The second volume is full of glory and splendor in the capital, and the spirit is full of vitality in the foggy city. Chapter 215 I, the Holy Grail (I)
Chapter Subtitle: Secure, Contain, Protect.
"Cheers, my brothers!"
His Majesty the Emperor, the Ten of Swords, and the Eight of Swords took their wine glasses but didn't take a sip. Instead, they stared blankly at their Lord Fool.
The acting president of the North American branch of the SCP Foundation looks like he will live forever... No, he looks healthy forever... No, his face is rosy!
Anyway, the young man in front of them might not be in good mental health, but he didn't look like someone who had aged prematurely and died young.
"I say, what are you all still standing there for? Drink your wine and eat right away. After dinner, we'll set off immediately..." Our Master Yuan smiled at General and said, "Otherwise, Mr. Aiden will be furious!"
After saying this, he laughed out loud and walked out, leaving the three members of the SCP Foundation who didn't understand the situation yet looking at each other, not knowing what to say.
"Sister Lian, is lunch ready?" Yuan Yanshu ran to the kitchen in person this time.
"Uncle, it will be ready soon."
He nodded and said, "Sister Lian, thank you for your hard work. Oh, and there's one more thing. Please redecorate my bedroom this afternoon, just as I say..."
"Son-in-law..." Sister Lian was also confused. "If you arrange it like this, your bedroom will be..."
"Ward... That's our destination, gentlemen."
It was now around three o'clock in the afternoon. The four SCP Foundation members first drove, then took the ferry to New Jersey, which was only separated from New York by a river , and finally took the prepared carriage to Aiden's family's place of residence.
He had originally not intended to bring Mr. McCall along, as the matter was rather dangerous, but when the Emperor saw that he had even produced his own will, he insisted on bringing him along.
Of course Yuan Yanshu knew that the other person cared about him, and he felt a little touched.
Well, I have to admit that there are good people among white people, and there are especially many good people in America. The people in the New World are indeed more simple than the people in Europe.
To be honest, these simple people in the New World are indeed one of the important reasons why America will be able to dominate the world in the future .
Although people in the world, especially those in the Third World, will have suffered greatly in the past 100 years, if we think about it the other way around, if the world were to be ruled by the Axis powers like in "The Man in the High Castle," it would be worse than New Rome.
Yes, in the future the Yankees did achieve "soft colonization" under the banner of "democracy and freedom".
But this is better than the blatant "Aryan Millennium Empire" and "One World" by Japan and Germany, and it is more "advanced" and "civilized" than the old European powers who cling to the even uglier real colonial system.
Furthermore, history has proven that in the absence of time travelers, the only country that can break the old world power system is the United States. There is really no other country that can do so.
Moreover, whether before, during, or after World War II, Serbia and the United States had common enemies in these three stages.
Seres still had a long, long way to go before it could qualify as an enemy of America. Yuan Yanshu's most important goal was to shorten that long road as much as possible.
Since our Master Yuan cannot build the People's Revolutionary League into a "big ball master", he can only settle for the next best thing and become a real "American master".
Take the issue of aiding the Communist Party for example. Duke Mu Haogu's "350 million gold rubles" is a joke with a straight hook and salty bait, but Duke Yuan Yanshu's "350 million US dollars" is really not a joke of the "fishing party"!
Since we want to make the United States our main battlefield, we naturally need to have more comrades-in-arms.
Finally, to put it bluntly, the more friends he made in America, the more important these friends were. So, no matter how many enemies he offended after returning to Seris, or how important these enemies were, it didn't matter.
Four words: using foreign powers to gain respect. Four more words: saving the country through roundabout means.
In this case, Master Yuan brought his personal lawyer to a rather shabby little estate in New Jersey to open his eyes.
Mr. Aiden's finances were indeed tight, given his two medicine bottles. And what respectable landlord in New York would dare lend a house to a terminally ill tuberculosis patient?
Of course, he should be able to rent a house in the Clinton area, which is known as "Hell's Kitchen", but he would not let his family live in a slum where there are many Irish people.
When the sound of the carriage was heard, someone came out from the house to greet them.
"Sir, you're back."
General ZOD nodded casually and asked the black maid brought from Texas anxiously, "How is the situation at home?"
The black maid, who was very stout but had a gentle face, spoke in a somewhat funny southern accent, rambling, "Sir, it's still the same. Little Mr. Aiden went to school, and the young lady had a better appetite and drank a bowl of vegetable soup, but..."
She revealed a sad expression and said, "Madam only drank half a cup of milk today, and she vomited it all out. It looks like she, she, she is about to..."
"Okay, stop talking. I've already called...that doctor!" Mr. Aiden interrupted his black maid in annoyance.
The Ten of Swords turned around and looked at the Fool expectantly, even a little pleadingly.
Seeing this, the latter nodded, gave him a comforting smile and said, "Victor, please don't worry, I'm here. Now please take me to their room."
"Well, gentlemen, please follow me."
As soon as they entered the three-story wooden building, the three gentlemen except the host couldn't help but frown, because the air in the room was filled with the pungent smell of death... Actually, it was the smell of disinfectant.
Of course, antibiotics had not yet been developed in 1921, but peracetic acid, a disinfectant, was available and widely used in the medical field.
Actually, this is not surprising.
Imagine that generations of physicians and chemists have experimented with countless natural and unnatural products in an effort to discover chemicals that kill bacteria. It was easy to discover that strong oxidants were effective in killing bacteria.
Although highly corrosive and irritating peracetic acid has an unpleasant smell and is not very safe, with frequent "BOOOOM" sounds, it remains one of the most common disinfectants even a hundred years from now, thanks to its effectiveness and affordability.
This made Yuan Hongjian miss the past...the years when SARS and bird flu were the most severe.
Driver Kang and Lawyer Mai subconsciously took out their handkerchiefs and covered their mouths and noses...
There is really no need to blame them for being so rude. There are two tuberculosis patients living in this room, and one of them is in the terminal stage.
In fact, Mr. Aiden, his son, the black maid, and even the two guests were likely carriers of tuberculosis, but their immunity was probably very strong, so they did not get sick.
Alas, life was so unsafe in the years before antibiotics.
This reminded Yuan Yan of the warriors from later generations who traveled back to ancient times. Fortunately, they were all protagonists with incredible luck, otherwise they would have caught pneumonia and died after being caught in the rain.
Some people even traveled back to 19th century France and became literary giants. This guy either needs to be cultivated or can only use his hands. You know, the contemporary French literary giant Flaubert was very "proud" to say that we Gauls are infected with Gallic disease.
Yuan Yan suddenly didn't pretend to be serious. He patted the two men on the shoulders and said, "You just stay here. You can take me back later."
The Fool followed the Ten of Swords up the stairs. The Emperor and the Eight of Swords exchanged a look, both showing a determined expression as they also went up the stairs.
"Maria, wake up, Maria..."
Mrs. Maria Eden, who was lying on the bed, had black hair, long eyelashes, big eyes, and a raised nose. One could tell at a glance that she was once a typical Latin beauty.
Unfortunately, this beautiful lady has now become almost a skeleton, completely emaciated, with exposed skin a dull bluish-gray. Compared to a dead person, she is really only a breath away...
This reminds us of Master Yuan's words: "There is a trend among us romantics now. They try to make themselves look as pale or even blue-gray as possible, almost like those suffering from tuberculosis, to prove that they are suffering from the torment of love and the condemnation of conscience. This makes women prefer them even more."
These words were said by the French Romantic poet Gioacart (1811-1872), who advocated "art for art's sake." He is not very famous, but he was a good friend of Charles Baudelaire, the author of "Flowers of Evil."
But Mrs. Aiden's breathing was really difficult. Even Xiaokang and Mr. McCall who were standing outside the door could hear the sound of her breathing like a bellows.
The frail lady, who looked like she
She only uttered two words before she looked like she was drowning and couldn't breathe anymore.
"Maria!"
How could Mr. Aiden, who had finally found Neo Yuan as a lifeline, be willing to let his lover die? He and the black maid worked hard for a while and finally helped Mrs. Aiden to breathe again.
"Maria, you'll be well again soon, and so will little Maria. Just wait!"
After rescuing his lover, the man hurried out to bring his daughter in.
"You, you, are the Chinese gentleman Victor was talking about?" The skeleton beauty laughed bitterly and said, "Mr. Yuan, I, I, I really don't know whether to thank you or blame you. You gave him a glimmer of hope, and now..."
"Are you here to extinguish his hope?"
She didn't know where she found the strength to finish the sentence, and the sudden blush on her face indicated that this was most likely a last burst of energy.
Yuan Yan suddenly smiled but said nothing, because he was having a very important communication with the broken system floating in the air.
"Master Ball, I've been your host for a long time, and I've never asked you for anything, right?"
"Host, it really wasn't long, only eight months and ten days. So if you have anything to say, please speak frankly."
"Master Ball, can you create some light and sound effects later? Just like this..."
"Host, why are you making such an exaggeration?"
"Master Ball, you know... Of course, it's just for show."
"Host, this reason is too strong. I will agree to it this time."
"I'm here!" General ZOD rushed back, holding a little girl about ten years old. "Maria, this is Mr. Yuan, who's here to treat your mother and you."
"Mr. Yuan, this is my daughter."
Needless to say, this is also a little beauty, but she is very thin.
Because she is very thin, her eyes appear particularly big, almost exaggeratedly so.
Because of her big eyes, this lifeless little girl doesn't look like a real person, but rather like a big human-shaped doll.
Mr. Aiden placed his daughter next to his wife, turned around and asked anxiously, "Mr. Yuan, what preparations are you going to make?"
"Hmm..." Yuan Yan looked around and pointed at the black maid and said, "Madam, please step aside!"
"But..." The maid was quite loyal, but after looking at the man's expression, she walked out muttering, "Alright. A yellow doctor?! I should have invited the priest from my hometown and the voodoo doctor from the south. Really, I've lost my mind. God bless you, ma'am, God bless you, God bless you, Mr. Aiden, God bless this family..."
General ZOD asked somewhat awkwardly, "Mr. Yuan, do you need anything else?"
Yuan Yan suddenly replied seriously, "No, Brother Sword 10. You should call me... Lord Fool!"
"Master Fool, do you need anything else?"
"My brother, I don't need anything."
Lord Fool turned around, waved toward the door, and said, “Your Majesty, and Brother Sword 8, since you are here, please come in.”
After hearing this, the two of them had no choice but to walk into the room regardless of the danger. Just as Xiaokang turned around to close the door, he heard a burst of hurried footsteps downstairs.
"Boom, boom, boom..."
"Dad, Mom...who are you?"
A young man who looked about 70% similar to the Ten of Swords rushed in. He was still carrying a schoolbag and looked at the three uninvited guests suspiciously with a look of vigilance on his face.
"Pablo, why are you back? This is... um, a friend who came to treat your mother and sister." General ZOD frowned and said, "You should go out first..."
“Wait a moment!” The Fool smiled at the boy and asked kindly, “Kid, is your name Pablo?”
Pablo Eden nodded and said, "Yes, sir. This is my grandfather's name."
“Pablo…what a wonderful name!” The name brought back some memories for the Lord Fool, who spoke meaningfully.
This is a really good name. There is a painting master like Pablo Picasso, a football star like Pablo Hernandez, and even Pablo...
The Lord Fool said to his father in a commanding tone, "Brother Sword 10, since he is your son, he is not a stranger. Let him stay."
"Okay then." Sword 10, feeling a sense of foreboding, nodded helplessly and pulled his son to his side.
"Brothers and sisters, repeat after me..."
"control!"
"control!"
“Contain!!”
“Contain!!”
"Protect!!!"
"Protect!!!"
“Oh my god…”
