388

Audrey stood by the window, watching the yellow and iron black mist dissipate quickly, watching the heavy rain that did not belong to winter fall majestically, and her mood was much calmer.

It didn't take long for her and Susie to finally wait for Count Hall to come home.

"Dad, how's it going?" Audrey asked with concern.

Count Hall smiled mildly as he handed his coat and hat to the waiter:

"Solved, but the specific process is not clear, my little princess, you really helped a lot this time, you deserve a ton of medals!"

That's good, that's good...... Thanks to Mr. "Fool" for reminding and thanks to her volume-bearer risk-taking investigation...... Once again, we Tarot Society have stopped the evil gods from descending and saved the world once again! Audrey's heart was filled with pride.

Count Hall took the towel from the maid's hand, wiped his face, and sighed:

"But this time there were still more serious casualties, and the smog in Beckland could have become so deadly...... Although the statistics are not yet available, I estimate that more than 10,000 people have died in the East, Docklands, and Factory Districts, and the plague is still spreading, so you should try not to go out lately. ”

More than 10,000 people? This is a number that Audrey can understand but cannot imagine, and it is only on the founding day of the country that she can see thousands of people gathering together during the parade of floats.

However, this did not prevent her from feeling heavy and depressed.

…………

Daisy stood outside the apartment, watching the doctors and nurses in white coats and large masks enter and carry out corpses.

She already knew the result, her expression was numb, her eyes were empty, and she subconsciously approached the door.

At this time, the police in charge of the cordon stopped her:

"Don't go over, do you want to get the plague?"

Daisy stopped there and watched the two bodies being carried out, as her mother Liv hugged her sister Freya tightly, as they were carried to a makeshift delivery wagon surrounded by black cloths, and as they disappeared before her eyes covered with white cloths.

The carriage drove slowly, toward the other side of the street.

At this time, Daisy seemed to wake up from a dream, and she turned around and ran as fast as she could, chasing the carriage.

After the rain, the ground was unusually muddy, and she fell down and got up several times, leaving her body with stains. However, she still couldn't catch up with the carriage and watched it disappear around the corner.

Daisy slowed down, her body swaying slightly, her expression unusually dull. She held on to the trees beside the street and watched intently where the carriage had left.

Suddenly, her whole body softened, and a cry came out of her throat:

"Mom......

"Freya ......"

The voice was thin, low, sharp and weak, lingering and endless.

At this moment, in the Eastern District, in the dock area, in the factory area, there are tens of thousands of people who are also screaming and crying.

…………

After being poured a whole bottle of specially blended spiritual stabilizing potion by Dr. Black, Sean's pale face finally looked a little better. He looked at the two people present, one was covered in cold sweat like himself, and the other was already sitting in a chair and began to roll his eyes, and couldn't help laughing.

"I've long said you need to exercise more, don't rely on pills to regain your strength! Look at my muscles, look at your little thin arms, you almost collapsed yourself on this visit! Hahaha! You're a sequence 8 extraordinary, almost running prostration! ”

After laughing for a while, he patted the thing in front of his side strangely: "But Feinuo, why is there a street lamp in your clinic?" ”

The streetlight spoke: "Mr. Sean, I'm Ademisor. ”

"Your spiritual overdraft is a bit severe, and it looks like you're hallucinating. But now there is no danger, you can rest a little more these days. Dr. Blake wiped his sweat, he felt like he had just finished a marathon, and it was so hot that he wanted to take off his coat and wear only his shirt in less than ten degrees.

He looked around, "Where has Miss Maria gone again?" ”

He asked as he walked upstairs to the clinic, the second floor was already full of patients, beds and cabinets were all placed on the side, and the beds and chairs on the floor were full of frail people one after another. Ademisol followed, handing out oral solution to the patients one by one.

Dr. Blake whispered:

"With my ability, it would have been impossible to concoct a potion that could fight this toxin."

"Thanks to you, Ademisor! The Path of Destiny lives up to its name, and the potions you accidentally knocked over actually work when mixed together! If it weren't for you, I could only watch everyone die in agony now, and you are really our lucky star! ”

Ademisol scratched his head embarrassedly, but his mood was slightly low: "But there are many patients who still ......"

"That's not your fault (Dr. Blake pats Ademisol on the shoulder). You've done your best, you've come across the potion, Gavin's potions are all perfectly proportioned, and he's expected to blow it for the rest of his life, if he could. ”

The little monster scratched his head again, and after thinking for a while, he said rather complicatedly:

"I don't know what this vicious poisoning incident will be characterized by the kingdom...... Miss Maria said that she had encountered a witch from Sequence 4, so this must have been a terrorist attack by a cult, right? Hopefully, after this incident, the kingdom will pay a little attention to the East Side and the slums like the East Side...... Even if there are no subsidies and compensation, it would be nice to have a little environmental improvement. ”

As he spoke, Dr. Blake approached the patients lying in bed—they were severely symptomatic, and the toxic mist had severely damaged their respiratory systems. The damage to the body's organs is fatal, and even the best doctors are powerless.

Unless they can afford a ventilator in a hospital. Dr. Blake finished checking on several patients, and his mood gradually sank.

However, as a doctor, he is used to seeing life and death, let alone in the East End. He tried to tell the bad news to several patients who were accompanied by their families, and the patients and their families, who had long been numb from the pain, did not show excessive grief, and in their grief, they accepted the death notice from the doctor, expressing gratitude and embarrassment that they were too shy to leave the clinic immediately.

"Lie down a little longer, sir, ma'am."

In this regard, Dr. Blake could only sigh secretly: "The patient needs enough rest, you can lie down for another hour, and when you have the strength, go to the nearby church to pray......

Then, go home and wait to die, or just wait near the church to die. Generally, homeless people will choose the latter, because if they go early, they may be able to line up for the collective requiem of the church earlier.

"Ademisor." He beckoned, "Go and boil a pot of water, be sure to boil, and give the patients some hot water." ”

"Okay."

Ademisol ran downstairs, filled a jug of water under the tap, and put it on the stove to boil.

When the spout began to emit a little white steam, the door of the clinic was pushed open, and Maria, with a splint tied to a bandage in her right hand, walked in.

Her face was unsightly, worse than that of Dr. Blake, but the moment she stepped into the light, she controlled her facial expression and smiled as relaxed as she could:

"Everyone's worked hard."

She turned to look at Sean, "Have you seen your wife and daughter?" ”

The navigator who collapsed on the single sofa exclusive to Dr. Blake immediately nodded vigorously: "I've seen it before I came!" They're all right, Mira is in good spirits and I'm going to get a few sugar pills from Feno...... They're all in our makeshift shelters, so good, so good! Miss Maria, you are the lifesaver of my family! ”

Maria smiled and nodded, "I would also like to thank you on behalf of the unharmed children in the school." ”

"Next, we're going to help Dr. Blake hide from the Storm Church, the clinic will be closed for a while, change this place back to the grocery store, and I'll go up and talk to him later."

Then, she found Ademisol watching the kettle: "By the way, it looks like the matter is over, do you want to buy a ticket back to Tingen now?" It's still too late. ”

Ademisor shook his head: "Alia has gone back, I'll stay here this year, I think everyone ......"

He looked around the room, looking at the exhausted people.

"I think you might need some good luck." He said euphemistically.

Maria couldn't help but laugh, and the collapsed living corpse Gavin let out a moaning voice of unknown meaning, and the atmosphere in the room was much lighter.

The water boiled, the lid began to jump, and Ademisore quickly took the kettle off and put it aside, and took out the disposable paper cup, ready to wait for it to cool before serving it.

Alia ...... Daisy...... Mary sighed, not knowing what to do.

Gavin and Sean had already started small talk, ridiculing how long the bigwigs would keep the Eastern Side in the newspaper pages, how many meaningless debates the lawmakers would use, how many charitable foundations would be established, and how many would be distributed to the Eastern Side. Ademisol brought one of them a hot cup of water to warm their hands.

Two big men were lying crookedly on the sofa, chattering, and the narrow reception area on the first floor of the clinic was very crowded. As Maria prepares to sit down and rest for a while, Gavin quickly moves his leg out of the way to make way.

"Gavin, how much money do we have left over this year?" She asked.

The living corpse who is not responsible for the accounts but often reimburses scratches his head: "Shouldn't this be asked to Ms. Yalian?" ”

"......," Maria's lips quirmed, "I gave her a holiday, and she died at home with her little grandson. ”

"Uh......"

"Forget it, I really shouldn't have asked you."

Maria sighed and looked at Ademisor again, "Mr. Machine, do you remember how much we have left in balance this month?" ”

Ademisor immediately reported a series of figures: "Forty-five pounds and six sule twopence are left in the funds for this month, and three and a half pounds are expected to be left after the full salary is paid." He hesitated, "But I don't know...... These salaries ...... "how many people can still get them."

Mary didn't answer: "How much money is left?" ”

Ademisol calculated for a few seconds: "The last cooperation with the Aurora Society allowed us to get a lot of money, and now we still have a lot of money on hand, with 1,600 pounds left, but this is also our basic fund for the next two months." ”

"Okay, let's divide six hundred pounds out of it first, and make it a pension." There was not much sadness in Mary's face anymore, it was as hard as a stone, "Rest for two hours, and after dinner, we will start counting...... Casualties. ”

"Start with the casualties within the Foundation."

The three of them responded in silence, and Ademisol picked up the warm and hot boiled water and went upstairs.

"Have you heard of any extraordinary objects that change people's minds?"

Maria said thoughtfully to Sean and Gavin, "Looking back on it now, I always find it a little strange. ”

"Why didn't I recite the name of the leader at the first time, but thought about saving people first, reciting it twice, and then bumping into the witch?"

The three of them looked at each other, all revealing a blank look.

Upstairs, Dr. Blake, who had just finished visiting the last patient, had a dry mouth and hurried downstairs to make a cup of tea. Ademisol handed over medical records and medication to him, and went upstairs to look after the patients.

He poured hot water for those who were closer and sober, and received some tired responses.

There were many older patients, and there were no family members to accompany them, and Ademisol always had to watch in horror to see if their chests were still heaving, and he couldn't bear to wake them up, so he wiped their lips with a wet wipe soaked in cool white.

During the process, he occasionally went downstairs to pick up clean disposable cups, and when he heard Dr. Blake discussing with Maria whether to leave tonight or tomorrow, Sean, who had regained a little strength, had already begun to tear down the sign outside the door and replace it with a grocery store.

By five o'clock, the patients will be emptied and the beds on the second floor will be converted into shelves.

Dr. Blake decided to leave now. He is single, has no wife and children, can go without worry, and come back in a few weeks.

"Your water."

"Thank you."

Ademisol gave the last cup of hot water to the patient's family, a young girl whom Ademisol had met, a small tailor in the East Side, who often mended clothes near her home.

The girl was holding a paper bag in her arms, which looked heavy, and she didn't know what it would be inside.

She was whispering to the middle-aged and elderly man lying on the bed, the middle-aged and elderly man was smiling, and kept saying words like thanking the doctor to his daughter, but when he said a few words, he would start coughing, and it seemed that his respiratory system was also damaged.

"Doctor, I want to take my father back." The tailor girl stood up with the paper bag and helped the middle-aged and elderly man's upper body up, and Ademisore hurriedly put down the tray and helped her out of the hospital bed together.

The man looked very thirsty, drank all the water his daughter handed him, and couldn't stop gasping as if he was burned.

He thanked him incessantly, much to the embarrassment of Ademisor, and hastened to let him sit down and rest for a while, and took the tailor girl downstairs to tell Dr. Blake about leaving.

Downstairs, Dr. Blake, who had begun to pack his luggage, saw the tailor girl, and when she had finished speaking, he was surprised and said, "Miss Taylor, won't you let your father rest a little longer?" Are you going to leave now? ”

The girl named Taylor shook her head, and before she could speak, her eyes turned red.

"Dad said he wanted to come home for dinner and eat the broth I cooked." Taylor rubbed his eyes and said, "He said he just bought a big piece of ham and wanted to eat it quickly, or he wouldn't be able to eat it again......"

Seeing this, Dr. Blake didn't want to say anything more, so he shook his head and sighed a few times, and instructed:

"When you go back, you let him rest well, drink more water, and exercise less. Mr. Kohler says he has just made a small sum of money, enough for you father and daughter to have a warm and comfortable winter. Afterwards...... Taylor, you have to be strong. ”

Taylor wiped her tears again, borrowed some warm water to wipe her face clean, wiped away the tears, and waited until her red eye sockets returned to normal before she went upstairs and helped her father down.

The one named Kohler lived this winter...... Ademisor suddenly came to an understanding.

He thought of the recent events, of the lives of mortals, of the crisis that even the extraordinary could not protect themselves, of the people who had died in various positions...... At this moment, he looked at the back of Taylor, who pushed the door and left, and suddenly had some inexplicable feelings about fate.

"Can we get her to work for the Foundation?" He hastened to ask Miss Maria, "I have heard that she is very good at craftsmanship and is very good at making clothes." ”

Maria, who was silently looking through the list of members, and occasionally crossed out some with a pen, raised her head, and her voice was cold and soft:

"Yes, I have this idea."

"And Daisy...... If she doesn't get enough to keep a little girl alive, I'll take her as a clerk. ”

"We need to replenish our staff, we need to ...... A lot of people. ”

She sighed and continued to look through the list, no more talking.

389

It was only after it was completely dark that Crane said goodbye to Azik.

After a chaotic outpouring, Crane felt that the gloom that had always existed in his heart—that he had to deceive others in order to hide himself—had dissipated a lot better.

Although this sudden desire to talk wasn't necessarily a good thing, Crane felt that he would be embarrassed to wrap himself in the covers when he woke up tomorrow morning thinking about the gibberish he was talking about. But he still chooses to confide, because he has been suppressed for too long, silent for too long, and those vivid pasts are gradually buried under the dangerous and strange world of the present, and they are getting farther and farther away from him.

On the other hand, Azik is a bit more subtle, and Azik is interested in Crane's real home, and is curious about "flying machines", "four-wheeled running iron boxes", "barbecues", and all sorts of things.

At the same time, he also seriously discussed with Crane the possible reason why "Zhou Mingrui" came here - as a person with Quaternary memory fragments, Azk rejected Crane's speculation that "maybe the source fort was hidden in Antigonus's notes", and he believed that those few ancient words (Chinese) spells were connected to the source fort.

And the name of Crane's newborn calf who is not afraid of tigers just points to the Source Fort - this is a thing worth pondering, if the "mysterious master above the gray mist" is pointed, then is it pointing to Crane, or the "king of yellow and black who is in charge of good luck"?

The idea made both Azik and Crane sweat and hastily terminated the topic.

Coupled with the fact that "Crane" had been in contact with the soothsayer and the angel of Antigonus, Azik was very suspicious that all this was the layout of some great being!

"Crane" died, "Zhou Mingrui" came, "Zhou Mingrui" contacted the source fort, and "Zhou Mingrui" became the current Crane...... However, Crane is now the Lady of the Night's Scroller, and it is unknown what role the Goddess of the Night plays in this process......

"The Exotic Reclamation of Vegetable Skeletons"

When Azik thought about this, he couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

However, he subjectively felt that they were all victims of the same disease, and Crane, a young man who didn't even have the intention of actively harming others, would not be one of the planners.

"Actually, I don't recommend that you pray to the goddess of the night to protect your brother and sister." Azik said before leaving.

"The curls of the gods are like a lottery ticket, they give you a ticket called Curling Gu for a few pennies and a few soles, and when they claim it, they have to take hundreds or even thousands of pounds from you. I don't know what the Night Goddess wants from you, but it may not be a good idea to put your own family under the eyes of the gods. ”

"But that's probably the only way."

"I don't know the attitude of the Goddess of the Night towards me, if I personally protect your brothers and sisters, it may backfire."

Crane couldn't help but sigh, "I know, Mr. Azik. ”

"Thank you, thank you for being willing to listen to me so much."

Azk put on his hat, took his cane, and said one last time: "Now that you have made up your mind to leave Bakeland, make all preparations before you go." Make good use of 'Wriggling Hunger'. ”

"I don't want to lose my student again, Crane."

TBC

——————

Richard: Teacher, what is a human being?

Decay: Reeds.

Richard: I'm strong, I've got the knowledge and the ability to practice, so I'm supposed to be a sturdy blade of grass, right?

Decay: Still a reed.