Mermaid Reef

Dr. Abel's clinic is a two-story building.

The taupe stone of the same material is much smaller than the church.

Here John sees six other shipwreck survivors being given medicine by Dr. Abel's assistant.

John walked over to make out their faces carefully, and found the captain, first mate, two sailors, and two passengers of the Zephyr.

All of them had a high fever and were unconscious.

Dr. Abel also tied up their legs or hands because they were worried that they would struggle in a coma and be crushed to the fracture.

The worst one was probably the captain. He was tightly bound by restraint belts, and he was half leaning on the bed, unable to lie down at all. It is said that two ribs were broken, and if he moved the broken bones casually, his internal organs might be injured.

"How are they doing?"

"Not good," Dr. Abel sighed, "the lung infection is very serious, which is a common symptom of drowning people. Also, the wounds on their bodies have been soaked in seawater and festering all the time. I have dug out the carrion, and now We can only count on God to bless us." (Note)

As he spoke, the doctor looked at John with a strange look.

Also fell into the sea, but this one's luck was unbelievable, there was no trauma at all, and he didn't look like he was on the same boat.

John: "..."

Some things don't need to be said, you can tell by looking at them.

But he couldn't explain it, and he couldn't explain it, so he had to pretend not to know.

John asks Dr. Abel to write him a letter certifying that he was rescued from a shipwreck.

Originally, this matter was to be entrusted to Pastor Conor, but now the old pastor...

"How is Mr. Pastor's situation? How many days will the drug treatment be effective?"

"This kind of sudden illness may get better as soon as people wake up, or it may never recover." Dr. Abel said with regret.

Seeing that John looked very bad, he casually comforted him, "But I think there is a great hope of recovery, after all, Pastor Conor has always been in good health."

Indeed, John thought silently.

According to church records, Pastor Conor should be 76 years old this year.

Although the crazy people are very strong, but the old pastor just overturned the doctor with one hand, and the three of them dragged him together to hold him down. This physical strength and potential are really good.

"I wish the pastor a speedy recovery."

John felt a headache when he thought of his commission.

Because he knew that the old pastor was not mentally ill.

Jason would come the first time, and the second time, the old pastor couldn't count on it.

But that's okay, John has a plan B.

——Find an opportunity to carefully look through the documents and letters in Pastor Conor's room, and then imitate the handwriting to forge a personal letter.

The most important thing to forge such a letter is the seal, followed by the handwriting.

The seal is in the study, and John has just seen its location.

Of course, forging a letter is illegal, but since the client dared to directly ask the detective to come to Pastor Conor to explain that there is no problem with the baptism certificate, at least Pastor Conor would not deny it, so John is just... flexible now.

John rubbed his forehead and thanked the doctor's assistant who brought the food.

"How many people were on that ship of yours?" asked Dr. Abel, writing his letters about the shipwreck.

"There are only three passengers, and there are seven sailors and the captain in total. Those who cannot be found... may be killed."

John said heavily that he had just put a piece of baked potato into his mouth when he noticed that the light in the study was dimming.

He immediately walked to the window.

The sky was completely filled with dark clouds, and after a while, it became so dark that you couldn't see your fingers.

"It's too bad, the tavern owner asked me to go back before dark, and it's three o'clock in the afternoon." John said to himself.

Soon John lost his interest in laughing at himself, because standing by the window of the clinic, he could clearly see the changes in the sea below.

The sea water is like a boiling soup pot, and the waves are churning continuously.

Three gray-black smoke columns "rise" slowly, making one suspect that there is a steam ship hidden under the sea, and it is using its chimney to exhaust the thick smoke.

The black smoke is very conspicuous. From a distance, it seems to be connected with the dark clouds hanging down in the sky.

"It's really a volcano!"

Noticing the strangeness, Dr. Abel, who was also looking at the window, turned pale with fright.

He hurriedly called his assistant's name and asked someone to pack his luggage.

"There are still patients in the clinic." John reminded.

"It's too late." Dr. Abel was sweating profusely. "We can't lift so many people. If the volcano erupts, the entire town can't escape. Even houses on the hillside will be destroyed by the erupted magma and stones." destroy."

John followed the doctor downstairs and reminded: "The bridges and roads leading to the outside of Black Lagoon Town have been washed away by the flood."

"As far as I can go, I know a path in the mountains."

Dr. Abel stuffed his belongings and documents into the box in a panic.

At this time, the nun suddenly ran in: "Doctor, it's not good. Pastor Conor woke up and broke free from the rope and ran down the mountain madly."

"what?"

The doctor was shocked. He used the restraint belt used to treat mental patients, but could he still be freed?

But there is no time to chase now, Dr. Abel hastily asked the nun to see the situation outside.

John kept the old pastor's seal and letter in his heart. The situation was urgent, and he could only be a thief once.

A few minutes later, with a stack of wrapped letters (for imitation and comparison) and seals in his arms, John hurried out with Dr. Abel who was carrying a suitcase.

"Where's the nun?"

"She won't go, she's praying."

"Where's your assistant?"

"He insisted on going home to see his grandmother."

Dr. Abel ran forward without looking back. John glanced at the people lying in the clinic, hesitating in his heart, but he also knew that hesitating at this time was tantamount to death, so he quickly untied the bandages on these people, at least a disaster When you come, you can run and move.

Although they were all unconscious, if they moved, their injuries would worsen, but what if?

John moved quickly, and when he chased out, he could still see the back of Dr. Abel.

The ground was shaking rumblingly, and the gray of the dark clouds had a strange dark red.

A gust of sea breeze blew in, and the smell of sulfur was choking.

A crack suddenly appeared on the street, and it continued to expand.

Dr. Abel slipped and fell in the stagnant water, covered in mud.

The people in the houses were also running out, and the town was in chaos.

Some people shouted the names of their loved ones loudly, some people cried in fear.

The stagnant water on the street was rushing into the crack, but it couldn't be filled no matter what, and the crack was still emitting smoke.

These gases are obviously poisonous, and everyone who smells them has dizzy symptoms.

"Go! Don't waste time, go!"

Officer Arson held a crying child in one hand and supported an old woman in the other, shouting at the top of his lungs.

When John ran to the door of the tavern, he saw old Jack.

"You're back." The tavern owner didn't bring any luggage. He carried a bag of potatoes and dried fish. Seeing that John was empty-handed, he stuffed a bag for him without any explanation, and then turned around and went back to carry a bag of cabbages.

The crack in the ground was getting bigger and bigger. At first, only one foot could sink in, but now a person can fall in.

"boom!"

There was a loud noise, and John hurriedly turned around, only to find that the neighborhood near the sea was filled with huge smoke and dust.

"It's the house that has collapsed to the ground, don't look at it." The tavern owner urged, escape is the most important thing.

However, he insisted on bringing food when he fled for his life.

"Huh... gurgling... huh scare..."

From the depths of the crack, there was a strange sound.

John knew that it might be the volcanic magma moving, or it might be the sound of stones cracking in high temperature, but the sound was really terrifying, like a giant beast breathing, and the breath gradually became thicker.

It is waking up.

It is stretching.

"Boom!"

Another row of houses collapsed in the distance, and everyone didn't dare to look back, and ran even faster.

A double image appeared before John's eyes again.

He didn't know if it was caused by the strange noise or the poisonous gas coming out of the ground.

Tinnitus, increased heartbeat, and heavy, slow steps.

After running for an unknown amount of time, the buzzing tinnitus suddenly stopped. John felt as if he was deaf and could not hear anything. Just when he was wondering, a low singing came over.

Like the fog floating on the sea.

Like an oasis spring in the desert.

This sound is so beautiful that it is unimaginable, it makes the pores of the whole body open, and one can't help but follow its trail.

"wrong!"

John beat his forehead hard to stop his loss of consciousness.

He found that everyone stopped moving, turned their heads sideways, and stood there blankly.

This scene was weird and terrifying. No matter men, women or children, they all stood there stiffly as if they had lost their souls.

Doctor Abel was holding a suitcase in his hands, the tavern owner was carrying cabbages, and Police Officer Arson was supporting an old woman... They turned their heads in the same direction, then turned around slowly, and walked there like sleepwalking .

"Wake up!" John grabbed the tavernkeeper and hit him on the head with a potato.

The tavern owner woke up with a jerk, and then he was shocked when he saw the surrounding situation.

John went to hit the doctor again, and the tavern owner immediately hit the police officer with a cabbage.

The number of sober people gradually increased, but there were still more people who were sleepwalking back.

The old woman beside Police Officer Arson shouted in a panic: "The siren... this is the song of the siren, you can't go, if you go, you won't come back!"

At this time, a figure appeared at the end of the street, blocking the sleepwalkers.

Wearing a gray traveling cloak and a black velvet top hat, he looked like he had just stepped off a carriage and was about to enter the Opera House in London.

It's Jason!

John's heart skipped a beat.

But after Jason appeared, a gust of cold wind swept over the snowflakes, freezing the sleepwalker awake.

"what happened?"

"I seem to hear singing?"

Jason walked quickly, past those who were still confused.

"Who are you?" Inspector Arson asked instinctively, eyes full of vigilance.

"Get out of here, and we'll talk later when we have something to say." Jason replied briefly.

His voice was steady and calm, making people obey his orders involuntarily.

John quietly distanced himself from him.

Jason glanced at him but said nothing.

John suspected that this guy was not human, but at this critical moment when he was busy fleeing for his life, the other party obviously saved most of the townspeople, so he couldn't question it.

Soon, everyone ran out of Black Reef Town, with stagnant water and muddy hills ahead.

"Hurry up, just ahead, find a boat to row across, or turn over that hillside..."

Doctor Abel's voice stopped abruptly.

A bottomless moat appeared in front of it, like a twisted and twisted giant snake, with a width of more than thirty feet, and it was still expanding. At the same time, it extended all the way to the distance, completely separating the entire Black Reef Town from the outside world.

I ran all the way here, thinking I could escape, but when I saw this scene, many people collapsed.

They hugged their heads, collapsed on the ground, and cried.

John stomped on the ground a few times, and said to the sluggish Doctor Abel: "The vibration seems to have stopped, and the volcanic eruption will be like a chick hatching, making a noise, then lying down and resting for half an hour before erupting again?"

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The author has something to say:

Of course it's not fire...just a volcano

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Note: Penicillin was not discovered until 1928, which is already the earliest antibiotic.