After taking a shower and his painkillers, Elion seemed to have recovered from the headache caused by exchanging his lifespan for mastery over intermediate weapons.
He now felt safer living in this hotel where he was surrounded by assassins, but what did not reassure him were the adverse symptoms of having spent his lifespan. Added to that, the night he had with Gretel left him exhausted.
But he could not complain. With that in mind, he went to work before the plot involving a target character unfolded, which would definitely ease his burden.
Today, Elion arrived earlier than all the doctors in the diagnostics department. He was no longer content with the feeling of slowly waiting around in the diagnostics department.
If he remembered correctly, an infectious disease was about to sweep through the entire floor of the hospital's maternity ward.
If he managed to prevent it, he would undoubtedly be able to achieve the greatest possible increase in life expectancy in a short period of time.
So, before everyone else began working, Elion went to take a walk through the maternity ward.
The maternity ward is busiest early in the morning. The nurses were busy examining and bathing the babies, while the doctors went around asking about the mothers' conditions.
So at that moment, the maternity ward was filled with the cries of babies, one after another, as if one baby finished its chorus and another stepped onto the stage to continue with its own call for attention.
Amid the cries of the babies, a young father suddenly walked out of a room.
When he saw Elion in his white coat, his eyes lit up, his furrowed brows relaxed, and he quickly stepped forward and said:
"Doctor, could you examine our daughter? It's the second time she's vomited in the last hour."
Hearing the question, Elion replied instinctively: "Regurgitation? It's quite common in newborns."
It is normal to feel some discomfort right after leaving the amniotic fluid; that was what Elion would normally diagnose. If he is a doctor, he must act like one.
The young father nodded, saying he understood, but added: "I'm sorry, doctor, but since this is our first child, we may be making a bit of a fuss. However, her mother is very worried. If it's not too much trouble, it would really help if you could reassure her."
This somewhat familiar conversation immediately made Elion's expression turn serious.
"All right, let's take a look." Upon entering the room, the young mother immediately looked at Elion as if he were her savior: "Doctor, please come quickly, does my baby have a fever?"
Elion carefully cradled the baby's soft neck in his arms and then used one hand to gently touch the baby's forehead.
"She's lethargic and has a fever…"
Upon hearing Elion say this, the mother immediately interrupted him anxiously: "Doctor, is the problem serious?"
Before Elion could speak, the baby in his arms suddenly began to convulse.
Watching the baby who had suddenly gone into convulsions, Elion confirmed his suspicions.
The infectious disease had already broken out!
He immediately shouted, "I need help here, an emergency gurney!"
Seeing this, the young mother immediately jumped out of bed and asked anxiously, "Doctor, what's wrong? This…"
Faced with the mother's continuous questioning, Elion simply gestured for her to stop. "Step aside and let me save your baby's life first."
Under Elion's calm gaze, the mother slowly sat down, her eyes still fixed on the baby who had just suffered a convulsion.
Soon, the maternity nurses, dressed in blue uniforms, came running over. They were stunned when they saw Elion providing first aid to a newborn.
Someone immediately asked as they pushed over the gurney with the various items Elion needed: "Who are you? Do you know this is the maternity ward?"
While treating the baby, Elion said, "I'm from the diagnostics department. I thought I was just calming first-time parents when the infant began to show unusual symptoms."
"What do you think?" the nurse asked as she watched Elion skillfully administer first aid.
"These symptoms aren't something I've seen before, but I suspect it's a viral infection, and we need to isolate all symptomatic babies in the surrounding area."
The nurse looked at Elion with a suspicious expression.
Obstetric nurses work in three shifts, so their meal schedules are irregular and they rarely go to the cafeteria.
They spend almost all their time in the obstetrics ward.
And since the diagnostics department does not focus on obstetrics, who would believe it if a mere intern doctor said something like that?
"Doctor, this is the obstetrics ward. Please leave the rest to us and go now." Seeing the nurse's inquisitive look and her polite dismissal, Elion knew perfectly well that it was his identity that had aroused her suspicion.
If asked, this would be normal. No one would listen to a first-year medical student or a new intern like Elion in the diagnostics department, especially when his statements sounded so unrealistic to the listener.
Elion shook his head and tried to warn them again: "This is a viral infection. You'll be able to confirm it. Please isolate the other babies as soon as possible; otherwise, the children will have no way to withstand the spread of the virus."
Seeing that Elion still did not plan to leave, the nurse's face immediately hardened:
"Sir, please leave immediately! Otherwise, I will call security!"
Elion shook his head and gave up his seat to the nurse in front of him.
Then, without stopping, he headed straight for the diagnostics department's conference room.
Work hours had already begun. If nothing unexpected had happened, House should not have gone to the clinic yet.
He needed House to get involved in this matter; otherwise, his position as an intern would be far too insignificant and powerless.
Soon, Elion's entrance immediately caught the attention of Chase, who was working on a crossword puzzle, and Foreman, who was absentmindedly spinning a pen.
When Foreman saw Elion, who had been absent during work hours, he asked, "Studying again? Well, at this rate, I think I'll do the same."
Elion ignored Foreman's rambling and instead asked, "Is House here?"
"Yes, he just arrived. We told him you were in the bathroom, so…" Foreman swallowed his words when he saw Elion run toward House's office, which alarmed all the doctors in the room.
"What's wrong with him?" Cameron asked curiously.
"I don't know, but it looks serious." Chase stopped what he was doing.
"House, I think there's a problem in the obstetrics department. The baby is showing signs of a possible viral infection. However, the obstetrician believed it was a common intestinal obstruction and had no intention of isolating the other children."
"I have reason to suspect that a large-scale infection will break out soon." Elion's words immediately shocked the four people present.
Even Foreman momentarily forgot what he was about to do.
A large-scale viral infection is no joke.
This virus is especially effective against babies, and if children infected with the virus do not receive timely treatment, the mortality rate will be extremely high.
Moreover, each baby carries the hope of a new family.
If a large number of infant deaths were to occur, it would be questionable whether this hospital could continue operating.
House also looked very serious. So far, although Elion lacked work experience, he had not made any mistakes.
Since Elion said it, there must be some basis for it, so House could not help but take it seriously.
House ignored the question of why Elion had been in the obstetrics ward and said in a deep voice, "Let's check the intensive care unit."