get some rest early too.]

He put down his phone and continued reading.

At 11:30 PM, the system notification sounded.

[Ding!]

[Skill experience for Basic Theory of Emergency Medicine has reached the maximum value.]

[Entry Level → Skilled Level, breakthrough successful!]

[Congratulations to the host, Basic Theory of Emergency Medicine has been upgraded to Skilled Level.]

[Skilled Level effect unlocked: The host's efficiency in Differential Diagnosis for common emergency diseases increased by 20%.]

Looking at this notification, Lu Chen finally showed his first true smile of the day.

Basic Theory of Emergency Medicine had reached the Skilled Level.

Although this skill was not a direct operational skill, it affected the underlying efficiency of his work in the Emergency Department.

A 20% increase in diagnostic efficiency meant he could make judgments faster when facing critically ill patients in the Red Zone.

...

Lu Chen closed the textbook and lay down.

It had been a fulfilling day.

Red Zone, Day One.

The system panel had made significant progress, skills were steadily improving, and gratitude points growth was substantial.

He had also gained a reputation among patients from the community and recognition from fellow doctors.

This was the path he should take.

Not relying on connections, background, or labels.

Relying on technique.

Relying on those hands.

Lu Chen closed his eyes.

Tomorrow, continue.

He soon fell asleep.

On the phone screen, Shen Xiaoning sent one last message.

[Shen Xiaoning: Dr. Lu, you will definitely become the most amazing doctor. I believe in you.]

Followed by a small heart emoji.

But Lu Chen could no longer see it.

He was saving his energy for tomorrow in the Red Zone.