Chapter 278: Perseverance in the Morning Light
Chapter 278: Perseverance in the Morning Light
When the sky outside the tent began to lighten, Zoey's fingertips still held the moist touch of sea breeze from her dream, and her nose seemed to carry the fresh scent of daisies. But what reached her ears was the sound of the tent fabric flapping in the morning wind, and muffled coughing from nearby.
Zoey opened her eyes and lay still for a moment before fully pulling herself away from that warm beach dream. Before her was still the simple camp bed, and the air was filled with the mixed smell of disinfectant and dust.
But the feeling in her heart was completely different from before.
The vivid smiles in her dream, the whisper of waves, the warmth of close friends—like a beam of light, they pierced through days of exhaustion and heaviness, taking root in her heart. She raised her hand to touch the corner of her eye, where there was still a trace of moisture, not from sadness, but because that perfect beauty had given her strength like never before.
Zoey quickly got up and folded her thin blanket.
The person in the mirror—the fine lines at the corners of her eyes seemed smoothed by the morning light, less weathered and more determined. She rinsed her mouth with the little clean water left, grabbed her uniform, and walked quickly out of the tent.
The camp was waking up. Several volunteers were pushing supply carts distributing breakfast, the aroma of thin porridge mixed with herbal medicine floating in the air. As soon as Zoey reached the medical tent entrance, she saw Matthew rushing over:
"Zoey, we received three seriously wounded people this morning, all gunshot wounds. One of them is a child who's lost too much blood—the situation is critical."
Zoey's heart sank, and she immediately followed Matthew into the tent.
By the operating table, medical staff were busy. The injured child lay there, face pale as paper, breathing very weak. On the beds nearby, two other adult casualties were moaning in pain. One of them had an infected wound, red, swollen, and festering.
"We don't have enough plasma."
The nurse said anxiously:
"Our stock of type A blood is only enough for one transfusion, but this child is type A, and of the other two casualties, one is type A and one is AB."
Zoey bent down to check the child's wound. The bullet had pierced through his femoral artery. Although they'd already treated the bleeding, the risk of shock from excessive blood loss remained. She looked up at Matthew:
"Have you contacted the nearby Red Cross? Can we get an emergency shipment of plasma?"
"Already contacted them, but the nearest Red Cross station is three hundred miles away, and the road conditions are bad. Artillery fire might block the route too. The earliest they can get here is this afternoon."
Matthew checked his watch, somewhat helpless:
"Among our camp volunteers, only two have type A blood, and they've both already donated once. We can't draw from them again."
Zoey frowned, her mind flashing to the sturdy little boy in her dream—running happily on the beach with a bright smile. The child before her should have had that kind of childhood too, but was trapped in war and pain instead. A strong conviction rose in her heart: she couldn't let this child lose his life, couldn't let those eyes hoping for peace dim again.
"I'm also type A."
Zoey took off her uniform and rolled up her sleeve:
"Draw from me."
"No way!"
Matthew firmly refused Zoey's suggestion.
"It's only been a week since your last blood donation, and you've been too exhausted lately."
Matthew grabbed Zoey's hand:
"This will hurt your body too much."
"It's okay."
Zoey looked at the bruise on her arm from the blood draw that hadn't completely faded:
"This child's condition can't wait. My body can handle it."
She looked at the nurse and ordered:
"Quick, prepare to draw blood."
The nurse looked hesitantly at Matthew. Matthew looked at the unwavering Zoey and finally nodded.
The needle pierced the vein, and bright red blood slowly flowed into the blood bag. As Zoey watched the bag gradually fill, the beach from her dream seemed to appear before her eyes again, waves lapping at the shore, as if cheering for life.
The surgery lasted nearly two hours. When the last stitch was completed, the child's breathing gradually stabilized, and his face finally showed a hint of color. Zoey breathed a sigh of relief. When she straightened up, she felt a wave of dizziness as symptoms of low blood sugar hit her. She steadied herself against the operating table, shook her head, and forced herself to walk out of the surgical area.
She had just sat down and taken a sip of sugar water when hurried footsteps came from outside the tent, accompanied by a familiar shout:
"Matthew! Zoey!"
Zoey looked up to see Elias running in, covered in dust. His windbreaker was dusty, his face showed the fatigue of travel, but his eyes sparkled with bright light.
"Good news!"
He said breathlessly:
"I rushed back to organization headquarters to report the proposal to work with Chase, and headquarters has approved it! They've agreed to formally engage with his company!"
Zoey stood up, the enamel cup in her hand nearly slipping, her eyes instantly bursting with incredible joy:
"Really?"
Her voice carried a barely noticeable tremor, days of worry and hope turning into burning emotion in this moment.
"It's true!"
Elias nodded vigorously and pulled out a document from his backpack:
"This is the organization's official approval. I've already contacted Chase via satellite phone. He said he'll immediately prepare samples and relevant credentials and send them to headquarters for review as quickly as possible. He also said that once the review passes, the first batch of medical supplies will be sent to our camp as a priority. Besides their company's nutritional supplements, there will be antibiotics, hemostatic drugs, and surgical instruments—all things we urgently need!"
Matthew also walked forward excitedly, took the document to look through it, and showed a relieved smile on his face:
"That's wonderful! With these supplies, those infected casualties will be saved, and we can handle more emergencies!"
Zoey's eyes grew slightly moist, Chase's steady appearance floating into her mind. She knew this wasn't just hope for supplies, but hope for countless lives on this land. Chase's promise, the organization's approval, and everyone around her standing firm—all of it was gradually pulling the beauty from her dream into reality.
"I've been waiting for this day for so long."
Zoey's voice was choked with emotion, yet full of hope:
"I believe in Chase. His products will definitely help everyone. As long as the samples pass review, our camp's medical conditions can greatly improve, and we can save more people."
Elias looked at the light in Zoey's eyes and said sincerely:
"Zoey, this is all thanks to you. If you hadn't insisted on recommending him, the organization wouldn't have made this decision so quickly."
Zoey shook her head and looked toward the morning light outside the tent. Golden sunlight filled the camp, falling on those people who, despite their wounds, were still trying hard to live. The sound of artillery fire in the distance seemed a bit fainter. A few small birds landed on top of the tent, chirping, as if singing of hope.