Night Visitor

Green Shade Inn

Because no one had maintained or managed it for years, the entire inn had only one guest: Yi Chen.

However,

Yi Chen did not care about the filth and disorder. He had stayed in places even worse while at the Orphanage... Even the smell mixed into the damp bedding did not affect his sleep.

However,

His sleep on the first night was not particularly smooth.

It was not that Yi Chen himself slept poorly,

but faint noises from outside the room caused the plant inside his body to become active, stimulating his brain and pulling him back from deep sleep into reality.

When he opened his eyes,

he was surprised to see Green Sprout floating over the surface of his arm.

"Is the plant inside my body warning me?"

Just then,

Creak~

A faint scraping sound came from outside the door. It was clearly not made by the Boss.

"The only guest in the entire inn is me.

"There are two possibilities for something making a sound like this.

"One is my younger sister, imprisoned in the End Room. The other is an uninvited guest who came from outside the inn."

After thinking about pushing the law enforcer into the lake, he realized there was a fair chance trouble had come looking for him.

However,

Yi Chen had no intention of getting up. Instead, he hid Silver Axe beneath the bedding and continued pretending to sleep.

Rushing recklessly out of the room to investigate could very well result in him being trapped inside the inn.

By contrast,

this sealed and familiar guest room, along with the window that led outside at any time, could both be put to use.

Although the sound from the corridor was faint,

it was clear in the silent night. He could roughly imagine it as some kind of sharp object scraping across the wooden floor.

Soon,

the movement stopped outside his door and was replaced by a metallic sound resembling someone picking a lock.

Click~ The old door lock was easily opened.

A Dark Shadow with a woman's curves stood outside the door.

She slipped her slender fingers into her mouth, coated them with the slippery saliva on her tongue, and smeared it over the rusted hinges.

There was an enormous amount of saliva, which slid down the hinges and dripped onto the floor.

Once the hinges were completely lubricated,

the door was slowly pushed open without making a sound.

As soon as she stepped inside,

the Dark Shadow flipped upward, her body climbing onto the ceiling like a gecko... The mucus covering her body seemed to provide effortless adhesion to the walls.

In the blink of an eye,

she had crawled from the doorway to the ceiling above Yi Chen's bed.

Her Black Crystal Eyes stared at the unfamiliar guest in the inn,

while her hanging Black Hair fell beside the young man's face and remained motionless.

Perhaps she liked his handsome face,

or perhaps she was simply hungry.

Drip~

A drop of saliva happened to land on the bedding covering Yi Chen's neck.

This gaze continued for a full five minutes.

It was basically certain that the young man in the bed was completely asleep.

The Dark Shadow continued crawling,

moving from the ceiling to the vertical wall at the head of the bed and drawing closer to the sleeping young man.

When she was one meter away,

a tongue beyond the limits of ordinary humans extended from her mouth and gently licked the young man's face.

At the same time,

Yi Chen had already tightened his grip on Silver Axe and steadied his mind.

Wait! This still isn't the best moment.

As long as the target came a little closer or made any move that could cause harm, he would open his eyes instantly and cleave off her head in one strike.

After finishing her licking,

the Dark Shadow showed signs of continuing downward.

The moment Yi Chen had been waiting for was also about to arrive.

Tap!

A sudden sound of leather shoes shattered the situation.

At the same time, the Boss's reprimand came in a voice lowered as much as possible.

"Kadesi, stop right now!

"He's one of our few guests. Don't disturb his rest... As long as you haven't received clear instructions, continue living as you always have.

"If you're hungry, I'll bring you a fish later."

The low reprimand made the Dark Shadow freeze.

She no longer entertained thoughts of the young man on the bed and slowly moved upward. Like a child who had done something wrong, she lowered her head and crawled back toward the doorway.

After her younger sister had completely left the bedroom,

the Boss remained standing in the doorway, staring intently at the sleeping Yi Chen as if confirming something... About a minute later, she gently closed the door.

Click~

When he heard the door lock,

the pressure compressed in his chest rushed out, and the palm gripping the axe handle was already covered in sweat.

"What exactly..."

Just then,

an itch came from the cheek that had been licked. When he reached out to touch it, he was surprised to find several fish-scale structures growing there.

Yi Chen did not act rashly.

After waiting for some time, he quietly went to the bathroom.

In the mirror,

small, glinting scales were scattered across both sides of his face, and they showed signs of continuing to grow and spread.

Just as Yi Chen was considering how to deal with them and whether he should forcibly pull them out,

Crack, crack~

Rows of plant sprouts grew from beneath the skin of his cheeks, pushing out the fish scales rooted in his facial skin. One after another, the scales fell away.

"Hm? Is my Diseased Trait rejecting an external infection?"

Just then,

Little Grape poked his head out from Yi Chen's shoulder and commented on what had just happened in the room:

"How strange~ She actually left without attacking you.

"A 'Parasitic Diseased' like this should have great difficulty possessing 'Self-Awareness,' let alone when the target is right in front of it... Yet it was actually able to use its consciousness to suppress its instinct to infect living things.

"The siblings at this inn seem rather special.

"Their 'Grape' might taste pretty good."

Yi Chen said nothing more. After confirming that all the fish scales had fallen off his face, he returned to bed.

As he thought about what had just happened, he fell asleep again without realizing it.

Knock, knock, knock!

A knocking sound woke Yi Chen again. It was already the second day, and sunlight poured through the window onto his body.

He opened the door with his head feeling heavy.

The one knocking was the inn's Boss.

She was holding a whole roasted fish. Its appearance was nothing special, but it gave off a rich aroma.

"This is a complimentary lunch.

"Just a reminder: it's almost noon. If you really came here to investigate, you should hurry."

"Mm."

After taking the lunch, Yi Chen chose to remove the fish's eyes and feed them to Little Grape first.

"This fish is 'clean.' Just eat it."

Only after receiving Little Grape's inspection report did he dare use it without worry.

By the time he felt full and changed into handsome clothes, it was already afternoon.

At that time, the Green Lake Area was providing tourists with free lake tours.

When Yi Chen reached the lakeside, it was already packed with townspeople and tourists.

"It's this lively... Looks like everyone is actively investigating the town's secrets."

A long line had already formed at the boarding point.

Yi Chen could only obediently stand at the very back.

Who would have thought

that a familiar voice would come from behind him?

"Oh my, are we late? There are already so many people lining up... Huh~ What a coincidence?"

Blond Edmund and his two teammates arrived at that moment.

"Mm."

Yi Chen gave only a brief response, without even turning his head.

Edmund did not cause trouble or insist on anything. He did not speak again while they waited in line, merely chatting casually with his companions.

There was another detail.

When some of the tourists returning from the lake tour passed by, Edmund took the initiative to approach them and make small talk, engaging in physical contact such as shaking hands or patting their shoulders.

Those seemingly ordinary actions

were actually checks to see whether the tourists had been infected, allowing him to judge how dangerous the lake tour was.

When Edmund returned to the line, he quietly said something, deliberately making sure Yi Chen could hear: "The lake tour shouldn't be dangerous. Just enjoy yourself."

As it happened,

the tour boats held four people, and it was exactly their turn.

Yi Chen was forced to board a pedal boat with the group. Its hull was painted with a simple white coating.

A male staff member stood on the boat. He wore green Work Clothes and rain boots, and his gaze was dull... He was not the same person Yi Chen had seen last night.

"Before setting off, remember these four points.

1. Everyone must take part in pedaling.

2. If you hear a voice calling out that does not belong to anyone on the boat during the lake tour, do not respond in any way.

3. You must never touch the lake water.

4. If anyone falls into the water, this boat will not provide rescue and will immediately sail away."