People in Terra, governing a weird little country

That's not right. If Du wanted to assassinate me, shouldn't you tell me directly?

He glanced at Kal'tsit, who seemed to know something, but the Riddler just nodded and signaled Ernst to read, saying that she was here.

Ernst frowned, hesitated for a moment, and then opened the envelope.

The content of the letter was very simple, a greeting, a self-introduction, and an apology for not being able to come to Kjerag for a face-to-face meeting. They were all empty words. Only at the end, where Elki had signed, did Ernst find a withered grass.

It's a bit far-fetched to call it grass. After all, this thing looks weird, and has a kind of legendary "colorful black" feeling. And it doesn't weigh much. Ernst was about to reach out and pick up the grass, but before he touched the grass, Kal'tsit and Typhon grabbed his hand.

The force was so strong that Typhon, in particular, could barely move.

"what happened?"

Ernst looked up, somewhat bewildered.

Typhon and Kal'tsit looked at each other and asked in two languages ​​at the same time:

"Are you feeling sick?"

"No."

"Just in case, I'll disinfect your whole body first." Typhon said, "Now, take off your coat, shirt and pants."

Ernst took a breath and faced the tough Sarkaz girl. He subconsciously took a step back, but bumped into a steel plate that appeared behind him at some point.

"Kelsey, you!"

"This is necessary, Mr. Ernst. I have to be responsible for your health!"

Kelsey said,

"Don't worry, you didn't show any fear just now, so it's not a big problem."

I don't think a grass can be afraid. But you two are almost frightening me now!

In broad daylight, in clear view, what are you doing?

I'm warning you! Don't try to challenge my weak spot!

Congratulations!

In a blink of an eye, it is Chinese New Year again. Chinese people just want to celebrate Chinese New Year! 2023 has passed, 2024 has arrived, a new year with a new atmosphere. Let’s not do anything empty. The most practical thing is that in the new year, I wish all readers good health, peace, no involution, and a happy life!

Finally, once again, Happy New Year!

Chapter 286: Evil Devil: Let me see what’s going on? Slip away!

"Are you sure it's ok?"

"Confirmed, there are no changes in the right hand, the pupil and face are not blurred, and no collapse reaction is found."

"What about his brain? Is he experiencing any hallucinations? Is there anything he usually cares about very much?"

"this........"

In response to Typhon's question, Kal'tsit was silent for a moment, and then she turned her gaze to Ernst, who had been stripped down to his underpants after a full body check and was almost at the stage of despair.

Is there anything that Ernst cares about?

Kal'tsit hesitated for a moment, but still asked tentatively:

"Ernst, there are no Sarkaz in front of you, no giant beasts beside you, and of course, you are not swimming in a sea of ​​gold coins. You have no money at all. If you find yourself seeing these things, tell me immediately."

Ernst’s eyes, which had lost their luster, turned to Kal’tsit and uttered a puzzled sound from his open mouth:

"But don't we have all these things?"

Kal'tsit immediately became alert and subconsciously raised her hand, ready to call on Mon3tr to come out and control Ernst. Typhon on the side also reacted immediately, taking out a snowball with a faint glow and strange patterns from the small toolbox he carried with him, and aimed it at Ernst's head without saying anything, making sure that the man in front of him would feel "Anma's love" as soon as the situation changed.

Ernst's face did darken, but there was nothing wrong with it. He looked at the two people fighting in front of him with difficulty:

"Typhon is the Sarkaz, and Yelagund is right beside me. I think the person with the problem is not me, but you, Kal'tsit."

Kal'tsit: "........."

A trace of embarrassment flashed across the face of the green-haired lynx. The hand he raised slid smoothly in the air in a perfect arc and came to her mouth, helping her to cover her face and cough lightly:

"That's true, but Mr. Ernst, please don't be upset about it. This is a very special matter... Let me ask you one more question, did you see the gold coin?"

Ernst shook his head: "No."

Kelsey breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good."

That's good? That's not good at all!

You were probably checking to see if I was hallucinating, right?

Although I don't understand why you suddenly asked about things like Sarkaz and Behemoths, Kjerag now has both Sarkaz and Behemoths. As long as he makes an effort, Ernst can find them.

The only thing is gold coins. If you don’t have them, you don’t have them. No matter how hard you try, they are useless.

By asking this, are you implying that I can only swim in the ocean of gold coins in an illusion?

After looking at Kal'tsit suspiciously and confirming that there was no other hint on her face except a little embarrassment, Ernst turned his head away with a bit of sadness.

Although he didn't know what Kal'tsit and Typhon were on guard against, judging from their serious expressions, it was definitely not a trivial matter like Hinterea had changed a new type of mat today. The two of them gave him a full body check that was, at best, quite "Sami-style" and at worst, quite "shamanic". Now they were asking questions about this and that, and it was obvious that it was related to the little grass that he had almost touched.

Not only can it have an impact on the body, it may even cause hallucinations?

I got it on day! It's wild mushroom from Yunnan!

Ahem... Ernst certainly had never beaten a pigeon with an unreadable name that was produced by Ober eating wild mushrooms. But his intuition told him that the sudden reaction of the two of them might have something to do with the black grass in the letter that he had almost touched.

Even though Kal'tsit and Typhon didn't seem willing to explain, it didn't mean Ernst couldn't ask.

If this thing is really dangerous, it should be destroyed as soon as possible. And Miss Elki, who sent this letter, put this dangerous stuff in an envelope and sent it with the letter. Are you making some kind of mail bomb?

"So, what is that thing?"

Kelsey and Typhon looked at each other. Ernst was sure that the two of them didn't know each other before, but at this moment, they seemed to have some kind of tacit understanding. After exchanging glances, Kelsey stood up and answered confidently:

"This thing is nothing."

Ernst: “……..?”

Why don't you leave it here?

"You might as well make your words clearer." Ernst reminded.

Kal'tsit showed an embarrassment on her face. After some consideration, she turned around and took the small "warmth" [Amma's Love] from Typhon's hand, which had the opposite properties of the snowball, and stuffed it into Ernst's hand. Then she said:

"That grass you just saw was contaminated."

"I guarantee that what I am about to say is true, so please pay attention, Mr. Ernst. No matter what I say next, you must not be afraid."

Ernst also became serious. After looking at Kal'tsit for a while, he nodded and said, "Don't worry, I have received professional training. No matter how scary it is, I will not be afraid."

Kal'tsit bowed slightly and began today's Terra class:

"Mr. Ernst, I believe you have heard that there are two areas in this land that humans have not yet explored in depth. One is called the Burning Wind Hot Land, and the other is the vast Infi Icefield north of Sami, Ursus, and Yan Country."

"And the reason why these two places have not been developed for a long time, and even a country like Ursus that is eager for land has not rashly incorporated them into its territory, is that there are [evil demons] entrenched in them."

[Evil Devil], along with [Sea Si] and [Originium], is one of the three major crises in the Terra world. To some extent, it is also the one with the lowest sense of existence.

The reason for saying this is that compared to the [Great Silence] in Iberia, the [Sea Succession Crisis] that destroyed a superpower empire that almost dominated Terra in its heyday overnight, and the [Originium Crisis] that has penetrated into every aspect of the land of Terra and has become the energy source for the survival of the entire land, and has demonstrated its presence at all times, the [Demon] crisis is almost unknown to people.

It has not caused a huge amount of damage. The Great Silence, a precursor to the Sea Succession Crisis, can reach the level of destroying a country, and the biggest Demonic Crisis was also gambled by the Ursus Empire with the lives of the Wendigo Legion and dozens of internal guards in the Sunset Canyon. But being unknown does not mean that those who possess such a terrifying name as [Demon] are easy to deal with.

Rather, people should be thankful that the evil spirit is “unknown”.

Demons are not creatures of Terra, and may not even be considered creatures. They are just projections onto Terra, and their greatest known characteristic is that they can become powerful based on cognition.

The more people recognize the evil spirits and interact with them, the stronger the power of the evil spirits will be. At first, it may just pollute a blade of grass or a flower, giving them a strange shape and losing some of their own characteristics. For example, the "black grass leaf" that Ernst received was not dyed black, but was deprived of its own concept of "color", so it can only exist in a state of nothingness.

As for why the void is not yellow, green, or colorless, but a colorful black, Kal'tsit cannot answer this question. After all, the Collapse is like this, with a black face and a black hole. This is their standard appearance. If you really want to get to the bottom of it, you have to ask the demons. After all, this is their personal aesthetic problem.

When the pollution reaches a higher level, the power projected by the evil spirits will become stronger. This strength is not just a simple increase in the intensity of the pollution. In fact, pollution is pollution, and there is no so-called intensity. This change is more reflected in the concept.

"The collapsing paradigm, that's what we call it."

"Emotional instability, hallucinations, physical fragility, the slightest movement or stumble will cause serious injuries, laziness, often sleep beyond normal hours, or on the contrary hyperactivity, more energetic as the night goes on, and forgetfulness, the brain naturally skips some information, or on the contrary, attaches extra importance to everything it sees, and even regards a trash can as his wife."

After hearing Kal'tsit's description, Ernst was somewhat dazed.

I feel like you're talking about a group, but I'm embarrassed to say it directly.

Pay more attention next time you recruit, and put a note saying don’t want a “collapsed body”?

Not realizing what Ernst was thinking, Kelsey continued:

"These are only the mildest ones, which only involve one's own cognition. If the power of the evil spirit is too strong, it will directly affect concepts, etc. For example, the straight line between two points is not the shortest, the atmospheric pressure changes randomly, and it is completely impossible to adapt. Even the definition of civilization is rewritten, and the human body begins to be connected to the flesh and blood of the machine..."

"The power of the evil spirits is complex and varied. And this is just a projection of it."

Kelsey took a deep breath, as if to give Ernst time to digest the information. Unfortunately, she did not see any expression on Ernst's face except "serious".

You really don't feel scared?

It’s not that Kal’tsit has never seen a naturally brave person, she just felt a little surprised. After all, she has also seen too many people who claim to be “fearless” but start to run away in fear just by hearing about the knowledge of evil spirits.

Ernst's behavior was normal, which was a plus in her mind. If he was weak-minded, it would be hard for Kal'tsit to guarantee that Ernst would not be tricked by those evil-minded Sarkaz in the process of collecting the illustrated books.

This is no joke, there is a branch of the Banshee clan who are particularly fond of this behavior, using their own body fluids to make incense and perfume, using magic to condense their own "kisses", and even making some magical potions with strange uses. They have a good reputation among the nobles and are considered to be the best-performing group of Sarkaz.

However, not being afraid now does not mean that you won’t be afraid later.

Demons are powerful because of cognition. Cognition is the bridge between humans and demons, and discussing demons is naturally within the scope of cognition! In other words, Kal'tsit's current conversation with Ernst is, strictly speaking, also under the watchful eyes of the demons.

It's just that "chaos that works like thinking" doesn't care about these noisy noises, unless...

After a brief pause, Kelsey pursed her lips, gave Ernst a "ready look", and then said:

"And when the pollution reaches the highest level, the projection of the evil spirit will pay attention, or even descend directly."

"One of the most powerful among them, according to the information I know, is named [???]."

The moment the name came out, Ernst felt the room suddenly become quiet.

Kal'tsit still had her mouth open to speak, and Typhon's face still showed seriousness and surprise, as if he was a little caught off guard by Kal'tsit's outspoken behavior.

And at this moment, Ernst felt a gaze.

It can be said that there was some deviation in his vision, but other than that, Ernst really couldn't describe the feeling, the feeling of having a thorn in the back, as if he was being cut open and seen through.

Is this what Kal'tsit mentioned [???]?

The demon won't notice the noise unless someone in the noise calls its name directly?

No, do demons have names? That's just what humans call them. Why would demons understand?

The demon can understand the meaning of this title and point to it. Is this one of its powers? Or is it not the real demon body, but another advanced projection mixed with the "cognition and consciousness" of the Terrans? A concrete [collapse paradigm]?

Before Ernst could figure out the problem, the next moment, the feeling of being pricked in the back suddenly disappeared. The "sight" came quickly and left even faster. It just took a quick glance and then left Ernst's "side".

Everything around seemed to have regained its color. Kal'tsit took a deep breath, and the poker-faced man also let out a long breath and relaxed a little.

Typhon on the side has already rolled up his sleeves.

"Who told you to say [name] here?"

Kelsey replied: "This is to prove that I know my limits."

Typhon was even more dissatisfied: "Those who drowned were all good swimmers! Why are you like Elki, doing things without thinking carefully? Even if you want Ernst to understand the [evil], there is no need to use this method, right?"

Kelsey said again: "I know my limits. [Anma's Love] is in Ernst's hands, and he won't have any problems."

"Even if there is Mother Anma..." Typhon hesitated for a moment and didn't say anything else.

Because Ernst returned the snowball.

"This is the [Anma's Love] you mentioned, right? I'm giving it back to you."

"I already know about the evil spirits, thank you. However, now is the World Expo, we can discuss this matter later. I am very interested in the "crisis" you mentioned, Kal'tsit."

Ernst looked at Kelsey deeply.

This old lynx is definitely more than just an "immortal".

He is worthy of being the most famous riddler in Arknights.