The seventh day of scavenging
The little robot pointed inside the wooden pole, completely unfazed: "I'm here to work."
The air quality inside was terrible, with many harmful factors detected. The olfactory collection system could smell the rot and filth. He could guarantee that there were absolutely plenty of places inside where he could work.
The people blocking the way with the wooden pole weren't soldiers, but family members of patients in the alley. Hearing what Ji Tong said, even though he looked a bit strange, they still assumed he was there to learn medicine and help.
After all, the only healthy people coming from the county now, besides patients' families, are doctors.
It wasn't that the Sheng family army was unwilling to come, but rather that the people of the county wouldn't allow them to come, fearing that more soldiers would contract the plague and there would be no longer a defensive line to resist the enemy forces outside the city.
However: "Where are your tools?"
A doctor should at least have a medicine box, right?
The little robot thought the human was asking about its trash-collecting tool, so it patted its chest and said, "Here it is."
His entire body is made of usable tools designed for work, and he even has a recycling bin, which is his biggest tool.
The person who stopped him glanced at Ji Tong's chest and figured that this young doctor must be skilled in acupuncture, since only such tools could be so small that they wouldn't be easily noticeable when placed in his clothes.
Thinking this, he stopped blocking the way, lifted one end of the wooden pole, and let the people in.
The two exchanged a few words in no time, so much so that by the time the raiding squad, who dared not get too close to the little immortal, noticed something was wrong and rushed over, the person had already entered the range of the wooden pole!
The guards at the crossroads could clearly tell that the group behind them were soldiers; their demeanor was different, and they refused to let them go in.
The group was extremely anxious.
Na Jitong was unaware that someone was following him. Ever since entering this area, he had been observing his surroundings.
Once inside this wooden checkpoint, the number of humans suddenly increased dramatically compared to outside; they were everywhere—in houses, under eaves, and on the roads.
However, everyone here was sickly, listless, groaning, with flushed cheeks and constant coughing.
The passersby who were hurrying by were just like the person at the wooden pole, their whole bodies were wrapped up tightly, especially their hands, mouth and nose, which were all wrapped in thick cloth.
After only a few glances, Ji Tong deduced that this was not the human waste disposal site he had imagined, but rather a place similar to an interstellar hospital.
It's okay, you can still work.
The little robot didn't pay much attention to humans. It walked a few steps to the side of the street, squatted down, and a pair of delicate long-mouthed pliers appeared in its hand. It then began to sort through a pile of materials whose raw materials were no longer recognizable.
He acted as if no one else was around.
But the little robot, focused on its work, was unaware that the moment it appeared, many eyes on the street were already on it.
Those people who were rushing around only glanced at Ji Tong, but the attention of the patient who was not yet in a coma, and the family members who were taking care of the patient, was subtly drawn to the boy.
The boy's appearance, his demeanor that clearly indicated he wasn't an ordinary person, and his complete lack of awareness of taking precautions were all very striking.
They all knew where this place was.
The plague broke out very quickly and came on fiercely. Even now, many corpses have piled up in the hardest-hit areas, but doctors have examined them again and again, discussed them again and again, and tried methods again and again, but they still have not found a cure.
Unfortunately, they were surrounded by enemy troops, making it impossible for them to call for help from the capital. Although the imperial physicians in the capital might not have a solution, they still offered a glimmer of hope.
As more and more people contracted the disease, even a large number of soldiers were infected. The neighborhood where the outbreak first started gradually became a gathering place for patients. It was easy to get in, but difficult to get out...
Unless a cure for this plague is found.
The doctors and family members who voluntarily came in were already fully aware of this point.
As the plague worsened day by day, more and more people were infected. Those who had initially held onto a sliver of hope of escaping had now buried that thought deep in their hearts.
So, how could everyone not be curious when a noble young man suddenly appeared in what was practically a death trap?
Moreover, this boy didn't even cover his mouth and nose. Even if he was a family member who came to take care of the patient, wouldn't he be afraid of getting infected himself?
For a moment, everyone was focused on who this person was there to take care of.
When people noticed the boy starting to walk towards the side of the street, they were already thinking about which family in their area had a sick person who needed care.
Is it Zhang Ge's family? Granny Sun's? Li's family?
Wait a minute, why did he stop?
The patients and their families, who were waiting to see something unusual, watched helplessly as the boy walked to the pile of filth on the side of the street, stopped, and squatted down.
We've started rummaging through the trash!
? ? ?
What the heck is going on?
For a time, their overwhelming curiosity even made patients with mild symptoms forget all their discomfort, focusing only on satisfying their curiosity.
The boy's movements while rummaging through the trash were so skillful! He divided that pile of things into several piles in no time.
The pliers in the boy's hand don't look like iron? What are they made of? They went through the filth and didn't get dirty at all!
Hmm... that thing he pulled out looks kind of familiar...
Ah! That's an outer robe that was cleared out last night!
The outer robe itself is nothing, but the owner of this robe passed away yesterday afternoon due to a serious illness!
"Hey! Young man, throw that thing away!"
Finally, someone couldn't help but speak out.
The boy did not react.
The man who spoke couldn't bear to see this person die from the plague for such a reason, so he quickly stepped forward, knocked off the outer robe, and the tools that were holding the robe also fell to the ground with a clatter.
At this moment, the boy stopped what he was doing, looked over, and exclaimed, "Huh?"
.
The little robot wasn't unaware that humans were speaking; it was just that human speech was human speech, and what did it have to do with a working trash can?
The little robot ignored it.
Who knew that what I had would be knocked away by humans?
He looked at the humans with a puzzled expression.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" the little robot asked politely, without getting angry.
Wei Chun volunteered to care for his parents who were infected with the virus. He arrived relatively early and was fortunate enough not to have been infected so far. As a result, he has seen many other patients and witnessed the deaths of many people during this time.
That's why he couldn't control his emotions when he saw this young man touching the clothes of a dead person up close without any protection.
I thought my offensive behavior would anger the noble boy, but to my surprise, he wasn't angry at all.
Wei Chun paused for a moment before pointing to the clothes on the ground, indicating that they should not be touched: "The owner of these clothes died of illness yesterday. Touching these things will harm people. Just leave them here and walk around them."
Previously, these wastes were handled and incinerated by designated personnel, but it was later discovered that burning them was ineffective. In fact, as the ashes flew around after burning, more people became infected, so these things were simply piled up and left unattended.
Na Jitong looked at the clothes on the ground and nodded: "I know."
While sorting this pile of garbage, the little robot had already scanned out the viruses and bacteria on the clothes.
However, he is not human, so of course he cannot be infected with the disease.
The little robot patted its chest and introduced its functions to the humans: "Don't worry, I also have a purification process and will not be infected with any viruses."
Wei Chun: "..."
He didn't understand what "procedure" meant, but he did understand that the strange boy thought he wouldn't contract the plague.
At that moment, Wei Chun felt that he might know how this young master had been sent here.
Could it be that he's lost his mind, and his family sees him as a burden, so they simply sent him here to fend for himself?
For a moment, Wei Chun didn't know what else to say.
Seeing that the human had "no other objections," the little robot picked up its long-nosed pincers and was about to lift the garment into its lap (the recycling bin) again.
"Stop! What are you doing, kid?!"
Another angry roar rang out from the street.
Now the little robot knew it was being talked about, because the masked human in front of it was pointing straight at it, and even though all that could be seen were its eyes, the anger in those eyes was palpable.
Having never seen an angry human before, the little robot stood there dumbfounded.
...Aren't these things just trash? Did they pick up human treasures?
Otherwise, why would this human be so angry?
Fortunately, the little robot quickly realized that the angry human was not concerned about the clothes, but about him as a person.
As the angry human approached, it was clearly an old man. He glared at Ji Tong and roared, "Where did you come from, you brat! You're not wearing a mask or gloves, and you're just touching this filth like that! Are you looking for death?! You're all just causing us trouble! Where's your mask?! Go put it on right now!"
The old man was furious.
He never expected that when he took a break from his research on the antidote, he would see such a reckless guy. So what if he looks a little strange? Is that the reason for his self-destructive behavior?!
He was angry, and then he thought about how he had used all his knowledge to find a cure for the plague, and he couldn't help but feel sad.
My eyes welled up with tears instantly.
Na Jitong: "?"
Did I make humans cry?
The little robot became increasingly confused.
He looked at the clothes he was carrying, then at the old human crying sadly in front of him. He couldn't bear to give up his work, but he also thought that making a human cry was not something a robot should do.
After running through its thought process for a while, the little robot concluded that the reason humans were crying was because they hadn't heard its explanation of its functions.
He reiterated his previous statement: "Rest assured, I have a purification process in place and will not be infected with any viruses."
However, the old man was not as easily fooled as Wei Chun. He sneered and scoffed, "You think you can just say you won't? Do you know that there is still no cure for this virus? Once you really get infected, you'll be left with no one to turn to for help. You'll just have to wait to die!"
Normally, the old man would never say such demoralizing things, but the constant failures at this moment had caused his spirits to crumble.
These words were less directed at the boy in front of him and more an insult to his own incompetence.
However, to the old man's utter surprise, after he finished speaking, the boy in front of him raised the pliers made of some unknown material and said:
"I've just analyzed the virus, and there are twenty-three ways to deal with it, but..."
Before the little robot could finish speaking, the old man stepped forward and grabbed him, breathing rapidly: "What...what did you say?! You can solve this?!"
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