Chapter 360: Chapter 360 The number of people poisoned begins to increase
"Okay, thank you, thank you, Doctor Liu."
While saying this, Liu Zheng walked out of his home. In fact, he was deeply moved by life and was glad to offer someone a chance to turn over a new leaf, something he had always hoped to see.
Spreading joy and goodwill, why wouldn’t he be happy to do so? After completing this task, Liu Zheng felt truly pleased. On his way, he made a call to Director Xiao, briefly describing the situation.
Gossip and trivial matters were all too common for Director Xiao, who had seen plenty in the hospital. Discovering secrets that led to family breakdowns was not unusual.
Therefore, he understood and assured the highest level of confidentiality and offered the best possible discounts, a decision within Director Xiao’s capacity to make.
As he was approaching the entrance, he saw a man clutching his stomach, collapsed at his doorstep. Liu Zheng paused for a moment, then quickly ran over.
"Second Uncle, what’s wrong with you?"
He could see clearly; it was the Second Uncle from the village, a solitary elder, living alone year-round. At this moment, his face appeared slightly yellow, and beads of sweat incessantly formed on his brow.
"My stomach, my stomach hurts terribly."
"Don’t worry, Second Uncle, I’ll relieve your pain right now."
While speaking, he helped Second Uncle back to his clinic and quickly sealed off his pain neurons with acupuncture, offering immediate relief.
Another case of abdominal pain, and he had just seen one earlier. However, that was a woman with obvious symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy. Surely a man couldn’t have an ectopic pregnancy? Impossible, there must be another cause.
"Second Uncle, did you eat something?"
"Not really, I haven’t eaten anything unusual, I live the same way every day, how could I possibly have eaten something? Maybe I caught a chill when I got up in the middle of the night; I had a bit of diarrhea, perhaps."
"Then, have you had diarrhea?"
"Speaking of oddities, I haven’t had diarrhea, just this severe stomach pain right here, nowhere else hurts as much."
While talking, he touched a spot, and Liu Zheng immediately deduced it was below the stomach. Clearly, something must have gotten inside here.
He lifted the man’s shirt and took a closer look, noticing some swelling at the spot. By pressing gently, Liu Zheng found it was bloated, with a softness inside as if filled with liquid.
Under normal circumstances, how could there be fluid here? Even if there were effusion, it wouldn’t be hidden in this area. Something was definitely amiss.
"Ouch, ouch, stop pressing, stop pressing, it’s killing me, it’s killing me."
At that moment, Second Uncle, perhaps feeling unbearable discomfort, wailed loudly. Liu Zheng then promptly halted his examination.
"There is some fluid accumulation here which needs to be drained right away. It’s causing your stomach pain and bloating—not your intestines, but your stomach. So, Second Uncle, bear with me for a moment; I’ll drain it right away, and you’ll feel much better soon."
"What did you say? Drain? What does that mean? What liquid? Liu Zheng, Second Uncle doesn’t understand these things, just treat me however you see fit. After all, it’s just this old frame; it’s no big deal if I die."
"Second Uncle, don’t talk like that, how could you? Now, just relax, there will be no pain; lie down and close your eyes, you’ll be better in no time."
As he spoke, Liu Zheng gathered his tools, made a small incision, and then inserted a thin tube.
Gradually, the fluid began to drain out.
"Second Uncle, how do you feel now, better?"
"Much better, truly much better; it feels like a thousand pounds were lifted off me. What on earth is going on?"
"I haven’t determined the exact cause yet, but for now you should be alright. I will prescribe you some stomach-nourishing medicine, and after taking it you should recover soon."
After finishing, Liu Zheng turned around to prepare a few prescriptions. Once Second Uncle paid, he left the clinic.
Liu Zheng was still puzzled when he turned back and saw the puddle on the floor turn green, he was utterly astonished.
How could this be? How could such things come out of a person’s stomach? If it were green, it should be bile, but bile simply couldn’t connect to that spot.
The substances ejected from the stomach should either be undigested food or some opaque or yellow liquid—that would be normal.
Curiously, Liu Zheng dipped a cotton swab into the fluid and planned to analyze it further. He discovered it was tainted with a toxin known as H5.
This toxin, which he had encountered before, wasn’t very potent. Yet, when accumulated in the body, especially in large amounts, it could cause significant adverse effects, lasting about half a day. By the afternoon, the fluid should be gradually absorbed by the body.
It was incredibly strange, why would his body produce such substances? If not influenced by external factors, his body shouldn’t naturally contain them.
He couldn’t understand, and he had no idea what was going on.
It made him think back to the poisoned mushrooms from before. Yes, he remembered. When he left Li Yanling’s house, he had seen a figure, related to the incident from the previous night. And now, suddenly there was a case of poisoning. Could it be connected to him again?
Who was this person, and why did they keep harming the villagers? However, each time the injury to the villagers was minor. Clearly, there was another agenda, another purpose behind their actions.
