Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 178 Is this even possible?

There is also a church in the Rune mining area.

Although the Holy Lord's Church has been controlled by the Puritans under the Empire's severe crackdown, it still needs at least two churches. After all, what kind of religion is it if it doesn't even have churches?
Naturally, in the upper part of the Rune Mine, there is also a church located in a grotto. However, unlike other places, because it is built inside a grotto, the entire church is dark, with only burning torches and braziers illuminating this huge sanctuary.

At that moment, at the back of the church, Levi stood there, looking at Elizabeth in front of him.

The latter was still dressed in her black nun's habit, her hands tightly gripping the Eye of All Knowledge, kneeling on the ground with her eyes closed. In front of Elizabeth was a fat, bloated priest who looked like he could barely walk. Even his red robes were stretched taut over his body.

At this moment, he was raising his hands high, muttering to himself in front of the altar, then picked up the incense and candles beside him and began to circle around them.

"Great, all-knowing Lord, I hereby beseech your grace, I yearn for your blessings, please bestow your boundless power to purify our souls and bodies..."

As he spoke, the priest flicked the incense and candles, praying softly. Elizabeth simply knelt behind him, murmuring to herself, her words unreadable.

After a moment, the priest put down the incense and candles again, then breathed a sigh of relief, turned around and nodded to Elizabeth.

"Blessings complete, Sister Elizabeth."

"Thank you, Father."

Elizabeth stood up and bowed to the priest.

"You're welcome, it's my duty, but..."

At this point, the priest couldn't help but turn back to look at the altar.

"Does this really work?"

"All we can do now is pray for the guidance of the Holy Lord."

Elizabeth did not answer the priest's question directly, but simply said something, then walked to the altar, picked up the things placed there, and returned to Levi's side.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Mr. Li Wei."

"No, it's nothing. It's my first time seeing a blessing ceremony, and it's quite interesting."

"You heard the priest's question too. Are you sure it will really work?"

"If my guess is correct, and the priest is indeed a qualified priest..."

Li Wei glanced at the priest with a beer belly not far away.

"Yes, I think it should work, probably."

"…………………"

Elizabeth glanced at the tray in her hands and the vials of medicine on it… To be honest, even as a nun, she hadn't considered Levi's suggestion, or rather, she had never imagined it could be done this way…

But no matter what, we have no choice but to give it a try now.

With the medicine bottle in hand, Elizabeth arrived at the hospital, which was already overcrowded. Coughs and painful groans could be heard from time to time. Even the doctors and nurses looked pale and sickly, not much different from the patients they cared for.

Sister Elizabeth!

Upon seeing Elizabeth appear, a doctor rushed over.

"How is the situation? We need a large supply of materials, and there are also issues regarding treatment..."

"Regarding treatment... um..."

Elizabeth's expression turned complicated when she heard the doctor's question, and she lowered her head.

"We've just discovered a new treatment and want to try it to see if it works."

"A new treatment? Is it some new drug?"

As he spoke, the doctor glanced at the medicine on the tray in Elizabeth's hand, while she... subtly shifted her gaze.

"Pretty much. In short, it's the same old story. Let those with more serious conditions try it first."

"Okay, I'll go prepare now."

The doctor didn't notice Elizabeth's evasiveness and rushed off to prepare, while Elizabeth sighed and went into the adjacent ward.

Soon, a patient was rushed in. The patient's face was flushed, his eyes were lifeless, and he was trembling uncontrollably.

"This is a patient whose condition has deteriorated rapidly today. He currently has a persistent high fever and is confused. The diagnosis has now reached the final stage."

Although the report didn't seem serious, Elizabeth knew that if left untreated, the person would stop breathing within hours and become a resurrected being.

Therefore... if we want to save him, there is only one way.

"Give me a syringe."

"Yes."

Soon, the nurse next to her handed the syringe to Elizabeth. The nun picked up the syringe, drew the medicine from the vial into it, and then went to the patient's side.

"Ugh... Ah... Ah..."

The patient's eyes had rolled back, and he was groaning incessantly. Elizabeth closed her eyes, sighed, then gripped the syringe, plunged it into the patient's arm, and injected the medication.

After administering the medication, Elizabeth removed the needle and stared at the patient in front of her.

"Ugh... Ah... Ah..."

At first, the patient did not seem to change, but soon he suddenly began to tremble violently all over his body.

"Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!!!"

The patient struggled desperately like a fish out of water, and the doctors and nurses who witnessed this scene dared not approach. Then, blood began to seep from the patient's nostrils, ears, and mouth, and at the same time, the patient's struggles became even more violent.

Sure enough, it still doesn’t work?
Seeing this, Elizabeth sighed silently. In order to treat the plague, they had tried a variety of methods, including injecting patients with elements such as radium and thorium, which are very famous in the medical field, and even radon gas, but all of them had little effect.

Now it seems that even Mr. Li Wei's ingenious idea...

"Ughhhhhh!!" However, just as Elizabeth was pondering, the patient suddenly turned her head and began vomiting violently. An incomparable stench emanated from the vomit, so strong that even through a mask, one felt dizzy. This caused everyone else to hurriedly leave the treatment room, not daring to look at the patient again.

Soon, the patient seemed to have finished vomiting and collapsed onto the bed, motionless. Just as everyone was considering whether to collect his body, the patient slowly raised his head.

"Doctor...I'm so thirsty..."

what! ?

Hearing the patient's slurred words, Elizabeth paused for a moment, then, disregarding the stench, hurried inside and examined the patient closely. The patient was deathly pale and drenched in sweat, looking as if he had just recovered from a serious illness. However, the intense heat that had once burned his body had completely vanished, and even his breathing had become much more even!
"The patient has regained consciousness!"

"No way, how is that possible?"

Upon hearing Elizabeth's words, the other doctors and nurses were also taken aback and rushed inside.

"Quickly take his temperature and get him diagnosed immediately... He's still very weak. Hey, get him to a private room right away! Isolate him for full observation!"

At this moment, the medical staff also immediately sprang into action. Although they did not yet know how the disease was cured, the fact that this terrible plague could actually be cured was enough for them!

"Sister Elizabeth! This is wonderful! How did you manage to do that?"

"this……………"

Looking at the ecstatic doctor before her, Elizabeth opened her mouth, but in the end, she could only clench the All-Knowing Eye in her chest.

"All of this is a blessing from the Holy Lord."

That's all she could say.

Upon learning of the drug's effectiveness, the entire hospital sprang into action, and Elizabeth worked tirelessly alongside them until the first batch of medicine was used up before leaving the hospital. As Elizabeth stepped out of the hospital gate, she saw Levi standing not far away, staring intently at the Rune Mine in front of him.

He seemed to have sensed Elizabeth's arrival, and before she could speak, Levi asked.

"How's it going?"

"The patients who received the injection have all had their fevers subside. Although they are still very weak, at least the plague is no longer a problem for them."

Elizabeth walked over to Levi's side and looked at the mine pit in front of them.

"I really didn't expect your method to actually work. How did you come up with that idea?"

"It's very simple, it's just that simple."

When Elizabeth asked him a question, Levi chuckled.

His proposed solution was simple: since the plague virus seemed to be related to the god of disaster, they would use the same force against him. If he used the god to curse, they would use the god to heal.

A holy bishop is a religious organization, after all. You can't not even know how to make holy water for blessings, can you?
That's impossible, of course. In fact, those "medicines" weren't medicines at all; they were just simple saline solution. Thankfully, saline solution existed in this world. However, to Li Wei's amusement, it wasn't used for treating illnesses; instead, it was treated like a high-energy drink, like Red Bull…

To put it bluntly, since there was no time to eat, they just gave me an IV drip of saline solution.

With saline solution, you can go for days without food or water without any problem!
Yes, that's what they recommend.

Salt is used for disinfection in religious ceremonies, and it's also added to holy water to symbolize the killing of impurities and the creation of pure holy water. Therefore, physiological saline solution is barely acceptable. The next step is for the priest or bishop to bless it, turning it into holy water, before it's injected into the patient…

“I am different from you, Miss Elizabeth. I am a detective, and detectives are here to solve problems. As for how to solve problems, that is another matter.”

In fact, Li Wei was just thinking about it. After all, your virus has been strengthened by the evil god, so wouldn't it be possible for me to use holy water to counter you?
Besides, no matter what, the empire also worships a holy god. Since you've received offerings from him, you should at least show some appreciation.

I didn't expect it to actually work?

To be honest, although Li Wei appeared calm on the surface, he was actually just as surprised as Elizabeth.

I just made it up on the spot, and it actually worked?
That's really unscientific...

"I will contact Fog City immediately to report this matter. Fog City can produce a large amount of holy water, which should be enough for our needs."

There's only one small chapel in the Rune Mines area, and even opening it 24/7 isn't enough. The Fog City has far more churches, making it much more convenient for blessing with holy water.

"By the way, have those who offer blessings write down their names. If any of the bottles don't work, we'll know who the heretics are."

"Well…………………"

Elizabeth was speechless upon hearing Li Wei's insidious suggestion.

That's when she realized there was a problem.

This is not just a crisis in the Rune Mines, but a crisis for the Imperial Holy Bishops!
In the past, everyone praised the Holy Lord, but it was impossible to tell who truly believed in Him.

After all, you can't read someone's mind; no one can read minds.

But now it's different. If you believe in God, your blessed holy water will be effective. If you don't believe in God, your blessing will naturally be ineffective...

Elizabeth could imagine that when this news reached the Fog City, the entire high-ranking leadership of the Holy Bishops would probably be in an uproar.

In a more serious scenario, there might even be a major reshuffle.

But... what does this have to do with me?

She was, after all, just a nun.

"I'll contact them right now."

"Remember to get more manpower; the source of infection is still down there, and we need more troops."

Li Wei still remembered the huge black shadow wandering at the bottom of the pit. Although he didn't know what it was, a barrage of fire should have been enough to hurt it.

The prerequisite is that there are enough people.

"clear."

Elizabeth left quickly, while Levi stood there, staring at the bottom of the mine in the distance with a question in his eyes. Then, he shook his head helplessly and muttered to himself.

"That's really unscientific."

(End of this chapter)