Chapter 172 - When Doctors Talk (1/2)
Zero inhaled his food quickly almost without tasting. On the other hand, a certain vampire ate with gusto. Ruth took his time to savour every new dish placed in front of him. As per Zero's instructions, Coux used everything in her disposal to create all sorts of food that the vampire couldn't eat before. There were entrées made from hearts, tails, roots all cooked using unheard of spices in the abyss. Ruth seemed as lively as ever even after the fifth plate so Zero decided to let the warrior enjoy his newly acquired ability a little longer.
Hua Tuo was staring at Ruth with both worry and astonishment. Zero noticed that look and dragged his teacher away into one of the guest rooms before placing some simple soundproofing spells.
”What was that?” he asked his apprentice. He never saw a vampire inhaling food the way Ruth did. Honestly, it was unnerving. It only made the physician nervous to know how great Ruth's actual appetite was. What if he used too much power and goes into a bloodthirsty frenzy? How many people in the village would be able to escape unscathed? Perhaps it was safer to leave him with lord Baal.
Zero grinned. ”It's a reward from the system after completing the quest. I can't say the same for other vampires but Ruth is now able to eat just about anything without getting allergic reactions. The skill's name is ”Strong Stomach” and it allows him to digest anything he eats. I heard his clan got wiped out because they ate cooked food.”
Hua Tuo blinked and shook his head. ”Vampires are not naturally allergic to cooked food of any sort. I did some researching and discovered something that may be of advantage to your business.”
”Business? Shouldn't you be telling Coux that?”
Hua Tuo shook his head. ”It's easier for me to explain it to you. Have you seen how the abyss is like outside of the domains?”
”No,” Zero shook his head. ”Baal and everyone wouldn't allow me out until the trials are over. There is still the Redemption event before the trial is truly over. Why? Is there a problem with what's outside of the domain?”
Hua Tuo sighed. It was a good thing he had the intergalactic communicator for times like this. Really, Steve has outdone himself once again. Cameras were very useful things. Back in those days when he was still a physician during the warring period, they had to paint what they saw. How accurate the image was depended on the artist.
Needless to say, Zero was fairly impressed when his teacher brought out the familiar looking device to show him some pictures.
”This is what caused the poisoning. It's not so much about the allergy although I tested some of Ruth's blood for adverse reactions against many types of food. He is allergic to some food but they're not commonly found in the abyss.”
The young doctor squinted at the blurry image. ”That doesn't look very good. Why are all the dead creatures turning black? Is that moss?”
The physician shook his head. While fungi tended to grow on the decomposing bodies of dead creatures back on Earth, the same didn't happen in Hell. There was simply no way ordinary plants could survive in this harsh environment.
”Do you see that black fog? That's the cause of it. It's called miasma, a collection of negative energy that spreads like poison, killing and corrupting any living thing. The stronger creatures, plants and demons outside of the domain's protection can withstand breathing it. However, once they die and their bodies become unable to resist the miasma it takes over their bodies and corrupt it.”
Zero frowned. ”Why doesn't this miasma affect domains? I didn't see anything like that in town or at the Academy.”
”That's because of the Demon Lord's protection. Mana counters miasma for some mysterious reason. Nobody has a way to confirm what this miasma is but it slowly turns a person insane and chips away at the soul. Buddha suspects that miasma is actually chaos energy seeping through the cracks in the abyss' plane from the void.”
The brunet studied the picture closely. ”Is there as a sample? I would like to confirm it. Mii can appraise it if there is a sample.”
The doctor looked apprehensive. Knowing that it would be tough to convince his teacher, Zero smiled and pointed out that Buddha could watch just in case something went wrong.
”Alright, I'll talk to lord Baal and arrange for a sample to be collected. What will you do if it is caused by the chaos energy leaking through the void?”
Zero thought over it for a while. Truth be told, he had an idea the moment Hua Tuo shared with him about the problem. However, he didn't know if it would be a good solution. After all, scarcity creates demand. On the other hand, Zero truly wanted to help those living outside of domains. Even though he couldn't help Ruth's clan, he could still help Qin Yun's. There were many clans that would benefit from Zero's creation if his idea worked. The only problem was that it took a lot of resources to create that special Lotus he gave Buddha. If mana countered chaos energy, he would need a lot of mana generators that didn't run out quickly, if at all.
”You mentioned that mana counters chaos energy?”
The physician nodded. ”Do you have any ideas? It's not possible to create any more domains or extend the territory.”
Zero shook his head. ”That wouldn't be necessary. If we can confirm it, I'll need to discuss it with Wiser and Coux.”
”Wiser? Are you planning on inventing something again?”
The smile Zero gave his teacher made Hua Tuo go into code red again.
”Don't worry,” he told his teacher. ”I have the perfect job for the perfect person if things are what they really are.”
***