Returning from the abyss

Chapter 1473 I Will Wake Up
The pharmacist felt as if he had been bounced back into his body.

She felt her mind was still a bit muddled, overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information being crammed in. Of course, due to memory sharing, the voice in her head had also received the same information, and had already organized it.

[The problem is serious... Pharmacist.]

"I can sense it. Of all the plagues, I only know about two or three. Even the gods have to remind me, which means that the situation in Violet City is indeed beyond what the Savior's methods can solve."

[If it takes more than three days, you will be swallowed up by me.]

Do you think it can be resolved within this timeframe?

[Impossible. Therefore, you must be prepared to deal with potential enemies when I enter a deep slumber of equal duration.]

The third problem with "awakening" is that one will inevitably fall into a deep sleep for a corresponding period of time afterward, during which one will be completely unable to control the actions of the other soul. If one continues to awaken, one will devour that soul after three days. This will not only result in the loss of the powerful assistance in communicating with the gods, but may also lead to misunderstandings in the church's identity verification process, resulting in being hunted down by the church and having no choice but to join the other side.

The problem is that everyone has already chosen their faction.

"I believe we are all ready. When are you planning to start?"

After you've dealt with the plague on Skye, let me wake up tonight.

"it is good."

With their minds interacting, there was no need to discuss too many details. After determining the time of awakening, the pharmacist began to prepare corresponding relief drugs based on the "future" plague they had learned about.

That's right. The relief medication is basically the limit that can be produced in the current environment. Only a large parish church in Violet City would be able to prepare a treatment, but the Southern Parish is located at least eight blocks away from the Clockworks District and has long been isolated.

As for the other plagues, she hadn't even identified their forms, so there was no point in trying to create appropriate medicines.

The pharmaceutical work proceeded smoothly. With the support of the "injection" technology itself, it was just a matter of a pharmacist taking a little longer to prepare the medication. However, the key issue lay with the medication itself. The church's raw material reserves were only at a standard level. Even if Father Thorne had a habit of preparing ample supplies, it wouldn't exceed a certain limit.

"Half-dead root...this stuff is hard to find these days..."

As a potent poison, Half-Dead Root can be used as an anesthetic after a certain toxicity neutralization process, and its medicinal properties can counteract the activating effect of "Future" on dreams. However, this substance is not only used in the injections of the Salvation Pivot, but also in the "Personal Chapel" of the Priest Pivot, the "Immersed Tome" of the Secret Vision Pivot, and the "Suturing" technique of the Oath-Taking Pivot. Especially when it involves the Priest Pivot, the consumption of raw materials is not small.

Currently, the standard stock of this substance is insufficient to support the production of more relief agents.

The pharmacist wasn't one to get bogged down in these kinds of problems, so she quickly went to Father Thorne and posed the question to him.

"...The supply of materials is currently under unified allocation. I can only try to see if I can get some for you."

"It's better than doing nothing. Also, you have a few gray hairs on your head, so pay attention to them."

The pharmacist pointed to the spot on his head as a gesture, then went back to continue preparing the medication.

Father Thorne touched his head and walked to the mirror. He hadn't turned gray even after fleeing the war all the way to Violet City, but now, in the early autumn, with the summer heat still lingering, he already had gray hair.

"Am I really getting old?" He plucked out his gray hairs in front of the mirror, muttered to himself, and then walked to the table to start writing his application.

=
Later that afternoon, the pharmacist handed the first trial pill to Veronica, instructing her to give it to Skye. Since oral administration takes time, Vanessa returned to the church from the street after Skye finally fell asleep.

Her face looked very ugly.

"We inspected 26 households, 91 people, and 70 of them tested positive for the plague."

She sat in the medicine dispensing room, one hand supporting her forehead, clearly troubled. The apothecary's words had come true; the plague had spread widely. Perhaps the symptoms were mild, or perhaps the plague apostles were deliberately concealing it, but before Skye's obvious case appeared, no one noticed.

“I don’t even dare tell them the test results… there are children in there!” Vanessa rubbed her face vigorously, trying to clear her head. “I certainly don’t expect the Plague Apostles to have any morals, but I still don’t understand what good it would do them to destroy the city!”

“You can’t expect fanatics to think like you, Vanessa,” the apothecary said as she wrote down the prescription. “You also need to be careful about one thing: the Plague Apostles may infect themselves and hide among ordinary people; this is a common tactic they use. These madmen have an astonishing willingness to sacrifice themselves to bring down the Plague Lord.”

“Yes, the residents I checked today are all long-time residents of the Clockwork River district,” Vanessa said softly. “Afterwards, I’ll think of a way to get rid of the plague on them, or…”

Except for plagues created by a few top geniuses, most plagues disappear with the death of their creators.

The pharmacist narrowed his eyes slightly: "You want to kill the Plague Apostle?"

“I’ll consider a faster, more permanent solution. Pharmacist… could you teach me? Or is this not a method commonly used by the Savior Pivot? Should I find a way to learn from the Burial Pivot?”

The apothecary was silent for a moment. This was indeed not the method most commonly used by the Savior, nor was it a solution she preferred. Treating the plague was itself a process of self-improvement and refinement, while directly killing the creator would be a drastic measure.

But this tactic is necessary, otherwise, the other side might be the one to flip the table.

"Tomorrow, I will only teach you once," the pharmacist said after a quick exchange of thoughts with his mind.

"I will study hard."

"In addition, you need to learn this recipe. The method of making the relief potion varies depending on the target plague, but the principle is the same. Veronica has not studied poisons, but she can help you. However, you must carefully consider how to use poisons here, since it involves killing more people. If you want to save as many people as possible, you must master this."

"Could you prepare a broad-spectrum drug?" Vanessa asked, taking the prescription.

"The broad-spectrum drug you mentioned is now called a blocking injection."

An injection that can forcibly suppress any plague before it becomes lethal is extremely rare. Pharmacists certainly don't have any on hand. I'm guessing the Savior's Knot at the Church of East is lucky to have ten of them on hand.

Vanessa nodded to indicate that she understood, but she was still considering whether there were other options.

However, the remaining afternoon time couldn't be used entirely for studying. Priests from the neighborhood would come to the church, partly to replenish supplies and partly to deliver messages. A fanatic had also appeared in the Clockwork River district; he had been killed, and moderately contaminated pollutants were found in his home, leading to a further increase in the level of security in the area.

The contaminants were even brought over and shown to Father Thorne and others.

“He has this kind of paper with a certain degree of polluting power in his home.” The monk who arrived carefully took out a transparent box. “There is only one page so far. When we found it, the writing on it had already started to become messy and is now completely unreadable. Its polluting power is weakening, so we will repair it and send it to the Church of St. Ist as soon as possible.”

“Is this related to suspected uncleanliness?” Father Thorne asked.

"I don't know." The cultivator put the item away. "We just can't let any clue slip by. Even the cultivators of the Salvation Pivot couldn't find the source of the filth. It's probably something unknown that fell... or maybe it wasn't even transferred in at all."

What is the situation inside the city?

"There's a bit of chaos, but it's better than expected. Violet City has been peaceful for far too long. If the Grand Duke were still in his prime, this level of martial law wouldn't have affected anyone at all."

Father Thorne echoed his sentiments, then instructed his men to prepare supplies for the monks and contacted the personnel in charge of the blockade to prepare special carriages for their passage.

He sensed that the priest was holding back. If such chaos still existed in the Clockwork River District despite Vanessa and Veronica's best efforts to maintain order, what would happen in places without such responsible people to manage it?

To be honest, he didn't think that the priests in most of the Violet City parishes were much better than him.

The Church wouldn't actually massacre ordinary people, but the lockdown alone is terrifying enough. People's reverence has its limits, and with the Plague Apostles' instigation, there will always be a breaking point. And once someone becomes one of those instigated by the Plague Apostles, not only the Church, but even Thorne's own ideas will be abandoned.

"Is Violet City still accepting outsiders?" he asked.

"Of course not, it's currently being taken over by the surrounding villages and towns. It's not suitable for any outsiders to enter during the lockdown."

Does that mean there are no problems among those people? Will all the Plague Apostles enter the city? Put yourself in his shoes; while he's constantly sending out harassers, he'll stay outside the city to observe the situation.

How long would the lockdown last? Thorne didn't ask; he knew that as a Sunday priest in a small chapel, he wasn't qualified to know such things.

"Father, are you very worried about the current situation?"

Vanessa walked over with a bottle of medicine and saw Father Thorne's expression, so she asked him a question.

“Ah… Vanessa, of course, as the priest in charge here, it’s normal for me to be worried.” Father Thorne glanced at the medicine bottle in her hand. “Your medicine has been prepared?”

"Yes, but we need to test the drug's efficacy on animals first. I'm not at the level of a pharmacist who can directly administer finished drugs to humans... But I'm very skilled at making sleeping pills, and I can make some for you, so you can at least have a good night's sleep."

"Haha, I think you need it more. These past few days you and Veronica have been running around like shifts, and you have all sorts of things to deal with at night. Aren't you tired?"

“Father, I’m perfectly healthy! You know I’ve always been strong and energetic since I was little, so staying up all night is nothing to me! Veronica is just as good, so you don’t need to worry about us!” Vanessa said with a smile.

"Then...may the gods bless you, child."

Vanessa nodded and went to get the experimental animals—the rabbits and chickens kept at the church. Father Thorne guessed there would probably be some extra food on the table that evening.

He felt a slight headache and his vision blurred for a moment, so he quickly leaned against the wall for support, but he recovered quickly.

"I might really need Vanessa to get me some sleeping pills..."

As night fell, the appointed time gradually arrived.

The pharmacist quietly flipped through the medical book in her hands, still feeling somewhat uneasy. After all, she had only been reminded of the "methods" by the voice in her heart, but had never witnessed the other party's way of doing things. There were some scattered fragments in the shared memories, which, to be honest, seemed more in line with the style of Zang Shishu.

Veronica, who went to comfort the children, and Vanessa, who tested the drug, had not returned yet. Dinner was also brought over by a nun. This time, there were no added ingredients to the broth. It seems that Vanessa did not add any clever tricks that caused the killing of some of the experimental animals—not because of poisoning, but because they were generally still edible.

Are your thoughts currently in a state of confusion?

"Uh...thought thoughts aren't supposed to be shared, are they?"

[Of course not, it's just that you've been staring at this page for ages. Normally, you'd only need ten seconds to flip through content you're already familiar with.]

“I still can’t see the future of Violet City, and I don’t know what will become of them. My familiarity with Vanessa comes from your memories, but… now I also know why I have this strange connection with her.”

You're also very young. While they are indeed rare talents, they aren't the only ones you've seen.

"But they were the first students I taught." The pharmacist closed the book with a hint of regret, "but I failed to be a good teacher."

Being a good teacher requires a significant investment of time and effort, and a good student doesn't necessarily become a good teacher.

"Yes."

The pharmacist placed the book on the table, then leaned back in his chair in a comfortable position and gently closed his eyes.

"Let me see what you're doing—"

Main Quest 3 has been generated:
The City of Inferno—when a giant falls, flames erupt from his bones, igniting everything around him. You can choose to kill the one who slain the giant, protect the life around the bones, or let new flowers bloom on the giant's remains. Hold up the flames, extinguish the flames, at least don't become useless kindling.

The pharmacist suddenly opened her eyes. The shared mission information startled her. What did it mean for a giant to fall? The implication couldn't be clearer—

【Perfect timing, it's my turn.】

A voice echoed in her mind, and then her consciousness began to sink into the depths.