"Bang!!"
The front wheel slammed heavily back onto the ground.
After the shock absorption, it stuck perfectly to the ground!
Ji Yun had already twisted the throttle again, leaving everyone in the park, young and old, with a cool and unmatched view of his back as he sped away!
"Given that the heart bag's nose pack was designed to absorb shocks, it shouldn't be broken."
After crossing the park, Ji Yun glanced at the time.
It should be enough!
All that was left was to pass through the old tunnel in Zhenshui Mountain ahead, and he could reach Lanyang Hospital!
Lan City, as Lake Mountain City, though well-developed in roads, also had many complex issues.
Still basking in the joy and excitement of his brilliant maneuver in the park, Ji Yun's expression turned incredibly grim at the road conditions ahead!
Before him was a line of cars trying to turn around!
Roadwork??
The motorcycle should be able to get through, right?
Ji Yun prayed inwardly.
Soon after, Ji Yun saw wet tire marks, which gave rise to an even worse premonition.
When Ji Yun got close enough, he saw a puddle of water!
What finally drove Ji Yun to despair was that the puddle was bigger than he had imagined, and it had flooded the old tunnel under Zhenshui Mountain!!
Like a sealed tunnel soaked in a pond!
Above the tunnel, atop the small hill, stood Zhenshui Tower, mocking the symbolic structure immensely!
Lan City, as Lake Mountain City, with its complex terrain and a city built amongst hills and lakes, was prone to regular water disasters, but today, of all days, this old tunnel was flooded!!
A pipe issue?
Last night's cloudburst?
Or a surge from the lake??
It was something Ji Yun had entirely failed to consider!
Taking a detour was now absolutely impossible; going around Zhenshui Mountain would take more than 20 minutes in rush hour traffic, and he had only 15 minutes left!
Force his way through??
That was highly unlikely; the vehicle would be completely submerged!
Even swimming across didn't seem feasible, with too much debris soaking in the water!
"Beep beep beep!!!!"
At that moment, Ji Yun's phone rang.
It was Wu Kai calling.
"Ji Yun, I just received news that the Zhenshui Mountain tunnel is flooded!"
"I know."
"Taking another route would add ten minutes. We probably won't be able to complete the mission this time, sigh, we did our best," Wu Kai said.
With his phone in hand, Ji Yun looked up at the ancient pagoda standing tall.
The sky was growing darker, as if it were suddenly evening instead of morning.
"There's another way," Ji Yun was unwilling to surrender to an unexpected flood like this!
After all, two lives were at stake.
Moreover, Ji Yun was very aware that those waiting for organ donations, as well as those willing to donate their organs, valued and loved life far more than the old men trying to stay fit on the main roads; they deserved to live well.
"But..."
"I've run through Zhenshui Tower before; 15 minutes... it's enough!" Ji Yun responded while getting off his bike.
"Are you crazy? Even a national athlete might not be able to do it, and you know your health condition. Hey, are you listening to me..."
Ji Yun hung up, stuffed the phone into his pocket, and then abandoned his beloved motorcycle, charging towards the mountain trail beside him!
Zhenshui Tower used to be a minor tourist spot.
There was once a plan by the city to level the entire hill to ease urban traffic, but it was opposed by the locals connected to several ancestral halls nearby.
In the end, the only option left was to build a tunnel under the hill.
Creating that tunnel was a challenge in itself, with all the wiring, piping, signal stations, and the iconic Zhenshui Tower pagoda at its peak that couldn't be demolished. Add to that the surrounding residential areas and bustling ancient streets, and it's no surprise that tunnel flooding was a common occurrence!
Ji Yun sprinted up the slope, not minding the thorns cutting his skin as he crossed over to the stairs of the tower, then he charged towards Zhenshui Tower along the ancient stone steps that jutted out!
He had to reach Zhenshui Tower!
The mountain had a long slope extending from it, and at the end of that slope was precisely the back mountain gate of Lanyang Hospital.
Entering from there was the shortest path on foot!
Though he'd have to burst with Athlete Level speed... but wasn't he also half an extreme athlete?!!!
Running on flat ground and sprinting up mountain steps were two different things.
Within minutes, Ji Yun could feel the muscles all over his body starting to ache!
He couldn't slow down!
Otherwise, he wouldn't make it!
No, he needed to go even faster!!
Ji Yun gritted his teeth and increased his pace again, even as his body was already under strain.
Not long after the increase in speed, Ji Yun felt his bones and joints burning as if they were on fire!!
"Thud thud thud thud!!!!!!!!!!"
"Thud thud thud thud thud thud!!!!!!!!!!"
His heart rate escalated rapidly, and Ji Yun even felt like it was going to burst on the next beat!
However, through the tree shadows, Ji Yun caught sight of the white buildings nearby!
It was Lanyang Hospital!
Ji Yun whooshed past Zhenshui Tower, and then came the downhill!!
By the descent, Ji Yun's body no longer needed to exert force; he felt as though he was plummeting, only forcibly maintaining his balance to prevent a fall!
It was close!!
It's close!!!
We have enough time!!!
Hang on, my dear heart, don't panic!!
"Bang!!!!!!!"
With a heavy collision against the wall, Ji Yun's body was finally forced to stop.
He had already been unable to make his torso come to a halt.
It felt like each and every bone, every muscle in his body didn't belong to him anymore!
But the back gate of the hospital was just ahead!!
Ignoring the pain from the impact, Ji Yun didn't know how he managed to control his "burning" body as he dashed towards the hospital building!!
...
In front of the hospital building, a middle-aged associate chief doctor and an assistant doctor were waiting anxiously, their gaze fixed on the front entrance.
Then a man, who looked as though he had just crawled out of the water, with his skin burned red all over, tapped them from behind.
"It's... it's the heart... the heart..." The man could no longer speak properly.
"Are you Ji Yun from the Rescue Association??" the middle-aged associate chief doctor asked.
Ji Yun unclasped the organ transport backpack and handed it over shakily to the associate chief doctor.
"It's the donor heart." the female assistant doctor said.
"We've finally made it. Perform the surgery immediately!" Knowing he was racing against the Grim Reaper, the middle-aged associate chief doctor didn't waste another word and took the backpack with the heart to the dedicated elevator.
The female doctor quickly followed him!
Ji Yun wanted to follow, but his legs no longer obeyed his commands.
The hospital was bustling with people coming and going, and soon the two doctors had disappeared from Ji Yun's view.
Ji Yun, like a puppet with its strings cut, slowly made his way to a nearby chair in a very twisted posture.
Ji Yun knew that the two doctors were racing against time and couldn't attend to him.
As long as the surgery was successful...
Ji Yun collapsed onto the cold chair.
He closed his eyes.
Even though his body was completely still, inside it felt like a furnace ready to explode at any moment...
And his own furiously pounding heart seemed also to have grown tired.
In a certain instant, Ji Yun felt it give out!
Exhale!
Inhale!
Exhale!!
Inhale... can't breathe...
It was as if a machine full of malfunctions finally broke down in an instant.
All bodily functions abruptly came to a standstill!
Unable to breathe, his organs felt like they were colliding against each other, yet his body and limbs lost all sensation!!
Ji Yun tried to make a sound, but he didn't know why he couldn't emit the slightest noise!
He could see everything around him clearly and hear all the sounds, yet he seemed to be cut off from everything around him!!
Eventually, Ji Yun could no longer even sit up properly.
He slid off the chair, collapsing to the ground like a puppet without its strings.
People walked past him, but it was only when Ji Yun had completely fallen did he attract attention!
"Young man, young man, the ground may be cool but you can't... hey, young man..." An elderly man came over, asking several times.
Seeing the pallor on Ji Yun's face, the elderly man immediately realized the gravity of the situation and urgently shouted.
"Nurse!! Nurse!!"
A nurse nearby noticed the commotion, and one of them, without time to go through the door, jumped out from behind the counter.
"Does the patient have any similar medical history??" the nurse urgently asked the elderly man.
"I don't know this young man. I have no idea," said the elderly man.
"Patient can't breathe, get a ventilator ready!" A male doctor shouted as he dashed over with a stretcher, instructing the female nurse.
The nurse didn't dare to delay and ran toward the emergency room.
"Mister, lend a hand, help us get him onto the stretcher. We need to get him to the emergency room," the male doctor said.
"Alright!" The older man, still warm-hearted, quickly helped the male doctor move Ji Yun onto the stretcher.
"Mister, once we're done here, could you help us find this patient's relatives or companions? We need to know his name, age, medical history, and if he has any allergies to medications…" the male doctor said while lifting the stretcher, speaking to the kindly old man.
"I don't know him... sigh, alright, I'll do my best," the older man sighed and agreed to the doctor's request.
Ji Yun's mouth trembled.
In fact, he was attempting to speak.
He could see the outlines around him, but everything was a bit blurry, as if he had fallen into fog.
He could hear, could clearly hear all the sounds, including the conversation between the doctor and the old man.
But, he couldn't move.
He was like a living soul trapped in a lifeless shell!
It was as if the soul had lost all contact with the body!
Ji Yun was carried into the emergency room.
Under the bright operating lamp, his vision grew even more blurred.
He could sense many figures around him, doctors, nurses.
The doctors and nurses worked skillfully, quickly attaching various tubes and devices to Ji Yun.
"What's happening, where's the new ventilator?" the male asked.
"I have no idea, Director Deng hasn't replaced it," came the reply.
"Patient can't breathe, sigh, that old ghost Deng... call someone from the cardiology department over," the male doctor said.
"The cardiology department staff are in surgery... oh, I remember now, he seems to be the courier who delivered the heart donor," the female nurse said.