Blood sprayed across the lights of the trauma bay.
"Scalpel!"
Dr. Park Joon-hyuk's voice was calm, even with the current dire situation.
On the other hand, the nurses and residents moved quickly around him, passing tools, calling out vitals, trying to keep pace with the man at the center of the operation.
The patient was a young man in his twenties, with a chest torn open from a car crash. It was a wound that demanded speed, skill, and precise movements without any hesitation.
"Blood pressure dropping fast!" a nurse shouted.
"Clamp the artery…" Joon-hyuk said.
His hands moved skillfully, and it wasn't just because of his talent. It was shaped by years in Seoul's busiest emergency rooms and refined in the trauma centers of Chicago. There weren't unnecessary motions as everything he did was efficient…
Soon, the bleeding slowed. The numbers on the monitor flashed upward. For a moment, there was a hope…
Then the line went flat.
"Charging, 200."
"Clear."
Thud!
The body jerked, but there was nothing.
"Again. 300."
"Clear."
Another jolt. Still nothing.
Soon, he called out the time of death.
Joon-hyuk lowered his hands… At this time, his face was unreadable. However, inside, something clenched tight.
This was not the first time that a patient died on his table. It would not even be the last, as there was a limit to what he could do with the current advancement of medical technology and skills that he had.
He pulled off his mask and gloves and stepped out of the trauma bay.
Thud…
The doors swung closed behind him, dulling the sounds of the team cleaning up.
The night air outside was cool, and he felt the chill against his skin.
The city stretched out with its towers and lights... It was a scene he was already used to.
He leaned on the railing and drew in a long breath.
'How many have I lost? I can't even keep count anymore.'
He had treated a lot of patients.
Some had lived, some had not. His training taught him that no one could save them all, but those words never stopped the weight from pressing down.
Faces of his patients surfaced in his memory.
The boy stabbed in Seoul, whose eyes were still wide open when the monitor went silent. The mother in Chicago who was bleeding out despite everything he had tried.
And now, another soul has been added to the list…
"Not enough. No matter how much I learn, it's never enough." He muttered to himself. It was a voice filled with bitterness.
That was when the sound came.
It was like a ringing bell… But it didn't sound too far from him.
It was not the hospital pager. Not his phone.
'What?'
It somehow resonated deeper, vibrating inside his head…
[ System Initiated…
Welcome, Dr. Park Joon-hyuk.
Designation: Trauma Surgeon.
Mission: Save lives across civilizations. ]
He immediately froze as he saw the message in front of him.
"What…?"
The parking lot around him blurred. The concrete under his feet glowed and dissolved like water!
The hospital and city lights folded into nothing…
***
When he woke up, he was no longer in Seoul. There were even two suns blazing in the sky!
"What in the world is going on?" Joon-hyuk muttered as he held his head in dizziness and sat up...
Then, the ground trembled from distant thunder.
It was at this time that he realized what was going on around him.
Across the burned ground lay bodies… They were strange shapes, unfamiliar forms, with blood spilled in colors the human eye had never been meant to see.
One creature had scaled skin torn open with some thick green fluid, most likely blood, soaking the dirt.
Another with four arms had collapsed on the ground. Two of their arms were already mangled and broken.
Their bodies were in terrible condition and obviously alien, yet they were not corpses. Many still breathed, though they probably wouldn't last for long.
'W-what the heck is going on?!'
Joon-hyuk's heart raced. His first thought was to leave this dream immediately… After all, this was not his world. He should not be here… It must be a dream!
However, it felt so real!
Then, for some reason, he suddenly felt calm looking at this situation… It was as if something had awakened inside him.
After that, he saw someone else…
The nearest figure turned its head.
Its eyes held the same fear he had seen countless times on his own patients.
It was wide, desperate, and clinging to life.
The alien was alive.
After a few moments, the mysterious voice returned…
The voice returned… It was clearer this time, resonating not just in his ears but deep within his mind.
[ Welcome to the Intergalactic Medical System.
You have been selected based on exceptional trauma response metrics, surgical expertise, and psychological resilience.
Your designation: Field Surgeon - Tier 1.
Your mission: Preserve life across civilizations.
System calibration: 87% complete. ]
Joon-hyuk staggered to his feet…
'What the heck? Did I just get enlisted without my permission!' He couldn't help but want to file a complaint, but the system wasn't finished just yet.
[ Critical patient detected.
Estimated time until death: 3 minutes.
Species: Velari.
Physiology: Amphibious-humanoid.
Primary circulatory system compromised.
Recommended intervention: Bioplasmic vessel compression + neural pulse stabilization.
Confidence level: 72%. ]
"Huh? What are you even saying now?"