They all call me an Outer God.

Chapter 22 Curiosity killed the cat

"I hate my job."

Several investigators stood before the graves of the polluters, none of them willing to be the first to approach; even just looking at the words on the tombstones filled them with disgust.

"Why do people with pollution diseases exist in this world? They are a scourge when they are alive, and they become an even bigger problem after they die, continuing to harm innocent people."

"Stop complaining and put your masks on. We're about to start 'disinfecting' you. To make sure everything goes smoothly, I'll ask you one more time: you didn't eat anything this morning, right?"

"Of course I didn't eat it. Just thinking about that stuff makes me want to vomit, let alone eat any food."

After finishing today's work, I'm afraid I'll feel so nauseous I won't be able to eat for three days.

An investigator skillfully pulled out a specially made gas mask and put it on his face. Then, he wrapped his hands tightly with gloves and walked step by step toward the tomb with the monument.

Buried inside are the sources of disease transmission, so their actions must be meticulous and cautious.

Two people stood on either side of the mud to dig it up, two others stood guard nearby to watch for any unforeseen events, and the remaining person kept a close eye on the surrounding area.

This task could normally be completed quickly following the proper procedures; investigators' actions are usually accompanied by high risk and high efficiency.

They have always been among the first to investigate matters related to the extraordinary.

Everyone was on high alert, and the shovel head, made of special metal, was halfway into the soil.

The moment the first shovel cut through the hardened crust of the ground, a damp, earthy smell mixed with the odor of factory wastewater immediately seeped out and gradually spread into the air.

"The soil inside was too loose. It was obvious that the church people did not know how to compact it. How could a few scrap wooden planks in a coffin stop the patient?"

"You're overthinking it. Even the disordered will die without oxygen. Instead of arguing here, let's dig it out and find out what's going on."

"Alright, be prepared to vomit into your mask at any time. We're about to see the truth."

The expressions of the people hidden behind their masks were focused, and each of them tensed up, preparing to deal with all possible outcomes.

However, there was another direction of development that they had not anticipated.

Just as the group was on edge, a large crowd slowly gathered from the road they had just passed.

Judging from their clothing, they were clearly residents of Winstown.

The townspeople thought that too many people would block the already narrow road, so they specially divided the crowd into several groups.

The town's residents, led by the villagers, carried a white cloth banner with encouraging words written on it using coal scraps.

"Order rises under the sun, offering the highest level of encouragement to the investigators!"

"..."

The investigator at the edge looked on in surprise at the approaching crowd, but his excellent professional skills quickly allowed him to react.

The next second, the investigator rushed forward and stopped the bewildered crowd.

"What do you want?" He tried to make his tone sound amicable, but the tremor in his voice betrayed his suppressed anger.

Some townspeople were bold enough to walk up to him and explain the situation directly.

The townspeople pointed to the throng of people behind them: "The adults work so hard, we came here specifically to support their work and cheer them on. By the way, what are your colleagues planning to dig up, like pathogens? Can we watch from the sidelines?"
Don't worry, we definitely won't get too close; after all, we don't want to cause you any trouble!

Your very presence here is the biggest problem.

The investigator wanted to grab the townspeople by the collar and yell those words, but for some reason, the townspeople today not only followed them out on their own initiative, but they also wouldn't leave no matter how hard they tried to get rid of them.

A large group of people stubbornly stood still, craning their necks and standing on tiptoe, looking longingly at the grave.

Their curiosity was piqued to the extreme, and they were ready to dig themselves with hoes if they weren't shown the process.

The investigators outnumbered them and were bound by rules against attacking ordinary people. The situation was urgent, and even a millisecond's delay could allow the contamination to spread.

After much deliberation, the investigator could only advise the townspeople to stay away as much as possible and delineate a relatively safe area to prevent them from approaching.

The distance was just right; even if the virus spread, it wouldn't quickly reach the townspeople, and there was enough extra time for his companions to clean up the body.

Today they came fully prepared. As long as they dripped the mysterious item [antibacterial solution] onto the spreading erroneous microorganisms, the solution would detect the error and automatically inhibit them. It is a solvent specifically used to treat diseased corpses.

As for the cost—the cost of using it is the toenail on your little toe, and when a new toenail grows out later, that little toe will inevitably develop an ingrown toenail, no matter how frequently you trim it.

If the user does not have toenails, this mysterious item will cause the user to grow toenails, and then repeat the above operation.

"This is outrageous! I'll get paronychia from it sooner or later."

The investigator in charge of the excavation cursed under his breath and quickened his pace. The townspeople nearby also slowed their breathing and stared intently at the scene, afraid of missing any details.

"Ah."

Some of the people blocking their way harbored malicious thoughts, hoping that these people would see the source of the disease in such a wretched state that they would weep bitterly, and then they would realize how foolish they had been.

Ignorance is not incurable; the best cure is to make them pay the price for their ignorance.

As time went on, the soil on both sides of the grave piled up higher and higher, and the metal shovels dug much faster.

The wooden coffin is about to be unearthed. Whether the pathogen is dead or not will be revealed in a few minutes.

"I'm so excited I can't contain myself." The town resident at the front of the line gripped his clothes tightly; to anyone who looked at him, he was the most excited person imaginable.

What do you think we'll see in a little while?

A flesh-and-blood giant that suddenly burst out of a coffin and was then easily defeated by the investigator?
Or did thousands of underdeveloped toads with dragging tails suddenly emerge from within and be wiped out in an instant by the investigators?!

The man turned to ask the person next to him with great interest, and the young man wearing a woolen vest and a black baseball cap was taken aback when asked.

He lowered his head and began to think seriously about the answer to the question.

A few seconds later, he shook his head, indicating that he didn't know, and nudged the person further to his left.

What do you think will happen?

"I think?"

The fat man, wearing a bird-beak mask to ward off disease, stared straight ahead, his head bobbing up and down with the arc of the dirt shoveled out.

(End of this chapter)