Chapter 40 The Wall of Sighs and the Sinners

Watching the tall and short, black and white figures gradually receding in the sunset, Chen Fan had three big question marks on his forehead.

For some reason, he always felt that the black-robed priest named Isa was a little stupid.

Was it an illusion?

A priest shouldn't be so stupid, right?

Chen Fan shook his head and put the confusion in his heart behind him.

He took a deep breath and walked towards the low residential building.

While going upstairs, he quickly glanced at the open window.

Under the dim incandescent light, believers were kneeling in front of the statue and praying devoutly - at least in Chen Fan's opinion, they were devout.

After a few steps, Chen Fan arrived at his door.

The door was closed, and a faint yellow light shone through the crack of the door.

He subconsciously turned his head and glanced at the door of Xu Huai's house next door.

Like his own home, the door was closed, and there was not even any light.

He took a deep breath, and just as he raised his hand to knock on his door, the door opened.

Behind the door, his mother, with red and swollen eyes, looked at him as usual: "Xiao Fan, are you back?"

...

After returning home, Chen Fan followed his mother to go through the standard process of praying to the goddess again.

After a day in the cathedral, Chen Fan was already very familiar with this process.

After praying, it was dinner time.

At the dinner table, his mother chatted with him calmly, and also asked him about the third oracle.

It seemed that everything was the same as usual.

Chen Fan was not clear about his mother's mental state at this time, but...

Facing the church, hiding his identity twice in a row, this actually showed his mother's attitude!

Although he felt a little reluctant, reason told Chen Fan that maintaining this state would only benefit him!

Not only that, he should even use this subtle relationship to gain greater advantages!

He calmed down and looked normal: "Mom, there is something I want to ask you."

The mother paused slightly and cast a confused look at her child.

"It's about Varela, outside the city..."

Before Chen Fan finished speaking, his mother's face changed drastically: "Wait!"

His mother turned her head palely and glanced at the goddess statue not far away. After finding that it didn't move, her demeanor recovered a little.

Her face changed several times, and finally, as if she had made a decision, she stood up and walked towards Chen Fan's room.

"Xiao Fan, this is not the place to talk."

"Come with me."

...

The mother reached out and closed the door of the room, completely blocking the statue in the living room: "If I'm not mistaken, you just wanted to ask about the situation outside Varela, right?"

Seeing Chen Fan nod, the mother sighed softly.

She hesitated for a moment: "I don't know what you have encountered in the room in the past few days, but I still believe... you are still my child."

Chen Fan's heart trembled.

Well, there is no need to doubt it now.

Yi was right, his mother had indeed noticed his abnormality!

She didn't give Chen Fan a chance to speak, and continued on her own:

"Xiao Fan, this is a topic strictly prohibited by the church."

"Remember, never discuss this kind of thing in front of the statue!"

A trace of fear flashed through the mother's cloudy eyes: "Someone in this building was sent to the church's execution platform because of this incident."

She calmed herself down and continued:

"As for the outside of Varela..."

"That's the area where the sinners live."

Chen Fan was a little surprised: "Sinners?"

"They are not protected by the goddess and are forever isolated outside Varela. They suffer from the torture and erosion of filthy air from generation to generation."

The mother sighed: "Of course, this is also a rumor I heard,"

"As for the real situation... I'm afraid no one knows."

"Can't we go out and take a look?"

"Go out?" Mother shook her head. "No one can go out or come in because of the Wall of Sighs."

"Wall of Sighs?"

"That was a miracle from the goddess in the first year of the Varela calendar. It surrounded the entire Varela city and completely blocked the foul air from the outside world."

"..."

...

"Yi, can a wall block nuclear radiation?"

After his mother left the room, Chen Fan asked Yi for confirmation in confusion.

[It's a bit difficult.]

Yi quickly gave the answer.

[Unless this wall wraps up the entire Varela city.]

As the voice fell, a blue holographic image automatically appeared in front of Chen Fan's eyes.

In the image, a city covering a large area was slowly covered by a huge hemispherical dome.

From a distance, it looked like a small grave mound crawling on a flat ground.

Looking at the simulated scene in front of him, Chen Fan's mouth twitched: "Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

He had witnessed a sun hanging in the sky during the day. Could it be that the sun was fake?

Don't joke!

"But then again."

"Is this nuclear radiation so difficult to deal with?"

Chen Fan, who had lived in peacetime in his previous life, only knew about nuclear weapons at the level of "heard".

[Nuclear radiation is mainly divided into three types of rays: α, β, and γ. ]

[Among them, α rays are helium nuclei, and their penetrating ability is very weak, so they are basically not considered. ]

[β rays are electron streams, which have less penetrating power. After being irradiated, the skin of the human body will be burned, which is consistent with the description of the disaster. ]

[As for γ rays...]

[That thing has a very strong penetrating power. For low-level civilizations, only natural materials with the highest possible density can block it, usually materials such as lead. ]

"What about high-level civilizations?"

Chen Fan asked curiously.

[With the help of space shields or dimensional shields, γ radiation at the level of gamma-ray bursts can be resisted, not to mention the slight radiation caused by nuclear wars. 】

【But this thing is not something you should consider now. 】

"Okay." Chen Fan, who was invisibly shown off, shrugged nonchalantly, "You continue."

【In addition, there is another key information. 】

【The machine carefully analyzed the information in the database and found a phenomenon. 】

【For low-level civilizations, nuclear radiation is not the biggest hazard of large-scale nuclear war. 】

"Huh?"

This time Chen Fan was really shocked: "What is the reason?"

【Usually, the nuclear weapons used in large-scale nuclear wars are hydrogen bombs. 】

【Compared with atomic bombs, the radiation effect caused by hydrogen bombs is not great. 】

【Its subsequent effects will only last for a few years or even shorter. 】

Chen Fan nodded thoughtfully.

He understood what Yi meant.

"You mean... this Wall of Sighs is just a gimmick?"

"It can't block the nuclear radiation from the outside world at all. Its purpose is just to prevent the believers in Varela from leaving the city?"

"Just like..."

Chen Fan frowned slightly, and a flash of inspiration flashed in his mind: "Just like keeping the believers in the city!"

【It is probably like this. 】

(End of this chapter)