Even though Lu Jiuchuan wasn't a medical student, he had heard about the devastation of the Black Death outbreak in Europe through many channels.
At that time, there was no effective medicine for the plague, and the disease was highly contagious. Often, if one person contracted the disease, the entire village or town would be wiped out in a short period of time. The plague spread rapidly across Europe, leaving corpses strewn everywhere. The Black Death claimed the lives of one-third of Europe's total population; it was nothing short of a bacterial massacre of humanity.
The most terrifying aspect of this disease is its extremely rapid progression. Often, before treatment can be received, patients die within three days. There have even been cases of infection in the morning followed by sudden death that evening…
Thinking about the final challenge of Twin Kings' Secret Room, which required everyone to survive for three days, Lu Jiuchuan's face grew increasingly grim. He whispered to Xiao Lou, "If we can't find a cure for this disease, are Hanjiang and Long Sen beyond saving?"
Xiao Lou nodded, his face pale: "Yes. They'll likely die of illness before we can clear the secret chamber..."
Upon hearing this, Qu Wanyue's hands trembled violently. Long Sen, lying on the ground, had many purplish-blue patches on his skin and was not fully conscious. Clearly, his condition was very serious. Qu Wanyue said with red eyes, "We don't even have enough water and food. Where can we find medicine in the desert? With such a severe infectious disease, isn't death inevitable?"
Xiao Lou thought about it carefully, then suddenly said, "Perhaps there is still hope. Do you remember the mirage we saw before?"
Upon hearing this, Lu Jiuchuan's mind was filled with the vision he had witnessed: clear spring water, beautiful women dancing by the water, and numerous caravans of merchants riding camels...
He narrowed his eyes slightly: "You mean, there might be medicine in Oasis Town, which exists in the desert?"
Xiao Lou looked at Lu Jiuchuan seriously and said, "In the vast desert, only where people gather can there be pharmacies, and perhaps antibiotics for common diseases. Mr. Tang said that mirage is an illusion caused by the refraction of light. Since Oasis Town can appear in front of us through the refraction of light, it must really exist somewhere in the desert. As long as we find this Oasis Town, Hanjiang and Long Sen can still be saved."
Lu Jiuchuan nodded: "That makes sense. In the illusions I saw before, I remember there were many caravans traveling back and forth on camels. In addition to selling various spices and silks, the merchants in the desert would probably also be carrying some common medicines."
Xiao Lou continued, "There must be antibiotics in it, otherwise we would never have been able to pass this escape room."
Qu Wanyue calmed down by then. She took a deep breath, laid Long Sen down temporarily next to the tent, and walked over to Xiao Lou to ask, " Was Captain Yu also infected? How is he now?"
Xiao Lou lifted the tent flap with a worried expression and peeked inside. Yu Hanjiang was already asleep, running a high fever, with an unusual flush on his cheeks, and bruises similar to Long Sen's were starting to appear on his neck —a sign of subcutaneous bleeding. Xiao Lou closed the tent flap and whispered, " Hanjiang's condition isn't progressing as quickly as Long Sen's, but he's already bleeding, so the outlook isn't good either."
Qu Wanyue analyzed, " Long Sen's right foot was caught in a scorpion's venom. When we were swept away by the quicksand, his foot had already lost sensation, and his ankle was obviously red and swollen. It's very likely that he was already poisoned by scorpion venom, and then he was bitten by a rat, which is why his condition progressed so quickly?"
Xiao Lou nodded and said, "That might be one of the reasons. Long Sen is currently in septic shock. We must find Oasis Town as soon as possible, otherwise, given his condition... he won't live more than a day."
Qu Wanyue clenched her fist tightly and gritted her teeth, saying, "I'll go find it."
Xiao Lou stopped her and turned to look at Lu Jiuchuan. The latter quickly understood what Xiao Lou meant and patted Xiao Lou on the shoulder, saying, "No wonder you woke me up. My Vermilion Bird has the fastest flight speed. I'm going to find the oasis."
Just then, Tang Ci came out wearing a coat and said softly, "I'll go with Ninth Brother."
Lu Jiuchuan looked at him in surprise: "When did you wake up?"
Tang Ci said, "I woke up when you got up, and I heard everything you were saying."
He walked up to Xiao Lou, nodded to him, and said, "How about this, if Ninth Brother and I can find the oasis smoothly, we can simply bring the medicine back first to cure Captain Yu and Long Sen's illness. This is much faster than taking all of you over there."
Lu Jiuchuan frowned slightly: "Are you worried that there might be Hunters at the Oasis?"
Tang Ci said with certainty, "The illusion I saw at the time was filled with beautiful women dancing, caravans coming and going, and locals dressed in strange ways. The town looked very lively, and the population must be quite large. Hunter has definitely mingled among them. If we all act together, it would be very dangerous with Captain Yu and Long Sen, who are both sick."
Xiao Lou, recalling Long Sen who had gone into shock and Yu Hanjiang who was running a high fever, also felt that Tang Ci's method was more reasonable.
It's better to send Ninth Brother and Tang Ci to find the oasis and get the medicine back than to teleport everyone there. Xiao Lou made a quick decision and looked at Lu Jiuchuan and Tang Ci: "Thank you both for your hard work. Let's set off as soon as possible."
Lu Jiuchuan promptly mounted the Vermilion Bird, casually put his arm around Tang Ci's waist and pulled him to his side, saying, "Let's go!"
Xiao Lou summoned Qin Guan and connected to Lu Jiuchuan via Telepathic Connection, saying, "Brother Jiu, use Telepathic Connection to communicate if anything happens."
Lu Jiuchuan nodded, reached out and touched the feathers on the Vermilion Bird's neck. The fiery red bird suddenly spread its wings and began to circle.
The dance quickly disappeared into the horizon, and Lu Jiuchuan's voice echoed in his mind: "I'm entrusting my younger brother to you, Xiao Lou."
Watching the black dot disappear into the sky, Xiao Lou whispered in his mind, "Don't worry, I will take good care of him."
Qu Wanyue set up a tent nearby, and Xiao Lou helped her carry Long Sen inside. The commotion outside alerted Shao Qingge, Ye Qi, Gui Yuanzhang, Chu Huaying, and others. Xiao Lou simply told his teammates about the plague.
For a moment, everyone's expression turned grim.
Ye Qi couldn't help but exclaim, "This is outrageous! Getting bitten by a rat and contracting the plague!"
Shao Qingge rubbed his temples helplessly: "I felt something was wrong when I was treating Captain Yu's wound. The wound was so small. Even if I didn't treat it, I could have just put on a band-aid. What's the point of those rats appearing with a bite the size of a sesame seed?... It turns out they were spreading the plague."
Chu Huaying frowned and said, "I wonder how big this desert is. What if Ninth Brother can't find an oasis?"
Everyone turned to look at her.
Chu Huaying crossed her arms and calmly said, "We have to prepare for the worst. What if, and I mean the worst-case scenario, Ninth Brother and Tang Ci can't find the oasis, or they find the oasis but can't find the special medicine you mentioned, and then Yu Hanjiang has a high fever and is delirious, Long Sen is in shock and on the verge of death, Liu Qiao and Lao Mo can't be found, and what if the remaining six of us are attacked again?"
Everyone: "......"
That's too tragic.
Gui Yuanzhang sighed softly and said in a low voice, "Our team was wiped out in Plum Blossom J in a similar situation. Several teammates fell down not long after the secret room started. The remaining people had to deal with the Hunter's pursuit while also taking care of the sick and injured teammates, which ultimately led to our team's wipe. We must consider the worst-case scenario that Hua Ying mentioned in advance, so that we won't be caught off guard and unable to cope."
Xiao Lou's gaze swept over everyone, and he said, word by word, "I will not abandon my sick teammates."
Chu Huaying asked calmly, "How do you plan to take care of them?"
Xiao Lou calmly said, "This plague is contagious. From now on, no one should approach Hanjiang and Long Sen. I will shrink Hanjiang to the size of a thumb and carry him with me. Teacher Qu, you will use the Chameleon Card to turn Long Sen into sand and place him in a hidden place you can find, so that he blends into the sand and avoids him being targeted by animals or hunters in case of a sudden attack."
Since Xiao Lou dared to assure Ninth Brother that he would take good care of Yu Hanjiang, he naturally already had a plan in mind.
He never makes empty promises. He has already prepared for the worst in his heart, but before that, he will do his best to protect his teammates, especially the one he cherishes most.
Seeing Xiao Lou's calm expression, Gui Yuanzhang smiled slightly and said, "You are indeed suitable to be the captain. Since you have already thought about how to arrange these two teammates, let's do it your way."
Xiao Lou nodded, turned around, and went into the tent.
Yu Hanjiang's face was flushed, and the bleeding spots on his body were increasing. His brows were tightly furrowed, clearly indicating that he was very uncomfortable. He was restless and his hands were constantly tearing at the collar of his shirt.
Xiao Lou took out the copied [ Thumbelina ] card, shrunk Yu Hanjiang to the size of a finger, put it into the empty Mineral Water bottle, and then poked two very small holes in the bottle for breathing.
Looking at little Yu Hanjiang inside the bottle, Xiao Lou felt incredibly heartbroken.
He picked up the bottle and said softly, " Hanjiang, are you feeling unwell?"
Yu Hanjiang was already in a semi-conscious state and couldn't hear Xiao Lou's words at all. However, the familiar voice from Xiao Lou was reassuring, and the person in the bottle gradually stopped rolling and struggling and fell asleep quietly.
Xiao Lou said softly, "Take a nap. Ninth Brother will be back with the medicine soon."
Just then, Chu Huaying's voice suddenly rang out from outside: "Everyone on alert, there's something going on around us."
Xiao Lou immediately perked up his ears, but could only hear a slight whistling sound around him.
Chu Huaying's hearing and sense of smell have been enhanced, making them much more acute than normal. She can hear things that her teammates cannot.
She lay on the beach, frowning as she listened for a moment. Then she stood up and quickly retreated to the side of the tent, her face cold and serious: "It's a pack of wolves, a lot of wolves, and they're approaching us!"
Xiao Lou: "..."
But things got even worse.