At the medical center.
Emergency room.
"Dr. Duncan, you're back!"
As soon as Adam walked in, the sharpest nurse greeted him with a smile. "How was the wedding? Attending two weddings in a row must've been exhausting. Why didn't you take some time to rest?"
"I'm fine," Adam said with a grin. "I'm not tired. Any interesting cases today?"
"Nope," the nurse replied, still smiling. "Dr. Yang assisted Dr. Burke with a congenital heart surgery, Dr. Stevenson delivered a baby, and everyone else is just doing the usual. Nothing special…"
Adam nodded as he listened.
He'd been away for a day, so he needed to catch up on what was happening at the medical center.
And this nurse clearly knew him well—she was organized and focused on exactly what he wanted to hear.
"Dr. Duncan!"
Just then, the emergency room doors burst open. The paramedics spotted Adam and called out to him immediately.
"What's the situation?"
Adam rushed over.
The nurse, quick on her feet, grabbed a surgical gown and followed, expertly helping him put it on.
"Michael Kenny, 17 years old. He suddenly collapsed at school. Vital signs are stable. He's a wrestler."
The paramedic explained.
"This sounds like an internal medicine case. Call for an internal medicine doctor," Adam said, a bit disappointed, but he still pushed the patient into the treatment room.
"Call the school and get his medical records. Start an IV, check his blood sugar, complete blood count, electrolytes, and add a toxicology screen."
When a teenager suddenly collapses, the odds of it being drug-related or self-inflicted are pretty high. 🤦♂️
"Blood pressure's low, 70/60, and it's still dropping," the nurse checking his vitals warned. "Blood sugar's normal."
"Ventricular contraction," Adam said after examining the patient, his tone serious. "Looks like a heart issue."
"Doctor, premature beats," the nurse pointed out. "Blood pressure's dropping fast, 60/45."
"Arrhythmia," Adam said. "Prepare for a central venous catheter."
The nurse quickly brought over the equipment.
Adam started inserting the catheter—a critical step to stabilize blood pressure during emergencies.
"The blood test results are in. No drugs, but his electrolyte levels are a mess," the nurse said, walking in with the report after Adam finished stabilizing the patient's blood pressure.
"What's his potassium level?" Adam asked.
"2.0," the nurse replied.
"Start a piggyback IV with 20 milliequivalents," Adam instructed.
Beep. Beep.
The monitor started alarming.
"Tachycardia, heart rate 240, and it's climbing fast," the nurse warned.
"Push 6 milligrams of adenosine IV, stat," Adam said, checking the patient's pupils. "No response, no dilation. Get the defibrillator ready, sync it—we need to bring his heart rate down now, or he's done." 😰
The nurse grabbed the defibrillator, prepped it, and handed it to Adam.
"100 joules, clear!" Adam shouted, pressing the paddles to the patient's chest.
"Pulse is weak," the nurse reported.
"Up to 200, clear!" Adam increased the energy.
"Still no pulse. He's not gonna make it," the nurse warned.
"Get me a pacemaker. I need to speed up pacing," Adam ordered.
"Doctor, there's no screen here. Are you going to do this by feel?" the nurse hesitated.
"I'd love to use a screen, but he doesn't have time," Adam said firmly. "Pacemaker!"
"Yes, Doctor."
The nurse quickly handed him the pacemaker.
Adam carefully inserted it through the catheter into the heart. "Set it to 300. Okay, now, lower it slowly… slower."
"Sinus rhythm normal," the nurse monitoring the screen said, looking at Adam with admiration.
Ding! +0.01!
The system notification chimed in.
"It's sudden coronary heart disease!" Adam said, his mood lifting. "Keep an eye on him, and let me know when he wakes up."
"A 17-year-old with heart disease? That's rare," the nurse remarked. "Thanks to Dr. Duncan, or he'd be dead."
The heart is like the battery of an electric scooter—when it's new, it usually works fine unless it's defective from the start (like with congenital heart disease).
But over time, as it gets used, it starts to wear out.
And if you don't take care of it, the process speeds up.
Adam smiled and left the room.
Coronary heart disease, as long as it's not too severe, just needs proper care—no surgery required.
Besides, the lifespan points were already in the bag.
Adam wasn't too disappointed.
Half an hour later, the nurse called him back. The patient was awake.
As the doctor who saved him, Adam needed to assess his condition and decide if he could be discharged.
"What are you doing?"
When Adam walked in, Michael—the patient who'd nearly died—was doing high-knee exercises.
"I feel much better. I need to do some training," Michael said.
"No, you can't do that. You just had sudden coronary heart disease and almost died," Adam warned. "Literally almost died." 😳
"I'm fine," Michael said, pausing and lowering his head. "When can I get discharged?"
"We need to wait for your parents," Adam said. "You have anorexia, don't you?"
"No, I don't!" Michael denied immediately.
"You're a wrestler. Weight class control is strict," Adam continued, ignoring the denial. "If you don't meet the weight, you can't compete, so dieting is common. But over time, it can lead to anorexia."
"I'm fine…" Michael tried to argue, but when he met Adam's gaze, he couldn't lie anymore. He looked at Adam pleadingly. "I need to get discharged. I have a match next week that could determine my future. I have to compete."
"Sorry," Adam said, shaking his head. "With your condition and extreme dieting, if you compete in a high-intensity match, you could die on the spot. You're not an adult yet—this decision is up to your parents."
Michael was clearly an athletic scholarship hopeful, trying to get into college through wrestling.
Adam understood his desperation to compete, even at the risk of his life.
But this wasn't a decision Michael or Adam could make.
From what Adam knew, being a wrestler wasn't easy.
Professional wrestlers usually live and train together, following strict rules.
No smoking, no drinking.
Not even… well, you know.
Nope, not in any way. 😅
And they have to diet—usually just vegetables, fruits, and dairy.
Plus, they get thrown around all the time.
Unless you have no other options or truly love it, it's hard to stick with it.
Michael's talk about his future made it clear—he wasn't doing this out of passion. He had no other choice.
Wrestling was his only talent.
When Michael's parents arrived, Adam explained the situation and told them to discuss and decide carefully.
He stepped out with his phone.
It was Juno calling.
Adam was a bit surprised.
Not because Juno was calling him—they talked almost every night, sharing what happened during the day, discussing cases, and exchanging medical insights.
But usually, they were both busy and night owls, so calls happened before bed, around midnight.
It was a bit early for that now.
And usually, he called her.
It was more convenient that way.
After all, Adam's schedule was far less predictable than Juno's.
If she called him randomly, she might catch him at awkward moments.
Though Juno kept saying she didn't mind if Adam was working out while talking to her.
But Adam minded!
Yeah, nice try.