After the meeting, the two official representatives left Roland specifically, promising that the government would further promote more aid projects, including the experimental data of the first-generation nuclear weapons.
Of course, what made them make such promises is not just the word of the Martial Daoist Association. Those magical creations with magical effects are also an important reason for the government to be so active. In conclusion, this meeting is just the beginning, as Guarding the Rock claims.
In just a few days, the Greycastle Design Bureau made up for all the imperfections that Neverwinter City had left behind due to its own development. Hundreds or even thousands of people thought and perfected each project. The battle is no longer the fate of a world. For the first time, Roland deeply felt that the remaining human beings are not fighting alone. There is a force behind him that cannot be ignored. have been in real contact, but fate has tied them together.
Taking advantage of this round of technological reforms, Roland ordered the Executive Office to increase the recruitment of workers, and planned more than ten new factories in one go, launching various new products ranging from high-performance compound gunpowder to semi-automatic machine tools. After solving the constraints of population and economy, Neverwinter City, which is in a period of rapid growth, can completely build and develop itself according to his will. At least until the main contradiction of survival is eased, this momentum will not stop.
Just as the technological innovation was in full swing, Roland suddenly received an unexpected and surprising news.
Joan, who has been missing for nearly a year, is back.
After receiving the news, he and Nightingale immediately rushed to Neverwinter No. 1 Medical Center. Since the decree to expand the scale of public education and medical care in the Royal Capital was issued last winter, the Executive Office has also built on the south bank of the Chishui River, the central section of the Kingdom Avenue and the Changge Fortress. Three medical hospitals have been established, responsible for simple diagnosis and epidemic prevention work in each district. The Chengxi Hospital, which was first transformed from a noble compound and famous for Miss Nana's permanent residence, naturally got the name of "the first hospital".
Entering the ward, Camilla Derry bowed slightly towards him.
Wendy and Tilly had returned to the front line, and Scroll was busy reprinting materials, so the big butler of Sleeping Island took over the task of taking care of everyone as a matter of course. What's more, she had witnessed Joan's disappearance with her own eyes, and she had always harbored guilt in her heart, and now the joy of regaining it was stronger than anyone else, which could be seen from the fact that she took the initiative to salute herself.
After all, she always believed that she "snatched" Tilly, which was also the main reason for Ashes' sacrifice. If it wasn't for the information, Tianhaijie might directly threaten the fjord and Sleeping Island, and she would never move to Neverwinter. live.
Roland didn't care too much about this, he waved his hand and said softly, "How is her condition?"
"All I can say is... it's fine."
"Only?" Roland asked in confusion. In his opinion, being able to return safely is the best outcome.
"She... is back to what she was before." Camilla stroked Joan's hair and sighed softly.
It was not until after listening to her story that Roland finally understood the meaning of the other party's words.
Joan didn't swim back to Shoal Harbor by herself.
The first to discover her was a Neverwinter fisherman who made a living by fishing. According to the man's report, when he went out to fish for fish, he was suddenly awakened at night by the sound of heavy objects hitting the stern of the boat, and then he heard bursts of gnawing. I thought it was a sea ghost, and when I was about to fight to the death, I didn't expect to see a "big fish" that looked like a human.
At that time, she was holding the body of the fish boiled in the pot and gnawing at it, as if she hadn't eaten for several days. Seeing the panicked fishermen did not attack, but made a few strange screams, and then curled up in the corner of the deck, as if they had fallen asleep.
Influenced by the long-term propaganda of Neverwinter City, the fishermen transported it back to the shoal harbor with the mentality of giving it a try. The reward for saving a witch is much higher than a boatload of fish. , if it weren't for the sea ghost, it could only be a witch.
This "big fish" is Joan.
"Lily has already checked her, there are multiple parasitic infections all over her body, and some bugs cannot be eradicated with her ability." Camilla said with a heartache, "In order to eliminate hidden dangers as soon as possible, I poured sleeping fern into her sleeping fern. , and then used a knife to cut out the shelled worms embedded under the skin. In theory, these worms are only found on old ships and giant whales."
"So, Joan didn't swim back from the Shadow Islands?"
"That distance won't catch them," she shook her head, "and at Joan's speed, it wouldn't take that long to get back to Neverwinter from the ruins. What I'm worried about is... what horrific experience did she experience that led to a new back to the past.”
Not taking care of cleaning up parasites, getting hungry to the point of getting on the boat to find food, and being exhausted to the point of being in a coma all indicate that this journey is full of dangers. Under the condition of excessive stress and stimulation for a long time, the witch is likely to suffer irreparable psychological trauma. Akane is a typical example.
Camilla has the ability to communicate in mind, and she is not afraid that the other party will not speak. What she is really worried about is that Joan will never recover as before, and she can only spend the rest of her life like an animal in the future.
Roland couldn't help being silent.
Indeed, being healthy doesn't mean everything is OK. Neither Nana's medical bandages nor Lily's purified water can cure the mental blockage.
Suddenly, a rhythmic knock on the door broke the silence in the room.
Nightingale turned around and opened the door with some doubts, only to see Miyue's head sticking out halfway through the crack of the door.
"That... I heard that Joan is back? Wait, hey, don't squeeze me"
The door was suddenly pushed open, and several people stumbled into the house. Apart from Mystery Moon, there were also A-Xia, Sharon, and Amy. The last person to enter the house was Lily.
"No way, she found out the clue." Lily said helplessly.
"Cough cough! First of all, I just heard that Joan was ill, so I came to visit her!" Miyue said firmly, "Although she belongs to the expedition group, Lightning and Maisie are not there, and only we can accompany her. It's definitely not the idea of taking the opportunity to pull her into the detective team, let alone uh"
A Xia has reached out and covered her mouth.
"This is just her personal delusion, it has nothing to do with everyone." Sharon said with a straight face.
"Hey, wouldn't it be nice to have one more member?" Amy touched her head in surprise.
"Shh!" Lily made a silent gesture.
Looking at the group of infighting, Roland couldn't help but smile. He looked at Camilla Derry, spread his hands and shrugged. The latter was stunned for a moment, and then his expression relaxed a lot.
Maybe Joan did encounter something terrible, but with such a group of people accompanying him, he believed that the other party would return to the original track sooner or later.
…
"Hey, what do you think this is?"
"Like a sheet of satin..."
"How come there is silk and satin in the medical hospital? And the texture is very high-end at first glance."
"Otherwise, ask Aunt Camilla."
"…Why didn't you ask?"
"I dare not."
I heard it all. Camila, who was sitting beside the bed, held her forehead and said, "That's the fabric that Joan used to bind the wound, because I was busy at the time and didn't throw it all away. Be careful of the germs attached to it. It was said in His Majesty's book, don't touch it at will. source of infection?"
After Roland and Nightingale left, only she and the members of the detective team were left in the ward. The latter was busy around the hospital bed, and he helped a lot at the end of the day. It's certainly a good thing that Joan has such an enthusiastic group of friends, the only problem is that they're a little too much.
"There are germs on this? Lily, can you sense it?"
"Get it away from me!"
"Hey, don't tear it up. Huh? This thing can't be torn apart... Sharon, please help me."
"It seems to be quite difficult to tear... A-Xia also come to try?"
No, she corrected it, these guys are not talking too much, they are too much! Just when Camilla was going to let them go back to the castle on the grounds of "it's not early today, come back tomorrow if you have time", Joan's eyelids suddenly trembled.
She quickly held her breath.
After a few seconds, the girl who had been sleeping slowly opened her eyes.
"Acridine"
Joan opened her mouth and let out a weak cry.
This instantly silenced the room.
She really can't speak...
Camilla held back her regret and put her hand on Joan's chest.
In an instant, countless fragments of consciousness flooded into her mind like a tide! From the moment she asks a question, she will get an answer immediately, this is the resonance of the soul!
She saw herself stretched infinitely on the dark sea floor, like a twisted illusion.
She saw the sky and the ocean upside down, the water pouring down from the sky.
She saw black rib monsters spread all over the sea, forming waves of waves, charging towards the mainland.
She saw the stone tablets standing in layers in the misty water, and the woman in white walking towards her.
The last thing that caught my eye was a wide, bottomless circular hole.