Volume 1 Crime and Punishment in Fog City Chapter 2 Steam Church and Longma Economics
"As we all know, in 1179, Holy Spirit Matt discovered the great power of steam and changed the world. For mortals who were still afraid of wild beasts at that time, the steam engine was undoubtedly a gift from God. The Steam Church also appeared in the same year and became a private underground organization. The first pope was Matt's eldest disciple, Steam Disciple Arthur. The Steam Church was born. But the good times did not last long. In 1238, the Steam Church split. One part of the Steam Church decided to open the steam engine for the benefit of all mankind, adhering to the idea of scientific progress, while the other part believed that steam was sacred and inviolable and could only be worshipped as a holy object. Then a civil war broke out in the Steam Church, and the Holy City of Steam was destroyed. People who fled the war came to the Vale and established the foundation of the Fog City - the Copper and Aluminum Machinery City of Doma."
"Then the next thing is the main reason, right? The reason why the Fog City was established."
"As expected of a university professor. Yes, what I'm going to tell you next is the fall of the mechanical city Dorma and the story of the lower city of the foggy city."
The nobleman opposite Li Lin folded his hands and showed a reserved and elegant smile. As a professional player, Li Lin could hardly get angry when looking at the exquisite food on the plate.
Because the scene is indeed solemn enough.
Sitting in a fully enclosed brass room, the aluminum pipes carved and cast with master-level techniques slowly blow the purified air into the space. The dining table is also covered with various gears and mechanisms. With just a light tap, the meals cooked by professional chefs can be transferred from the well-preserved transportation pipes to the door. Then the professional deaf-mute waiter will meticulously take out the plates, mix them on the spot with the most professional techniques, and then place them in front of the diners.
This ancient service method from thousands of years ago should have become extinct with the advancement of civilization, but now it has appeared in front of archaeologist Li Lin. For such good intentions, even those who are dissatisfied will suppress their anger and sit in the mechanical chair waiting for time to pass slowly.
Well, it has nothing to do with the high-grade sesame oil lamp that can slowly increase the experience level and the rising noble knowledge. It is just a pure respect for the hospitality of a noble.
"Lower Town, although many people think it does not exist, in fact, I believe we all know that it is right there."
Holding the art knife and fork made of gold and silver, the nobleman turned his wrist gracefully and skillfully cut the steak into several pieces, then graciously placed the most delicious parts on the archaeologist's plate.
"The mechanical city of Doma was once a holy place for mechanics. It was rich in all kinds of minerals, and there were underground rivers and canyon drops, which were very suitable for the birth of steam machinery. The Steam Church announced its dissolution here and established the Steam Science Advancement Seminar. There should have been no problem, but in 1317, the pharmacist Kodo cultivated a new variety of hemp, Longma. The oil yield of this hemp seed exceeded 60%, and the coarse fiber was suitable for weaving. The most important thing was that its tubers were edible and rich in energy. After experiments, hemp leaves and sesame oil itself were also the best substitutes for steam engine fuel. So the revolution happened."
"So the underground city is the loser of the revolution?"
"No, on the contrary, they are the victors of the revolution. They occupied the underground river full of energy, sealed off the sky of the Vale, and used the shade-loving hemp fields and the rich mineral and thermal energy resources underground to build the great city of Sodom that never sleeps."
The noble chewed the tender medium-rare steak, savoring the flavor of the veal. The aroma of wine floated in the closed room, and the air circulation made the whole room a little hazy.
"The losers can only build their own cities on the ground. They were allowed to use the steel of the Sodom sky and build another smaller mechanical city on the entire sky. All dangerous, harmful, and potentially immeasurable experiments were transferred to the ground. And this is the foggy city we are in now. This great city is just standing on the shoulders of another great city."
"Then why ..."
"It's also because of the hemp. Oh, we built it on the clouds, just because the clouds are too heavy. Um, I'm telling a joke about the foggy city, maybe you don't understand?"
"I really don't understand your humor. Please continue."
"Okay, where were we?"
After spitting out the chewed beef into the basin, the nobleman raised his head gracefully and pressed a switch. A stream of liquid with an inexplicable fragrance flowed out from the hose extending from the ceiling, washing his mouth, and then spitting it into a sunken pit on the dining table. With the sound of gears running, the tabletop returned to its smooth and tidy appearance.
Looking at the steaming steak on his plate, Li Lin suddenly felt that eating it right now might not be a good idea.
"Well, we talked about the underground city, right? As for the destruction of Sodom, the Steam Cult always claimed that it was because the people on the ground envied the prosperity of the underground, so they poisoned the air circulation machine. But that's nonsense. The real answer is right above our heads."
"Are you talking about the brass and aluminum dome full of gears? Or the sesame oil lamp that looks a bit too bright?"
"No, it's the dome above that. Above the dome of Sodom is the foggy city. And above the foggy city?"
"The sky? No... Fog? Fog?"
"That's it. It was the dragon hemp mist that burned for hundreds of years. That was the main reason for Sodom's destruction."
Our great destruction.
As if he was already very comfortable with the act of chewing food, the noble smiled, folded his hands, and pressed another button.
The soothing organ music gradually echoed in the room. It didn't sound like it was saved by a machine, but rather like someone was playing it live. Accompanied by this melodious music, the noble nodded and continued to describe the secrets of hundreds of years ago as if singing.
"In 1447, the underground city flourished to a very prosperous era. Their machines could travel through the earth, and their buildings were like works of art, colorful and intertwined in the earth, imprisoning countless beauties and legends. We have no idea of the magnificence and glory of that time, but everything that remains underground will not disappear with time. At the peak of their prosperity, they discovered a problem - their people were getting weaker and weaker. Children were no longer smart, students were no longer alert, and their movements were no longer agile. At this time, the Steam Cult, the sinners who destroyed the Holy City of Steam, also discovered this last Avalon. They infiltrated it and launched a speech that was probably the most heartbreaking."
"The Fountain of Wisdom of Thormire, Brunn's Speech..."
The speech was so famous that archaeologists immediately remembered its significance.
Although it was just a speech on economics, it brought about countless theological reflections, including communication between people, the nature of people, the construction of thinking, whether we exist or not, and many other theological and cult theories were triggered by this speech.
The official speech was only about 1,200 words long, and its main content was a medical scientist criticizing the physical changes and mental paralysis caused by the longma grass and longma fog from a theoretical perspective.
However, because of the use of fog to paralyze the mind, this medical scientist pioneered a psychotherapy method and successfully presented psychology as a separate discipline to the world. It also sounded the alarm for all countries. The horror of addictive substances was officially disclosed to everyone in the world after that speech.
But this speech did not attract the attention of the government at that time. Instead, he was detained for disturbing people's minds and then tortured by injecting steam into the heart. At the same time, the infiltration of the Steam Church was completed, and the Steam Cult officially appeared in front of people.
"'They made fire out of mud and earth, and burned the Age of Brass to ashes, like the end of the Copper Poetry.' This is how the documents of the time described the cultists. They had rich organizational experience and terrible technology that seemed to have been brought from hell. Moreover, the upper echelons had already fallen into a state of paralysis due to the dragon hemp grass, and the lower areas were completely destroyed by the cult. The remaining few conscious people came to the earth, announced the destruction of Sodom, and then closed the access to Sodom and the Vale. In the end, the sinners were buried in the sea of fire, and Sodom was empty."
"Yes, we know all that. But what happens after that? Shouldn't the dungeon still be sealed off?"
"Blocked? How is that possible? Where do you think our current era came from? Coal? That stuff can't support our current world."
Pointing to the pale yellow sesame oil lamp above his head, the smile on the nobleman's face became more subtle.
"As early as 1467, the ban no longer exists. The fog needs everything that the hemp grass brings. Food, economic value, fuel, and entertainment products. As long as the problem of the hemp fog is handled, then this is a perfect thing. Generation after generation, colonists have been sent underground, and generation after generation have exchanged necessary materials for hemp. God knows what the underground is like now."
"Then why did you ask me to come over? As long as you put your mind to it, this shouldn't be a problem. Since the enemy is underground and you don't have the resources to invest, you won't be able to accomplish anything big, right?"
"No, that's just your rigid thinking, sir. What we think is harmless may be part of the explosives in the eyes of the Steam Cult. You know, we still don't know how they blew up the air circulator. To be honest, if they do this a few hundred times, then the Fog City may have to be renamed the Gray City."
"Okay, I think I understand. What about my mission?"
"If possible, I hope you can sneak into the underground city in three days, find those damn guys, and kill them all."
“I don’t think I can do it.”
"No, I believe you can do it. If you are really the simple and weak archaeologist you look, then the result of the Black Forest disaster would not be what it is now."
"...Have you investigated me in detail?"
"I hope you can understand."
The nobleman in gorgeous clothes smiled, bowed, and then knocked on the table.
Accompanied by the sound of a mechanism turning, a black box rose onto the table and was then pushed to Li Lin's hand.
"It's just a token of our appreciation, not our respect. I hope to hear good news from you in a few days. You know, we don't want this to get out of hand. So the official support is just a token of our appreciation, please forgive me."
"Of course I do."
After looking at the data on the black box, Li Lin nodded and stood up.
"I've known this since the Black Forest. Advance payments are great."
"Well, I wish you a safe trip?"
"Ah, wish me a bon voyage."
After drinking the sweet-smelling wine in one gulp, Li Lin turned around, holding the black box, and left the closed bronze chamber without hesitation.
