Chapter 10: The Crisis Quietly Comes

As a world-famous fog capital, London has always been indissoluble with continuous rain and fog and dark haze. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

The black, yellow, spicy, choking London fog that pervades the streets of the day and night is so dark that it engulfs the whole city long before the Industrial Revolution - even without the exhaust fumes from factories, trains and cars, the soot from which millions of people cook and heat their homes every day is enough to pollute the city's air into a scorching purgatory......

On another foggy and gloomy morning, in the slums of London's East End, Old Tom, the owner of a thrift shop, was cleaning his shop during the short leisure time in the morning when there were no customers.

After sweeping the floors, windows, and counters, Old Tom used a feather duster to wipe the dust and cobwebs off the shelves, and pondered what price to put on these things—like most black-and-white thrift stores, Old Tom's shop had a lot of goods, a lot of them were things that even Old Tom himself couldn't tell the origin of, and many of the rest were undoubtedly stolen goods.

At this time, he held a glass tube with a complex structure in his hand, which was an unknown thing that he had received at a low price from a pickpocket last month - it was a tubular glass product, with silver-white metal hoops at both ends, and a transparent glass cylinder in the middle, which was inlaid with two delicate spiral glass tubes, which were regularly intertwined with each other, and some kind of royal blue liquid was flashing and fluorescing in the spiral tube.

Although it looks quite delicate, it is unfortunately completely useless. If it is used as an ornament, it seems too monotonous, after all, there is no carving and etching on the glass, and there is no engraving pattern on the metal hoop. If it's a perfume or potion, and you don't know what it's for, or how to fool the customer into buying it, what if it's poison? Hey, I wonder who made such a strange thing? Even though it only cost half a penny for this thing when it was received, there was still a concern that it would not sell......

Old Tom frowned and pursed his lips, but continued to pick up the rag in his hand and carefully wiped the dust from the glass test tube.

However, at this moment, the wooden door of the store was suddenly pushed open with a "bang", which frightened Old Tom all over, and the glass test tube in his hand suddenly slipped off, fell to the ground with a click, and turned into a pile of glass shards, and the fluorescent blue liquid also flowed to the ground.

Faced with this change, Old Tom and the customer who pushed the door in were stunned...... In the end, the owner, Old Tom, reluctantly admits himself unlucky, grabs up a broom and a rag, and begins to clean up the broken glass on the floor, while complaining and shouting at the customer, "...... Look, it's all your fault! Old William! Why did you break in so carelessly and didn't even knock on the door? It caused me to break things early in the morning! Don't you know the key to stability? ”

“…… Hey! How can you blame me for this? It's clear that you're making a fuss and not holding it steady. "Old William, who pushed the door in, was obviously very familiar with the shopkeeper Old Tom, and didn't take his complaint seriously at all," ...... Without further ado, what I ordered last time, is it in stock now? ”

“…… Yes, yes, just got it. As soon as he mentioned the business matter, Old Tom immediately came to his senses, and immediately took out a box from under the counter, pushed it in front of the customer and opened it...... Authentic African ivory pipes! Look at the color, the workmanship! Two pounds is not too much, is it? ”

“…… Really? But how do I see that there are potholes and gaps all over the pipe? There are also quite a few scratches on the reliefs of the decoration? The cigarette holder was visibly broken, and it was re-connected with wood...... This kind of thing that drops the price at a glance, even if it is sold for five shillings, no one wants it, right? ”

……

At the end of the day's business and about to close the door, old Tom suddenly felt a little itchy nose and couldn't help sneezing.

“…… Ahh What's wrong with me? Seems a little uncomfortable...... Could it be a cold? Let's rest early when we go back......"

He reached out and wiped his nose, shivered, and muttered to himself......

-- The initial symptoms of the T-virus infection in "Resident Evil" are no different from ordinary minor illnesses, except coughing, sneezing, or itching like a rash, just like the hay fever-like reaction of the human body when it is allergic or irritated.

For a strong and healthy person, it is a difficult process for a healthy person to overcome the immune system of a healthy person with a few T viruses that occasionally get on the skin, and it may even result in the virus being completely destroyed. So usually no one pays attention to this kind of thing, at most they think they have a cold, so they go to the pharmacy to buy cold medicine to eat. The problem is that unless the person is really strong enough to rely on their own immunity to resist the virus attack, no cold medicine can kill the T-virus (unless the antiviral antibodies are injected). Therefore, at the same time that the patient went to buy cold medicine, the virus had already begun to invade the cells and tissues of the infected person before the host knew it, and he was transformed into a zombie step by step......

What's worse is that at the end of the eighteenth century in England, humans didn't even invent a cold medicine like aspirin......

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When the T-virus spread all of London and even the whole of the United Kingdom, our protagonists were still at a loss.

At this time, Mr. Ayu, the Indian patient who came for treatment, had been completely cured under the miraculous effect of the [automatic medical box], but his body was still relatively weak and needed to continue to recuperate for a period of time, and by the way, he would replenish more nutrition.

His son Chandra and daughter-in-law Karina breathed a sigh of relief, and began to have free time to wander around, browsing the English countryside at the end of the eighteenth century under the supervision of Wang Qiu, who was disguised as Mr. Collins.

“…… That's what it is...... Netherfield Manor? It's a lot more decent than the Bennet family's house. ”

Chandra, wrapped in a headcloth and dressed in Indian national costume, stood side by side with Wang Qiu outside the door of a manor, commenting.

Indeed, if the Bennet house is roughly equivalent to a "well-decorated farmhouse compound", then this Netherfield Manor finally looks more like a luxury villa for the rich in the West: the main building of the manor is full of white marble, and it has a vague White House style. The windows and door frames are meticulously carved and costly everywhere. There are no chickens, ducks and geese pooping everywhere in the courtyard outside, but a real Western-style garden, decorated with statues, fountains, gazebos and grunied bushes in geometric shapes.

As for the scene inside the manor, although Wang Qiu did not go in to see it in person-the owner of this manor lives in London and has not been back for many, many years, so the current Netherfield Manor is vacant - but according to the descriptions of the villagers, as well as the influence of various movies, you can also get a glimpse of it: beautiful silverware with glittering silverware, a manservant wearing a white wig, a delicate sofa with intricate patterns, a patchwork of brass candlesticks, a heavily carved wooden door, and a four-wall parquet. The dimly lit billiard and card rooms are dotted with large paintings on the walls, and possibly huge Greek-style reliefs, plus brightly coloured satin curtains and Persian carpets...... In short, it looks like a place where a nobleman lives.

Of course, in the eyes of modern people who are accustomed to seeing all kinds of luxury hotels, this manor is only quite exquisite, more sophisticated and stylish.

But in the eyes of the lonely eighteenth-century English countrymen, the décor and style of the Netherfield Manor were already like a palace.

“…… According to local residents, this Netherfield manor is already the most luxurious house in the area of Longborn Village. ”

Wang Qiu, who had been here for a while, introduced Mr. Chandra as follows, "...... However, the owner of this manor has been trying to sell this Netherfield manor for many years because of his extravagance, and the family finances have been unable to make ends meet, and even in debt, he has been trying to sell this Netherfield manor for many years, but unfortunately the asking price is too expensive, and he has never been able to find a suitable buyer, and finally can only be rented out for those rich people who do not have a manor and want to go to the countryside for the summer......"

“…… Then, in the summer or early autumn of this year, Mr. Bingley, the second male protagonist of Pride and Prejudice, would come from London and rent the Netherfield manor to entertain his friend Darcy and others. This is the beginning of the plot of Pride and Prejudice...... Is that right? ”

Chandra grinned, "...... I read this novel a long time ago, and on the plane that came to you, I used my tablet to make up the plot, and I also re-watched the old and new versions of the Pride and Prejudice movie and the BBC mini-series......"

“…… Oh, and it looks like you're pretty well prepared. Wang Qiu blinked his eyes and said with a smile. Through this period of contact, he found that this Indian couple seems to be a very easy type to deal with, very funny, very easy-going, and get along well with people on his side.

“…… In fact, I took a class, and my wife took a class, and Jane was once joined by my wife. What about the book club of Austen novels! ”

“…… That being the case, would you like to visit Pemberley Manor again? It is the dream villa owned by the male protagonist Mr. Darcy. The estate is in Derbyshire, and it might be a bit far on foot, but on horseback we can get there in a day......"

“…… No need, I can't get in there anyway, I can only look outside the manor. Chandra waved her hand, "...... And, in the modern world of Britain, I've already visited this manor, and even lived in it for a few days - of course, there is no Pembury Manor in the real world, but there is the location of Pride and Prejudice, Huntsworth Manor in Derbyshire, which is also called Darcy Manor because of the filming of Pride and Prejudice. It is now a museum and resort open to the public, where visitors can enjoy aristocratic balls and banquets......"

“…… Sounds like a lot of fun. Wang Qiu gave him a thumbs up, "...... I can't see it, you're pretty good at playing! ”

“…… If you actually try it, you know it's actually boring. Well, it's just tossing yourself. Chandra smiled wryly and shook her head, "...... There are countless social etiquette, dozens of knives, forks and spoons are used for a meal, and you have to change into different clothes for walking, dining, and dancing...... And the pastries and steaks that really come into your mouth feel no different from those in ordinary Western restaurants. ”

“…… Indeed, society is always developing and progressing, and the material enjoyment of the ancient aristocracy is probably not as good as that of modern urban white-collar workers. ”

Wang Qiu nodded, "...... I once watched a French costume drama that said that Louis XIV, the Sun King, had to serve more than 40 dishes to his servants every day, and then choose what he liked to eat. At the time, this was seen as a sign of extravagance. But if it were a metropolis in modern society, as long as you walked into a high-end cafeteria, wouldn't you still be able to find forty decent dishes? ”

“…… So, I'm not really interested in the country estates in England. Anyway, what these manors look like here, and what they look like in our place - as you said before, this is actually a movie world, and the manors that appear are all prototypes in the real world. ”

Chandra shrugged, "...... However, I was more interested in the city of London in this era - the estates could be seen on any side of the world, but the city of London before the Industrial Revolution could only be seen here......" he said with a slight sigh and melancholy.

“…… Belch...... We're planning to go to London recently, so if you wish, you can stop by and go along......"

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A few days later, Wang Qiu and others took Chandra and his wife Karina and embarked on a tour to London.

Before leaving, Wang Qiu and the other Chinese not only put on wigs and pupils, but also carefully changed their faces to prevent them from wearing gangs. Chandra and his wife don't have to be so troublesome, they are originally high-caste white Indians, as long as they fix their hair, change into the dresses and long skirts of this era, and finally spray some perfume to hide their body odor, then they are not much different from the British except for a little darker skin - but this is the era of the British Empire's sailing and colonization, and there are many British who go to the tropics to fight, do business, and set up plantations, and only return home after their tan is tanned, As long as you don't drill into the balls and banquets of high society, you won't attract anyone's attention.

The whole tour was uneventful, but unfortunately there are not many attractions worth seeing in London this year - Trafalgar Square, Regent Street, Waterloo Bridge, Nelson Monument, Big Ben, Tower Bridge, the British Houses of Parliament, the British Empire Museum, and the British Imperial Library, where Marx wrote Capital, these famous Victorian landscape buildings did not exist at the time of Pride and Prejudice.

St. James's Park, which was later known for its beauty and magnificence, is still a place of execution similar to Beijing's Caishikou, and Wang Qiu happened to see several thieves hanging on the gallows and swinging there. Even Hyde Park, which already has its embryonic form, is just a mess of green spaces...... Buckingham Palace and the Tower of London have been completed for many years, but where can ordinary people enter this kind of royal palace?

Despite this, in order to meet the requirements of some historians and sociologists in the rear, Wang Qiu and the others still took the miniature video camera used for candid photography, and walked around the streets and alleys of London a few times, whether it was a shop, market, church, mansion, they all paid attention to some typical examples. He even ventured deep into the dirtiest and impoverished East End, taking countless photos and videos along the way, documenting the city's bits and pieces.

However, even outside of their sight, some tiny factor of destruction was rapidly multiplying and expanding within the city of London......

An unprecedented catastrophe that caught people off guard has entered the countdown stage in this world!