What kind of person is Hiluluk?
He is a dreamer.
Yes.
He has many dreams, and they are big.
He wants to recreate the "miracle" he saw back then, to move people's hearts;
He wants to create a cure-all medicine that can heal all diseases;
He also wants to become a doctor—
And "dreams," this interesting thing, often brings amazing power!
So Rowan guessed that, according to Hiluluk's way of doing things, he might have found something else while leaving behind that "miracle."
…
Right now.
The Crystal Demon virus has fully broken out in Hiluluk's body.
This doctor, wearing a worn suit, now has most of his body covered by armor-like crystals, and horrifying lumps can be seen everywhere.
Two-thirds of his head has turned into crystal, with only his left eye and part of his mouth remaining intact.
But upon closer inspection, it is not hard to see that Hiluluk's pupils have changed, from pure black eyes to dark blue.
The color of the sea.
He is sitting cross-legged on the ground, making sounds with that ghostly mouth, breathing slowly.
Hiluluk is still alive.
But according to Kureha's guess, it will only take less than three days for the activated crystals to completely destroy Hiluluk's bodily functions!
The dark blue eyes turned, locking onto Rowan, who was also sitting cross-legged.
He seemed very curious as to why the human in front of him had no intention of running away.
Rowan was quietly observing Hiluluk.
At Hiluluk's ankle, Rowan saw the wound covered by crystal, and from this he determined that Hiluluk was infected with the Crystal Demon virus because of this wound.
Suddenly, Hiluluk let out a low growl, intending to pounce on the human in front of him.
Rowan moved his fingers.
Instantly, several chains of sand shot out from the ground.
Rowan intended to use these chains to lock Hiluluk's joints.
Even if the chains were pierced by the sharp crystals, it didn't matter, since how could there be a sharp blade in this world that could cut "sand"?
But soon, Rowan realized that he didn't need to do that.
Because before completely turning into a Crystal Demon, Hiluluk had already folded his arms together behind his back.
The crystal spread, fixing Hiluluk's two arms together, unable to move.
At this angle, Hiluluk could not stand up either, and could only sit cross-legged on the ground.
Rowan looked at this scene and couldn't help but nod slightly to Hiluluk.
Even when trapped in a desperate situation, this "doctor's" first reaction was actually to worry that he would hurt others after being infected!
Afterward, Rowan began to observe the area around Hiluluk.
Sure enough, he found a bottle of wine next to Hiluluk, and on the side of that bottle of wine, he found a sentence written on the ground—
"I only heard one voice."
Nine words.
These nine words were the information that Hiluluk left for the Four Seas Alliance people who found him!
What does this mean?
Rowan didn't quite understand.
But he could sense that the person most likely to understand Hiluluk was coming.
Whoosh!
The sound of wings flapping came from the sky.
A huge falcon descended from the sky, carrying a figure holding a wine bottle on its back.
It was Bell, the Bird-Bird Fruit user, and Doctor Kureha!
…
Bell had previously gone out to scout and draw a map of the Aden Kingdom.
This naturally included the specific location of the miracle cherry blossom tree.
Therefore, after Bell brought this news back to the dock camp—which is now the city of sand, Kureha immediately had Bell take her over.
As soon as they met, Kureha, carrying the wine bottle, stood in front of the Crystal Demon-ized Hiluluk.
Then suddenly, she raised the wine bottle and smashed it down on Hiluluk's head!
With a crash.
The wine bottle broke, but Hiluluk was unharmed.
He even tilted his head, feeling confused by the behavior of this human.
Fragile glass certainly cannot hurt those hard crystals.
But Kureha still had to do it, because only in this way could she vent the anger in her heart!
"You quack, if you don't have the ability, don't run so far. Do you really think you can interfere with anything in this sea?"
While saying this, Kureha took out various pieces of equipment from the box on Bell's back.
Kureha explained to Rowan, "There has been progress in the development of the vaccine and antidote, and now we need a volunteer to carry out human testing."
Rowan was a little puzzled, "Hiluluk agreed?"
"Of course."
Kureha rummaged through Hiluluk's backpack next to her and took out a notebook.
Opening the notebook, you can see the following sentence right at the beginning—
"If one day, my body can become the key to curing diseases and saving people, then feel free to use it, don't be polite!"
Seeing that Rowan hadn't acted yet, Kureha casually said, "I suggest you go and solve the bastard who spread the virus as soon as possible, otherwise being angry for too long is not good for maintaining eternal youth."
Kureha's anger was not obvious, but it was truly felt by the people around her.
Rowan nodded and told Kureha about Hiluluk's message.
I only heard one voice.
——A nonsensical sentence, but Kureha fell into deep thought after hearing it.
After a moment, Kureha suddenly said to Rowan, "Do you know, there is no such thing as 'perfect' in this world."
"This is an unchangeable rule of this world."
"Often, the more obvious the advantages, the more fatal the disadvantages."
Kureha pushed a syringe into Hiluluk's wrist and continued:
"I found that the properties of these activated crystals are exactly the same. No matter how many people are tested, their degree of activity is the same."
"But in theory, since there is a sequence to infection, the degree of activity of these crystals should be different."
"Unless... these crystals were originally a 'whole'."
"Rather than saying they 'only have one voice,' it's better to say they 'can only make one sound,' and this 'sound' is the key that drives them to act."
Kureha smiled and cursed:
"As expected of a quack, he clearly had a diagnosis report, but he wrote it so vaguely that only a doctor could understand it!"
"It seems you still have a lot to learn, don't think about leaving easily!"
At the same time, Rowan was also thinking about Kureha's words.
Based on Hiluluk's message, the other party gave Rowan a rough idea, and combined with the information Rowan himself had, the mystery about the "Crystal Demon virus" gradually surfaced.
Rowan suddenly said, "Find the pathogen?"
"Ah, yes."
Kureha nodded, "Get rid of the pathogen, that might make the 'voice' in their heads disappear."
Rowan understood.
The biggest difference between the "Crystal Demon virus" and the "Ice Oni virus" is that—
The Crystal Demon virus is a "biological weapon."
A biological weapon controlled by a hive mind!
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