Bab 13: Car Accident (Part Two)
Although Manjun reacted swiftly, slamming the brakes as soon as he spotted a figure, the distance between the person and the vehicle was alarmingly short. Before the car could come to a complete stop, he heard a resounding "thud" as the front of his golden van collided with the individual ahead.
Manjun could clearly see a silhouette being propelled from the front of the vehicle. While it wasn't as exaggerated as the dramatic scenes depicted on television, where characters soared several meters into the air with various expressions, the figure still flew a good four to five meters before crashing heavily to the ground.
"Damn it, I've had an accident..." A wave of dread washed over Manjun as he gazed at the unmoving figure on the road ahead. His instinctive reaction was to scan the surroundings; if there were no witnesses, he would certainly make a hasty exit.
"You bastard, get down here!"
However, before he could finish surveying the area, he was met with a distorted, furious face pressed against his car window. The door was yanked open, and a powerful fist struck him squarely in the face.
"What the hell, you old bastard! I just wanted to flag down a car, and you nearly killed me!" The hefty man, witnessing Fang Yi being thrown by the impact, was on the verge of losing his sanity. After landing a punch on the driver's face, he followed up with a swift kick.
The hefty man was now in a frenzy. Earlier, when he stood in the middle of the road, he hadn't moved aside upon seeing the approaching van. According to domestic traffic laws, it was generally expected that drivers would yield to cyclists, and cyclists would yield to pedestrians. He had assumed that as long as the driver saw him, they would surely hit the brakes.
However, what he didn't anticipate was that the driver was lost in a reverie, immersed in dreams of profit and opportunity, utterly oblivious to his presence. It wasn't until the van was just four or five meters away that he realized there was no sign of it slowing down.
"I've really messed up this time..."
At such a close distance, the hefty man could see the driver's lowered head and sidelong glance. He realized he had miscalculated; typically, drivers wouldn't dare to hit him, but that was only if they could actually see him. In other words, he was effectively courting disaster.
Just when he thought his life might be over, a sudden force collided with his shoulder, pushing him sideways, while simultaneously, the speeding van sent Fang Yi hurtling through the air.
"Yi Ge..."
Staggering to regain his balance, the hefty man let out a choked cry. As he prepared to navigate around the vehicle to assist Fang Yi, he caught sight of the bald driver, his eyes darting about as if contemplating escape. This sight ignited a fresh wave of fury within him, prompting him to unleash a flurry of punches and kicks.
"Stop hitting him, you fool! Come and check on Fang Yi..." Just as the hefty man vented his frustration, he heard San Pao's urgent call, "Hurry up! Fang Yi seems to be in serious trouble..."
"No... it can't be!" The hefty man was taken aback by San Pao's words. Forgetting about the driver, he rushed to the front of the vehicle, where he saw Fang Yi cradled in San Pao's arms.
"Yi Ge, Yi Ge, are you alright?" At that moment, Fang Yi's face was pale as parchment, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. The new T-shirt San Pao had just bought for him was torn wide open at the chest, revealing a gruesome sight beneath.
"There's... still a pulse..." The hefty man tremblingly placed his hand on Fang Yi's neck. Feeling a faint heartbeat, a glimmer of color returned to his ashen face.
"Are you sure about that?" San Pao reached out to check but felt nothing.
"Of course! I've learned to assess this during my years in the army; I can definitely tell..." The hefty man shot a glare at San Pao. When he had assisted in butchering pigs as a cook, he had to locate the carotid artery first—San Pao was questioning his expertise!
"Driver, what the hell are you waiting for? Hurry up and help!" Hearing the hefty man's words, San Pao felt a slight sense of relief but quickly turned to see the driver still standing by the car door, his eyes darting around nervously, which only fueled his anger.
"This is just bad luck; it seems there's no escaping this..." Manjun realized that if he wanted to drive away, he would have to run over the two men in front of him. While he didn't consider himself a good person, he simply couldn't bring himself to commit such an act.
"Yi Ge, please don't let anything happen to you..."
As the hefty man lifted Fang Yi into the vehicle, he was a mess of tears and snot. Just when he thought his own life was in jeopardy, Fang Yi had suddenly surged forward, pushing him out of the way, but the distance was far too close, and Fang Yi was struck head-on by the van.
"You fool, Yi Ge is not dead! Why are you crying?"
San Pao delivered a sharp slap to the back of the driver's head and said, "Step on it and get to the hospital! If my brother dies, you'll pay with your life. Hefty, grab Yi Ge's bag and get it in the car!"
"What terrible luck..." Seeing the young man's fierce expression, Manjun understood they were serious about taking action. Though he managed a weak smile, pain shot through him from the hefty man's earlier punch.
"Hefty, hold onto Yi Ge; let me check his chest wound..." Once the vehicle started moving, San Pao instructed the hefty man to hold Fang Yi. Having served in engineering, he was accustomed to dealing with injuries and knew a few basic first-aid techniques.
"Hmm? It's just a superficial scratch?" As San Pao tore open Fang Yi's shirt, he discovered that the seemingly gruesome wound was merely a shallow cut that had already stopped bleeding, requiring no bandaging.
"You, barefoot doctor, what do you know? This is an internal injury, do you understand? An internal injury!" While supporting Fang Yi, the hefty man kept his fingers on the carotid artery, noticing that Fang Yi's pulse was gradually strengthening, which eased the tightness in his chest.
"Yes, it seems to be an internal injury. I wonder if he hit his head?" San Pao, not wanting to argue with the hefty man, carefully examined Fang Yi's head and, finding no visible external injuries, let out a sigh of relief.
"Wait, what happened to the charm around Fang Yi's neck? San Pao, should we go back and look for it?" The hefty man, with keen eyes, noticed that the small pendant on the red string around Fang Yi's neck was missing, unsure if it had broken during the impact or simply fallen off.
"Saving his life is the priority; if it's lost, it's lost..." San Pao shook his head. With Fang Yi unconscious and uncertain of his condition, there was no time to worry about trinkets, and he quickly dismissed the hefty man's suggestion.
"Hey, I say, you two, you can't blame me for this; he was standing in the middle of the road, right?"
Listening to the conversation behind him, Manjun felt increasingly uneasy. Although he was slightly nearsighted and had momentarily diverted his attention, the vehicle hadn't veered off course—how had he hit someone?
"What do you mean? Are you implying my brother is at fault?" The hefty man erupted in anger. "I'm not here to argue; let's just get him to the hospital and save my brother. Everything else can be sorted out later, or else you won't live to see another day..."
Though the hefty man usually wore a cheerful demeanor, his chubby face appearing harmless, he was now deadly serious, his expression dark with rage. If the driver dared to speak again, he would surely be in grave danger.
"Alright, alright, brothers, it was all my fault, okay?" Having navigated the rough waters of society for many years, Manjun understood the wisdom of avoiding confrontation. He pressed the accelerator, speeding towards the hospital.
After about ten minutes, the vehicle came to a halt at the hospital entrance. The hefty man flung open the door and rushed inside with Fang Yi on his back, while San Pao pulled Manjun out of the car. With both of them barely scraping together twenty yuan, they had no means to pay for Fang Yi's treatment.
Fortunately, Manjun had brought thirty thousand yuan with him from the countryside, and after purchasing the fan, he had a remaining ten thousand, which he handed over as a deposit to the hospital. Watching the doctors and nurses wheel Fang Yi into the emergency room, the three of them collectively sighed in relief.
Unlike the dramatic scenes often portrayed on television, the emergency response was swift. Within just over ten minutes, the doors to the emergency room swung open, revealing Fang Yi, now attached to an IV, being wheeled out, followed closely by the doctor.
"Doctor, is he alright? He... he can't be dead, can he?" Seeing the rapid exit, the hefty man's lips trembled as he spoke, his eyes devoid of hope, resembling a mere shell of a person.
"Do you think the dead get IVs?" San Pao retorted, kicking the hefty man lightly from behind.
"Right, right, the dead don't need IVs..." Hearing San Pao's words, the hefty man seemed to come back to life, looking at the doctor with renewed hope.
"We performed a full-body MRI on the patient. The conclusion is that apart from some injuries to the chest, there are no injuries to the soft tissues, and his breathing is stable—he's not in serious danger..."
As the doctor spoke, he removed his white mask and continued, "The patient likely fainted due to shock or the force of the impact. I recommend he be admitted for observation. Once he regains consciousness, we can conduct further examinations, and if everything checks out, he can be discharged..."
"Okay, we'll follow your advice, absolutely..." The hefty man now regarded the doctor as a savior, treating him like a benevolent deity. After ensuring San Pao kept an eye on the driver, he hurried to complete Fang Yi's admission paperwork.
Once Fang Yi was settled into the hospital room, Manjun wiped the sweat from his forehead with a tissue and pulled the hefty man and San Pao to the door, whispering, "Hey, I say, since he's not seriously injured, how about we settle this matter privately?"
Normally, reporting the incident to the authorities would be the best course of action, as the insurance would cover some costs, and Manjun wouldn't have to pay much. However, the problem was that his driver's license had been revoked the previous year, and his current actions constituted driving without a license.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone