Eagle Country, Minnesota.
Jim drove home and unloaded box after box of bottled mineral water from the trunk.
Because nuclear wastewater has polluted the river water, no one dares to drink tap water now. The mineral water in the supermarket has been sold out. He went to several Wal-Marts to buy these boxes.
The neighbors walking by looked at the mineral water Jim was carrying, and they all expressed envy.
"Hey, Jim, where did you buy it? Tell me quickly." A neighbor named Jamie couldn't help but ask.
Jim shook his head: "Man, I bought them at Wal-Mart 20 kilometers away. There were a lot of people there. I managed to grab these. I'm afraid it's too late for you to rush there now."
Jamie showed a disappointed look, and then became worried again, and asked: "Jim, do you think anything will happen to our son after we have eaten fish from the river and drank nuclear wastewater for so long? He told me he felt a little unwell and I was worried about him."
They both live next to the Mississippi River and go fishing on the river every week, but have recently given up this hobby completely and switched to cursing the nuclear power plant three kilometers away 24 hours a day.
In fact, the health of the adults comes second. What they are most worried about is the health of the children, because the children usually eat the most of the fish they bring back.
Jim sighed, his face darkened, and said, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have taken you fishing at the beginning, but I didn't expect it to hurt you."
"My kid doesn't eat fish very much, so I'm not worried about him, but I've been suffering from back pain recently, and I've also started to lose my hair. Do you think I've been infected?"
Jamie was stunned for a moment, subconsciously took two steps back, reacted instantly, took a few steps forward, and said with a slight embarrassment: "Then let's go to the drugstore to buy some anti-radiation medicine."
Jim nodded, and after carrying the water, he took his neighbor straight to the nearby pharmacy.
"Jim, I have done my homework and found the list of radiation protection drugs published by the WHO. Let's buy them according to the list on it."
Jamie sat in the passenger seat, flipping through his phone, and said proudly.
"There are mainly three types. One is medicine that absorbs radioactive substances in the body, such as iodine tablets, which can prevent the thyroid gland from absorbing radioactive iodine substances, and Prussian blue, which can remove radioactive color and thallium from the body. Among them, iodine tablets I will definitely buy it.”
"The second category is drugs that relieve bone marrow damage, promote the growth of white blood cells and platelets, and improve immunity. They can be used to deal with acute radiation injury, such as romiplostim (nplate), filgrastim (neupogen), and sargramostim ( leukine) and pegfilgrastim(a), but these are prescription drugs that we cannot buy.”
"The third category is medicines to treat vomiting, diarrhea, and infections. We can buy some of these and prepare them, otherwise a skin infection will kill both of us."
Jim was driving attentively while praising: "Good guy, you are great, then I will buy it as you said."
Five minutes later, the two came to a nearby pharmacy and were shocked before they even got out of the car.
I saw a long queue at the door, all of them waiting to buy medicine.
"Shit, why are there so many people? Looking at the speed, we will have to queue for at least two hours." Jim couldn't help but curse.
"Let's go, let's go to a more remote pharmacy. There can't be so many people there."
Jim immediately stepped on the accelerator, turned around and drove in the other direction.
This time we drove for half an hour, and after a long circle, we came to a corner in the southwest of the city.
The two of them also saw several pharmacies along the way, but they were either closed or there were long queues.
Finally, they saw a drugstore, the door was open, but there was no one at the door, and the two of them were very happy.
】
Jim parked the car casually on the side of the road and jumped out like a wild dog.
As soon as they rushed through the door, before they had time to speak, the two of them were instantly dumbfounded.
I saw that the whole pharmacy looked like it had been robbed, the shelves were empty and there was nothing.
A brown-skinned clerk waved his hand at the two men angrily, as if he was shooing away two flies.
"Come on, the medicine is all sold out, and the ones that haven't been sold out have also been robbed."
The two of them looked at me and I looked at you, and walked out dejectedly.
The atmosphere was very heavy along the way. The two of them sat in the car, looking out the window, and no one wanted to talk.
Suddenly, Jamie pointed to a passing drugstore outside the window and shouted wildly: "Jim, hurry up, stop the car, I just saw someone running out of that store with medicine."
Jim stopped suddenly, turned around and drove over.
This time, there were people at the door of the pharmacy, and from time to time, people would come out with medicines. You could tell that it was operating normally.
The two looked at each other with surprise in their eyes and breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.
Walking into the drugstore, sure enough, there were a dazzling array of medicines on the shelves, and a blond pharmacist standing behind the counter, entertaining customers.
Jim strode over, queued for a few minutes, and arrived in front of the pharmacist.
He named several drugs in one breath: "ibuprofen, potassium iodide tablets, montmorillonite powder..."
"Stop, stop, stop!" The pharmacist interrupted him with a wave of his hand: "Except for potassium iodide, there is nothing else."
Jim pointed to the shelf and asked in shock: "Aren't these all medicines?"
The pharmacist looked at him as if he were looking at a stupid bird: "Those are prescription drugs. Do you have a doctor's prescription?"
"I almost forgot about this." Jim slapped his forehead and said, "Then I will buy potassium iodide. This is not a prescription drug."
"Okay, 15 tablets per pack. How many packs do you want?" The pharmacist pointed to the iodine tablets on the counter.
Jim hesitated for a moment and then said, "Ten packs." He thought about three tablets a day. 150 tablets would probably last more than a month, so he should be able to get through it.
The pharmacist smiled and quickly took out 10 packages and placed them neatly on the counter.
"Hello, the total amount is 2,500 US dollars. Would you like to pay by card or cash?"
"What?" Jim was stunned for a moment. He couldn't believe his ears and asked in a trembling voice, "What did you say? This pack costs 500 US dollars?"
"That's right. Iodine tablets are out of stock everywhere now. We only have them here, so the price is naturally a bit more expensive." The smile on the pharmacist's face disappeared instantly. While explaining, he quickly took 10 packs of iodine tablets back to the counter.
"You are robbing!" Jim shouted angrily: "This stuff used to cost 10 yuan a pack, but you dare to sell it for 500 yuan, an increase of 50 times, you shameless profiteers."
He finally understood why those pharmacies were purchased for zero dollars.
If iodine tablets are sold at this price, it is too outrageous. Who can afford it, let alone those already expensive prescription drugs.
The pharmacist said with a smile: "Sir, this is a free market, and free pricing is normal."
Jim suddenly remembered that he had medical insurance and wanted to try it: "Can this be covered by medical insurance?"
The pharmacist shook his head: "Sorry, this is not covered by medical insurance."
After saying that, he reached out and pushed Jim aside, smiling warmly at the customer behind him: "Hello, what do you want to buy?"
Jim stood aside, his face burning, his heart filled with anger, and an impulse welling up in his forehead.
He almost rushed up and snatched away all the iodine tablets on the counter.
Jamie quickly grabbed him and whispered: "Jim, look around, don't be impulsive, let's go back first."
Jim looked at the armed security guard in the corner of the pharmacy, and the anger in his heart calmed down instantly.
The two returned to the car, feeling even more depressed.
"Damn it, no wonder I can't buy cheap medicines. They were all taken away by these vampires."
“The increase from US$10 to US$500 is simply terrifying.”
"Should we go to the doctor and ask him to prescribe some medicine?"
"You don't show obvious symptoms, and the doctor won't prescribe you medicine casually."
The two of them thought about it for a while, but were unable to do anything, so they had no choice but to drive home first.
This anti-radiation medicine is not available, and mineral water is out of stock. Why are life so difficult?
"Hey, the Chinese people are still happy. Not only do they not need to rush to buy drugs, they have even used new drugs that can eliminate radiation damage." Jamie said with an envious look on his face as he slid his finger across the screen of his phone.
"Oh? A Chinese pharmaceutical company has developed a magic anti-radiation drug? Is it true?" Jim suddenly felt something in his heart and asked quickly.
"This is still fake. It is said to be a new drug from Chinese pharmaceutical giant Sanqing. Thousands of people have participated in clinical trials, confirming the miraculous effects of this drug."
Jamie said with excitement: "When this incident first broke out, some fishermen suffered from chronic radiation sickness due to long-term consumption of contaminated sea fish. They all took Sanqing medicine and have been cured and discharged."
"This medicine is called 'Xiao Fu Ning', and it sounds like a medicine specifically designed to treat nuclear radiation. It's very effective."
"Sanqing has once again taken the lead in anti-radiation drugs, saving the Chinese people from the suffering of radiation damage. I really envy them."
"Look at the photos and videos posted by Chinese netizens, their place is not only safe, but also very clean. There are no messy chemical poisons or nuclear wastewater. It is simply a paradise."
"Many patients with chronic radiation sickness are now being discovered in countries along the Pacific, but hospitals are helpless and unable to cure them."
"Look at these people on the Internet who are suffering from radiation sickness. They look so scary."
"I really can't imagine that in a few years, my whole body will be full of ulcers, and even my intestines will fall off piece by piece, turning into a pool of blood and being pulled out of my butt."
Jamie couldn't help but shudder, and his whole body trembled.
Jim glanced at the pictures of radiation patients on his phone and almost vomited.
He knew in his heart that these pictures were too alarmist and certainly not true, but there was always a trace of worry, what if, what if they were true?
Suddenly, he stepped on the brakes, turned around and drove towards the city center.
"What are you doing? Didn't you agree to go home?"
"No, I'm going to protest at the municipal gate with a sign." Jim suppressed the anger in his heart and said calmly: "This Eagle Country is completely rotten. I finally understand that this is a shithole."
"If you want to live a good life, you either blow up the shithole, or you have to become that hard, smelly rock."
"If you don't want to go, I'll take you back first."
Jamie was silent for a while, then suddenly punched the passenger panel hard.
"What the hell, what you said actually makes some sense. I'm a little tempted."
"Let's go. Now that we've boarded your thief's car, we have only one way to go."
****
Sakura Country, Jingdong, Nagata Town, a certain public residence.
On the street outside the gate, there were dense crowds of people standing, holding colorful cards in their hands and shouting loudly over and over again.
"Stop discharging radioactively contaminated water."
“Protest against ocean pollution.”
"The earth belongs to all mankind."
"You are a scum who ignores the people. Please step down immediately to apologize."
“The fisheries across the island have been destroyed and we oppose the sea discharge plan.”
"A complete betrayal, the fishermen are desperate."
Yasuo Nishimura stood in the crowd, staring at the door with his bloodshot eyes, as if waiting for something.
He is a fisherman from Fendao County and has made a living fishing at sea for three generations.
Life is not rich, but it is contentment and happiness.
Since the nuclear wastewater was discharged into the sea, his entire life has been completely destroyed by this incident.
Not only is the global ban on the import of fishery products from Sakura Country, but even the local people no longer eat seafood.
The fishery association initially negotiated with the higher authorities and wanted the nuclear power plant to stop emissions and deal with the aftermath.
But apart from getting some excuses such as "there is no choice, there is no security problem", there is no positive response.
The fishery association was instantly angry and immediately organized a group of people to come to the official residence to demonstrate and protest.
He also became one of them, holding a loudspeaker and shouting curses at the door every day.
"What makes you think the fishermen have agreed to discharge nuclear wastewater?"
"You have broken your promise and taken the opposite position to us. Sooner or later you will pay the price."
"The next 40 years of our lives will be destroyed by you without scruple."
"Be prepared for the wrath of the fishermen."
"Destroy, you treacherous scum."
At first they would be expelled by the guards, but as the number of people increased, people from other walks of life continued to join.
The guards were also afraid of conflicts, so they could only ignore them silently and let them perform freely.
As for the person who was scolded, he hid in there and didn't show his face at all, just acting like a turtle.
Nishimura Yasuo continued to scold him for a week, and gradually felt physically tired and a little nauseous.
He thought it was due to a cold, so he bought some medicine and stayed at his post.
But the medicine had no effect at all, so I had to see a doctor.
Unexpectedly, he was diagnosed with leukemia. The cause was excessive exposure to radioactive substances in his body and required hospitalization.
This time he was completely confused, and the hatred in his heart deepened even more, and it was so deep that it went deep into his bones.
With this in mind, he became increasingly silent in the team.
Soon the fishery association noticed and came to him to discuss important matters.
"Nishimura-kun, your condition seems to be very serious. The anger in your heart is like a burning flame, which can be seen a hundred meters away."
"Ba Ge, these idiots not only ruined my job, they also ruined my body."
"It's what it is, and if they don't do something, they will never realize their mistake."
"I have to do something to make them feel my pain."
"We have a plan and we need your help. After it is completed, we will pay for your medical expenses, and we will also bear the living expenses of your family..."
When Yasuo Nishimura endured his physical discomfort and stood in front of the mansion again, his will had been tempered by anger into a dagger glowing with cold light, and he was about to deliver a fatal blow to the enemy.
"A price must be paid, a price must be paid..." He kept repeating this sentence over and over in his mind, like a monk chanting sutras, and finally managed to hold on until the afternoon.
Seeing the sunset appear on the horizon, everyone's face was dyed with a blood-red halo.
A luxury RV drove up from a distance and stopped at the door. A middle-aged man in a straight suit stepped out of the car and waved to the crowd, as if he wanted to explain something.
Nishimura Yasuo held the cards in his left hand, put his right hand into his coat, and advanced quietly among the crowd.
A minute later, he was only three meters away from the familiar face, and the crow's feet at the corners of his eyes could be seen.
Soon after he said it, he threw away the cards, took out a long pipe with his right hand, and rushed towards it.
"Bang bang bang!"
