Plague Doctor

Chapter 533: Abnormal Baby Illness

The dream solidified. Gu Jun saw himself landing on a spacious marble platform, the grand City of Dusk expanding before him. The platform had an intricately carved balustrade. They were adorned by beautiful urns which contained perhaps water or wine. On the other side of the platform, there was a marble staircase that led seemingly endlessly down into the city street. The streets were paved. Green trees lined the sides. There were also flower beds as well as ivory statues. Some of the buildings Gu Jun saw included temples, towers, bridges, arches, pavilions and fountains… Every building in the city was glowing like the sun. The sight of them warmed one's heart. Walking through it would be like walking through heaven. 'Am I in the City of Dusk?'

Gu Jun tried to move his arms and could feel the presence of his limbs somewhat. It was much better than a dream but less connected than when he entered the Dreamlands physically. It gave him the impression that should he jump, he could leap into the air. But when he tried to walk towards the staircase and down towards the street, he realized the small distance was something that he could cross. He tried running, flying, jumping and got no closer to the staircase. He could not leave this platform. After many trials, he could feel his connection to this place getting weaker, soon he'd wake up.

Gu Jun then immediately understood he was not really at City of Dusk yet. Perhaps he was merely given a clearer projection. 'Could this be the 1 communication instance with City of Dusk from the mission reward? This is it?' This thought made Gu Jun anxious and the anxiety made him feel even less concrete. He hurriedly took a deep breath to calm down…

If a person's heart rate started to race when they were dreaming, the frantic breathing and increased blood pressure would disrupt the sleeping process. It was why people would wake up at the most crucial moments in wet dreams. So to extend the dream, one had to be calm. As expected, when he calmed down, the sense of corporeality returned. Gu Jun studied his surroundings. Even though he needed to calm down, he still needed to be fast. It was not easy to gain this chance of communication. Did the foundation know about his arrival? Should he try to summon them? But how would he do that?

He tried to focus his attention on the city. The place was pulsing with life but there was no one on the streets.

"Hello, is anyone there?" In the end, he had to shout. His voice echoed down the street. "I've arrived, I'm here!" Even though the action did not match the overall serenity of the location, it accomplished its intended effect. Gu Jun noticed the street that was connected to the staircase start to ripple. A few figures flickered into existence. He could not look at them clearly, like they occupied a different dimension. However, that was similar to when he encountered the foundation last time. Gu Jun was overjoyed, he knew the connection was made.

"Hello?" He shouted.

"Gu Jun… Nice to meet you…" The figures were unable to get on the platform. They stopped on the street. The long staircase separated the two parties. The voice was still the mature male voice that Gu Jun heard last time and it sounded like it came out from an old radio as well. The voice was intermittent and rather throaty. "I'm glad that you can manage this communication… Your world is being corrupted by darkness… We do not understand it fully, we merely have visions of it…."

"How can we stop the birth of new abnormal babies? How can we save them?" Gu Jun asked, "Is this contagious?"

"It can be defined as contagious… Your world… Shub-Niggurath's energy, evolution…" Even just those few phrases took a toll on the connection. The figures flickered. The voice became even harder to read. Clearly it was not easy sending these messages. Gu Jun's head buzzed, taking them in. "…Positive, negative, stabilizing selection… Abnormal predictions…"

A big stone fell on Gu Jun's heart, this was contagious. The medical team from both worlds had analysed more than 1000000 samples, but they could not find the transmission method. The mothers were all over the globes and thus Abnormal Baby Illness was still a hypothesis and there was nothing that could be done to prevent or control it. Now he was given the answer, however, he still had no clue regarding the pathogen, the transmission method, and the pathogenesis.

"Even the sun… cannot chase away the darkness, but… It can stop the abnormal baby…" The male voice continued, "This is not new… It has happened in other worlds before… Destroy…. Shub-Ni… power…"

Gu Jun was inspired. The City of Dusk appeared to have experience dealing with this disease. However, the voice was getting harder to follow. Large part of the information went missing. The voice was even buzzing now. Gu Jun asked desperately. "How do I stop it? Who is the voice behind the negative selection? What does this have to do with Carlot Academy?"

"The Carlot World… A source of Shub-Niggurath, the power you summoned… gushed from there… Connected the two worlds, already… open… The origin of the Black Billy Goat… Other… Negative selection is… powerful enemy. Be careful, you have to be careful…" Gu Jun could grasp the gist of it. The Black Billy Goat came from the foreign world to earth. There was a channel and it should be located at Eastern State, it was why the abnormal activity there was so constant. It also explained the Black Billy Goat and the murder suspects' disappearance. Could there be a new competing reality overlapping at Eastern State?

Regardless, the Eastern State would be the frontline. If this thing was not controlled, it would spread to other places. It would not only bring abnormal babies but also…

Gu Jun's heart chilled. A powerful enemy, even for the City of Dusk…

"It has the power to open the door… It is not only… It is always a negative selection…" Gu Jun did not understand this but he could not ask for clarification for the dream was already trembling. The buildings and streets were dissolving. The dissolution was spreading to the platform. The figures near the steps melted away like water.

"Use… medical skill… to slow… Do not let the women witness Shub-Niggurath and her image… Hard to avoid… No Time… Kill the Black Billy Goat, to sever connection…"