Chapter 47: Seemingly Correct But Actually Wrong

"No, I don't think that's possible." Lu Xiusi stepped back, shifting his gaze, "The professor is one of the best doctors I know, both in skill and character. This is absolutely not something he would do."

This wasn't a matter of logic. For Lu Xiusi, it was far more complex than admitting a possibility; without direct evidence, he would firmly stand on the side of opposition.

"Even if he looks obviously abnormal?"

"It could also be that the black liquid was stolen after being taken out. Isn't our belief that the black liquid caused the problem just speculation?" Fortunately, Kraft's status in his mind wasn't low; he was currently the leader of the medical school, which is why Lu Xiusi was willing to talk.

If anyone else dared to openly express suspicion that the professor had poisoned people in front of Lu Xiusi, even if that person carried a sword, Lu Xiusi would still rush up and punch them twice.

"Someone specifically steals a tiny amount of liquid with an unknown effect, takes it to the most neglected place in this city, and pours it into the water to create a mass poisoning incident?" Kraft crossed his arms, making himself appear less aggressive, "Which of these two explanations do you think is more likely?"

Emotionally, he didn't want it to be this way either, but at present, the professor's suspicion was undoubtedly the greatest.

As one of only three people in Wendeng Port who knew of the black liquid's existence, combined with extremely abnormal behavior, it made people want to rush straight to Dunling to confront him face-to-face.

However, this deduction was indeed missing an important part. If it really was the professor, then why did he do it? Without solving this problem, he could never convince Lu Xiusi, nor could he fully convince himself.

Whether it was the professor or someone else, there must be a motive behind this.

Even a mentally ill person needs a motive to act. Bringing the black liquid to the Salt Tide District and finding a water source to release it were clearly decisions made after consideration, not something one could do on a whim.

Kraft had reason to suspect that person had foreseen such a result, knowing the special effect produced when contacts gathered, which is why he did it.

In the Salt Tide District, the population was relatively dense, water sources were scarcer, and most importantly, no one cared. This could maximize the positive feedback effect where scope and number reinforced each other.

Through a very small amount of black liquid, an effect was created that caused conditions to continuously worsen over a large area. Calculated and scheming, the malice was unimaginable.

"Now is not the time to discuss this. We can figure out who did it later when we have time. We must stop this trend."

Thinking about the suspect now was useless; Kraft preferred to control this damn mass anomaly phenomenon.

This anomaly "domain" was causing the condition of contacts within it to continuously worsen, evolving from waking up slightly later at first to now only being able to get up after noon. One didn't need to think further: afternoon, evening, until night.

Eventually, everyone here would be dragged into eternal sleep to accompany the roaming malicious existence. Kraft didn't know what it wanted to do, but it certainly wouldn't be anything good.

"If it's a water source problem, how about changing the water source?" Now that the source was found, Lu Xiusi felt solving it wouldn't be difficult, "We can just tell them the water is poisonous. If they walk a bit further each day to fetch water, it should work after a while."

"Hmm... it's a method, though it would indeed be very troublesome. But I don't think it's that simple." Kraft closed his eyes, sensing the strange atmosphere permeating the surroundings. He needed to find another way to express to Lu Xiusi what he was feeling.

"Lu Xiusi, do you think it's too much of a stretch that the small amount of black liquid the professor took, poured into the well water, caused so many people to suffer long-term deterioration in their condition?"

"So I'm not certain it was caused by the black liquid. Why did you suddenly start supporting the theory that the black liquid causes illness?" Lu Xiusi didn't understand Kraft's concern; viewing the black liquid as a simple poison, stopping the intake of water mixed with black liquid would definitely be effective.

Kraft voiced One's own idea, "I think we should make them leave this area for a while, the more scattered the better, preferably leaving Wendeng Port entirely."

This statement was immediately criticized by Lu Xiusi. Having followed Li Si recently, he had deeply realized one point: in the Salt Tide District, due to economic constraints, any major changes were not feasible.

"They have nowhere to go and cannot detach from their work; they will die faster than if nothing changed at all."

"Sigh..." Kraft picked up the bucket; the sigh count for this week increased by one again. Socioeconomic factors were truly annoying. "Let's leave it at that. We'll take the bucket back to the academy first, find some animals to test on, come back here to guard tomorrow morning, and tell them it's a water problem."

"Oh, almost forgot this one." Before leaving, he picked two silver coins from his wallet and threw them into the split crack; it should be enough for this family to repair the house. "Remind me on the way back to go to Brad's house; we'll have him move somewhere else for a while and test both plans together."

Kraft returned to the inn covered in fatigue, didn't even order his favorite grilled fish, and made do with a few slices of bread for dinner. Back in his room, he lit a candle.

A whole day of investigation left him physically and mentally exhausted; especially thinking about the even more work ahead, which might not even be useful, made the future seem even less bright.

A massive artificial anomaly "domain" had been created within Wendeng Port, and he still hadn't found that person's motive.

The heavy suspicion surrounding the professor made him particularly uneasy. A knowledgeable person with evil intentions could cause destruction far beyond that of an ordinary person.

He couldn't continue discussing this with Lu Xiusi; he could only think about it alone. If it was the professor, what reason would make him commit such a crazy act?

At the Kalman stage, there was no desire for worldly things anymore. The general reasons ordinary people do evil—money, power—held no meaning for such an old professor.

His financial situation was good; he effectively managed the entire Wendeng Port Medical School, yet he never showed enthusiasm for either of these, and his material life was no different from that of an ordinary student.

If there was anything he cared about, it was academic development. Both Kalman and Kraft were people determined to promote the progress of medical technology in this underworld social environment; they had come to Wendeng Port for this very reason and stayed here for half a lifetime.

So what did Kalman hope to gain from this act? This excellent choice of location looked like it was designed only after knowing the mechanism of this positive feedback "domain".

With the professor's level, it was eighty percent certain he didn't want to see a group of people exhibit the known effect of unending sleep, so...

【There will be new changes】

Kraft figured this out; the continuous lengthening of sleep time was a quantitative change. The professor was likely waiting for a qualitative change, and the time was generous enough to wait for him to return from Dunling to verify the results.

Of course, this deduction was based on the premise that the instigator was indeed the professor.

Taking off his black robe and throwing himself onto the bed, Kraft pressed his temples, feeling his entire head begin to throb.

During excessive fatigue and irritability, this headache frequently occurred, spreading from the temples to the eyes, even the gums, with half the face involved. The body of the otherworldly soul had suffered from this headache before, and the body in this world was troubled by it too.

He closed his eyes, stopped thinking, and let his mind go blank for a while. According to his own diagnosis, it was probably trigeminal neuralgia; such minor illnesses were quite troublesome, with complex pathogenic mechanisms, recurring attacks, and requiring rest to relieve themselves.

Considering the high mental stress and busy affairs during this period, the headache was an inevitable companion.

In the darkness, after an unknown amount of time, the pain gradually lessened, his spirit drifted in the rare relief, and sleepiness struck.

Just before falling asleep, Kraft stopped himself. It was still early; he had to do something before sleeping, at least finish the "Human Anatomy" lesson plan to hand to Li Si tomorrow to substitute for his class, otherwise the missed lessons would still have to be made up by him in the end.

The oppressive feeling of doubled work in the future forced his eyes open, returning him to the headache-inducing reality.

It felt like he had only lain down for a short while, but the candle on the table had already gone out, and the room had plunged into darkness. A line of moonlight lay on the floor, leaking through the window cracks, pure and soft.

The pain still lingered, shrinking from occupying half the skull to three points. Every pulse of the blood vessels made him feel his eyeballs being compressed; the left pterion felt like someone was tapping the bone junction from the inside out with a small hammer, synchronized with the distending pain of the back molars.

Consciousness became chaotic amidst the long torment; the dim room made it impossible to see the furnishings clearly.

Kraft sat on the edge of the bed, pulled a flat black square from his pocket, pressed the raised dot on the side, and the light suddenly flared up, stinging his eyes so he could only open them a slit.

He turned the glowing surface towards the surroundings, barely illuminating a distance of two steps; standing up only illuminated a small patch under his feet, offering no help.

His brain was groggy, as if he hadn't yet woken from a resting state. Kraft fumbled a few steps in the darkness; his eyes had not yet completed the transition from light to dark, and the outlines of objects were blurred.

He lost patience, held the object in his hand, and walked towards the window, wanting to open it directly to let the moonlight in.

His hand followed his usual sensation, pressing against the wooden frame, searching for the wooden latch holding the window shut, yet he failed to find it three times in a row.

The hard sensation in his other hand reminded him; there was still something available for lighting. He pressed the raised dot on the flat square item again, and Bai Guang lit up before him.

Kraft gazed at this square, white light source, feeling it shouldn't be that simple. He seriously extended his finger and slid it across the surface, waiting for feedback, even forgetting he wanted to open the window.

The white light source gave no response.

The feeling of irritation was increasing; instinct told him something must be wrong, and this object in his hand had to provide information—the information his life could not do without.

The foreign part of his soul sank into inexplicable agitation, while the native part began to mobilize rational thought; he felt an inexplicable dissonance.

It was like admiring a sunrise through a window, and in the field of vision there was a stubborn black spot, like a fly or mosquito on a painting, moving as if clinging to the flat surface. Once noticed, one realized the scene before him was truly only a flat plane.

【A lifelike scroll】

More attention shifted to the flat, square object in his hand emitting Bai Guang—plausible, yet lacking further functional details, forming the noticed dissonance.

Kraft startled in alarm.