Although they were supposed to enter the quarantine area, they couldn't just go in. The security of the quarantine and non-quarantine areas in the city was more than a hundred times stricter than that inside and outside the city.
The next day, after a quick breakfast in the basement, some people went back to Hearth Island, while others planned to go out to gather intelligence. Anyway, with Nora and Peggy here, one can detect and control pathogens, and the other can manipulate and strengthen immune cells, it is almost impossible for everyone to get sick.
Ask, Paige, Sheila and Nora walked out of the hotel, each wearing a mask - although it was not necessary, in order not to attract other people's strange looks, everyone had to follow the local customs and pretend to be normal people.
Compared to hotels, taverns are easier to collect gossip. They found a sunken underground tavern outside, and just as they were about to enter, they were stopped by several men at the door.
"Pull down your mask and take a look," said the guys, who were obviously guarding the door. "No one infected is allowed to enter."
Your standard for judging whether someone is infected is to see if they are pale and thin? Ask was speechless and pulled down his mask.
He was fine, but the three girls behind him pulled down their masks, which immediately attracted the surprised gaze of the gatekeeper. However, the gatekeeper also knew that during the epidemic, it was not possible to 100% identify the infected person just by looking at their complexion, so he did not have any intention of flirting with them. He just stared at their faces greedily for a long time before moving half of his body away:
"Go in. If we find you infected, you know what will happen."
The four of them walked down the stairs and came to the tavern hall. They found an empty seat in the middle and sat down. They ordered some drinks (but didn't drink them) and listened quietly to the conversations around them.
"The tavern is the embodiment of the vitality of the city's lower classes." Sheila said calmly, "If a city has no one even visiting the tavern, then the life of this city must have come to an end."
"At least they still have people coming to drink." Nora breathed a sigh of relief. The scene of corpses displayed when she entered the city was really frightening to her.
Everyone stared at the wine on the table, and heard the chatter from the next table, mostly sighs and complaints:
"The entire family of our neighbor Joffrey was killed. The floor was full of rats, and when we found them, they had almost all been eaten..."
"I just had a checkup at the hospital yesterday, and I have to take Anna to the hospital again tomorrow..."
"If you don't leave the city..."
"There's nowhere to live outside the city, and the rent is so expensive. I can't sleep in the wilderness and get taken away by wolves..."
"It's mainly the recruiting officers. They don't dare to come into the city, but they recruit soldiers outside the city without restraint..."
"What a thought, gentlemen. Join the army? Why join the army during this epidemic? Men are fighting outside, while women and children die of illness at home or are eaten by rats without knowing it. Who would dare to go out to fight?"
"Stop talking, drink some wine..."
Everyone listened carefully, and gradually they had a general understanding of the miserable lives of the lower-class people in the city today.
On the one hand, there was an epidemic and people were dying constantly in the city, causing panic among the remaining people.
On the other hand, the Earl was still sending out recruiting officers to recruit soldiers. Those with families were unwilling to go out to fight, fearing that their family members would get sick and no one would take care of them. The recruiting officers had no choice but to use coercive measures. As a result, those who were recruited complained a lot, and the morale of the soldiers on the battlefield was low.