339: Chapter 339 Parents (Part Two)

The ICU was on the fourth floor of the adjacent building.

To get there, one had to cross a connecting bridge.

Both sides of the bridge were lined with floor-to-ceiling windows; the afternoon sun shone in at an angle, casting streaks of light across the floor.

Su Mingyuan walked through the light, the sound of his footsteps echoing in the corridor.

Outside the ICU was a small waiting area.

The doctor was waiting for him.

"Mr. Su, let me tell you about your mother's current situation." The doctor handed over a tablet. "The hematoma volume is eighty milliliters, located in the right basal ganglia. We performed minimally invasive drainage, and the surgery itself went very smoothly. However, given her advanced age, her recovery is difficult to predict."

"Is there still a chance she might regain consciousness?"

"It's hard to say. For patients with basal ganglia hemorrhage, seventy-two hours is a critical window. Your mother is currently at the forty-third hour. If she can regain some consciousness within seventy-two hours, there will be more room for recovery later. If it's still like this after this window, then we have to prepare for the worst."

"What do you mean by 'the worst'?"

The doctor glanced at him, shook his head, and said nothing.

Then, he handed a set of isolation clothes to Su Mingyuan.

"Put this on; you can only stay inside for fifteen minutes."

Su Mingyuan put on the isolation gown, mask, and shoe covers, then pushed open the ICU door and entered.

The air inside was cold.

There were eight beds in the ICU hall, each with a full set of monitoring equipment beside it.

Beeping sounds came from all directions, each with a different frequency and rhythm.

His mother was in the innermost bed.

Su Mingyuan walked over.

The old lady was lying flat, her head wrapped in gauze.

She was connected to various tubes—urinary catheter, gastric tube, oxygen tube—protruding from her mouth, nose, and arms.

Her eyes were closed, and there was no expression on her face.

Su Mingyuan reached out and touched the back of his mother's hand.

The elderly woman's hand was cold, without a trace of warmth.

"Mom."

Su Mingyuan called out.

There was no response.

Only the ECG line on the monitor beat steadily.

Su Mingyuan looked at that line.

This line told him that his mother was still alive.

But being alive and truly living are two different things.

He looked down at his mother's face.

Her eye sockets had sunken. Her cheekbones were more prominent than in his memory. Her mouth was slightly crooked because of the tubes. A patch of hair had been shaved off, revealing the scalp under the gauze, which was a pale, sickly blue.

He stood by the bed for about ten minutes.

He suddenly realized something.

In all these years, he had never properly listened to his mother speak.

Every time he called, he either said he was too busy with work to come home, or he was finding ways to borrow money for Su Wan to pay off online loans, and then he would hang up in a hurry.

Now that he wanted to hear his mother's nagging, the chance was gone.

Su Mingyuan sat down by the bed.

He held his mother's hand and said nothing more.

Fifteen minutes passed quickly.

A nurse came to remind him that time was up; he stood up, gently put his mother's hand back under the covers, and turned to walk out.

Walking to the ICU door, he looked back once more.

At 7:00 PM, Su Mingyuan was in a temporary office in the hospital's logistics department.

This was a temporary workstation arranged for him by the province.

The office wasn't large, but the network was connected to Dawn City, and the communication encryption had passed through three layers.

Tao Zhe's video request came through.

Su Mingyuan connected.

On the screen, Tao Zhe's background was the Command Center of Dawn City.

"Group Leader Su, how are your parents doing?"

"My father has late-stage pancreatic cancer, metastasized to the liver and peritoneum. The doctor says his time is measured in weeks. My mother had a brain hemorrhage, an eighty-milliliter hematoma, and underwent drainage. She hasn't woken up yet. Whether she can wake up after the seventy-two-hour window depends on luck."

Tao Zhe didn't respond immediately.

Su Mingyuan saw Tao Zhe's hands typing on the keyboard on the screen, likely pulling up some data.

After a moment, Tao Zhe looked up.

"Group Leader Su, I have something to say, though I'm not sure if I should."

"Say it."

"Modern medicine has no way to treat your parents, but—" Tao Zhe paused, seemingly having made up his mind, "what we have in our hands is not just modern medicine."

Su Mingyuan looked at the screen.

Tao Zhe continued.

"Sun Liang's Pill Room produced a new batch of High Grade recovery-type Medicinal Pills last week. Over at the Guixu Project, there are fourteen bottles of Medicinal Pills in Perfected Lord Yushou's Storage Pouch that haven't been fully researched yet, three of which have properties leaning towards nourishment and repair. The Jade Slips also mentioned something called 'ningyuan pill,' specifically for blood-qi depletion and internal organ damage; we have already deciphered the formula, but we haven't started trial production yet."

"Tao Zhe."

"I know," Tao Zhe said, "these things are strategic resources, and using them for personal reasons involves procedural issues. I spoke with Elder Qin on the phone this afternoon. Elder Qin asked me to tell you—"

Tao Zhe paused.

"Special cases require special handling, go all out."

Su Mingyuan said nothing.

Tao Zhe continued.

"Regarding the Medicinal Pills, Sun Liang has already started preparing. The transport channel from the Main World is giving a green light; the fastest batch can reach your hospital tomorrow morning. As for the specifics of how to use them, our medical team and Sun Liang are evaluating together; we need your authorization."

Su Mingyuan sat in the office.

The office window faced west, and at this moment, the setting sun was resting on the windowsill.

A beam of light shot in from the window, falling on the medical records spread out on the desk.

The shadow on his father's CT scan didn't seem as jarring in the light of the setting sun.

"Tao Zhe."

"I'm here."

"Regarding my mother's situation, will the Medicinal Pills work?"

"I don't dare guarantee it," Tao Zhe said, "but there are records of Spiritual Qi repairing nerve tissue. The ningyuan pill can theoretically improve cerebral microcirculation. The specific effect will only be known after trying."

"What about my father?"

Tao Zhe was silent for a few seconds.

"I have to tell you the truth about your father. Late-stage pancreatic cancer with too many metastases. The Medicinal Pills can alleviate pain, perhaps extend survival time, and allow him to regain some spirit. But—"

"In all probability, it still won't be cured."

"Yeah."

Su Mingyuan closed his eyes for a moment.

When he opened them again, he said, "I understand. Send the Medicinal Pills over to me."

"Okay."

"For my mother, use them as soon as the pills arrive tomorrow. For my father, use the ones for alleviating pain and extending survival time first."

"Understood."

"Tao Zhe."

"I'm here."

"Thank you."

Tao Zhe shook his head on the screen.

"Group Leader Su, you don't need to say that to me at a time like this."

The video hung up.

Su Mingyuan sat in the office for a while longer.

The medical records on the desk were spread open.

His father's CT scan and his mother's brain CT scan—the two records were stacked together.

The setting sun moved down from the windowsill bit by bit, finally falling onto the floor.

He closed the medical records and put them in the drawer.

He stood up and walked to the window.

Outside the window was the hospital's backyard, and in the parking lot sat the convoy from when he arrived—those black SUVs and armored personnel carriers.

Under the lights, security personnel could be seen patrolling around the convoy.

Meanwhile, hundreds of kilometers above, at least thirty of Eagle Sauce's satellites should be pointed at this city.