The sun was setting, and it was still scorching hot.
On the road, the temperature seemed almost visible.
The air was blurred by the heat.
Among these concrete and steel buildings, the middle-aged woman had Little Fish lie in a cool spot, fanning her and occasionally changing her water.
But her whole body was soaked with sweat, and large drops of sweat fell from her forehead.
Brother Sun stepped forward, remembering that when Little Fish had heatstroke before, her face was red.
Now, her face was pale, and despite being fanned, she was still sweating profusely.
He reached out and touched Little Fish's forehead, then listened to her heart rate.
Hiss!
"She's so hot, it must be over 40 degrees!"
Brother Sun said with some concern, "Little Fish's situation isn't right now; she has severe heatstroke, and it's very likely heatstroke."
Hearing that it sounded very serious, the middle-aged woman asked worriedly, "Brother Sun, what is heatstroke? Is it serious?"
Before working in catering, Brother Sun had been a barefoot doctor in the village for two years.
Later, as fewer and fewer people remained in the village, moving to the city, he decided to go to the city as well.
After arriving in the city, he found that opening a clinic was not like in the countryside; it required a stack of licenses and permits, and with his limited knowledge, he couldn't do it at all, so he changed professions.
Therefore, he had some understanding of medicine, not much, but very effective for solving people's minor illnesses and pains.
Hearing the middle-aged woman's question, Brother Sun explained, "The most severe type of heatstroke is called heatstroke, which is a dysfunction of the body's temperature regulation caused by high temperatures, leading to excessive heat accumulation in the body and damage to the nervous organs."
He sighed and continued, "Heatstroke, in the classification of heatstroke, is a severe form of heatstroke, and also the most serious type; it is a fatal and deadly disease with a high mortality rate."
Upon hearing the word "death," everyone around felt a pang of sorrow, looking at the pale-faced little girl, feeling extremely distressed.
Brother Sun looked at Little Fish with a sorrowful expression and said, "Little Fish's face is so pale, and her heart rate is so fast and weak.
She must be given fluid replacement as soon as possible, and physiological saline, glucose solution, and potassium chloride should be quickly replenished.
External cooling and deep core cooling treatment are also needed, preferably with ice packs for external application."
"But, we have nothing here now, alas!"
Fate, at times, plays tricks on people.
Long ago, Li Yu had purchased many medical instruments and even asked his sister what basic medicines were essential for daily use in a hospital.
Then, he found a familiar clinic in the county town, gave them a good sum, and had them help him procure a large quantity of medicines.
Later, in the early stages of the zombie outbreak, he led the workers to move many things from the town hospitals, health clinics, county hospitals, and other places around the base.
Even when they passed by pharmacies and hospitals in the city, they would habitually collect some medicines.
They did not move everything, leaving some medicines for others.
Because Li Yu deeply knew that in the apocalypse, a few things were most important: a safe shelter, food, medicine, weapons, and trustworthy people.
After they moved many medicines, some of the remaining medicines were also gradually taken away by later people.
Chinese people have a characteristic: they are accustomed to collecting many things, even if they are not useful now, they might be useful in the future.
Hence, they have a habit of hoarding things.
However, for Tan Guohua and his tiny group, hoarding things was a luxury.
They had no stable residence and spent every day searching for food and safer places.
Therefore, for them, the fewer things, the better, as it made them more agile.
Brother Sun looked at Little Fish, feeling a pang of pity in his heart.
Heatstroke has a mortality rate as high as 20-80%.
Thump, thump, thump!
A rapid sound of footsteps came.
Everyone shifted their attention to that direction.
It was Tan Guohua; he was carrying a bag, and his face was heavy.
Tan Guohua did not look at anyone, his eyes focused only on the small figure lying on the bamboo chair under the house.
A trace of tenderness appeared in his eyes; this was his most cherished treasure.
But seeing his daughter's pale face, he instantly felt a heartache that made him unable to breathe.
He rushed over, and before he could catch his breath, he opened the backpack in his hand.
Then he said,
"Brother Sun, my daughter, I, I only found ten drops of water, cough cough cough.
And, and some physiological saline, and some IV supplies."
Tan Guohua, having stopped his rapid run, spoke quickly before he had even caught his breath.
Brother Sun looked at the sweating Tan Guohua, feeling a bit helpless, but still needing to tell him the worst outcome, so he finally spoke:
"Hua Ge, Little Fish, she has heatstroke, which has a very high mortality rate.
Now there's no ice, and some other medicines are missing, it's very difficult.
And, it's been too long.
Alas!"
As he spoke, he took the backpack from Tan Guohua's hand, while feeding Little Fish the ten drops of water, then inserting the needle for the IV.
Tan Guohua, across from him, was stunned for a moment upon hearing Brother Sun's words, unable to believe it.
He, who was always ruthless and decisive, had been a hooligan in his youth, having bullied some honest people and committed many bad deeds.
It was only when he became a father that he slowly matured, becoming responsible and dependable.
Now his wife had been killed by the Salvation Army.
His daughter had survived the heavy rain, had survived the zombies, but now, in this high-temperature weather...
Severe heatstroke? Heatstroke? Very high mortality rate?
These words exploded in his mind with a bang.
After the explosion, they hummed and echoed continuously in his mind.
His daughter was only a few years old.
Following him, she had never lived a good day.
In his younger years, because he was a hooligan, he didn't work hard, bullied many people, and offended many people.
Later, he finally got married, had a daughter, and started a catering business.
Just as he was starting, the zombies broke out, and his daughter followed him, constantly in fear.
Now, he couldn't even save his daughter?!
Tan Guohua staggered and fell backward.
As if struck by a heavy hammer, he slumped to the ground.
"Cough cough cough."
A child's coughing sound came, and Tan Guohua quickly sat up, only to see Little Fish coughing up blood from the corner of her mouth.
All the medicine that had just been fed to her was coughed out, and she continued to cough up fresh blood.
Seeing this scene, Tan Guohua's heart was broken, unable to breathe.
With trembling hands, he gently wiped away the blood from his daughter's mouth and said softly, "Little Fish, Daddy's here, Daddy's here, Daddy's here, Little Fish, don't be afraid, don't be afraid, Daddy's here, woo woo woo."
Blood continued to cough out from Little Fish's mouth.
The man lowered his head and wept bitterly.
Despair swept over his entire body.
He cried for less than 3 seconds, then seemed to remember something, and Tan Guohua quickly turned back.
Thump!
He knelt directly in front of Brother Sun: "Brother Sun, please, please, help me think of a way to save my daughter.
I'll do anything.
I'll even die.
Please."
He kowtowed!
Tan Guohua knelt on the ground, his voice hoarse.
He looked at Brother Sun imploringly.
Brother Sun also looked pained; he liked Little Fish very much, but Little Fish was now coughing blood, which meant a coagulation disorder, and the heatstroke was already very severe.
He also had no solution!
The temperature was too high, 48 degrees!
Plus, it had been delayed for too long, and there were no medicines.
Little Fish, after the apocalypse, had also been poorly nourished and was now as thin as a stick.
Seeing Brother Sun's expression, Tan Guohua seemed to understand what he meant.
Two lines of hot tears flowed down.
12 hours later, Little Fish no longer coughed blood, but she did not wake up.
Suddenly, a spasm.
Her small body also began to grow cold.
She stopped breathing.
In an instant, the rough, large, warm hands holding Little Fish trembled.
Trembling, his whole body began to tremble.
Tan Guohua tightly held Little Fish's hand, guarding her side.
He guarded her all night.
Until, that small body slowly grew cold.
Tan Guohua's lips were pale, and his face was gaunt.
Overnight, his hair turned white.
His eyes were bloodshot.
Early the next morning, the first light of dawn appeared.
At dawn, looking up at the sky, it was wrapped in a thin layer of clouds and mist.
Entering the forest, looking around, everything was silent, not a sound, a complete stillness.
He climbed the tallest building on this side of the river.
And jumped down.
A few seconds later.
Falling!
In the instant of the fall, dawn, like a sharp sword, sliced open the silent night, ushering in the rising sun.
The sun had just emerged from behind the ancient mountain peaks, and the warmth of its first few rays mingled with the coolness of the About to disappear night, bringing a sweet weariness.
In this glow, he saw his wife holding his daughter's hand, smiling and walking towards him.
Behind them was the house he had always wanted to buy.
He smiled.
Thud! A muffled sound.
