Chapter 5

Jade handed Freya the first-aid kit before hanging the stethoscope from her neck. "You're just going to ignore everything I told you before we came here, aren't you? You're bound to get into trouble if you continue like this."

"No one is more suitable than me, Jade," Freya said calmly.

"It's not like the military region's general hospital lacks doctors. If you turn them down, they'll arrange for someone else to come."

"But it's too far away. They'll take at least 30 minutes to arrive. That doesn't conform to the principles of pre-hospitalization emergency care."

Jade was one of the emergency room's most experienced nurses, so she knew Freya was right. It was the only thing they could do under the circumstances.

The administrator held a loudspeaker and shouted toward the store, "The doctor is coming. Open the door."

A hoarse voice rang out as soon as the words were out of his mouth. "Put the first-aid kit on the ground and turn in a circle. Then, take everything out of the first-aid kit and lay them on the ground."

Freya did as told. She'd just placed the final tool on the ground when the hoarse voice rang out again. "Put the things back in and come inside."

Freya packed everything back. She was about to enter the store when she felt a cool breeze. Curious, she looked in the direction it had come.

A helicopter was hovering in midair in one of the jewelry store's blind spots. A tall figure in camouflage slid down the rope and made a smooth landing.

It happened in seconds. Freya stared at the man, finding his figure incredibly familiar. He wore a black mask, and his sharp eyes flitted past her. Then, he hid behind the wall. Another team member landed behind him.

"Come in," the hoarse voice urged loudly. He sounded impatient.

Freya knew she had to enter the store since these people had yet to infiltrate it. Once she understood that, she didn't hesitate to head inside.

As soon as she pushed open the door, she smelled the metallic scent of blood. Suddenly, someone grabbed her by the neck and roughly dragged her inside. Then, he flung her onto the floor and commanded, "Save him."

She looked at the man on the floor. His mask, shaped like a pig's head, had been thrown aside. He looked ashen while struggling to breathe and had cyanosis of the nail bed. These were all signs of a lack of oxygen.

Freya checked him and concluded that he was having an asthma attack. His throat had swelled up, leading to breathing difficulties.

She searched his bag while muttering, "Where's the inhaler?"

Asthma patients would bring their inhalers when they were out, but she didn't find one in his bag.

"What are you looking for?" a man in a mask shaped like a dog's head asked.

"His inhaler," she said.

"He doesn't have one. Do a cricothyrotomy on him right now."

Freya was taken aback. "How are you related to him? You know how to save him?"

Suddenly, he pressed a gun to her forehead. "Shut up if you don't want to die. Just fucking do as I say!"

The iciness of the metal made Freya's heart clench. Her mind went blank for a second, and she couldn't think.

"Hurry up!" He kicked her shoulder.

The pain made her snap to her senses. She forced herself to calm down and took a deep breath before commencing anatomical positioning and sterilization. Then, she inserted a thick injection needle into the cricothyroid membrane.

The process didn't take long, and the man gradually started looking better.

Suddenly, a black thing landed not far from Freya. Before she realized what it was, a few more followed. The inside of the store was quickly filled with smoke, and people started yelling. The alarm went off.

Freya wanted to take advantage of the chaos to hide, but a hand wrapped around her neck. A gun was pressed to her forehead, and someone snarled, "You're coming with me."