Chapter 2488: 2401 Fleeting Tone

"Send to gastroenterology surgery." Zheng Ren said in a low voice.

He also casually tapped Tang Haitao's wrist radial styloid process, stopping his attempt to take off the stethoscope.

"Inside is a magnet." Zheng Ren said.

"A magnet?"

"Call gastroenterology, prepare for emergency surgery, have the second line come." Zheng Ren took the white coat Zhou Litao handed over, threw it on, and walked out pulling the gurney.

Zhou Litao looked helplessly as Zheng Ren and Su Yun took the patient to gastroenterology surgery, standing at the door of the emergency resuscitation room and sighing.

"Brother Zhou, you've got this to wait for." Tang Haitao patted Zhou Litao's shoulder and said with a smile.

Actually he also envied Zhou Litao, who under Su Yun's guidance obtained such a top‑SCI article in 《Xin Ying Ge Lan》.

In the eyes of peers, this is a huge deal; saying one isn't jealous is fake. But Zhou Litao has a good relationship with Boss Zheng, and I can only watch.

Tang Haitao originally had ideas too, but lately Boss Zheng rarely comes to the emergency department, so he can only quietly wait for an opportunity.

Waiting is waiting, but it's impossible not to feel anxious or angry. Especially today, when the top‑SCI article landed, Tang Haitao felt a surge of jealousy upon hearing the news. Saying the jealousy is excessive may be an overstatement, but he certainly felt resentful.

But it's also not good to go overboard.

"Sigh." Zhou Litao sighed, "It's fine, wait a bit, don't rush."

……

All the way sending the patient to gastroenterology surgery, Quan Xiaocao was already waiting at the door early.

"Boss Zheng, the patient……"

"Pre‑op preparation, consider that he swallowed a magnet." Zheng Ren said.

As Quan Xiaocao took the gurney, Zheng Ren stopped the patient's family.

"Are you the patient's father?" Zheng Ren asked directly.

The man, about forty, seemed already panicked, his eyes unfocused; Zheng Ren's words didn't reach him, and he instinctively followed the gurney in a hurry.

Zheng Ren grabbed him and shouted, "Are you the patient's father?"

"Ah?" The man stared, then blankly nodded, then instinctively shook his head.

"Are you the patient's mother?" Zheng Ren looked at the other woman behind him and said, "Come with me."

Zheng Ren's tone was firm; the patient's parents unconsciously followed him to the office, their eyes showing anxiety and confusion.

Upon reaching the office, Zheng Ren took advantage of the parents' stunned moment to enter the system operating room and begin surgical training.

Indeed, just as imagined, Zheng Ren opened the small patient's abdomen and found over ninety magnetic buckyballs each a little over 5 mm in diameter.

Finding the magnetic buckyballs wasn't hard; the difficulty was the messy abdominal cavity with many ruptured spots.

Why did this happen? Zheng Ren pondered in the system operating room for a long time before barely figuring it out.

The child must have thought it fun and swallowed a magnetic buckyball.

After an unknown period, he started eating magnetic buckyballs again.

Though the magnetic buckyballs accumulated in different positions before and after, their strong magnetism, as the intestines peristaltic, literally tore open the gut.

This thing looks truly dangerous; Zheng Ren alone performed the surgery in the system operating room. If unnecessary, he normally doesn't activate the assistant system. Surgical training time is precious and must not be wasted.

……

"Now we consider the child likely swallowed a magnet." Zheng Ren emerged from the system operating room and told the patient's parents.

"A magnet…" The patient's father looked dazed and asked blankly.

"Is it a magnetic buckyball?!" The patient's mother, still holding onto basic rationality, immediately asked.

"How big?" Zheng Ren asked.

The patient's mother gestured with her hand; it was about the same size Zheng Ren had seen in the system operating room.

Her hand trembled slightly, her nail beds were as pale as her lips, devoid of any color.

Although she seemed lucid, she was also forcing herself to hold on.

After gesturing, the patient's mother immediately recalled something, picked up her phone, and began fumbling to find something.

Zheng Ren guessed she was looking for pictures.

However, her hand was cold and shaking badly; she had to swipe many times before finding what Zheng Ren needed.

"Is this it, doctor?" the patient's mother asked in a trembling voice.

Zheng Ren saw a similar icon in the online shopping column and took the phone over.

"Magnetic buckyballs?" Su Yun frowned at the phone and said.

"Nowadays, it's rare for a child to swallow metal at home." Zheng Ren looked at the screen and said, "If such a toy exists, it's highly likely to be the cause."

"I… I… ask." The child's mother said in a trembling voice.

She hung up the phone and dialed.

"Where are you?" While calling, her tone shifted slightly; although still full of panic, it unnaturally carried an overbearing, condescending air.

Zheng Ren startled for a moment, wondering if this person was someone important—surely not, since talking with her hadn't given that impression.

In an instant, images of the useless son‑in‑law revealing his identity while the father‑in‑law gets scared and kneels flooded his mind—though he thought it impossible, the woman's voice changed dramatically before and after, something anyone could notice.

"Xiao Kai is in the hospital; go home right now and check the magnetic buckyballs you bought last week." The child's mother said quickly: "Immediately! Right now!!"

Later on, her voice turned sharp, somewhat hysterical and deranged.

Zheng Ren and Su Yun were a bit puzzled, but other matters had nothing to do with doctors.

Seeing Feng Jianguo enter, Zheng Ren stood and said, "Brother Feng, I suspect a 12‑year‑old swallowed a magnetic buckyball."

"What is that?" Feng Jianguo indeed didn't know.

"Here, this is it." Su Yun pointed to the patient's mother's phone.

"A phone?" Feng Jianguo was confused by Su Yun's explanation.

"It's a small ball containing metal that can be played with as building blocks, a children's educational toy." The child's mother returned to normal, quickly grabbed her phone, opened the shopping interface, and showed it to Feng Jianguo.

While speaking, her tone returned to normal again.

Feng Jianguo frowned, finished looking, then suddenly said: "No wonder, hurry up and go on stage to open and take a look."

"Zheng Lao Ban, can you lend a hand?" Feng Jianguo asked.

Zheng Ren nodded.

A glance at the emergency room showed that pre-op preparations were already finished; the Inpatient Chief and Quan Xiaocao were getting ready to send the patient to Shou Bing.

"Hurry up." Feng Jianguo said, then arranged for the Inpatient Chief to brief the patient's family downstairs and complete the formalities, after which he went with Zheng Ren and Su Yun to the Gengyishi.

"What the heck is this? I just glanced at it and didn't understand." Upon entering the Gengyishi, Feng Jianguo couldn't wait to ask.

"Building blocks, magnetic building blocks—that explanation is enough." Su Yun said.

"It doesn't look that big, so how did the intestines rupture?"

Zheng Ren shook his head slightly; just a ruptured intestine? It's not that simple.