The Masha Virus was one of the deadliest artificial viruses after World War III.
Its toxicity was dozens of times greater than botulinum toxin's; a dose of merely 0.05 μg was enough to kill.
Developed by an island nation, the virus had once leaked by accident, killing tens of millions on the island itself and even triggering a wave of emigration. The entire nation had nearly suffered economic collapse as a result.
Originally, this virus was not only lethal but also highly contagious. It could destroy a city within hours, but Hawkins had castrated its infectiousness, retaining only its deadly toxin.
He knew perfectly well how backward this world's sanitation measures were. Even with strange powers like Cursed Relics, if the Masha Virus spread, it would still be enough to wipe out most living beings.
That was absolutely not an outcome he wanted to see.
Half an hour later, the Black Knife drew close to the wooden sailing ship.
Though they could not make use of Cursed Relics for the time being, collecting Cursed Relics was imperative.
Hawkins jumped from the Black Knife's rail onto the wooden ship's deck, with Mark close behind him.
It had to be said that Mark's recovery speed was far faster than Hawkins had expected. Hawkins's treatment had certainly played a role, but Mark's physical constitution also far surpassed that of an ordinary person. Even with Hawkins's treatment, a normal person would have had to lie in bed for a week.
Five corpses lay on the wooden sailing ship. Mark inspected them but could not discern their causes of death.
Mark had always found Hawkins extremely mysterious. In the past, he had been confident that, with Curse Power protecting his body, Hawkins would not be his match. But now that his Curse Power protection had been broken, he did not dare guarantee that Hawkins lacked a similar method to break through his Curse Power.
The feeling was exceedingly unpleasant.
It was like playing a game with a shield activated, only for the enemy's attacks to deal true damage, ignoring the shield and inflicting massive harm.
"Captain, how did you do it?" Mark could not help asking.
Hawkins glanced at Mark and smiled. "What do you think the most terrifying kind of attack should be like?"
"The most terrifying attack? I don't know." Mark thought for a moment, then shook his head.
He had actually considered an attack like that of a sea monster. He had once seen a colossal sea monster several thousand meters tall; merely turning over had annihilated an entire fleet.
But he felt that Hawkins certainly would not agree with that answer.
"Invisible and deadly... that truly is frightening." After thinking it over carefully, Mark nodded in agreement.
Compared to visible attacks like those of sea monsters, invisible deadly attacks were more terrifying, making one's heart tremble all the more.
He now felt a degree of awe toward Hawkins, because the deaths of the five corpses aboard the ship were simply too bizarre.
Hawkins smiled. "Mark, if I'm not mistaken, you should be able to touch Cursed Relics without being cursed, right?"
"I can, but it's actually quite dangerous. Take this Meteor Hammer, for example—I can hold it for at most one minute. After one minute, my Curse Power will be depleted." Mark glanced at the Meteor Hammer in the fat man's hand and did not deny it.
Hawkins speculated, "In other words, Curse Power can offset the curses of Cursed Relics to a certain extent. But the more dangerous the Cursed Relic, the more Curse Power touching it consumes."
"That's right." Mark answered somewhat helplessly. He had vaguely guessed what Hawkins was thinking.
Hawkins looked at Mark and smiled. "Then... sorry for the trouble."
"Ah, Captain, I'm starting to regret this. This salary really isn't easy to earn." Mark sighed with a bitter expression.
Hawkins had just saved his life, and Mark also stood in awe of Hawkins's mysterious power. Though coming into contact with Cursed Relics carried a certain degree of danger, he still consciously walked toward the scar-faced woman.
A moment later, he confirmed that the ring in the scar-faced woman's hand was a Cursed Relic.
"This ring's ability should be tracking prey. Since I've never used it, I can't determine the curse, but judging by how much Curse Power it consumes, it should be a Fine-grade Relic."
Mark removed the ring from the scar-faced woman's finger and made his judgment after holding it for roughly half a minute.
Next, he walked over to one of the men and soon removed one of the man's eyeballs.
On the back of the artificial eye's pupil was the pattern of a red six-pointed star, its lines faintly flowing with red light.
Mark pondered for a moment, then said, "This artificial eye's ability should be something like appraisal, but its conditions of use are rather harsh. You must remove your own eyeball and install it in the eye socket to use it. Likewise, I can't determine the curse, but it should also be a Fine-grade Relic."
Afterward, Mark identified the effects of the other two Cursed Relics, leaving only the Meteor Hammer untouched.
This team's abilities were extremely well-rounded. They had an artificial eye capable of appraising the effects of relics held by enemies, a ring capable of locking onto an enemy's location, a tooth necklace that could transform its holder into a Crocodile Man, and a wooden cane that could manipulate roots.
The four relics included intelligence gathering, close-range attacks, interference, and defense. With the fat man's Meteor Hammer added in, there was no weakness whatsoever in their long-range capabilities either.
Mark glanced at the fat man, let out a long breath, and said with a bitter smile, "This team was extremely dangerous. If it had only been me, I would probably have died without a doubt under their ambush."
"Aren't you going to examine that Meteor Hammer?" Hawkins leaned against the ship's rail with his arms folded, smiling as he suggested it.
Mark hurriedly waved his hands in refusal. "No, no, no. That thing can't be touched. It's definitely a Cursed Relic above Fierce Grade, and infinitely close to Death-Tier. It's too dangerous."
He still had lingering fears about the Meteor Hammer.
The cursed power within the Meteor Hammer was like an erupting volcano. In fact, when he had leapt up to resist it earlier, he had already understood the effect of this Cursed Relic.
Explosions and upward-rushing air currents were enough to blast all matter away. It was utterly overbearing.
Cursed Relics with such powerful offensive capabilities often came with exceptionally cruel curse effects. Mark did not want to get even a little of it on himself.
Yet he was also curious why this fat man could use such a Cursed Relic without dying.
He walked over to the fat man and crouched down, carefully feeling around his body. Then he lifted the fat man's clothes. At the fat man's chest, a metal ring was embedded in the flesh, and at its center was a seven-colored gemstone.
"Qi-Suppressing Stone!"
Mark stared at the gemstone in surprise.
In an instant, he understood why the fat man had not died beneath the Meteor Hammer's curse.
The Qi-Suppressing Stone had a suppressive effect on Cursed Relics. Though it could not make curses disappear completely, it could weaken them to some extent.
But the Qi-Suppressing Stone alone should not have been enough.
Mark searched through the fat man's clothes again, but found nothing else.
"This is the Qi-Suppressing Stone?"
At that moment, Hawkins walked over to Mark's side. Looking at the gemstone on the ring embedded in the fat man's chest, his eyes were filled with curiosity.
The gemstone was neither crystalline nor translucent, yet it was extraordinarily distinctive. Its surface was made up of dozens of colors, which gathered in spiraling gradients toward the very center, where there was a tiny black dot.
Hawkins tried observing it from different angles and discovered that the tiny black dot was infinitely similar to a black hole.
If the Qi-Suppressing Stone had formed naturally, it was undoubtedly the most magnificent gemstone in nature.