"Lawyer Jurgen? What are you doing here?"
That Lawyer, who was always dressed in proper formal wear and meticulous, was actually wearing work clothes, appearing on the streets of the East Borough, a chaotic place.
Since he had helped him deal with many contract-related issues, the relationship between the two was quite good. Watching the other person's nervous, looking-around demeanor, Loen curiously stepped forward to greet him.
When Jurgen heard someone call his name, he was stunned for a moment, then immediately hugged the bag in his arms tightly, looking around vigilantly. When he saw that it was Loen who had walked over, he let out a visible sigh of relief.
"Mr. Scott! Why are you here?" Jurgen asked.
"Just came out of the factory, preparing to have dinner with a friend." Loen replied casually, while pointing to Xio beside him.
Xio also politely nodded at Jurgen, and Jurgen hurriedly made a simple self-introduction.
"Lawyer Jurgen, what brings you to the East Borough?" Loen asked curiously.
"I—" Jurgen's eyes flickered, "I am here for work. I previously helped you handle some factory contracts and property documents, and felt that this type of business had potential. Recently, I accepted a few similar commissions, so I came to do a field investigation—"
"I see."
Loen glanced at the cloth bag that the other party was hugging tightly in his arms, feeling thoughtful. That was definitely not for carrying documents.
"Then you must be careful. The law and order in the East Borough has been very bad recently."
"Although the law and order in the East Borough has basically never been good, due to the influence of the financial crisis, many gangs, big and small, have emerged, making the law and order here even worse."
"Someone like you—hmm, a distinguished Lawyer with such a prominent temperament, is very easily targeted by those guys as a fat sheep."
"That's why I specifically changed into inconspicuous clothes." Jurgen hurriedly replied, seeming to want to prove his caution.
"It won't work," Loen shook his head, pointing out bluntly, "You changed your clothes, but your temperament, the way you walk, and the way you look at people are completely out of place with the people of the East Borough. Anyone with a discerning eye can tell at a glance that you are not from here." He glanced at Xio beside him, seeking agreement.
"That's right," Xio also echoed, her gaze even sharper, "Lawyer Jurgen, the feeling you give people is too—upright and reserved, it doesn't match the atmosphere of a place like the East Borough at all. Moving alone like this is really very dangerous."
"Re—really?" Jurgen, being told this by the two, subconsciously tightened his grip on the bag in his arms, a flash of panic crossing his face.
"Really. My factory is in the East Borough; I know the situation here better than anyone."
"Jurgen, it's best if you don't come here alone next time."
"It's hard to find a rental carriage here. We happen to be going to the intersection ahead, why don't we go together." Loen suggested.
"O—okay." As the officially recognized "hero of the east district," Jurgen still trusted Loen's words quite a bit.
Along the way, Loen and Xio chatted simply with Jurgen about the recent situation. Loen casually mentioned the recent severe influenza, saying that many of his workers had fallen ill because of it.
Hearing this, Jurgen also felt deeply moved. He sighed softly: "Yes—my grandmother—she is also sick."
Loen knew that Lawyer Jurgen had a very old grandmother living with him. Therefore, he asked about the situation with concern.
Jurgen's expression gradually darkened, and his voice carried a hint of hoarseness: "She is already old and has always been in poor health, with chronic lung disease—this time she accidentally caught a severe cold, which triggered pneumonia, and she has been hospitalized for several days—"
He paused for a moment, and continued with difficulty: "The doctor said she is too old, and her bodily functions have declined severely; this time the situation—is not very optimistic."
Speaking of this, Jurgen's expression gradually darkened.
And the bad premonition in Loen's heart became stronger and stronger.
He first comforted the other person a few words, then said casually: "Yes, because there are too many sick people recently, many people are seeking medical advice indiscriminately. I heard that a "Panacea" scam has recently appeared in the East Borough—"
"Panacea—scam—" The moment he heard these two words, Lawyer Jurgen's body noticeably stiffened, and the arms holding the bag tightened abruptly.
He turned his head sharply, looking at Loen, his tone carrying an abnormal nervousness and urgency: "Wha—what scam? Mr. Scott, do you know the specifics?"
"It's just fake medicine. These kinds of scams often appear in the East Borough, specifically targeting those patients who have no other options." As Loen said this, he quietly released a trace of an imperceptible "Mental Storm," not to attack, but to amplify the other party's most real emotional reaction at this moment.
He paused, his voice slowing down, carrying a probing meaning: "Could it be that you, Jurgen—have also heard of this, and even—"
"I—" Jurgen, as if his secret had been exposed, shrank his neck sharply, subconsciously avoiding Loen's gaze, and lowered his head, "I had no other choice, I just wanted to try it—"
Loen and Xio exchanged glances and brought the dejected Jurgen to a nearby cafe that was relatively quiet.
Under the dim light of the gas lamp, Loen examined the dark green potion that Jurgen handed to him.
The color is wrong; it was obviously mixed with more than double the water—and, the seal at the bottle mouth was also not good; the shelf life was probably about to expire—
As the hand-maker of this potion, Loen judged the situation of this bottle of potion after just a few glances.
It should still have a tiny bit of effect. A trace of weak spirituality still remained in the potion, but the effect—Loen estimated, at most it only had thirty percent of the original efficacy left.
"Jurgen, you are a highly educated senior Lawyer, how could you believe in such an absurd urban legend?" Loen asked, looking at Jurgen who was sitting opposite him with a dejected face.
"Why would you believe in something that has absolutely no scientific basis?"
"I—I didn't believe it either at first!" Jurgen suddenly raised his head, his face carrying an excitement of being driven to a dead end. "Panacea"? This isn't scientific at all, it doesn't conform to any known medical principles! It's just—it's just—"
His voice lowered, filled with pain and struggle: "I just—saw it—"
Because he started by helping Loen handle various contracts for East Borough factories, Jurgen gradually became familiar with the business in the East Borough, and as he said himself, he had received quite a few new commissions related to the East Borough.
In the process of working and investigating, he came into contact with several workers who were suffering from serious illnesses. At first, he didn't pay much attention. But later, when he met those workers again because of work, he was surprised to find that those workers who had been very ill before had miraculously recovered in just a few short days.
At the same time, his grandmother, Mrs. Doris, was seriously ill in the hospital, and her situation was becoming less optimistic day by day.
He again used the pretext of his business to hear the legend of the "Panacea" from the mouths of those workers.
Driven by irrational hope, this usually rational Lawyer, holding the mindset of "even if there is only a one in ten thousand chance, I must try," secretly inquired in the East Borough. Finally, through a person who looked sneaky and suspected of being a scalper, he spent a full fifteen pounds to buy this bottle of "Panacea" that was boasted to be miraculous.
Deep sympathy was revealed in Xio's eyes. She could completely understand the other person's mood. With a close relative in critical condition, any glimmer of hope would be infinitely magnified, enough to make even the most rational person temporarily set aside logic and suspicion.
And Loen sighed heavily in his heart.
Alright—in the entire story, there was no mention of me, the original owner. No mention of James Scott; should I be happy, or should I feel uncomfortable?
From Jurgen's account, it seems that neither he nor the person selling the medicine knew that the source of this medicine was himself.
To a certain extent, this is a good thing. After all, if something really happened, it wouldn't be traced back to him for the time being.
Although Loen could guarantee that the medicine he personally gave out was absolutely fine. However—this kind of shoddily diluted product that had undergone secondary processing, this time they added water, next time, in order to pursue profit or effect, heaven knows what messy things they would add! If someone really delayed their illness or even had an accident because of taking this fake medicine, that would be trouble.
Moreover, through Jurgen's account, Loen could roughly reconstruct the process of this matter.
It was likely that the original potion had significant effects, some workers with milder symptoms recovered quickly, and the remaining potion in their hands was gifted or resold to other people in greater need. Because it was indeed effective, the reputation of this medicine gradually spread in the circle of grassroots patients, which also explained why the consumption speed of the second batch of potions Loen distributed far exceeded expectations.
Moreover, from the fact that Jurgen spent more than ten pounds to buy such a bottle, perhaps gangs had already targeted these medicines and started reselling them.
More than ten pounds—even counting the small amount of spiritual materials used inside, the cost of these medicines was far from that high. This group of guys actually dared to sell them so expensively—Loen felt a sense of absurdity and anger.
Wait! Those rumors related to "gods," could it be that they were also deliberately fabricated by these medicine sellers in order to raise the price of the medicine?
"Three-no product special medicine," probably not many people would be interested. But if it were changed to "divine grace special medicine," that would be two completely different concepts!
"Jurgen, I hope you will keep the following matter confidential."
"Actually—the type of medicine circulating in the East Borough, the original version was given away."
"Ah?"
In Jurgen's confusion, Loen recounted the matter of him distributing the potions. The other party was a senior Lawyer, and he also trusted the other party's professional ethics. Of course, he concealed all parts related to mysticism, only saying that this was a type of herbal potion he had asked a friend to get from abroad that indeed had a certain curative effect, but it was far from being called a "Panacea."
"Jurgen, you have helped me a lot before, whether it is real estate or factory contracts, you have handled them very excellently."
"As a friend, I cannot watch you be deceived, and even more so, I cannot watch Mrs. Doris's hope be delayed by this kind of inferior fake medicine. I can give you some of the freshest, undiluted original potions I have on hand. Perhaps—it can be of some help to Mrs. Doris's condition."
"Rest assured, this medicine is not harmful to the human body, it can even be taken as a health supplement. However, Mrs. Doris is after all getting on in years—"
If it were a common bacterial infection, his allicin would indeed be able to play a very good role. But if it is a disease and weakness caused by the aging of bodily functions, then it is indeed not something that this simple potion can solve.
"Okay, thank you, Mr. Scott." Jurgen barely squeezed out a smile. Although deep in his heart, he was already half-believing and half-doubting the "Panacea," more as a kind of psychological comfort. But the feeling of hope shattering before his eyes still made him feel a bit uncomfortable.
"Hmm." Loen pondered for a moment, thinking of more possibilities. Actually, "I know some doctors with quite superb medical skills, I can ask them to help." He thought of the Vampire in the Harvest Church, and the real "Apothecary" he once met at the "Eye of Wisdom" gathering.
"Mr. Scott," Jurgen raised his head, his eyes filled with gratitude, but still carrying the inherent caution of a Lawyer and a trace of lingering pessimism, "Thank you, really thank you very much. But—my grandmother's situation, the hospital's experts have already consulted on it—perhaps, this is fate."
Watching Jurgen's dejected back, Xio sighed: "The epidemic in Backlund this year is more serious than in previous years—"
"Many healthy people have fallen ill, and the elderly are even more—"
Uh? Loen suddenly noticed a point.
The infectious disease in Backlund this year is more severe than in previous years? Many factories have stopped production; logically speaking, the pollution should be smaller. Is it just a coincidence?