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墨書 Inktalez
A few bodyguards must have been familiar with the terrain nearby, as the car took almost no detours and headed straight to a clinic. The doctor's desk faced the window, and when he saw several burly men carrying two unconscious individuals out of the car, his face turned pale.
I could see that he was eager to close the clinic's door quickly. However, at that moment, the bodyguards had already brought Yang Licheng and Wang Xin inside. They laid the two of them flat on the floor, and by this time, they had stopped vomiting. Yet their bodies were still covered in vomit, and Wang Xin had also lost control of his bowels, creating an unbearable stench.
The doctor and the nurses rushed over, while several patients who were there for IV drips crowded around to see what was happening. The doctor, looking displeased, said, "What happened? You can't just bring people in here like this! What are you doing?"
One bodyguard stood up, towering over the doctor at nearly six feet tall, and asked in confusion, "Isn't this a clinic? These people are in danger; where else would we take them?"
The doctor frowned, clearly unhappy. "How am I supposed to know what happened to them? If they die here, what will that mean for me? I've seen plenty of people like you—bringing someone on the brink of death here. No matter what I do, if they survive, great; but if they die, you'll blame me for a hefty sum of money."
With that, the doctor moved even further away. He declared, "Let everyone here witness that I haven't touched these two. If they die here, it's not my fault. Look at them; you think this is some kind of Miraculous Recovery? Hurry up and take them away! Whether you’re taking them to a hospital or burying them is none of my business—just get them out!"
His words sent chills through some of the patients present. How could a doctor—whose duty is to save lives—act like this?
"Come on, you're a doctor; at least take a look at what's going on," one patient urged.
"Look? What do you want me to look at?" the doctor retorted. "These two are clearly on the verge of death! This is just asking for trouble. Besides, I don't know anything about their condition. If they die while I'm examining them, who’s responsible? You? If you're willing to take responsibility for their deaths, then I'll examine them!"
With that declaration, the surrounding area fell silent; no one dared to speak up again.
Zhao Mingkun scoffed and said, "If they die, it’s on me. That bodyguard—take out what you have and show it to this doctor so we can see what it is."
The bodyguard who had wrapped up the white crystalline substance quickly pulled it from his pocket and unwrapped it for everyone to see.
The doctor glanced at it from a distance without examining it closely and said, "There are plenty of white granular substances around; how am I supposed to know what this is? Is it salt from your kitchen or something else? I'm a doctor, not a chemist! How would I know what this is? Let me tell you—don’t think you can trick me; I've seen enough in my time. Just leave!"
It was clear that this doctor believed our group was trying to scam him for money; he had no intention of helping us treat Yang Licheng and Wang Xin. I looked at the two men lying motionless on the floor as if they were asleep. If it weren't for their slightly rising and falling throats, one might mistake them for dead.
But in just a few minutes, they might truly be gone.
If Guan Zengbin were here with us, we wouldn't be so helpless and unsure of what to do next. And Guan Zengbin would certainly know what this substance we held was.
"Keep an eye on the ambulance outside and make sure they don't get lost," I said.
"Understood," two of the bodyguards nodded.
At that moment, I pulled out my expired Police Badge and said, "Don't overthink it. Come over and see what's wrong with these two. I'm a police officer. If anything happens, we'll document it. Now you can relax, right?"
The doctor took my badge, examined it closely, and then said irritably, "Why didn't you show this earlier? You must be afraid of taking responsibility. Anyway, this is on you. If someone dies, it's not my fault; everyone saw it."
With that, the doctor approached and looked at the white crystalline substance in the bodyguard's hand.
After a moment, he asked, "What symptoms did these two exhibit before being brought here?"
As I recalled the symptoms of poisoning, I replied, "At first, both of them experienced dizziness and weakness. Then they started vomiting."
I pointed to Wang Xin and said, "This one is in worse condition; he has lost control of his bowels."
The doctor nodded, donned a mask and gloves, and slowly walked up to Wang Xin. He lifted Wang Xin's eyelid with his hand while I stood by watching. From the corner of Wang Xin's eye, it was clear that he had redness and swelling; his pupils still reacted to light, indicating he was not dead.
The doctor furrowed his brow and then opened Wang Xin's mouth. When he did so, we saw that Wang Xin's mouth was severely ulcerated. His mouth was filled with saliva and mucus, his gums were swollen and bleeding, and several teeth appeared to be loose. It looked as if someone had struck his mouth violently.
Next, the doctor felt both sides of Wang Xin's neck before saying, "Show me that substance again."
The bodyguard quickly handed it over.
The doctor frowned and said, "I suspect acute renal failure caused by this substance. Even now or just moments ago, we can't treat this in a clinic like ours. I can only do my best to keep them alive. Get them onto the bed; I'll prepare something."
Two bodyguards each carried one of them onto the hospital bed.
The doctor looked at me helplessly and then said, "Officer, please don't blame me for what happened earlier. Saving lives is certainly our duty as doctors, but sometimes we are somewhat powerless. To be honest with you, I fear these two may not make it."
I frowned as I looked at the two on the bed who had completely lost their vitality; concern washed over me.
"What is going on here?" I asked.
The doctor replied, "According to my estimation, it seems they have been poisoned by Calomel."
I shrugged and said, "What exactly is Calomel?"
The doctor explained, "Calomel is a white granular substance. In medicine, it is used as a disinfectant; one gram of Calomel dissolved in one thousand grams of water can be used as a disinfectant. So when I saw this substance earlier, I understood immediately. The only problem is that you arrived too late. If you had come earlier, we could have performed gastric lavage and induced vomiting, but now..."
As the doctor spoke, he began administering an IV to the two individuals.
I shook my head and said, "They didn't ingest it orally; rather, how should I put it? They inhaled the gas."
"Inhaled the gas? What does that mean?" the doctor asked.
I explained, "It seems like they decomposed the substance after burning it in an incense burner. What they inhaled was the gas."
The doctor scratched his head and said, "Generally speaking, this substance doesn't burn."
"Then what is going on?" I asked, puzzled.
While continuing to administer the IV, the doctor inquired, "What was used?"
"Calomel," I replied.
The doctor shook his head and said, "I'm afraid it wasn't burning but rather decomposition under sunlight. If I'm correct, what was initially placed in the burner wasn't Calomel but rather Mercurous Chloride. Mercurous Chloride is a white odorless solid that is toxic. I believe you can distinguish between toxic and highly toxic substances."
"So you're saying that while Mercurous Chloride isn't very toxic, its decomposition into Calomel is highly toxic?" I asked.
"Exactly!" the doctor confirmed. "Mercurous Chloride gradually decomposes into Calomel and mercury under sunlight. You should know what mercury is, right?"
I nodded and said, "Mercury."
The doctor nodded. "If I’m not mistaken, these two individuals must have taken this incense burner from a dark space. In the absence of sunlight, Calomel can be preserved for a long time, but once it encounters sunlight, it begins to decompose slowly. There might be some combustible substances added to this incense burner, which have no melting point. Do you understand what that means?"
I nodded and replied, "I’ve taken chemistry classes too."
"That's good," the doctor continued. "At temperatures between 4 and 5 degrees, such substances can sublime directly into gas. These two probably inhaled the sublimated gas directly, leading to poisoning. This substance is odorless; they must have inhaled a significant amount of gas in this environment, resulting in a qualitative change from a quantitative one, and they were suddenly poisoned."
I furrowed my brow and said slowly, "So those studying medicine also need to learn chemistry?"
"That's a required course. Any subject related to biology must include chemistry, just as mathematics is fundamental for physics and mechanics; chemistry is also our foundation," the doctor explained.
"Is it easy to obtain this substance?" I asked.
The doctor nodded and replied, "Mercurous Chloride is actually quite easy to acquire; it’s available in school laboratories and can even be synthesized. Generally speaking, if the gas is ingested or comes into contact with the skin, there will be significant reactions at the onset of poisoning, so they wouldn’t reach this critical state without realizing something was wrong. If treated promptly, recovery is very possible, but these two..."
These two had been holding the incense burner, both observing and sniffing it. The sublimated gas had directly entered their respiratory tracts; looking at them now, there was no hope left.
The sound of an ambulance could be heard outside. The doctor quickly said, "Get these two into the vehicle immediately; our facilities here are insufficient. They must go to Big Hospital for treatment—hurry! They still have some breath left."
With that, the medical staff and four strong men rushed in to lift the two onto stretchers.
"You all get in the vehicle and follow us. We’ll be there shortly," I instructed.
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