Chapter 490: Race for Every Second

In fact, when Lu Cheng asked that question, he already had a bad premonition in his heart.

It can't be that coincidental, can it?

But things in the world won't cease to happen just because you don't want them to.

Doctor Liu still didn't even lift his eyelids and casually said, "The surname is Wu, seems to be… Wu Zhekun, yes, that's the name."

Although he had already prepared himself mentally in advance, actually confirming the name was still hard to accept at first.

Squatting down, Lu Cheng began to check.

"Doctor Liu, is his injury severe?"

Doctor Liu only turned his head then, because he had already spoken about the patient's condition earlier.

Although it was a brief encounter with this Lu Jingzhang, due to the habit of delivering supplies, he never said any useless words.

"Lu Jingzhang, do you… know each other?"

Doctor Liu noticed that after he mentioned Wu Zhekun's name, Lu Cheng's demeanor seemed off.

"We know each other; his father and I are senior brothers."

At this moment, Lu Cheng only felt grateful, grateful that he had just been willing to risk punishment to bring this group of wounded soldiers back to the Capital City.

Otherwise, the consequence… Wu Zhekun might truly have perished here.

Upon hearing about Lu Cheng's relationship with Platoon Leader Wu, Doctor Liu then said.

"Hmm? This Platoon Leader comrade's condition is indeed very serious, but as long as we hurry to send him back to the Capital City, we should be able to save his life."

Lu Cheng nodded, and, as the doctor had said earlier, to put it bluntly, now they were racing Death.

To save time, Lu Cheng immediately went to the locomotive and found Liu Baoquan.

"Master Liu, can we increase the speed again? Those wounded soldiers need time; we can't delay."

Liu Baoquan was rather puzzled; he also knew that time couldn't be wasted, everyone knew it, so why did Lu Jingzhang specifically come over to ask?

Although Lu Cheng was the person in charge, normally train matters were entirely delegated to this train driver.

"Lu Jingzhang, you still don't know? We've been running at top speed all this time; the Boiler is almost burnt out."

This is a Special Train transporting military supplies, enjoying the highest right‑of‑way; all other vehicles must yield.

Lu Cheng realized he was being overly impatient; once impatient, the mind tends to become sluggish.

He forced himself to calm down, not letting the fact that the wounded soldier was Wu Zhekun cause him to stop thinking.

Once calm, Lu Cheng quickly thought of a way to increase speed.

"Then, Master Liu, anyway our mission this time is to transport these dozen wounded soldiers, we don't actually need that many Carriages; when we reach the next station, we can unload the unnecessary Carriages."

Liu Baoquan didn't ask why; he just assumed Lu Cheng was afraid the wounded might have problems, so he was thinking of a way to save time.

"Oh, that works; removing more than half the Carriages reduces the traction, which can raise the speed a bit."

Any increase is an increase; it's better than doing nothing.

Lu Cheng immediately ordered the Railway Troops to prepare; once the train pulls into the station, they must quickly detach the rear Carriages.

When the train pulls into the station, Liu Baoquan, together with Jiwu Section comrades and Railway Troops, swiftly dismantles the Carriages; Lu Cheng, meanwhile, uses the time to negotiate with the local Railway Division.

Detaching the Carriages directly onto the Iron Rail inevitably affects normal Railway traffic; subsequently the local Railway Branch must tow the Carriages elsewhere.

Not to mention this is a military train with the highest right‑of‑way; just saying that Lu Cheng, a deputy division‑level police chief from the Capital City, the local Railway Branch wouldn't dare raise any objections.

A comrade from the local Railway Division nodded and said, "Don't worry, Lu Jingzhang, we'll handle the follow‑up work; you just drive on."

With the negotiations here finished and the Carriages over there all dismantled, when the train set off again, Doctor Liu clearly felt the whole carriage was much lighter.

It was certainly Lu Jingzhang who found a way to raise the train's speed.

At this speed back to the Capital City, they could save a lot of time, and Doctor Liu breathed a sigh of relief, but that night, a scene that worried him appeared.

Platoon Leader Wu, whose surname is Wu, suddenly broke out with a high fever.

Upon receiving the news, Lu Cheng couldn't rest and hurried to that Carriage.

"What's wrong, Doctor Liu? I heard someone has a high fever."

Doctor Liu was wetting a towel in a basin and said, "Yes, Lu Jingzhang, it's the Platoon Leader with the surname Wu."

Lu Cheng walked over to check; Wu Zhekun's whole body was burning hot.

"Lao Wu, Lao Wu…"

He shouted for a long time, but the comatose Wu Zhekun gave no response.

"Doctor Liu, can he hold out?"

Doctor Liu sighed, "The worst now is the fever; if it's caused by infection, it's even more dangerous."

Hearing this, Lu Cheng became a bit worried: "What should we do? We can't just wait idly; if it really can't be helped, let the train pull into a station and find a nearby hospital first."

"If a nearby hospital can treat him, we won't go to the Capital City. All the medical supplies of the hospitals around here are being allocated to the Frontline, only the Capital City has a sufficient stock."

"Moreover, Platoon Leader Wu's body cannot be shuttled back and forth now; otherwise it would only aggravate his condition."

Doctor Liu said, handing over the wet towel, "Lu Jingzhang, don't worry too much; I'll give Platoon Leader Wu an injection of antibiotics first and observe."

For now that's all they can do; Lu Cheng used the wet towel to physically cool Wu Zhekun's body.

"Lao Wu, you have to hold on. Didn't you write in your last letter that you wanted to become a disciple of Xu Erye? When you wake up, I'll take you there and speak to him, let my Master accept you, and we'll become senior brothers…"

Lu Cheng also didn't know whether those words could reach the comatose Wu Zhekun.

But they had to give him some hope, to spark a strong will to survive and a powerful willpower in Wu Zhekun, so he could pull through.

Perhaps it worked; Wu Zhekun stopped groaning, and after the antibiotic injection, he fell into a deep sleep again.

The train runs nonstop twenty‑four hours, and the people work in two rotating shifts.

Doctor Liu was alone and truly couldn't manage, and he also needed rest, so Lu Cheng called a few Railway Troops to guard the wounded.

Fortunately, that antibiotic took effect; although it didn't completely eliminate the fever, it at least lowered it gradually.

Two days later at noon, the train arrived at Beijing Station, and ambulances were already waiting in advance.

Lu Cheng quickly pulled open the carriage: "Doctor, hurry, get them onto the carriage; two people are about to die, they need immediate rescue…"

The scene erupted into chaos, and they urgently lifted a dozen injured soldiers onto the carriage, lingered not a moment, and sped toward the hospital.

Doctor Liu was already exhausted, but he was the only doctor and knew the wounded soldiers' conditions best, so he rode along with the ambulance to the hospital.

Originally Lu Cheng wanted to go along, but after thinking, he first went to the department store in front of the Platform Square.

Wu Zhekun was seriously injured, and the news had to be reported to the Wu Family.