Chapter 3434: Divine Doctor with Wonderful Hands (41)

Arkham Batman recounted to Shiller his experience of exploring the Mining Area in search of his target.

Shiller and his group were playing "Two Point Hospital," while Arkham and Natasha were playing "Tomb Raider," because the tags they chose were "Action" and "Combat." The whole process was filled with parkour, platform jumping, and combat, with a small mix of puzzle-solving elements.

Both of them were hexagonal warriors without any weaknesses. Whether it was the treacherous terrain encountered on the way into the Mining Area, the Rebel army enemies that would pop up from time to time, or running around the map to find stone slabs and keys for the puzzles, they handled everything with ease.

Shiller had already planned to watch their play-through video after going out. It might even compete for this year's best action movie, assuming there were no extra physical movements involved. But Shiller knew that it wouldn't happen with Natasha's style.

Arkham Batman and Natasha delved into the deepest part of the Mining Area and discovered some unusual traces there. This indicated that the mine disaster might not have been an accident of negligence, but possibly man-made.

Following the mining tunnel further inside, they encountered a dead end. They remembered the direction of the tunnel, and after returning to the surface, they found that it pointed directly toward the hospital.

The two split up. Arkham Batman continued to investigate outside, while Natasha went to the hospital to explore. Unlike Wanda, she didn't end up in the operating room where Shiller and the others were, but instead, she went to where Arrogant and Batman were.

Shiller was pondering the information brought back by Arkham Batman. Thor carried a patient past him, and Shiller quickly made way. The small hospital lobby with two bulldozers running amok was clearly not a good place for thinking.

Shiller took the medical record in his hand to Loki's side and handed it over before asking, "Why did you and Thor come to the hospital? You wouldn't have chosen tags related to hospitals, right?"

Loki replied while writing medical orders, "We are Asgardians, so we chose tags like 'Mythology' and 'Magic.' Unexpectedly, we ended up here."

"Mythology and Magic? I can understand Magic. What does what you're doing now have to do with mythology?"

"Do you know what the magic system of this world looks like?"

Shiller shook his head. He indeed had a hard time picturing it, because his understanding of Magic was mainly of two kinds: one was the comic-book style magic, which was essentially "borrowing debt"; the other was like the Harry Potter kind of magic, that had no cost involved, and the limit was almost entirely based on imagination.

But this world was clearly not like either of those. Their Magic Power was not borrowed, yet it was not without cost.

"The Magic Energy of this world is like the oil used by the human race in the real world," Loki explained without looking up, "Beneath the surface, there are Magic Energy Sources, shallow or deep. By mining, one can obtain a continuous supply of Magic Energy, which can be used in all aspects of society's life."

"If we're comparing it to oil, then clearly, this thing would cause a scramble. And indeed it does. This Mainland has gone through many wars to become what it is today."

"This seems a bit far-fetched. Anyway, the Westchester Duchy we are in now is located at the border of two major Empires. One Empire excels in Steam Technology, the other in Magic Energy development. Westchester Duchy utilizes both."

"Can it really be completely compared with oil?" Shiller questioned, "Centuries ago, someone divided the Magic Energy source beneath Magic Core Town and turned themselves into a Grand Mage."

"It's not that they split the Magic Energy and turned themselves into Grand Mages. Rather, it's their nations and forces that split the oil fields. To make them take the fall, they were given the title and treatment of Grand Mages."

"I see," said Shiller. He thought of the noble-like man he saw in Manny's dream. He must be a representative of some behind-the-scenes force.

"But you still haven't told me what your Main Task is."

Loki shook his head and said, "Basically, it has nothing to do with your tasks. We are studying the true source of the Magic Energy in this Mainland."

"Something like the World Tree of the Nine Major Kingdoms?"

"Close enough. This Mainland was not naturally formed; it's very likely God's creation. And what we need to do is find the entrance to the Ascension Stairs."

"Are you looking to become gods?"

"The short-term goal is to become a Grand Mage."

"I can understand you wanting to be a Mage, but what's the deal with Thor?"

"By your human race standards, Thor is also a Mage. Because he uses Divine Power, which is also a kind of Magic. Even though his way of using it is to swing fists made of Divine Power, that's still a way to use magic..."

Not wanting to hear his nonsense anymore, Shiller took up the medical record and went to Arrogant's psychology clinic. He was more curious as to why Arrogant and Batman had also become doctors.

They definitely would not have chosen the "Hospital" tag. Shiller was certain of it, because this setting did not give them much room to excel. If it were Arrogant, he might have been more inclined to choose "University."

Arrogant wasn't seeing patients; instead, he sat at his desk organizing notes. He looked up at Shiller briefly, then lowered his head to continue writing.

Shiller sat down on the sofa next to the desk, casually picked up a book from the side, placed it on his lap, and started to describe the current situation of several teams to Arrogant.

By the time he finished speaking, Arrogant had also finished writing. He set aside what was in his hands, stood up, and walked over to sit on the sofa opposite, saying, "I've indeed considered the university theme. But Batman said we can't just presuppose the existence of only modern universities within a scientific society; it might be a magical school or even an extraterrestrial school."

"The task may also be unrelated to education and simply happens within a university setting. If that's the case, a school would not be a good choice because there are too many people, and the situation would become even more complicated."

"So what did you two choose?"

"Ghostly encounters."

Shiller paused with the cup in his hand and said, "You two specifically look for haunted copies? What's the point in that?"

"Because he wants to know whether Psychoanalysis Method is effective on ghosts."

"Damn it, you agreed to that?" Shiller said somewhat helplessly, "Batman should know it has nothing to do with the form of life's existence. As long as it's an Intelligent Creature, it can naturally be analyzed."

"He prefers to interpret the Psychoanalysis Method as a kind of brainwave communication. You know them, always eager to explore every possibility."

"That's a very high EQ way of putting it," Shiller exclaimed. Then he continued to ask, "So your theme is ghost hunting?"

"To be precise, it's ghost research." Arrogant took out a notebook from a table nearby, handed it to Shiller, and then said, "We are from the Mage Alliance. You can think of us as theoretical Mages. This is the subject we're currently working on."

Shiller opened the notebook and saw that it contained knowledge about the development of Magic Energy Sources.

"You came here to investigate the Magic Energy Source in Magic Core Town?"

"More specifically, we are investigating some anomalies that occur during the development of Magic Energy Sources, including Magic Power outbreaks, Evil spirits, plague, and so on. And Magic Core Town is obviously a classic case."

"Then how did you get into the hospital?" Shiller tapped the cup gently with his finger and said, "Manny has certain requirements for the selection of doctors. You two didn't meet the criteria."

"I think you should first explain what the owner of the dream, that Ghost child, is doing exactly."

"Is this part of your research?"

"You might say that," Arrogant crossed one leg over the other, rested his hands on his knee, and continued, "This involves some disputes between the Mage Alliance and the Steam Union, old and trivial matters. But they are mostly related to our ultimate goal. I must collect such clues."

"Alright, it's not a very fair exchange of information. But I can give you a discount," Shiller said, "Our mission processes should be the shortest among yours. After completion, we can leave. So whatever you do afterwards won't affect us. Telling you shouldn't hurt."

"The plague was not triggered by Manny. He doesn't have that kind of ability. But he does control this hospital. That's the agreement he made with Dr. Foster."

"Many years ago, during the era when Dr. Foster practiced medicine and saved people, he discovered the anomaly in Magic Core Town, which is that every so often, a large-scale plague would break out, claiming many lives."

"He realized that the situation was abnormal, but there was no way to solve the problem at the source. So he established a hospital to treat people."

"But obviously, someone didn't want him to do this. The hospital faced many problems, and it nearly shut down. Dr. Foster had to turn to Manny, making a deal with him to control the hospital in return for help with his revenge."

"Of course, Dr. Foster knew that, as an Evil spirit, Manny could not possibly save people. So the actual purpose of this hospital's establishment was to protect certain individuals during the plague outbreak, allowing them to escape the danger of the disease and survive."

"Dr. Foster made a list, mostly comprised of Mining Area employees, including Mineworkers, geologists, explorers, Mechanical Engineers, Mining Equipment Drivers, even producers of high-power illumination lamps. They were the ones to be protected."

"Manny didn't understand the significance of this, but after telling me these things, I speculate that Dr. Foster might have realized that the problem lay within the Mining Area. He wanted these people to survive, to explore the Mining Area and resolve the issue at its source when the plague was over and it was time to rebuild."

Arrogant quietly listened to Shiller's narrative and asked his own question, "In that case, why did the hospital establish such complex rules to kill these doctors?"

"It's a selection mechanism," Shiller said, "Dr. Foster didn't seem to want any dead weight in the team. He wanted a capable, responsive, cooperative squad."

"It seems he wasn't as benevolent as he appeared," Arrogant commented, "The patients turned out to be guinea pigs for his team selection."

"Not exactly. Rather it is to say, without this hospital, the patients wouldn't survive either. According to Manny, unless a certain number of people died, the plague wouldn't stop."

Upon hearing this, Arrogant began to understand, saying, "This must be some kind of sacrifice ritual, right?"

"I'm afraid so," Shiller nodded and said, "This is why the big shots of Westchester have such a strange attitude towards this place. They hope the ritual is completed but don't want the truth to be known. That's why they're blocking things off and covering them up."