The nurse deftly tied a tourniquet around the patient’s arm and hit a vein on the first stick.

As she pulled back the syringe’s plunger, blood flowed into the barrel.

Venous blood was supposed to be dark red.

But the tube of blood the nurse was drawing now was so dark it looked black, like chocolate.

"The color of this blood..." The nurse trailed off, stunned.

"Enterogenous cyanosis."

Jiang He explained, "It’s also called methemoglobinemia. The typical presentation is extremely low blood oxygen, severe cyanosis, but no obvious respiratory distress. The patient’s cardiopulmonary signs are basically normal, and the drawn blood is chocolate-colored."

Zhao Yumin was an experienced ER veteran himself. Hearing those terms activated an obscure bit of medical knowledge in his mind.

"Nitrite poisoning?" Zhao Yumin blurted out.

"Exactly. Bacteria in the leftovers reduced the nitrates into nitrites. After he ate them, the nitrites oxidized the ferrous iron in his hemoglobin into ferric iron. The hemoglobin lost its ability to carry oxygen. That’s why the monitor shows low blood oxygen—it’s not a heart or lung problem, but a lack of oxygen carriers in the blood itself."

Food poisoning cases were common in the ER, but in his entire career, Zhao Yumin had rarely seen a classic case of nitrite poisoning leading to such severe systemic cyanosis.

His mind had hit a diagnostic blind spot, and he’d almost treated it as cardiopulmonary failure or a pulmonary embolism.

Zhao Yumin glanced at Jiang He in surprise, then immediately issued new orders to the nurse. "Get a methylene blue injection, stat! One milligram per kilogram of body weight, add it to 40 milliliters of 25% dextrose solution for a slow IV push. Add a vial of vitamin C to it as well!"

"Right away!" The nurse immediately ran toward the pharmacy.

The trauma bay operated with orderly precision.

A few minutes later, the blue methylene blue solution was slowly pushed into the patient’s body via the IV line.

Sometimes, medical miracles manifest as immediate chemical reactions like this.

Just fifteen minutes later, thanks to the reducing effect of the methylene blue, the ferric iron in the patient’s blood was converted back into ferrous iron.

To the naked eye, the purplish-black hue on the man’s face began to fade, and his lips gradually returned from an inky black to their normal dark red.

The blood oxygen saturation on the monitor began to climb slowly—87%, 90%—before finally stabilizing at 96%.

The man let out a long breath. "My head isn’t dizzy anymore... My chest doesn’t feel tight either. Doctor, this is amazing!"

"Doctor! Is he going to be okay? Thank you, thank you!" The woman covered her mouth. If a nurse hadn’t stopped her, she would have dropped to her knees in front of Zhao Yumin.

Zhao Yumin advised the wife, "With this medication, his urine will likely be blue-green for a while. Don’t be alarmed. That’s a normal side effect of the antidote being flushed from his system."

He then added, "But you should really be thanking Jiang He. He’s the new genius doctor at our hospital."

Upon hearing Zhao Yumin, the woman immediately turned her gaze to Jiang He.

Her eyes were rimmed with red. She fumbled in her pocket and pulled out a crumpled wad of cash, probably a few hundred yuan, maybe even a thousand.

"Dr. Jiang, thank you so, so much! Please, take this money..."

As she spoke, she tried to shove the cash into Jiang He’s hand.

Before Jiang He could back away and refuse, the man on the gurney spoke up. "Hey! Hey! What do you think you’re doing?!"

The woman froze. "I’m trying to give our benefactor a small token of our appreciation! He saved your life!"

The man scolded her in exasperation, "Hopeless, you really are hopeless! You’re trying to stuff money in his pocket out here in the open? Are you trying to get Dr. Xiaojiang disciplined?"

The tongue-lashing left the woman stunned. She quickly retracted her hand, her face filled with regret. "Oh, right, right, you’re right... What was I thinking...?"

Jiang He was speechless.

’This guy just had a brush with death, yet his mind is as sharp as ever.’

He thought that was the end of it, but in the next second, the mood shifted completely.

The man sat up on the gurney, took the cash from his wife, and then enthusiastically reached out to shake Jiang He’s hand. At the same time, his other hand frantically tried to stuff the money into the pocket of Jiang He’s white coat.

"Dr. Jiang, this weather we’re having... it’s really nice, huh? I just so happen to have some tissues here. Let me put them in your pocket for you, so you can wipe your sweat later..."

The nurses in the trauma bay stared, dumbfounded.

Even Zhao Yumin was left speechless by the spectacle.

Exasperated, Jiang He applied gentle pressure with his hand, pushing the cash back.

"I appreciate the sentiment," Jiang He said gently. "Just try to eat fewer leftovers in the future, especially leafy greens that have been sitting overnight."

Seeing Jiang He’s firm refusal and glancing over at Zhao Yumin, who was trying to stifle a laugh, the man sheepishly took the money back. He let out a couple of awkward chuckles.

"Okay... okay, I’ll listen to the doctor. I’m never eating leftovers again, not for the life of me! How can leftovers be so evil?"

...

After explaining the follow-up observation procedures, the patient’s family went to the front desk to handle the paperwork.

Outside the trauma bay, Zhao Yumin looked at the ever-composed Jiang He and couldn’t help but marvel, "Jiang He, we really have you to thank for today. Your diagnostic eye is unbelievably sharp. It feels like all the hands-on experience I’ve gained over so many years in the ER is barely worth mentioning in comparison."

Jiang He replied humbly, "You’re too kind. I just happened to be flipping through a foreign journal in the library a few days ago and came across a similar case of enterogenous cyanosis. It was just a stroke of luck. When it comes to quick thinking and decisiveness with medication, an ER veteran like yourself is the real master."

’Of course, that was just him being polite.’

But Zhao Yumin found the words very comforting, and his opinion of Jiang He soared.

Jiang He, meanwhile, was silently calculating.

’I need to keep improving my standing in the hospital.’

’But I can’t count on running into extreme situations like the one with Gu Yizhou’s girlfriend every time.’

’Besides, back at that critical moment, Yang Xu took a massive risk by letting me, the chief surgeon, perform the arterial suture hemostasis blind.’

’If I keep letting my mentor take all the heat while I act as a "shadow surgeon," I’ll turn into the Conan of the medical world... That’s not a sustainable plan at all.’

’So, my current strategy is clear:’

’I’ll help the other doctors in the hospital solve as many difficult and complex cases as I can, all without overstepping my boundaries.’

’It’ll be hugely beneficial for my future.’

DING—

The elevator doors opened.

A circulating nurse in green scrubs hurried over. "Jiang He?"

Jiang He immediately stepped forward. "That’s me."

The nurse spoke quickly, "Director Yang sent me to get you. Dr. Lin Peidong has already administered the anesthesia. The pancreaticoduodenectomy is about to begin."

"Got it. I’m on my way," Jiang He nodded.

He turned, gave Zhao Yumin a wave, and said, "Teacher Zhao, I’m heading up now."

"Go on. It’s a major surgery, so pay close attention." Zhao Yumin smiled and waved, watching Jiang He’s upright figure stride quickly toward the elevator. He couldn’t help but sigh in admiration again.

’A third-year student, scrubbing in with a top director for a Level 4 Surgery like a pancreaticoduodenectomy...’

’An ordinary person like me can’t even begin to imagine what the future holds for a kid like that.’