Chapter 3139: 2935 A Stupid Thief

Robbery, he bolted straight for the branch bureau — this flashy move, Zheng Ren had never seen anything like it. Su Yun stared, wide‑eyed, utterly clueless whether that guy's head was full of snowflakes.

Even with a bit of sanity left, he wouldn't do something so incomprehensible.

But the flashy move was only the beginning; the robber kept running, not watching where he was going. He lowered his head and sprinted into the branch bureau courtyard, saw the solemn, imposing building, and froze on the spot.

He hit the brakes; the snowy road was slick, his body lurched, and he tumbled forward into a roll, slamming into the fence.

Zheng Ren watched this utterly incomprehensible move unfold before his eyes — was this a scammer running into the branch bureau, or someone rushing to turn themselves in too eagerly?

But immediately, the man's system panel flashed blood‑red, showing diagnoses such as subcutaneous emphysema, mediastinal emphysema, bronchial rupture, and more, appearing out of nowhere before Zheng Ren.

He immediately pulled out his phone and dialed the emergency rescue service. Zheng Ren was utterly speechless — what on earth is happening?

He had come to the branch bureau for the arrest of that day's murderer, but before he even stepped inside he witnessed this bizarre scene.

This isn't a robbery — clearly he ran to the branch bureau to kill himself.

The woman whose phone had been stolen chased after him, seeing the man clutching her phone, face down on the ground, unconscious. She, too, looked bewildered; no one knew why this guy, panicking, had run straight to the branch bureau.

As for lying motionless on the ground like he was playing dead, the woman whose phone had been stolen found it utterly incomprehensible.

Preparing to open his chest, Zheng Ren also felt helpless — over a single phone, such a huge fuss. Never mind the suffering, the money for surgery and treatment could buy several phones, and now he'd also have to bear a robbery charge; what's the point?

But the man lay on the ground, twitching, his system panel continually turning red; after hanging up, Zheng Ren hesitated a moment.

Could mediastinal emphysema and subcutaneous emphysema be from too much gas compressing the airway, causing breathing to stop suddenly?

Probably not; he rushed forward and called to Su Yun to turn the patient over.

Visible swelling in the patient's neck was still spreading. Su Yun placed her hand on it and said, "It's clearly crepitus — subcutaneous air."

The man's face was filled with terror; he hadn't realized how much trouble he'd caused, and after regaining his senses he instinctively tried to struggle up.

"Lie down!" Zheng Ren shouted.

His voice rang like thunder, startling the man; his face turned deathly pale, and his lips began to blu­sh.

"You're injured; stealing a phone isn't a big deal — stay alive first." Zheng Ren barked at the man.

"Under Article 263 of the Criminal Law, robbery by violence, coercion or other means carries a sentence of three to ten years in prison." Su Yun said coldly.

The man's face changed dramatically.

"You ran straight into the branch bureau — that counts as turning yourself in, so you could get a lighter sentence — don't move!" Zheng Ren grabbed the man's arm propping him up, his voice low, "If you run, you won't make it a hundred meters; I've called 120 emergency."

Su Yun thought it strange; the man only had subcutaneous emphysema, at most mediastinal emphysema — why was the boss so worked up?

When mediastinal emphysema is extensive, it's due to tracheal or bronchial rupture; with higher pressure the rupture seals itself, and most patients don't need special treatment.

He had just scared the man, saying three to ten years in prison, thinking the illness wasn't serious, just throwing out a threat to scare this stupid thief.

In this situation, he probably brought it on himself.

Observing the patient closely, she saw the subcutaneous emphysema in his neck spreading like an inflating balloon. Su Yun frowned, "Boss, this doesn't look light."

"Do you have a knife?" Zheng Ren asked.

Su Yun shook her head.

Today, coming to the branch bureau, Feng Xu Hui didn't follow; Zheng Ren felt a bit regretful, a little uneasy. Little Feng usually keeps a sterile incision kit and scalpels for emergency rescue, but they're rarely used — where would you find so many emergency supplies? Waiting by the emergency department for a lucky break is the most common approach.

But once he wasn't with him, they ran into this thorny problem. This guy… his luck is truly awful.

At that moment, branch bureau officers came running, beginning to ask about the situation. Even experienced officers had never seen a robber, after committing the crime, march resolutely into the police station's gates.

After clarifying the situation, everyone laughed helplessly. One officer stepped forward and asked, "Doctor?"

"Yeah, from 912."

"Um… are you Doctor Zheng?" the officer, who should have known Zheng Ren was coming today, asked right away.

"Yeah, that's me." Zheng Ren crouched beside the patient, eyes unblinking as he observed the patient's condition and the system panel's color.

Lin Ge gave a helpless laugh, preparing to smooth things over for Boss Zheng. "Everyone has their role — Boss Zheng handles the rescue, I handle the socials, tagging along for a meal; we've got to be useful somehow."

"Doctor Zheng, are you considering that he smashed his head?" the officer, unfazed by Zheng Ren's ignoring him, asked with a chuckle.

Faced with such a dimwit thief, nobody could stay serious. Just moments ago, Su Yun had used some scrap of legal knowledge she'd picked up somewhere to scare this guy.

"It looks serious — don't move!" Su Yun shouted, "Stay calm — are you having trouble breathing? It's just that breathing is a chore."

The man lay on the cold ground, blinking.

"Take it slow, deep breaths, relax. Don't gulp air — your breathing difficulty will only get worse." Su Yun said.

The man finally wasn't afraid of the police station anymore — even though he'd just snatched a phone and was surrounded by officers in uniform. He now felt short of breath, a sense of impending death washing over him.

After hearing Su Yun's recommended breathing method, the man not only failed to comply, he began breathing in ever‑quicker short bursts.

What you fear comes to pass — likely his panic, once oxygen‑starved, became uncontrollable.

Zheng Ren looked at the patient's visibly bulging neck skin, frowned, and asked, "Do you have a knife?"

"Um… yes." said the nearby officer, "but it hasn't been sterilized."

"Please fetch one; even unsterilized will do for now." Zheng Ren stared at the patient, not blinking.

"All right." The officer beside Zheng Ren sprang up and trotted off into the room.

Lin Ge had originally wanted to smooth things over, but he didn't expect the branch bureau staff to think Boss Zheng's approach was correct — they weren't unhappy at all and were quite cooperative.

Zheng Ren didn't think much else; he kept his eyes on the patient's neck skin and lips. As the subcutaneous emphysema worsened, the man's lips turned bluer and bluer.

As the officer came running with the knife, the wail of the 120 emergency ambulance echoed from afar.