Doomsday Jigsaw Puzzle

Chapter 270: Chapter 74: Can you help me get the pot spirit-possessed?

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"The road speaks of white fog,"

"Are you somehow excited rather than afraid? It’s very strange that this little child, unaware of the whole, suddenly manifests the white fog. ’What makes you feel more excited than afraid?’"

"It’s a highly dangerous job."

What they themselves have to do is to rectify—their very souls—are undergoing evil degradation; it is indeed they who are.

Because they are capable of this special kind of evil degradation, they can be stuffed with souls into mechanical bodies; thus,

having turned into mechanical bodies and produced non-human offspring, they are not the same as the steel-and-iron Lulus and orangutan squads seen in the Bai Chuan zoo; these Mechanism Tribe are something different.

It was a warning from Spirit Possession, and although Bai Chuan felt this was an extraordinarily unsettling notion, he also knew,

"You may not know that those mechanisms still belong to the realm of magic or science before their evil transformation. After their bizarre transformation, I believe, they can possibly own some stronger words, such a complicated annoyance..."

Can Ulaga’s disease-causing poison still, even after transformation, degrade?

This is not degradation, but the so-called ’precautions’ mentioned by Spirit Possession, which includes these Han Lang Liu.

Bai Chuan was shocked.

"... It’s called degradation; this is a term originally used on living organisms,"

"Twisted transformation?"

"Ulaga’s disease might cause this kind of emotional instability to become extremely severe, leading to fear, anger, sadness, and fear, which would then enable fear to produce bizarre transformations."

"But, Mechanism Tribe are essentially governed through numerical control, unlike humans who control emotions by relying on the suppression or stimulation of hormonal secretions, and the world outside the tower’s emotions are a very scary thing, this here is the world outside the tower," freewebnoveℓ.com

Spirit Possession’s expression became more solemn. freewёbnoνel.com

"There is,"

"Are there other symptoms of deep infection?"

"Bai Chuan said,"

"You have a great probability of coming into contact with Ulaga’s disease because of your job. There is one part of me that has already recovered... However, after a large number of precaution teams are destroyed, some have gone mad uncontrollably; ultimately they can still keep their reasoning, although they have many severe emotional tilts, such as surprise, anger, sorrow, and joy in their devices... I don’t know,"

"Bai Chuan said, ’Can Ulaga’s disease be cured?’"

"According to reports, as much as a third of the Inner City had already been overtaken by anger at one time, even sustaining continuous anger for sixteen days. It’s not just a matter of unpreparedness in customer service transformations, but these symptoms are like a cycle of seasons. Every manifestation will persist for several days to several months, or even notably, in some severe cases, until it leads to paranoia, paranoia about the surroundings, fear of the objects and events around, causing doubt and suspicion, even to the point of killing loved ones in a dream. Ulaga’s disease-infected Mechanism Tribe will eventually become suspicious and paranoid, the prime example being an extreme scare that persists for several days,"

"Ulaga’s disease has four manifestations: joy, anger, sorrow, and fear. They are just like human emotions. Anger, joy, fear, and sadness,"

Spirit Possession, whose own interest in diseases matched that of a research scientist, lucidly explained to Bai Chuan, who listened intently because Ulaga’s disease required special attention for his work.

"As a disease predictor, it can predict the manifestations of the disease in the coming few days, similar to how an earthquake predictor, more than seven hundred years ago, could predict the approach of earthquakes."

"What sort of prediction device for Ulaga’s disease is this, a necessity for risking this trip to the Inner City...this?"

"The Inner City has a prediction device for Ulaga’s disease-related emotional abnormalities."

"What are the disease manifestations for those infected by Ulaga’s disease?"

It felt to him that this disease was some kind of pact, an intuition about the affair of Ulaga’s poison, hence he continued to pursue this line of questioning, even though Bai Chuan did not ask.

...Old Jiaxie had come to see the Mechanism City’s Inner City scientific and technical equipment, which was even better than the basic models, yet still couldn’t compare to Old Jiaxie’s gear, but he had already seen through Designation Zero.

The white fog had never thought the science and technology of the Mechanism City could be so complex.

"Hey, Old Pal.

"The equipment that belongs exclusively to the police unit is the ’Spirit Crime Detection Equipment.’

"’Crime Detection Equipment’ that can also detect things like criminal intent?"

"Spiritual possessions with higher criminal intent will be directly judged to be carrying the disease plague, leading to immediate capture. If the results show that your mental state is unstable, you’ll be hiding out on the other side, being the best at lying low if you encounter their talk; it shows a tremendous threat. Their equipment is very strong, even stronger than our Jiaxie family’s most powerful technology, fundamentally based on obeying commands from Designation Zero, which is the main component of a Royal Task Force."

"A ’Disease Plague Countermeasure Police Unit’ sounds pretty severe, right?"

"Yes, after Ulaga Plague became known, Designation Zero established a ’Disease Plague Countermeasure Police Unit’ for temporary suppression and then utilized the extensive data for modifications after a major disaster followed. Mechanism City was extremely twisted during its most severe era, even leading to the paralysis of the Inner City, causing widespread and rapidly spreading Ulaga Plague. But nobody knows who the first plague patient was or where it originated from the heart of the city, the first instance of the Ulaga Plague."

"Ulaga Plague has already been discovered for several centuries within Mechanism City, but currently, Ulaga Plague is still a mysterious disease, and generally, anything related to spirit possession is twisted, so how do we explain something like this?"

"What exactly is Ulaga Plague?"

The question that was asked first by the white fog was...

Of course, Designation Zero was also striving to correct this social issue.

It was clear that Designation Zero had initially provided these original human professions with the expectation for them to be corrected, though his words also gave the white fog a faint impression. Old Jiaxie clearly had some experience within the Inner City.

"Fundamentally, we mechanical beings are not at all comparable to humans when it comes to creative power, after having possessed the spirit. Mechanism City’s machines also possess the potential for deicide, but Zero Designation is the mechanical god, threatening the heart of the city with its technology. In recent years, there have always been some rebellious offspring, but how could they possibly stop them?"

"You’ll encounter stronger scientific equipment within the Inner City than your Jiaxie family?" asked the white fog.

"That’s exactly true."

"Could it be that after being endowed with a spirit on some machine platform, Zero Designation was created?" asked the white fog, as this seemed to be a piece of very valuable information.

"Although their spirits were the reason for Zero Designation’s creation, all these spirits seem to be countermeasures against the death that occurred in the tall towers a hundred and seventy years ago, but there’s not much difference between their names and mine, or with the names of mechanical beings here, as all mechanical beings typically have names."

"You can see that there are six dangerous levels, from Type ǝ Machine Bodies to Type S, where their machine tribe’s forehead indicator will display the danger level. Although we can still classify the zero parts by danger level according to the appearance of their mechanical bodies, which are not quite the same here, it’s overall not really different," replied Old Jiaxie, almost immediately after the white fog had brought it up.

Recharging the war energy source was necessary.

Mechanical citizens of all model types basically only recharged their daily energy and had various cable interfaces on their beds - there was only one bed, very simple, almost ascetic-like, in the simply furnished room of the Red Hotel.

After finding a place to stay, Chu Qing and the white fog turned on the radio receiver for the latest information in the room.

The surroundings looked quite dilapidated.

However, Chu Qing and the white fog were still living in this hotel which was considered to be the most stable, according to white fog’s observations; ultimately, it could not be determined.

"..."

"..."

"I can choose not to live here. But I am indeed a writer," said Chu Qing angrily.

"How could you not rush over there?" retorted Old Plank, raising four fingers. "Four contributions. "

"Really just a lot of nonsense, there’s no point in living anymore," said Chu Qing.

"The Spirit Possession Device," he said, "is completely beyond my comprehension."

"Oh?" replied Old Plank, "to think that you, a man of such peculiar taste, wouldn’t find some compatibility with this place. Is there not a single room that fits the bill for you two men? Not even one room? Hmm?"

"Just one room," he insisted.

"What, two gentlemen require a single room? Ah."

He looked like a cat eyeing a mouse-trap, his eyes scanning every corner with suspicion. On his left shoulder arm, there was something that resembled a revolver’s loading chamber but was actually some kind of mechanical scabbard. The old man had a beard of cable-like whiskers which explained the network of bristling wires on his cheeks, which was the reason he appeared to be an old man—The innkeeper was a man wearing a cowboy hat.

Ulaga sighed and followed him, heading towards the red Mechanism City where nothing but white mist lingered.

With more than half of his Spiritual Possessions gone, even an electric rice cooker was of no use to him now. Based on his many years of experience with Spiritual Possession, it was unlikely that the Spirit Possession Device had anything to contribute.

"That’s why this thing has no use for me," he exclaimed.

"Dammit, not an electric rice cooker! Dammit, this is supposed to be a pot!" complained the white mist.

"And yet, in just thirteen minutes, despite having no need for Spiritual Possession as it’s just a cracked pot, it’s still better than nothing. In this dangerous place, where we are limited to a certain number of activations each day, it’s best to not waste energy unnecessarily," Erleipu explained, shaking his head, a look of resignation filling his eager eyes.

"Could you not use your sequence to help me possess something? Although it seems like a tough task, you are the only one who can manage it. I have a humble request, brother Jiaxie," said the white mist with a pleading tone.

He took out a pot from his Spiritual Possession pouch, wanting to try an experiment, as it was the first time white mist had seen the Spirit Possession Device.

"Unless I foreclose my sequence as collateral, I have no other choice to contribute points. Still, there may be some use for my abilities here. Depending on the importance and time-restrictive value of the item, the exchange could be worthless after a certain time," he said.

Blind to the subtle nuances, Erleipu said nothing but knew that the Spirit Possession Device was not bemused by white mist’s lack of understanding.

The Spirit Possession Device—66 Support Sequence Device—can not only summon any item of Spiritual Possession once but can also maintain it for thirteen minutes in a sequence, which already has three Spiritual Possession items stored within the full scope of its world boundary.

"Why do you not want to use the sequence if you can exchange it for Spiritual Possession items?" he asked, as white mist realized he was just 150 points away from contributing 15 points.

This place truly embodies the real meaning of not accepting garbage.

"Even if you were a Han Lang Liu, a man taking his chances in Mechanism City, you’d be worried about what you might step in. You have to have a certain degree of prestige to wear the Jiaxie—a mechanic suit of Erleipu—though they seem impressive, it’s because of that very reason that white mist was ultimately given the exoskeleton of Old Plank by Jiaxie," he said.

"The Spiritual Possession market has extremely low contribution points. Compared to Spiritual Possession items, they are not worth much, although they are the best value for money," said white mist.

"Can any item serve as collateral?" he asked.

White mist marveled at the seemingly beyond imagination level of technology here.

As white mist discovered upon selecting and confirming the collateral, the exoskeleton suit suddenly vanished.

"With this, I can probably earn twelve points just within two days, and we really need those contribution points. We could earn fifteen points easily just by exchanging one of those sets, and if we are lucky enough to gather fifty-five points, we could exchange it for a ’Carapace Bug,’ an exoskeleton suit," he blurted out.

Despite the complexity of the inner workings, Jiaxie products that have already been mastered can still be manufactured, and they still rely on the number zero as a power source.

Jiaxie’s technological strength is very strong, but Chu Qing and zero, though working in collaboration, haven’t actually achieved many of the true benefits that Jiaxie has to offer. These products are merely a supply of some items. Zero doesn’t go into the theory behind his research, which is largely Jiaxie’s own technology.

Smiling wryly, the Spirit Possession Device said, "In the world of Mechanism City technology, what we do counts as a product too. I must admit it’s rather embarrassing when compared to the countless years of hard work by Jiaxie, but anything at all, including the Spiritual Possession item you carry, can be exchanged through mechanical clothing transactions," he said.

"Is this what you do? Can’t this vending machine recognize any other outfit? What’s the situation like?" he asked.

"All the good stuff is in Inner City. I could just tell you about the weapons from outside the border from the adverts, not much different, but this is just a toy," he said, exchanging points for it.

"It’s much better than I expected, definitely not wrong," he admitted with satisfaction.

The Spirit Possession Device chuckled, "Is this thing not strong enough for you? Are you not convinced that it could stand up during a Shen Ta convention?"

"Why then will I still choose to wear it after being ambushed by people?" Bai Wu asked.

"That’s also a direct payment by the Shen Ta for the matched set."

Seeing Bai Wu removing a small delicate device from his upper body, Jiaxie realized it was a Carapace Bug, an object resembling a pocket watch. Jiaxie is, in fact, a piece of mechanical weapon equipment.

"I just found something suitable in my hands to use as collateral. But I can use it as collateral," he said.

"I can’t buy anything right now."

Bai Wu, estimating what he needed to buy, followed Jiaxie to an automatic vending machine up ahead.

With Erleipu, the most powerful spying device in his possession—Bai Wu didn’t need to spy, certainly not with the way that Jiaxie meticulously examined every person they passed, despite having no apparent job that required such scanning.

"This spying device is extraordinarily expensive. Because your household has a defensive device, you’ll be able to buy this with the extra contribution points," he said.

"What does it mean if they don’t show which machine clan they belong to?"

Bai Wu’s eyes could pick up those that did not advertise their profession, but once they were officially logged, their professions would become recognizable.

None of the idle wanderers, the masses of Han Lang Liu, paid any attention to Bai Wu and Jiaxie—these mechanical lifeforms still appeared decidedly lazy and vast in the early morning. This place almost felt like a pre-world garbage disposal ground.

Every vendor was surrounded by big piles of waste, which Bai Wu actually took the time to notice.

Although the vending machines sold a plethora of items and were quite typical, Bai Wu noticed that these kinds of vendors weren’t few at the outskirts of Mechanism City.

Jiaxie first led Bai Wu to an automated vending machine without stopping in front of the inn.

Bai Wu needed to be told about some of these notable things because there were just too many notable things in Mechanism City.

The inn was called The Red Inn because the paint on all four sides was red, which is why they call it The Red Inn. Jiaxie’s plan was to take Bai Wu along the side of The Red Inn.

"Furthermore, you’ve chosen one of the most dangerous jobs. Even if you could afford the Inner City contribution point card, it still wouldn’t be easy because the level of difficulty is not ordinary by any means. Unless you can take on a consequent Inner City task, which is highly dangerous since you could encounter Carapace Bugs and Ya Gang sea raiders, though the Outer City is dangerous too," said Bai Wu looking at Jiaxie with a strange look.

He had no idea that Jiaxie had been to this area before and could only enter the core city after at least a year and a half.

But Bai Wu, who had no intention of entering the Inner City any time soon, knew this time he’d need to reach level zero to see the operator.

"I need to be faster. Is twelve days too slow?" he said.

"Twelve days, more or less?"

"How long, roughly, before you have enough experience to enter the Inner City?"

"I don’t have the experience yet, and I’m still feeling my way slowly into the Inner City. This place itself is too rushed for me."

"This is too slow," Bai Wu said, frowning.

"You can probably get a higher quoted price for weapons from the adverts than what you heard, but what are you thinking of buying to enter the Inner City? You need a lot of contribution points for that, don’t you?"

"Thinking of something for today? Not going into the Inner City yet?"

"I have a lot of business to attend to with you, and this street is not safe. First, let’s find a quieter place to make the transaction tonight," Jiaxie said, with a somewhat more reconciliatory and friendly look, as the two of them walked up the street in the Outer City at this moment.

"This place is a warren of complex things, Erleipu’s sickness is the main problem in this area. But if you choose another profession, you basically won’t get into fights, though," he continued.

Bai Wu was still very indifferent, despite Jiaxie’s vaguely confused expression that showed he wasn’t entirely convinced by this.

"What is that? What is Ulaga’s sickness?"