novelslam Chapter 181 The Leek Harvest Festival and the Principal's Retirement Pension
Chapter 181 The Leek Harvest Festival and the Principal's Retirement Pension
The "fungal crisis" at the First Experimental Middle School ended somewhat abruptly, or rather, to outsiders, it was just a mass food poisoning or some kind of mass hysteria.
After all, who would believe that this prestigious school with the highest college entrance rate in the province is actually a giant mushroom petri dish?
The official report came quickly: the school cafeteria's drinking water source was contaminated with norovirus, causing some students to experience hallucinations and collective discomfort. As for the large explosion on top of the clock tower and the black ash scattered on the ground, it was explained as a localized fire caused by aging electrical circuits.
It must be said that Captain Zhou's ability to clean up the mess is as professional as ever.
Three days later, at Renxin Pharmacy.
Wang Minyu sat behind the counter, holding a calculator and pressing buttons rapidly.
The sound was crisp and melodious, much more pleasant than the chimes from the clock tower that night.
"Zhang Defa, the treatment fee plus equipment depreciation fee, came to 120,000."
"That Zhou Tong bought a black gold card worth 300,000 yuan to treat his tinnitus."
"Although the Education Bureau is stingy, it still approved a special fund of 500,000 yuan for this big 'psychological counseling' order from the school."
Looking at the string of numbers on the calculator screen, Wang Minyu felt his mood soaring.
"Boss, the line outside our shop has stretched all the way to the next block these past few days." Guan Shan was maintaining order at the entrance, holding a megaphone. "Parents, please don't push! Don't push! Our Dr. Wang only sees fifty patients a day! The one bringing their child for 'school phobia,' please line up on the left! The one who thinks their child 'loves studying too much and won't sleep,' please go to the right!"
Since the fried chicken incident, Wang Minyu's reputation has been completely tarnished among students' parents.
However, the rumors are a bit distorted.
Some people call him a "miracle doctor" because he can cure a crazy child with just a few silver needles.
Some people say he is a "master" who can exorcise evil spirits with a bowl of talisman water (which is actually a high concentration of glucose and vitamins).
Even more outrageous, some parents spread rumors that eating the fried chicken he sold could help them get into Tsinghua University.
Pierre has been so exhausted these past few days that his hands are about to break. The copper pot that was originally used to boil medicine is now used to fry chicken wings all day long, making the whole pharmacy smell like KFC.
"Su Qing, how's Zhang Yucai doing?" Wang Minyu stopped using the calculator, picked up his teacup, and took a sip of goji berry water.
Su Qing sat in front of the computer, not looking up: "He's taken medical retirement. I heard he's currently recuperating in the psychiatric ward of the Third Municipal Hospital. He vomits whenever he sees anything with words on it, and he even has to turn his hospital bed card upside down before putting it there. The doctor says it's 'word phobia,' and it's incurable."
"That's good." Wang Minyu nodded. "At least he won't be thinking about using students' brains to generate electricity anymore."
"However, boss," Su Qing pushed up his glasses and turned around, "Zero discovered something interesting while analyzing the data recovered from that USB drive."
"What?"
"Although that 'brain flower' exploded, in the last second before it collapsed, it sent a data packet to the ground." Su Qing turned the screen around.
The screen displays a map of Changxiang City. Of the seven red dots, the one for the First Experimental Middle School has turned gray. But the remaining six dots seem brighter than before.
"It's sounding the alarm," Zero's voice came from the speaker. "It's telling the other 'valves': There's an unreasonable rogue doctor here who's good at using garlic and square dance background music for dimensional reduction attacks."
Wang Minyu laughed: "That's a pretty fair assessment."
"Also, that data packet contains an audio file." Su Qing pressed the play button.
It was an extremely low, hoarse sound, like the sound of rocks rubbing together.
It was no longer that emotionless, mechanical voice, but rather carried an...extremely human anger.
"Give it...back to me..."
"That line again." Wang Minyu frowned. "It seems that what the underground 'mother' lost is really important to it."
Just then, the wind chimes at the door rang.
The person who came in was neither a parent nor a patient.
Instead, it was a tall woman wearing a black trench coat and sunglasses.
As soon as she entered, the temperature in the store seemed to drop a few degrees.
The parents, who had been arguing, instinctively shut up and even made way for each other.
The woman walked up to the counter and took off her sunglasses.
They were extremely beautiful eyes, but deep within the pupils, there was a faint purple halo.
Wang Minyu narrowed his eyes. The system panel popped up instantly:
[WARNING! High concentration of alien biomagnetic field detected!]
[Target: Unknown. Hazard Level: S.]
[Suggestion: Run away, or sell the shop to her.]
"Screw you," Wang Minyu cursed the system in his mind.
He put down his teacup and gave a professional, fake smile: "Miss, are you here for a medical check-up or to get medicine? If it's a gynecological issue, turn left at the Second Hospital. I only treat difficult and complicated cases here."
The woman wasn't angry; instead, she looked around the small shop, filled with the smells of fried chicken and Chinese medicine, with great interest. Finally, her gaze fell on the still-humming MRI machine.
"Dr. Wang, right?" The woman's voice was magnetic, like the low strings of a cello. "I heard you have a soup here that can make people 'forget their troubles'?"
"That's the Soup of Oblivion. If you drink it, you have to sign a waiver. I won't be responsible if you get stupid from it."
"I'm not afraid of being foolish." The woman took a business card from her trench coat pocket and pushed it in front of Wang Minyu. "I just keep having the same dream lately. I dream that I'm in a very, very deep underground, locked in a cage. I want to find someone to help me open the cage."
Wang Minyu picked up the business card.
The business card was pure black with only three large gold-embossed characters on it, without any job title or phone number.
Seven Star Pavilion
Wang Minyu's pupils contracted slightly.
Seven Star Pavilion is the most upscale and mysterious private club in Changxiang City.
It is said that a cup of tea there can cost six figures, and they only cater to the truly powerful and wealthy.
More importantly, on the map of Zero, the location of the second red dot is right at Seven Star Pavilion.
「开笼子是个力气活，得加钱。」王旻宇把名片弹了回去，脸上依然挂着那种欠揍的笑容。
"Money is no problem." The woman smiled, and for a moment, a purple light flickered in her eyes, giving her an eerie beauty. "As long as Dr. Wang dares to come, the entire Seven Star Pavilion will be your consultation fee."
After saying that, she put her sunglasses back on, turned around, and walked out.
The oppressive atmosphere in the store only dissipated after her figure disappeared at the end of the street.
"Boss, this woman... isn't human, is she?" Guan Shan leaned closer, looking shaken. "I just saw tentacles moving in her shadow."
"It's a person." Wang Minyu looked at the business card, his eyes deepening. "However, he's the one who was 'chosen.' It seems we've found a place for our next 'team building' event."
He tossed his business card to Su Qing.
"Check out this Seven Star Pavilion. Also, have Pierre make some preparations. Since we're going to such a high-end place, we can't be too stingy. Next time, bring some real foie gras; don't always try to fool people with pork liver."
Su Qing took the business card and her fingers flew across the keyboard: "Boss, there's an auction at Seven Star Pavilion next week. They say the grand finale is a piece of 'living jade' that was unearthed from the ground."
"Living jade?" Wang Minyu sneered. "That's probably not jade, it's the gallstone of some 'god'."