novelsite Chapter 610, The Crisis Comes Quietly
Chapter 610, The Crisis Comes Quietly
Chapter 10, the crisis quietly came
As the world-famous fog capital, the city of London has always had an indissoluble bond with the endless rain, fog and dark haze.
The black, yellow, pungent, and choking London fog always permeates everywhere day and night, making the streets dark during the day and finally engulfing the whole city. This is already the case—even if there is no exhaust gas emitted by factories, trains and cars, the soot from the cooking and heating of millions of people in London is enough to pollute the city's air into a scorching hell...
On another foggy and gloomy morning, in the slums of London's East End, old Tom, the owner of a thrift shop, was cleaning his shop in the short time when there were no customers in the morning—because the old Tom recently went back to his hometown in the country for business, and closed the store for half a month. He just came back yesterday evening, so many things in the store have already accumulated a thick layer of dust.
After sweeping the floors, wiping the windows and the counters, old Tom was trying to figure out how to put a price tag on the shelves as he brushed the dust and cobwebs off the shelves with a feather duster—in black and white with most of them. Like the old thrift store, the sources of goods in Old Tom's store are very mixed. A considerable part of them are things that even Old Tom himself can't tell the origin, and a lot of the rest are undoubted thieves.
At this time, a glass tube with a complicated structure in his hand was an unknown gadget that he received at a low price from a pickpocket last month—it was a tube-shaped glass product with two ends. It is a silver-white metal hoop, with a transparent glass cylinder in the middle, inlaid with two exquisite spiral glass tubes, which are regularly intertwined with each other, and some royal blue liquid is shining fluorescently in the spiral tubes.
Although it looks very delicate, it is a pity that there is no use at all.If it is used as a decoration, it seems to be too monotonous. After all, there is no engraving or etching on the glass, and there is no engraving on the metal hoop.If it's some kind of perfume or potion, I don't know what it's for, and I don't know how to fool customers into buying it—what if it's poison?Hey, I really don't know who made such a strange thing?Although it only cost half a penny for this thing when it was received, it still makes people worry about whether it will be sold...
Old Tom frowned and pouted, but continued to pick up the rag in his hand and carefully wiped the dust off the glass test tube.
However, at this moment, the wooden door of the shop was suddenly pushed open with a bang, which made Old Tom tremble all over, and the glass test tube in his hand slipped off and fell to the ground with a thud, turning into a A pile of shards of glass, and a fluorescent blue liquid also flowed all over the place.
Faced with this turn of events, Old Tom and the customers who came in were stunned... Finally, the owner, Old Tom, reluctantly admitted that he was unlucky, grabbed the broom and rag, and began to clean up the broken glass on the ground, while complaining about the customers. Shouting, "...Look, it's all your fault! Old William! Why did you barge in like this without even knocking on the door? It caused me to break things early in the morning! Don't you know how to be careful? "
"...Hey! How can you blame me for this? It's clear that you made a fuss and didn't hold it steady." Old William who opened the door came in, obviously familiar with the shop owner Old Tom, and didn't take his complaint seriously at all, "... …Stop talking nonsense, is the thing I asked for last time available now?”
"...Yes, yes, I just got it." As soon as he mentioned the business matter, Old Tom immediately regained his energy, and immediately took out a box from under the counter, pushed it in front of the customer and opened it, "...the authentic African ivory pipe Look at the color and workmanship! Two pounds isn't much for you, is it?"
"...Is that so? But why do I see that the pipe is full of bumps and holes? There are also many scratches on the decorative relief? The cigarette holder was obviously broken, and it was reconnected with wood... This kind of look is not good. A cheap piece of junk that no one wants for five shillings?"
……
After a busy day of business, when he was about to close the door, Old Tom suddenly felt his nose itchy and couldn't help sneezing.
"...Ah Choo! What's the matter with me? I seem to be a little uncomfortable... Could it be that I have a cold? After I go back, I should rest early..."
He wiped his nose with his hand, shivered, and muttered to himself...
——The initial symptoms of T virus infection in "Resident Evil" are no different from ordinary minor illnesses, just coughing, sneezing, or itching like a rash, just like the human body is allergic or accepting When stimulated, the hay fever-like reaction produced.
For a strong healthy person, it is a very difficult process to overcome a healthy person's immune system with a small amount of T virus that occasionally touches the skin, and it may even result in the virus being completely wiped out.So usually no one would pay attention to this kind of thing at all. At most, they thought they had a cold, so they went to the pharmacy to buy cold medicine.But the problem is that unless the person is really strong enough to rely on their own immunity to resist the virus attack, any cold medicine cannot kill the T virus (unless anti-viral antibodies are injected).Therefore, when the patient went to buy cold medicine, the virus began to invade the cells and tissues of the infected person before the host was aware of it, transforming him into a zombie step by step...
What's worse, in Britain at the end of the eighteenth century, humans didn't even invent cold medicine like aspirin...
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When the T virus spread the whole of London and even the whole of the UK, our protagonist and his party were still ignorant of it.
At this time, the Indian patient Mr. Ayu who came to treat him has been completely cured under the magical effect of the [Automatic Medical Box], but his body is still relatively weak and needs to continue to recuperate for a while, and he needs to supplement nutrition by the way.
And his son Chandra and daughter-in-law Karina couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and began to have free time to walk around, and under the supervision of Wang Qiu, who pretended to be Mr. Collins, browsed around the English countryside at the end of the eighteenth century scenery.
"...Is this... Netherfield Manor (also translated as Netherfield Garden)? It is indeed much more decent than the Bennet family's house."
Chandra, who was wrapped in a turban and dressed in Indian national costume, stood side by side with Wang Qiu outside the gate of a manor, so commented.
——Indeed, if the house of the Bennet family is roughly equivalent to a "well-decorated farmyard", then this Netherfield Manor finally looks more like a luxury villa of a rich man in the West: Manor A large amount of white marble is used everywhere in the main building, which is vaguely a bit like the White House.The windows and door frames are elaborately carved and costly everywhere.The courtyard outside the house was no chickens, ducks and geese shitting everywhere, but a real Western-style garden, decorated with statues, fountains, gazebos and shrubs trimmed into geometric shapes.
As for the inside of the manor, although Wang Qiu did not go in and see it personally - the owner of the manor lives in London and has not been back for many, many years, so the current Netherfield Manor is vacant - but according to the description of the villagers , as well as the influence of various movies, you can also know a little bit: beautiful silver silverware, servants wearing white wigs, exquisite sofas with complicated patterns, patchwork brass candlesticks, exquisitely carved Thick wooden doors, parquet walls, billiard room and chess and card room with dim and soft light, large oil paintings hanging on the walls everywhere, there may be huge Greek-style reliefs, plus brightly colored satin curtains and Persian carpets... In short, it is It's quite like a place where a nobleman lives.
Of course, in the eyes of modern people who are used to all kinds of luxury hotels, this manor is nothing more than exquisite, elegant and stylish.
But in the eyes of the ignorant eighteenth-century English countrymen, the decoration and style of Netherfield Manor are already like a palace.
"...According to the local residents, this Netherfield Manor is already the most luxurious house in Longbourn Village."
Wang Qiu, who came here for a while, introduced this to Mr. Chandra, "... However, the owner of this manor has been unable to make ends meet because of his extravagance, and even has high debts. Netherfield Manor was sold, but unfortunately the asking price was too high, and no suitable buyer could be found, so it could only be rented out for the rich people who don’t have a manor but want to escape the summer heat in the countryside..."
"...Then, in the summer or early autumn of this year, Mr. Bingley, the second leading actor in "Pride and Prejudice", will come from London and rent this Netherfield Manor to entertain his friend Darcy and others ...that's where Pride and Prejudice begins... right?"
Chandra grinned, "...I read this novel a long time ago, and on the plane coming to your place, I used a tablet computer to make up the plot again, and also re-read the old and new versions The Pride and Prejudice film and the BBC miniseries..."
"...Oh, it seems that you are really well prepared." Wang Qiu blinked and said with a smile.Through this period of contact, he found that this Indian couple seems to be the type that is easy to deal with. They are very funny in conversation and easy-going, and get along well with the people on their side.
"...Actually, I took a classic literature appreciation class at Cambridge, and my wife once joined the Jane Austen novel book club!"
"...In that case, do you want to visit Pemberley Manor again? It is the dream villa owned by the hero, Mr. Darcy. The manor is located in Derbyshire. It may be a bit far if we walk there, but if we ride a horse, one day The time is estimated to be able to arrive..."
"...No need, I can't get in anyway, I can only look outside the manor." Chandra waved his hand, "...and, in the modern world of England, I have already visited this manor , and even lived in it for a few days-of course, there is no Pemberley Manor in the real world, but there is the filming location of "Pride and Prejudice", Chatsworth Manor in Derbyshire, because of the filming of "Pride and Prejudice" ", so it is also called Darcy's Manor. Right now it is a museum and resort open to the public, allowing visitors to enjoy aristocratic balls and banquets..."
"...It sounds very interesting." Wang Qiu gave him a thumbs up, "... I can't tell, you are quite good at playing!"
"...If you really try it, you'll know that it's actually boring. Well, it's just torturing yourself." Chandra smiled wryly and shook his head, "...there are so many social etiquettes, You need dozens of knives, forks and spoons to eat a meal, and you have to change into different clothes for walking, dining and dancing... and the pastries and steaks that you really eat in your mouth feel like things in ordinary western restaurants It makes no difference."
"...Indeed, society is always developing and progressing. The material comforts of ancient nobles may not be as good as modern urban white-collar workers."
Wang Qiu nodded, "...I have watched a French costume drama, it is said that the sun king Louis XIV asked his servants to serve more than 40 different dishes every day when he ate, and then he chose what he liked to eat. At the time, this was considered a sign of extravagance. But if it were a metropolis in modern society, if you just walked into a high-end cafeteria, wouldn’t you be able to find forty decent dishes? ?”
"...So, I'm actually not very interested in country manors in England. Anyway, what these manors look like here is what they look like here-you said before, this is actually a movie world, and the The manors are all prototypes in the real world.”
Chandra shrugged, "...however, I am more interested in the city of London in this era - those manors can be seen from any side of the world, but the cityscape of London before the Industrial Revolution is only here Only then can I see it..." He said with a slight sigh and melancholy.
"...Uh... We happen to have plans to go to London recently, if you wish, we can also go for a walk together..."
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A few days later, Wang Qiu and others took Chandra and his wife Karina and embarked on a trip to London.
Before setting off, Wang Qiu and his fellow Chinese not only put on wigs and colored contact lenses, but also carefully changed their appearances to prevent them from showing off.But Chandra and his wife don’t need to be so troublesome. They are white people of high caste in India. They just need to trim their hairstyles, put on dresses and long skirts of this era, and finally spray some perfume to cover up their body odor. Besides, it’s not much different from the British—but it’s the time when the British Empire sailed all over the world and colonized the world. They went to the tropics to fight in the army, do business, and set up plantations, and they went home after getting tanned. There are also quite a few Brits here, and as long as they don't go to the balls and banquets of the upper class, they won't attract anyone's attention.
The whole visit was safe and sound, but unfortunately there are not many sights worth seeing in London these days - Trafalgar Square, Regent Street, Waterloo Bridge, Nelson Monument, Big Ben, Tower Bridge, the British Parliament Building , the British Imperial Museum, and the British Imperial Library where Marx wrote "Das Kapital", these famous Victorian landscape buildings did not exist at all in the era of "Pride and Prejudice".
St. James's Park, famous for its beauty and magnificence in later generations, is still a execution ground similar to Caishikou in Beijing. When Wang Qiu passed by there, he happened to see a few thieves hanging on the gallows there and swinging.Even Hyde Park, which has already taken shape, is just a messy green space... Buckingham Palace and the Tower of London have been completed for many years, but how can ordinary people enter this kind of royal palace?
Even so, in order to meet the requirements of some historians and sociologists in the rear, Wang Qiu and the others still took miniature cameras for sneak shots and walked around the streets and alleys of London a few times. It is a shop market, a church mansion, and some typical ones have been carefully observed.He even ventured deep into the dirtiest and poorest East End, and took countless photos and videos along the way, recording every bit of the city.
However, just where they couldn't see, a tiny destructive factor was rapidly multiplying and expanding in the city of London...
An unexpected and unprecedented catastrophe has entered the countdown stage in this world!