Learn one small skill every day

“Father Barton, this matter is of great importance. May I speak with this guest alone? I have the same abilities as him, and I hope to train him to be the next priest.”

Barton seemed still reeling from the shock, only nodding woodenly, "Okay...okay..."

"Priestess Tina, is there something we can't say here, and we have to go somewhere else?"

They really can't hold their temper.

Knowing that he might be able to see through her scam, he got anxious?

"What I am about to say needs to be kept secret, and only those who can see the guidance of others, like you, are qualified."

Bai Miao also wanted to see what she was up to: "In that case, let's go."

Following behind Tina, Bai Miao was ready to unleash the Howling Abyss at any moment, causing anyone who got close to him to suffer more than 40 points of mental damage.

Besides the main avenues leading directly to the palace, the city of Kade is also dotted with various smaller paths that meander through houses with gears and mechanical structures.

It can be said that Tibetans are quite secretive.

As Bai Miao passed through a small alley, he heard noises coming from three directions, from five people in total.

"Silence."

With the silence skill activated, Tina, who was walking in front of Bai Miao, suddenly realized that all sounds had disappeared; the familiar sounds of gears and steam eruption had vanished.

She covered her ears in horror and turned to look at Bai Miao.

"Ten Eyes."

The moment her eyes met Bai Miao's, she was deeply shaken.

She saw blood-red veins extending from the back of Bai Miao's head, forming yellow eyeballs that stared intently at her.

Bai Miao also canceled his silence skill at the right time and smiled at Tina: "The gears are guiding me, you have already laid an ambush here with five people waiting for me, right? Or can Priestess Tina ask me herself if I am telling the truth or not?"

Seeing Tina's desperate yet unwilling expression, Bai Miao laughed even harder: "I love seeing that expression on your face... but I think we can talk."

Bai Miao's sudden change of tone caught Tina off guard.

"Let's not beat around the bush. What does it mean that you pretend to be able to ask others for instructions? I suppose your instructions are also fake, right? Your purpose is just to get close to us. What exactly do you want?"

Tina looked at the man in front of her who had her completely under his control, and a sense of humiliation rose in her heart.

After pretending for so many years, I've fallen for this outsider so quickly...

She raised her hand and reached for the gears above her head.

"Oh? You want guidance from the gears at a time like this?"

"Boom!"

After a crisp sound, Bai Miao saw Tina pull the gear off her head.

It's out...

But there was no blood flowing from Tina's head, nor was there any visible wound.

So... the gear on Tina's head was just a decoration?

"As you can see... I haven't received guidance from the gears, nor can I ask for instructions from others..."

"The instructions are absolute. The priest's instructions are to take you to the church, so in the end he will do whatever it takes to get you there. Once you're at the church, judging from your performance in the factory, there will definitely be more people who will be seduced by the sound of the gears."

“I want to… cooperate with you.” Tina gritted her teeth. “We… have no choice but to cooperate with outsiders.”

Chapter 115 Steam Cult

"You? Who are you people?"

Bai Miao asked this question, but he already had an answer in his heart.

Those without gears on their heads, besides those from remote areas who are not qualified to receive the blessing of gears, are either the gear thieves the priest spoke of.

I never expected there to be such a big mole inside.

It's clear that the gear thieves are a very organized and disciplined group.

“We…we are the Steam Cult.”

"Gear thief?"

"Please don't call us that. We just want to do everything we can to save our compatriots from being manipulated by the gears of power."

Tina said sternly, "You should have seen it today as well. Those who receive the blessing of the gears blindly follow instructions. Their way of thinking has undergone a complete transformation. As long as it is an instruction, they will do it without hesitation and without thinking about any other issues."

"But I can also see the blessing of the gears. Aren't you worried that I'm part of the Gear Cult?"

Bai Miao was not interested in the behavior and doctrines of the Steam Cult.

It's just a dog-eat-dog situation between the two religions; neither is any better than the other.

The Steam Cult is capable of doing something as simple as forcibly pulling the gears out of someone's forehead, so they must have some flaws.

"The fact that you can sense the danger means that your thinking hasn't been affected by the gears yet. Do you want to become a gear cultist without your own consciousness?"

Tina persuaded, "Steam is the power source. Gears are just the means to transmit power to every part. The entire Stram is a giant machine. Every Stram should become steam, not a small gear being carried along by the original gear."

“Speak like a human being. I’m not interested in your doctrines. All I know is that if I kill you, I can meet the king and take your place.”

"No, you can't do that! Aren't you still searching for the relics? Then you absolutely cannot let yourselves be controlled by the gears!"

Seeing that Tina was getting anxious again, Bai Miao asked, "Alright, then answer a few questions honestly."

"First of all, to what extent can the guidance of the gears actually go? For example, if I kill someone, will the detective investigating the murderer get detailed answers right away?"

"No, the instructions given by the gears are always to ask someone to do something. The gears don't provide answers, but rather force others to perform a series of actions."

"But these actions might very well lead the detectives to the answer about the killer?"

Tina paused for a moment before nodding: "That's right."

Bai Miao gradually gained a clear understanding of the logic of gear commands, but this was far from enough to answer another question of his.

"What exactly are 'gears'? Why do we get commands by manipulating them? Where do these commands come from? Are they related to the giant steam engine?"

Bai Miao fired off a barrage of questions, leaving Tina somewhat at a loss, but she still managed to organize her thoughts and provide answers to Bai Miao.

"The steam engine... was a sacred object of our Steam Cult, but it was shamelessly stolen by the Gear Cult! The steam engine was supposed to produce endless energy to develop our civilization, but after the Gear Cult retrieved that thing from the sea... the steam engine became a slave to providing energy for that thing! They used that thing to calculate commands, it was all that thing!"

Tina became increasingly agitated as she spoke, but Bai Miao still managed to understand what she meant.

The instruction was indeed related to that steam engine.

But the steam engine was just a source of power; the real core was probably the lost component from the Endless Energy that calculated the future.

However, Tina actually dared to say that this giant steam engine could generate endless energy...

Did you ask for my opinion as the captain of the Endless Energy?

Bai Miao didn't believe that endless energy could be obtained so easily.

Only the Endless Energy ship truly possesses Endless Energy; everything else is just empty promises.

"I understand. So your needs are to destroy that thing and completely disable the Gear Cult? And you think that the relic we're looking for is that thing, so you want to cooperate with us, right?"

Tina nodded emphatically: "That's right! You've traveled all the way to Stern, and there aren't many relics that can attract you! That giant steam engine is a sacred object that our ancestors spent thousands of years building. It's definitely not your relic. Only that thing that requires a lot of energy to give commands to everyone is more suitable."

Bai Miao raised his hand to pinch his chin, but it was blocked by the mask. However, this did not prevent Bai Miao from saying the classic line.

"But, I refuse!"

"Why!"

Tina was getting a little frantic. The team led by the man in front of her had unknown technology and mysterious abilities, making them the perfect partners.

And since he would have helped them find the lost items, why did he refuse?

“One of my men was bewitched when he saw that giant steam engine on the way here, and another was bewitched at the gear factory. So both of you have the power to bewitch people. This sudden interference with the mind makes it hard for me to believe you!”

"It's all because of that thing!"

Tina retorted, "How many relics retrieved from the deep sea won't affect people's minds? It's the Gear Cult's insistence on using this method to transform the minds of the Strom people, drawing guidance from it, that turned that thing into an even more terrifying existence!"

"What is your position in the Steam Cult? How do you know so much?"

In just a few minutes of conversation with Tina, Bai Miao gained far more information than he had on the Endless Energy.

Contact with the outside world is indeed a way to obtain all kinds of information.

The problem is that it's uncertain whether it's true or not.

Communication was disrupted in this era, and the speed of letter delivery was slow.

"I am a priest of the Steam Cult, hiding within the Gear Cult as a priest, seeking a sliver of hope by fabricating commands."

"Please believe me, we, the Steam Cult, have nothing left! We only want to get rid of the parasites that are clinging to the steam engine and frantically absorbing its energy! And only you outsiders can take this thing away!"

Bai Miao shook his head regretfully: "You still haven't provided a solution to avoid being misled. You know the consequences if someone is misled and turns their guns on their own people."

"But...don't you need our help now? I can help you get rid of the priest and make him stop insisting on taking you to church."

“If you want to resist, you will be in conflict with the entire Stern. Why not choose to join our plan? As long as we remove that thing from the steam engine, the gears will stop working, and Stern can be freed.”

"Give me thirty gears of wisdom."

Bai Miao suddenly said.

"what?"

"You stole the Gear of Wisdom. I can cooperate with you, but I have conditions. First, I need to obtain from you the gear sufficient to meet the king. After that, you need to help me postpone the priest's orders. He cannot continue to harass us for at least three days. After I speak with the king, I will make my choice."

Bai Miao practically blurted out that he wanted to get something for free.

Chapter 116 The Rules of Time Stop

Tina wasn't stupid; upon hearing Bai Miao's conditions, she immediately shook her head.

“Outsider, your demands are outrageous and lack sincerity.”

"You don't think I'm making a deal with you, do you?"

Bai Miao chuckled, "I think you completely misunderstand. Our team is currently searching for the relics in a peaceful manner, but that doesn't mean the main force that sent us has such good patience. If we are all wiped out this time, the people who come later will use even more aggressive methods. Our ship is anchored a dozen nautical miles away from Strombo, capable of easily tearing apart the seabed and sinking the entire Strombo."

"Similarly, our weapons can easily cut through steel, but we do so now simply because we value peace."