Chapter 572.2: Where Chaos Originated

Seeing Old White studying the symbol thoughtfully, Ma Hechang coughed lightly and said, "This is the chapel we built for the Apostle... We just finished it recently."

Old White remarked casually, "Seems you hold the Apostle in high regard."

Ma Hechang smiled. "Of course. He truly brought us the truth of the world."

"In what way?"

"In what way? Far too many to count..." Ma Hechang paused, then recited proudly, "For example, the Na Fruit. People used to fight all the time, herders, farmers, woodcutters, hunters... All of them are hot-tempered. But since we planted the Na Fruit in town, we ran into no more trouble. The laborers became docile like sheep, finally as they should be."

Old White suddenly asked curiously, "And you? Do you eat it too?"

"Of course," Ma Hechang said with a smile. "I had a serious flu before, but after eating Na Fruit, I recovered."

Old White frowned. "Then why aren’t you like them?"

He knew that the Holy Water could ward off the negative effects of the Divine Trance, but surely people couldn’t inject themselves every single day.

Also, Holy Water only blocked the negative effects, it couldn’t prevent the Divine Trance state itself. Being immersed in blissful hallucinations was not a good thing.

Feeling pleasure from pain, obeying others’ voices without resistance... Those effects could not be removed by Holy Water.

Ma Hechang smiled awkwardly. "That’s because of the Apostle’s teachings, of course... As long as we donate a small tax, we can keep our true selves. Simply put, it prevents us from entering Divine Trance."

Seeing confusion on the man’s face, Ma Hechang pulled out a small medicine bottle. "This is it. It’s called ‘Gospel’. One tablet every morning is enough. It’s like a mild Holy Water, not as intense, but just enough to keep a person healthy and clear-headed."

Staring at the little bottle for a moment, Old White asked with interest, "How much does this cost?"

Ma Hechang hurriedly explained, "This isn’t for sale. It’s a blessing for the devout. As long as you obey the Apostle’s will, you’ll receive his grace..."

"And what is his will?"

"To build a church for the Apostle that spreads faith, and then regularly donate a modest amount of wealth to support the church."

Clearly, what was required as a contribution was modest only for those with money and power. Obviously, the Gospel had a cost and wasn’t cheap enough for just anyone.

But where was it produced?

Vaguely guessing something, Old White pulled 10 silver coins from his pocket and placed them in the mayor’s hand. "Can you give me one?"

The mayor hesitated, but after seeing the weapons those people carried, he nodded and obediently shook a tablet out, handing it to Old White. "... Strictly speaking, we can’t give it to non-believers. But the Apostle never said what would happen if we did."

"Thanks." Old White smiled faintly and handed the tablet to Night Ten, who tucked it into his tactical pack.

That was valuable research material.

The white-haired beauty at the Biological Research Institution in the New Alliance would surely be interested.

At the entrance, Mayor Ma didn’t knock. He pushed open the wooden door.

A pastor in a gray robe stood behind the wooden pulpit, muttering prayers.

Hearing the door open, he flinched, looking up in fright. Seeing it wasn’t Mutant Humans breaking in, he sighed in relief.

"Ah... Mr. Wei, the crisis outside has been dealt with! I forgot to tell you earlier, forgive me." Noticing the middle-aged priest staring at him, Mayor Ma coughed, signaling heavily with his eyes, and said, "... These friends from afar are very interested in our faith. Please answer their questions."

Old White noticed that while Mayor Ma looked devout when speaking of the Apostle, he was not particularly respectful toward the pastor.

The words sounded polite, but the tone sounded like he was ordering the pastor around

Likely it was because Ma Hechang had only converted recently, while the pastor was a native of the town.

Looking into the pastor’s eyes, Old White smiled and asked, "Sorry to intrude. May we sit?"

The middle-aged priest replied nervously, "Of course."

Old White nodded, sat down on the front bench, then turned to Mayor Ma. "We’d like to speak with him alone."

Catching the meaning, the mayor chuckled quickly. "Alright! I’ll leave you to it."

He turned, left the chapel, and thoughtfully closed the door.

The church grew quiet.

Stared at by several pairs of eyes, the priest swallowed hard and nervously said, "My name is Wei Ming, I’m the priest here. I don’t know... what do you want to ask me?"

His instincts told him these people did not like him.

In their eyes, he clearly read ill intent.

"You’re from this town?"

Wei Ming nodded nervously. "Yes..."

Old White asked again, "How do you know Zhang Zhengyang?"

The interrogative tone made Wei Ming uncomfortable, but faced with such ruthless men, he dared not complain.

Their exoskeleton and exoframes were still smeared with blood and flesh. The ghastly red stains alone were intimidating enough without a word spoken.

He swallowed hard and replied nervously, "... Two years ago, that Apostle came here. That’s when I met him."

Having already heard about it from the Iron Tower, Old White wasn’t surprised and he continued, "The Na Fruit was brought then as well?"

Wei Ming nodded. "Yes... but back then it was different. The early Na Fruit wasn’t mature, it could only grow in hot climates. I heard it was a tropical crop, imported from the southern islands."

Although Brocade River Province was south compared to the River Valley Province, it was far from tropical, barely on the edge of subtropical.

In cold winters, it still snowed.

Old White frowned and asked, "They improved the crop?"

"Yes..." Wei Ming nodded, glancing toward the back of the church. "At first there was no chapel, just a warehouse. The Apostle rented land here and hired people to help him test-grow those special plants."

Old White pressed, "Why did he ask you for help?"

Wei Ming answered honestly, "I’m the town’s doctor... I know a bit about biology. He told me if his plan succeeded, there’d be no need for clinics anymore. If I helped him, he would see that I was paid much better."

"Were there others besides you?"

"Yes."

"And are they still here?"

Wei Ming gave a bitter smile and shook his head. "They were slaves bought from nearby farms. Frankly, they were both laborers and test subjects. The Apostle had them eat the Na Fruit he grew, and my job, besides preaching, was to record their responses... After the first phase ended, I never saw them again. But I can guess where they went."

Old White frowned. "Where?"

This time Wei Ming was silent for a while.

Finally, he said, "I have no proof... but I believe they were sent to the Mutant Humans."

Old White froze. "Sent to the Mutant Humans?"

Wei Ming’s face twisted bitterly as he shook his head. "There was no other way. They weren’t going to survive. The Na Fruit back then couldn’t survive winter. After a whole winter of withdrawal symptoms, without enough antibiotics, none could survive... The Apostle said they were disposed of, but I doubt it was that simple. Those people had long dealt with Mutant Humans in trade. I even heard..."

Seeing Wei Ming cut himself off, Old White immediately pressed, "Heard what?"

Wei Ming was quiet, then slowly said, "I heard they bought slaves with Dinars or CR from nearby farms and sent them to the Qi tribe in the city... They seemed to have a pact. The Mutant Humans worked for the Torch Church, ensuring their safety, and in return, the Torch Church had to provide them with people regularly."

Night Ten muttered under his breath, "Bunch of scum."

Wei Ming didn’t understand the words, but he felt the anger in the tone, shrinking instinctively.

Old White stared into his eyes. "You’re a doctor. You must realize that Na Fruit will destroy you."

Wei Ming’s throat bobbed, and he gave a bitter smile. "Sir... Destruction is inevitable for us on the wasteland. The difference is only whether it’s today or tomorrow."

Old White fell silent.

He suddenly felt some pity for the man.

At that moment Gale spoke. "This doesn’t add up... By your words, the Mutant Humans spared you because of an agreement with the Torch Church. But I heard they rarely harassed nearby villages for over a century."

Wei Ming sighed. "That’s not contradictory. Over a century ago... even 20 years ago, when I was still a boy, the Qi tribe was still restrained. They only recently started becoming violent."

Night Ten couldn’t help but ask, "Why?"

"I only know what my grandfather told me." Seeing the look on their faces, Wei Ming continued slowly. "Long ago, Brocade Lake Municipality was home to a settlement no smaller than Boulder Town, maybe even larger, with hundreds of thousands of people..."

His eyes seemed lost in old memories. After a moment’s thought, he continued, "Back then it was managed by the Post-War Reconstruction Committee. I think it was called Singularity City, if I recall right..."

"Later, around the 50th year of the Wasteland Era, about 150 years ago, conflicts arose within the committee. They decided to go their separate ways."

Old White nodded. "I’ve heard of that. Around then, the Post-War Reconstruction Committee officially dissolved."

Wei Ming froze. "Really? Maybe. I’d heard it had long been in name only. But that’s not the key... The key is, around then, some green-skinned people came from the east."

"They claimed to be researchers from a facility on the East Coast, persecuted by the Production Department. To preserve their work and escape pursuit, they had no choice but to turn themselves into those weird creatures."

At this, Night Ten was stunned. "Good god... The ancestors of the Mutant Humans?!"

Wei Ming nodded. "Something like that. The earliest Mutant Humans were humans. At their core, they were still human. They didn’t eat people, were even more polite than humans, and got along well with Singularity City’s residents."

Night Ten choked out half a sentence. "But why..."

"Why do they eat people now, right?" Wei Ming’s face grew complicated. "Honestly, I don’t know. All this is just what my grandfather told me..."

"But if I had to guess." He gulped, answering with uncertainty, "Maybe... The earliest Mutant Humans thought of themselves as humans. But their children didn’t."