Chapter 75
Chapter 75
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Cleanup (1)
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Blood pressure was rising.
That horrific number, hovering on the brink of death, had finally taken one step back into the realm of survival.
That tiny change completely shifted the atmosphere in the resuscitation room.
“He’s going to make it….”
Someone murmured softly.
A fleeting look of relief crossed Professor Jeon Tae-jeong’s face.
The trauma surgery fellow standing beside him urgently asked, “Professor, should we take him for a CT to pinpoint the bleeding, then straight to the OR?”
“Straight to the OR.”
Professor Jeon’s response was firm.
My body’s owner nodded in agreement with the decision.
Every moment the REBOA balloon blocked the aorta, blood flow to the patient’s lower body was cut off, causing it to rot away.
And with that, the final call was made.
“Prepare for transport!”
The trauma surgery team sprang back into action.
A portable ventilator was hooked up to the patient, and an IV pole loaded with dozens of lines rolled alongside the bed.
“Here we go! Clear the way!”
With Professor Jeon’s shout, the massive bed began to move.
The trauma surgery team and nurses surrounded it, carefully and swiftly exiting the resuscitation room.
Only after that sight vanished beyond the automatic doors did—
“Phew….”
God’s Scalpel let out a deep sigh.
All that remained in the resuscitation room was our emergency medicine team and the scene of devastation.
God’s Scalpel’s gaze landed on the clock hanging on the wall.
The hands pointed to 9:34 a.m.
About twelve minutes had passed since the REBOA procedure began.
‘How much possession time is left?’
I started calculating.
‘It was thirty minutes total… used twelve… so eighteen left.’
Eighteen minutes.
For that time, I wasn’t in control of my body.
This ghost would dominate this flesh for another eighteen minutes.
‘Hmm, but this possession… how do I end it?’
A horrifying realization hit me.
The skill description only explained how to use it—no mention of how to stop it.
Did I have to stay like this until the full eighteen minutes ran out?
Or was there some cancel command?
Shout “log out” in my mind?
Yell “Possession release, God’s Scalpel!” like a chuunibyou?
Or just “Get out, ghost”?
Did I have to keep losing control of my body? Hit Alt+F4 or something?
While I flailed in inner panic, my body’s owner showed interest in something entirely different.
God’s Scalpel didn’t even glance at his relieved colleagues.
Instead, he began slowly scanning the resuscitation room.
His eyes skimmed the medication list on the emergency cart on the wall.
He checked the types of defibrillator pads on the shelf.
Then he noted the model of the C-arm we’d just used.
And then God’s Scalpel really got moving.
His gaze locked onto the massive equipment cabinet on the wall.
Without hesitation, he approached and opened the glass door labeled [Airway Management].
Inside, laryngoscope blades sorted by size, endotracheal tubes, and state-of-the-art gear like video laryngoscopes were neatly arranged.
“Okay, check….”
He moved to the next section.
[Chest Trauma]
God’s Scalpel opened the drawer, pulling out chest tubes, drainage bottles, and clamps one by one.
Feeling the cold stainless steel with his fingertips.
“Hmm….”
Like that, God’s Scalpel methodically opened every cabinet and shelf in the resuscitation room, inspecting the contents and muttering to himself.
‘Please.’
I could only pray desperately.
‘Please just look around quietly. Please don’t touch anything.’
Just then, a voice crept up from behind me, almost a whisper.
“Hyun-jae?”
It was Lee Min-jae. He approached me very cautiously.
“Yeah. No, I mean, yes?”
Still, awkward honorifics spilled from my mouth.
“No, I mean….”
Lee Min-jae paused, choosing his words.
He rubbed his dry face with his hand, then fired off the key question.
“You… how… how did you learn this? REBOA?”
That question made the me inside scream.
‘I don’t know! I don’t know either! This crazy ghost bastard must’ve learned it somehow!’
But my body’s temporary master spun a perfectly plausible lie.
“Well… um….”
He looked up for a moment.
“Last year, at a workshop in a hospital in Chungnam… I learned it there. Got a chance to practice a few times on simulators.”
I was stunned.
Chungnam? I’d barely left the Gyeongsang region my whole life, a pure Busan country bumpkin.
Except for a few trips to Seoul, that is.
Lee Min-jae’s eyes widened.
“REBOA? In Chungnam? As part of a workshop program?”
“Yes. I got lucky.”
“…For real?”
Lee Min-jae still looked incredulous but couldn’t press further.
In the face of such a specific lie, doubting it would just make him seem unreasonable.
With the conversation over, God’s Scalpel started wandering the resuscitation room again.
I was helpless, forced to watch my body move on its own, opening drawers in the emergency cart, fiddling with the defibrillator settings—completely ignoring my will.
‘You even prayed. Enough already—get out of my body.’
Right then, a spark of light flashed in my mind.
‘Wait a sec.’
Possession: God’s Scalpel.
I’d activated this skill by thinking it in my head.
‘Then to deactivate…?’
I saw hope.
I’d thought “Possession: God’s Scalpel” internally, so maybe release it the same way?
Yeah, that’s it.
Please.
Please work.
‘Possession release: God’s Scalpel.’
As those words crossed my mind—
…
The world spun back into motion.
Inhale—exhale.
Yes, this is it.
The cold, alien sensation dominating my body melted away smoothly.
Stale resuscitation room air—welcome back!
It’d only been ten minutes or so, but still, welcome back, air!
Full control of my body returned.
In that rush of liberation, I closed my eyes for a brief moment.
When I opened them again, Lee Min-jae stood there with a worried face.
Whoa, you scared me.
“Hey, Hyun-jae? What’s wrong? Did something happen to your brain?”
Spouting words that could be a personal attack so casually. Kinda hurtful.
“No, it’s nothing… just… a bit tired….”
With the possession lifted, my body swayed weakly.
I barely grabbed the nearby emergency cart, gasping for breath.
Excrutiating fatigue.
The resuscitation room was a total disaster—five minutes from total chaos, or really, just straight-up chaos.
Puddles of blood everywhere, the floor littered with unidentifiable medical waste.
The staff silently and mechanically began clearing the wreckage.
Picking up bloodied gauze, disinfecting the floor, sorting used instruments—all in quiet, orderly efficiency.
A clean environment isn’t built overnight, after all.
I stared blankly at the scene.
To be precise, I still lacked a sense of reality.
Beside me, Baek Eun-seo and Park Seong-jeong stood with dazed expressions.
The two first-years’ eyes were fixed on a single point in the air.
I’d probably stare the same if I were a first-year.
What second-year bypasses a fourth-year and fellow to perform a procedure, gives pointers to a professor from another department—no, not just any expert, but the pinnacle of their field—while they observe?
Tonight’s experience would likely scar those two for life.
Meanwhile, fourth-year Han Jae-eon had already dismissed the whole fiasco as ancient history, back at the station pulling up the next patient’s chart.
Damn, as expected.
Emergency room mental fortress: Han Jae-eon.
“Ah, hold on.”
I let out a low groan without realizing.
My right shoulder muscle twitched in the most unpleasant way.
‘…What’s this?’
I rolled my shoulder a few times.
Just fatigue?
Muscles tensed up from all the strain earlier.
I tried to brush it off.
But then, a memory I’d tried to forget flashed like lightning.
‘Last year too… muscle pain hit right at this point.’
Yeah. That day I did a laparotomy as a first-year in the ER.
The first day God’s Scalpel possessed me.
Right after it all ended and possession released, that hellish pain that suddenly struck.
…Ah.
Realization hit, and the pain began.
Ah.
Hold on,
If there’s a god, please hear me out just for a sec.
It really hurts too much.
It hurts.
It felt like someone had grabbed every single muscle fiber in my body like a rope and was yanking it in opposite directions with insane force. Horrific agony.
Ah, I never wanted to feel this pain again.
The spasm starting in my shoulder spread instantly to my back, waist, arms, and legs.
Ngh…
“Hey, Hyun-jae?”
Lee Min-jae, helping with cleanup nearby, noticed something off.
“What’s wrong? You hurting somewhere? Your face is ghost white.”
“Ah, I…”
That was all I could manage.
My vision narrowed like a tunnel.
The fluorescent lights split into dozens of afterimages, dancing before my eyes.
Lee Min-jae’s face, the nurses’ faces.
Everything blurred out.
My legs gave way. I let go of the cart.
‘Yeah, better pass out. Wake up and it’ll be better…’
With that, my consciousness snapped off.