Card Room (Rebirth)

Shao Qingge’s surgery plan was soon decided. Xiao Lou carefully checked the plan and didn’t find any obvious problems.

These days, heart stent implantation was very common and the doctors also had mature technology. Stents had successfully been implanted in 80 year old people to improve cardiovascular stenosis. The risk of the operation itself wasn’t very high.

It was because the one doing the surgery was Zhao Sen that Shao Qingge and Xiao Lou couldn’t relax. If Zhao Sen ‘accidentally’ made a mistake during the surgery then Shao Qingge’s life would be gone.

After Zhao Sen left, Shao Qingge held his throbbing head and looked at Xiao Lou. “Since Group Leader Yu and Old Mo’s injuries have been cured, why don’t we just escape from the hospital? I don’t want to die on the operating table.”

It was too risky to let Zhao Sen, a murder, perform the operation on Chief Shao. Xiao Lou didn’t dare take risks with Chief Shao’s life. Shao Qingge would be in danger if the operation wasn’t performed but it would be potentially more dangerous to leave it to Zhao Sen.

Xiao Lou said that he would personally go as an assistant to stabilize Zhao Sen. Now that Zhao Sen left, Xiao Lou approached Shao Qingge and whispered. “I have a way. Didn’t your father let you live in the VIP ward and ask Professor Qin from the nephrology department to perform the kidney transplantation for you? He should know the surgical specialists of this hospital, right?”

Shao Qingge’s eyes lit up. “Yes, my body’s weak, sick and rich young master’s persona can be used. I can ask my father for help changing me to a specialist surgeon so I can be more reassured.”

Xiao Lou nodded. “I’ve checked. The director of the cardiac surgery department is surnamed Lin. Call your father later and say that Zhao Sen is too young, so you are worried. You hope to have an older and more experienced professor perform the operation on you. If your father knows someone in the hospital then he should be able to ask his friend to help you change the surgeon. Then I will be an assistant and watch from the side as double insurance.”

A temporary substitution might offend Zhao Sen but compared with his own life, Shao Qingge would rather offend Zhao Sen and transfer to another hospital as soon as possible. He immediately borrowed Xiao Lou’s on-duty phone, entered his father’s number according to memory and called it.

A low voice entered his ears. “Hello, you are?”

“Dad, it’s Shao Qingge. I can’t find my mobile phone so I’m using a friend’s phone to call you.”

“It turned out to be you.” The voice on the other end was filled with concern. “I received a call from the hospital saying that you were awake. How are you? Are you okay? Your mother and I will go to the hospital to see you this afternoon.”

“Don’t worry Dad. I’m in good health and spirit now. The doctor arranged for me to have surgery tomorrow morning.” Shao Qingge glanced at Xiao Lou and followed his suggestion. “However, I think that this Dr Zhao looks quite young. He is only 35 years old. He must have insufficient experience performing surgery and I’m worried he can’t perform well. After all, it is a heart surgery. If something goes wrong then I won’t be able to come back from the operating table. So I’m wondering if Dad can ask a friend for help arranging an older professional professor to perform the surgery on me…”

The person on the phone interrupted him. “Don’t worry about this. I am the one who arranged for Zhao Sen to be the doctor in charge of you.”

“…You arranged it?” Shao Qingge was stunned. “Do you know Dr Zhao?”

“…He is 35 years old. Are his surgical skills really so good?”

“Yes, Director Lin is on a business trip. I called him when you were admitted to the emergency room the night before and he immediately arranged for Dr Zhao to be your attending doctor. Don’t worry, Dr Zhao is Director Lin’s favorite student and his medical skills can be trusted.” Shao Zhengyang spoke earnestly. “All you have to do now is relax and don’t think too much. Dr Zhao talked to me on the phone just now. You have three stenosis of the blood vessels in the heart but as long as the stent is implanted, the problem of vascular stenosis can be solved and the quality of your life in the future won’t be affected.”

“……” Shao Qingge and Xiao Lou looked at each other.

“I have an important meeting. I will come see you in the afternoon after the meeting.”

“Okay, Dad. You are busy so go first.” Shao Qingge hung up and looked at Xiao Lou with a headache. “It won’t work to change the surgeon. Director Lin is on a business trip and Zhao Sen was arranged to take care of me. I don’t think it will work to escape. If I escape then I might have a heart attack halfway through. It seems… I can only let Zhao Sen do surgery on me?” Shao Qingge smiled a bit helplessly.

“I’ll go to the operating room with you. The risk of escaping is too great. If you have a myocardial infarction in the process, I won’t be able to save you.” Xiao Lou patted Chief Shao’s hand gently in a comforting manner. “Zhao Sen might be a murderer but he doesn’t kill just anyone. You have no grievances with him, he won’t do anything to you. Your father is right. You should relax first. There are so many people watching during the operation and Zhao Sen won’t dare to do anything.”

“Okay.” Shao Qingge yawned and closed his eyes helplessly.

“Have a good rest. I will arrange it.” Xiao Lou spoke a few more words before turning back to the general surgery department.

Yu Hanjiang’s surgical wound was completely healed and he could get out of bed and walk around. However, in order for the doctors and nurses not to doubt him, he was still lying in bed with a piece of gauze on his right lower abdomen, covering the healed wound.

Yu Hanjiang saw Xiao Lou entering and immediately sat up. “How did it go? Chief Shao called his father just now?”

“Yes, the surgery can’t be postponed. This should be the arrangement of the keepers. I will personally accompany him. In addition, I’ll arrange for Liu Qiao’s Witch card to be near. If something really happens, there is still the bottle of antidote to save a dying person.” Xiao Lou sighed helplessly. “I hope Chief Shao’s mood is okay and he doesn’t scare himself so much that his heart stops beating.”

“No, his mental quality is no worse than ours.” Yu Hanjiang paused. “His father mentioned a heart transplant just now. Are you thinking about this problem?”

Yu Hanjiang could feel Xiao Lou’s doubts with the mind connection.

“Yes, Chief Shao’s father mentioned on the phone that Zhao Sen can perform a heart transplant.” Xiao Lou took a deep breath and looked at Yu Hanjiang seriously. “A heart transplant is the most complicated and risky of all surgical operations. First, separate the entire heart, cutting off all the large blood vessels and establishing an extracorporeal circulation. Then place the frozen donor heart in and connect all the blood vessels. None of the steps can go wrong. One operation is likely to take six or seven hours. It is rare in reality for a young doctor in their 30s to be able to perform such a complicated operation.”

“The person who provides the heart is bound to be dead.” Yu Hanjiang frowned. “This is scarier than a kidney transplantation.”

“Yes, a person can have one less kidney but they can’t live without a heart.” Xiao Lou thought about it and felt cold. A heart transplantation surgery required sacrificing one person to save another. Usually, no one was willing to donate their own heart. The donors were usually death row inmates or those who had terminally ill diseases so they would donate their heart to save others.

Then what if it wasn’t voluntary? What if they were put out with a shot of anesthetic and then placed on the operating table? People who had their hearts removed could never wake up again. Their heart would be beating in someone else’s chest while they could only become a cold corpse.

Yu Hanjiang was also aware of the seriousness of the matter and calmly said, “In the organ trafficking market, the price of kidneys is far less than a heart, right?”

Xiao Lou nodded. “Of course, there are two kidneys after all. It is possible for people to donate one kidney for the sake of money and a kidney is relatively easy to find. On the other hand, it is difficult to find a suitable match for the heart and the person who donates the heart will die. Buying a heart is equivalent to buying a human life. The price is several times higher than that of a kidney.”

“So for the sake of money, will this group kill some homeless people, beggars or orphans? People with no one to investigate their deaths. They will be secretly sent to an operating room, receive a shot of anesthetic, have their hearts taken and then the hearts sold at a high price?” Yu Hanjiang speculated.

“……” Xiao Lou didn’t answer but the possibility left him cold.

There were many methods of killing. In the previous cases, the murderers killed the deceased due to all types of grudges. The dead at least knew why they died. The horror of the case in this secret room was that the deceased might not know the murderer at all and there were no grudges. Perhaps they didn’t even know they would die before lying down on the operating table.

They were human but they were treated like livestock, their organs taken out and sold everywhere.

There was a moment of silence in the room.

Yu Hanjiang had never personally encountered an organ trafficking case in reality. The real world was a society governed by law and hospitals were strictly regulated. Doctors kept detailed records of operations every day and there was surveillance everywhere in the hospital. There were no doctors in a regular hospital who would run the risk of going to jail due to ‘trafficking organs’.

Yet in this secret room, Zhao Sen made his cousin into human specimens. If he could still work here, Yu Hanjiang really wondered if this place called Incheon Hospital was actually an organ trafficking nest.

Yu Hanjiang suddenly asked, “Right, for kidney transplants and heart transplants, do organ donors and recipients need simultaneous surgery? For example, a simultaneous surgery where A’s heart is taken out and placed in B’s chest?”

He didn’t know the answers to these professional questions. Xiao Lou understood more and explained, “Not necessarily. Kidneys and hearts can be frozen. For example, before a normal heart is taken out, it is treated with a potassium chloride injection which could temporarily stop the heart from beating. After taking it out, put it on ice and store it for 4 to 6 hours. Once it needs to recover its beating, it can be treated with drugs. In general, the person who provides the heart will have the operation performed first. The heart is taken out, frozen, stored and taken to the patient in need of the heart. There can be a time difference of around six hours during this period.”

“A heart can be frozen and stored for six hours without losing its function?” Yu Hanjiang frowned. “So the person who provides the organ doesn’t necessarily have to be in this hospital? As long as the organ is sent to the operating room within six hours, the surgery can be done elsewhere?”

Xiao Lou nodded. “Yes, this is what I wanted to talk to you about. Shao Qingge’s kidney transplant was done by Professor Qin Changming from this hospital. I just checked the professor’s information on the hospital’s official website. Qin Changming is 50 years old and specializes in urology treatment of kidney disease. He has performed hundreds of operations every year. He has rich experience and old qualifications. However, Liu Renyuan’s kidney surgery seemed to have been performed by a novice.”

“So the doctor who performed the kidney transplant on Shao Qingge isn’t the same doctor who took out Liu Renyuan’s kidney?”

“Absolutely not. Professor Qin wouldn’t make such a low-level mistake like damaging the pleura and ureter while removing the kidney.” Xiao Lou recalled Liu Renyuan’s autopsy results and said, “Liu Renyuan’s right kidney was taken out by a person inexperienced in surgery and there were no surgery records in his hospital record. My guess is that his operation was probably done in an illegal clinic.”

“……” Yu Hanjiang’s face changed at the words ‘illegal clinic’ and his expression became more serious. He tapped the edge of the bed with his finger and analyzed it. “The intermediary is responsible for finding the buyer and matching the organ while the illegal clinic is responsible for the organ collection. After the organ is obtained, it is secretly sent to Incheon Hospital and the hospital’s specialist will give it to the person in need of the organ transplant. As long as this illegal clinic can deliver the frozen organ to the hospital within six hours, the location can be anywhere in the city.”

“If our reasoning is correct, this organ trafficking organization involves a large number of people and has a complete chain of interests as well as a system of labor division and coordination. It will be difficult to get to the end of it.” Xiao Lou thought of the scene where Yu Hanjiang was shot with a lingering fear and whispered, “You must pay attention to your safety while investigating. The other party has a gun. Don’t be careless.”

“You know I am leaving the hospital?”

“We are connected by Heart has a Tacit Exchange of Romantic Feelings.” Xiao Lou looked helplessly at the man in front of him. “I can understand why you are anxious to investigate outside. Just remember my words and don’t go head-to-head with the opponent. Protect yourself and I will let our other teammates join you as soon as possible.”

“I know.” Yu Hanjiang’s eyes were gentle and he gently patted Xiao Lou’s hand to reassure the other person. After a while, he asked with concern, “By the way, has Chief Shao’s kidney been matched?”

“Chief Shao is in the ICU and it isn’t convenient to take a kidney biopsy. His case file has it written that he has B type blood. The date of the kidney transplantation was November 11th. Liu Renyuan has a B blood type and was paid a large sum of money in November. This shouldn’t be a coincidence. It is likely that Chief Shao’s kidney comes from Liu Renyuan.” Xiao Lou paused. “I took some of Liu Renyuan’s kidney tissue when I dissected him. I will find a way to confirm it when Chief Shao is better.”

“I guess it is 80-90% probability of being correct. Liu Renyuan’s appearance is clearly telling us that the case in this secret room is organ trafficking.” Yu Hanjiang stood up. “I will go through the discharge procedures now. Later, I will visit Professor Qin Changming in the nephrology department.”

“Okay, I’ll take you there.”

Proofreader: Fictional Reality & Paranoid Kitten