Learn one small skill every day

I really shouldn't have had too many expectations for this lousy place...

After hearing the priest's explanation, Bai Miao's approval of Sterling's development vanished instantly.

Bai Miao felt it was quite remarkable that such a civilization could develop on an isolated island, establish a free trade zone, and maintain such an open attitude towards outsiders.

As for religion, Bai Miao doesn't care, because the guidance of the gears does, to some extent, guide people on how to move forward, and it's not always seeking instructions.

But the events that have occurred have changed Bai Miao's mind.

If you're ordered to kill, do you actually do it?

And the others just watched without questioning it.

If the order required them to commit suicide, these people would probably do it without hesitation.

Crazy, really crazy.

"Aren't you worried that someone might forge orders? What if he kills someone, but he didn't receive orders to kill him?"

"Don't worry, we will still have various punishments unless the order requires him to be released without charge. In most cases, the gears will guide us to release those who actually committed crimes under the order."

Tina raised her hand and placed her long, slender fingers on the gear: "I can ask the gear."

As she spoke, Tina turned the gears.

The gears turned slowly, and Tina's face showed some regret: "His father is seriously ill, and the family can no longer afford the treatment. So the gears guided him to kill his father, so that his father could be relieved sooner and the family could be freed from the oppression of the disease."

Bai Miao was curious about what kind of information Tina had obtained that allowed her to speak so clearly.

However, Bai Miao soon discovered an even more shocking fact.

The Qi Observation Technique did not reveal the dense fog above Tina's head that signaled the arrival of the command, nor did it receive any command information.

Is it because my mental energy is insufficient?

Bai Miao thought to himself, "I still have more than 20 points left. Is it not enough to deduct from this priest's instructions?"

Do we have to pay 30?

Father Barton's expression revealed a hint of appreciation: "Priestess Tina can ask the Gear for instructions from others, which is why she became a priestess of the Gear Cult. Currently, only she possesses this ability."

Bai Miao sensed that several of his crew members were glancing in his direction, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

I just said I could see other people's commands, and now a priest who can ask other people's commands has appeared.

That rounds up to mean I can also be a priest.

It's clear that the ability to directly confirm someone else's instructions is quite rare and highly respected.

After the brief incident in the central square, the group successfully arrived at the gear manufacturing plant, where the sounds of mechanical impacts and steam eruptions could be heard continuously.

"Where do you mine your metals? A single island can't possibly have that many resources."

“There is a mine in Stemen, located on the mountain behind the palace. On the other side of the mountain, there is a lord in charge of managing the mining of the mine.”

This place has quite a lot of resources.

It seems that the fact that it has developed to this point can be attributed to favorable timing and location.

As for the people involved... well, after Bai Miao witnessed the murder in the square, things became unpredictable.

Led by the priest and the priest, the group entered the production line. The workers on the production line were sweating profusely, but their eyes were shining, and they were full of energy as they worked.

They seemed quite used to being visited, paying no attention to the group and continuing with their work.

"Ahhhh!!!"

Another crew member from the personnel department suddenly knelt on the ground, clutching his head and yelling, "I heard gears!!"

With that, he rushed into the blast furnace without hesitation and sank into the molten iron.

"Get out of here!"

Bai Miao quickly led his men to retreat, already mentally preparing for battle.

This is the second crew member to be mentally corrupted!

Fortunately, the person who rushed into the molten iron was not the one who knocked on the door, but the sudden turn of events still made everyone more vigilant.

It was all too sudden.

Bai Miao didn't even feel his mental strength declining, so how come someone else got infected?

"Do you have any strange feelings? Does anything seem off?"

When Bai Miao inquired about the remaining crew members, the priest and the priest slowly walked out of the factory and asked, "It seems that you gentlemen are indeed destined for the Gear Cult. Not everyone can hear the sound of gears in the Gear Factory."

The other crew members said they did not hear any strange noises. Although there were gear sounds, they were just the sounds of machines running, and should not be the gear sounds that the two charlatans were talking about.

“I need an explanation. You see, we cannot understand your local beliefs, and this kind of suicide is extremely dangerous to us. We have our own mission; we are here to find lost artifacts.”

Bai Miao found that these differences in thought stemming from cultural roots were difficult to explain and understand.

The Stramen people probably considered jumping into molten iron after hearing the sound of gears to be an extremely glorious thing.

“We understand how you feel right now, but did we force your teammate to do this? Wasn’t this a decision he made on his own after hearing the gear’s instructions?”

Bai Miao has no intention of getting into a conflict with them for the time being, and they do not seem to be the instigators.

So Bai Miao could only say helplessly, "Perhaps you are right, but the loss of our team members is also very sad for us. We are like family, working together like gears, turning together towards a common goal."

Using gears as a metaphor was incredibly effective; Priestess Tina even shed a few tears.

"Oh, that's so pitiful... The gear never wanted to take him away."

“Perhaps we can offer some compensation. You said you’re looking for some kind of relic. I wonder what kind of help we can provide?” Tina wiped away her tears and asked.

"If possible, I would like to have an audience with the King."

"For outsiders to see the king... they need to establish certain merits first..."

Tina said with some difficulty.

Father Barton chimed in with great enthusiasm: "But achieving merit is not difficult. If you can kill five gear thieves or recover more than thirty stolen wisdom gears from them, the king will be willing to meet with you!"

“In the past, some outsiders would use strange techniques to find hidden gear thieves. These heretics would only bully unarmed and pitiful believers, who were basically powerless against outsiders.”

Bai Miao nodded: "I see, I understand."

Having found a legitimate way to approach the king, Bai Miao felt that spending most of the day with the priests hadn't been entirely fruitless.

"Now that we've finished touring the factory... how about our next stop is the church?"

Bai Miao was reluctant to go, feeling that going to the church would lead to more people being spiritually corrupted.

The relationship between Bai Miao and the priest is now quite delicate.

On the one hand, they need a priest, a person of absolute high status, to provide various information; on the other hand, they cannot allow all of their people to convert to the Gear Sect.

Bai Miao hoped to resolve the issue of the relics peacefully, rather than have it resolved peacefully.

Chapter 114 Coercing the Priest

“Father, I understand your desire to complete the instructions.”

Bai Miao knew clearly what the priest's instructions were, and that he was just following orders, but there would inevitably be people in the church who would be seduced by the gears.

We can't just let this pass by unprepared.

"Given what we just experienced, do you think we'd feel comfortable entering the church? It must be a very sacred place, and we don't want our journey to be delayed by the gears of faith."

"So, you can let us meet the king, find the whereabouts of the relics, and then go to the church with you? Your orders should have no time limit, right?"

Bai Miao's philosophy was all about procrastination; he would drag things out relentlessly.

The priest was displeased: "Are you trying to make fun of me? The order is the highest priority, which means I must complete the requirements of the order as soon as possible. Being able to show you around is already the biggest concession I can make, not to mention that the priest also received the same order."

"I understand your concerns, but not all of you can be guided by the gears. The rest of you can still complete your original tasks!"

Bai Miao looked at the priest: "Priest, is your instruction really the same invitation to the church? There's something I'm not sure if I should say..."

Wang Xiang received a knowing look from Bai Miao and, understanding the unspoken message, reminded the priest, "Father Barton, I hope you still remember when you first met us, our captain called you by name directly. He could also see the instructions the gears were giving you!"

“Didn’t we agree to keep this a secret?” Bai Miao glared at Wang Xiang, feigning displeasure. “Pent, you’ve overstepped your bounds! I don’t want to reveal that I can see other people’s commands. I just want to talk to the priests as a normal person! How am I supposed to face them like this?”

The two spoke in unison, directly revealing that Bai Miao also possessed the ability to see other people's commands.

The priest and the priest's expressions changed drastically at the same time.

The priest was more surprised, while the priest's eyes were filled with fear.

Seeing the two people's completely different reactions, Bai Miao immediately confirmed one thing.

The priest's claim that he could ask others for instructions is false.

I was just trying to trick the priest by only saying half of what I was saying.

Priestess Tina is probably wondering right now if she's been exposed.

"You don't have gears on your head, so how could you possibly receive guidance from them?"

Tina quickly regained her composure and asked in a deep voice.

"Oh... I'm sorry to have caused you such confusion. To express my apology, I'm willing to demonstrate on the spot. You two can simply find a passerby and have that person obtain the instructions, and I will then convey those instructions to them."

The priest, somewhat skeptical, pulled over a little girl who was playing with a mechanical windmill: "Can you get new instructions from the gears?"

The little girl nodded and fiddled with the gears on her head.

To Rita Finn, daughter of Ars Finn:

He presented the windmill he was holding to the priest before him.

Bai Miao read the instruction aloud in its entirety, then looked at Tina: "Priestess, you should also be able to ask the gear if this is the correct instruction, right?"

Tina smiled and nodded: "Of course."

As she spoke, she also fiddled with the gears on her head.

Bai Miao had recovered thirty points of mental energy with the help of the Moon's Essence, but he still did not see smoke appear above Tina's head.

The likelihood that she is an imposter has increased further.

The priest then asked Rita Na for her instructions one by one, and the answers he received were exactly the same as Bai Miao's.

He also got the windmill from Ritana.