Witch, Fireball and the Evil God of Steam
Chapter 66: Polluted Zone

Chapter 66: Chapter 66: Polluted Zone

As the three left the Mage’s Magic Scroll Shop, the desperate shopkeeper was being escorted by guards away from the crowd, accused of selling counterfeit and shoddy products that resulted in serious injuries. The hunter who had been struck with a big foot monster and whose head was flattened became the best evidence, and the shopkeeper would soon face scrutiny by the Fireplace Bay Supervision Council for his alleged crime.

Old Mugram was a talkative Tree-man; seeing Ave’s interest in Heisenberg, he eagerly recounted Heisenberg’s illustrious achievements.

They wandered beneath the masts, bathed in the warm glow of the lights, with the boundless Black Sea in the distance, as if at the horizon lay the origin of Heisenberg’s legend.

This is a story titled "Heisenberg and the Magic Book."

In the story, Heisenberg’s background is completed; he was once a respected Elemental Shaper at the academy, young yet already a teacher of Elemental Magic Defense. And when a rare white-haired Northern Clan girl with red eyes became his student, the gears of destiny began to turn.

"So, Heisenberg is actually... that person’s teacher?"

Ave immediately took it very seriously.

Ethan couldn’t hold back after hearing the beginning; though rampant rumors helped him hide his identity and misled people, now the Tree-man was spreading chaos. Discovering the Lindong Witch was alive, he knew if the witch herself heard, she would make him write "Respect for teachers is essential" a hundred times on parchment.

Yet the story got even more exaggerated.

The white-haired girl, enamored with the intellectual and humorous Heisenberg, often found him under the pretense of discussing Elemental Magic. Soon, Heisenberg discovered the girl’s amazing magical talent, especially her proficiency in ice Elemental Magic.

Over time, Heisenberg also developed strange emotions for his student, but they did not originate from love, rather a sort of... fervor. Heisenberg clearly understood that with proper cultivation, this extraordinarily talented student could become one of the greatest Elemental Shapers in history.

"Hold on a minute!"

This time even Ave noticed something was off. "Where did you hear this story from? Heisenberg is that girl’s teacher? She even had a crush on Heisenberg?"

There might not be a more absurd story in the world.

Ethan completely agreed, supporting Ave’s vehement rebuke; if this rumor spread, rewriting respect for teachers a hundred times wouldn’t resolve it.

"As I mentioned earlier, this is from the story ’Heisenberg and the Magic Book,’ in which Heisenberg eventually steals forbidden magic books from the Grand Library to guide the white-haired girl in her cultivation, teaching her dangerous knowledge from the books. Incidentally, I’ve already devised the title for the sequel; what do you think of ’Heisenberg and the Chamber’?"

"Not good."

Ave pulled down her face, but it was completely obscured by the vortex mask.

Disappointed, she fiercely glared at Mugram’s back, imagining bursting the Tree-man’s head like the flattened hunter!

They returned to Mugram’s shop, which remained quiet with business from only a few investigators from the Reception Bureau using its odd tools.

Old Mugram had long become accustomed to such a life; when there were no customers, he lit a gas lamp at the counter and picked up a quill pen, writing furiously.

Now there lay an unfinished parchment book with somewhat messy handwriting, creating an atmospheric impression.

"You all know, my dream has always been to become a writer."

Mugram had attempted creative writing numerous times, most of which went unnoticed. But this time, he firmly believed that Heisenberg’s story might become Fireplace Bay’s bestseller!

"No, we didn’t know at all, and we aren’t interested."

Ave no longer wanted to hear his nonsense and spoke firmly, "We want to see materials related to the Pollution Zone."

"Pollution Zone?"

Mugram immediately became alert, "What do you need this information for?"

"Our current case is likely related to the Pollution Zone."

Ave had first heard of the Pollution Zone concept while studying at the Enlightenment Society; it was an elective course exploring the world’s anomaly spaces. The professor was a former Reception Bureau Class A investigator who mentioned the Pollution Zone was the most common type of anomaly space, often occurring after large-scale Evil God sacrificial ceremonies.

Each year, the Reception Bureau dispatches personnel to investigate Pollution Zones. Some scholars believe these anomalies, impossible to explain logically, have a direct connection with divine spirits that vanished from ancient times. However, investigations by the Reception Bureau are elusive, as zones within Pollution Zones distort space and come with deadly environments and many dark creatures unrecorded in manuals.

"All exploration related to the Pollution Zone was halted three years ago—the same year as the previous director’s death. Afterward, the new director issued orders for strict control over all related books; if you wish to access such materials, you must go to the headquarters and personally apply to the director."

"Halted, why?"

"Because some believe that the containment breach breakout in the imperial capital was caused by the Pollution Zone; the deeper one delves in, the easier it is to lose sanity."

The conversation reached an impasse.

Ave furrowed her brow; this Reception Bureau’s mystery was far more complex than she had imagined. She increasingly sensed the containment breach from three years ago as a temporal anchor, marking many subsequent changes.

Some were hunting surviving Class A investigators, yet despite going over the archives ten times, she found no clues.

Now, the near total prohibition of Pollution Zone investigations reeked of suspicion everywhere.

"But, you who believe in the God of Truth, I’ve seen many investigators like you."

Mugram suddenly spoke up, "Even if the application is rejected, eventually, investigators might delve headlong into the Data Zone, completely ignorant of it and vanishing without a trace, just like Director Yakwell."

Ave immediately recalled this name.

The founder of the Reception Bureau, the first director, also her grandfather’s friend, his last trace was losing contact over a case.

Later directors continuously sought Yakwell’s whereabouts, yet until their various departures, the investigation yielded no progress. Nobles believed Yakwell died and privately held mourning ceremonies for him.

"So, I left this behind."

Mugram bent down and opened a drawer under the counter, incessantly rummaging through thick parchment books. After about a minute, among numerous similar-covered books, he finally found this copy titled "Light Messenger Yakwell."

"Strictly speaking, it’s a novel I created. Its content is entirely fictional, yet possibly... contains some usable information for you, for back then I researched quite a bit to write it."

(To report on this book’s current situation, it’s the best pre-release pursuit among Lao Tao’s books overall, thanks to all supporting readers! Having now exited the new book list, broadly Lao Tao entered the overall new book top ten for the first time, also gaining second new strong and small trumpet recommendations. After today’s discussion with the editor, the scheduled release is early morning next Tuesday, as promised before, if the first subscription exceeds 3000, the first month of release will maintain a five-Chapter update speed daily; thanks again everyone!)