Fu Mo first glanced at the Matrix of Prescience: True Words Buff, then at Jing Yuan’s changed expression.
Between Jing Yuan’s question and what had just happened, it wasn’t difficult to guess that the General was suspicious of him.
This unfamiliar Buff was probably similar to a lie detector or truth serum, intended to force an honest answer out of him.
“I didn’t want this either, but due to some unforeseen force beyond my knowledge or control, I suddenly appeared inside what you call the Abandoned Realm.
I planned to gather some wood and stone to equip myself, but then I ran into Qingque.
You know everything that happened after that.”
Jing Yuan nodded without immediately responding.
Instead, he turned to Fu Xuan and found her staring in astonishment.
Puzzled, Jing Yuan softly called, “Lady Fu?”
Fu Xuan came back to her senses, but her face remained full of astonishment and confusion.
Under Jing Yuan’s questioning gaze, she slowly nodded.
Jing Yuan raised an eyebrow.
He had asked Fu Xuan to use the Matrix of Prescience to verify whether Fu Mo was telling the truth.
Her nod clearly meant that Fu Mo hadn’t lied, so why did she look so strange?
Was there more to this than met the eye?
However, Jing Yuan decided not to press the matter.
He could ask for more details later.
For now, he only needed to confirm that Fu Mo harbored no clear hostility.
More importantly, there was still the Cloud Knight who had inexplicably become Mara-Struck.
Bailu had just about finished her examination, so Jing Yuan shifted the subject to the Cloud Knight.
“Let’s go take a look at that Cloud Knight.”
Fu Xuan and Qingque nodded and followed Jing Yuan over to Bailu.
Fu Mo also took the opportunity to look.
Earlier, all his attention had been focused on the adorable little dragon girl, Bailu, and he hadn’t spared a single glance at the snarling, monster-like Cloud Knight.
Now that he looked, Fu Mo immediately felt a strange sense of familiarity.
The Cloud Knight was as green as a zombie!
If not for the armor, which looked completely different from anything in MC, and the dark green branches growing all over his body, Fu Mo really would have thought a zombie was standing before him.
Once Bailu had put away her examination instruments, Jing Yuan immediately stepped forward and asked, “Bailu, how is he?”
The petite Bailu furrowed her brow and sighed like a seasoned physician.
“Setting aside the fact that he’s Mara-Struck, I’ve never seen the Zombie Virus infecting this Cloud Knight before.
It’s incredibly potent.
I tried all sorts of methods, but nothing worked.
General, you may have to prepare for the worst.
He can’t even be given a normal burial.
This Zombie Virus is extremely contagious, so if you don’t want it to spread, his body must be completely incinerated.
You also need to determine where the virus came from as quickly as possible.
You absolutely cannot let it infect anyone else!” This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
Jing Yuan nodded, then turned to Fu Xuan.
“Lady Fu, your group discovered him first.
What happened to this soldier before he became Mara-Struck?”
Fu Xuan immediately recounted everything that had happened.
“After leading my people into the Realm-Weaving, I assigned them to collect data from various locations in preparation for tomorrow’s expansion of the Jade Abacus Array.
However, not long after we split up, this Cloud Knight was suddenly attacked by a dark green humanoid monster within the Realm-Weaving.
According to his companions, the monster’s attack didn’t penetrate his armor, yet he was still infected.”
As Fu Mo listened to Fu Xuan’s account, he took note of the dark green humanoid monster she mentioned.
Wasn’t that description obviously referring to a zombie from MC?
Had this Cloud Knight ended up like this because the Zombie Virus had infected him after a zombie attack?
Why did that sound so similar to an MC Zombie Villager?
Fu Mo wasn’t certain, so he gently nudged Qingque beside him with his elbow.
Qingque turned to him in confusion.
“What is it?”
“Let me ask you something.
Earlier, I heard Bailu say, ‘Setting aside the fact that he’s Mara-Struck.’ Does that mean this Cloud Knight’s current condition is what you call Mara-Struck?”
“Yeah.”
Qingque pointed at the dark green shoots growing all over the Cloud Knight and explained quietly, “For certain reasons…
under certain circumstances, we Xianzhou Natives can become Mara-Struck.
The most obvious sign is the appearance of these plant-like shoots on the body.
Normally, though, they’re golden rather than dark green.
Their current appearance is probably related to the Zombie Virus Bailu mentioned.”
“I see…”
Fu Mo had originally thought this might be some kind of poison from another world, but now it seemed the Cloud Knight really might have become something similar to an MC Zombie Villager.
What puzzled him was that, according to MC’s rules, a Villager had to have his health bar completely depleted by a Zombie before transforming into a Zombie Villager.
A single hit shouldn’t have caused an immediate transformation.
Could the Zombie’s virus have produced some unusual reaction with the Mara-Struck condition?
While Fu Mo was thinking, he suddenly felt someone nudge his waist.
Turning around, he saw Qingque copying his earlier action and prodding him with her elbow.
“Hey, do you happen to have a solution?”
Fu Mo looked at Qingque in surprise.
He did have a few methods he could try, but he hadn’t said anything.
How did Qingque know?
The truth-serum-like Matrix of Prescience: True Words Buff had already disappeared, and no new Buff had appeared in its place.
Qingque had even less reason to know what he was thinking.
“Why would you think that?”
Qingque gave him an innocent smile and pointed at herself, saying with a hint of pride, “It’s just a tiny bit of intuition I developed from constantly watching my superiors’ moods.
When I saw how practiced you were at dealing with those monsters earlier…
I wondered if you knew what they were, and whether you might also know how to treat the Zombie Virus.”
Fu Mo stared at Qingque’s innocent smile, his eyes filled with surprise.
She looked like an ordinary girl next door, yet she was remarkably perceptive.
He had underestimated her.
“I do have two methods we can try to save him.”
Fu Mo readily admitted that he had a solution.
He had originally planned to keep it hidden, but on second thought, establishing a good relationship with the local powers would help his future development.
Even if he couldn’t obtain many resources from them, he could at least acquire some useful information and avoid plenty of unnecessary detours.
He couldn’t be certain they weren’t heartless ingrates, but as Steve, he believed he could afford a certain amount of trial and error.
Everything, or nothing at all!
“Two methods?!” ×4
The moment Fu Mo finished speaking, not only Qingque beside him but Jing Yuan, Fu Xuan, and Bailu on the other side also heard him.
All four turned to stare at him in astonishment.
Fu Xuan was the most anxious.
She rushed over to Fu Mo and craned her neck desperately to look up at his face.
“Fu Mo, are you telling the truth?
You have two ways to treat him?”
Fu Mo grunted in confirmation, then quickly raised two fingers.
“However, one method can’t be used for now.
For the other, I need you to help me prepare two things.”
“What things?
Just name them!
I’ll make sure to get them for you!”
“A cow and an Iron Bucket.”
P.S.
Bonus update at midnight on Sunday, with at least four updates guaranteed.
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T/N: If you spot mistranslation, do tell me!
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Shilling time!