Fantasy Writers 1860

Chapter 113 It's still a gas explosion

"Breaking news! Breaking news! An earthquake struck the St. George area last night, and a gas explosion caused the ground to collapse!"

The next morning, newsboys throughout Lontinion were shouting the same news: whether it was the rise and fall of the stock market, the developments in the colonies, foreign politics, or aristocratic gossip, everything had given way to the headlines today.

The reason was simple: the earthquake last night was so powerful that almost the entire city of Lentinion felt the tremors to varying degrees. Many people were awakened around midnight and fled in terror.

Especially in the St. George district, which is the center of everything, chaos reigns and order has not yet been fully restored.

Everyone was extremely concerned about what exactly happened last night.

In response, mainstream official media outlets like Time, naturally driven by the need to maintain stability, immediately offered a conclusion:

This was actually just a secondary disaster caused by a safety accident.

The explosion occurred in the underground network of magic crystal gas pipelines, with the epicenter located in an abandoned factory in the St. George district.

Although the factory was abandoned, some of the pipelines beneath it were still in use. Due to a lack of management, an accident occurred, which triggered a series of explosions in some nearby pipelines, causing the ground throughout Lentinion to shake.

The more specific cause of the accident is still under investigation.

"A gas explosion? It's like the Holy Grail War—"

Lying in his hospital bed, Dorian gently put down a large copy of Time newspaper.

The morning sunlight streamed through the blinds of the hospital ward, casting dappled light and shadow on his bed sheets.

Last night, the fox-eared girl was immediately taken to the best hospital in St. George's District. With the help of the doctors' emergency treatment and the power of the Illusion Book, the fox-eared girl was miraculously brought back to life.

Although he is still in a coma, he is out of danger.

He, along with Polina and Roderick, were sent there. Roderick and Polina had both overexerted their magic power, but their physical condition was not seriously affected; they just needed to rest and recuperate in the hospital for a while.

Lily claimed that she could "reincarnate" as a werewolf again through the "Book of Werewolves." She said that as long as she didn't die on the spot, she could recover from any injury by exploiting this "reincarnation as a werewolf" bug, and used this as an excuse not to stay in the hospital for treatment.

Although she refused treatment herself, she insisted that Dorian stay in the hospital for observation, so she went through the hospitalization procedures with Polina and Roderick.

So, Dorian is now recuperating in a hospital bed.

The newspaper didn't name the Blue Blood Gang, nor did it mention the cult. Only in the expert analysis section following the statement that the cause of the incident was still under investigation did it vaguely mention "gangland shootout," and subtly alluded to all the corpses found at the scene...

Traces of the battle, and even the true cause of the gas explosion, were all attributed to this.

"What war?" Dickinson, who was standing by the window preparing to open it, thought she had just heard Dorian whispering something.

"It's nothing," Dorian shook his head.

The first person he saw when he opened his eyes this morning was actually Dickinson.

He was very curious about how the other person knew he was there.

"It's simple. This is the best hospital closest to the epicenter of last night's earthquake, and many people were sent here. I guessed you might have been sent here too, so I came to ask, and that's how I found you," Dickinson replied.

Today she was still wearing that flashy vest and trousers, with a striking bright purple bow tie.

"Speaking of which, when you told me to leave quickly last night, I was originally going to agree on the surface, and then secretly follow you after you left to see what was going on." Dickinson opened the window, letting in some fresh air to slightly reduce the smell of medicine in the room. "I used to be a reporter, so liking to create a big story is kind of an occupational hazard, I guess."

It's a good thing you didn't go with them, otherwise you would have witnessed something truly terrifying, and might even have lost your life.

Although the investigation results are not yet available, he felt last night that not many people actually made it to the ground.

Even after removing some buyers who ran away at the very beginning of the chaos, the final number still doesn't seem to add up.

There must still be people trapped in that collapsed crater.

"But in the end, I managed to restrain my curiosity. After all, I'm not a reporter anymore, nor am I the naive young man I used to be." She seemed somewhat proud as she sat down in a chair beside Dorian's bed, looking at him with gentle eyes. "So, as a reward for not prying, could you tell me some big news?"

"Big news? That wasn't an earthquake last night—" Dorian said slowly.

"So it is?" Dickins shifted her chair slightly, moving closer to Dorian.

"To be precise, it was a small-scale earthquake caused by a magic crystal gas explosion. It was written in Time magazine, which I just saw. We should rely on official information." Dorian pointed to the newspaper spread out on his blanket.

"Heh, official news. There's a joke going around lately, and although it's just a joke, I feel it makes a lot of sense: what the authorities are vehemently denying is the truth," Dickinson said with a laugh.

"Do you know what those tabloids are saying right now? They're saying last night's earthquake was a government conspiracy, not just a simple gas explosion. They're saying the government plans to take over the Blue Blood Gang, and other gangs decided to clean house and start a war with the Blue Blood Gang, even using the magical weapon that the Flawless Dawn Order researched—a weapon intended to overthrow the world—"

Oh no, this conspiracy theory seems to have some substance; at least the protagonist actually guessed everything correctly.

"The Blue Blood Gang and the Flawless Dawn Order were indeed the main participants, but I don't know about the others, so I can't say for sure."

""

"Alright, let's not talk about that for now—" Seeing that Dorian had no intention of sharing, Dickins decided to put aside her curiosity for the time being. "Let's change the subject. Dorian, you're really going to be famous."

"It might not be so obvious these next few days; last night's earthquake was just too eye-catching. But in a few days, the whole of Lentinion will definitely be talking about you!"

"If you can write poetry, you should have said so sooner! Yesterday really scared me to death; I thought you were going to ruin your literary future like this." Dickins smiled. "Could you teach me how to write poetry? To be honest, I've tried writing poetry, but even I can't stand what I write—"

"You know, this kind of thing can't be taught in just a few words. While literary creation certainly has its general rules and methods, inspiration and talent are also very important." Dorian smiled wickedly, appearing unfathomable.

His talent lies in his exceptional memory; he memorized all the works he had seen in another world, and then simply acted as a copyist.

Dickins nodded. "That's true. Writing is a very personal thing. Everyone's feelings are different. There's no universal formula. Maybe that's the problem with geniuses like us."

Dorian: ?

What kind of genius is this? Don't drag me into it.

"However, exchanging ideas and sharing experiences is still very valuable. Could you first tell me how you conceived those fantastical images? About aerial trade and combat, and the Earth Federation—do you think the future will really turn out that way?"

How did you come up with that idea? You can't exactly say that you actually saw it in another world, can you?

"I believe that one day, all of humanity will unite under the same banner—"

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