Returning from the abyss

Chapter 1468 Variation
The traces of the plague apostles found in various places have not had much impact on people's daily lives, and the people of Violet City are no longer surprised by it.

The Church acted with the fastest speed at this time, so fast that some plague apostles were captured alive before they could even make a move. Many of these people were attracted by Pandeon's reputation and tried to stir up trouble in the chaos, but before they could even start, the Church dug them up from the ground.

Within this group, the special response team led by Bavotley was the fastest. The prison at the Church of East was never empty, filled with arrests, interrogations, sentencing, and executions. In just three days, about thirty church members had their heads ripped off and were subsequently incinerated.

The notion that the Cardinal was "only good at internal matters" was easily refuted, and Bavotley became a rising star in the church. His work ethic earned the Cardinal's approval, and he soon gained greater authority to make decisions.

Liu also garnered significant credit in this operation. Defeating the Plague Apostles always inevitably involves siege warfare, and the Burial Pivot's firepower was capable of demolishing most buildings. Only when the shrapnel bullets shattered walls and people alike did these Plague Apostles remember the Burial Pivot's dominant firepower.

After the two of them successfully carried out another swift attack on a stronghold, Liu checked his remaining ammunition and asked Bavotley, "Don't you feel like all of this we've done has been a waste of time?"

"How could arresting criminals be a futile effort?"

"These plague apostles are utterly useless. In all these days, we haven't caught a single big fish in our elaborate trap, only small fry. Isn't that pointless? At least the Secret Vision has captured a few who tried to activate the Rainbow Kiss, those are at least mid-level plague apostles. But how many of these we've dealt with are even sensible?"

“We still can’t leave them alone.” Bavotley directed his men to tie up the captured Plague Apostles one by one and take them away. He said in a deep voice, “Besides, the destruction caused by aimless madmen is not small. We can’t ignore the civilians.”

"...Have you heard about the strange thing that happened at the cemetery a few days ago?"

"What happened? I haven't heard anything about it."

"The resurrected dead, an incomplete resurrection. I wonder if this is related to the plague, after all, there is a god among the Plague Lords who is known as the King of Rot."

"His plague takes pleasure in making the living watch themselves rot and resurrecting the dead. Has he changed his nature?"

“It’s always within his authority.” Liu Qing checked the bullets and put the gun back in its holster. “Anyway, I plan to investigate. Bavotley… Let’s be frank, I’ve been seen, my identity has been exposed. If any tourists chose the other side in the previous mission, you know what kind of danger that would have occurred.”

“...Here’s a hint. I got it from an apostle yesterday. Pan De’ang is cooperating with the traitors in the city. Among them, he values ​​the most and hopes to stir up trouble. His code name is ‘Hanging Sun’.”

"No matter how you look at it, this is the duty of your oath-taking council."

“But anyone could run into him,” Bavotley scoffed. “Be prepared not to die at the hands of this tourist.”

“I’ll try my best.” Liu waved his hand. “I’m leaving the cleanup to you, Bavotley. And you too, don’t die in some idiot’s assassination attempt.”

=
"For this reason, shortly after the theory of the five fluids was proposed, many people attempted to verify its correctness. Salvation Pivot was one of them. However, even if we link the red, white, and yellow fluids to common bodily fluids, the balance theory in this theory is incorrect. If the red fluid truly represents blood, then it would undoubtedly constitute the largest proportion in the human body, while cerebrospinal fluid and digestive fluids are obviously in smaller proportions. In addition, although this theory attempts to use blue fluid to represent sodium and black fluid to represent death, such abstract statements are simply untenable."

On the platform, the monks from the Sacred Heart spoke eloquently, while the doctors below frantically took notes.

Within the church's parishes, due to the seven cardinals, some insightful individuals from the general populace also attempted to learn related knowledge. Cardinal Christ fostered a large number of artisans, Cardinal Mysticism inspired many to enjoy adventure, archaeology, and excavation, while Cardinal Salvation obviously increased the number of doctors.

The doctors' skill levels varied, but since it was within the parish, patients could be referred to the church for treatment if the doctor couldn't cure them. Of course, there were exceptions where doctors accidentally killed patients. Generally, doctors who were less confident would have the patient or their family sign a death or retrial agreement to avoid future disputes.

In reality, disputes are still inevitable.

Finally, when there was a moment of free time, the doctors who had come together quickly grabbed their water bottles and poured themselves a sip. One of them was surprised to see that there were only a few lines of text in the notebook in front of Peverley.

Of them, Peverley was the most studious. He not only attended the weekly lectures of the Sacred Heart, but also went to church to seek guidance. If people didn't know he wasn't a member of the Sacred Heart, they would all assume he was a believer. That one lecture, Peverley's notebook was completely filled with notes, more than ever before.

“Peverley, why didn’t you remember? Are you feeling unwell?” he asked quietly.

Peverley glanced at him, his expression complex, and after hesitating for a while, he said in a low voice, "He's wrong..."

"What? Those are monks from the Salvation Pivot! They have studied far more medicine than we have! How could this be wrong!"

"The Five Fluids Theory is indeed a fallacy, filled with fabricated examples due to the influence of the times. But it's also wrong to completely deny it. The death represented by the black fluid should be the rotting of the human body caused by plague, which needs to be combined with some ancient mythology..."

Peverley's voice gradually faded, while the monk continued his lecture, his attention already drawn to the monk, and no one cared what he was saying.

He was somewhat frustrated, after all, arguing with people was not his forte, and those theories probably wouldn't be understood by anyone. The monks on the platform were indeed quite knowledgeable, but some of them were arrogant and disdainful of those outdated academic theories.

When did he begin to be able to discern the quality of these monks' lectures? Peverley touched his chest; where his heart used to be, it was now covered in wrinkles, and in one hard spot, some foreign object had been incorporated.

It was a book he found in a secondhand bookstore. He initially thought it was just a story, but on a night that made him doubt himself again, he opened the book, trying to find some comfort in the false story... and then, the book and he became one.

The Mystery of Immortality.

He remembered the book's title clearly, and after the integration, he even learned about some knowledge and techniques he had never known before. With such clear understanding, he realized how ignorant he had been about medical knowledge.

However, Peverley still couldn't believe such a good thing existed in the world, so he still came to listen to the lecture, but the result did not satisfy him.

The cowardly man said nothing more, but listened until the end, then packed his things and returned to his clinic with his companions. Because he accepted all sorts of people, Peverly's clinic was always busy. But he also couldn't save many. Violet City was full of drunkards who drank too much at night, and there were even gangs on the streets who didn't hold back; killing people wasn't particularly uncommon.

Another one came tonight. He's a robber on this street, probably ran into some tough nut and got stabbed. The wound wasn't far from a vital spot, so his accomplice brought him here, probably as a last resort.

Peverley looked at the person lying on the operating table, frowned, and examined him. He found that the incision had damaged the internal organs, and conventional methods would be difficult to treat.

"...He needs some special treatment, otherwise he won't survive the night."

"Alright, you decide what to do. He's always robbing people; it's fate if he gets killed, and it's fate if he survives. If he does survive, he can afford the medicine." The person who brought the person over said nonchalantly.

Peverley gave a wry smile. To be honest, treating this person wasn't for the other person's sake, but rather for his own. If this method that popped into his head didn't work, he probably wouldn't want to pick up a scalpel again.

"bring it on."

He concentrated and began the surgery.

The variant copy quietly turned in his arms, its pages, now part of his flesh and blood, beginning to outline new words. Peverly's experiences and the characters in the book were taught here, and the lines between the story and what lies beyond it gradually began to blur.

Meanwhile, inside Violet Castle, Tia looked at the servants gathered around her and couldn't help but laugh, her smile stretching all the way to her ears.

She gently picked up a peach from the fruit plate beside her, popped it whole into her mouth, bit it off along with the pit, and swallowed it with its abundant juice.

In contrast, her lower abdomen was swelling, and the part that had completely transformed into an insect's belly was laying black eggs. The eggs then hatched quickly, and some people crawled out of them.

“Twenty-three…” Tia looked at these people with satisfaction, then her body quickly returned to human form, without even tearing her clothes.

"Congratulations, the guards are indeed of higher quality than the servants. This time they are all soldier insects." A woman who looked like a butler said with a smile. This woman was the first maid that Tia ate.

"That's not enough. If I just eat them to reproduce, when will my insect population increase? I need more worker insects and soldier insects; I can't rely on just one..."

“Then you will need more ‘Zerg’ to help you, and not like me, you should enhance their combat capabilities, but rather their parasitic infection abilities,” the housekeeper said.

“But producing Zerg is just too tiring.” Tia’s laziness kicked in again. “I can produce a dozen or twenty of these worker and soldier Zerg at once, but it took me a whole day to recover just one of yours.”

"It's just a small initial investment, Your Majesty Queen. Zerg can also be infected and Zerg will soon be free for you to use your power."

"Hmm...then I need to choose the best material. By the way, find the list of people my brother hosted for his previous dance. Those talented young men on it are the best material!"

Following Tia's command, the worker and soldier insects all showed excited expressions.

The pheromones spread throughout the castle, but they were colorless and odorless, so no one could detect them except for the "insects".

Some of the holders of the variant have already begun to take action.

They acted in accordance with the story's contents, becoming characters within it. The gravedigger, with the corpses, dug underground as described in "Drinking the Rotten Juice," excavating pus from where the bodies had gathered, and then mixing it with nearby water sources for everyone to drink. He wasn't worried about the corpses being discovered; after all, missing loved ones was human nature, and suppressing such affection was pointless.

The unemployed worker returned to the factory. The machines were still running, but the sound was no longer a roar; instead, it was a series of soft, cracking sounds of wood splitting and splintering. Both the foreman and the workers were now covered in a layer of withered bark. They could no longer make a sound, yet they could work endlessly. But the worker wasn't particularly happy; he only felt a sense of calm, just as the open book on his arm proclaimed on its cover: "This is just an overgrown nursery."

The rapid spread and subtle effects of the "alien" make it difficult for people to detect anything unusual. It might not be until someone notices something amiss in a family member or friend and investigates further, at which point it will likely be too late.

As the sun rose, Violet City began another day of normalcy. A slight fishy smell carried on the riverbank wind, causing Father Thorne, who was out for his morning exercise, to frown.

If he remembered correctly, the Violet River hadn't smelled bad for a long time after the pollution was cleaned up. Even if someone was fishing in the river, the water wouldn't have drifted this far.

Father Thorne walked towards the upwind direction. The further he went, the more he felt that faint fishy smell was impossible to ignore. Although it was very faint, it was still easy for someone like him who usually sat in the church to smell it.

"Here? No, we have to go further... Could it be that it comes from a water source? Or perhaps..."

After walking for a while, Father Thorne felt that continuing forward was not a good idea, so he stopped and squatted down by the river to examine it. Unfortunately, he couldn't see any change in the water with the naked eye. After thinking for a moment, he drank the water from his water bottle, filled it with water from the river, and quickly returned to the church.

As the cardinal priest, Father Thorne had access to examination equipment issued by the cardinal in the church. He simply took a few test strips and tested them, and found that one of them had a slight discoloration.

This represents biological toxins.

What was poisoning the water? Father Thorne quickly tried several common disinfection methods, and finally found that apart from boiling, neither disinfectants nor filtration equipment could remove the toxin from the water.

"Knight Gael, immediately issue a public notice: no one is allowed to drink any water from the surrounding area. If anyone wants to drink it, they must boil it first!"

Father Thorne was able to discover the problem with the water thanks to the environment here, but in other areas where the smells were more mixed, this fishy smell would not be noticeable at all.