Chapter Ninety-Six: Harm to Others, Harm to Oneself

“Did he make it? Is he alive?”

The two officers spoke in trembling voices.

They had only stood by and watched Su Chen perform the procedure, and even so their hearts had nearly leapt out of their throats. Cold sweat soaked them through, and even now they still had lingering fear.

After all, he had opened the man’s chest with a knife. The incision was only about a centimeter across, but the chest cavity was full of vital organs. One careless scrape, one slip of the blade, and the man would be gone for certain.

Beside him, when Su Chen clearly felt the plastic tube in the owner’s chest drawing breath, he finally let out a long sigh.

His whole body went slack. He simply sat down on the ground and, panting, said, “He made it.”

“As long as that tube isn’t moved and doesn’t get blocked, he’ll be fine.”

Hearing this, the two officers also breathed easier. But neither of them let go; they kept holding the owner down, afraid he might thrash about unconsciously.

“But...”

Su Chen changed his tone, and the two men, just as they were settling down, tensed up again at once.

They turned sharply and stared at him.

There should not be a “but” here.

If anything went wrong, even if Su Chen said he would take responsibility, they would still bear blame as well.

That was not even the worst part. The most important thing was that this was a human life. If he died, then they would all be accomplices.

They would have to carry pain and guilt for the rest of their lives.

Unaware of their expressions, Su Chen continued on his own: “But at most, this just means there’s no immediate danger to his life anymore. The boss was kicked, and his sternum is fractured. He still needs to go to the hospital.”

“Of course, if he doesn’t go out tonight, doesn’t work, and lies in bed to recover properly for a month, he might not even need the hospital.”

Su Chen’s words finally let the officers’ lifted hearts settle back down.

They looked at each other, each seeing the shock in the other’s eyes.

A man who had been on the verge of death just moments ago was now said to be alive, and to need nothing more than a month of rest to recover completely. Who would believe such a thing?

This young man was truly like the divine healer reborn.

Once they had fully relaxed, they could not help but cast resentful looks at Su Chen.

Why did this kid, so young, have to speak in such suspenseful half-breaths?

Not long after, the ambulance that had been summoned by the siren braked hard and came to a stop by the roadside.

Several doctors in white coats rushed out, quickly locating the officers at the stall and hurrying over.

“Two officers, we’re doctors from the city people’s hospital. Where is the injured person now, and what is his condition?”

Seeing the doctors arrive, the two officers immediately looked relieved.

Just as they were about to stand, they remembered the owner was still lying there, so they could only crouch on the ground and look up at the doctors as they answered.

“The injured person is this one. He has already been pulled out of immediate danger after treatment by this gentleman here.”

The lead doctor froze, then looked at the owner on the ground and the tube sticking out of his chest. His expression changed at once.

“What is the patient’s condition now? Is the wound the tube in his chest? How was that inserted?”

“No... we don’t know yet which organ that tube went into. The injured man is still in great danger!”

Hearing this, one of the officers hurried to explain, “The tube was inserted during surgery performed by this gentleman for the injured man. He put it in because...”

He had barely begun when the doctor furiously cut him off.

“What? Surgery on the street?!”

“You mean this wound was caused by this person? This is the chest! If anything goes wrong, that is no different from murder!”

“How did the two of you become police officers? In a situation like this, shouldn’t your first priority be protecting the injured man?!”

The doctor nearly shouted the words at them.

The two officers wanted to explain, but for a moment they did not know how to begin.

At that moment, Su Chen said, “You should hurry and take the injured man to the hospital for an examination.”

“And after he’s on a ventilator, then you can remove the tube. Be sure to pay attention to that.”

Hearing him, the doctor finally reacted. He immediately instructed the accompanying staff to carefully lift the owner onto a stretcher and take him back to the vehicle.

At parting, the doctor shot Su Chen a fierce glare and said, “You’d better pray the patient’s body is fine. If anything happens, it will be your responsibility!”

“You’re young, and I don’t care where you learned this from, but this concerns a human life. Acting recklessly without thinking, doing something so dangerous, you are harming others and yourself!”

“Two officers, make sure to watch this man closely. Don’t let him run. If something goes wrong, he’ll be a murderer!”

The doctor’s words sent a chill through the two officers. They looked at Su Chen, exchanging uncertain glances.

Su Chen only smiled and shook his head, holding no resentment at all. He had long since anticipated this scene. As long as the outcome was good, that was enough.

At that moment Han Jiangxue ran up and, seeing Su Chen’s hand soaked in blood, asked with concern, “Su Chen, is your hand okay?”

“It’s fine. Just a small cut,” Su Chen said.

“A small cut? You’re still bleeding!” Han Jiangxue said with a choked voice.

Su Chen rubbed her head and said, “For a hot-blooded young man like me, blood runs wild and fierce. Isn’t it normal that it won’t stop for a while?”

Hearing his voice, Han Jiangxue laughed through her tears, even blowing a few snot bubbles.

“No! You have to get stitches right now!”

Unable to resist her, Su Chen could only say, “All right.”

Meanwhile, the two officers used that time to cuff the four thugs and put them into the police car.

Then they got out again and came up to Su Chen.

“Um... sir, we may still need to ask you to come to the station to give a statement...”

Seeing their averted gazes, Su Chen understood. They were also worried that the owner might have a problem at the hospital, so they needed to take Su Chen along as well.

Besides, those thugs had suffered injuries to varying degrees, and from the video Han Jiangxue had provided, the police had identified the instigator: Su Chen.

Thinking of the skill Su Chen had shown earlier, the two officers did not dare be careless.

Those moves were nothing that could be learned from taekwondo or judo.

Every strike and every technique was the art of killing.

Su Chen did not make things difficult for them, and obediently prepared to get into the second police car that had arrived later.

But just then, Han Jiangxue spoke up: “Take me too. I’m going as well!”

“And before going to the station, shouldn’t Su Chen at least get his wound stitched up?”

Seeing Han Jiangxue’s determined eyes, warmth flowed through Su Chen’s heart.

The two officers also nodded. “All right, then let’s go to the hospital first and bandage this gentleman’s wound.”

After that, the group left in the police car, leaving only a few auxiliary officers who had just arrived to maintain order at the scene.

By now, a crowd had gathered around, all taking photos and recording with their phones.