Night Visitor

[Green Shade Inn]

Due to years of neglect and lack of maintenance, Yi Chen was the inn's sole guest.

However, Yi Chen didn't mind the filth and disrepair—he had lived in worse places at the orphanage... Even the damp bedding mixed with a certain odor didn't affect his sleep.

Yet, his first night's sleep wasn't particularly smooth.

It wasn't because Yi Chen himself had trouble sleeping, but rather a faint noise from outside the room stirred the plant within him, making it active, stimulating his brain, and pulling him back from deep sleep to reality.

When he opened his eyes, he was surprised to see green sprouts floating on the surface of his arm.

"Is the plant inside me warning me?"

Just then, Creak~

A faint sound of wood scraping came from outside the door, clearly not made by the boss.

"The only guest in this entire inn is me.

There are two possibilities for this sound:

one is the [Sister] imprisoned in the end room, the other is an uninvited guest arriving from outside the inn."

Thinking back to pushing the magistrate into the lake, there was a real chance trouble might come knocking.

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

Rushing out of the room recklessly to check the situation could easily lead to being trapped inside the inn.

Conversely, this sealed, familiar room, along with the window that could serve as an exit at any time, were both usable.

The sounds from the corridor were faint, but in the dead silence of the night, they were clear enough to hear. He could roughly imagine it was the sound of some sharp object scraping against the wooden floor.

Soon, the moving sound stopped right outside the door, replaced by a metallic noise similar to lock picking.

Click~ The old door lock was easily opened.

A silhouette with a female curve stood outside the door.

She slid her slender fingers into her mouth, coated them with the slippery saliva from her tongue, and smeared it over the rusty door hinges.

The amount of saliva was immense, dripping down the hinges onto the floor.

Once the hinges were fully lubricated, the door was pushed open slowly, making no sound at all.

The moment she stepped inside, the silhouette flipped upward, climbing onto the ceiling like a gecko... The slime covering her body seemed to easily provide such wall adhesion.

In the blink of an eye, she had crawled from the doorway to directly above Yi Chen's bed.

Her black crystal eyes fixed on the unfamiliar guest in the inn.

Her hanging black hair dangled beside the young man's face, perfectly still.

Perhaps it was affection for this handsome face, or perhaps she was simply hungry, Drip~

A drop of saliva landed precisely on the bedding covering Yi Chen's neck.

This staring lasted a full five minutes.

Once she was basically certain the young man in bed was completely asleep, the silhouette continued crawling, from the ceiling to the vertical headboard wall, drawing closer and closer to the sleeping youth.

When she was one meter away, a superhuman tongue extended from her mouth, gently licking the young man's face.

At the same moment, Yi Chen tightened his grip on the Silver Axe, steadying his mind.

Wait. This isn't the best moment yet.

As long as the target drew a little closer or made any harmful move, he would open his eyes in an instant and sever its head with one strike.

The licking came to an end.

The Dark Shadow showed signs of crawling further down.

The moment Yi Chen had been waiting for was nearly upon him.

Thump!

The sudden sound of leather shoes shattered the standoff.

At the same time, the Boss's voice came through, suppressed as low as possible in a scolding tone.

"Kadesi, stop right there!

This is a rare guest of ours—don't disturb his rest. Unless you receive clear instructions, just keep living the way you have been.

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

The low reprimand froze the Dark Shadow.

It no longer entertained thoughts about the youth on the bed, slowly shifting its body upward like a child who had done something wrong, crawling back to the doorway with its head lowered.

Only after Sister had completely left the bedroom

did the Boss remain standing at the door, staring fixedly at the sleeping Yi Chen, as if confirming something... About a minute passed, and she gently closed the door.

Click~

Hearing the sound of the door locking, the pressure that had been weighing on his heart was quickly exhaled. The palm gripping the axe handle was already slick with sweat.

"What the hell..."

Just then, the spot on his cheek that had been licked began to itch. He reached up to touch it and found that a few fish-scale-like structures had grown there.

Yi Chen didn't panic.

He waited a while before quietly slipping into the bathroom.

In the mirror, small, shimmering scales were scattered across both sides of his cheeks, with a tendency to keep growing and spreading.

Just as Yi Chen was considering what to do—whether to forcibly pull them off—

Crackle crackle~

Tender plant shoots sprouted from within his cheeks, pushing the fish scales rooted in his facial skin outward, causing them to fall off one after another.

"Hmm? Is my Diseased Trait rejecting the external infection?"

At that moment, Little Grape poked her head out from his shoulder, commenting on what had just happened in the room:

"Very strange~ It left without attacking you.

A 'Parasitic Diseased' like that should rarely possess 'Self-Awareness,' Not to mention having its target right In Front Of... Yet it managed to rely on its consciousness to suppress the urge to infect a living being.

These siblings running the inn seem rather special.

Their 'grapes' might taste quite good."

Yi Chen didn't say much. After confirming that all the fish scales on his face had fallen off, he returned to bed.

He pondered what had just happened and, before he knew it, drifted back to sleep.

Knock knock knock!

A series of knocks roused Yi Chen again. It was already the next day, and sunlight streamed through the window, spilling over him.

Dragging his heavy head, he opened the door.

The knocker was the inn's Boss.

In her hands, she held a plate of roasted whole fish. Though it didn't look appealing, it gave off a rich aroma.

"This is a complimentary lunch.

Just a reminder—it's almost noon. If you're really here to investigate, you'd better get moving."

"Hmm."

Taking the lunch, Yi Chen chose to pick out the fish's eyes and fed them to Little Grape first.

"This fish is 'clean.' Go ahead and eat."

Only after receiving Little Grape's inspection report did he dare to eat with confidence.

Once the feeling of fullness settled in and he changed into nicer clothes, the time had already reached the afternoon.

At this moment, the Green Lake Area was offering a free Lake Tour for visitors.

When Yi Chen arrived at the lakeshore, it was already packed with townsfolk and tourists, bustling and noisy.

"This lively, huh... Looks like everyone's actively investigating the town's secret."

A long line had formed at the boarding point, so Yi Chen had no choice but to stand at the very end.

Who would have thought—

a familiar voice came from behind him.

"Oh dear, are we late? There's already so many people in line... Eh~ what a coincidence?"

Blonde-haired Edmund and his two teammates had arrived at this moment as well.

"Hmm."

Yi Chen only gave a faint reply, not even turning his head.

Edmund didn't stir up trouble or insist on anything; during the wait in line, he didn't strike up conversation either, just chatted casually with his companions.

There was another detail.

For some tourists returning from the lake tour ahead of them, Edmund proactively approached them, initiating physical contact like handshakes or shoulder pats.

These seemingly ordinary actions

were actually checks to see if those tourists were infected, thereby assessing the danger of the Lake Tour.

When Edmund returned to the line, he said softly, deliberately letting Yi Chen hear, "The Lake Tour should be safe enough. Just enjoy the ride."

As luck would have it, the boat's capacity was four people, and it just so happened to be their turn for four.

Yi Chen was forced to board a small pedal boat with this group; the hull was painted simple white, and on the boat stood a male staff member in green Work Clothes, wearing rain boots, with a vacant stare... not the same person Yi Chen had seen last night.

"Before departure, please remember four points.

1. Everyone must participate in pedaling the footboards.

2. If you hear a call during the lake tour that doesn't belong to any passenger on board, do not respond.

3. Absolutely do not touch the lake water.

4. In the event someone falls into the water, this boat will not provide rescue and will quickly sail away."