His fingers searched through the connective tissue until they found the source of the bleeding.
With precision, he pushed a finger in—sealing the wound.
The bleeding ceased. With his other hand, he began to rhythmically massage the old man's heart, trying to coax it back into motion.
"One, two, three, four..."
At that moment, the entire McDonald's had emptied out. Everyone huddled outside, peering in through the glass with phones raised, recording every second. Meanwhile—
Sirens screamed as police cars and an ambulance arrived simultaneously.
Zhang Ming, director of the emergency department at the provincial hospital, glimpsed the scene through the window—and his knees nearly gave out. The emergency kit in his hand trembled.
He turned pale and looked toward the police officers.
"Officers, you... you go first."
"I heard someone was murdered. We're just doctors. Handling murderers isn't our specialty. You restrain him, and then we'll go in to try and save the patient."
A young officer frowned. "Saving lives comes first. We'll go in together. We'll handle the suspect—you focus on saving the victim."
Zhang Ming cast a glance inside at the unmoving, blood-soaked man on the floor, the heart still gripped in the suspect's hand.
He muttered, almost to himself, "The patient... might already be..."
"There's a pulse!"
The voice burst out from within.
"Director Zhang! We've got a pulse—get in here, now!"
Zhang Ming froze.
That voice... sounded oddly familiar.
He squinted through the glass.
Holy hell—was that...?
It was his protégé.
Xia Tian, currently interning in the ER of the provincial hospital, under none other than Zhang Ming himself.
Without hesitation, Zhang Ming dashed in. What he saw made his breath catch.
Xia Tian, straddling the patient, was drenched in sweat and blood. His hair clung to his forehead, his face flushed. At his feet lay a massive butcher knife, its blade still gleaming faintly.
The patient, face bruised and cyanotic, looked nearly dead.
But then—Zhang Ming saw it. The slightest twitch of an eyelid.
There was still hope!
"Xia Tian, what's going on here?! Move aside, now!"
Xia Tian wiped sweat from his brow. "I can't. He's lost at least 1000 milliliters of blood. If I remove my hand now, he'll bleed out instantly. We need a transfusion—immediately. His heart has restarted. Director Zhang, get him to the OR. Now!"
Zhang Ming had seen a lot in his 20 years of emergency medicine—but an open-chest procedure in a fast-food restaurant? Never. He blanked for half a second, then snapped into action.
"You heard him! What are you standing around for? Get in here and help! Lift the patient—get him into the ambulance!"
He turned to Xia Tian, trying to keep him calm.
"Xia Tian, I know you're exhausted. Your arms must be numb, but whatever you do—don't move. Hold on. We'll be at the hospital in five minutes."
Police officers entered next. The gruesome scene left them momentarily speechless.
Then one of them barked, "You. With the knife. You're coming to the station."
Zhang Ming snapped, "Knife-wielding suspect? Are you blind?"
"He's a doctor from our hospital—he's saving a life!"
"Stop gawking and help get him into the ambulance!"
The medical team leapt into action—two lifting the patient, two supporting Xia Tian—and under the stunned gaze of the officers and onlookers, the ambulance roared away.
Operating Room.
Inside the OR, Xia Tian finally withdrew his hand from the patient's chest with the help of his colleagues. His arms were stiff and numb, sweat pouring off him, face pale from fatigue and borderline dehydration.
"Xia Tian, go rest," Zhang Ming said gently. "We'll handle it from here."
"Okay."
Xia Tian nodded and turned to leave. Zhang Ming hesitated, then added, "Don't leave the hospital just yet. Go wait in the office."
"…Sure."
Still confused, Xia Tian washed every trace of blood off himself before heading back to the office.
The moment he stepped in, the formerly noisy room fell dead silent.
Everyone stared at him.
Feeling awkward under their gazes, Xia Tian rubbed his face and forced a grin.
"What's going on? Why is everyone staring at me? Did I get more handsome or something?"
A female doctor, Dr. Li, adjusted her glasses and said coolly, "Xia Tian, do you have any idea what kind of trouble you're in?"
"Huh? What trouble?" Xia Tian blinked, bewildered.
He'd just saved a stranger's life at McDonald's. He'd felt proud while scrubbing the blood off—after all, internal bleeding had a 95% fatality rate. Without immediate intervention, the patient would've died in minutes. If not for him, that old man would be a corpse right now.
Saving a life. He couldn't be more satisfied with himself.
So how was this trouble?
Dr. Li rolled her eyes. "Show him the video."
Wang Xiaobei—his university roommate and now fellow intern in the same department—stood up.
"Xia Tian, someone recorded your rescue at McDonald's. It's gone viral. Take a look."
Xia Tian opened Douyin. The moment he launched the app, the video popped up.
It was blowing up.
Likes: 400,000Comments: 20,000+Shares: 10,000+
The numbers were skyrocketing by the second.
Every major news outlet had already picked up the story.
In bold, sensational headlines:
"Man with Butcher Knife Kills in McDonald's!""Young Man Snaps After Girlfriend Cheats—Goes on Stabbing Spree!"