Chapter 153

“I mean, what kind of…”

Jaewon couldn’t even finish his sentence, struck speechless.

‘Skreeeech.’

Even if his emotions hadn’t changed, he probably still wouldn’t have been able to finish that thought—because the ambulance had just come to a halt right beside the air ambulance.

“Wait… you did bring your passports, right?”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs staff, who had jumped out of the car the moment it stopped, looked around at Kang-hyuk and the others as he asked.

Of course, they were medical personnel—meticulous by nature.

“Here.”

“Got it right here.”

Not a single one had forgotten their passport.

Despite how chaotic everything had been.

“I have mine too.”

Even military doctor Lee Dong-joo handed over his official passport, issued for overseas deployment.

“Good. We’ll do a brief check and return them after stamping.”

As he spoke, Kang-hyuk looked over to where another staff member was already typing their names into a laptop.

Even though their identities had been verified through the Ministry, formal confirmation was still necessary.

‘With a system like this… sneaking narcotics during patient transport would be ridiculously easy.’

Kang-hyuk briefly entertained the bad thought before turning back to look at Captain Lee Hyun-jong.

What he was smuggling wasn’t drugs—it was a hero, Captain Lee.

“Alright, let’s load him up while they’re stamping things.”

“Oh.”

“Yes, Prof—uh, yes, Professor.”

At Kang-hyuk’s words, everyone rushed forward to move Captain Lee out.

“P-Please be careful not to dislodge this!”

Since the ambulance didn’t have built-in mechanical ventilation, Gyeongwon had been manually pumping the [Ambu bag] the whole time.

Even though his hands were visibly trembling, he didn’t flinch.

‘Damn kid… really picked the right one.’

Kang-hyuk briefly shot him a proud look before grabbing the gurney.

‘Wiiiiiing.’

Just as Captain Lee’s gurney touched the ground, the rear hatch of the air ambulance opened at perfect timing.

Apparently, the pilot inside had been watching the whole situation.

‘He’s thorough… wait, could it be…’

As Kang-hyuk tilted his head curiously, the cockpit door opened.

And out came a pilot Kang-hyuk knew all too well.

“Hans!”

“Saint Devil!”

“You’re still using that? You know you’re the only one who calls me that, right?”

“One day, they’ll all call you that.”

Hans twisted a few bristly strands of his mustache between his fingers and gave a sly smile.

He had a slightly goofy look about him.

But to Kang-hyuk, he looked like the most reliable man in the world right now.

“Glad it’s you.”

“Just gotta get there fast and safe, right?”

Hans responded with exactly the words Kang-hyuk wanted to hear.

“Exactly. But… have you ever flown to Korea before?”

“Nope.”

“So it’s your first time on that route.”

Anyone who’s ever driven a car knows—

Your first time on a route is the hardest and most dangerous.

And if that’s true for cars, how much more so for planes?

Air ambulances, depending on the model, are usually smaller than commercial airliners.

That meant they were more vulnerable to weather during takeoff and landing.

“What are you worried about? You’re always doing surgeries for the first time too, aren’t you?”

“You get the hang of it after doing enough.”

“Same here. Compared to a fighter jet, this thing’s child’s play.”

Hans patted the air ambulance, his expression a mixture of pride and faint melancholy.

He had been a U.S. Air Force pilot—a rare breed capable of flying both F-22 Raptors and Apache helicopters.

The only one in the U.S. military who could.

After retiring, he was scouted with a massive salary by Black Waters, and still conducted operations on par with his active duty days.

“Yeah. If it’s you, I’m not worried. Just hoping the patient holds out. Walter said it’s pretty urgent.”

“Really?”

Kang-hyuk had never said the situation was urgent.

All he’d said was that even if he performed surgery himself, it wouldn’t make a difference here.

But naturally, someone like Walter would assume it was critical.

Kang-hyuk’s time with Black Waters had only been four years.

But in that time, his medical skills had been called miraculous, divine, and legendary.

“Well… looking at him now, maybe it is serious.”

Even though Kang-hyuk questioned it, Hans was convinced.

The usual calm and cocky look was missing from Kang-hyuk’s face.

Hans had flown with Kang-hyuk on countless missions—but this expression was rare.

“Anyway, I’m counting on you. I’ll go check on the patient.”

“Got it. I told them to prep everything, but there still might be something missing. Once we take off, we can’t land again.”

“Understood.”

An air ambulance was nothing like a doctor helicopter.

It was a massive piece of equipment.

The fuel consumed during takeoff and landing alone was outrageous, and the equipment checks were extensive.

It was a full-blown money sink.

‘Can’t believe I managed to get this for free.’

As Kang-hyuk helped load Captain Lee, he couldn’t stop marveling.

This wasn’t just any air ambulance.

It was Black Waters’ one and only top-grade aircraft.

It had been manufactured by Rega, a Swiss air rescue organization known for their elite medical aircraft.

Whether purchased or leased, Black Waters had somehow gotten one.

“Holy crap… this is a plane?”

Even Kang-hyuk, who had ridden in many air ambulances before, was shocked. The others were practically speechless.

“Is that… is that [ECMO]?”

(T/N: [ECMO] stands for Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation, a life-support machine that takes over the function of the heart and lungs.)

Even seasoned internist Yoon Jae-ho couldn’t hide his astonishment.

The aircraft interior was so advanced that most hospital ICUs paled in comparison.

Even the Foreign Affairs staff—who knew nothing about medicine—looked stunned.

“There are… planes like this? With something like this…”

They all thought the same thing:

With this setup, Captain Lee would make it back to Korea alive.

While everyone was relaxing a bit in relief, Kang-hyuk spoke up.

“What are you all standing around for? Move the patient! And Gangster, you and Dr. Yoon, check the meds and equipment. If we forget something, we’re screwed mid-air.”

Kang-hyuk remembered his first time riding in an air ambulance.

Now, he was a veteran of land, sea, and air operations.

But back then?

His skills were top-notch, but he hadn’t yet built up the experience.

‘I nearly lost someone over the dumbest mistake…’

He had forgotten the most basic kit.

He’d managed to make do somehow—but it was close.

Ever since then, he’d become borderline obsessive about triple-checking every detail.

“Yes, Professor.”

While checking the equipment with Jang-mi, he also kept an eye on Gyeongwon.

“You calibrated everything right?”

“Yes, Professor.”

“Hmph. Move over for a second.”

“Huh?”

It was Gyeongwon’s first time being overridden like this, and he blinked wide-eyed.

Then he began reviewing what he might’ve done wrong.

‘Intubation? No… that was already in place.’

Captain Lee had been intubated from the start.

The only debate had been whether to switch to a tracheostomy.

‘Meds…? No… then what…?’

While he puzzled, Kang-hyuk suddenly cranked the valve on the oxygen supply.

It was already supplying plenty of 100% oxygen—but now it doubled.

“Eh?”

Gyeongwon made a strange noise in confusion.

Captain Lee’s vitals already showed a perfect oxygen saturation of 100.

No need to add more.

In fact, excess oxygen can increase free radicals and damage cells.

“Is it weird?”

Kang-hyuk turned back to him, still holding the valve.

Gyeongwon could only nod.

“Well, I guess you’ve never studied [aerospace medicine].”

“‘Aerospace… medicine?’”

“The full term is ‘aerospace medical science,’ but whatever. We know more about the sky than we do about space.”

When humans landed on the moon in 1969, they thought there’d be moon cities and Mars exploration by 2000.

Neil Armstrong’s words still echoed through time.

‘This is one small step for man, but one giant leap for mankind.’

But now? Space exploration hadn’t even gotten close.

“At least we know a lot about flying. What happens the higher we go?”

“Oh—ah! The air pressure drops!”

“Exactly. The aircraft has a pressurization system, but pressure still drops. It’s fine for you and me. But for this guy?”

“He… can’t handle it. So that’s why the oxygen…”

“Right. And that’s not all.”

Even IV fluids could become dangerous when flying too high.

Pressure changes cause more changes than most people realize.

Kang-hyuk carefully inserted all the IV lines into the aircraft’s internal pressurization units.

“If you don’t do this, air bubbles can enter.”

“Which means…”

“[Gas embolism].”

(T/N: [Gas embolism] refers to a condition where air bubbles enter the bloodstream, potentially blocking blood flow.)

Fans of detective novels or mystery shows have probably heard the saying—

“Even an empty syringe can kill you.”

Not entirely false.

Injecting air directly into the bloodstream can cause a blockage.

Though it requires a fair amount of air.

And in Captain Lee’s condition, unnecessary risks should be avoided at all costs.

“Wow… I’ve never seen anything like this.”

“Of course not.”

“I’m glad I came to the Severe Trauma Center, Professor.”

Gyeongwon was good at saying things Jaewon would’ve been too embarrassed to say.

From across the cabin, Jaewon and Jang-mi both turned red and shook their heads.

But Kang-hyuk was a different breed.

If something was even slightly related to him, he took immense pride in it.

And the Severe Trauma Center?

That was practically his own name.

“Right? This is the place. You learn new things, save lives… being trained by the best doctor in the world isn’t hard work—it’s an honor.”

“Y-Yes, sir.”

Gyeongwon probably hadn’t meant to provoke that big a reaction, judging by the sweat forming on his brow.

“If you want weather updates, ask the commercial plane. Ours is taking off now. Over.”

Thankfully, the pilot’s announcement came over the speaker like a call to shut up.

And the plane began its flight toward the Republic of Korea.