Chapter 1: Mired in the Swamp

  These two days, my right eyelid keeps jumping, making me restless and uneasy, with a worried heart.

  It is said that "the left eye jumps for wealth, the right eye jumps for disaster", if I hadn't done anything wrong, I wouldn't care how my right eyelid jumps, but the problem is that I have done something wrong!

  I work in a top hospital, I'm a urologist, I look good, my work is often praised by superiors, and I get along well with colleagues. I already have a beautiful fiancée, a house, and a car. In other people's eyes, I am the epitome of being young and promising, happy and content, without any shortcomings.

  But is it really so? In fact, my heart has been tortured every moment, and every time I see the police or hear the sirens, I get goosebumps all over my body, my heart racing wildly, thinking they've come to catch me. The greater pain is that I dare not tell what I have done to the one I love most deeply, nor can I face her innocent eyes.

  It all started about half a year ago, when Director Liu Yiming mysteriously asked me if I was interested in making some extra money by helping with an operation at a small hospital in the suburbs. At that time, my girlfriend and I were already deeply in love, and I wanted to buy a house, but I still lacked some money for the down payment and didn't dare ask my family for help, so I agreed to go take a look.

  When I arrived, I realized it was a private clinic, not a hospital at all. The conditions were very simple. At the time, the surgery required transplanting one person's kidney to another, and I had some doubts. However, the donor was willing, and both parties had already agreed on the price. I was just assisting the director with the surgery, and as long as there were no medical accidents, it would be fine. Moreover, the director said that this "hospital" was very capable and could receive a large number of such cases. I could come over to help frequently, and each time I could earn tens of thousands of yuan, which was truly tempting for me who was short of money at the time.

  After some hesitation under the director's persuasion, I agreed. The operation went very smoothly that time, and afterwards, as the director said, there were often business opportunities to be had, and the red envelopes received were not small. However, later on, cases where both the kidney donor and recipient appeared together became increasingly rare, mostly involving separate removal and transplantation. From what I know, people who sell their kidneys usually only get 30,000 to 50,000 yuan, while those who buy kidneys have to spend 300,000 to 500,000 yuan - the middlemen's hearts are too black. But this has nothing to do with me, as long as they are willing participants, I get my labor costs, and I don't have any psychological burden.

  Things got even worse later on, I knew some people were deceived and had a kidney removed without knowing it. The director also gave me another task, when there was someone in the hospital who needed a kidney transplant, I would take down their contact information for the director, and then the director would notify people in society to contact the buyer. In regular hospitals, the source of kidneys is extremely scarce, patients with money may not necessarily be able to buy one, like our large hospital has many people waiting for a kidney transplant. The black intermediary obtained the information and went to find them, while also pulling or deceiving people from other channels into selling their kidneys, no wonder business was booming.

  This is obviously illegal, I suggested not to do it, the director promised me more commission, those underworld people threatened to harm my fiancée. They are all desperate people who can do anything, I didn't dare offend them and didn't dare report to the police, so I had to continue doing surgery for them. Every time after finishing the surgery, my mood was very bad, with a strong sense of guilt, I am an accomplice, my hands were stained with fresh blood!

  The day before yesterday, I received a call from the director again, asking me to go for surgery. There was a car waiting for me at the entrance of the community. I didn't want to go, but I couldn't not go either. Feeling extremely depressed, I went downstairs, only to find that the vehicle waiting for me was a small van with a sealed rear compartment and two burly men, who stuffed me into the compartment and took me to an unfamiliar place.

  The surgical instruments and medicines were all ready, a girl of no more than twenty years old lay on the bed, her face was pale and frightening, her hair was messy, her lips were dry and cracked, her eyes were tightly closed and she was unconscious. The beautiful face still had some pain and sadness. I felt something was wrong, turned my head to ask the two people standing beside me staring: "What's going on?"

  I've met these two people many times before. One is a bald, short and stout man with thin eyebrows, triangular eyes, and a face full of scars. He looks like a big villain, but he always smiles in a friendly and harmless way, nicknamed "Laughing Buddha". The other is a muscular giant with a scar on his face, often playing with a small knife in his hand, with cold eyes and rarely speaking, nicknamed "Eight Bars".

  Ba Tiao gazed at me coldly without speaking, and smiled faintly: "You just take care of your own business, don't ask too much."

  "How did she end up in a coma? Did she agree to donate her kidney?"

  Laughing Buddha waved his hand: "This doesn't matter, just get started."

  "My voice rose a few pitches: 'I only work for those who are willing, you can ask someone else.'"

  Ba Tiao was twirling a small knife between his fingers with great agility, and coldly snorted: "Either you dig out her kidney or I'll dig out yours, you choose!"

  Xiao Fo blocked the eight faces, smiling and saying: "It's just a small thing, why make a fuss? If you really don't want to do it, I'll find someone else. Doctors are not afraid of having no one. We've known each other for so long, we understand each other, and the water doesn't flow into another person's field, right?"

  My heart tightened, don't look at the smiling Buddha's words, the threatening meaning is heavier than eight bars, if I confront them, they may really dig out my kidney.

  Laughing Buddha said, "You'd better hurry up, your girlfriend is still waiting for you to go back. I've seen your girlfriend, she's a painter, right? She looks even more beautiful than the paintings, her skin is as white as porcelain, isn't it Song Yuci or something? It's really true that people are like their names, I'm afraid of breaking her if I touch her. By the way, her dad is Professor Song, right? I've watched his lectures on TV, they're really damn good!"

  My back was chilled, they had already figured out my situation, and if I disobeyed them, the next one to lie on this bed waiting for a kidney transplant could be my fiancée. I didn't dare offend them. But can I be a butcher with a clear conscience? In the past, I could comfort myself that the people selling their kidneys were willing, but this time it was an iron fact, against her will! If in the past I was still walking on the edge of morality and law, this time it was 100% crime.

  "Come on, you son of a bitch! Move faster! If you don't dig, I'll do it myself. If she dies, it's all your fault!"

  I would have liked to take a scalpel and cut his throat, but I couldn't do it. Even if I had the instinct to kill these two scoundrels, it would only bring greater disaster. If they really forced her to donate a kidney, they would surely kill this poor girl, so it's better for me to take action, at least that way she can keep her life.

  After hesitating for a while, I compromised and asked them to leave, not wanting them to affect me here. Then, I put on my mask and gloves, checked the medication and equipment once, and prepared to start the operation. When I lifted up the girl's clothes, I found that she wasn't wearing a bra, and there were multiple bruises between her chest and abdomen, as if she had been abused. I became suspicious, pulled down her pants to check, and inside, she wasn't wearing underwear. Her private parts were red and swollen with stains, and a small amount of discharge mixed with blood had seeped out. Without a doubt, she had been raped, and it was by more than one person.

  It's killing me these days!

  I am extremely angry, but also deeply fearful. These people are so ruthless and lawless that they wouldn't hesitate to kill me or my loved ones. I know they are a well-organized gang with a leader called Kun Ge, who has connections everywhere. Selling kidneys is just one of their new ways to make money. I've heard they even have people inside the police department. If I go to report them, I'm afraid the police won't be able to protect me and my family before they take action against us.

  My hand, which had always been as steady as if cast in iron, trembled for the first time while holding a scalpel...

  Afterwards, I told the director about this matter and said that I was not going to do it anymore. The director was also very indignant and said he didn't know it would be like this, and would negotiate with them. Later, the director also told me that he had been coerced too, if he didn't listen, his reputation would be ruined and his life would be in danger, and instead advised me to endure for now and not confront them.

  I don't know what happened to that poor girl later, there was no report of the girl's disappearance, death or kidney removal in the news these two days. But this cannot reduce my sense of guilt, that pale, painful and miserable face always appears in my mind. I never thought I was a person with a strong sense of justice, but I am absolutely not someone who builds his own happiness on others' suffering, as a doctor, I respect every life and try to save every patient, but now I'm involved in stealing people's organs!

  *sigh*...

  My eyelids kept jumping, I couldn't fall asleep. Unconsciously, I let out a sigh, and Yu Cai, who was lying beside me, moved slightly, then used her soft and slender hand to touch my face, uttering a lazy and muffled voice: "What's wrong?"

  "It's okay, it's okay." I hastily replied.

  She leaned her head over: "Are you sighing?"

  "It's really nothing."

  "Don't lie, I clearly heard you sighing. Is work going badly or is my mom giving you pressure?"

  I didn't want to deceive her, but this matter couldn't be told to her. I turned around and hugged her back, my face buried in her soft hair, savoring the fragrance that carried health and youth. Only at times like these could I forget all troubles and guilt, relax completely, and feel as if possessing her was like possessing the whole world.

  "I've had a twitch in my right eyelid for the past two days, I'm afraid something bad might happen, it's making me feel uneasy."

  "Haha, so you believe in this too. Last time my eyelid twitched, you said it was due to mental stress and poor sleep quality, or conjunctivitis, keratitis and the like, but nothing happened afterwards. Maybe you're just overworked and too tired, doing surgery during the day and often working overtime at night."

  I murmured, and she lifted her head, her warm, soft lips pressed against my eyes, gently kissing me, then extended the tip of her tongue to move back and forth, as if massaging.

  That warm and slippery feeling made my heart beat faster, and my hand involuntarily slid over her back through the pajamas. Although it was through the pajamas, her back was still so smooth, soft to the bone, making me reluctant to let go.

  Before long, her breathing also became urgent, she turned over and pressed herself on me, biting my ear and said: "I'll help you relax a bit, it's definitely not going to jump."