Chapter 12, Luck and Misfortune
The dark stone room, sad moans, putrid breath, and dying murmurs.
One after another, men, women, and children who were once alive developed "tumors" under their armpits, slowly rotted and oozed pus, and finally turned into puddles of rotten flesh in despair.
The god of death in black robes waved a scythe and descended quietly from the ceiling.
Countless innocent souls who were still waiting to die in despair let out pitiful cries of despair!
"...ah——"
Sister Louise let out a heart-piercing scream and woke up from a nightmare full of religious fantasy.
After looking around the straw mats and simple rooms where she slept, she reached out to touch her back and found that her shirt was soaked with sweat.
Hey, even after working hard for two days and two nights, even in a deep sleep with extreme physical and mental exhaustion, can't you escape the nightmare about this plague?
“…We are attacked on every side, but not trapped. We are troubled, but not disappointed. We are persecuted, but not abandoned. We are struck down, but not dead. If anyone serves me, let him follow me. I am Wherever you are, there will be those who serve me. If anyone serves me, my Father will honor him.”
She recited a few words of the gospel silently, then gave a slumped, forced smile, stared blankly at the ceiling, and involuntarily began to recall the nightmare scene of the past month or so in her mind: along with the Italian fleet carrying the disease, in As we docked at the docks of Marseille, the horrific plague flooded the city like a tsunami. Within a few weeks, countless people had died, and empty houses were everywhere.
——From this moment on, death is no longer a soul guardian waiting for rebirth, it becomes a plundering monster!
What's more terrible is that ferocious enemies may encourage people to unite bravely, but elusive diseases can only make people fearful and distracted.
In the face of the catastrophe, the order of the city quickly became chaotic. All the merchant ships that could escape weighed anchor and fled. The nobles and wealthy merchants either stayed away from home or stayed behind closed doors. The judges are also sick and dying, or they can't find any of their subordinates to carry out their duties.
Before such a crisis, only the church was reluctantly fulfilling its obligations. Various churches and monasteries tried their best to accommodate batches of patients, and mobilized all nuns and monks to provide rescue... Unfortunately, what they gained was nothing but despair!
There is no way, the current outbreak of the plague is really terrible. As long as healthy people come into contact with the clothes worn by the sick or the things they touch, they will suffer from fatal diseases. Even if you lock yourself in a clean mansion and try to live a life of asceticism, you will still get sick inexplicably. What's even more terrible is that, perhaps because the doctors in Marseille have limited knowledge and cannot find the real source of the disease, in short, no one has come up with an appropriate treatment until now... There are very few people who can be lucky enough to be cured. , most people died within a few days after the onset of the disease!
Witnessing with her own eyes the living lives and kind-hearted people disappearing one after another under her own care, and dying in extremely painful and horrific ways... The mental shock of despair, depression and helplessness almost made Louise The nun was devastated!
What's more, the nuns who take care of the patients are constantly falling down. Every day or two, a familiar figure disappears among the sisters. Even the priests who presided over last prayers for patients have already died of two illnesses, and now they can only be replaced by a fat man who just graduated from the seminary.
Especially Aunt Teresa, who had the best relationship with her. She was also unfortunately infected with the plague before and fell ill and suffered miserably on a straw mattress... Wait, how long did I sleep? Thinking of this, Sister Louise struggled to get up, wanting to see if she still had time to give her friend the last ride. However, just as she was putting on her clothes in a daze, she suddenly heard a burst of noisy cheers and ecstatic laughter coming from outside.
Laughter of joy? This is really rare!
Since the outbreak of the plague, she has become accustomed to hearing moans and weeping, but it is rare to see anyone's smiling face anymore! Sister Louise curiously looked out of the window on the second floor of the dormitory and found a group of nuns and volunteers gathering in the backyard of the hospital and cheering:
"...Hail Mary! This is a miracle! A miracle!"
"...Hahahaha! God finally showed up! We are saved!"
"...Great! Thank God for His blessing! We finally have a way to defeat the plague!"
"...Sir Bacon is really a lucky man blessed by God!"
...This...this, what this means is that some plague patients have been cured? ! ! !
When she thought of this, Sister Louise, who was lying on the window, opened her eyes wide in an instant, then turned around, put on a pair of wooden shoes, and ran towards the hospital as fast as she could, excitedly wanting to see. The truth.
As soon as I ran to the back door of the hospital, I smelled a strong smell - because of Knight Levi's repeated instructions, the floor of the ward in this hospital had been sprinkled since the first batch of Black Death patients were admitted. Lime, and apply the remaining lime to the wall. In the center of the ward, a pot of boiling vinegar was boiling in a small pot and stove. It kept boiling from morning to night, leaving the room always filled with a sour smell...
Sister Louise, who had never left Marseille in her life and had limited vision and experience, did not understand why Lord Levi would do such a strange thing. She even suspected that it was some kind of heretical or cult sacrificial ritual. However, after setting up a small pot and boiling vinegar, although the patients still did not improve, there were indeed fewer healthy people infected every week. The doctors in the city also said that this practice is the same as burning incense wood to clean the air. It makes sense, so Louise was relieved later - more importantly, the deaths that came one after another left her no time to think about it.
Walking into the ward through a dilapidated small door, she immediately saw Sir Levi wearing a gray-white mask made of linen. He was walking around among the patients lying on the floor, making rounds and making guest appearances. The doctor's role was to distribute some small white tablets for oral administration to the patients from time to time, or apply some kind of medicinal powder on their abscesses... Every patient was extremely grateful to Sir, and even burst into tears with excitement.
What made Sister Louise even more excited was that Mother Teresa, who was already suffering from a high fever and was paralyzed, was now able to sit up on her own, chatting with the other patients and drinking slowly. With a bowl of hot oatmeal...
——Although her face is still very haggard, and although she still coughs a few times from time to time, in any case, Mother Teresa's condition has indeed improved.
"...Mother Teresa! God bless! You are really getting better! How do you feel?"
Sister Louise swooped over and rushed to Mother Teresa, holding her hand and squatting down, "...let me take a closer look!"
"...It's okay, good boy. You see, my illness is much better. God teaches us that when dealing with sad people, God will wipe away all their tears. There will be no more death, no more sorrow, no more crying. , pain, because the past has passed.”
Mother Teresa put down the wooden bowl of hot porridge, smiled kindly, and reached out to rub Louise's hair - admittedly, her current physical condition was not healthy at all, and her mind was still groggy. Her whole body is even more sore and painful, and there are still some swelling and ecchymosis on her skin... But in any case, her condition has indeed improved greatly, and it seems that she will not return to the Lord at least in a short period of time. Embraced
"...Thanks to the wonderful elixir that Sir spent a lot of money to buy from overseas, today's miracle will happen. Louise, we all should thank him for his kindness and generosity, and pray to God for him..." Another middle-aged nun also came over and explained to Louise, "...kind people will be blessed by God. May this righteous man who saved everyone enjoy happiness and glory forever..."
However, although he has been regarded by many patients and nuns as a miracle worker and even a person favored by God, Knight Levi himself is not very satisfied with the practical effect of sulfa drugs-for those black people who have just contracted the disease and have mild symptoms. For patients with fatal diseases, sulfonamide powder and sulfonamide tablets are indeed effective. But for those severely ill patients with extensive skin ulcers, the bactericidal effect of sulfa is somewhat insufficient.
Should we try injecting them with streptomycin? But it seems that I have never given anyone an injection in my life!
Thinking of this, Sir Levi frowned with a headache and secretly glanced at the disposable syringes and small medicine bottles hidden in his pocket. He was really not sure that he could find the exact veins in the patients, let alone these medieval Europeans. Can people accept such a trendy treatment method?
Then, he looked down at a little mouse that quickly ran through the ward and escaped from the door, and he couldn't help but frown...
"...No matter what, we must find ways to clean up these sources of infection carrying germs... It's a pity that even cats can't be found in this damn place! Alas, I don't know when Doraemon and his gang will come again Here, and bring the cat and mouse trap I want..."
——What Levi didn't know was that just when the epidemic on his side began to improve, an unexpected plague appeared on Doraemon's side.
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Doraemon's plane, Tokyo, Japan, Nobita
"...Oh oh oh! Oh my god! Why did Nobi-kun become like this? What disease is he suffering from??"
Doraemon, who had just finished a time journey, was standing on the desk drawer with a surprised look on his face, letting out an incredible scream.
In front of him, the unlucky classmate Nobita Nobita was lying sickly on the quilt, his face flushed, and even ominous abscesses and black spots were vaguely visible, and on the toilet paper balls thrown into the wastebasket around him, There was a shocking color of blood!
Prior to this, Doraemon had just taken a time machine to the 22nd century, and through several acquaintances in the Time and Space Administration, arranged for Knight Levi's wife to be sent to the obstetrics and gynecology hospital in the 22nd century. I was about to give birth, but as soon as I turned around and came back, I saw such a horrifying scene!
"...What else could it be? Isn't it obvious? He is suffering from the Black Death!"
Wang Qiu, who was sitting cross-legged next to Nobita Nobita, put away the [automatic medical kit] and replied with a curl of his lips, "...Fortunately, it was discovered early. If you take a shot of the special medicine and start sweating again, you'll probably be fine. But the body is weak." A loss is inevitable. I am afraid I will have to ask for leave from the school today and tomorrow..."
"...How is this possible? After I found out that the Black Death was happening over there, didn't I give everyone a vaccine?" Doraemon shouted.
"...Sorry, I was afraid of injections at that time, so I secretly hid the vaccine and didn't use it...ahem!"
As if he heard the noise, Nobi Nobita struggled to raise his neck, looked at Doraemon and replied, "...I'm sorry, Doraemon, and the vaccines you gave to Xiaofu, Shizuka and Fat Tiger, I also It was not handed over to them..."
"...So..." Doraemon suddenly had an ominous premonition, "...Is it possible that Xiaofu and Fat Tiger are also..."
"...That's right, all four primary school students fell ill! As a child with a weak immune system, he was afraid of the pain and refused to get vaccinated when he wandered around the Black Death-infected area. I really don't know how to write death... Hey, For things like plague, we modern people have no immunity like ancient people..."
Wang Qiu shook his head and sighed, "...I have treated each of them. The situation is not serious yet. They should be fine with just a few days of rest. However, it is better not to let them participate in the next few time travels. , otherwise it would really be unsettling..."
"...I'm afraid this is the only way it can be. It's not that I don't let them play, it's that they are seeking their own death."
Doraemon jumped out of Nobita Nobita's desk drawer, sat down cross-legged on the tatami and said, "...how is Professor Guo doing? Is the fracture recovery going well? Didn't he infect Nobita-kun, a fool? Go to the plague!”
"...Thank you for your concern. Comrade Xiao Wang has already vaccinated me. The medical technology in the 22nd century is really extraordinary!" Before Doraemon finished speaking, Professor Guo Jing leaned on a cane. Pushed the door open from the outside and walked in. Come, "...but there is something I want to discuss with you, Doraemon." He let go of his crutches and sat on the tatami, "...next time you travel to the Middle Ages, you can take me with you. ”