Episode 146: Wandering through the city, not standing still, in search.
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Umaru Doma (Himouto): "How terrifying, everything that can make a sound is calling out that phrase." ]
[ Oyama Mahiro (Onimai): "Hiss..." ] .
[ Yukinoshita Yukino (Oregairu): "This time, is some kind of supernatural force guiding things?" ] .
[ Paimon (Genshin Impact): "It's a good thing our world doesn't have anything like this; it would scare people to death." ]
[ .....]
『 Facing this terrifying scene, Nancy finally lost control.
"Go or don't go, I don't care!" She hastily dropped this sentence and quickly left through the back door of the house.
The Doctor remained confused, unable to understand why the other children were so afraid of that little boy.
The little boy did not answer, merely staying rooted to the spot, continuously pleading with the Doctor to open the door.
However, when the Doctor actually opened the door, there was no one outside.
In the Doctor's view, only by finding Nancy now could he fully clarify everything.
Not long after, when Nancy ran into the uninvited Doctor again, she knew very well that if she didn't explain things clearly, this matter would likely never end.....
And as for the metal cylinder the Doctor was looking for this time, she certainly knew a thing or two.
About a month ago, that mysterious metal cylinder landed in front of the train station...
But now that place had long been completely sealed off and turned into a restricted area...
Countless soldiers were stationed there, and getting in was not easy...
But this wasn't the most dangerous part of the whole affair...
If the Doctor wanted to know more details, he would have to go talk properly with someone else.
"Who is that person?" the Doctor asked....
"The Doctor (doctor/)," Nancy replied.
Hearing this title, the Doctor frowned, feeling that things seemed less simple than they appeared.
Soon, the two arrived together at the edge of the so-called restricted area;
Nancy stood behind the Doctor and pointed to the spot where the cylinder had landed.
She then told the Doctor that if he wanted to know what exactly happened a month ago, he just needed to go next door and ask the old doctor there.
As for anything else, it was beyond her capabilities.
But before Nancy left, the Doctor posed one last question.
The Doctor: "Which relative did you lose?"
Nancy: "What do you mean?"
The Doctor could see that the reason Nancy took such careful care of those children was that she herself had experienced the pain of losing family; she was compensating for her inner wounds.
Nancy did not deny this point.
Because her younger brother, Jamie, had died on the day the cylinder fell; he was only four years old then.
The Doctor quickly explained that he meant no offense; he simply deeply admired everything Nancy had done.
After all, for such a young woman to be willing to extend a helping hand to homeless children she didn't know during years of war, this was precisely where the future hope of a nation lay.
Nancy had done her best, and the Doctor, too, should go do what he needed to do. 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Chika Fujiwara (Love Is War): "How wonderful, to be able to do something like that in that era." ]
[ Shizuka Hiratsuka (Oregairu): "Taking care of so many children during the war is truly moving." ]
[ Haibara Ai (Detective Conan): "Looking at him, I always feel he seems a bit strange." ]
[ Conan Edogawa (Detective Conan): ".....It seems so." ]
[ .....]
『 The scene shifted,
After bidding farewell to Nancy, the Doctor followed her guidance and arrived at the hospital she had mentioned.
The wards here, almost without exception, were occupied by people wearing gas masks.
Just then, suddenly, an old doctor slowly walked out of the room, leaning on a cane.
Learning that the Doctor was also a physician, he sincerely suggested that the Doctor also examine the patients present, but stressed that he must not touch their skin during the examination.
The Doctor picked up his sonic screwdriver and randomly selected a patient for examination.
What was surprising was that this patient had only suffered severe head trauma, a collapsed right chest cavity, and a scar on the back of his hand.
However, one thing struck the Doctor as very strange: the patient's gas mask was stuck firmly to his face as if welded on, yet there were no signs of burning whatsoever.
"Examine the next one," the old doctor said flatly.
Hearing this, the Doctor went over to another patient and began a new round of examinations.
But after the examination, the Doctor found that this patient's symptoms were completely identical to the previous one, as if they had been copy-pasted.
Moreover, it wasn't just these two; all the patients in the entire ward were in this state.
Witnessing this scene, the Doctor found it hard to believe—how could such bizarre things truly be happening right before his eyes? 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Barbara (Genshin Impact): "Why is this? All the patients here look the same?" ]
[ Natasha (Honkai: Star Rail) "It seems almost as if they were copied by some erroneous entity." ]
[ Chika Fujiwara (Love Is War): "Something is wrong, very wrong." ]
[ Shinomiya Kaguya (Love Is War): "Could it be that this is still something caused by that previous metal cylinder?" ]
[ .....]
『 At this moment, the old doctor spoke up....
When that metal cylinder first dropped, only one victim was lying there.
But starting from the next morning, everyone who had come into contact with that victim, without exception, developed the symptoms you see before you.
It was like an inexplicable plague spreading.
However, although these people did not immediately lose their lives, they also lost signs of life, as if they had fallen into a deep sleep.
Facing patients he could not cure, the old doctor could only try his best to alleviate their suffering.
Yet now, the country had completely abandoned this place, planning to bomb it soon, using this opportunity to shift all responsibility for what happened here onto Germany. 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Haibara Ai (Detective Conan): "A mysterious plague, what is going on with this?" ]
[ The Herta (Honkai: Star Rail): "A symptom I've never seen before. Is it a special plague released in that world?" ]
[ The Herta (Honkai: Star Rail): "But why is it that this plague can only be spread through physical contact, yet everyone's reaction after transmission is nearly the same?" ]
[ Conan Edogawa (Detective Conan): "These patients seem slightly different from the little boy earlier. The little boy's mask seemed removable." ]
[ Paimon (Genshin Impact): "Huh? Is that right?" ]
[ Conan Edogawa (Detective Conan): "Whether it is or not, we'll know soon enough." ]
[ .....]
『 Just as everyone was filled with emotion, suddenly— the sitting old doctor was suddenly seized by a violent fit of coughing.
The Doctor was about to step closer to examine him, but the old doctor stopped him with a wave of his hand.
The old doctor knew clearly that these symptoms were a reaction to infection.
He endured the pain, using his last bit of strength to reveal to the Doctor:
The hospital's first victim was locked on the top floor of the hospital.
That person was Nancy's younger brother—Jamie.
In fact, Nancy had concealed many things earlier.
The old doctor was only halfway through his sentence when his tone suddenly turned bizarre:
Are you... my...
...mother?...
Subsequently, under the astonished gaze of the Doctor and the audience, a large filter ring was spat out of the old doctor's mouth.
The skin on his face slowly deformed, transforming into the shape of a gas mask, the mask seeming to grow out from within his body. 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Umaru Doma (Himouto): "Ah! Why did he suddenly change like that?" ]
[ Chika Fujiwara (Love Is War): "You scared me to death! What on earth is going on?" ]
[ Haibara Ai (Detective Conan): "Is this the process of transformation?" ]
[ Oyama Mahiro (Onimai): "That gas mask really did grow out of his skin." ]
[ Shizuka Hiratsuka (Oregairu): "Was this doctor, who stood firm here, infected by these patients at some point?" ]
[ .....]
『 The old doctor, transformed into a new masked patient, tilted his head and stopped moving.
The Doctor could only watch all of this happen, powerless.
He looked at the patient's expression and began to sink into deep thought.
But just then, a shout suddenly pulled him out of his thoughts.
The one calling him this time was not the mischievous little boy from before.
But Rose, whom he had met earlier, was standing beside a stranger he hadn't seen before.
"Good evening. I hope I haven't disturbed your thoughts." The stranger smiled, walked up to the Doctor, and held out his hand to greet him.
"My name is Jack Harkness."
"I've heard a lot about your exploits on the way here."
Rose quickly interjected a reminder: "He knows about us."
"We have to tell him we're Time Agents."
Hearing this, the Doctor immediately realized and understood Rose's meaning.
As for why Rose appeared here, it was purely due to events that happened shortly before.
At that time, Rose was still hanging suspended from the barrage balloon.
But she hung there for too long and gradually ran out of strength.
Finally, she fell straight down from above....
Watching Rose plummet from a great height, clearly in danger, a beam of blue light instantly enveloped her from a nearby rooftop, and with a whoosh, she was fixed in mid-air.
"Hold tight! Don't let go!" a mysterious voice shouted at Rose.
"Hold onto what?" Rose had no idea what was happening, looking utterly bewildered upon hearing this.
At the same time, the man next to the instrument yanked a lever.
Rose was instantly and swiftly pulled toward him.
Accompanied by Rose's screams, she was dragged along by the machine.
After a few flashes of light, Rose was suddenly caught in the arms of this mysterious man.
"Gotcha!"
"You're safe now,"
It turned out that this guy named Jack had saved the falling Rose using a tractor beam.
Rose never expected that the man who saved her was quite handsome.
Perhaps it was a side effect of the tractor beam, or maybe not, but Rose quickly fainted in Jack's arms.
When she woke up again, she felt much better.
Rose stepped forward to inquire about the man's identity.
Jack, while introducing himself, handed Rose a card.
Rose recognized immediately that the card was a psychic paper.
Because the Doctor had one of those things too.
Also, when Jack gave her the card, her mind briefly wandered, and what the card showed was that he was single and frequently went to the gym.
"This thing tends to cause misunderstandings," Jack reminded her.
Not to be outdone, Rose retorted: "Then you'd better concentrate when you hand it to others...."
After the two got acquainted, Rose began looking around Jack's spaceship.
Then, Jack noticed Rose's hand.
It was the scratches she got when holding onto the balloon rope earlier.
For Rose, this small injury was truly nothing.
But Jack was different.
He used the onboard nanotechnology to repair Rose's wounds.
Then, he led Rose to the ship's open-air platform for a drink together.
The entire spaceship drifted gently, parked beside the fog near London's Big Ben.
Standing there, the two looked out at the London nightscape, which, despite having just suffered a Hans attack, still possessed a unique flavor.
They stood shoulder to shoulder, drinking fine wine on the roof of the ship. 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Paimon (Genshin Impact): "That's so convenient. Can they use that to cure those patients?" ]
[ Natasha (Honkai: Star Rail) "I think they probably can't. These things can only repair wounds, and we still don't know what those 'things' (the infection) are." ]
[ Lisa (Genshin Impact): "Repairing and healing nanogenes?" ]
[ .....]
『 However....
When the two had almost finished their drinks.
Jack also began to talk business.
In fact, he had immediately seen through Rose's true identity: A Time Agent from the future.
Jack sought her out specifically because he wanted to discuss a deal with her in detail.
But talking business dryly was too boring, so Jack embraced Rose, played music, and began to dance.
Amidst the spinning dance steps, Rose gradually learned about Jack's past.
It turned out that Jack had also once been a Time Agent and was therefore quite familiar with the trade.
Especially those things that Time Agents were particularly interested in.
Not long ago, Jack secretly stole a fully equipped Chula battleship somewhere.
The most crucial thing was that this ship was the last of its kind.
Jack knew clearly that this treasure was priceless.
So he hid this unique battleship in the bombing zone.
If Rose could offer a suitable price, Jack wouldn't mind revealing the exact coordinates of the battleship.
But the negotiation window was only two short hours.
Because two hours later, a preset bomb would completely destroy the entire battleship, turning this last Chula battleship into nothing.
Even though Jack, standing before Rose, seemed so unpredictable that he nearly threw her off balance,
Rose finally steadied herself.
And said to Jack:.....
"I can't decide this alone."
"I have a Time Agent partner—the Doctor."
"To accept your proposal, we need to discuss it thoroughly."
After hearing Rose's words, Jack immediately pulled out an alien locator, preparing to pinpoint the Doctor's location.
This is how the two were able to successfully find the Doctor's whereabouts.
This is how it all happened. 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Chika Fujiwara (Love Is War): "Ah, this handsome man is actually a thief?" ]
[ Chika Fujiwara (Love Is War): "That really is a shame." ]
[ The Herta (Honkai: Star Rail): "Stealing the last battleship, that's a truly grand scheme." ]
[ Umaru Doma (Himouto): "That may be true, but if he's asking the Doctor to buy this thing, does the Doctor really have the money?" ]
[ Umaru Doma (Himouto): "Rose had to pay for the Doctor's chips earlier." ]
[ Haibara Ai (Detective Conan): "That's Rose's cleverness. She couldn't find the Doctor's location, so she came up with this method to have Jack help her locate him." ]
[ Paimon (Genshin Impact): "Huh? Can she do that?" ]
[ .....]
『 Returning to the current situation,
After hearing Jack's words, the Doctor's mind churned, leading to a new idea.
He guessed that this sudden infectious disease was probably inseparable from the Chula spaceship.
Thinking of this, the Doctor wanted to ask Jack for more details.
But Jack repeatedly shook his head, firmly stating that the two matters were completely unrelated.
In fact, that thing wasn't a battleship at all, just a decommissioned medical transport vessel.
It was the metal cylinder the Doctor had mentioned earlier.
There was nothing inside it; it was empty.
Originally, Jack planned to pass off this pile of scrap metal as a battleship and trade it with those "Time Agents."
After the buyer paid half the deposit, a bomb dropped by a German Tiger tank during World War II would destroy the medical transport vessel.
This way, Jack, having collected the money, wouldn't have to compensate anyone,....and the buyer naturally wouldn't know they had actually purchased an empty shell.
However, what was now happening to the humans had completely deviated from Jack's initial calculations.
He repeatedly stressed to the Doctor that his medical transport vessel was empty, containing nothing.
Before this, he had deliberately modified the landing procedure, ensuring it would not land in an area with living creatures.
He truly had no intention of harming anyone in this world.
The Doctor said nothing more after hearing Jack's explanation.
He still believed that the metal cylinder must have carried a special virus, one capable of completely altering the genes of humans in this era.
However, why the altered genes would manifest as wearing a gas mask, and constantly wanting to find Mummy, that part he still didn't understand....
They now guessed that perhaps some clues could be found on the first patient. 』
『 .....』