Chapter 407: Chapter 263: Big Sister Will Take Care of You?
[Wish Value: 2]
In a daze, Calia noticed the Wish Value displayed on the panel had changed, decreasing by one point.
She was startled and quickly looked at the little girl’s arm. Her eyes widened in disbelief.
The initial symptoms of Crystal Disease mostly began on the arms. The skin would become unbearably itchy, forcing its victims to scratch uncontrollably until it broke. Then, a crystalline ore of unknown composition would grow from the wound. Its hardness was astounding, capable of resisting even an electric drill.
This ore fed on the body’s Life Force, spreading wantonly from the arm like a plague of locusts. It tore the skin apart, forming crystalline patterns like the crazing on porcelain. Some people even grew irregularly shaped spikes. This had become the hallmark of Crystal Disease.
But now, in the blink of an eye, the little girl’s shattered, crystallized arm had miraculously returned to its original state. The crystals had vanished without a trace, and the open wounds healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. A few breaths later, her arm was completely normal again.
"COUGH, COUGH, COUGH... COUGH, COUGH, COUGH, COUGH, COUGH..."
The little girl suddenly began to cough violently, spitting out a glob of black phlegm. Bizarrely, the black phlegm began to squirm as if it had a mind of its own.
Acting fast, Calia grabbed a disposable paper cup from nearby and slammed it upside down over the black mucus.
She felt impacts against the cup; the mucus inside was trying to break through and escape.
"What is this stuff..."
Calia frowned. She instinctively felt this might be the virulent essence of Crystal Disease.
"COUGH, COUGH... COUGH, COUGH, COUGH, COUGH..."
The little girl coughed violently a few more times, but this time, no black phlegm came out. She caught her breath and stared at her normal arm in bewilderment, not understanding what had happened. "I... I’m better?"
[Wish Value +3]
Upon seeing the notification, Calia’s expression suddenly changed. She warily glanced at the patients in the other beds, but it was too late. They had all seen the little girl’s recovery. Like drowning people grasping at straws, they began to scream themselves hoarse:
"Doctor, save me! Save me! I can give you money, I’ll give you all my money!"
"Doctor, it hurts so much, please save me..."
"Miss... I’m in so much pain..."
Other patients, driven half-mad by the torment of crystallization, struggled to climb down from their beds. But having already lost most of their mobility, they could only crawl over like insects, wailing loudly:
"Save me, please save me, it hurts so much, it hurts... WAHHH... It hurts so much..."
’Damn it!’
Calia cursed under her breath, gritting her teeth. She had been treating patients for days without much rest, and her mental state wasn’t at its best. If she had been thinking clearly, she definitely would have conducted the experiment discreetly, where no one could see.
Almost thirty percent of the city’s population had Crystal Disease, and the number was still growing. Once news of a cured patient got out, it wouldn’t take an hour for this clinic to be mobbed, and all sorts of trouble would follow one after another.
Although the experiment was a success, proving the wish-granting power bestowed by the "Lamp God" could cure the Crystal Disease, she didn’t have enough Wish Value to heal everyone.
It took 1 Wish Value to cure a mild case, so what about a moderate one? Or a severe one?
Of course, as long as these patients had a strong desire to recover, she could turn a small investment into a large return. Just like a moment ago, she had used 1 Wish Value to wish for the little girl’s recovery and, in return, had gained 3 Wish Value—a net profit of 2 points.
This method was certainly effective, as there wasn’t a single patient with Crystal Disease who didn’t want to be cured. The torment of the illness was worse than death; everyone wanted relief, everyone wanted to be cured of Crystal Disease.
But the most critical problem was that she, Calia, was only one person, while there were at least nearly a hundred thousand infected in the city, not to mention other cities. If the patients came one by one, she’d work herself to death before she could even heal a handful of them.
Besides, North Carolina Slum City was extremely backward, with very few educated people. In a city that had now lost all sense of order, expecting this crowd to line up obediently and wait for treatment without getting any funny ideas was just a dream.
The result would inevitably be uncontrollable chaos.
’I can’t stay here, and I have to take this one with me...’
Calia glanced at the little girl, who was lost in a daze of joy, shock, and confusion. She was very likely the first person ever to be cured of Crystal Disease. Once the news spread, it wouldn’t be surprising if the crazed patients and the uneducated masses did something terrible.
To survive, people were capable of doing any dirty deed imaginable, and even some that were unimaginable—drinking blood, eating flesh...
In her many years as a doctor, Calia had worked in many backward places and seen too much ignorance and superstition. She had seen people who believed drinking the blood of a cured person could grant them immunity to a disease. And if that didn’t work, they would resort to even more extreme measures.
"Do you have any family?" Calia asked, her voice devoid of emotion.
The little girl stiffened, then answered truthfully in a low voice, "My mom and dad both got Crystal Disease... They were burned..."
"If you want to live, come with me."
Calia scooped the black mucus into the paper cup, picked up the little girl with one hand, and hurried to the clinic’s front desk. She found a glass jar, poured the black mucus inside, and screwed the lid on tight.
The very sensible little girl pulled a backpack out from behind the counter.
Children from the slums always matured early. She had already more or less guessed why Calia was taking her away.
