Chapter 27: Out of Control

When Su Ruo took the little girl, her breath was already very weak, her hands limp and hanging down.

Su Ruo called out to her, but there was no response; everyone knew the girl probably wouldn't make it.

Among the onlookers, some women couldn't help but tear up, sighing: "The Xu family has had a hard life! Of five members, only this lone sprout remains, and even she seems unlikely to survive."

The little girl had fair, rosy cheeks and wore a red dress; one could tell she had lived well and happily before this disaster, but now she could only wait for death here.

Su Ruo felt anguish, but she had to control her emotions; she was a doctor, and if she fell apart, her patient wouldn't survive.

Su Ruo ignored the onlookers, she cleared the mud and sand from the girl's mouth and nose, confirmed the airway was clear, then began artificial respiration and emergency rescue.

Su Ruo placed her hands on the girl's chest, one press, two presses… she didn't know how many times she repeated it, sweat soaking her clothes.

But the girl showed no sign of improvement; her breathing grew ever weaker.

Su Ruo felt anxious, she shouted loudly hoping for a response from the girl, but it was useless; the girl still had no reaction.

Seeing this, the onlookers felt somewhat reluctant and advised: "Forget it, miss; we know you've done your best, it's just that this child's fate is grim."

But Su Ruo seemed not to hear them, she didn't stop for a moment, continuing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the girl.

She muttered to herself: "No, no, I will definitely save her."

A liquid blurred Su Ruo's vision; she couldn't tell if it was sweat or tears.

Su Ruo looked at the girl, her increasingly pale face, the fear of death triggering a memory from her past life that she most wanted to avoid.

In her previous life, Su Ruo had once had a child, but when she was eight months pregnant, the drunkard Wang Tufu hit her, causing premature birth.

Because of the premature birth and malnutrition, the child was born frail as a kitten, its cry extremely weak, and later it contracted pneumonia.

Su Ruo was terrified then; she knelt and begged Wang Tufu, pleading for some money to take the child to see a doctor.

But Wang Tufu despised Su Ruo for giving birth to a girl, and threw out: "A money‑losing commodity; if it dies, it dies!"

Su Ruo couldn't get the money, so she had no choice but to go door‑to‑door begging, kowtowing at each house, hoping someone would lend her money to save her daughter.

But at that time Su Ruo had already been regarded by the whole village as a disaster star; everyone avoided her like snakes and scorpions, fearing that any contact would bring misfortune.

That night, Su Ruo's feet bled from walking, her forehead bled from knocking, yet she didn't borrow a single cent.

She could only watch helplessly as the child slowly died in her arms.

Su Ruo desperately patted the child in her arms, saying: "Baby, don't be afraid, Mom is here, Mom is here with you…"

"Mom will sing you a lullaby, okay… little bug flies, little bug flies…"

All of Su Ruo's tears flowed dry that night; her soul seemed to have died together with the child.

She buried this memory deep in her heart; even after rebirth she dared not touch it, for the child's death was, to Su Ruo, a pain hundreds, thousands of times greater than her own death.

At this moment, Su Ruo seemed to have fallen into madness, unable to tell whether the child before her was a stranger's little girl or her own child.

In her heart there was only one thought: to save her.

At this moment, 001 also sensed that something was wrong with Su Ruo, but no matter how it called her, Su Ruo did not respond.

Since the binding, Su Ruo had always been calm, even to the point of indifference; this was the first time she lost control, and 001 couldn't help but panic as well.

It had a feeling that if the girl couldn't be saved, Su Ruo would surely suffer a great blow.

So after careful thought, 001 said: "Su Ruo, I can lend you the ability to use electric shock resuscitation, but each use costs ten points; consider whether to use it."

Actually, with Su Ruo's current points, she couldn't afford to buy this ability, but the system, seeing how much she cared about this little girl, made an exception and allowed her to purchase it per use.

Give Su Ruo one chance, and also give this little girl one chance.

Upon hearing 001's words, Su Ruo's bewildered eyes finally gained focus; she firmly said: "I'll exchange!"

001 reminded: "You've thought it through; even if you happen to save the girl, you'll gain at most ten points, but if you fail, you'll lose out!"

"This is a human life!"

Su Ruo's face turned slightly cold; she admitted that since her rebirth she had lived very utilitarianly, but she wanted to save the girl before her absolutely not just for points.

Su Ruo wanted to redeem this little girl, and at the same time redeem her past‑life self.

Seeing Su Ruo's firm attitude, 001 gave no further advice, saying: "Host pays ten points, gains one‑time use of electric shock resuscitation, duration ten minutes."

After 001 finished speaking, Su Ruo felt an electric current flowing at her fingertips; looking closely, she even saw a faint white light flicker.

Su Ruo didn't dare delay; she extended two fingers, placed them on the girl's chest, and an electric current immediately passed through her hands into the girl's body.

After the strike, Su Ruo immediately pulled her hands back; the girl's body lifted with her motion, then quickly fell back, though the movement was slight and blocked by Su Ruo's body, so no one noticed.

Su Ruo observed and saw the girl still had no response; she placed her fingers on the chest again, increased the current, and tried once more.

One, two… after several attempts by Su Ruo, the girl finally woke up.

At the moment she saw the girl open her eyes, Su Ruo instantly burst into tears, weeping with joy.

She had succeeded; she had succeeded in saving this child.

Although Su Ruo knew this was not her own child, it was still a comfort to her; just once, she finally had the ability to protect herself, no longer needing to beg others—she herself was her own redemption.

I am in hell, yet I grow toward the sun.

The watching women, seeing this, couldn't help but shed tears as well.

The little girl reached out her hand to wipe Su Ruo's tears from her face, saying: "Mom, don't cry."

She had just finished saying that when she fainted again.

Su Ruo quickly examined her, confirmed she was all right, and then relaxed.

At that moment a woman came over and said to Su Ruo: "Comrade, hello, I am the Women's Director of Qingshui Village; I truly thank you for coming to help us this time."

This child is now too weak; first take her to the Brigade Headquarters—there are still many wounded there waiting for you.

Upon hearing this, Su Ruo instantly composed her emotions and said: "Auntie, just call me Su Ruo; let's go now."

The Women's Director, in the urgent situation, didn't waste time on pleasantries with Su Ruo, hastily leading her toward the Brigade Headquarters, after all there were still a dozen or so wounded awaiting treatment.

Li Zhaodi saw Su Ruo struggling to carry the girl and said: "I'm strong, I'll hold her!"

Su Ruo knew she would soon have a tough battle to fight, so she didn't insist; she instructed Li Zhaodi to carefully monitor the girl's condition and call her if anything was wrong, then handed the girl over to her.

They had just arrived at the Brigade Headquarters of Qingshui Village when they heard wails and screams rising and falling from inside the rooms, the air filled with a strong smell of blood.

Su Ruo's heart tightened, and her steps quickened involuntarily; upon entering, she saw more than a dozen people covered in blood lying on the beds, constantly wailing, some with wounds deep enough to see the bone.

(End of chapter)