Although it seemed to have made a sincere proclamation, being a Great Demon with principles, the Black Goat indeed did what it said and went silent.
No matter what price Leon offered, it stubbornly remained quiet, even closing its eyes, utterly unmoved.
Concerned about the hospital situation, and with the bandaged woman now willing to help, Leon decided to ignore the troublesome goat and headed with the woman towards the hospital.
However, something seemed to have happened nearby. Even though it was nighttime, they kept encountering people rushing down the road.
Most of these passersby wore strange masks resembling giant raven beaks, gathered in small groups, carrying someone face down on two metal stretchers or poles, hurrying along.
Strangely, although these people seemed very anxious, when they encountered Leon and the bandaged woman at intersections or narrow alleys, they quickly stepped aside, waving their hands to let them pass first, as if avoiding contact.
Anxious to confirm his sister's condition, Leon couldn't spare the energy to focus on these mysterious people. He only glanced at their souls to make sure there was nothing *abnormal*, and prepared to move on, but was unexpectedly stopped by the bandaged woman.
After taking a serious look at the strange people, the woman opened her suitcase, rummaged through it, and took out a similar mask, putting it on her face. She then quietly instructed Leon,
"Stand here and don't move, and under no circumstances approach them before I return!"
What? Are these people suspicious?!
Through the bird-beak mask's lenses, Leon exchanged a glance with the cautious "senior." Seeing her apparent wariness towards the odd individuals, Leon immediately became alert as well.
Following the woman's instructions, he stayed where he was, gripping the goat's head tightly and focusing on observing the strange people's souls, ready to alert the woman if he noticed any abnormalities.
But to Leon's surprise, despite the odd attire and suspicious actions of these people, their souls, though somewhat "unstable," filled with anxiety and restlessness, did not seem hostile.
After a brief conversation with the bandaged woman, they even handed her a new mask, gestured toward Leon, as if... wanting him to wear this peculiar mask as well?
As expected, when the bandaged woman returned, she shoved the mask into Leon's hands, urgently urging,
"Something's happened, put this on quickly!"
Seeing her serious expression, Leon didn't dare to delay, hastily followed her instructions, and put the mask sewn into a black hood over his head. The already dark world before him plunged into darkness.
Only then did Leon realize that the leather bird-beak mask was completely enclosed, pitch black without any color, even the small lenses over the eyes were painted black, with only a small pupil-like sphere lens in the middle allowing some faint outside light to seep through.
During the day it might be fine, but now it was like wearing sunglasses, severely obstructing his view, making it difficult to even see the road beneath his feet.
Before Leon could voice his situation, the bandaged woman reached out, giving the mask's bird-beak a hard slap. The mask, which still had a gap between it and Leon's face, fit snugly against him, and the small lens made direct contact with his eye.
Startled, Leon instinctively tried to close his eyes, but found his eyelids held open by the lens. A small amount of pale yellow, icy oil squeezed out from a corner of the lens, instantly moistening his eyeball.
The patterns on the woman's suitcase, the seams in the paving stones, the textures of the street-side buildings, the whole world had been forcibly tinted with an eerie pale yellow...
Wait! I can see things clearly?!
"This is the Night Raven Mask used by the Epidemic Prevention Bureau, even at night in areas without streetlights, it allows you to see clearly. Remember not to use your eyes to look outside; keep your pupils pressed against the lens and learn to observe through it.
Also, be sure to wear the mask securely, breathe through your mouth and nose into the bird beak, which contains herbs, spices, and special smelling salts to prevent most infections."
As the bandaged woman quickly instructed Leon on using the mask, she also explained rapidly,
"I just asked those people from the Epidemic Prevention Bureau. Last week's heavy rain caused the sewage river to overflow, and the dam built by the Department of Road Administration collapsed the same day, the sewage river's tributary merged with the Capital City's water supply river.
If it had just been that, it wouldn't have been so bad, but the outsourced water company cut costs, not following the twelve-step purification process. They pumped water from the river, only filtered out debris and sediment, did a crude disinfection to remove odors, and then directly piped it into the city's water supply.
Those being carried are the ones who drank the contaminated water. The main symptoms are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, severe abdominal cramps, leading to dehydration and unconsciousness. People who contacted their vomit are also showing similar symptoms. About five hundred people have experienced this."