Commotion

Jingle! The doorbell rang.

The Boss, fiddling with the dead fish specimen, looked up at the young man entering the shop. A trace of surprise flickered in her dull, lusterless eyes, as if she hadn't expected Yi Chen to return "unscathed," but a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

"You seem to have found something by the lake."

"Ran into a bit of trouble, but it's already handled."

"Hmm..."

The Boss continued burying herself in the specimen, asking no further questions.

Click~ Returning to the guest room, he locked the door behind him.

He took a glass from the bathroom, poured the lake water preserved among his roots into it. As the roots squeezed out the water, Yi Chen recalled the chilling experience by the lake.

"That Magistrate..."

Though he had easily turned the tables and killed him, Yi Chen's eyes had caught a deeply unsettling image. When he grabbed the Magistrate by the collar, his chest had been exposed—scale tissue mixed with flesh and skin, densely packed, oozing a slimy mucus... Some of it had even stuck to Yi Chen's fingers. The sight triggered an instinctive revulsion.

"Skin like fish scales... A Disease Manifestation?"

Just then, Little Grape poked out from his collar and proactively explained. "The 'diversity' of Diseased Symptoms is beyond imagination. This scale-like form is fairly common in seas, rivers, and large lake regions like this. Don't worry—the plants inside you form a protective layer. Skin contact won't infect you. But if you get a cut, there's risk... Next time, use an axe."

"Understood."

Setting the Magistrate aside, he picked up the glass filled with lake water and placed it before the Kerosene Lamp.

[Vision Enhancement]

His eyes, like high-definition imagers, scanned the water quality. Magnified images revealed terrifying scenes invisible to ordinary people. "Are these... some kind of parasite?" Swarms of parasites were floating in the water, countless in number. Moreover, within just a dozen seconds of pouring the water into the cup, these parasites had already laid a massive number of eggs on the glass wall. The transparent eggs refracted a faint green light—perhaps this was the origin of Green Lake's name.

"So this might be why the Boss said not to 'interact' with the town? But the plants growing inside and outside the town are all normal, with no signs of disease. Even the roots I used to store the lake water directly were unaffected... That means these parasites are ineffective against 'plants.' I need to make good use of this."

As Yi Chen was analyzing in a low voice, Little Grape jumped off his shoulder, used its weak, soft black arms to lift the glass, and gulped it down in one go. This startled Yi Chen. "What are you doing?!"

Little Grape gently waved its arm, which had only three fingers, signaling him not to worry. "Visual observation always has limitations. Eating it directly, feeling it with the body, is more intuitive and detailed. Relax~ I'm a Diseased body myself; this stuff can't infect me."

"Did you get any useful information?"

"Hmm~ These little things that rely on water are clearly controlled by some [Consciousness Entity]. The moment I swallowed them, they tried to send a signal, but my body isn't so easy to penetrate. How about we try to find that entity?"

"Maybe we can get some pretty good 'Big Grapes'."

"Don't rush. This needs to be taken slowly."

"True... with your current abilities, and me still not fully mature, even if we could find the [Main Body], we might not be able to kill it smoothly. This needs careful planning."

"I'm tired~ I'm going to rest now."

The conversation ended.

Little Grape directly buried most of its body into Yi Chen's shoulder, leaving only a small patch of black fur exposed.

Not long after, the bonfire party at the town center also came to an end.

Yi Chen leaned against the window, observing the tourists and residents on the street returning to their respective lodgings. No violent incidents occurred... at least not on the surface.

Thoughts swirled and intertwined in his mind.

"According to the inn Boss, [three days] is hard to reach."

"That means the longer the tourists stay, the stronger Green Lake Town's desire to 'encroach' will become."

"When that happens, the assessment participants will inevitably clash on a large scale with the town's diseased forces."

"Can't rush."

"There are still many hidden dangers in this town. The only thing I need to do today is rest well."

After confirming the room was sealed, he fell onto the pillow and went straight to sleep.

Green Lake Town - Central Street

With the bonfire party over, the entire street fell into silence.

But in certain dark corners, faint sounds of movement could still be heard.

Deep in one alley, the three-person team that had previously tried to invite Yi Chen to join was conducting 'disease removal' here.

During the party, they had accepted an invitation from an 'Unmasked Person' to come to the alley's depths, where they were ambushed.

Currently.

The blond Edmund's face was filled with killing intent, his eyes bloodshot.

In one hand he held a short sword, in the other a pistol stamped with the Mariano Family's 'Feather Decoration'.

Shwish!

The thin sword was pulled out, its blade still carrying traces of pus residue.

Lying before him was a man with fish-scaled skin. The Pathogen hidden in his brain had been pierced through by the short sword... Edmund hadn't even pulled the trigger. He had handled it with one hand and the sword alone.

Likewise, his two companions had each killed a diseased person as well.

The woman beside him was wiping her silver dagger with a cloth she carried, speaking softly:

"It seems the town is the key to the assessment. If we want to pass the organization's test, we probably need to find the Root of Disease, or make enough 'disease removal' contributions."

"Judging by the party, the Town Chief wearing the Golden Ghost Mask, and the Security Bureau, are highly suspicious."

The blond Edmund tidied his clothes.

"Don't rush... there's still over two days of time."

"Since we attended the party today, tomorrow we'll go experience the free lake tour, figure things out, and then make our final move."

"I can't wait to get the organization's [Skin]."

Besides this team, the other assessment participants also discovered anomalies one after another, killing or even capturing and interrogating diseased townsfolk in different areas.

A large amount of death information spread within the town.

The townsfolk staying at home grew restless and irritable, one by one scratching at the fish scales hidden beneath their clothes with their fingers, even simulating chopping motions against furniture.

Likewise, the [Green Shade Inn] where Yi Chen was staying also stirred with movement.

An arm covered in fish scales extended from a hidden slot under the door.

Perhaps due to the mutation brought by the disease, the arm's length and flexibility were slowly surpassing the limits of a Transcendent Human.

It stretched out nearly two meters.

Through an unnatural, joint-twisting contortion, it folded upward...

Clank!

The padlocks on the door fell off one after another.

The cuts were smooth and coated with a slimy residue.

What was more terrifying—

each severed lock was caught steadily before it hit the ground, without making a single sound.

Creak~

The door, unopened for months, was slowly being pushed open.

A Dark Shadow crawled out from the top.

Long, unkempt hair, untrimmed for ages, hung from the ceiling to the floor, dragging lightly like a broom, producing a faint rustling sound...

I took Little Afatty to the Amusement Park on Sunday. I'll Back Up with one chapter, so don't hit me! Don't hit me!