Chapter 414: Plague and True Aroma (Combined)

Although it seemed to have made a true-shaung declaration, as a demon with principles, Black Goat actually kept its word and went silent on the spot.

No matter what price Li Ang offered, it stubbornly stayed mute, even closing its eyes, embodying utter intransigence.

Concerned about the hospital's situation and with the Bandage Woman having changed her mind and agreed to help, Li Ang, seeing he couldn't persuade the troublesome goat, simply ignored it and headed straight toward the hospital with the Bandage Woman.

Yet for some reason, though night had already fallen, people kept rushing past on the streets.

Most of these passersby wore strange masks shaped like giant crow beaks, gathering in small groups and carrying prone individuals face-down on two metal stretchers or sedan chairs, marching quickly with heads down.

Strangely, though they appeared frantic, whenever they encountered Li Ang and the Bandage Woman at intersections or narrow alleys, they hurriedly stepped aside, gesturing repeatedly for them to go first—as if they wanted no contact.

Too eager to confirm his sister's condition, Li Ang had no energy to focus on these mysterious passersby; he merely glanced at their soul states, confirmed no abnormalities, and prepared to hurry past—only to be stopped by the Bandage Woman's hand.

"Wait."

After studying the odd figures intently, the Bandage Woman opened her suitcase, bent down, rummaged briefly, pulled out a mask nearly identical in design, and placed it over her face. Then she muttered to Li Ang:

"Stay right here. Don't move. Don't approach them until I return!"

What? Do these people have a problem?!

Locking eyes with the Bandage Woman through the mask's lenses, Li Ang saw that this cautious "senior" was deeply wary of the odd figures—he immediately grew alert.

Following her instructions, he stayed put, gripping the goat's head tightly in his arms, focusing entirely on the souls of those figures, ready to warn the Bandage Woman the moment he sensed anything unusual.

But to Li Ang's surprise, though the strange figures' souls were unstable—filled with anxiety and agitation—they showed no hostility.

After a brief exchange with the Bandage Woman, they even handed her a fresh mask and pointed toward him—as if… they wanted him to wear one too?

Sure enough, when the Bandage Woman returned, she shoved the mask into Li Ang's hands and urged him sternly:

"Something's happened. Put this on right away!"

Seeing her grave expression, Li Ang didn't dare delay. He quickly followed her instructions, pulling the entire mask—sewn onto the black hood—over his head. The dim world before him plunged into utter darkness.

Li Ang then realized the leather crow-beak mask was fully sealed: entirely black, without a single speck of color, the two small lens patches over the eyes painted black, with only a central pupil-shaped lens allowing faint glimmers of external light.

It might've been tolerable in daylight, but now it was like wearing thick sunglasses—his vision was severely obstructed, even the ground beneath his feet hard to see.

"I can't see—"

"Don't move!"

Before Li Ang could finish, the Bandage Woman slapped the mask's beak section hard. The mask, which had previously hovered slightly away from his face, snapped tightly against him—the tiny pupil lens pressing directly against his eye.

Startled, Li Ang instinctively tried to close his eyes—but found his eyelids pried open by the lens. A few drops of pale yellow, icy oil squeezed from the lens's corner, instantly coating his eyeballs.

The patterns on the Bandage Woman's suitcase, the seams of the floor tiles, the textures of buildings along the street—all were forcibly coated with a strange thin yellow hue…

Wait! I can see again?!

…

"This is a Night Crow Mask used by the Epidemic Prevention Bureau. Even in pitch darkness without streetlights, you'll see clearly. Don't look outward with your eyes—press your pupils firmly against the pupil lens and learn to observe through it.

Also, wear the mask properly. Breathe through the beak—it contains herbs, spices, and special smelling salts that prevent most infections."

As she explained the mask's use, the Bandage Woman spoke rapidly to Li Ang:

"I just asked the Epidemic Prevention Bureau people. Last week's heavy rain caused the sewage river to swell, and the drainage dam built by the Public Works Department collapsed the same day, connecting the sewage river's tributary to the capital's drinking water supply.

That alone wouldn't be catastrophic, but the water company, to cut costs, skipped the mandated twelve purification steps. After pumping water from the river, they only filtered out debris and silt, gave it a crude disinfection to remove odor, then directly piped it into the municipal water system.

These people being carried all drank contaminated water. Main symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, severe abdominal cramps, then dehydration and unconsciousness. Those who touched their vomit are now showing similar symptoms—around five hundred people already affected.

The Epidemic Prevention Bureau suspects an outbreak. They're rushing all symptomatic patients to Red Brick Road Hospital, hoping to contain the situation."

Red Brick Road Hospital? Isn't that where Anna is?

"Are they insane?"

Li Ang couldn't help shouting in outrage at such absurdity:

"What about Central Hospital? Royal First Hospital? Even if those are full, the hospitals on Church Street or at Mase University would work!

Those places each have over a thousand beds. Red Brick Road Hospital has only one or two hundred—and they're always full. Sometimes people even lie in the hallways. Why send patients here?"

"Because of location."

As if she'd seen this countless times, the Bandage Woman spoke calmly:

"Central Hospital is surrounded by wealthy districts. Royal First Hospital is near the noble quarter. Church Street is where clergy live. Mase University is home to the kingdom's future elites. The Epidemic Prevention Bureau wouldn't dare send patients there. Red Brick Street Hospital in the old district is the only logical choice.

Besides, the faulty water pipes are only in the old district. The new district's water company draws from upstream and hasn't been contaminated by the sewage tributary. Old district problems get solved by the old district."

"Why?!"

"Because they pay five times the water fee."

"…"

Money! Money! Money! In the end—it's all fucking money!

"Stop thinking about it."

Seeing Li Ang's mood turning sour, the Bandage Woman quickly urged:

"Even if those hospitals agreed to take patients, people from the old district couldn't afford their fees."

"What about the Public Works Department and the water company?"

Li Ang gritted his teeth:

"The Public Works Department's dam collapsed in one rainstorm. The water company violated regulations. According to kingdom law, they should bear responsibility… damn it!"

Before the Bandage Woman could answer, Li Ang stopped himself—he realized how stupid the question was.

Even in the case of the alchemy factory's gas leak in the residential zone that gave Anna lung disease, the Public Works Department still found excuses to avoid compensation.

As for the water company that cut corners? They paid out dividends, sold off equipment, declared massive losses from poor management, and shut down bankrupt.

Even the meager remaining assets would likely be seized first by upstream/downstream partners and shareholders as breach and loss compensation—leaving the victims with less than a drop from a bucket.

Fuck.

Feeling as if a burning coal smoldered in his chest, Li Ang clenched his teeth, about to speak—when the Bandage Woman gently tugged his arm.

"Come on. We've blocked them long enough. Don't delay their work."

She pointed toward the "crow people" around the corner and whispered:

"Their job is to treat patients and prevent large-scale plague. Ours is to eliminate anomalies and prevent the ordinary world from being corrupted.

If I'm right, the rogue infected person you found is likely connected to this. Even if not, if these people keep moving forward, they may face danger. So if you dislike this, if you pity their suffering—then let's move now."

"…"

"Hmm…"

Li Ang took a deep breath of the pungent incense inside the beak, lowered his head, and followed the Bandage Woman in a run toward Red Brick Road Hospital.

Yet just then, the goat's head—silent for so long—suddenly stirred, nudging his chest gently with its horns.

"Hey!"

"Hmm?"

"Shh! Don't speak!"

Seeing Li Ang about to ask a question, Black Goat hurriedly warned:

"You listen. I ask questions—you don't answer. Just look at your soul—I'll know if you agree or not!"

"…"

Glancing at the Bandage Woman's back, Li Ang instantly understood: this self-proclaimed demon wanted to make a secret deal with him, undetected by the Cleanup Bureau.

Was this a demon's temptation?

Thinking of this, Li Ang stiffened, instinctively wanting to report the demon to the Bandage Woman—to alert her and her Cleanup Bureau to this troublemaking fiend—yet…

"Relax. I won't ask you for anything. You don't have to do anything for me."

Seeing Li Ang's soul—brilliantly bright yet beneath it, churning with a tidal wave of black flame—Black Goat grinned:

"Once I find a suitable target, I'll teach you how to guide human malice, incite them to kill each other. Interested?"

"…"

???

Didn't you just say you'd never teach me anything again, even if thrown back into a Welsh sheep pen?

"That was then. This is now."

Noticing the doubt in Li Ang's soul, Black Goat grinned shamelessly:

"Just say whether you want to learn or not!"

Li Ang frowned.

Of course I want to learn—why refuse free knowledge? But… a demon would be this generous?

…

Generosity? Impossible. Never. When a demon offers help without demanding anything…

Ha. It only means it wants more.

Watching Li Ang—clearly wary yet not reporting him to Emma (the Bandage Woman)—Black Goat's eyes gleamed with satisfaction.

My instincts are flawless.

This kid is barely a "good person," even more moral than most. But perhaps he's too naive, or the world too dark—or both—he's accumulated something immense inside. Such a soul is born to fall into the abyss.

Pressing against Li Ang's chest as he ran, enduring the demon's revulsion toward his morality and goodness, inhaling deeply the boundless rage hidden beneath the light, the utter madness that wished to destroy everything and rebuild from ashes—Black Goat closed its eyes in ecstasy.

Holding a blade, the will to kill arises.

You can barely restrain yourself now only because you're weak. When you gain enough power, will you still endure letting fury scorch your soul as you do now?

Keep going, kid! I'll help you well! I'll eliminate those disgusting trash, harvest those evil souls, even fulfill your absurd dream.

But when you believe you've achieved your ideal, basking in triumph and happiness, only to find everything has returned to its original state—even worse than before…

The Abyss welcomes you.

…

"Cough… Could you please ask for me?"

Through the glass door of the intensive care ward, the girl on the bed glanced at the corridor filled with numerous patients, then tugged nervously at the nurse's sleeve beside her, her face full of worry as she asked:

"Has my brother come back? And what's happened outside? Why are so many people lying in the corridor?"

"This… maybe we shouldn't go out?"

Looking at the growing number of patients outside—so many they were nearly piling up to the door of the intensive care ward—the young, good-looking nurse said fearfully:

"So many patients arriving at once—either there's a mass poisoning, or some acute infectious disease. If it's the former, it's manageable; if it's the latter…"

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

Glancing outside the ward and seeing a pool of vomit already seeping to the doorway, the older nurse sighed and shook her head:

"If they're putting patients right at the door of the intensive care unit, our hospital must already be at its limit. If this is an infectious disease, even staying inside here won't save us—we may already be infected."

"If that's the case… since we can't avoid it anyway, why not open the door and let them in?"

Watching the patients lying on the cold tiles, convulsing uncontrollably, some clutching their stomachs and screaming in agony, Anna bit her pale lips and said with visible distress:

"There's only one bed here, but there's a row of sofas, and the floor has carpeting—it's still far more comfortable than lying on stone tiles… Is that okay?"

"Of course it is!"

After glancing at Anna in surprise, the older nurse's eyes softened with warmth, and she smiled gently:

"This is your ward. As long as you're willing, it's fine."

Saying this, she called to the young nurse, whose face had turned pale, and opened the door of the intensive care ward. She bent down to help lift one of the nearby patients inside—when…

"Huh?"

Seeing the boy, small in frame yet as heavy as if welded to the floor, both nurses stared in disbelief.

Though both were female nurses, they frequently had to lift heavy objects in the hospital and were not weak.

If it were a strong man, their inability to lift him would be understandable—but this was clearly a child barely over ten years old. How… could this be?

As the boy cried out in pain, the two nurses realized with horror that their earlier sensation hadn't been an illusion—the thin, small boy was truly welded to the floor!

"This… this…"

Seeing the boy's arm already sunken into the floor tiles, the young nurse sat down abruptly on the ground, lips trembling as she tried to speak—when the older nurse suddenly turned pale, seized her by the arm, and yanked her violently back into the ward.

"Riiip!" "Aaaah!!"

The sound of fabric tearing and a woman's scream rang out together. The young nurse clutched her blood-drenched right hand and collapsed onto the ward's carpet with a cry.

Where she had just sat, beside a shred of white nurse's uniform, lay a patch of flesh and skin—raw, bloody, and unmistakably shaped like a human palm, clearly torn right from her palm!

Watching the patients in the corridor, who had begun sinking slowly into the hospital's floor tiles, the older nurse—who had just saved her colleague—felt her legs go weak. She collapsed onto the carpet with a thud, eyes wide with terror, whispering to herself:

"What… what is happening?"

(End of Chapter)