Chapter 23 Diagnosis, Differentiation, and First Aid of Angina

Chapter 23: Diagnosis, Differential Diagnosis, and Emergency Treatment of Angina Pectoris

Thump.

The moment Lin Jianyuan stepped into the room, his heart gave a violent jolt.

Thump. Thump. Something seemed to pulse in the darkness.

Lin Jianyuan raised his phone to illuminate the path ahead, and a vast expanse of crimson flooded his vision.

The floor, the walls—everywhere was covered in a web of blood vessels.

At the center was a massive, blood-red tumor, throbbing with an eerie rhythm like a heart.

Thick vessels suspended it from the ceiling, and the entire tumor swayed faintly with each beat.

Thump.

"!" Lin Jianyuan jolted, frowning as he clutched his chest.

Just as the tumor pulsed, his own heart gave a violent jolt too.

An intensely uncomfortable, suffocating sensation spread across his chest, leaving him gasping for air. The surroundings grew sweltering.

In an instant, Lin Jianyuan was drenched in cold sweat.

Thump. Thump.

The massive tumor pulsed slowly. Dense blood vessels crept closer from unseen corners.

This familiar sensation, this stabbing chest pain and difficulty breathing...

Lin Jianyuan decisively pulled out a bottle of Suxiao Jiuxin Wan (Quick-Acting Heart Rescue Pills), unscrewed the cap, and dumped the pills into his mouth.

The tumor: "?"

The massive tumor paused its pulsation for a moment, then resumed at an even higher frequency!

Thump-thump-thump.

Thump-thump-thump-thump. Thump. Thump-thump-thump. Thump-thump-thump.

The blood-red tumor quivered frantically.

Lin Jianyuan’s heart also beat erratically; the irregular pulsations failed to pump blood properly throughout his body.

Seeing the situation was dire, Lin Jianyuan quickly dumped the remaining half-bottle of Suxiao Jiuxin Wan into his mouth.

Yet, his symptoms didn’t let up. His chest felt as if it were being crushed by a heavy stone, the constricting pain radiating to his arms and back, making it almost impossible to stand. He buckled, nearly dropping to his knees.

This is... he thought.

This intense feeling of impending death is...

With a clatter, his phone slipped from his hand and fell to the floor.

The light shone upward, illuminating Lin Jianyuan’s pale face, contorted in agony.

Thump. Thump.

The massive tumor pulsed slowly, almost gleefully.

In a few more minutes... no, at most in another thirty seconds, this human would collapse.

Once that happened, this human who had recklessly intruded into its territory would become nothing more than a defenseless mass of flesh and blood, unable to do anything but have his life force absorbed.

In the darkness, thick blood vessels woven into a dense net gradually encircled and closed in on Lin Jianyuan.

Thump. Thump.

The massive tumor reveled in the sight of the human drenched in sweat and suffering.

But the next second, the human suddenly fished out another bottle of medicine from his pocket.

It’s useless. No amount of medicine will... Huh?

To the massive tumor’s surprise, the human didn’t pour the entire bottle of pills into his mouth like last time. Instead, he deftly shook out one pill and slid it under his tongue.

One second later.

The human’s spirits lifted!

The tumor: "???"

"Damn, I actually forgot about taking it sublingually. All those Suxiao Jiuxin Wan I took earlier were wasted," Lin Jianyuan grumbled as he stood up.

Sure enough, he’d diagnosed it right!

This familiar feeling of impending death was something he experienced every time he worked through the night—

Angina pectoris!!!

It wasn’t that Suxiao Jiuxin Wan was ineffective for angina pectoris, he thought; he had just taken it incorrectly in his panic.

Swallowing it meant it had to be absorbed through the digestive tract, while sublingual administration allowed it to get into the bloodstream fast and reach the heart directly.

So, for sudden angina pectoris, you take nitroglycerin sublingually!

—He’s... better?!

The massive tumor gaped at the human, stunned.

Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump!

The tumor began to pulsate wildly!

But this time, the human showed no pain. Instead, he frowned, eyeing it suspiciously as he stepped closer.

This isn’t right!

Wrong wrong wrong wrong! This is all wrong!!!

"What’s going on with you?! Who are you?! Why aren’t you dead?!" it shrieked.

In an instant, countless blood vessels surged forward! Tangled like roots, they slammed toward the unarmed human!

"Give it a rest!" Lin Jianyuan suddenly roared, lunging forward and throwing a hard punch at the tumor!

Bang!

A dull thud!

The tumor was smashed inward, leaving an immediate dent!

What's going on?!

This human could actually inflict actual damage on it?!

Seeing the situation turn unfavorable, the tumor decisively chose to flee!

It deliberately ripped the ceiling's thick blood vessels and slammed its entire body hard against the wall.

Boom! Wall dust showered down!

Behind the wall, however, was not an escape route.

Instead—it was densely packed with vines?!

Thick, powerful vines intertwined with each other, forming a dense, sturdy barrier.

"Eye Vine?! You're this human's pawn too?" The tumor froze for a second, then immediately reacted, sneering, "But just you? A mere C-class..."

Countless blood vessels gathered beneath the tumor, and the entire tumor leaned back as if powering up.

Then, a violent charge!

Thump!

The tumor slammed hard into the vines, but unexpectedly, the vines didn't give at all, instead bouncing the tumor right back in front of Lin Jianyuan!

The tumor was shocked!

What's going on! How could a C-class Eye Vine be so tough?!

Impossible! This isn't the strength a C-class should have!!

Lin Jianyuan, seeing the tumor bounce back, took the opportunity and delivered two more solid punches, pounding the tumor until its blood vessels burst, and the entire tumor almost ceased throbbing.

The surrounding vascular network also spasmed in response, seizing up like they’d been zapped.

The tumor was smashed into the vines, and the vines bounced it back again.

"Again?" Just looking at this giant tumor ricocheting around made Lin Jianyuan furious, and his pent-up rage had finally found a target.

He decided not to hold back.

He was going to take out his anger on whatever this damn thing was!!!

Damn stupid finance department! If there's a problem, why not say it during the initial review instead of waiting until the leadership has approved everything to send my materials back and make me restart the whole process! What idiots!

Damn stupid Jiang Chen! Day after day, with nothing productive to do except endless meetings, meetings, goddamn meetings! Eat shit, you idiot!

And damn stupid landlord! All they know is raising the rent and bitching! All they know is throwing their weight around and pushing me around! What about the promised appliance maintenance? The AC’s been broken for days, and they still haven’t fixed it! Still haven’t fixed it!

Damn stupid world! Everyone can go eat shit! Eat shit, eat shit, eat shit, eat shit!

Thump! Thump! Thump!

He hammered it with punch after punch, each blow hitting flesh!

The tumor was pummeled until it was bruised. Every time it tried to escape, it found vines everywhere!

A mere C-class Eye Vine had, unbeknownst to it, long since covered the walls of the basement!

Now the entire basement was ensnared by the Eye Vine net, sealed tight—no escape!

It was surrounded by just one vine, the Eye Vine!

A mere C-class!

Truly, a B-class brought low, bullied by a C-class!

Thump! Thump, thump, thump!

The highly elastic tumor bounced repeatedly between the highly elastic vine net and the unyielding human fists.

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump!!!

The tumor started seeing literal stars.

It was real, not an illusion.

With each heavy punch from Lin Jianyuan, the tumor spewed a shower of golden stars!

Lin Jianyuan: "?"

Eyeing the golden particles floating in the air warily, Lin Jianyuan roared, "What fresh hell is this?!"

"St-stop hitting..." the tumor weakly unfurled a puff of golden stars from its collapsed core, "Here, take this vitality back..."

Lin Jianyuan: "?"

Lin Jianyuan's expression grew even stranger: "You talk too?"

Tumor: "?"

Lin Jianyuan: "Why does every fucking hallucination know how to talk?"

Tumor: "?? No, you—"

Lin Jianyuan couldn’t stand to listen to a hallucination's nonsense. The thought of having to redo the fucking OA paperwork again later made his anger flare up once more.

This time, without waiting for the Eye Vine net to bounce it back, he directly grabbed the tumor, pressed it to the ground, and started wailing on it.

"Ah! Aah!"

The tumor let out pitiful wails.

Each scream was accompanied by a spray of stars.

Soon, the utterly dark room was filled with floating golden stars.

The scattered starlight lit up the chamber. The blood vessels on the ground convulsed and withered, gradually fading to pale and revealing the original appearance of the walls and concrete floor.

"Why... why are you hitting me..." the tumor choked out, "We’ve got no beef..."

"Work’s a fucking nightmare." Lin Jianyuan calmly delivered two more solid punches. "You know what? My boss is an idiot, Finance are idiots, the clients are idiots—damn, the whole world is full of idiots. My job is torture!"

Tumor: "? Then go punch them! Why me?!"

Lin Jianyuan: "Assault is illegal!!"

Sarcoma: "???"

Amid the sarcoma's desperate, crumbling cries, Lin Jianyuan finally had an awesome vent!

Awesome!

During the relentless half-hour beating, Lin Jianyuan not only released all the stress from work but also achieved a good sweat and fat-burning workout!

And Lin Jianyuan finally realized what this sarcoma was!

A punching bag!

This must be a punching bag secretly installed in the basement by someone who, like him, was overwhelmed with work pressure!

As everybody knows, punching bags are great for both fitness and stress relief!

In short: Perfect!

Exhausted from punching the bag, Lin Jianyuan stood panting, belatedly feeling a slight pain in his fists.

He raised his hand, squinting at the cuts on his knuckles.

"Please spare me, wuwu..." the sarcoma put on a weak voice as it begged for mercy.

Behind Lin Jianyuan's back, unseen by him, a cluster of pulsating blood vessels soundlessly advanced.

Lin Jianyuan faintly heard some movement and began to turn around when the wriggling tendrils lashed toward the back of his neck like sharp spikes!

—*Zzzap!*—

A small spark ignited at the back of his neck!

Lin Jianyuan: "?"

Sarcoma: "???"

The sarcoma gaped in disbelief at its suddenly vanished tendrils.

What just happened? What did it hit? How did its tendrils just disappear?

And this bizarre, searing burning sensation...

Not giving up, the sarcoma launched another sneak attack with its tendrils from behind Lin Jianyuan!

—*Zzzap! Zzzap zzzap!*—

Lin Jianyuan: "??"

Lin Jianyuan whipped around repeatedly, but each time he was too late.

The tiny sparks lasted only for a split second. By the time he turned around, only shadowy darkness remained.

Lin Jianyuan: "???"

What the heck is that sizzling sound?

Sarcoma was in despair.

It stared at its few remaining charred crimson tendrils, feeling utterly helpless.

Anyway, Lin Jianyuan had a great time.

He straightened the punching bag he had knocked over, hung it back on the ceiling, adjusted his clothes, and walked out briskly from the underground gym.

The hallway outside had also regained its lighting. The stress toy thief and the little stone were hurrying over to him.

"Lin Jianyuan, are you okay?" The stress toy squirmed and slid quickly, its soft body leaving a long trail of moisture behind.

"You're alive! You're actually alive!" The little stone rolled over, its tone a mix of surprise and confusion.

Lin Jianyuan couldn't be bothered explaining things to his hallucinations.

But the way these two little things were bouncing toward him was kind of cute.

He casually ruffled their heads, one on the left and one on the right, and put them back into his pockets. "Let's go."

Stress Toy: "What?"

Little Stone: "Wh-why did you suddenly pet my head…"

Stress Toy: "Wait, that's not the point! Ugh, you're so gross! Can you not? Seriously, you're disgusting…"

Little Stone: "...Sorry, I annoyed you again. I just wanted to be honest. I didn’t know you hated that."

Stress Toy: "Ugh! That's beyond disgusting! I’m begging you, shut up! I’m gonna puke! Can you just stop talking!"

Little Stone: "Sorry, I’ll be more careful next time…"

Lin Jianyuan: "."

So. Damn. Noisy.

A vein throbbed on Lin Jianyuan’s forehead as he pulled out both toys again, one in each hand. With two thuds, he slammed them against the wall.

Stress Toy & Little Stone: "@_@…"

Both little toys were knocked out simultaneously.

The world fell silent.

Some time after Lin Jianyuan left.

Footsteps echoed again in the quiet hallway.

"Is this the place?"

"Should be, according to the repair request."

Two electricians trudged over with their equipment.

Arriving at the end of the hallway, the two stood before a bare wall and exchanged puzzled looks.

"All the lights along the way were fine, weren’t they? No flickering," one said.

"Right. The ventilation system’s working too—temperature and humidity are normal," the other added.

The two exchanged another glance.

Electrician A: "Damn idiots."

Electrician B: "Whatever. Let’s go back to sleep. Calling us for such small problems, I’ve really had it with these morons, damn it."