Chapter 179

Chapter 179

"The Black Death?!"

"Are we talking about the same one? The apocalyptic plague that wiped out a third of Europe's population?"

"The Black Death isn't extinct, is it? I thought it was long gone?"

"What are you guys thinking? Humans never truly eradicated the Black Death. There were still outbreaks a few decades ago. It's actually known as the Bubonic Plague."

"Did you see the face of that person the big shot just passed by? Dark spots on the skin and coughing up blood - very typical symptoms. Of course, I only caught a quick glimpse, so I can't be entirely sure unless I take a closer look."

The live stream chat was abuzz with discussion, mainly due to the frightening reputation of the Black Death. Having caused numerous epidemics in human history and claiming countless lives, it had become a demonic symbol in literature, intriguing many with its infamy.

While the chat was engrossed in their speculation, it wasn't a pleasant situation for God Amongst Men, who was currently navigating the dungeon.

The game was designed to filter out excessively gory or potentially corrupted scenes, but what he was witnessing hadn't crossed that threshold yet.

As he followed the disciple, God Amongst Men noticed the atmosphere growing increasingly oppressive. Everywhere he looked, there were sickly individuals on the brink of death, some lying unattended on the roadside. The streets were eerily silent, as if everyone had lost the energy to speak. Only the occasional glance from a small house or passerby betrayed their vitality.

Divine Among Mortals had never experienced the plague-ravaged era in their time; such epidemics were mere urban legends to them. Yet, they unexpectedly encountered it in the game and couldn't help but exhale slowly.

Upon reaching the vicinity, Divine Among Mortals noticed a large crowd gathering ahead. Tents and platforms had been set up beside them, with several believers moving about amidst the crowd.

One of the believers, upon seeing Divine Among Mortals arrive with the others, heaved a sigh of relief. "You're finally here. Otherwise, I wouldn't have known if it would be enough."

"What do you mean 'enough'?" Divine Among Mortals asked, puzzled.

The believer looked at him in surprise. "Did they drain your brain during the bloodletting?"

Bloodletting? Divine Among Mortals was taken aback and instinctively glanced at the platform. Indeed, he saw numerous vessels on it, reeking of a pungent metallic scent. Sharp tools, each with a groove for bloodletting, were lined up on the table.

"???????"

A string of question marks appeared in the live stream. Not only were the viewers confused, but Divine Among Mortals himself was bewildered as well. However, he soon found out what was happening.

A few believers stepped up to the platform nonchalantly. "We apologize for the wait. The ceremony will commence shortly. Please begin your prayers. Our great Saviour will surely hear your voices and bestow blessings upon us."

Upon hearing this, the gloomy crowd finally cracked a smile. Many eagerly closed their eyes, clasped their hands together, and began praying.

In the meantime, the devotees who had initially brought God Amongst Men into this world stepped forward. Amidst the prayers of the congregation, they began their task.

Unflinchingly, they picked up daggers and small knives from the table, then rolled up their sleeves to reveal arms marked with scars. With God Amongst Men watching in astonishment, they sliced open their arms, allowing blood to flow steadily.

Soon, one small container was filled, followed by a second and a third.

After a basin-sized vessel was brimming with blood, the devotees' faces grew increasingly pale. One of them shot God Amongst Men a menacing glance, snapping him out of his daze. He realized that not only were the devotees watching him, but so were the thin, ravenous crowd below, their eyes greedily devouring every limb of his.

His scalp tingled, and assessing the situation, he concluded that escape amidst such a throng was unlikely. Reluctantly, he walked to the spot reserved for him by the devotees and, just like them, took a sharp knife to cut open his arm.

At this moment, God Amongst Men noticed numerous scratches on his own arm, as if self-inflicted, along with burns and bruises. Recalling Black Cat's explanation about the card functioning as a backup, allowing players to enter the dungeon as reasonable characters, he found it intriguing.

With God Amongst Men's contribution, the basin was finally full. The devotees looked ashen, as if freshly risen from the dead, but the patients below cared not. They fixated on the blood-filled containers, their eyes glowing with insatiable greed.

Just as those at the front were about to act, a devotee in the front row coughed loudly and sternly declared, "Only the devout can be healed by drinking the blood!"

Hearing this, the crowd below reluctantly regained some composure and began lining up before the platform. The other devotees sighed in relief, while more handed God Amongst Men masks, gloves, disinfectant, bandages, and antiseptic, before tending to their own wounds. A few hired laborers started distributing the blood among the queueing players.

The spectators in the live stream were dumbfounded by this scene.

"What are they doing?"

"No, seriously, what's going on? Are they practicing medieval bloodletting? But that doesn't make sense either. Why would they let the doctor bleed?"

"Self-harm? Performance art?"

"I don't get it. To intentionally create wounds in such a place, they must be eager to die faster. And if this really is the plague, their precautions seem rather inadequate."

"Exactly, sharing the same space with the patient is shocking enough for a century."

"We cultists are like that, we're all about not fearing death.jpg"

After bandaging himself, God Amongst Men approached the blood donation scene out of curiosity. He noticed that these seemingly weakened citizens seemed accustomed to this act. Each of them held a small bottle, containing about two or three sips of blood, which they then carefully stowed away in their bosoms, guarding against theft from others. Those who had donated blood often left discreetly.

"..." God Amongst Men couldn't resist checking his personal panel again, confirming that his stats were ordinary and he didn't possess any unique bloodline. So, they had just collected a small vial of regular blood.

Something was definitely amiss here.

After a moment of contemplation among the mortals, God Among Men took advantage of the other devotees' absorption in praying for the sick to slip away unnoticed. He removed his conspicuous priestly attire and devised a plan to blend into the crowd.

As he mingled with them, the eerie fervor among the people became more apparent. It was as if everyone was under the spell of an inexplicable emotion. God Among Men witnessed some drinking the vial of blood openly, while others cautiously pocketed it before sneaking away, perhaps to share it with others.

"Hey, buddy," God Among Men approached a young man who seemed intent on leaving the crowd. He appeared significantly calmer than most, not fixated on the cultist priests in their vestments like the others. His purpose was clear: obtain the blood and depart, without even bothering to receive the supposed blessings from the high priest.

Most importantly, the young man's complexion seemed the most normal, devoid of excessive signs of illness, making him stand out in this setting.

The youth, upon being stopped, shot God Among Men an annoyed glare and clearly failed to recognize the courageous donor. He gruffly asked, "What do you want?"

"I have a question for you. Do you know why they're doing this?" the Divine Being in Mortal World asked, subtly trying a conversational strategy.

"Strategy Result: Failure"

Well, that was expected.

Since it was a pre-set card, all the statistics were fixed and mostly not very high.

"Huh?" The young man looked at the Divine Being in Mortal World in surprise. "You don't know?"

"Should I know?"

The young man immediately looked at him with a peculiar expression, as if he regarded God Amongst Men as someone who had emerged from a remote wilderness. Then, without responding, he attempted to walk past God Amongst Men.

"Wait a moment," said God Amongst Men, pulling out a vial of red blood from his chest. "I'll give this to you if you answer my question. How about that?"

Of course, this vial of blood was one that God Amongst Men had secretly kept during the chaos, noticing the obvious obsession of these people with the blood bottles. He thought it might serve as a bargaining chip.

The young man's immediate intense gaze confirmed to God Amongst Men that he had made the right choice.

"You're really giving it to me?"

"Certainly," repeated God Amongst Men. "As long as you answer my question."

The young man frowned and stared at him. "Alright, but we can't talk here. It'll draw attention."

God Amongst Men, already aware of the fleeting glances towards the vial in his hand, stuffed it into the young man's arms and whispered, "Do you have a better place to go?"

The young man hastily put away the vial, muttering, "So trusting, huh? Alright, this way!"

The young man led the God through the city's alleys, effortlessly outpacing the greedy pursuers behind them. Only after confirming that the chase had ended did he softly answer the question the God had asked earlier: "We crave those blood vials because they can heal illnesses."

God Amongst Men: "…"

"You don't look at me with that 'you're an idiot' expression!" the young man protested. "The Salvation Society announced that the plague is a punishment from God for humanity's sins, and the priests' self-inflicted suffering is a plea for God's forgiveness of human transgressions. Thus, their blood is the only cure."

"I don't believe any of it, of course."

"…Well, I nearly broke my back with that sudden U-turn."

"Oh, curses have been spoken; sorry, can't take back my 40-meter-long sword now."

"Just bury this ally-in-disguise in an enemy cloak, shall we?"

"Why do you need these blood vials if you don't believe in them?" God Amongst Men asked, puzzled.

"Their blood vials do have some healing effects, that's why," the young man replied. "In fact, during previous disasters, the Church also distributed such vials, and some people did recover. Why not take them when they're free?"

God Amongst Men rubbed his temples, beginning to understand the rationale behind the people's frenzy. "The Salvation Society, they're the only church left in New Port, right? They're quite influential?"

"Are you injured in the head that you need to ask such basic questions?" The young man looked at God Amongst Men with increasing wariness but still answered his query, "I'm not aware of any new port. Our city doesn't have a name; people just refer to it as the Port City since there's a harbor here. As for the Church of the Savior, it has always been the only church in this port."

"So that's how it is," God Amongst Men nodded, as expected, the Church of the Savior seemed to be the root of the greatest distortion in this instance. "One last question, why don't you seek treatment outside when you're sick? The conditions here are terrible; the government can't possibly ignore this completely, right?"

New Port 50 years ago wasn't medieval, just technologically backward. From what God Amongst Men had observed on the way, controlling the plague was feasible. So why didn't they leave?

Before he could finish, the young man looked at him in surprise, "You're from outside?"

God Amongst Men narrowed his eyes, "Outside?"

The young man's expression turned odd, "No wonder you were asking so many bizarre questions. I wonder what goes through the minds of those from the outside, rushing over here during such times."

...Those from the outside? God Amongst Men picked up on the pronoun, could it be that there were other players who had already arrived?

"Never mind, come with me first. To arrive here at this time, I assume you know each other." The young man took God Amongst Men's hand and led him in a particular direction.

God Amongst Men naturally followed, his gaze flickering as he watched the young man's back.

He was very interested in that person from 'outside,' too.

"The big shot has obtained quite a lot of information."

"They're using the old rhetoric again, blaming the plague as divine punishment, claiming people carry original sin, and urging them to repent in pain."

"It might be cliché, but it works, especially during these times of unrest."

"Did none of you see the scene just now? Damn!"

"So, as far as we know, the area 50 years ago was called the Old Port, where a rat plague occurred. The Salvation Congregation used their believers for bloodletting and their doctrines to control the masses, right? Now, from this young man's tone, it seems that the place outside is disconnected from here, and the reason is unknown."

"Sounds about right. The Salvation Congregation was likely the only church in the Old Port, with a wide following. As for their claim of healing through blood, it could be some kind of ability."

"Sigh, but we still have no clue what really happened on this Day of Chaos. It's all still shrouded in darkness. We can only wait for more exploration by others."

"Take it easy. I see other players are also posting clues they've found on the forums. Let's proceed gradually."

"For the first time, I'm getting a sense of a role-playing game. Feeling a bit emotional here, what's going on hhh."

The young man couldn't see the chat, but God on Earth followed him, noting the surroundings as they moved. It had to be said that his residence was indeed labyrinthine, ending with a somewhat dilapidated cottage coming into view.

"Old Master, someone's entering! Do you know them?" The young man cried out eagerly as he approached.

After a long moment, rustling sounds echoed within the room. A man with a head full of white hair emerged. Upon catching sight of God Among Men, he narrowed his eyes and promptly aimed his gun at him without hesitation. "Whoever you are, step aside!"

The young man was momentarily taken aback, instinctively dodging to one side, leaving God Among Men directly in the line of fire.

God Among Men, however, raised his hand calmly. "I believe I can explain."