The long dining table in the kitchen was set up as a makeshift operating table.
A clean sheet was spread over it, covered by a layer of plastic wrap, and Zhang Li lay on it!
Lin Jie saw a metal box that Kong Mingqing brought over and was delighted.
This was a surgical emergency kit containing all the surgical tools and medications needed for simple surgery.
Knowing Zhang Li was a hospital nurse, Lin Jie wasn't too surprised to see this!
Lin Jie skillfully injected an anesthetic into Zhang Li's lower spine and said, "Sister Zhang, this is only local anesthesia and the dose is limited. It might hurt during the surgery, you need to bear it, and don't move around."
"Little Lin, go ahead, I can bear it!" After speaking, Zhang Li bit down on a towel!
Following Lin Jie's instructions, Kong Mingqing tied Zhang Li's body to the dining table.
Lin Jie disinfected Zhang Li's lower abdomen with iodine, covered it with a surgical drape, then ran to the bathroom to quickly wash his hands and forearms with soap.
Upon quickly returning to the table, he donned sterile rubber gloves, picked up a scalpel, and made a steady 5 cm incision at the wound site!
Lin Jie felt relieved that Zhang Li kept her figure well with not much fat on her abdomen, otherwise, the incision would have needed to be larger.
He cut through Zhang Li's skin, muscle, and peritoneum, revealing the blood-filled abdominal cavity.
Standing aside, pressing down on Zhang Li's shoulders as per Lin Jie's instructions, Kong Mingqing was left speechless with shock.
Was this really the same quiet and frail Lin Jie with only a middle school education?
When he picked up the scalpel, he seemed like a different person, with sharp and focused eyes, and unwavering hands. The word Kong Mingqing felt was confidence!
Yes, confidence, Kong Mingqing confirmed in his heart again.
The sharpshooter from the criminal police squad had the same eyes as Lin Jie now, confident in their own ability.
Seeing Lin Jie perform like this, Kong Mingqing's anxiously unsettled heart gradually calmed down.
Lin Jie used medical gauze to dab away the fresh blood on Zhang Li's abdomen, clamped off the main bleeding points with hemostats, carefully found the misplaced bullet in the intestine, and gently removed it.
Then he began cleaning the wound and the damaged intestinal tissue.
Following this, he used absorbable sutures to sew up the severed blood vessels and the intestinal wound, setting up a drainage tube, and sutured the peritoneum, muscle, and skin.
After a moment's thought, Lin Jie did some adjustments to the circular bullet wound.
Once everything was completed, Lin Jie bandaged the wound with gauze and a de-fat bandage, then looked up to find Zhang Li had passed out.
He quickly checked and found that Zhang Li's vital signs were still stable.
"Brother Kong… Brother Kong..."
Lin Jie called several times before Kong Mingqing snapped out of his daze, face pale, asking, "Lin Jie, what did you say?"
Lin Jie had to repeat, "Sister Zhang's abdominal bullet has been removed, the wound is treated, she's out of life-threatening danger, but she needs to get to the hospital for further observation to prevent infection."
Speaking of this, Lin Jie whispered, "Sister Zhang's wound has already been treated, you can say it was an accident, maybe stabbed by a branch or a piece of rebar!"
Hearing this, the nearly six-foot-tall man just kept saying, "Thank you! Thank you!" with red eyes.
Seeing Zhang Li's breathing became more stable, Lin Jie also relaxed. Just as he was about to say "It's nothing," his vision suddenly went black, his body began to shake, as if all his strength had drained away, drenched in cold sweat, with a faint pain in his chest.
Relying on memory, he quickly sat down on a stool nearby, taking several deep breaths.
Once his vision cleared, Lin Jie saw a concerned Kong Mingqing quickly approaching!
He managed a slight smile, waved his hand, and said, "I'm fine, just a little exhausted. Sister Zhang's matter can't be delayed, Brother Kong, you hurry!"
Lin Jie took a few more deep breaths, trying to stand up!
He went to the corner of the living room and checked on the unconscious Kong Xingchen, finding nothing serious, and told the following Kong Mingqing, "He's just unconscious from the impact, should be fine! Just to be safe, it's best to go to the hospital for a check."
Lin Jie got up, glanced at the handgun on the floor, and left the Kong Family home.
Back at Xiaoxiao's house next door, Lin Jie, drenched in sweat, could no longer hold himself up and slowly lay on the floor, gasping for air like a fish out of water.
"I cut open Sister Zhang's abdomen, removed the bullet from the intestine, and sewed up Zhang's wound…"
"My God, what have I done?"
"Did I really do all this? Was that me just now?"
Recalling the chicken dissecting day and inexplicably knowing German, even dull Lin Jie realized something was very wrong; there must have been a mysterious change in him.
And the biggest change was that he now had a different heart!
Lin Jie put his hand to his chest and softly said, "Heart, heart, is everything that's happened to me because of you?"
"I think… yes!"
The sudden voice startled Lin Jie as if he'd seen a ghost, jumping up from the floor, the violent movement causing his chest to ache again.
Leaning against the corner, Lin Jie looked at the empty living room, and shouted, somewhat shaky yet bold, "Who are you? Come out! I must tell you, Brother Kong next door is a policeman, a criminal detective carrying a gun."
"Hah, he can barely take care of himself, let alone your problems!"
The voice sounded again, and a slightly calmed Lin Jie realized that this voice was ringing directly in his mind, and it also felt familiar!
The familiarity came from this voice being very pleasing, unforgettable the moment you heard it!
Searching everywhere, Lin Jie carefully asked, "Are you the woman who thought she was dead?"
"That's me!"
Hearing this confirmation didn't relieve Lin Jie; instead, it even scared him more whether he was hallucinating again or suffering from schizophrenia?
He cried out in despair, "God, Miaomiao and I have suffered enough, please, spare us!"
The voice seemed to guess what Lin Jie was thinking, speaking again: "You're not crazy, nor are you hallucinating, I do exist."
"I'm inside your body, in your heart, to be precise, I'm in my own heart!"
"How is that possible?" Lin Jie asked in shock!
With a long sigh, the voice spoke once more, "I also thought it was impossible, but it really has happened. I regained consciousness a few days ago."
"I thought it was a long dream, but these past few days' experiences made me clearly confirm my state, and my situation. I'm now parasitized in the heart, my state might best be described by a long-standing term in Chinese legend!"
Lin Jie impatiently asked, "What term?"
"Ghost!"
Lin Jie was startled but not terribly frightened; the previous communication had dispelled his fear of the unknown.
"Ghost? Is there really a ghost in this world?" Lin Jie asked, puzzled, touching his still aching chest.
The pleasant female voice replied, slightly annoyed, "I also don't know if there are ghosts in this world, but right now, my condition seems to fit the legendary ghosts!"
A surge of curiosity swept through Lin Jie, and he asked, "What's your name? How did you … um … die?"