Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 342: Have you received a new mission?

On January 1856, 1, three days had passed since the once-in-a-century snowstorm. The clearing sky made the people in Nimscher feel as if they were in another world. They thought that the bleak snow scene they saw that day was just an unpredictable illusion that distorted people's senses and memories.

The only evidence of the disaster was the abandoned and dilapidated ruins. The oldest street had its stone slabs crushed by the heavy snow and blizzard, sinking ten centimeters. The white walls were cracked everywhere, and the tiles on the roof showed signs of being worn away. The corpses of ants and lizards drifted in the mud pits left by the melted snow. The scorching, pale sunlight illuminated the rotten and dead roots of flowers and plants, and the gorgeous fountains faded and became dim. Everything was shrouded in an unimaginable gloomy and sad atmosphere.

All the citizens of Nimsher should remember the scene when the blizzard stopped and the shining sun fell into their eyes from behind the clouds. At that time, they walked out of their houses and shacks where they had taken shelter from the disaster, and their skin and clothes still retained a faint musty smell of melted snow, as if they had been soaked in the snow for twelve years and four months, not a minute less or a second more.

After the snow stopped, the religious groups began to organize post-disaster relief work. The members of the Scourge Mission put on thick winter clothing, held heavy shovels, and led the citizens of nearby neighborhoods to clean up the snow accumulated in the streets, ditches and rivers. The houses and buildings crushed by the blizzard were also being repaired. However, the city government's response to the disaster was slow, and it is still constantly shirking responsibility and arguing about who should be held responsible for the disaster.

On the second day after the disaster, the city government and the church jointly issued a statement, saying that the incident was a terrorist attack planned by the remnants of the Holy Spring Monastery because they did not obey the "Religious Decree". They took advantage of the cover of the blizzard to release lethal poison gas and hallucinogenic gas in many places in the city, and at the same time blew up many gas pipelines and some important buildings in the city. This action caused nearly a thousand casualties, and the economic losses were immeasurable. They did not disclose the specific number of deaths, perhaps to cover up something.

Some people may suspect that this is just a cover-up by the city government, after all, the monster that appeared in the snowstorm that day did not look like an illusion. But soon, all newspapers began to publish relevant information, and the content was exactly the same as the city government's statement, even the third-rate tabloids that liked to spread rumors were no exception; at the same time, the bishops of the united church, the politicians from various countries who came to Nimsher to visit the 11th World Expo, and even the Saint Fei Er of the Inquisition began to accept interviews from newspapers, and the interviews maintained a surprisingly consistent tone.

Even if tourists from other countries wanted to tell others about what happened here, when they left Leisenburg and returned to their own countries, they would still find that the content discussed in the newspapers and in people's mouths was similar. It can even be said that all the authoritative voices in the Western Continent at this moment would have the same voice on the disaster in Nimsher City.

The shadow of a giant was looming behind the scenes, controlling these public opinions with its invisible hands, prohibiting them from crossing the boundaries of the "Truth and Civilization Initiative Convention" signed in the international city of Nimscher in the past. The people have always been accustomed to relying on authority and blindly following blind beliefs. Since so many newspapers and bigwigs have said so, it must be the truth, right?

They thought independently and came to their own conclusions, so that's the truth.

"No matter how many times I read it, I always feel that these newspapers are just too far-fetched." Having said that, Sally still read the newspaper in her hand with relish, and praised: "They actually said that the imaginary god that appeared in the blizzard that day was a monster created by the joint biochemical experiment of the cult. It was a conspiracy to rule the world, but an accident occurred during the experiment, which caused such a big commotion. The giant chariot of the cult, the Scarlet Gate, appeared here to clean up the mess... This imagination is really rich, I should write a novel."

……

By the way, the Nimser City Government also announced that this World Expo will be held normally until the day it ends as scheduled, and will not be interrupted by the sudden snowstorm and the conspiracy of people with ulterior motives. Half of the proceeds from this Expo will be invested in public welfare to provide financial support for post-disaster reconstruction.

By the way, this issue of the newspaper was not successfully published. It was confiscated on the day it was printed. The newspaper owner and the reporter who wrote the report were both imprisoned for "endangering national security." The newspaper, which originally only had a few small companies, fell apart and ceased to exist.

The Feiyemente, the middle-level rest area, inside the third reception room.

She was reading the Nimsher Pure Newspaper. Although it was named after the city of Nimsher, it was actually a low-end newspaper that was not even a third-rate tabloid. It barely won the favor of housewives by publishing market discount news on the advertising page. In order to increase sales, it did not hesitate to go against the confidentiality strategy set by the church union. When all newspapers and media tried to cover up the truth, it came out to sing a different tune and put all the blame on the church union. It was hard not to suspect that the remnants of the Holy Spring Monks were behind it.

This was actually also the requirement of the united religious orders. Of course, the citizens were not aware of this. They just thought that the city government had awakened its conscience and finally did something good for the country and the people.

Originally, these confiscated newspapers should have been destroyed directly, but the Chief Inquisitor, Her Majesty Fei Er, took into consideration that there seemed to be a lack of entertainment activities on the Feiyemente, and for the sake of the physical and mental health of the crew members, she placed these newspapers in the rest area. In her own words, "It's nice to read them as a joke."

At least Sally liked it.

She turned the newspaper to the next page, wanting to see if there were other similar reports, but at this moment, the door of the reception room was pushed open, and Wade Locke, the captain of the A-1152 arbitration team, walked in. All of a sudden, Sally, who was reading the newspaper, Michelle, who was wiping the magic device, and Agil, who was staring at the brass dial in a daze, all raised their heads at the same time and fixed their eyes on the captain's face. "You guys—" Wade was stunned for a moment, then he closed the door with his backhand and shook his head: "Why are you all reacting like this? I was shocked."

Sally was in no mood to continue reading the newspaper. She asked anxiously, "What's the situation, Captain? What did Lord Fei Er say? Is the punishment for us severe?"

When Aegir heard the word "punishment", he subconsciously clenched his palms, and Michelle, who was always gloomy, also showed a little nervousness in her eyes. Wade realized that they were all concerned about this matter, so he smiled and said, "Fortunately, I was criticized by Lord Fei Er, and then ten team assessment points and five individual assessment points were deducted. As the captain, I was deducted one more point, and then I have to write a self-review report of at least 6,000 words and submit it."

At this point, he was somewhat helpless: "Actually, this is what bothers me the most. I have never written such a long report. When I was in college, all my papers were copied from others..."

"Copied?" Michelle was a little surprised and blurted out: "So, Captain, you also -"

"Cough cough."

Wade then realized that he had let the cat out of the bag. He coughed awkwardly twice, trying to change the subject. Aegir quickly said, "Then let me write it, Captain. It's only 6,000 words, which isn't too difficult for me."

"Then I'll leave it to you, Aegir."

"kindness."

Sally was counting on her fingers, muttering, "Ten points deducted from the team assessment means we have to wait at least three more quarters to be promoted to the Inquisitor level. Five points deducted from the individual assessment means nothing to us, but isn't your goal to become a philosopher, Captain? If we can't meet the preliminary review requirements this year, it will be even more difficult next year. It is said that the Special Assessment Bureau is preparing to implement a new algorithm..."

"It can't be helped." Wade waved his hand, not looking very concerned. "Who caused the mistake in our mission that caused Rochelle to cause such a big mess in Nimsher City? Even the City Parish Committee was criticized by Lord Fei'er, not to mention those of us who were directly carrying out the mission. Besides, with six evaluation points, it is not difficult to catch up as long as we do a few more tasks and improve efficiency. In fact, before I left the office, Lord Fei'er personally handed me a temporary mission, which can be regarded as a way for our team to make up for our mistakes. Other teams don't have such treatment."

A task assigned by Lord Fei Er personally?
The three of them were all attracted, and Sally couldn't wait to urge: "What mission? Track down the remnants of the Holy Spring Monastic Order and capture them all in one fell swoop?"

After experiencing the summoning ceremony in Nimsher City, it is natural to have such associations. After all, the United Churches is not the kind of force that can only passively take a beating. Didn’t the Heavenly Feastman who failed in the blood sacrifice ceremony in Linville City last time turn into ashes and disappear from the world?
But it's a pity.

"The mission you mentioned is at least S-level, but it's not our turn." Wade shook his head to deny Sally's guess, and then a strange expression appeared on his face, as if he didn't understand the content of the mission. "In fact, I think it might be more appropriate to give this mission to the local night watchmen, but since Lady Fei Er handed it to us, she must have her own considerations."

"She asked us to go to Linville City in the Great Brittany Kingdom to track down a man named Linger. If necessary, it would be best to find out the details of the Holy Goddess Cult as well."

"She also said that although this mission has not been entered into the Sanctuary Arbitration System, based on the currently known information, the comprehensive assessment level should be—"

"A-level."

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)