Steam Old Days: The Extraordinary Begins with a Corpse Collector

Until the last person placed their hand on the stone slab, a silver rune was struck on their wrist.

The recruitment ceremony thus came to a perfect end.

Then, starting with the bearded old man, the people on the altar began to chant today's prayers.

Every time someone on stage read a line, the audience below would repeat it.

Apart from Lyndon and Alastor, everyone in the church was solemn, even Robin Hood.

The prayer lasted for about half an hour.

When the old pastor finished reading the last sentence, closed the book, looked around, then stepped down from the pulpit, holding the leather-bound book, and announced the end of the day's activities.

The crowd began to disperse, walking out in small groups, while some remained sitting on benches, gazing at the images of the gods.

After most of the people in the church had left, and the three old men had also disappeared from sight, Lyndon slowly walked forward.

Where are you going?

Alastor watched as Lyndon stepped forward and asked in confusion.

"Interview."

As he spoke, Lyndon took out a pen and paper from his pocket, and he also stuck a fake mustache on his face.

No? Forget about the pen and paper.

Where did you get that fake beard from?!

Lyndon's gaze swept over the remaining pastors on the stage.

He picked a pastor who looked relatively young and walked over.

The pastor looked to be in his early thirties.

His shawl was lead-black.

Most importantly, he seems like an honest person.

The pastor was tidying up the wax on the altar.

He carefully scraped the solidified wax with a knife and then collected it into a small tin box.

These waxes can be reused after being heated once with fire and poured into a cylindrical mold and allowed to solidify.

However, these were certainly not used in sacrifices to the gods, but for their own use.

The items used for worshipping gods should naturally be the best.

"Hello."

Lyndon walked up to the pastor and gave him a polite smile.

"Excuse me, could I possibly take up a little of your time?"

The pastor, who was working, straightened up, looked Lyndon up and down, and then asked, "May I ask who you are?"

Lyndon replied calmly, "I'm a reporter for the Wiltling Daily, my name is Cole. I'm planning a column on how to prevent and deal with alien attacks. You know, many ordinary people don't know how to deal with aliens when they encounter them in their lives."

"That's true." The pastor nodded seriously and then had a serious conversation with Lyndon. "Last time I met a family who could have avoided the aliens' attack by simply keeping quiet, but they kept screaming as soon as they saw the aliens, and they almost died there."

"Yes, yes," Lyndon quickly nodded in agreement. "This precisely illustrates the necessity of my column. If everyone could correctly confront the alien species, how much trouble and damage would be avoided!"

"That's true..."

After listening, the pastor felt that Lyndon was absolutely right.

While the pastor was still thinking, Lyndon decisively asked him the first question.

"The first question is, what should ordinary citizens living in the city do if they encounter mutants? And how can we avoid encountering mutants?"

"Huh? Oh! If you encounter a mutant, the first thing to do is stay calm. Most mutants are in a low-level state. They are more like dangerous large beasts, so you can improve your survival rate through certain methods."

"As for how to avoid encountering alien species, first of all, avoid places that are sparsely populated and have harsh environments!"

The pastor hesitated for a moment before answering Lyndon's question.

He completely forgot that he should have double-checked Lyndon's identity.

The two chatted for a long time in this question-and-answer format.

Because Lyndon asked only ordinary questions, the pastor's wariness gradually diminished.

The pastor became more and more enthusiastic as they talked, his expression relaxed, and he became more talkative.

So Lyndon began to tentatively ask some more profound questions.

"I often see professionals who, after eliminating the mutants and removing the bodies, still refuse to let people approach. Why is that?"

The pastor thought for a moment and said, "First, preventing people from approaching at will is to protect people's lives and health, because some alien species have toxins in their blood. Second, the threat of alien species does not disappear with their own death."

"What kind of statement is that?"

Lyndon asked curiously.

"Because alien species are not ordinary creatures, they contain spiritual energy. Therefore, even if the alien species' bodies have rotted, some of the spiritual energy in their bodies will remain in place for a long time, which may pollute the environment, affect ordinary people, and may even attract more alien species."

"I see!"

Lyndon nodded repeatedly as he listened, his hand holding the pen writing rapidly on the notebook.

"Then you must have professional methods to deal with them, right!"

"Yes!" the priest confirmed Lyndon's statement. "After bringing the alien's corpse back, we will hold a ritual to completely strip the spiritual energy from the body!"

"but……"

Suddenly, the pastor changed the subject, and his expression instantly became serious.

Lyndon's heart skipped a beat upon seeing this.

"But what?"

"However, those guys who run corpse collection companies are utterly despicable. To save costs, they have absolutely no regard for human life! The kingdom should ban all of these organizations!"

After speaking, the pastor angrily clenched his fist, as if he were smashing something.

"Oh, I see. Hahaha..."

Linden breathed a sigh of relief, picked up the notebook, and gave an awkward smile.

"By the way, would you be willing to share some details about the ceremony's procedures?"

Lyndon blinked and continued to ask.

But the pastor waved his hand and refused to answer.

"I'm sorry, sir. Church rules state that we cannot disclose the procedures of the purification ritual without authorization."

The pastor adhered to the church's rules.

"Of course. Every member undergoes three months of training after the induction ceremony, which includes a purification ritual."

"I understand, I get it."

Seeing that he couldn't get anything useful out of the pastor, Lyndon asked some unrelated questions and then decided to end the conversation.

"Okay, Pastor, that's all I wanted to ask. Thank you for your cooperation."

"It's alright, I also hope your column can help more people."

After shaking hands with the pastor, Lyndon turned and walked toward the door.

Upon exiting the church, Alastor was already standing outside with Robin Hood.

Robin Hood squatted by the roadside, head down, staring at the ants crawling on the ground.

"let's go."

Lyndon ripped off his fake beard and spoke to Alastor and Giselle.

Alastor nudged Robin Hood, who was squatting on the ground, with his toe and said, "Hey kid, get up and lead the way. That fur shop you mentioned shouldn't be far, right?"

Robin Hood immediately clapped his hands and stood up.

"No, sir, no. It's very close, just two more intersections away."

Having determined the direction, the three of them walked into the crowd.

Bright sunlight streamed down the ground, and a gentle breeze blew by.

The ladies, holding small parasols and wearing fluffy skirts, whispered witty remarks and occasionally let out silvery laughter.

Peddlers walked the streets and alleys carrying boxes and calling out their wares.

Mischievous children surrounded him, pestering him to see the strange things.