Rules in the Town

On a hill several kilometers away from Green Lake Town.

A group of sharply dressed "gentlemen" were using various methods to observe the situation within the town.

One of them, a middle-aged man with a protruding belly and a rather endangered hairline, commented softly:

"It seems quite a few prominent families are taking part in this month's assessment. Isn't holding it in Green Lake Town a little too harsh...? If the risk is too high, we might lose some promising talent."

At that moment, an elderly white-haired man with his hands clasped behind his back and an owl perched on his shoulder replied:

"I would rather raise the selection threshold than invest resources in weaklings incapable of resolving crisis incidents.

The city's population is already nearing its limit.

The supply of 'skin' began declining several months ago. If this continues, the organization will struggle to provide effective training for gentlemen, and the internal balance will be disrupted.

If Teacher Sman is dissatisfied, he may raise his objections with the higher-ups."

The plump Teacher Sman hurriedly raised his hands in apology.

"Professor Chamberson, I was merely making an objective assessment. I have no objections to your choice of assessment location.

If dangers far beyond the scope of the assessment arise, I hope everyone present will intervene and suppress them immediately."

"That is only natural."

Just then, the white-haired elder noticed an unusual young man. Rather than forming a team, he was walking alone through the town streets.

His somewhat dark clothing stood out, as did the lump of flesh rooted in his shoulder.

"Teacher Sman, this young man does not seem to be on the assessment roster? Nor does he appear to bear any obvious insignia of a family or school."

Sman was specifically in charge of personnel matters, and his gaze fell upon Yi Chen as well.

"Oh! He is indeed an unfamiliar face. He should be an assessment candidate added at the last minute today.

His recommender was Wilbert Astorga, the person in charge of Seven-Day Graveyard. A raven from the graveyard delivered a Letter specifically requesting that he be allowed to participate in This Month's assessment."

Upon hearing that name, Chamberson seemed to sink into a memory.

"Wilbert... That boy was extremely solitary. During his studies, he had virtually no friends and always kept to himself. In the end, he earned the qualifications to establish a graveyard through his own abilities and lived alone.

For someone like him to recommend talent to the organization..."

As the two chatted, the other gentlemen also noticed the lone young man—and that he had deliberately chosen a rather suspicious inn.

"Without any 'skin' adornments, he detected the abnormality within the town through ordinary human Senses alone and even approached the danger of his own accord? This young man is rather interesting."

As the temporary person in charge of this assessment, the white-haired Chamberson had originally come here merely to carry out his assignment.

Yet this young man from the graveyard had piqued his interest.

Green Shade Inn

Yi Chen held an aluminum key card engraved with #0206.

When he inserted it into the lock, which was covered in mottled scratches, the mechanism inside clicked as its teeth aligned.

Creak~ The door opened.

A diamond-patterned carpet covered the entire room. Dust had been firmly trapped beneath its fibers, making the place look barely clean overall.

The guest room was not particularly spacious.

It contained a wooden bed one and a half meters wide, its dark bedding doing its best to conceal the stains left by the previous guest.

The tall glass window had been entirely covered with newspapers bearing the title "Green Lake Town," blocking out the sunlight.

A piece of Clothing still hung from the wooden coat rack by the window, as though the previous guest had left in too much of a hurry and forgotten to take it... or rather, had never left at all.

Drip, drip~

The sound of dripping water constantly came from the bathroom to the right of the entrance.

Upon inspection, Yi Chen found that only the showerhead was leaking. A layer of water covered the entire bathroom floor, making it damp and chilly.

"Whew... I'll rest for a while first."

Yi Chen did not mind it much and plopped down onto the soft edge of the bed.

He casually picked up the "Green Lake Town Brochure" from the bedside table.

A map of Green Lake Town was printed on it.

The entire town had been built around Lake, forming an inverted L shape.

The bustling town center lay at the intersection of the streets.

The back of the brochure also listed several benefits for visiting tourists.

Green Lake Town provided free boat rides daily from 13:00 to 17:00, available to all visitors.

*You may not take the boat more than once per day.

*This service was not available at night. If you received an invitation to board a boat at night, refuse immediately and report the situation to the Public Security Bureau in the town center.

Green Lake Town provided visitors with "Natural Green Water" drawn from the lake's deep springs every day. It could cleanse impurities from the body and improve one's constitution.

*Green Lake was the source and heart of the town. Waste was strictly forbidden—once you accepted the green water, you had to drink it all.

*The staff providing free green water always wore green work clothes. If anyone else offered you green water, be sure to refuse.

Green Lake Town held a bonfire party in the town every night, offering delicious local food for free.

*Those attending the party, as well as passersby, had to wear masks.

*If you discovered anyone without a mask during the party, leave immediately and report them to the Public Security Bureau.

*The party absolutely, under no circumstances, would be held anywhere outside the town center.

Yi Chen stared at the words on the flyer with a solemn expression, muttering to himself, "These things are somewhat similar to the Employee Handbook at the Cemetery. They're all a kind of rule... and violating them could lead to rather terrifying consequences.

Were these kinds of rules common in this world?

Besides, the 'rules' on this flyer only concerned the surface-level aspects of the town and were fairly broad.

They didn't mention any internal details of the town, such as the inn I'm currently staying in..."

Just then, a wriggling sensation came from within Yi Chen's body.

The furry black sphere crawled out through his sleeve cuff and landed steadily on the bed.

It opened its toothy white maw and spoke in a strange, blended voice.

"Rules were created by you humans to reduce infection and avoid danger.

The Pathogens hidden throughout this world could spread through any channel and in any form.

They could also take physical form, influencing and invading individuals through certain interactions.

Following certain rules could reduce the chance of infection to some extent and lessen the likelihood of dangerous incidents.

It could only reduce those chances, not eliminate them entirely.

If you truly wanted to eradicate danger, you would still have to rely on forceful measures.

That was roughly how it worked...

After all, my memories came from Graveyard Plot 6 in the Cemetery, obtained by piecing together brain fragments. I didn't know all that much."

"Who discovered these rules?"

"Probably some prophet among you humans, or perhaps a few gentlemen with the ability to foresee the future? I'm not too clear either."

"Hmm, that can wait. Let's investigate the inn in front of us first.

Try to find the infection problem in this town."

Speaking of which, Little Grape's eyeball rolled between its teeth as it said excitedly, "Hmm... I can sense a rather serious infection taking place in this inn.

An even greater threat must be lurking deep within this town... Maybe there are Big Grapes to eat~ Be careful. Don't go dying on me."