Left with no other choice, Dr. James retrieved the set of needles and placed them in Claire's hand.
"Get his pants off."
Claire instructed the nurse.
The nurse didn't hesitate for a second, swiftly cutting away the ruined fabric.
It was a blessing the boy was already unconscious; otherwise, he would have undoubtedly died of mortification.
The moment the wound was fully exposed, Claire moved with divine precision.
Her hands blurred with such incredible speed that Dr. James could barely track her movements.
Had he not witnessed the severe hemorrhaging slow and then stop right before his eyes, he never would have believed such masterful technique could come from a young college student.
"The bleeding actually stopped!" the nurse gasped. She had worked at Camp Blackwood for years and had seen her fair share of trauma.
She had never witnessed a display of skill quite like this.
"The paramedics are ready!" Van announced, seeing that the situation was finally stabilized.
The medical team sprang into action, carefully transferring the stabilized patient into the ambulance.
"I assume you won't be needing me from here on out?"
Although the procedure had been brief, the intense concentration required to manipulate the needles had left her drained.
She was actually quite exhausted.
"Come with us, just in case things go south," Van insisted, clearly reluctant to let his trump card out of his sight.
Dr. James chimed in frantically. "He's right! The needles are still in."
"If the surgeons at the hospital don't know the proper removal technique, they could trigger a massive secondary hemorrhage."
Left with no polite way to refuse, Claire climbed into the back of the ambulance.
The hospital staff was waiting at the emergency bay the moment they arrived.
Van had called ahead, ensuring the trauma team was fully prepped and ready for immediate intervention.
The emergency responders were an elite task force hastily assembled for this exact crisis.
"Top specialists from all over Cabinda are en route."
"Due to the unique location and severity of the penetrating trauma, we'll need to consult on a definitive surgical plan."
"But rest assured, sir, we will do absolutely everything in our power to save this student."
"I was informed his wound was hemorrhaging uncontrollably..." The man leading the reception was Vice President Finn, the hospital's leading surgical ace.
He was primarily a urology specialist whose bread and butter involved highly delicate resections and... well, vasectomies.
"The bleeding has been stopped," Van replied, just as the paramedics wheeled the gurney down the ramp.
"Who managed this?" Vice President Finn asked, his eyes widening in astonishment.
He had read medical journals detailing traditional acupuncture as a hemostatic agent, but he had never seen it successfully applied.
The bleeding was indeed halted, but how were they supposed to navigate the surgical field with needles in the way?
"This ruptured testicle is going to need a full resection, right?"
Claire inquired, leaning in with the innocent curiosity of a medical student.
Without checking to see who was asking, Vice President Finn answered instinctively. "Yes. If the patient wishes to maintain structural symmetry in the future, we can look into inserting a prosthetic testicle."
Claire frowned. "But that's entirely cosmetic, isn't it?"
Finn nodded. "It won't produce sperm, but aesthetically, it's better than living with just one."
"It's useless and unnecessary," Claire remarked bluntly.
Vice President Finn was left momentarily speechless. Her brutal assessment was so
logically sound that he couldn't even formulate a counterargument.
He finally turned to look at his conversational partner, only to find an unfamiliar
young girl standing there in a wrinkled camouflage uniform.
Wait a minute-was this one of the kids from the training camp?
"Why is a student riding along in the ambulance? Is he your boyfriend? Finn asked, having seen plenty of overly dramatic teenage romances play out in his ER
Claire vehemently shook her head. "Absolutely not. Please don't misunderstand."
Why would I date a guy with a missing testicle? That's just depressing.
"She's the consulting physician I brought along," Van clarified, officially introducing her.
"This is Claire. The hemostatic needlework was entirely her doing."
Finn stared at Claire in sheer disbelief. "Which master of traditional medicine did you study under?"
A technique this sophisticated had to be a closely guarded secret passed down through generations.
Applying pressure via needles
sounded simple in theory, but the
number of practitioners capable executing it in a life-or-death@risis
was incredibly small.
"Hale was my mentor," Claire replied with a proud smile.
Unfortunately, as a strictly Western-trained surgeon, the legendary name meant absolutely nothing to Vice President Finn.