A Mark of Merit

Today is the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, and tomorrow is Lunar New Year's Eve. The station is packed with passengers, whether they are returning from other places or departing from Citong to return to their hometowns.

If Xiang Kun hadn't calculated his itinerary and plans well in advance based on the Blood-Drinking Period and bought his train tickets ahead of time, he definitely wouldn't have been able to buy them at the last minute.

Actually, he had just flown back to his city from Jianzhou City two days ago. Logically speaking, at this point, he could have gone straight back to Citong City to celebrate the New Year, and there was no need for him to fly back like Tang Baona and Zhang Qian.

But for Xiang Kun, in the short term, his safest place to bleed is still the house he bought.

The "base" in Tongshi Town and Chongyun Village hasn't been arranged yet, not to mention living with his parents in Citong City. Even if he could secretly complete the blood-drinking, and sleep for 25 hours straight, his parents probably wouldn't be able to wake him up and would call 120 to take him to the emergency room.

Therefore, before returning home for the Spring Festival, he also had to carefully time his return and calculate the blood-drinking period, ensuring that after drinking the blood, he could allow himself as much time as possible to return home for the Spring Festival.

Just as Xiang Kun stepped out of the station, he suddenly received WeChat from Officer Chen.

"Have you offended anyone recently?" Officer Chen asked directly.

"I don't know. I've always been very law-abiding, and I haven't called the police recently. What happened?" Xiang Kun replied.

Officer Chen: "Someone is checking your information in the police system."

Xiang Kun sent a shocked emoji. "Someone hacked your police system?"

Officer Chen sent a cold sweat emoji. "No, it was our own people who investigated. I talked to them, and our initial assessment is that they don't seem to have any malicious intent towards you; they're just doing this for someone else. So I suspect that someone might want to target you and wants to confirm your background first."

Xiang Kun immediately listed several possible suspects in his mind, from Qi Haoguo, Liu Feibao, Chu Xiuwen to Ji Hang, and even Zhang Qian wasn't out of the question. However, on WeChat, he replied, "Don't worry, Lao Chen, I'll be careful. I'll contact you if anything happens!"

Officer Chen sent a Jacky Cheung "Fly Brother" emoji. "What do you want from me! Call the police yourself if you have a problem!"

But a while later, Officer Chen's message came again. "However, I hinted to the person who was checking your information that he probably thinks you're one of our informants or something, and he'll have some reservations if he really wants to deal with you. Anyway, be careful, and don't act recklessly just because you're good at fighting. No matter how high your martial arts skills are, you're still afraid of a kitchen knife. If you have any problems that you can't solve, leave me a message or call me."

Xiang Kun sent a touched emoji. "Okay! If we encounter any criminal gangs or wanted criminals, I'll keep quiet and secretly inform Officer Chen so I can give you a big New Year's gift!"

Officer Chen sent another Fly emoji. "Screw your New Year's gift! I'm already so busy with cases that I don't even have time off for the Spring Festival. Don't cause me any more trouble."

After finishing his conversation with Officer Chen, Xiang Kun didn't take the person who investigated him too seriously. He knew that none of the suspects would pose a real threat to him, as Qi Haoguo was the "anchor" he was influenced by. Others wouldn't dare to do anything big except gather information.

Judging solely from his resume, it is impeccably clean, with virtually no issues to be found.

If the investigation reaches the point where problems might be uncovered, then it's impossible not to contact him, and impossible for him to remain unaware.

Once he discovers it, he has plenty of countermeasures.

Putting his phone away, Xiang Kun stood outside the Citong City Railway Station, watching the flow of passengers coming and going, and observing the police officers and station security personnel in their cotton coats maintaining order and on duty at various locations. For a moment, Xiang Kun felt somewhat dazed.

He recalled this time last year, when he also rushed home the day before Lunar New Year's Eve. He was busy working overtime then, working until the early hours of the morning for several days in a row, and getting less than four hours of sleep. So he was extremely tired, and his mind was focused on work and projects. He couldn't feel the so-called "New Year's spirit" at all, and there was no festive atmosphere at all.

But upon closer reflection, it seems that the so-called "New Year's spirit" has diminished since middle school. It's not that the environment has changed, but rather that the stage of life we're in has changed, and our mindset has changed. We can no longer be so simply happy because of the New Year, holidays, receiving lucky money, having delicious food, new clothes, and playing with friends.

This year, Xiang Kun is free from work pressure and doesn't need to worry about projects. Although he has taken on a secret that may be a matter of life and death, his mindset has indeed changed a lot compared to before.

At least he could focus more on things outside himself. He could see that the Citong City train station, which he had entered and exited countless times, had actually changed a lot over the years. Not only had many new buildings been added, but the exterior had also been renovated, making it much cleaner, tidier, and more spacious. The surrounding environment had also changed dramatically. Those who solicited customers, swindled, cheated, or committed petty theft had all decreased significantly.

Xiang Kun slowly walked down the stairs from the doorway. Various sensory information was automatically collected and summarized, allowing him to clearly understand the surrounding situation and sense the state of each passenger. From that limited information, he glimpsed the different lives of each person and tried to feel a trace of the "New Year's atmosphere" from them.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out in the crowd exiting the station. Passengers were pushed aside to make way, and someone shouted, "Someone has fainted! An old gentleman has fainted! Is there a doctor? Is there a doctor here?"

Xiang Kun quickly identified the person who shouted based on the sound, as well as the old man lying on the ground who was not in his sight.

By switching to infrared thermal imaging mode and peering through the wall of people, Xiang Kun quickly made a judgment upon seeing the old man on the ground: the old man must be having a heart problem.

Among the passengers exiting the station, a tall, thin young man shouted, "I'm a doctor, please make way!" He squeezed through the crowd, bent down in front of the elderly man, examined him, and asked the person who had previously asked for help, "Are you a family member of the patient? What is his medical history?"

"Uh, I don't know this old gentleman. I was walking behind him when he suddenly fainted. I saw him clutching his chest..."

"Call 120, call an ambulance." The young doctor said, quickly rummaging through the old man's pockets, then looked up and shouted to the other passengers, "Does anyone have nitroglycerin tablets or quick-acting heart medicine?"

The young doctor examined the elderly man again and found that his breathing and heart had stopped. His face was grave, and he began to perform CPR.

Based on infrared thermal imaging visual patterns and the cognitive model he built using various sensory information he had collected, Xiang Kun judged that the old man was likely in grave danger.

Life is unpredictable.

Xiang Kun sighed inwardly. Even with professional doctors present, he didn't think he could do anything better, like bringing someone back to life.

But just as he was about to continue walking out, several plans suddenly popped into his mind.

Now, whenever he encounters a problem, as long as he has the thought of solving or dealing with it, his brain will quickly, based on his needs, calculate and analyze the various sensory information he has collected through the connections between various established cognitive patterns, and make several basic solutions for him to choose from.

This is an "instinctive reaction" that he has developed through extensive training and multiple mutations and evolutions.

Through the solutions he came up with, Xiang Kun suddenly realized that the ability he had "seen" in the car, the one he had Little Chubby Girl Liu Shiling, could help him deal with the problem at hand and might even save the old man.

Xiang Kun quickly weighed the options. Based on the information he had, there was a 99% chance that the old man wouldn't survive if he didn't intervene. The young doctor's CPR would be futile, and by the time the ambulance arrived, it would be too late.

Even if he were to intervene, he wouldn't be 100% certain of saving the old man, but the chances of success would be much higher, at least over 70%.

After a moment's deliberation, Xiang Kun made his decision.

He recalled the angles of the station's surveillance cameras he had observed earlier, as well as the angles of the cameras from the people filming with their phones. Head down, he squeezed towards the old man, pulling up his jacket hood and taking off his glasses. As he approached the old man, he suddenly shouted:

"I'm a cardiac surgeon at the Medical University Affiliated First Hospital, move aside and let me have a turn!"

His voice was very firm and sounded extremely persuasive.

The young doctor who was performing CPR stopped instinctively upon hearing the sound and made way for him.

Then Xiang Kun one knee beside the old man, leaned slightly forward, and used the hood and back of his head to shield his face from the cameras around him, placing his palms on the old man's chest.

It looks like he's going to take over CPR from the young doctor?

The young doctor quickly described his assessment of the patient's condition to Xiang Kun, but after three or four seconds, he noticed that Xiang Kun was still holding his hands on the old man's chest without performing any compressions or first aid. He exclaimed urgently, "Doctor?...!"

But the next second, Xiang Kun suddenly stood up, pushed through the crowd, and walked out.

Those around him assumed he was going to retrieve some tools and spontaneously made way for him. However, to their surprise, the doctor who identified himself as a "cardiac surgeon" walked further and further away, quickly heading towards the station exit.

The young doctor was stunned for a moment, and without saying anything, he quickly bent down to continue the resuscitation of the old man. But as soon as he placed his hands on the old man's chest, he was surprised to find that the old man's heartbeat and breathing had returned.

The person has been saved!

At this moment, the station doctor on duty during the Spring Festival travel rush arrived. After examining the elderly man, he said with admiration, "The patient's heartbeat has returned..."

Upon hearing this, the onlookers excitedly applauded, clearly sharing the same belief as the station doctor that the old man had been saved by the young doctor.

As for that tall man wearing a hat who claimed to be a cardiac surgeon, who knows what he does?

Only the young doctor looked towards the station entrance, searching for that figure. Although he didn't know how the other person had done it, he was very clear that the old man's heartbeat and breathing had returned to normal after the cardiac surgeon had touched his chest.

But that person had long since vanished without a trace; there was no way to find them now.

At this moment, Xiang Kun, who had already quickly left the station, turned onto another street, and started hailing a taxi to go home, secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Now that he'd taken action, he still hoped for a good outcome.

Next time you see the Little Chubby Girl, you can secretly tell her that she helped save an old man's life and give her a small credit.

Just now, when he bent over, there were four Coin pressed tightly against the palms of each of his hands, and at the same time, more than a dozen beads that had established a "Super-Sensory Link" moved from his bag into his arms and hid under his sleeves.

Our heart normally generates electrical activity to ensure a regular heartbeat. When the regularity of the heartbeat is affected or even stops due to various reasons, an AED is needed for defibrillation. A high-voltage pulse current is used to quickly pass through the heart to eliminate the abnormal electrical activity, hoping that the sinoatrial node, the heart's highest "officer," will take over the heart and resume normal heartbeat.

To give an analogy, a normal heartbeat is like a person walking normally. But when a heart disease or sudden disorder occurs, it's like a person tripping over something, kicking their left foot against their right, and their right foot against their left, stumbling and losing their rhythm, or even falling down.

At this point, we kick him to stop him (defibrillation), making him stop walking, stand still, and then start walking again.

If he falls (heart stops beating), then the only thing you can do is kick him hard to see if you can kick him up from the ground again. If you can kick him up, then you can get him walking again.

Some people are uncoordinated, and in these cases, someone needs to help by chanting "one, two, one, one, two, one." This is the function of a pacemaker in some situations.

Using the abilities he had just acquired from the Little Chubby Girl, Xiang Kun used the magnetic fields created by multiple "Super-Sensory Link" items to specifically influence the old man's heart, helping it beat again. It was like someone falling down; Xiang Kun simply helped him up, accurately guiding him to lift his left foot and place it down, then his right foot and place it down, and then gave him a push—hey, yes, let's go!

Because it penetrates directly into the heart, it requires less energy, but is more precise and accurate.

Fortunately, Xiang Kun had read a few medical books beforehand and had some basic understanding; otherwise, even if he had mastered the Little Chubby Girl's "development" ability, he wouldn't have been able to do it.

Although he took off his glasses and put on a hat before he passed by, if someone really wanted to find him, they could still identify him by the surveillance footage of people entering and leaving the station, by his clothing, and even by the location where he got off the train, to determine the approximate carriage of his train, and by verifying the real-name information on his ticket, to deduce his identity.

However, Xiang Kun believes that his behavior should not make it difficult for people to find out his true identity, just like his behavior at the bus accident scene.

Moreover, because of his deliberate performance and guidance, most people at the scene would probably believe that the young doctor was the one who saved the old man's life.