Chapter 59: What Do You Mean, Two Hearts and Three Lungs?

Chapter 59: What two hearts, three lungs?

Ten minutes later, inside the temporary concealment point.

Chen Jian opened the first‑aid kit while barking orders quickly:

"He Shuo, connect with Shen Yue."

"Zeng Yi, bind the limbs near the heart with zip ties."

"Xie Liu, help me open the wound, prioritize the aortic injury."

"Your bodies pump blood too fiercely; we must staunch the bleeding first, or you'll die instantly!"

"Understood!"

At the command, everyone sprang into action.

Chen Jian injected two strong doses of morphine, while Xie Liu pried open Li Shi's thigh wound, the muscle already torn by the bullet ripping further apart; Li Shi let out a muffled grunt but didn't move a muscle.

Chen Jian didn't have time to look at his expression; instead, after a quick rinse of his hands with alcohol and a shake‑dry, he plunged his hand into the wound, probing while shouting:

"Shen Yue! Shot in the thigh, femoral artery severed, I can't feel the vessel—what do we do?!"

"Cut open the muscle ten centimeters upstream and create a new opening!"

Shen Yue's voice came over the radio.

"Once the femoral artery is severed it retracts toward the abdomen; in severe cases it can pull all the way into the belly—if you can't feel it at the entry point, you must go higher."

"Understood!"

Without hesitation, Chen Jian grabbed the scalpel from the kit, aimed, and sliced through Li Shi's thigh skin, avoiding muscle, then continued directing Xie Liu to spread the tissue as he slipped his fingers into the fresh incision, carefully feeling for the vessel.

The sight made Xie Liu's scalp prickle; she was the squad's medic and had indeed treated wounds before.

But she had never imagined that when someone loses too much blood from injury, you could handle it this way.

Leave the original wound alone and then cut another?

Is this not some kind of Blood Skull torture tactic?

Her fingers trembled slightly; Chen Jian frowned, uttered 'Hold steady,' and pushed his fingers deeper.

This time he finally located the retracted artery.

He hooked the vessel with his index and ring fingers, applying steady pressure until he drew the major artery free from the thick muscle.

After using a vascular clip to stanch the bleed about five centimeters above the cut, Chen Jian pulled out the distal artery and performed a quick suture with the standard‑issue ProGlide vascular suturer.

One minute later, the femoral artery was successfully clamped and blood flow restored.

The wound was massive, but at least half his life was saved.

Chen Jian exhaled slightly, gestured for He Shuo, who had set down the radio, to take over suturing, while he continued to examine Li Shi's other injuries.

Only then did he notice that Li Shi's torso wounds were far graver than those on his legs.

Shot in the chest!

And it was a direct hit!

Veins stood out on his forehead, and his movements grew swifter.

One slash ripped the cloth so Xie Liu could tear it open; a second cut opened the chest cavity.

Shrapnel fragments lodged deep in the muscle, and, incredibly, a piece was embedded in the still‑beating heart.

Chen Jian sucked in a breath of cold air, then continued his radio query:

"Shen Yue! A fragment struck the heart, located on the left side of the pulmonary artery, roughly the left atrial appendage, penetrated about 0.5 mm—what do we do?"

"Just clamp it out and suture; I have no other option!"

"This myocardial tissue is paper‑thin; they've blown straight through it—leave it to fate!"

".Good!"

Chen Jian gritted his teeth, seized the forceps, and carefully extracted the fragment; blood spurted out instantly.

His vision blurred immediately; lacking any means to see through, he could only feel his way while suturing.

He was hardly a trained medic, let alone an experienced doctor; the process crawled agonizingly, taking over two minutes before the wound was barely stitched and the bleeding finally ceased.

At that moment Li Shi lay utterly still, his heart ceased beating.

Chen Jian braced for the worst, but when he lifted his gaze he saw Li Shi staring up with wide, innocent eyes, curiously gazing down at his own opened chest.

".You won't die, will you?"

Chen Jian asked, dumbfounded.

"He's not like us; he has two hearts and three lungs."

Xie Liu beside him answered quickly.

This truly stunned Chen Jian.

Two hearts, three lungs??

Damn, what a low‑spec Astartes?! 'So he actually has no mortal danger at all?!'

There is, if not treated promptly he'll bleed out; the leg wound is perilous—I was planning to use drugs to staunch it.

.Just forget your snake‑venom coagulant.

Chen Jian let out a breath; the tension that had coiled for minutes finally eased.

Now he had the leisure to inspect Li Shi's other wounds.

Besides the two lethal wounds to the chest and thigh, his abdomen bore a through‑and‑through injury, the entrance slightly larger than a thumb, the exit bigger than a fist.

But the good news is the bullet missed all major organs, shredding only skin and a bit of muscle; for a man of his formidable saint‑blood, it's hardly more than a superficial wound.

As for the other spots, they were ordinary lacerations; Chen Jian even thought suturing might be unnecessary.

So he simply set down his surgical tools, pulled out antiseptic, and began to disinfect Li Shi.

He Shuo had just finished suturing the thigh wound, snipped the thread, and clicked his tongue in amazement:

"I don't know how you were born with such a physique."

The moment those words left his mouth, Xie Liu's eyes dimmed a shade.

But she quickly recomposed herself and said:

"If you want to know, I can tell you."

"We'll talk about it later."

Chen Jian cut her off, his gaze drifting to the aerial feed on his smart visor, then issued the order:

"This place isn't safe; we must keep heading back."

"Zeng Yi, first lift Li Shi into the vehicle, then keep driving; we'll return at a slow pace."

"He Shuo, leave the drone behind, you go on ahead, then return to pick up Lei Jie and the others."

"Remember to swap out the automatic grenade launcher and bring in a 301 heavy machine gun instead."

“The suppressive fire is too weak; the automatic grenade launcher is no match for a heavy machine gun.”

“Understood!”

Without a moment’s hesitation, He Shuo casually wiped his hands, turned, and sprang onto the cat‑car, disappearing in a cloud of dust.

On the other side, Zeng Yi hoisted Li Shi onto his shoulder and tossed him into the remaining vehicle.

“What do we do? Should we just drive off?”

Zeng Yi spoke up.

“Of course—do you really think we should turn back and fight again?”

“We don’t even know what’s really going on; all I caught before the firing started was them muttering something about a ‘mimetic heretic.’ What does that mean?”

Zeng Yi and Xie Liu frowned in unison, then shook their heads.

“I don’t know.”

“We’ve never heard that phrase before.”

He paused, then Zeng Yi continued:

“But it’s clear they were coming for us.”

“Maybe Xu Lie wanted to silence us, maybe the council twisted his words, or perhaps they’re just trying to cover up the truth?”

“They don’t want the civilians of Han Shui Cheng to know the monster is dead—but I can’t see what purpose that serves.”

“Their rule isn’t founded on the monster; the Hall of Holy Blood is sustained by source blood and the Holy‑Blooded, while the Machine God Cult relies on machinery and gunpowder.”

“They have no need to exaggerate the monster’s threat—I truly don’t understand.”

“It’s fine; your mind is already clear enough.”

Chen Jian patted Zeng Yi on the shoulder, offering reassurance.

“Let’s get moving first.”

“Xie Liu, turn on your radio and try to hail Xu Lie.”

“If we don’t know, we’ll just go straight to them and ask!”

(End of chapter)