[... The archbishop told me that the Tree God could be reborn from any seed, and we must collect as many seeds as possible...]
[... The reborn Tree God needs a vessel, so we need to plant those newly sprouted or yet-to-sprout seeds on people. Unfortunately, each person can only have one seed planted. Why can't we plant more?]
[... The archbishop meant that living things always follow the principle of use and disuse. I think I could double the seed tax; they'll adapt, there shouldn't be any problem.]
[... The increased taxes have indeed brought about changes; the townspeople of White Wax Town have visibly lost a lot of weight. This can't go on; the Pure Ones will find out. I think I need some help.]
[... Everything has been fine since the tax official helped. Luckily, I resolved the problem in White Wax Town before they found out, but these lazy, Pure Ones never even glance at those villages. I think the plan can still continue.]
[... The bishop has joined us, that's good.]
[... The triple taxation did indeed have a significant impact on people; their bodies had already begun to Aberration, but this was only the beginning. According to the archbishop's theory, repeatedly harvesting from the same location, or picking immature seeds, would also bring about similar mutations.]
[... Damn it, how many more experiments do I have to repeat to get what I want? Will the Tree God really favor me? If you're watching, please be reborn by my hand.]
[... Through rigorous comparison, I discovered that properly controlling the frequency of cutting the experimental subjects can indeed improve their regeneration speed to some extent, but this is limited; they will still die.]
[... Another batch of experimental subjects has arrived. The Archbishop is indeed looking out for me; a few of them look quite promising. Hopefully, they'll bring me some pleasant surprises.]
[... Number Three was supposed to be dead, but he somehow crawled back up from the scrap yard, and one of his hands wasn't even his! Has God truly been on my side?]
[...]
Line after line of text Ed's mind, from initial curiosity to anger, then to mental numbness, until the last page of the diary fell, and he had completely regained his composure.
Watching the events he experienced as a victim from the perspective of the perpetrator again evoked some different emotions in Ed.
It's clear that Yiden was at least quite serious about keeping a diary, although there's no denying that he was a beast.
After casually checking Yiden's perspective, Ed discovered that he was being chased and attacked by several players.
Well done, a truly reassuring partner.
Ed was immediately much happier. Ed closed the thick diary containing decades of history in front of him and began to think about a question that he had put aside for some time.
That explains why there are such obvious differences in physique among the three groups of people: those from Upperstream Village, White Wax Town, and the priests of the Tree Worship Church.
The priests of the Tree Worship Church were all well-proportioned, had no problems with movement, and were quite capable in combat.
The townspeople of White Wax Town looked malnourished. Although they didn't have any major health problems, they were the type who would be out of breath after running just a few steps.
The villagers in the outer villages have been completely mutated; the Symbiotic Tree appear anywhere on their bodies, constantly squeezing their surrounding bones and organs.
The differences between the three have always been a question, but that question has been answered today.
According to Yiden's diary, while other factors cannot be ruled out, taxation was at least one very obvious element.
The tax Tree Worship Church is the seeds produced by those Symbiotic Tree. Even without the tax, these seeds would mature slowly, but repeatedly harvesting them prematurely would undoubtedly harm both people and trees.
Priests do not need to pay taxes and can maintain optimal condition with the Symbiotic Tree within their bodies at all times.
The townspeople paid double taxes, which caused a lot of their nutrients to be absorbed by the Symbiotic Tree to produce seeds, leaving them emaciated and pale.
The villagers were completely overwhelmed by the tripled taxes; even the Symbiotic Tree couldn't withstand such a burden, and each one grew crooked and twisted...
It seems that postponing the taxes for the two villages was the right thing to do; their health should gradually improve, but it's unlikely they'll fully recover... unless Ed takes action himself.
"It seems this matter needs to be put on the agenda..."
Ed mentally added this to his notes.
He still had a lot of research material to read, but once he went through all the records, Ed would be able to identify which information was more useful.
We'll hand this part over to that professor and see if he can come up with any useful measures to help those deformed villagers...
In the real world, in the study of a residential community.
The fountain pen is moving across the manuscript paper with a special emblem, leaving behind neat characters with a "scratching" sound.
"Sigh, it's been a long time since I've written this many characters, it's a bit sloppy..."
[ Evergreen Tree ], or rather, Professor Li Yinhua is writing today's game experience report.
It was already noon in the real world. Looking at the three sheets of paper next to him that were already full of writing, the professor realized that his performance today seemed to have been somewhat extraordinary.
But he had no other choice, because the game he played last night was just too exciting, and his research, his observations, and his logical thinking all made new progress the night before.
Thinking about how much he still hadn't written, he flexed his fingers and began to write with lightning speed again:
Because the player initially possesses a certain amount of the [ Plant Compatibility ] attribute, I used extracts from three other plants to try to dissolve the dragon scales. According to that player, the only difference between applying dragon scales externally and taking them internally is the speed of their effects, so intravenous or intramuscular injection should produce similar results.
With the other party's consent, we performed some common treatments on the product to remove insoluble impurities, ultimately producing a simple injection.
These injections actually worked on him; chemistry and biology seemed to have disappeared from the game!
This confirms a previous hypothesis I had: that the essence of things in this game world is not entirely the same as in real life, but their specific forms of existence still need to be explored...
Before logging off today, the game updated the " Dungeon " system and the background music within the Dungeon. These are standard features in other games, but not in the World of Disorder. From the first day I logged in, people told me that the monsters in this world can actually be killed, instead of being the kind that automatically respawn when you get too far away.
For a long time, background music was lacking in order to enhance realism and immersion, but this has now been added. Although it's not pervasive throughout the entire game world, it's still a new development, and I think it's necessary to document it...
Here is my second hypothesis about this game:
The game designers attempted to rationalize the appearance and disappearance of everything, that is, to make everything logically explainable. This may contain deeper considerations, but they are currently unknown...
Shaking his sore wrists, the professor gently blew on the last few words on the letter to dry them, then arranged them in order and stuffed them into a thick, sealed document bag.
Upon opening the door, the professor saw a young man dressed in black waiting at the entrance.
Upon seeing the professor open the door, the young man gave a polite but slightly shy smile.
The professor handed the file folder to the other person, and the two exchanged a knowing glance before returning to their respective tasks.
The young man stuffed the file folder into another briefcase, which was clearly more secure, and strode towards a black van parked downstairs.
On the letter inside the file folder in his hand, the ink was emitting faint blue light in the dim light.
(End of Volume One)