OBS Chapter 3973 Dorothy's Transfiguration
Chapter 3973 Dorothy's Transfiguration
Chapter 3973 Dorothy's Transfiguration
A huge explosion, like thunder, rang out in the distance. The five people who were having a meeting looked out the window almost simultaneously, and Mia was so frightened that she burrowed into Shad's arms.
Luvia's expression didn't change much:
"What exploded? Judging from the sound, the explosion occurred near the ground, probably in the southwest of the city."
The priest frowned slightly:
"Could that be the sound of artillery shells? Has Carsonrick attacked? Even if the victory reports in the newspapers are fake, the Southerners couldn't possibly be this fast, could they?"
"It could also be an ammunition depot or an arms factory. Isn't the local arms factory located in the southwest of the city?"
While patting and comforting Mia, Shad said that the explosion hadn't caused any changes in the elements, so it shouldn't be a big deal, but Dorothy's expression suddenly turned grim:
"No, it wasn't the arsenal, it was the research institute of the Royal Academy of Sciences in the southwest of the city that exploded."
As Shad looked at her with surprise, she added:
Princess Lacia and her brother are visiting there.
Dr. Schneider was quite astonished:
"Could it be another assassination attempt?"
Xia De felt that if the doctor guessed correctly, then no one could save Director Anlos this time, but fortunately, Director Anlos was ultimately luckier than the doctor.
"It wasn't an assassination, and calling it an explosion isn't accurate either. A new equipment production line in the Academy of Sciences, which is still in the laboratory stage, went out of control. After it was activated, it was constantly absorbing the surrounding metal to make bombs. Just now, it detonated the gas chamber of the research institute."
Princess Lacia and the prince are both unharmed, but the extent of other casualties is still unclear.
Dorothy explained that Shad was relieved to hear that Lacey was alright.
Luvia picked up her teacup and asked:
"Mechanical activation? Isn't that what Shad just mentioned?"
Dorothy shook her head:
"The situation is still unclear; the scene is chaotic, and..."
Boom!
A second explosion rang out in the distance, drowning out the rest of Dorothy's words. This time, though not as loud as the first, it instilled even greater fear in the city's inhabitants. While few believed the rumor that "the Carsonricks are attacking," anyone who dared to say it would spread it, and once it got around, more people would believe it.
The public couldn't distinguish between the sound of a steam cannon and the sound of a gas explosion. Xia De could already imagine that tonight's evening paper would publish a special edition to refute the rumors, but this time it was a genuine gas explosion.
“If the local issues are of the same nature as the issues in Arcadia, then the problem is much bigger.”
After waiting a while and confirming that there was no third loud bang, the priest continued wiping his pipe:
"The fact that the same thing happened in two cities so far apart can only mean that this is an accident that could happen in any city."
"There are many possibilities that could lead to mechanical activation, and it's still uncertain whether it's related to the 'Spark of Life'. I'll ask Iluna about it later; let's wait for news."
Shad spoke, and for a moment no one spoke, until the third muffled sound came from afar, and Dorothy informed everyone that the church's team had entered. Only then did Shad speak again:
"It's hard to find a region that doesn't have any mechanical creations anymore, isn't it? Even the Fatu people in remote island areas who still live in the traditional way have long since been connected to gas pipelines."
"What about the northernmost tribes you mentioned that share a common ancestor with the Fatu people? They migrate according to the seasons, have no fixed living areas, and probably don't have many mechanical artifacts around them, right?"
The doctor asked, and Shad nodded, but apart from these very few people, most people in the world cannot live without all kinds of mechanical creations that came with the steam revolution.
The outsider was now even more suspicious that the two consecutive mechanical malfunctions were "Calamities of Creation." These calamities seemed incomparable to other calamities; even a low-level sorcerer could easily dismantle the machines if they were careful. But the problem was that there were simply too many machines in this world.
Needless to say, the source of the loss of control is the "abnormal life force," while the mechanical malfunction is merely a symptom. Those forces are currently only affecting the machinery; whether they will lead to even greater problems remains to be seen.
The group meeting ended abruptly. After instructing everyone not to cause trouble in the city recently, the doctor told everyone to quickly return to where they were supposed to be.
Therefore, the four who left did not travel together in the carriage. Priest Augustus hurriedly returned to the church, Luvia rushed to the association to investigate the situation, and although Dorothy and Shad both had their destination at No. 6 St. Teresa's Square, Dorothy still had her carriage go to Quill Street first, and then to St. Teresa's Square.
The coachman seemed unfazed by the three consecutive explosions, even discussing with Shad whether the Carsonricks were firing cannons or blowing up an armory. As soon as Shad alighted from the carriage, their neighbor, Mr. Smith, burst through the door.
The former First Secretary of the Kingdom's Treasury certainly didn't believe the Carsonricks had already attacked, but he still inquired with Shad about the situation:
"Judging from the sound, it came from the direction of the Royal Academy of Sciences?"
Although Shad knew the truth, he couldn't tell it:
“I haven’t seen Galina yet, so I don’t know the current situation. But I just saw a large group of police officers heading to the slums in the north of the city. It seems like someone is taking the opportunity to cause trouble. I don’t think anything serious will happen, Mr. Smith. We can just wait for news at home. Maybe soon a newsboy will be shouting ‘Extra!’ to announce the first-hand news from the city hall.”
"Never believe a newspaper."
Mr. Smith thanked Shad quietly and then closed the door. Shad glanced behind him; many neighbors around the square were standing at their windows looking outside. He then took out his key, opened the door, and went home with Mia.
Dorothy arrived at No. 6 St. Teresa's Square half an hour later than Shad. By then, the matter at the Royal Academy of Sciences had been resolved, and Dorothy reassured Shad not to worry.
“Lacia has returned to the Yordle Palace, and the out-of-control machine in the Academy of Sciences has been destroyed. Your guess is correct. Although Lacia was not present and does not know whether the ‘Spark of Life’ appeared, more active machines did appear around before the machine was completely destroyed. This should be the ‘mechanical plague’ that Winnie mentioned.”
Lacia had booked opera tickets tonight to go on a date with Shad, but of course she couldn't go out now, so Shad planned to have dinner at home, and Winnie would still be in the kitchen preparing dinner in the evening.
Ellie was also in the kitchen, but instead of eating an apple, she was being asked by Winnie to learn how to cook—a skill Ellie, as a "unicorn girl," should learn. Ellie seemed quite interested, but it could also just be because Winnie was teaching her how to make apple pie.
Emilia wasn't here; the elf had already returned to St. Byron. She had a lot of schoolwork to do, and she was also thinking about the snacks made from the "bubble pods" that Shad had mentioned that morning. She planned to try doing some experiments in the potions lab when she had some free time that evening.
Dorothy was still telling Shad what she knew:
"Recia doesn't know much about what's next, but she'll keep looking. If you want to know more, you'd better ask Iluna."
After Winnie finished making dinner, she left home with Ellie. It was Saturday, and no one would stay except Dorothy and Lacey.
Since Lacey will definitely not be able to leave Yodel Palace tonight, the date time tonight belongs entirely to the writer.
The planned trip to the opera house was no longer possible. Although Shad hadn't shown any enthusiasm for studying, the very responsible Dorothy decided to resume the weekly "evening classes" starting this week.
"We can't always waste Saturday nights. The reason why Lacia and I have this night alone without anyone complaining is because everyone knows we have important business to attend to, right?"
So after the candlelight dinner, the two of them and the cat went to the study. Although Dorothy hadn't made any extra preparations for the evening, a month ago Shad had mentioned that Danist had told him a fairy tale called "The Bloody Deception," and the princess and the writer had spent the past month studying this fairy tale.
"Shad, I was planning to give you a surprise, so here it is."
Dorothy closed her eyes as she spoke, and then in a burst of red light, the girl who had been sitting behind the desk disappeared, replaced by a beautiful gray rabbit.
Xiaomia was also lying on the table at this moment. When she saw the rabbit appear, she only glanced at it and completely ignored it. The rabbit was obviously an adult rabbit, much larger than Xiaomia.
Miss Rabbit approached Shad on her own initiative, and Shad subconsciously reached out and stroked her, finding the rabbit's texture quite pleasant.
"Meow~"
Mia was annoyed and darted over, shoving the rabbit away. Dorothy didn't mind and went back to her desk, transforming back into her original form.
"Is this a transformation technique?"
Shad asked in surprise, and Dorothy nodded:
"Yes, isn't 'The Bloody Deception' just a story about robbers twisting into animals under the red moon, dividing up their treasure like acorns, and finally killing each other? This story is originally related to 'deception' and 'transformation,' and in most fairy tales, it is a common plot to turn people into animals. Lacey and I tried to learn transformation when we were in Central."
"It's a real shame, I originally wanted to become the owl in the story, but I didn't learn how. Lacey didn't learn to transform into an owl either; she can now become a squirrel."
Shad imagined what Lacey would look like as a big-tailed squirrel, and then said with a smile:
"I definitely want to see it next time I have the chance."