Me! Cleaner!.

Chapter 11: Plague and Fragrance (Two in One)

Although he seemed to have declared that it was really good, as a big devil with a bottom line, the Black Goat really did what he said and just shut up on the spot.

No matter what price Lyon offered, it remained silent and even closed its eyes, showing that it was unyielding.

As he was concerned about the situation at the hospital, and the bandaged girl changed her mind and was willing to help, seeing that he could not persuade this troublesome goat, Leon simply ignored it and took the bandaged girl directly towards the hospital.

However, I didn't know what was happening nearby. Although it was already night, I always saw people rushing on the road.

Most of these passers-by wore strange masks that looked like giant crow's mouths. They gathered in twos and threes, carrying a person lying face down on two metal stretchers or sliding poles, and walked quickly with their heads down.

The strange thing is that these people obviously look very anxious, but when they meet Leon and his partner at an intersection or in a narrow alley, they will hurriedly make way and keep raising their hands to signal them to pass first, as if they don't want to have any contact with them.

As he was anxious to ascertain his sister's condition, Leon had no energy to pay attention to these mysterious passers-by. He just focused on their soul states. After confirming that there was nothing abnormal, he was ready to pass through quickly. Unexpectedly, he was stopped by the bandaged woman.

"Wait a moment."

After looking at those weirdos with a serious expression, the bandaged woman opened her suitcase, bent down and rummaged around for a while, took out a mask that looked very similar and put it on her face, then muffledly instructed Leon:
"Stand here and don't move. Don't approach them rashly until I come back!"

What? Is there something wrong with these people?!

Leon looked at the bandaged woman through the lens of the bird-beak mask and found that this cautious "senior" seemed to be very afraid of those weirdos. He immediately became alert as well.

After staying where he was as instructed by the bandaged woman, he held the sheep's head tightly in his arms and observed the souls of those strange people intently, ready to warn the bandaged woman immediately if he found anything unusual.

But what Leon did not expect was that those strange people with strange clothes and sneaky actions, although their souls were not very "stable" and were full of anxiety and restlessness, did not seem to be hostile.

After a quick conversation with the bandaged woman, those people even took out a new mask and stuffed it into her hand, pointing it towards her, as if... they wanted her to wear this strange mask as well?

As expected, when the bandaged woman came back, she stuffed the mask into Leon's hands and urged him seriously:
"Something's wrong, put this on!"

Seeing that her expression was quite solemn, Leon did not dare to delay. He quickly followed her instructions and put the mask sewn on the black hood on his head. The already dim world in front of him suddenly turned dark.

Only then did Leon realize that this leather bird-beak mask was actually completely closed. It was pitch black without any color. Even the two small lenses at the eyes were painted black. Only the small pupil-shaped spherical lens in the middle could faintly let in some light from outside.

It would be fine if it were daytime, but now it's like wearing a pair of sunglasses. My vision is greatly obstructed and I can't even see the road under my feet clearly.

"I don't see..."

"do not move!"

Before Leon could explain his situation, the bandaged woman reached out and slapped the beak of the mask hard. The mask, which originally had some space between it and Leon's face, now stuck tightly to him, and the small pupil lens even touched his eyes directly.

Startled, Leon instinctively wanted to close his eyes, but found that his eyelids were stretched open by the lenses. A small amount of cold light yellow oil squeezed out from the corner of the lenses and moistened his eyeballs in the blink of an eye.

The patterns on the Bandage Woman's suitcase, the seams of the floor tiles under her feet, the textures of the buildings on the street, the whole world was forcibly coated with a layer of weird thin yellow...

Wait! I can see clearly?!
……

"This is the Night Crow Mask used by the Epidemic Prevention Bureau to prevent plague. Even if you go to a place without street lights at night, you can see the road clearly. Remember not to use your eyes to look outside, but to keep your pupils close to the pupil lens and learn to observe with the pupil lens.

Also, the mask must be worn tightly, and the mouth and nose are stuck in the bird's beak to breathe. There are herbs, spices and special smelling salts in it, which can prevent infection from most diseases. "

The bandage girl explained to Leon how to use the mask while speaking very quickly:

"I just asked the people from the Epidemic Prevention Bureau. The heavy rain last week caused the sewage river to swell. The dam built by the Road Administration was washed away on the same day, causing the tributary of the sewage river to be connected to the water intake river in the capital.

If it were just that, it would be fine. However, in order to save costs, the outsourced water company did not follow the prescribed twelve-step water purification process. After pumping the water out of the river, they only filtered out the debris and silt, gave it a rough disinfection to remove the odor, and then poured the water directly into the municipal water pipes.

Those being carried were people who had drunk dirty water. Their main symptoms were nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and severe abdominal cramps. They then became dehydrated and passed out. People who had come into contact with their vomit also began to have similar symptoms. About five hundred people had already experienced this.

The people at the Epidemic Prevention Bureau suspect that there may be an epidemic, so they are sending large numbers of patients with symptoms to the Red Brick Road Hospital in the hope that the situation can be brought under control.”

Red Brick Road Hospital? Isn't that where Anna lives?
"Are they crazy?"

Unexpectedly, there was such an outrageous thing. Leon couldn’t help but said angrily:
"What about the Central Hospital? What about the Royal First Hospital? If that doesn't work, the hospitals on Church Street and Mercer University will also work!
Those hospitals all have more than a thousand beds, but Red Brick Road Hospital only has about 100 to 200 beds, and they are always fully occupied. Sometimes there are people lying in the aisles. Why do they send people here?"

“Because of the location.”

As if she had seen many similar things before, the bandage goddess said calmly:

"The area around the Central Hospital is the wealthy area, the area near the First Royal Hospital is the aristocratic area, Church Street is where the priests live, and the area around Mercer University is where the future elites of the kingdom live. The Epidemic Prevention Bureau certainly wouldn't dare to send patients there, so the Red Brick Street Hospital in the old city must be the first choice.

Moreover, the water pipes that had a large-scale problem this time were only in the old city. The water intake point of the new district water power company is further upstream and has not been polluted by the tributary of the sewage river. The problems of the old city should of course be solved by the old city itself.”

"Why?!"

"The water bill they pay is five times that of the old city."

"..."

Money! Money! Money! It all comes down to it! It's all about fucking money!
"Don't think about it."

Seeing that Leon's mood was obviously a little off, the bandage girl quickly advised:

"Even if those hospitals agree to accept patients, people in the old city won't go there because they can't afford the fees there."

"What about the Highways Department and the Water Power Company?"

Lyon gritted his teeth and said:

"The dam built by the Ministry of Highways collapsed after a single rain, and the water company also violated regulations. According to the laws of the kingdom, they should not be held responsible for this incident... Fuck!"

This time, without waiting for the bandaged girl to answer, Leon stopped asking questions because the question was really too stupid.

Not to mention this "natural disaster" caused by heavy rain, even when the exhaust gas leaked from the alchemy factory built in the residential area, causing Anna to get lung disease, didn't the Ministry of Highways still find excuses and refuse to pay?
As for the hydraulic companies that cut corners, they would sell their equipment once the dividends were paid, and then report huge losses due to poor management, and simply declare bankruptcy.

Even the little bit of property will probably be taken away by upstream and downstream companies and shareholders as compensation for breach of contract and losses. What will be left for these victims in the end is probably not even a drop in the bucket!

Oh shit!

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

"Let's go! We've been blocking the road long enough, let's not delay their work any further."

Pointing at the "crows" at the corner, the bandaged woman said softly:
“Their job is to treat patients and prevent a large-scale outbreak of the plague, and our job is to clean up the anomalies that appear and prevent the world of ordinary people from being eroded.

If I'm not mistaken, the out-of-control infected person you found is likely related to this incident, and even if it is not related, these people may be in danger if they continue to move forward. So, if you can't stand this kind of thing and sympathize with these people's experience, then we should set off now."

"..."

"Um……"

Taking a deep breath of the pungent spice from the bird's beak, Leon lowered his head and responded, then followed the bandaged woman and trotted towards the Red Brick Road Hospital.

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

'Hello!'

"Ok?"

'Shh! Shh! Don't talk!'

Seeing that Leon seemed to want to ask, Black Goat quickly instructed:

'Just listen to me when I speak, and you don't need to answer my questions. I can tell whether you agree or not by looking into your soul!'

"..."

After glancing at the back of the bandaged woman in front of him, Leon immediately understood that this black goat who called herself a devil wanted to secretly make a deal with him without being discovered by the Cleanup Bureau.

Is this a temptation from the devil?
Thinking of this, Leon's expression froze, and he instinctively wanted to report it to the bandaged woman, asking her and the Cleanup Bureau behind her to pay attention to this demon who wanted to cause trouble, but...

'Don't worry, we won't ask you for any conditions, and you don't need to do anything for us.'

After looking at the soul with shockingly bright eyes and a raging black flame underneath, the black goat who was just being upset said with a smile:
'Once we find a suitable target, I will teach you how to guide the evil thoughts of humans and induce them to kill each other. How about that? Are you interested?'

"..."

???

Didn't you just say that you wouldn't teach me anything even if I were thrown back into the sheepfold in Wales?
'Just now was just now, and now is now.'

After noticing the doubts in Leon's soul, the black goat grinned happily and said shamelessly:
'Just tell me if you want to learn!'

Lyon couldn't help but frowned when he heard this.

Of course I want to learn. After all, it doesn't cost anything, so why not agree? But... a demon like you, how could you be so kind?

……

It is impossible to be kind, it is impossible to be kind in this life, when a demon does not negotiate a deal, but is unusually generous and wants to help you...

Haha, that only proves that it wants more!

Looking at Leon, who was clearly on guard but did not report him to Emma (the bandaged woman), a hint of satisfaction appeared in the eyes of the Black Goat.

My vision is really accurate!
Although this kid can barely be considered a "good guy", and even has a much stronger sense of morality than the average person, perhaps he is too naive, or perhaps the world is too dark, or perhaps it is a combination of both, which has caused a lot of terrible things to accumulate in his heart. This kind of person is simply born to fall into the abyss.

The black goat leaned against Leon's chest while he was running, and endured the moral values ​​and good intentions that the devil hated. After taking a deep breath of the boundless rage hidden under the light and the extreme madness that wanted to destroy everything and start over again, he closed his eyes in ecstasy.

Holding a sharp knife, the desire to kill arises.

You can still barely endure it now only because you are still weak. Once you gain enough power, will you still be willing to let anger burn your soul like you do now?
Come on, kid! We will definitely help you! We will help you get rid of those annoying garbage, help you harvest those sinful souls, and even help you realize the absurd vision in your heart.

However, when you think you have achieved your ideal and are sinking into happiness with complacency, if you find that everything is returning to its old state, and the underlying color of the world is still the same as before, or even becomes worse...

The Abyss welcomes you to join.

……

"Ahem...can you help me ask?"

Looking through the glass door of the intensive care unit at the corridor where many people were lying, the girl on the bed couldn't help but pull the sleeve of the nurse next to her and asked with a worried look on her face:
"Is my brother back? Also, did something happen outside? Why are there so many people lying in the corridor?"

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

Looking at the increasing number of patients outside, almost piling up to the door of the intensive care unit, the pretty young nurse said with some fear:
"To have so many patients at once means either there is a large-scale poisoning or there is some acute infectious disease. If it is the former, it's not a big deal. If it is the latter..."

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

Looking outside the ward and seeing a pool of vomit already flowing to the door, another older middle-aged nurse sighed, shook her head and said:
"The fact that the patient was placed at the entrance of the intensive care unit proves that our hospital has reached its limit. If it is really an infectious disease, we cannot avoid it even if we stay in the intensive care unit, and we may even have been infected."

"In that case... since it can't be avoided anyway, why not open the door and let them in?"

Looking at the patients lying on the cold floor tiles, twitching constantly, and even holding their stomachs and howling miserably, Anna bit her pale lips and said with a somewhat reluctant expression:
"Although there is only one bed here, there is also a row of sofas and carpets on the floor. It is definitely more comfortable than lying on bricks... Is that okay?"

"of course can!"

After looking at Anna with some surprise, the older nurse's eyes flashed with warmth, and she smiled kindly and said softly:
"This is your ward, it's fine as long as you like."

After saying that, she called the young nurse with an unpleasant look on her face, opened the door of the intensive care unit, and bent down to help a nearby patient in, but...

"what?"

The two nurses couldn't help but widen their eyes at the same time when they saw the little boy, who was very thin but seemed to be welded to the ground.

Although both of them are female nurses, when working in a hospital they often have to lift heavy objects, and both of them are quite strong.

If it was a strong man, it would be fine if they couldn't lift it, but this is obviously a child who is only in his early ten years old, how could... God bless them!
As the boy cried out in pain, the two nurses were horrified to find that the "feeling" they had just felt was not an illusion, and the skinny little boy was actually "welded" to the ground!
"This this……"

Seeing the boy's arm already stuck in the floor tiles, the young nurse couldn't help but sit down on the ground. Her lips trembled and she was about to say something, but the middle-aged nurse's expression suddenly changed. She pulled her up from the floor tiles and dragged her back to the ward extremely roughly.

“Sizzle!” “Ah!!!”

The sound of clothes being torn and the woman's screams were heard at the same time. The young nurse clutched her bloody right hand and fell back onto the carpet in the ward with a thud and a scream.

And where she had just sat down, besides a piece of white remnant of nurse's uniform, there was still a layer of bloody skin, which looked exactly the same size as her palm, and it was obviously just torn from her palm!
Looking at the patients in the corridor who had been sinking into the hospital floor tiles little by little, the elderly nurse who had quickly rescued her colleague felt her legs suddenly go limp, and she fell to the carpet with a plop, muttering to herself in horror:
"This...what's going on?"

(End of this chapter)