Chapter 90: Heatstroke

An Nan also glanced at Zhao Ping’an in surprise.

This guy is something else!

How did he figure that out?

She remembered the paper he’d published before the disasters started.

It was bizarre yet rigorous, scientific yet tinged with superstition.

He was like a shaman in the scientific community, a theorist in the world of metaphysics.

She couldn’t help but ask, “So, have you deduced whether there’ll be any other natural disasters besides floods and extreme heat?”

Zhao Ping’an shook his head. “No idea. I’m not some fortune-telling master who can just divine things out of thin air!”

Chu Peipei chimed in, “You seem pretty into your predictions! Just don’t let them come true… Sixty degrees? I can’t even imagine that.”

As they chatted, they soon reached their floor.

After a night of chaos, the three said their goodbyes and went home to catch up on sleep.

Since the extreme heat began, everyone had adjusted their routines, going out at night and sleeping during the day.

After all, it wasn’t just the high temperatures during the day—the blazing sun made it even worse. At night, it was at least seven or eight degrees cooler.

An Nan went home, changed into a nightgown, quickly washed up, and collapsed onto her bed.

She was sleeping soundly when suddenly she heard cries from outside.

“Wuwuwu, help! I can’t breathe from the heat!”

“It’s 53 degrees! This damn weather is insane…”

“Someone help me! My wife and kids have all passed out from the heat!”

Because of the heat, people kept their doors and windows wide open. It didn’t help much, but it was better than suffocating inside with everything shut.

Even though An Nan kept her windows closed, she could still hear some of the noise from outside.

She turned over and went back to sleep.

She’d heard this kind of crying too many times. At first, the despairing mood would get to her, but now she’d learned to tune it out.

During this extreme heat, the sounds of desperation would only grow more frequent, and the death rate was much higher than during the last disaster.

People had only ever experienced temperatures over fifty degrees in saunas before.

Not to mention fifty—people could even sit in saunas at sixty or seventy degrees, brew a pot of tea, and enjoy themselves.

But that was only for a short while.

Being steamed like this day and night—who could stand it?

They still had the strength to cry out now, but after a while, when dehydration set in, even opening their mouths would be exhausting.

After the exhausting night, An Nan quickly drifted back into a deep sleep.

Before falling asleep, she nudged her dog. “If anyone tries to break in, make sure to wake me up.”

…

Around noon, someone knocked on the door of the 14th floor hallway.

“Doctor! Is Dr. Chu here? Please come save my dad!”

“Doctor! My old man’s passed out! Please, you have to help him!”

It was scorching outside, but Chu Peipei’s fuel was limited, so she didn’t dare run the AC too much—just enough to keep it a little over thirty degrees, enough to avoid heatstroke.

She was already sweating in her sleep, not sleeping well at all.

As soon as she heard the knocking, she woke up instantly.

She came out of 1401 and peered through the peephole in the hallway door.

Outside stood a middle-aged man, supporting an elderly woman.

The old lady was knocking on the door and crying.

“I heard there’s a doctor living here—please, doctor, save us!”

Chu Peipei was puzzled: Who told them she was a doctor and lived on the 14th floor?

As a doctor, her first instinct was to open the door and help.

But in the next instant, she pulled her hand back and asked through the door:

“What’s the patient’s current condition?”

Hearing a response from inside, the people outside were overjoyed.

The man quickly replied, “My dad suddenly passed out! We didn’t dare move him—he’s still at home.”

“Were there any symptoms before he lost consciousness?”

“He had heatstroke before—he’s been nauseous and vomiting. Then suddenly he lost consciousness and started convulsing!”

“Did you take his temperature?”

“We checked an hour ago—41 degrees. We gave him a fever reducer, but it didn’t help.”

Forty-one degrees? Chu Peipei frowned.

This wasn’t ordinary heatstroke anymore—this was severe heatstroke, or heatstroke syndrome.

Heatstroke is extremely dangerous—it’s like your internal organs are being cooked by the heat.

Even before the disasters, with proper medical facilities, the mortality rate was as high as 80%. Now, it was even worse.

The patient was already unconscious and convulsing. In this situation, you had to immediately lower his temperature, move him to a cool, ventilated place, and rush him to the hospital.

At the hospital, they’d give IV fluids or even dialysis, depending on the situation.

But now, none of that was possible.

After thinking it over, she said,

“He’s probably suffering from heatstroke syndrome. You need to cool him down immediately.

Take off all his clothes, wipe his body with water, and if you have ice, put it on his groin or other major arteries. The main thing is to get his temperature down below 38 degrees as fast as possible.”

That was the only treatment possible under the circumstances.

If his temperature came down, there was hope. If not, and there was no way to treat him, it would be very dangerous.

The man hesitated. “We can take his clothes off, but we don’t have much water! And no ice.”

Chu Peipei said, “Use whatever you have, and fan him to help cool him down. Just do whatever you can to lower his temperature quickly.”

The old lady cried, “Doctor! We don’t have much water left—we need to save it for the children. Can you lend us some?”

Just then, another group arrived, also wailing, also with a case of heatstroke.

Chu Peipei repeated the emergency procedures.

But the second group also said they didn’t have enough water and wanted to borrow some from her.

Not just water—they begged her to come help in person.

“Our place is just next door. Please, doctor, come take a look. The patient is convulsing all over—we’re afraid to move him!”

Chu Peipei didn’t open the door or lend them any water.

Her own water supply would only last so long. She had to ration it to survive—how could she give it to others?

Even if she gave it to them today, what about tomorrow? The day after?

With temperatures this high, more and more people would get heatstroke. Was she supposed to give water to everyone?

It was impossible.

Unless it was An Nan who needed water, she wouldn’t give it to anyone else.

Chu Peipei said through the door, “I’ve told you what to do—that’s all I can help with. Go save your people.”

The man and old lady, seeing they couldn’t get any water, hurried home.

The second group, however, wouldn’t give up.

“You’re a doctor—please help us, lend us some water!”

Chu Peipei remained silent.

As a doctor, all she could do was tell them what to do in an emergency. What they could actually manage was beyond her control.

Let alone now, in the middle of a disaster, when she was barely surviving herself.

Even before the disaster, when faced with patients who couldn’t afford treatment and wanted to give up, she couldn’t pay out of her own pocket to save everyone.

She was a doctor, yes, but her abilities were limited. She couldn’t be a savior."