202. Doctor: All Eyes on Me! I Have an Announcement
Rhodes Island, this steel behemoth sailing on land, with its lights never going out, and operators tirelessly rotating through their various posts. Some are working at their desks, some are sweating profusely in the roaring workshops, and some have finally returned to their dormitories, drifting into a brief sleep on their beds.
In this indistinguishable cycle of day and night, a familiar voice rang out from the broadcast system, instantly piercing the noise of the bridge and the tranquility of the dormitories.
"Hello, hello, hello? Can you hear me? Test mic, test mic!" The Doctor's voice had a slight static, but it couldn't hide the unusual excitement.
"Is something interesting happening this time, Doctor?" A handsome man, one in a century, showed interest.
"You think the Doctor is you?" The dark-skinned man sitting next to him retorted expressionlessly.
"Hey, Thorn, what are you saying? What do you mean, 'do you think Doctor is you'? What did I do?" The man said, dissatisfied.
Thorn turned a page in his book, completely ignoring the noise around him.
In the broadcasting room, the Doctor patted the microphone with satisfaction, cleared his throat, and began to speak formally:
"Attention all Rhodes Island operators! Put down what you're doing for now—of course! Brothers and sisters in the medical department! By 'put down,' I don't mean your patients! Anyone who dares to abandon a patient now will not only lose their pay, but will also be put in the cafeteria for a month's work!"
Some operators stopped what they were doing, but couldn't help rolling their eyes after hearing the Doctor's words.
The Doctor chuckled twice.
"Alright, enough with the lighthearted banter!" The Doctor's voice suddenly rose, carrying an unprecedented solemnity, "What I'm about to announce is news worthy of being recorded in Terra's history! And we, every one of you here, will be witnesses to history!"
He took a deep breath, the clear sound of which carried throughout every corner of the ship via the broadcast. A brief pause, like the deathly silence before a storm.
"Oripathy—a cure for this disease is available!"
Boom!
An invisible shockwave swept across the entire Rhodes Island! The air seemed to freeze for a moment.
"You heard me right! I'm not talking nonsense! Oripathy, this intractable disease that has plagued us and tormented countless of our comrades, now has a cure!" The Doctor's voice was firm and powerful, filled with undeniable excitement.
"Now, all operators, please proceed to the upper deck in an orderly fashion, ensuring a proper handover of your current duties and preventing any chaos or danger! I will be waiting for you there!"
He deliberately slowed his pace, emphasizing, "I repeat! Don't rush! Don't fight! Get your work organized! The deck is large, there's enough antidote, and no one will be left out! Okay, that's all I wanted to say! I'll be waiting for you all on the deck! See you in a bit~!"
The broadcast abruptly ended.
The Doctor let out a heavy breath, his face flushed with a mixture of excitement and nervousness. He turned to the figure waiting by the door: "Xiling, are you ready?"
"Ready at any moment." Xiling's lips curled into a slight smile. He pushed himself off the wall and turned towards the heavy hatch.
"Let's go, Doctor."
Bright light flooded the broadcast room from outside, and the Doctor quickly followed.
Behind them, Rhodes Island, silent for only a few seconds, before it erupted into chaos, like a lake tossed with a boulder!
"Hey! Hey! What...what did the Doctor just say?! The cure?! A cure for the Oripathy?! Was I hallucinating?" An operator gripped his companion's arm tightly, his voice trembling.
The companion hand he was gripping had his eyes open wide, nodding mechanically, as if he had lost the ability to speak; only his lips moved silently.
"Are you kidding me?! Hibiscus! Hibiscus, did you hear that?! The Doctor said there's a cure for Oripathy?! Really?! Has the Medical Department heard about it?" Lava shook her older sister excitedly.
Hibiscus looked equally shocked and bewildered: "I...I didn't know! Dr. Kal'tsit never mentioned it..."
Not all Medical Department members knew of Xiling's existence and abilities. Kal'tsit and a few others who knew chose to keep it a secret, leaving the right to announce it to the person involved.
Only the person himself could tell others.
That he was capable of treating Oripathy.
At this moment, in the core medical area, Kal'tsit quietly stood by Amiya's bedside.
The broadcast's voice came through clearly.
In the instant initially, a trace of worry, like the Doctor's, flashed through her heart.
But quickly, her furrowed brows slowly relaxed. She didn't speak; only her deep gaze was fixed on the direction from which the broadcast came, a calm trust flowing in her eyes.
She believed in him, believed he could handle everything.
"Dr. Kal'tsit…" A medical operator hesitated before speaking.
"You heard what the Doctor said," Kal'tsit's voice was calm and even.
"Amiya is my responsibility. The rest of you, go fulfill your duties, or… embrace this hope."
No further words were needed. The medical department operators exchanged glances, and without being urged, many immediately turned and rushed out the door. They didn't rush to the deck immediately, but to the dormitories, training grounds, and laboratories—where their infected comrades, relatives, and roommates were.
"Ifrit! Wait for me! Your problem… there's hope!" Hermer's face was filled with barely suppressed joy as she practically ran out of the medical department.
However, at a corner, she suddenly bumped into Saria, who was also hurrying along. Their eyes met in mid-air, instantly understanding each other's destination.
No words were spoken; the usual subtle distance was absent.
Saria paused, then, without hesitation, bent down, her strong arms sweeping over Hermer's waist and lifting her securely!
"Saria?!" Hermer exclaimed.
"Too slow!" Saria said succinctly, then, carrying Hermer, she dashed off like an arrow through the corridor, becoming a blur.
Similar scenes played out throughout the ship.
Parents tightly embraced their young children, friends helped their ailing companions, and elders held the hands of their juniors… A flow of people began to converge on the deck, filled with anticipation, trepidation, and unbelievable excitement.
In the flow of people, Shining and Nearl carefully pushed the quiet Sarkaz girl in her wheelchair, moving forward through the surging crowd.
When they reached the deck, a long, winding but orderly queue had already formed.
At the very front of the queue stood the Doctor, a radiant smile on his face—behind him were several enormous cardboard boxes stacked high!
That was just 10 tons of candy bought with 10 points; the real cure for Oripathy was Xiling, standing behind the Doctor.
"Here, take this!" The Doctor deftly pulled a round ball wrapped in a colorful candy wrapper from a cardboard box and handed it to the male operator at the front of the line, whose Oripathy symptoms were obvious.
"Try it, just relax! It'll also help clear up any special allergies! Don't worry, it's all-natural, no additives!"
The operator's hands trembled so much that he could barely hold the small candy ball, his eyes brimming with tears.
"Th…thank you, Doctor!" He unhesitatingly unwrapped the candy, popped the slightly cloyingly sweet treat into his mouth, and chewed it vigorously.
At that very moment, a barely perceptible silver glint flickered in Xiling's deep eyes.
A miracle silently descended.
The menacing black Originium crystals on the man's exposed skin melted and faded rapidly before his eyes, like snow exposed to sunlight, until they disappeared completely! An unprecedented sense of relief washed over his weary body, as if a thousand-pound burden had been lifted.
"I...I..." The man stammered excitedly, trying to express himself.
"Alright, alright! Feeling better? That's good! Next! Hurry up, don't block the way!" The Doctor waved his hand, pointing to the side, "The recovery passage is over there, make way, there are still a lot of people behind! You can celebrate later!"
"Ah! Yes! Sorry, Doctor!" The man snapped out of his daze, clumsily making way, a huge, somewhat silly smile of relief spreading across his face, almost skipping as he rushed towards the open space on the deck.
The line moved forward quietly, one step at a time.
The Doctor bent down again, pulling another colorful antidote from the candy box...
Xiling's gaze calmly fell on the new person in line.
This seemingly absurd treatment continued endlessly on the sunlit deck of Rhodes Island.
Of course, not everyone eagerly devoured the candy.
"Yo, Doctor." A slightly hoarse voice, tinged with amusement, rang out.
"I've only just returned to Rhodes Island, and I'm already caught in such a grand spectacle? Looks like today's going to be etched into my calendar as a lucky day?" Lappland strolled to the stall, a habitual smile playing on her lips. She wiped her hands, her greyish-white hair fluttering slightly in the deck breeze.
"Yo, a rare guest." The Doctor looked up, a smile spreading across his face, and casually tossed her a candy.
"Let's catch up another day. We're distributing medicine right now, and we're very busy. Take this and eat it quickly, then hurry up and leave. The line is long."
"Okay, okay, I got it." Lappland caught the candy, walked to a relatively empty spot, and slowly unwrapped it, revealing the glistening candy inside.
"This is the legendary… cure for Oripathy?" She weighed the small object in her hand.
"Doctor, it looks to me like an ordinary candy stuffed into a child's mouth."
The Doctor replied irritably.
"Whatever you think it is, that's what it is."
"Heh, what an ambiguous statement." Lappland chuckled, no longer hesitating, and tossed the candy into her mouth. The sweet taste instantly melted on her tongue.
"Tsk, it really is candy." She confirmed in her mind.
Immediately afterwards, a strange lightness surged from the depths of her bones, as if the invisible shackles that had long weighed on her soul and body had suddenly shattered.
She could clearly feel the Oripathy lesions within her body receding; the heaviness that had accompanied her for years was rapidly fading away, and her bodily functions were returning to a long-lost state of health.
Her gaze pierced through the Doctor's figure, landing on the white-haired man behind him, whose racial features were indistinguishable—Xiling.
She hadn't returned by chance; she had been notified and ordered to return.
"This is the one who truly cured Oripathy, isn't he?" Lappland thought to herself.
Noticing Lappland's scrutinizing gaze, Xiling nodded, then ignored her.
Lappland's smile deepened. Without lingering, she turned and walked towards the recovery corridor, her steps lighter than ever before, her thoughts racing: "The Doctor is doing this for Rhodes Island's cohesion."
"I wonder what price they paid to get him to agree to this."
In Lappland's mind, this couldn't possibly be a free deal.
That was Oripathy treatment!
If the recipient were a weakling with little combat ability, they might have been captured by other organizations.
Was Rhodes Island's action a form of protection?
However, the recipient was incredibly strong, so Lappland concluded that Rhodes Island must have paid some price to have the title of Oripathy treatment bestowed upon them.
This way, even if those people recover from Oripathy, they won't leave Rhodes Island.
Because they still have a future, they might even have families, and the name of Rhodes Island is enough to keep them all here.
They might even work even harder.
"What a clever plan!" Just as her thoughts were swirling, enjoying the long-lost feeling of physical comfort, a familiar silhouette stood silently in the shadows ahead of the passage.
Texas stood with her arms crossed, leaning against the bulkhead, eyes closed, seemingly waiting there specifically.
Lappland's steps halted, and then a more flamboyant, maniacal smile bloomed on her face.
"Yo."
---------
"Thank you so much! Mr. Xiling! And Doctor!" Hermer practically pushed Ifrit to the front, immediately bowing deeply towards Xiling, her tone filled with gratitude and reverence. As one of the few insiders in the medical department, she knew the truth behind the candy.
Saria, beside her, also bowed, saying in a deep voice, "Thank you...so much."
"Eh? Me...me too?" Ifrit, the little dragon, pushed to the front, looked left and right, pointing to herself with a blank expression.
"Of course not." The Doctor smiled and magically produced two candies.
"Here, one for each of you, everyone gets one." He handed one to Ifrit and one to Hermer.
One was for the little dragon, and the other was for Hermer.
Ifrit looked at the things in her hands: "Doctor, isn't this just candy?"
"You'll know once you eat it," the Doctor said with a smile.
"Ifrit, eat quickly," Hermer urged.
"Okay, I'll eat it, but…" Ifrit turned to look at Hermer and Saria.
"You can't go back on your promise! After I finish this 'pill,' you have to play with me all day! All day! Pinky promise!"
"Don't worry! We absolutely won't lie to you! Saria and I will do nothing but play with you today!" Hermer immediately promised, seeking Saria's confirmation with her eyes.
Saria gazed at Ifrit and nodded vigorously, her eyes unusually gentle: "Yes. You keep your word."
With double assurances, Ifrit didn't hesitate and swallowed the candy in one gulp!
The moment the candy entered her mouth, a sudden change occurred!
Boom!
A burst of intense flames erupted from Ifrit's small body without warning! A violent torrent of fire swept out, and a scorching explosion echoed through the air!
"Ifrit!" Hermer cried out in alarm.
Almost instinctively, Saria, like an iron fortress activated in an instant, whirled around and shielded Hamer tightly behind her!
Xiling silently whispered, "A Diablo... be quiet!"
Unseen by anyone, silvery-white magic swirled around Ifrit, and the next second!
The erupting flames vanished without a trace; it's like being extinguished! Even the hideous Originium crystals on Ifrit's skin disappeared without a trace, as if they had never existed.
Ifrit blinked blankly, as if just waking from a bizarre dream. She instinctively looked towards Hermer's location, only to see Saria protecting her behind her.
A strange, familiar sense of loss instantly gripped the little fire dragon's heart.
"What are you standing there for?" The Doctor's cheerful voice broke the brief silence. He and Xiling spoke almost simultaneously, "Didn't both of you agree to take the kids out to play? With the sun shining so brightly today, I hope you have a great time!"
As soon as he finished speaking, they both paused for a moment, then instinctively raised their fists and lightly touched them together in the air.
"Perfect timing!" x2
Hermer then peeked out from behind Saria, rushing towards Ifrit, still shaken.
"Ifrit! How are you? Is anything wrong?" She quickly checked the girl's body, her tense expression gradually replaced by unbelievable joy.
"It's...it's gone! It's really gone! Thank goodness! Ifrit! You're better! You're really better!"
"...Um..." Ifrit didn't look at Hermer, her head lowered, her fingers twisting the hem of her clothes, her voice barely a whisper, "...Does what I said earlier still stand?" Her gaze secretly drifted towards Saria.
"It counts! Of course it counts!" Hermer gripped Ifrit's hand tightly.
"Let's go play now! Play whatever we want!"
"Wait, Hermer," Saria's voice rang out, tinged with helplessness.
"You haven't taken your medicine yet."
Herme looked down at the sticky candy in her hand.
"Ah! Right…right!" She quickly unwrapped the candy and swallowed it whole.
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After treating hundreds of people.
"Hiss…my face is about to freeze from smiling…" The Doctor groaned silently in his mind, feeling the muscles at the corners of his mouth twitching.
"Heh, you're tired just from handing out candy?" Xiling's voice echoed directly in his mind.
"I'm the one who did the work."
"Your wisdom and power are boundless! Look at my handsome face, hasn't it turned into a mask?" the Doctor flattered in his mind.
"Haha, I won't look."
"Heartless!"
Just as the two were muttering to themselves, a girl in a wheelchair was pushed in front of them.
Doctor: "You know the rules if you want treatment."
"I'm sorry, Doctor, I don't understand what you're saying." Shining bowed slightly.
"Doctor, I'm leaving Nightingale's matter to you," Nearl said earnestly.
Doctor: "...My DNA is moving."
Xiling: "I can't guarantee my holy sword won't leave its sheath."
Doctor: "Do you think I'm a good person?"
Xiling: "I think you're dead."
The two amused themselves in their minds, and the Doctor chuckled as he held out his hand.
"Here, Nightingale, for you."
"Thank you..." Nightingale's voice was as light as a feather. She reached out her slender, pale hand, carefully took the candy, and put it in her mouth.
The sweetness spread on her tongue.
"So sweet..." The thought had just surfaced.
The next second!
Nightingale's previously vacant emerald eyes suddenly widened! As if witnessing something utterly mind-blowing!
Deep within her consciousness, inside the prison that held her captive, the huddled soul of the young girl abruptly raised its head! Its eyes pierced through the thick fog of consciousness, looking outward… or more precisely, looking at Xiling, who was watching her!
Xiling gazed at the fragile, terrified, and wary core of the soul within the cage, her brow furrowing almost imperceptibly. He murmured silently in his mind, "Locking herself up so deep… the wounds of her soul… are a bit troublesome."
In reality, Xiling slowly opened his eyes.
At the same time, the turmoil in Nightingale's eyes quickly subsided, as if her earlier outburst had never occurred.
She lowered her eyelids slightly, her long eyelashes casting shadows on her pale face, her breath returning to calm.
"Nightingale?" Nearl asked anxiously, leaning closer.
Nightingale gently shook her head, her gaze sweeping quickly and complexly across Xiling's calm face before turning to Nearl. Her voice remained soft:
"I... I think I'm alright. Shall we... leave here?" Her tone carried a barely perceptible weariness and... evasion.
"Good! That's good!" Nearl sighed in relief, immediately thanking the Doctor earnestly, "Thank you so much, Doctor!"
Shining also nodded slightly in acknowledgment.
"Yes, no need to be polite, we're all on the same side." The Doctor smiled as he watched the three Apostles depart, then immediately inquired of Xiling in his mental channel:
"What happened just now? The atmosphere was clearly off! Nightingale's reaction... what did you do to her?"
Xiling's voice carried a hint of helplessness:
"Her soul... is trapped in a self-constructed birdcage, and there's been a problem. I originally planned to handle it all at once, but I realized I needed another method."
The Doctor immediately exclaimed, "I understand! We need God to descend again, to shine His holy light and heal her soul!"
Xiling: "...I told you I'm not God."