A Core Ship From The Start

Chapter 343: Chapter 268: Do You Believe It?_1

When Duanmu Huai returned to the Tribunal’s base on this planet, everything had already changed dramatically.

The castle occupied by the Star Realm Army hadn’t altered much, except for the addition of an energy reactor at the base—of course, considering the Tribunal’s habit of effective use of resources, this gadget could also turn into a huge bomb at any moment, completely obliterating everything here.

Not far from the castle, there was a bustling town.

It used to be an abandoned town, but now it was inhabited by the refugees and prisoners rescued from the Beast Race by the Star Realm Army. They mended the electrical lines, illuminating the town. Now this town was increasingly prosperous, trading was conducted using a general currency standard among the refugees—although the entire land belonged to the Tribunal, any refugee who wanted to live here had to pass the inspection of the Star Realm Army, and any disputes would be determined by the Tribunal.

Although fully equipped Star Realm Army soldiers patrolled the streets, life here was relatively secure.

At least for the time being.

After arriving at the base, Duanmu Huai immediately gathered some influential refugees for questioning, including several travelling merchants, doctors and warriors.

From their words, Duanmu Huai finally pieced together the whole picture.

“….So you’re saying this strange plague seemingly appeared out of nowhere? It hadn’t happened before?”

Hearing everyone’s report, Duanmu Huai frowned, looking at the refugees, who all shook their heads.

“Not at all, in fact, even a year ago, we hadn’t seen any such plague…”

However, at that moment, one of the refugee merchants raised his hand.

“Sir, in fact, many people suspect that this is a poisoning action by the Beast Race, because they have been retreating recently. They found they couldn’t beat the humans, so they released this new type of plague, especially as we’ve never seen it before…”

“No.”

However, at that moment, a man spoke up.

“I have seen a similar plague.”

“Oh?”

Hearing this, Duanmu Huai curiously looked at the man. He remembered the man was one of the soldiers saved from the Beast Race Nest.

“You’ve seen it?”

“Yes, when I was captured and transported by those damned Beast Race, I saw them attacked by another group of their race, they were all glowing and their eyes shone. At the time I thought it was some kind of new Beast Race…”

“I knew it!”

Upon hearing this, there was a buzz of agreement from the others.

“I knew it had to do with those blasted Beast Race!”

“It must have been them!”

“Quiet down!”

Duanmu Huai snorted, silencing the refugees, while he stared into thin air with a furrowed brow. The reason was simple: a system message appeared in front of Duanmu Huai.

[Hidden Mission Opportunity——Survival and Destruction]

[A strange plague is spreading on this planet, posing a threat to all life. Investigate and completely eradicate it]

[Mission Goal: Eradicate the plague]

[Mission Failure: Entire planet infected]

This serious?

If at first Duanmu Huai didn’t quite believe it, now he suspected that matters could be far more grave than he had imagined. If the entire planet were to be infected, an Extinction Order would have to be issued. This also means the plague could infect all life on the entire planet!

He had to figure out what was going on with this damned plague!

“I understand now.”

After a moment of thought, Duanmu Huai quickly made a decision.

“I will deploy a squad from the Star Realm Army to investigate the source of the plague. You also ask the refugees for any information related to this plague. Any rumours or gossip shall be reported directly to me. Also, starting today, set up a quarantine facility at the entrance. Anyone who wants to enter the town must be quarantined. And, conduct a health check on all the refugees currently living here…”

“But sir…”

Hearing this, the doctor raised his hand, looking worried.

“We don’t have enough staff…”

“Ah, that’s not a problem, I will give you a Holy Statue, place it in the clinic and quarantine facility. Anyone with an illness can pray to it.”

“Uh…what good will that do?”

“It might heal disease.”

“……………???”

If Duanmu Huai didn’t look so scary, the doctor would’ve blurted out, “Are you kidding me? Can a Holy Statue cure diseases? What’s the point of us?”

In response to the doctor’s dubious gaze, Duanmu Huai could only shrug. This was inevitable, anyone from a technologically advanced world would find this peculiar. However, well…isn’t this a world where faith in deities exists?

“Consider it comforting for the mind, it’s free anyway, so it’s worth having a little faith.”

“This…Alright, understood.”

Although the doctor didn’t quite understand Duanmu Huai’s thinking, he was aware of the Tribunal’s faith. Those residing here had to understand this. For them, the Tribunal’s faith wasn’t a bad thing: protecting humans, exterminating anything threatening human existence, these people viewed these as natural. So they didn’t see anything wrong with this faith of the Tribunal. Considering it might have some psychological effects on patients, the doctor agreed.