novelslam Chapter 59 The Collapse of the Ivory Tower
Chapter 59 The Collapse of the Ivory Tower
The next morning, the launch of Renxin Pharmacy's "Canned Qi-Boosting Tea" once again ignited the passion of Changxiang City.
This retro yet hardcore packaging has ironically become a trend.
In WeChat Moments, if someone doesn't have a bottle of Lao Gan Ma chili sauce with a brown paper label on it, they're almost embarrassed to call themselves an overtime worker.
Especially the knots on those bottles, they're tied so perfectly, it's a godsend for people with OCD.
It is said that a buyer wore the bottle until it developed a patina in order to study how the knot was tied.
Zhao Dezhu of Kangmei Pharmaceutical was so angry that he smashed the fish tank in his office.
He just couldn't understand how the packaging he spent millions designing could lose to a bunch of junk.
But something even more troublesome happened.
The side effects of "Zhuangyuan Pill" began to appear in large numbers.
Emergency Department, Changxiang Second People's Hospital.
The corridor was packed with people, mostly students and parents.
Cries, shouts, and curses filled the air.
"Doctor! My son has gone mad! He's stabbing himself in the thigh with a pencil, saying it doesn't hurt!"
"Doctor, please take a look at my daughter! She hasn't slept for three days and is still reciting pi; her eyes are bleeding!"
Zhang Wei, the head of the emergency department (not the architect, but the one who led the team that apprehended Wang Minyu), was extremely busy.
He looked at the test results in his hand, cold sweat pouring down his face.
All the children presented with the same symptoms: extreme central nervous system excitation, skyrocketing adrenaline levels, accompanied by severe hypokalemia and cardiac arrhythmias. Most alarmingly, conventional sedatives were ineffective; administering tranquilizers was like administering water.
"Director, what... what should we do?" The nurse cried anxiously, "The ICU is full, and there are more than a dozen children having seizures."
Zhang Wei gritted his teeth.
He knew why.
These children all took Kangmei's "Zhuangyuan Pills".
As someone within the system, he shouldn't have said anything, but looking at these children, his conscience made it impossible for him to remain silent.
"Call Zhao Dezhu!" Zhang Wei roared. "Ask him what exactly he put in the medicine!"
However, Zhao Dezhu's phone remained switched off.
Just then, a parent suddenly rushed over, holding up their phone: "Director Zhang! The internet says Renxin Pharmacy can cure it! That Dr. Wang saved someone who took this medicine during a live broadcast yesterday!"
"Yes! Let's go find Dr. Wang!"
"Let's go! To the old street!"
The crowd instantly stirred and surged toward the exit like a tidal wave.
"Nonsense! That's a traditional Chinese medicine clinic, they don't have any emergency equipment!" Zhang Wei tried to stop them, but he couldn't stop the desperate parents.
Looking at the empty emergency room lobby, Zhang Wei slumped into a chair.
He knew that this ivory tower had collapsed in the face of the poison of capital.
Half an hour later, the entire old street where Renxin Pharmacy is located was completely blocked.
Ambulances, private cars, and taxis blocked the road.
Hundreds of parents, holding their children, cried and screamed, trying to break down the door of the pharmacy.
"Guan Shan! Guard the door!" Wang Minyu shouted from the counter.
Guan Shan stood like an iron tower blocking the entrance, refusing to budge no matter how much the crowd pushed and shoved.
But a look of pity appeared on his face as he watched the convulsing children, his fists clenching so tightly they cracked.
"Don't push!" Wang Minyu shouted through the megaphone, his voice cutting through the noise. "I'm a doctor, not a god! If you all crowd in like this, the air won't circulate, and the child will die even faster!"
"Lay all the seriously ill children flat on the open ground by the door! Those with mild symptoms, line up at the back!"
Under Guan Shan's intimidation and Wang Minyu's command, the crowd finally managed to regain some order. More than twenty children lay foaming at the mouth on the old street's concrete ground—a horrifying scene.
"Su Qing, take out all the mutated mints and crush them!"
"Siyuan, Zhao Na, boil some water! Warm water, please!"
"Zhang Wei!" Wang Minyu called out.
Zhang Wei, the architect who had just woken up last night, was staring at this scene with a bewildered expression.
He had just woken up and was in incredibly good spirits.
"Yes!" the architect replied instinctively.
"You know how to manage data, right?" Wang Minyu pointed at the crowd. "Go, compile a table showing all the children's medication dosage, onset time, and symptom severity! I need the data as quickly as possible!"
"No problem! Leave it to me!" Architect Zhang Wei instantly switched into work mode, grabbed a notebook, and rushed into the crowd. "Come on, parents, call out your numbers in order! No concurrent requests, line up!"
Wang Minyu jumped off the counter, holding a handful of silver needles in his hand.
He went up to the first child.
The child was only ten years old, with his eyes rolled back and his body hunched over like a shrimp.
[Symptoms: Caesar poison has entered the brain, causing kidney depletion.]
Wang Minyu took a deep breath and pierced the silver needle with lightning speed.
"Renzhong (GV26), Neiguan (PC6), Yongquan (KI1)!"
Each needle is inserted with a very subtle airflow.
That was the [Internal Strength] he exchanged by consuming emotional points.
"The water's here!" Zhao Na ran out carrying a large basin of green liquid medicine.
That's an emergency treatment solution made from second-generation mutated peppermint and astragalus.
"Pour!"
As the medicine entered his throat, the convulsing child shuddered violently, then vomited a mouthful of black liquid. His tense body went limp, and he fell into a deep sleep.
"He's alive! He's really alive!" The parents cried with joy and knelt on the ground, about to kowtow.
"Next!" Wang Minyu didn't stop and turned to walk towards the second one.
At this moment, an ambulance bearing the logo of "Changxiang City Second People's Hospital" squeezed in with difficulty.
Zhang Wei, the director of the emergency department, jumped out of the car, carrying a first-aid kit.
He looked at the children scattered on the ground, then at the young man weaving through the crowd, his expression complex.
As a Western medicine expert, he had always looked down on this "unorthodox" approach. But today, this unorthodox approach is doing what they couldn't.
"Dr. Wang," Zhang Wei approached, adopting a humble demeanor, "I'm from the emergency department of the Second Hospital. I brought a defibrillator, a ventilator, and a few nurses. Is there anything we can help you with?"
Wang Minyu paused in applying the acupuncture needles and looked up at him.
"Yes." Wang Minyu pointed to the children who had just vomited. "Western medicine is good at maintaining vital signs. You are responsible for rehydrating them and correcting electrolyte imbalances. I'll handle the detoxification, you take care of saving their lives."
"Okay." Zhang Wei didn't waste any words, turning to the nurses and shouting, "Listen to Dr. Wang! Establish intravenous access! Put on the monitor!"
At this moment, the divide between traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine melted away on this dilapidated old street.
Just as the rescue was proceeding in an orderly manner, several black Audi cars stopped at the street corner.
The car door opened, and several men in suits and sunglasses got out.
The leader was Zhao Dezhu.
His face was ashen, and a fierce glint flashed in his eyes as he looked at the scene.
"What are you all doing here?" Zhao Dezhu shouted through a megaphone, "This is illegal medical practice! This is a public disturbance! Disperse!"
Behind him followed a dozen or so security guards carrying riot shields.
"Wang Minyu! You're operating without a license, and you dare to practice feudal superstitious healing here!" Zhao Dezhu pointed at Wang Minyu, "Smash it! Confiscate all these illegal drugs!"
Wang Minyu, who was giving the child an acupuncture injection, slowly straightened up.
He wiped the blood off his hands, his eyes colder than a scalpel.
"Guanshan," Wang Minyu called softly.
"exist."
"Someone wants to vandalize our shop and even try to kill these children," Wang Minyu said, pointing at Zhao Dezhu. "What do you suggest we do?"
Guan Shan grinned, revealing a set of white teeth.
He casually grabbed the stone millstone next to him, which weighed at least two hundred pounds and was used for pounding medicine, and held it above his head like a cookie.
"Then let him see what real 'physical therapy' is."
Guan Shan roared and slammed the millstone hard onto the hood of Zhao Dezhu's Audi.
"boom!"
The front of the car caved in instantly, the airbags deployed, and the alarm blared through the air.
The entire room fell silent.
Wang Minyu walked up to Zhao Dezhu, who was paralyzed with fear, and looked down at him.
"Mr. Zhao, your car broke down," Wang Minyu said casually. "But it's okay, I have some medicine. It's nine yuan and ninety cents a packet, would you like to try it?"