51: Han Yurou and her mother

The voice echoed in the empty corridor.

There was no response.

She knocked three more times, louder now:

"Dr. Han? Yu Rou? It's Wanwan, Lin Wanwan!"

Still no response.

Qin Lin's heart sank.

Were they too late?

Or were they simply not home?

Just then, an extremely faint and wary female voice came from behind the door:

"...Who is it?"

The voice was very soft, almost inaudible through the heavy security door.

But Lin Wanwan recognized it.

It was Han Yurou's voice, the girl she had tutored for two years.

"Yu Rou! It's me, Sister Wanwan!"

Lin Wanwan pressed herself against the door crack excitedly.

"Lin Wanwan, your English tutor!"

The room inside fell silent for a few seconds.

Then, the sound of a lock turning drifted out.

"Click, click-clack..."

The lock opened, but the door only cracked open a sliver, held by a security chain.

An eye peered through the gap, looking out warily.

It was indeed Han Yurou.

But she looked like a completely different person from memory; after all, Lin Wanwan was currently wearing thick clothes, making her hard to identify.

The Han Yurou that Lin Wanwan remembered was a bright, sunny girl who loved wearing dresses, loved to laugh, and always had rosy cheeks.

Now, the face wrapped under a hat in the door crack was pale and gaunt, her eye sockets deep, her lips cracked, and her eyes filled with fear and exhaustion.

"Sister Wanwan... is it really you?"

Han Yurou's voice was trembling.

"It's me!"

Lin Wanwan nodded vigorously.

"Yu Rou, where's your mother? Is Dr. Han at home?"

At the mention of her mother, Han Yurou's eyes immediately reddened.

"Mom... she..."

Before she could finish, her tears began to fall.

"Open the door and let us in first," Qin Lin spoke up. "It's too cold out here, and it's not safe."

Han Yurou only then noticed Qin Lin and asked warily:

"He is..."

"My friend, Qin Lin."

Lin Wanwan quickly explained.

"I brought him here. Yu Rou, can you open the door? We won't hurt you."

Han Yurou hesitated for a few seconds before unhooking the security chain and pulling the door open.

The two quickly slipped inside and closed the door.

The interior of the house was dim.

The curtains were all drawn, with only a single candle burning in the corner, its weak light barely illuminating the living room.

The temperature was higher than outside, but it was still freezing.

It was likely only around zero degrees.

The air was thick with the smell of medicine and... a certain scent of decay.

"Mom is in the bedroom."

Han Yurou spoke with a sob in her voice.

"She's injured and has a fever; it's been three days..."

Lin Wanwan's heart tightened. "Take me to see her."

Han Yurou led them toward the master bedroom.

As she pushed open the door, the smell inside was even stronger.

The scent of alcohol mixed with the smell of smoke from something burning.

A person lay on the bed, covered in thick quilts, yet still shivering.

Lin Wanwan walked to the bedside and, by the candlelight, saw Han Qing's face.

This was the elegant and capable Dr. Han.

Her forehead was covered in cold sweat, and her lips were cracked and bleeding.

Her breathing was rapid and shallow; she was clearly suffering from a high fever.

"Dr. Han? Aunt Qing?"

Lin Wanwan called out softly.

Han Qing did not respond, merely frowning in pain while unconscious.

Qin Lin also looked at Han Qing; her face was indeed beautiful, but now it was pale and weak.

At this moment, he had no energy to appreciate it.

"What happened?"

Qin Lin asked Han Yurou.

Han Yurou cried as she said, "On the day the disaster happened, Mom was on duty at the hospital."

"She could have stayed there—they have generators, heating, and food."

"But she insisted on going to the school to pick me up and bring me home..."

"By the time we got home, her feet were already frostbitten, but she didn't care. The next day, the frostbite worsened and began to ulcerate."

"We ran out of medicine at home, and in the end, we could only use alcohol to disinfect it, but the infection still spread."

"Three days ago, she started running a fever and talking nonsense, and then... then she fell unconscious."

The girl was sobbing uncontrollably:

"I tried going out to find medicine, but it's too cold outside, and so many people are robbing others... I couldn't find anything, and I was almost taken away."

"I could only come back and watch over Mom, seeing her get worse day by day..."

"We're going to die, waaaah~"

She couldn't go on, crouching on the floor and burying her head in her hands as she wailed.

Lin Wanwan hugged her heart-wrenchingly:

"It's okay, Yu Rou, it's okay. We're here. We have medicine, we have doctors... uh, we..."

She looked toward Qin Lin.

Qin Lin was already checking Han Qing's condition.

He gently lifted the quilt and saw Han Qing's right foot.

Below the ankle, it was swollen beyond recognition, the skin a bluish-purple, with several places ulcerated and oozing pus.

This was a severe frostbite infection. If not treated promptly, it could lead to sepsis or even amputation.

He hadn't expected an infection to occur at such low temperatures.

"She must be treated immediately," Qin Lin said. "We have a medical room and medicine on our RV. But we have to carry her down."

"Vehicle?"

Han Yurou lifted her head, her eyes misty with tears.

"You have a vehicle? One that can drive in the snow?"

"Yes," Qin Lin nodded. "It's right downstairs. But carrying your mother down is an issue; it's eighteen floors, the stairs are narrow, and she can't be exposed to the cold."

He thought for a moment and said, "How about this: I'll go down first to get a stretcher and warming equipment. You two wait here and get her wrapped up tightly. We'll carry her down in one go to minimize the time spent outdoors."

"Okay!" Lin Wanwan nodded vigorously.

Qin Lin turned and headed downstairs.

Eighteen floors; a round trip would take half an hour.

But with his good physical strength and speed, he was back at the RV in twenty minutes.

Su Yuran had been waiting in the vehicle. Seeing Qin Lin return alone, she asked nervously:

"How is it?"

"I found them, but the situation is bad."

Qin Lin quickly explained.

"Dr. Han has a severe frostbite infection and is unconscious with a high fever. We need to carry her down immediately for treatment. Help me prepare the stretcher—there should be a folding stretcher in the medical room, right? Also, get thermal blankets and hot water bottles ready."

"Got it!"

Su Yuran immediately went to the medical room.

A few minutes later, everything was ready.

Qin Lin shouldered the stretcher while Su Yuran carried the warming equipment and first-aid kit, and the two headed back upstairs.

When they returned to Room 1809, Lin Wanwan and Han Yurou had already used all the quilts and thick clothes in the house to wrap Han Qing into a cocoon, leaving only her face exposed to breathe.

"Will this work?" Lin Wanwan asked.

"It'll do."

Qin Lin unfolded the stretcher.

"Come, help me lift her onto it. Careful, keep it as steady as possible."

The four of them worked together to carefully move Han Qing onto the stretcher. She was much lighter than she looked—she had clearly lost a lot of weight these past few days.

Then they secured her to the stretcher with ropes, covered her with thermal blankets, and tucked in the hot water bottles.

"Let's go."

Qin Lin lifted the front of the stretcher, and Su Yuran lifted the back.

Lin Wanwan and Han Yurou supported the sides, helping to maintain balance.

Going down was harder than going up.

The stairs were narrow with many turns, and the stretcher was long, requiring extreme caution.

Qin Lin and Su Yuran both walked backward down the stairs, step by step, slow and steady.

Han Yurou followed nervously by their side, her eyes fixed unblinkingly on her mother.

"Careful, there's a ledge here..."

"Turning, slow down..."

"Ten floors left... hang in there..."

They had to rest for a few seconds every floor they descended.

It wasn't due to physical exhaustion, but rather intense mental strain.

If they slipped or fell, Han Qing might... Finally, they reached the first floor.

"Cover her face with a quilt."

Qin Lin gave the instruction, then pulled open the building door, letting the bone-chilling wind pour in.

He took a deep breath: "Go!"

The four of them carried the stretcher and dashed toward the RV parked in front of the building.

A twenty-meter sprint through the snow.

The stretcher swayed, but no one let go.

Qin Lin pulled open the RV's side door.

The medical room had its own outward-opening door, allowing the stretcher to be pushed directly inside.

"In!"