Chapter 11: 11 Evil Plague and True Fragrance (Two-in-One)

Although it seemed to have issued a true fragrance declaration, as a great demon with a bottom line, the black goat really did what it said and started to play mute.

No matter what price Leon offered, it just kept silent, and even closed its eyes, highlighting an unyielding attitude.

Because he was worried about the situation at the hospital, and because the bandage woman changed her mind and was willing to take action, seeing that he really couldn't persuade this troublesome goat, Leon simply ignored it and took the bandage woman to the hospital.

However, I don't know what happened nearby, but although it was already night, he could always meet people rushing on the road.

Most of these passers-by wore strange masks like giant crow beaks, gathered in twos and threes, and carried a person lying face down on two metal stretchers or poles, walking quickly with their heads buried.

Strangely, these people looked very anxious, but when they met Leon and the other two at intersections or narrow alleys, they would hurriedly make way and keep waving their hands to let them go first, as if they didn't want to have contact with them.

Because he was anxious to confirm his sister's situation, Leon had no energy to pay attention to these mysterious passers-by, just focused on their soul state, confirmed that there was nothing unusual, and was about to pass through, but was stopped by the bandage woman.

"Wait."

After sizing up those weirdos with a serious expression, the bandage woman opened her suitcase, bent down to search for a while, took out a mask with a very similar shape, and put it on her face. Then she said muffledly to Leon:

"You stand here and don't move. Before I come back, absolutely do not approach them rashly!"

What? Is there a problem with these people?!

Looking at the bandage woman through the lenses of the bird-beak mask, Leon found that this cautious "senior" seemed very wary of those weirdos, so he became vigilant too.

After staying in place according to the bandage woman's instructions, he grabbed the goat head in his arms tightly, focused all his attention on observing the souls of those weirdos, and prepared to warn the bandage woman immediately if he found any unusual situation.

But to Leon's surprise, those weirdos with strange clothes and sneaky actions, although their soul states were not very "stable" and were full of anxiety and restlessness, didn't seem to have any hostility.

After talking to the bandage woman for a few sentences, those people even took out a new mask and stuffed it into her hand, and pointed at his side, as if... they wanted him to wear this strange mask too?

Sure enough, after the bandage woman came back, she stuffed the mask into Leon's hand and urged him seriously:

"Something happened, put this on quickly!"

Seeing her serious expression, Leon didn't dare to neglect, and according to her instructions, put the mask sewn on the black hood over his head. The originally dim world suddenly went dark.

Leon then discovered that this leather bird-beak mask was fully enclosed, pitch-black without any miscellaneous colors, and even the two small lenses at the eyes were specially painted black. Only in the small ball-shaped mirror in the middle could a little light from the outside be faintly transmitted.

If it were daytime, it would be fine, but now it was like wearing a pair of sunglasses, his vision was greatly hindered, and he couldn't even see the road under his feet.

"I can't see..."

"Don't move!"

Before Leon could say his situation, the bandage woman reached over and slapped the bird-beak part of the mask hard. The mask, which still had some space between it and Leon's face, stuck to it tightly, and the small pupil mirror touched his eyes directly.

Leon, who was startled, instinctively wanted to close his eyes, but found that his eyelids were propped up by the lenses, and a small amount of light yellow cold oil dripped from the corner of the lenses, filling his eyeballs in the blink of an eye.

The patterns on the bandage woman's suitcase, the joints of the floor tiles, the texture of the buildings on the street, the whole world was forcibly plated with a strange light yellow...

Wait! I can see things clearly?!

"This is the night crow mask used by the Epidemic Prevention Bureau to prevent plague. You can see the road clearly even if you go to a place without street lights at night. Remember not to look outside with your eyes, you must keep your pupils close to that pupil mirror and learn to observe with the pupil mirror.

Also, the mask must be worn tightly, keep your mouth and nose in the bird beak to breathe. There are herbs, spices, and special smelling salts inside, which can avoid being infected by most epidemics."

The bandage woman pointed out the usage of the mask while explaining to Leon at a very fast speed:

"I just asked the people from the Epidemic Prevention Bureau. The heavy rain last week caused the sewage river to rise, and the dam built by the Road Administration was washed away that day, causing the branch of the sewage river to connect with the Capital's water intake river.

If it were just like this, it would be fine, but the water company that contracted it, in order to save expenses, didn't follow the twelve-step water purification process. After pumping water from the river, they only filtered out debris and sediment, did a rough disinfection to remove the odor, and then poured it directly into the municipal water pipes.

These people being carried are those who drank the dirty water. The main symptoms are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, severe abdominal cramps, and then dehydration and coma. People who have come into contact with their vomit have also started to have similar symptoms. About five hundred people have appeared in this situation.

Those people from the Epidemic Prevention Bureau suspect that a plague may have occurred, so they are sending a large number of patients to the Red Brick Road Hospital, hoping to control the situation."

Red Brick Road Hospital? Isn't that the one Anna is staying in?

"Are they crazy?"

Not expecting such an outrageous thing to happen, Leon couldn't help but say angrily:

"What about the Central Hospital? What about the Royal First Hospital? If it really doesn't work, the Church Street and Meise University hospitals are also fine!

Those hospitals have more than a thousand beds each, and the Red Brick Road Hospital only has one or two hundred beds in total, and it's always full. Sometimes people are lying in the corridors. Why send people here?"

"Because of the location."

Seeming to have seen many similar things, the bandage woman said calmly:

"The area around the Central Hospital is a wealthy area, the area near the Royal First Hospital is a noble area, Church Street is the residence of priests, and the area around Meise University is the future elite of the Kingdom. The Epidemic Prevention Bureau definitely wouldn't dare to send patients there. The Red Brick Street Hospital in the old city is inevitably the first choice.

Also, the water pipes that had problems this time are only in the old city. The water intake point of the new district's water company is further upstream and was not polluted by the branch of the sewage river. Of course, the old city's problems are solved by the old city itself."

"Why?!"

"Because the water fees they pay are five times that of the old city."

"..."

Money! Money! Money! In the final analysis! It's still goddamn money!

"Don't think about these."

Seeing that Leon's emotions were clearly not right, the bandage woman hurriedly persuaded:

"Even if those hospitals agreed to receive patients, the people in the old city wouldn't go, they can't afford the expenses there."

"What about the Road Administration and the water company?"

Leon gritted his teeth and said:

"The Road Administration's dam collapsed in a rainstorm, and the water company also violated regulations. According to the Kingdom's laws, shouldn't they bear..."

"Damn!"

This time, before the bandage woman could answer, Leon took the initiative to stop asking, because this question was really too stupid.

Let alone this kind of "natural disaster" caused by heavy rain, even when the alchemical pharmaceutical factory built in the residential area leaked waste gas, causing Anna to get lung disease, the Road Administration still found reasons not to compensate!

As for the water company that cut corners, after dividends were issued and equipment was sold, they just reported poor management and huge losses, and then declared bankruptcy.

Even the meager assets left, it is estimated that they would first be taken away by upstream and downstream companies and shareholders as compensation for breach of contract and losses. In the end, what could be left for these victims is afraid that not even one in ten thousand!

Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!

Feeling like there was a piece of charcoal burning in his chest, Leon gritted his teeth and was about to say something, but his arm was pulled gently by the bandage woman.

"Let's go! We've blocked the road long enough, don't delay their work anymore."

Pointing to the "crow men" at the corner, the bandage woman said softly:

"Their job is to treat patients and avoid large-scale plague outbreaks. Our job is to clean up the anomalies that appear and avoid the erosion of the ordinary world.

If I'm not mistaken, the out-of-control infection object you discovered should be inseparable from this matter. If these people continue to move forward, there may be danger.

So, if you hate this kind of thing and want to do something for them, then we should set off now."

"..."

"Mm..."

Taking a deep breath of the pungent spices in the bird beak, Leon lowered his head and responded, then followed the bandage woman and ran toward the Red Brick Road Hospital.

However, just at this moment, the goat head, which had been silent for a long time, moved, and nudged his chest with its horns secretly.

'Hey!'

"Mm?"

'Shh! Shh! Don't talk!'

Seeing that Leon seemed to want to ask, the black goat hurriedly instructed:

'Just listen to what I say, and don't answer my questions. As long as I look at your soul, I can know whether you agree or disagree!'

"..."

Glancing at the back of the bandage woman in front, Leon immediately understood that this black goat, which called itself a demon, wanted to do some trading with him secretly without being discovered by the Cleanup Bureau.

Does this count as a temptation from a demon?

Thinking of this, Leon's expression tightened. Instinctively, he wanted to open his mouth to report to the bandage woman, letting her and the Cleanup Bureau behind her pay attention to this demon that wanted to make trouble. However...

'Don't worry, I won't make any conditions to you, and you don't need to do anything for me.'

After looking at Leon's soul, which was amazingly bright but had monstrous black flames suppressed underneath, the black goat, which was still sulking just now, smiled and said:

'After finding a suitable target, I'll teach you how to guide human evil thoughts and induce them to kill each other, how about it? Interested?'

"..."

???

Didn't you just say that even if you were thrown back into the sheep pen in Welsh County, you wouldn't teach me anything?

'Just now was just now, now is now.'

Noticing the doubt in Leon's soul, the black goat grinned happily and said shamelessly:

'Just tell me if you want to learn!'

Hearing this, Leon couldn't help but frown tightly.

Of course I want to learn. After all, without paying any price, why not agree? But... would a demon be so kind?

Kindness is impossible, it's impossible in this lifetime. When a demon doesn't talk about trading, but instead wants to help you unusually generously...

Hehe, that only proves it wants more!

Looking at Leon, who was clearly full of precautions but didn't report himself to Emma (the bandage woman), the black goat's eyes showed a look of pride.

His vision was indeed accurate!

Although this kid is barely a "good person," and his sense of morality is even stronger than the average person, perhaps he is too naive, or perhaps this world is too dark, making him accumulate a lot of incredible things in his heart. This kind of person is simply born to fall into the abyss.

Leaning against Leon's chest while running, enduring the moral values and kindness that demons hate, and taking a deep breath of the boundless rage hidden under the brightness, along with the extreme madness of wanting to destroy everything and push it over to restart, the black goat couldn't help but close its eyes intoxicatedly.

Holding a sharp blade, the killing intent arises on its own.

You can still barely endure it now, just because you are still weak. After obtaining enough powerful strength, are you still willing to let anger burn your soul wantonly like this?

Come on, kid! I will definitely help you well! Help you deal with those annoying garbage, help you harvest those sinful souls, and even help you realize the absurd vision in your heart.

However, after you think you have completed your ideal and are immersed in happiness with satisfaction, if you find that everything is returning to the old ways, the background color of the world is still the same, and it has even become more unbearable...

The abyss welcomes your joining.

"Cough cough... Can you help me ask?"

Through the glass door of the special ward, looking at the patients lying in the corridor, the girl on the hospital bed couldn't help but pull the nurse's sleeve beside her and ask worriedly:

"Has my brother come back? Also, did something happen outside? Why are there so many people lying in the corridor?"

"This... it's better not to go out, right?"

Looking at the more and more patients outside, who were almost piling up to the door of the special ward, the young nurse with a handsome appearance said with some fear:

"To have so many patients at once, either a large-scale poisoning occurred, or there is some acute infectious disease. If it's the former, it's fine, but if it's the latter..."

"If it's the latter, then it's already too late."

Looking out of the ward, seeing a pool of vomit that had already surged to the door, the older middle-aged nurse sighed and shook her head:

"Being able to put patients at the door of the special ward proves that our hospital should have reached its limit. If it's really some kind of infectious disease, we can't avoid it even if we stay in the special ward, and we might have already been infected."

"In that case... since it's unavoidable anyway, why not open the door and let them in?"

Looking at the patients who were constantly twitching on the cold floor tiles, or even covering their stomachs and howling, Anna bit her bloodless lips, her expression a bit unbearable:

"Although there is only one hospital bed here, there is a row of sofas, and the floor is also covered with carpets. No matter what, it's more comfortable than lying on stone tiles... Can I?"

"Of course!"

After looking at Anna with some surprise, the older nurse had a look of warmth in her eyes, smiled kindly, and said softly:

"This is your ward, as long as you are willing, there is no problem."

After saying that, she greeted the young nurse, whose face was a bit ugly, and opened the door of the special ward. Then she bent down, wanting to help a patient nearby into the room, however...

"Eh?"

Looking at the little boy who was clearly very thin but as heavy as if he had been welded to the ground, the two nurses widened their eyes at the same time.

Although they are both female nurses, they often can't avoid lifting heavy objects when working in the hospital, and their strength is not small.

If it were a strong man, it would be fine if they couldn't lift him, but this was clearly just a child in his early teens, how... God bless!

Accompanied by the boy's crying due to pain, the two nurses discovered with extreme horror that their "feeling" just now was not a mistake. This thin little boy was really "welded" to the ground!

"This... this..."

Looking at the boy's arm that had already sunk into the floor tiles, the young nurse sat on the ground with a thud. Her lips trembled and she just wanted to say something, but saw the middle-aged nurse's expression change drastically. She pulled her up from the floor tiles and dragged her back into the ward extremely roughly.

"Rip! Ah!!!"

The sound of the nurse's uniform being torn and the woman's scream rang out at the same time. The young nurse clutched her bleeding right hand and fell back onto the carpet in the ward with a thud, screaming.

And in the position where she had just sat down, besides a piece of white remnant of the nurse's uniform, there was a layer of bloody skin, which was exactly the same size as her palm. It was clearly just torn from her palm!

Looking at the patients in the corridor who didn't know when they started to sink into the hospital floor tiles, the older nurse who saved her colleague sat on the carpet with weak legs, murmuring in horror:

"This... what on earth is going on?"