Finger Fright

Electronics factory employee Lu Mingyu sits on a plastic chair in the oncologist's clinic, like a piece of wood. The air is filled with the lingering smell of the hospital - disinfectant water mixed with the stale smell that never goes away, making it suffocating. "CAR-T... Is the last option." The doctor's words were calm, and he just turned over the documents in his hand. "About 600,000 yuan per issue." The sound of flipping papers was as crisp as ice breaking. "You need to think carefully. The money must be received immediately. All treatments must be carried out as soon as possible." Six hundred thousand. These words exploded in his ears, buzzing, draining the last bit of strength from his bones. What he was clutching tightly in his hand were several crumpled IOUs that he had obtained in exchange for four beggings last week. The total amount was only 80,000 yuan, and he couldn't even pay a fraction of it. "Doctor... My mother... Can't last much longer?" Lu Mingyu's throat was tight, and his voice was as dry and hoarse as sandpaper. The doctor looked up at him, his eyes sharp and calm behind the lenses: "The window period is very short, you decide quickly." He tapped his fingers on the table twice, "Two days, three days at most."