Chapter 151 A Crazy Idea This winter is colder than usual. ...

This winter is colder than usual.

A biting north wind howled and swept across the entire North, covering Hopetown and Blackrock City in a thick white coat.

Lin Yue stood by the window, gazing at the swirling snow outside, his brow furrowed in a frown.

"Lord City Lord, this is today's fuel consumption report."

Mia walked in carrying a stack of account books, looking worried.

Lin Yue took the ledger, and after flipping through just two pages, his face darkened.

The fuel consumption rate far exceeded his expectations.

Currently, almost every household in Blackrock City and Hope Town needs to burn kang (traditional heated brick beds) for warmth, and the stoves in various workshops cannot be stopped. The No. 1 Store and the Hope Canteen consume massive amounts of firewood and coal every day... The most critical issue is the Pioneer, which travels between Hope Town and Blackrock City every day. Every time it roars and runs, it is frantically burning large amounts of coal.

“If things continue like this,” Mia’s voice was tinged with unease, “Hope Town’s coal reserves will only last until spring at most. There are still some firewood left, but in this cold weather, the logging teams won’t be able to go into the mountains.”

"How's it going in Blackrock City?"

"Blackstone City is in a slightly better situation, as it is close to the mining area and has a relatively abundant coal supply, but this year the demand has increased several times over."

Lin Yue let out a soft breath.

The opening of the railway brought convenience, but it also brought new problems.

Before trains, travel between the two places relied entirely on animal carts, flying beasts, and human feet. Although slow, fuel consumption was negligible. Now, steel behemoths gallop on relentlessly, increasing efficiency, but the amount of coal they consume daily is enough to give any administrator a headache.

"Let's maintain the status quo for now," Lin Yue said, rubbing his throbbing temples. "If things really get too bad, we'll reduce the number of train services. Also, we'll send people to the surrounding towns to scout out the situation and see if we can buy any surplus coal."

"Understood." Mia replied and withdrew.

The study fell silent again, with only the howling wind outside the window and the crackling of the fireplace.

Lin Yue gazed at the swirling snow, his heart churning with emotion.

The energy issue is now urgent.

The study door was pushed open.

"Lord City Lord, a letter has arrived from Hope Town." The clerk stepped forward quickly.

Lin Yue snapped out of his thoughts, took the letter, unfolded it, and frowned slightly.

The letter was written by Aunt Lian. In addition to reporting on fuel consumption, it also mentioned a strange thing: the patrol team discovered an unusual phenomenon on the edge of the town, in the direction of the cursed land, where a strange blue light appeared after nightfall.

"What a coincidence." Lin Yue put the letter away. "I was just planning to go back to Hope Town and take a look around."

...

That evening, Lin Yue took a train back to Hope Town.

As soon as I got out of the car, Fei Ye came to greet me.

"Mayor, you've come at the right time. We should still be able to see that blue light tonight."

"Come on, take me to see it."

The group arrived at the watchtower on the edge of town.

The sky had darkened, and the wind was biting cold. Lin Yue wrapped his fur coat tighter and looked in the direction Fei Ye was pointing.

Sure enough, in the direction of the cursed land, near the horizon, a faint blue light flickered. The light was weak and wavered intermittently.

"When was this discovered?" Lin Yue asked.

"Three days ago. The patrol team noticed it when they changed shifts at night. At first, they thought it was just their eyes playing tricks on them, but after seeing it for several nights in a row, they realized something was wrong."

Lin Yue's gaze was fixed on that deep blue expanse.

Little Black Snowflake lay motionless on his shoulder, its eyes narrowed into slits.

[Abnormal energy fluctuation detected. Direction: Core area of ​​the Cursed Lands. Nature: Unknown. Intensity: Moderate to weak.]

"Can you analyze the source?"

[Insufficient information to make a judgment. Based on the spectral characteristics, it appears to be some kind of phosphorescence reaction, possibly related to extreme low-temperature environments.]

“Grey,” Lin Yue looked at Grey, who had been silent beside him, “have you ever seen this phenomenon before?”

Gray nodded, his expression grave. "I've seen it before. I used to see it occasionally in the Valley of Tears during the dead of winter. The elders of the tribe said it was the earth's lament breathing."

"breathe?"

“I’m not entirely sure what happened either,” Gray shook his head. “We’ll have to ask Elder Farador.”

"Let's go find the elder."

...

The Silent Ones have their own exclusive residential area in Hope Town.

Since being rescued by Lin Yue, these people, who had guarded the land's calamity for generations, have settled here. After a period of recuperation and getting to know the townspeople, they have gradually integrated into life in Hope Town.

Lin Yue knocked on the door of Elder Farador's small house.

The old man was sitting by the stove, holding a bowl of steaming meat soup in his hands. When he saw Lin Yue come in, he put down the bowl and looked at him.

"Lin Yue, you're here. Is it about that blue light?"

“Yes, Elder.” Lin Yue sat down opposite him. “Grey said it was the Earth’s Lament breathing, but he couldn’t explain exactly what it was.”

Elder Farador remained silent for a moment before slowly speaking:

“Every winter, when the temperature drops to extremely low levels, the miasma released by those things sealed in the Earth’s Wounds will condense and settle in the cold, forming a special kind of light.”

“We Silent Ones have guarded that land for generations, and we know it better than anyone else. That eerie light is a special reaction to the low temperature. What you see is just the tip of the iceberg. If you get closer, you will see the frozen, polluted water emitting an even more dazzling light, as if something is trapped under the ice, struggling and crying out…”

Lin Yue felt a chill run down his spine.

"Elder, regarding the Sorrow of the Earth... what exactly is it? People have always only known that it is the source of the calamities of the Cursed Land, but they are not very clear about how it was formed."

Elder Farador stared directly at Lin Yue with his cloudy eyes.

"You want to know the truth?"

"Yes."

“Long, long ago, in the time when the gods still roamed the earth, each race possessed great power. Elves had magic, dwarves had alchemy, and humans had all sorts of strange and wonderful skills.”

"It was a glorious era, but also an era of unbridled behavior."

"The elves built magic towers in the forest and conducted various experiments. Failed experiments produced a large amount of magical residue, which was unstable and energy waste that could not be absorbed by nature."

"The dwarves mine ore, smelt metals, and study alchemy in the mountains. Their alchemy workshops produce all sorts of toxic liquids and slags."

"Humans...humans are the most greedy. They want to try everything and dare to discard anything."

Elder Farador's voice grew increasingly deep.

“Those wastes, residues, waste liquids… each tribe needed a place to dispose of them. So, they found a barren piece of land and agreed to dump all the hazardous waste that they couldn’t handle there.”

"That land is what later became the cursed land."

Lin Yue was stunned.

"You mean... the Cursed Land is actually a... junkyard?"

“That’s one way to put it,” Elder Farador said with a wry smile. “However, what’s dumped there isn’t ordinary garbage, but rather the most dangerous and difficult-to-handle waste from various races: magical remnants, alchemical waste, energy waste…”

“These things were dumped together, and over a long period of time, they began to mix, react, and mutate... eventually forming what we call the tragedy of the earth.”

"The magical energy that had not completely dissipated, along with the potent chemical substances, was released in a chaotic and violent manner, forming miasma, causing mutations, and poisoning all living things on this land."

Lin Yue fell silent.

The so-called curse is not a punishment from any god, but rather the evil consequence of each race's own actions.

"Elder," Lin Yue asked, "after so many years of protection, have you found a way to purify the calamity of the earth?"

Elder Farador shook his head, a hint of helplessness flashing in his eyes.

“We’ve tried many methods… using the purification magic the elves taught us, using special plants to absorb toxins, using sealing formations to prevent energy leakage… but the effects have been very limited.”

"The components of the Earth's Sorrow are too complex. It is not a single magical contamination, nor a simple chemical toxin, but a mixture of the two. Moreover, it is a mixture that has fermented and mutated over thousands of years. Our methods can only slow its spread, but cannot eliminate it at its root."

He paused briefly, then added:

"However, our years of protection haven't been entirely fruitless. We've gained a deep understanding of the characteristics of the Earth's Scars, knowing which areas are the most dangerous and which are relatively stable, and also how to approach and collect samples relatively safely..."

"We can provide this information if you need it."

Lin Yue's eyes lit up instantly.

“Elder, I do have this need.”

...

The next day, Lin Yue, along with Gray, Fei Ye, and several Silent Guides, set off towards the Cursed Lands.

Following the route provided by Elder Farador, they avoided the most dangerous miasma areas and arrived at a relatively safe edge of the region.

The sight before him made Lin Yue gasp.

On the gray-black earth, puddles of all sizes were scattered. These puddles had frozen over in the bitter cold, but beneath the ice, an eerie, ghostly blue light emanated, flickering as if something was sealed beneath the ice, slowly pulsating.

"This is... part of the tragedy of the earth?" Lin Yue murmured.

“Yes,” a Silent Guide whispered, “this is one of the most unstable areas in terms of energy.”

Lin Yue crouched down and carefully observed the glowing ice layers.

"Xiao Hei, can you analyze this for me?"

[Scanning... Analysis complete.]

[The following components were detected: unknown magical energy residue, approximately 35%; various highly active chemical substances, approximately 40%; organic decomposition products, approximately 20%; and other unknown components, approximately 5%.]

[WARNING: This mixture is extremely unstable and highly hazardous. Direct contact may result in multiple injuries, including energy burns, chemical corrosion, and neurotoxic damage. It is recommended to maintain a safe distance and avoid touching it with your hands.]

"What about the energy content?" Lin Yue pressed. "If we consider these things as a type of fuel, what is its total energy value?"

Your thought process... Fine, let me calculate it.

A moment later:

Based on compositional analysis and energy density estimation, the total potential energy of this mixture is extremely high, approximately 15 to 20 times that of an equivalent mass of high-quality coal. However, due to its extremely unstable nature, this energy is currently being released in a disorderly and violent manner, making it impossible to utilize effectively.

[Based on the system database, this substance's characteristics are similar to high-energy chemical mixtures, but due to the presence of residual magical energy, its reaction patterns are more complex and unpredictable. Simply put, this thing is a time bomb.]

Lin Yue stood up, gazing at the ice field emitting a ghostly blue light before him, his heart surging with emotion.

He couldn't help but think of the account books spread out on the desk in his study, the kang (heated brick bed) fires in every household, the furnaces in the workshops, the miners' lamps in Blackstone City, and the Pioneer that traveled back and forth in the wind and snow every day.

Its total energy value is fifteen to twenty times that of high-quality coal...

Such enormous energy was wasted in the form of miasma and toxins, and it also ravaged the entire land.

What if... what if we could collect all this energy?

A vague thought slipped through my mind.

He looked at the glowing ice layers and the bubbles slowly rising from beneath them, and suddenly, a scene surfaced from the depths of his memory.

Once, when I went to his remote mountain area to conduct project surveys, I saw this at a farmer's house.

A simple cement pool, covered with a sealed lid, with a pipe connected to it. The farmer told him that the pool contained various organic wastes, such as manure, straw, and kitchen scraps. These fermented in the sealed environment, and the gas produced could be used for cooking.

Biogas digester.

“This…” Lin Yue murmured, “This looks like an extremely complex mixed fermentation tank?”

【Huh? What did you say?】

"I mean, these wastes are mixed together, and over a long period of time, they react and ferment... If they can react to produce combustible gases..."

He didn't finish speaking, but Xiao Hei seemed to have caught something.

Wait, let me check...

Xiao Hei's voice suddenly became a little strange.

[Retrieving relevant data... Anaerobic fermentation... Gas collection... Safe storage...]

[Strange, this data...the source is unclear. A certain archived area in the system's core database...possesses some kind of cross-temporal information correlation? What on earth is this?]

Lin Yue's heart stirred.

Information linkage across time and space? What does that mean?

"Xiao Hei, what's this about cross-temporal information linkage?"

"I don't know." Xiao Hei's tone carried a hint of confusion. "The source of this data is vaguely labeled, and I don't understand why either. It might be some underlying mechanism of the system, or it might be some kind of bug... Anyway, don't ask me, I don't know either."

Lin Yue frowned, but quickly put the question aside for the time being.

Regardless of where the data comes from, the important thing is whether it can be used.

"Xiao Hei, those data... can the principle of anaerobic fermentation producing combustible gas be implemented here?"

[Theoretically feasible.] Xiao Hei's tone returned to normal. [But this stuff is far more complex than ordinary marsh gas; it also contains residual magical energy. Who knows what kind of monstrosities it might ferment into? The risk is extremely high; I don't recommend trying it lightly.]

Lin Yue didn't reply, but simply stared quietly at the icy plain emitting a faint glow before him.

“…What if we could stop it from running around?” he whispered.

【Um? 】

“Right now they’re like a pack of wild beasts running amok in the snow, trampling the roads everywhere,” Lin Yue said slowly. “If one day we could build them a cage, and make them obediently run along the path we’ve drawn, we could make them go faster or slower as we wish, stop or move whenever we want, it would all be up to us.”

Xiao Hei fell into a long silence.

【……are you serious? 】

"I'm serious."

Do you know what this means? The Scars of the Earth are one of the most dangerous things on this continent. Countless races have tried to destroy it, seal it away, purify it, all failing, ultimately choosing to stay away from it. And now you're telling me you want to... control it?

Are you out of your mind?

"It is precisely because we cannot eliminate it that we must find a way to deal with it. You yourself said that the total energy value of these things is ten or twenty times that of coal. If we can find a way to keep it in a safe place and release it at our own pace."

He paused, not uttering the second half of his sentence, but only softly uttering a vague word:

"Perhaps it will no longer be just a calamity."

Xiao Hei fell silent again.

"...You, the things you think about are getting more and more outrageous."

Its tone carried a hint of helplessness:

Okay, since you've put it that way, I'll reluctantly help you analyze the feasibility. But let me be clear: this kind of attempt might be much more difficult than you imagine. You might end up blowing yourself up, so don't blame me for not warning you.

"I know," Lin Yue smiled, "but someone has to think about it and give it a try, right?"

He took one last look at the icy field that emitted a ghostly glow, then turned and walked back the way he came.

Gray and Flyleaf were unaware of his conversation with Little Black, and simply followed silently behind.

The frozen wasteland behind them still emitted a faint blue light in the cold wind, as if breathing silently in the long night, waiting to be awakened.