Apocalypse Forecast

Registration name, or rather, a magical name.

Just as legendary magicians all have various unique names and nicknames, scholars who focus on studying phenomena receive a name that exists only within boundless knowledge upon beginning their apprenticeship. It is either bestowed by their mentor or sought out by themselves. This name remains forever as a personal symbol, both in life and after death, and is often endowed with special significance and power, to the extent that legends of 'true names' have emerged.

Some scholars, even after death, have their names eternally preserved in their formulas. Just like 'Parasussell'—merely incorporating the special alloy represented by this name into a formula could increase the reactivity of metals by three percentage points.

And the 'Creators' at the pinnacle of the scholars' pyramid—their very names are a kind of magic that exists within matter. For example, Newton's name has long been inscribed into the base level of the Great Secret, 'Chalatustra,' becoming a part of the laws of the Current Circumstances—his three laws of motion were now ubiquitously imprinted within the Current Circumstances.

What surprised Huai Shi even more was that the girl before him was a scholar, a profession even rarer than Sublimators.

Alchemists could also be classified among scholars, but they eventually branched off, established the Stone Pot Society, and forged their own path, separate from the scholars' organization, the Guide Association, and no longer subject to its control.

Strictly speaking, the status of both scholars and alchemists was slightly higher than that of Sublimators. After all, they belonged to a technical profession, inherently monopolistic. Unlike physical laborers such as Sublimators, those who worked with their minds naturally occupied the upper echelons of society. To others, the profession of a scholar was essentially no different from that of a magician.

If Huai Shi were elsewhere, upon meeting Lily he might have to put on a smile and greet her as 'Master' just to catch her eye—after all, a scholar with a registered name already mastered at least one law, meaning one kind of 'magic.' As a profession more adept at creation than destruction, they were naturally more respected.

However, this also explained why Lily chose to head to the New World. After all, historically, the period from the early sixteenth century until the end of the Second Industrial Revolution in the late nineteenth century was a dark era when the Stigma Genealogy continuously suppressed scholars. The laws upheld by the Stigma Genealogy were fundamentally different from those of the scholars—the contradiction between creationism and evolutionism was far from trivial, and the Guide Association's ostracization by The Church was not a recent development.

By then, the Guide Association likely couldn't remain in Rome and had self-exiled to the then-remote London Six Islands, where it had since held its ground. The tide only turned after the split of the Stigma Genealogy in 1740 and the scholar-led Industrial Revolution began to flourish. The Guide Association then gained the upper hand, leading to the emergence of the enormous Astronomical Society that later controlled the entire world.

Before this, every scholar was considered a heretic. Although this wasn't openly acknowledged, the underground struggle had gradually intensified. A scholar remaining in Rome was as unwise as Archimedes sitting at home, waiting for Romans to kick down the door. One might be peacefully conducting research at home only to suddenly find themselves strung up on an Execution Pyre one day. It wasn't surprising that one would want to flee. Van Essen's memories even included several instances of him assassinating renowned scholars.

Out of respect for the scholars' code of conduct and Lily's privacy, Huai Shi did not inquire into the subjects she studied or the laws she mastered—after all, apart from typical mechanical systems, most scholars' laws were of little use in combat.

After grasping the general situation, he nodded, picked up the coat he had tossed on the bed, and put it back on.

"Then, until we arrive in the New World, hide here," Huai Shi said. "Consider it repayment for your help during the day; there's no need to refuse. I'll rest in Yue Jun's room and bring you some food from the ship tomorrow. Stay alert; this place isn't safe."

Thinking of Old Xiao, who died in his own room, a wave of sadness washed over Huai Shi.

"If I were you, I wouldn't choose to go out at this time." Beneath the seemingly eternal night sky outside the window, Lily looked at him with a peculiar gaze. "After nightfall, what's outside is Hell, you know."

"Hm?" Huai Shi was puzzled. "Did something happen?"

"Earlier today, I was curious about the poison in the food from the dining room, so I collected some samples and tested them with your alchemy equipment." Lily raised a finger. Between her pale fingertips, she held a test tube. Inside the colorless liquid floated a grey-black strand, resembling a tuft of black cotton, slowly drifting about. "Out of consideration for our alliance and my own safety, I must ask: did you eat anything from the dining room? If you did, do you have any history of stomach ulcers or gastrointestinal bleeding?"

"No," Huai Shi shook his head vehemently.

The bowl of soup had been repulsively disgusting; how could he have dared to eat it? Moreover, as a Vampire, he could survive as long as he had blood. He had just feasted on the Fountain Demon and figured that would sustain him for many days. To guard against poison in the blood, his fangs were equipped with a purifying Stigma. This ensured that if he ingested poisoned blood, even he would feel the burn, let alone any other foreign substance. As for stomach ulcers and gastrointestinal bleeding, those were even less likely.

"That's a relief." Lily sighed, slowly putting down the book in her other hand.

"What on earth is this?" Huai Shi asked.

"Essentially, it's a potent viral stimulant." Lily gently shook the test tube in her hand. "It's photophobic, heat-sensitive, possesses tenacious vitality, and exhibits abnormally rapid cell division. It can infect almost all living organisms. As a virus, it possesses unimaginably high activity. Once it enters the spinal cord via the bloodstream, it spreads rapidly. Within four hours, it paralyzes the immune system. Six hours later, it infiltrates the brain, disrupting the body's hormonal balance and stimulating the secretion of large amounts of adrenaline and dopamine. This forces the host into an excited state while simultaneously plunging them into a state of insatiable hunger. Ultimately, even Source Substance will be contaminated by it, collapsing amidst high fever. This unleashes all the host's power, forcibly mutating the body and causing organs to proliferate..."

"Are you sure this thing isn't the T-virus?" Huai Shi was dumbfounded. "This description sounds exactly like zombies!"

"I don't know what T-virus you're referring to. But if you mean 'zombie,' then you're not wrong. After all, it is indeed one of the origins of all 'living dead' type legends in the world." Lily said calmly, "Rather than the so-called T-virus, I prefer to use a more professional term: 'Wolf Poison'."

In that moment, Huai Shi finally had an epiphany. He couldn't help but grit his teeth: "Lei! Fei! Zhou!"

That guy! He'd been lying from the very start. Werewolves? That guy was clearly the other kind of Werewolf!

Ignoring the fact that he himself had been spouting lies from the start, Huai Shi was suddenly filled with resentment towards Lei Feizhou, the Second fifth.

The terms for these two types of Werewolf might seem like a simple reversal of their component words, but their actual origins are entirely different. The commonly known Werewolf typically refers to the Disaster Miracle originating from the Greek region—monsters cursed by gods to transform from humans into wolves. Starting with King Lycaon, the trait of wolf transformation was sown into the blood of all Arcadian citizens. Should they attempt to sublimate, they would become monsters incompatible with the light.

The other type of Werewolf, however, is different. It refers to wolf-like Abyss Heterogeneous that take on human appearances. Their lineage can be traced to many legendary wolf-like magical creatures and the offspring of Holy Spirits, and they are generally considered to be the earthly descendants of a wolf-shaped God Spirit.

It's like the difference between curry-flavored dog shit and dog shit-flavored curry. Even if they look similar, they're two completely different things from the start.

And the most distinctive feature of this second type, aside from their extreme rarity, is their bodily fluids, which are veritable walking sources of infection. In legends, places inhabited by this latter type of Werewolf would grow abundant Wolfhead Grass. Alchemists harvesting this creeper-like plant could extract a deadly poison that turned people into Wolf Zombies—a source of boundless calamity.

It could be said that more than half of the bad reputation of the first type of Werewolf, beyond their own bloodthirsty nature, is attributable to these similar-looking knock-offs.

Recalling the information from Yin Yan and Lei Feizhou's actions all along—his claim of being a Werewolf with Stigmata, his being the first to discover Old Xiao's death scene, or even that large black plastic bag he specifically brought back from the 'kitchen'... If he were the Second fifth, everything would make sense. Whether it was killing Yue Jun on the first night, or striking first while Old Xiao was vulnerable, then poisoning the food in the kitchen... All of these pieces could be perfectly linked together.

Huai Shi even wondered if he would still be alive if he hadn't been knocked unconscious and had returned in a weakened state, only to be found by him. Apart from Lily serendipitously coming to his aid, he probably had more to thank the Green spirit who'd tossed the Magical Insole and two boots into the soup. If the smell hadn't been so nauseating, he might have wrinkled his nose and taken a few sips like the others...

With that thought, he suddenly froze.

Then, he heard distant screams and growls coming from outside the room. Chaos had already begun.

Anyone with a bit of sense could figure it out. It was 1620. These Dark Creatures, hunted and persecuted by the Stigma Genealogy for so many years, could hardly have afforded fine dining. Long-term consumption of substandard food would inevitably lead to stomach ulcers and gastrointestinal bleeding. Once they drank that soup, nine out of ten would be affected. So, the scale of those poisoned now... Huai Shi's scalp began to tingle.