Chapter 118
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The hospital room was quiet, broken only by the rhythmic beeping of medical equipment–until Zina and her companions entered, their footsteps echoing sharply against the sterile floor.
Zina approached the man’s bedside, her brows furrowed. The patient lying there had an ashen complexion, his eyes tightly shut, as if wracked with excruciating agony.
In that split second, Zina’s medical instincts kicked in–this man had been poisoned.
Zina rested her fingertips on the driver’s wrist, her eyes tightly shut as she focused on the subtle thrum of his pulse.
After what felt like an eternity, Zina finally opened her eyes–only to find herself staring straight into Wade’s anxious gaze.
Wade asked with concern, “What’s going on? From what I just saw, it looks like poisoning, but I can’t say for certain.”
As he spoke, Wade carefully scrutinized Zina’s every move.
After a few seconds, Zina slowly shook her head. “His pulse is steady, yet he’s completely unconscious. Hard to say for sure, but I suspect it’s food incompatibility”
“Food incompatibility?” he exclaimed. Now it was Wade’s turn to freeze in surprise.
Wade bit his lip as he pondered. After a long moment, he finally looked up, a knowing glint in her eyes.
“Oh, I almost forgot. You’ve always been the expert when it comes to traditional medicine,” said Wade.
“Yes,” Zina murmured, giving a slight nod. For some reason, though, she just wasn’t in the mood to say anything more.
Zina’s gaze lingered on the patient in the hospital bed. For reasons she couldn’t explain, a new perspective surfaced in her
mind
Zina stepped forward and examined the driver’s fingers.
Zina frowned, thinking. Someone who’s fainted should be completely limp. Yet right now, this man’s arm was unnaturally stiff as if he’d been straining against something!
“Who was with the driver yesterday?” Zina asked, her gaze sweeping across the room.
“I was here with him,” Andy replied, his brow furrowing as a flicker of uncertainty crossed his eyes. “Why do you ask? Is something wrong?”
“Yes.” Zina nodded. “He must have had the incident around three or four am. last night. As for the cause, it’s most likely complications from prior trauma.”
“What complications?” Andy asked, still looking utterly bewildered. But Zina had no patience for this pointless back–and- forth.
With a firm grip, Zina propped up the driver’s torso, then gestured for Andy to come closer.
As Andy approached, Zina handed the driver over to him, then rubbed her aching lower back before slowly explaining, “If I’m not mistaken, before falling into a vegetative state, he must have suffered severe trauma or something similar.
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Chapter 118
“His current physical condition doesn’t match his symptoms at all.”
After her brief explanation, Zina watched Andy’s expression slowly change, then let out a faint sigh.
‘I really should have realized this sooner, Zina thought to herself.
Zina couldn’t help but notice that Andy’s concern for the driver was excessive–not just about his physical well–being, but with an urgent, almost desperate edge to it.
If I’m not mistaken, this kind of craving- she wondered.
Zina pursed her lips again, her gaze drifting into the distance as new suspicions took root in her mind.
At that very moment, as if something had suddenly occurred to him, Andy whipped his head around and fixed Zina with a sharp, piercing stare.
Andy suddenly said, “Doctor, it just occurred to me–he was in a car accident a while back, wasn’t he? Could that be related?”
“Car accident?” Zina frowned deeply, deliberately adopting a pensive expression.
Zina said. “That is indeed a possibility, though the probability isn’t very high. Compared to a car accident, I’d say poisoning is far more likely–the muscle rigidity he’s exhibiting is consistent with toxic exposure persisting to this day.”
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