Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 177 The Mark of Disaster
"What exactly is this 'God of Disaster'?"

"This is an ancient belief in an evil god."

Elizabeth explained to Levi.

They believe that disasters are part of the progress of human civilization, a whetstone for human civilization to be tempered, and a trial given to mankind by God. Only by overcoming these trials can mankind develop better.

"It doesn't sound strange at all?"

Li Wei listened and felt that this belief didn't seem strange at all, and even had a bit of positive energy.

Indeed, just as the faith says, humanity will only have a future if it survives these disasters; otherwise, it will die.

That's just how it is.

"This is not simply a matter of faith."

"What can be done if it's not simply a matter of faith? Are they going to cause a disaster?"

Li Wei made a joke, but Elizabeth didn't laugh.

"...Are you serious?"

"According to church information, there is no evidence to prove that followers of the God of Disasters actually have the ability to cause disasters."

"I think so too."

If they could artificially create earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, or anything like that, then these people would be incredibly powerful.

"But whenever a disaster occurs on the mainland, these followers of the God of Disaster will jump out and claim that it is their doing, a test of humanity by the Holy Lord, and an ordeal that humanity must inevitably go through."

"…………………"

That's a bit too much, isn't it?

A disaster is a disaster after all; it causes countless deaths and injuries, and it's never a good thing.

"Not only that, they do indeed create disasters."

How to build it?

"According to church records, they were behind several plagues in history. These people would even deliberately contract the plague and then spread it to other cities. In addition, some high-ranking followers of the God of Disaster would choose to start wars in various ways. They have planned several wars that spread across the entire continent behind the scenes."

"………………………"

That's not funny at all.

"And now? How are these disaster believers doing?"

"The Holy Lord Church once joined forces with various countries to launch a comprehensive attack against it. At least on the surface, the belief in the God of Disasters completely disappeared after that."

"Are you sure this is the image of the god of disaster?"

"Absolutely right, a mark of disaster."

Elizabeth gave a very certain answer, then pointed to the eye in the middle.

"The followers of Calamity believe that God is a triune being, with good, evil, and neutral aspects. Calamity is the embodiment and representative of God's evil, a necessary evil in this world. Therefore, the all-knowing eye they depict represents the evil beast's eye. This is also the tricky part for the followers of Calamity. They know that what they are doing is evil, but they do not think it is wrong, but rather a necessary sacrifice for the balance of this world."

"That's right. A true villain is indeed more troublesome than a hypocrite who glorifies his behavior."

When others do bad things, they always find an excuse, saying that it's not that they want to do it, but that they have no choice but to do it.

This group of people stopped pretending and directly said, "We're here to disgust you. Go ahead and kill me if you dare."

What's even more disgusting is that after killing someone, they act as if they've accomplished something great and are now retired with a satisfied air. After all, the underlying logic of this belief is to help humanity overcome disasters. Perhaps these believers even think they're contributing to a more vibrant fire for human civilization.

They're doing something monstrous, yet they feel perfectly justified in doing it, acting like they're sacrificing themselves for human civilization—it's unbearable.

"Speaking of which, back in Steel City, that Luddite leader said something quite interesting, something about thunder and rain being blessings from the Holy Lord..."

After listening to Elizabeth's explanation, Levi suddenly recalled the thug leader he had encountered in the central data tower of the Steel City. After being captured, the thug was still shouting and spouting nonsensical nonsense. Now, combined with Elizabeth's explanation, it seemed... something was a little off.

“It is not surprising that Luddites are also puppets put forward by catastrophe believers.”

Elizabeth, on the other hand, seemed quite calm.

"The former followers of the God of Disaster had close ties with many anti-government organizations. It could be said that assisting other organizations in attacking and destroying human civilization was their daily task."

Good heavens, no wonder they were targeted. What ruler wouldn't hate a terrorist organization that launches indiscriminate attacks while portraying itself as something noble?

Of course, according to Elizabeth's logic, she didn't see the Luddites' destruction of the steam industry as a hindrance to human civilization at all. Instead, she would argue that if even an obstacle like the Luddites couldn't be overcome, then the Industrial Revolution was nothing but a joke...

Hmm... If I ever encounter these disaster believers again, I'd better just kill them.

Keeping them around will only cause trouble.

"Also, there are some mutated creatures down there that are difficult to deal with."

"More troublesome than ordinary people who come back from the dead?"

"Yes."

Li Wei briefly told Elizabeth about the zombie variants he had encountered, and the latter frowned.

"Although I guessed there would be mutations, I didn't expect it to happen so quickly..."

"Has a cure for the plague been found?"

"not yet."

Elizabeth shook her head. "We've tried some treatments, but none of them have been very effective."

"What treatments were used... never mind, you'd better not tell me."

Listening to Elizabeth's explanation, Levi frowned and began to think. Just then, a system notification sounded in his ear.

Activate the quest "Healing and Saving Lives"

[Mission Objective: Cure the plague and eliminate the source of infection]

What the hell?

Looking at the mission objective before him, Li Wei was completely bewildered.

He's a detective, but he's not a doctor!
The system sent him to save people? The only medical skill he knows now is the diagnosis he obtained in the socialite killer case, but now diagnosis alone is useless; treatment is needed!
The problem is that Li Wei wasn't a medical student in his original world and knew absolutely nothing about medicine. Not to mention, the medicine in that world and the medicine in Li Wei's world are completely different!
In Li Wei's world, which doctor would dare to make a patient drink mercury?

and many more!

Just as Li Wei was inwardly cursing the system for being blind, he suddenly came to his senses.

The system only issues missions related to supernatural and mysterious events!
In other words, this method of curing the plague is not scientific, but unscientific!

Is it like in a game, where the plague is caused by a big boss, and the plague will be cured as long as the boss is defeated?
At that moment, Li Wei remembered that thing swimming at the bottom of the pit, something he didn't know... He couldn't really let me fight it alone.

Besides, the idea that defeating the boss will cure your illness seems to only exist in games; it wouldn't work in real life...

"Miss Elizabeth."

Li Wei composed himself and looked at Elizabeth.

Do you think this pandemic is normal?

“I don’t understand what you mean, Mr. Li Wei.”

Elizabeth was somewhat surprised to hear Li Wei's question.

"So, does the transmission path and changes of this plague conform to normal medical principles?"

"Strictly speaking... it doesn't quite fit."

Elizabeth still didn't understand what Li Wei meant, but she still answered his question honestly.

"This plague spread too quickly, from its outbreak and infection to its rapid spread, yet it was also too insidious..."

"How to say?"

Elizabeth explained it to Levi, and Levi understood what she meant.

According to Elizabeth, there are two types of viruses: mild and virulent. Mild viruses have a long incubation period and cause illness more slowly. Virulent viruses have a short incubation period and cause rapid outbreaks.

To give an example, if it were a highly virulent virus, the workers below would all be dead before people even realized what was happening. But in that case, there would be no source of infection—after all, if everyone is dead, who will get infected?
However, if it is a mild virus, a certain level of infection is required before a large-scale death outbreak occurs.

However, this virus is strange; it not only has the infectivity and latency of a mild virus, but also breaks out like a virulent virus.

Simply put, when it doesn't erupt, you can't see much of a problem; people just feel like they have a minor illness like a cold.

However, once an outbreak occurs, the time from onset to death is no more than a day, after which they quickly transform into zombies.

In Isabella's view, this virus was very strange. It showed no symptoms when it was incubating, but once it broke out, it developed rapidly, and there was no specific time when it would break out. Even more bizarrely, according to Elizabeth's investigation, the farther away an infected person was from the infected area, the later the symptoms appeared.

It's as if the virus deliberately doesn't manifest, waiting for the other party to take it out of the infected area and infect others.

In other words, Elizabeth acted decisively, completely isolating the entire Rune Mine and forbidding anyone from leaving. Furthermore, those on the tenth floor and above, generally fearing death, kept their distance, thus maintaining a degree of order.

Otherwise, if things continue like this, there's a chance that a latent person might carry the virus to Chongqing without showing symptoms.

Where can I find such a virus? Is this a virus?

You know what, hearing Elizabeth say that actually reminded Levi of such a virus, and that he had even played with it before.

Prioritize infectivity and stealth, then save lethality for last... Everyone understands that...

Surely the god of disaster isn't also a player who just wants to have fun.

But as for solutions…

Li Wei pondered for a moment, then looked at Elizabeth again.

“Miss Elizabeth, I have a way that might cure the plague.”

As he spoke, Levi explained his thoughts to Elizabeth, who was completely stunned after hearing his explanation.

"Are you serious, Mr. Levi?"

"Didn't you say that the spread of this plague is very unscientific? What if it really isn't a scientific issue?"

"Are you suggesting this is some kind of black magic... a curse...?"

"Why not give it a try? Maybe it'll work. Besides, you don't have any other options right now, do you?"

It's better than bloodletting and feeding people mercury, right?

"………………………………"

This time, Elizabeth remained silent for a long time. Finally, she made up her mind, looked at Levi, and nodded.

“Well, Mr. Li Wei, as you said, we have no other choice at the moment. Perhaps... we can give it a try.”

(End of this chapter)