Surgery

Faced with the boss's choice, Yi Chen didn't hesitate for a moment. He stepped forward, into the 'Sister's Room.'

Kacha, kacha~

An odd crunching sensation came from under his soles, accompanied by a series of strange sounds.

Because that step landed directly on a floor covered in fish scales.

In that instant, His sense of smell and sight simultaneously received the room's "impact."

It was a stench nearly solid in form, like a living club drilling into Yi Chen's body, relentlessly pounding at his stomach.

In his field of vision, Layers of fish scales blanketed the floor, some even taking root in the damp ground, as if the room itself had grown them.

If this had been the Yi Chen who first arrived in this world, he would surely have protested the scene before him through 'vomiting.'

Gaji, gaji~

His ten fingers pressed against the sides of his face, Quickly weaving a plant mask.

"Phew! Finally able to breathe normally... This place really is unsettling."

A voice came from the bathroom.

The boss seemed to be performing some kind of 'treatment' on her sister, with a large amount of blood seeping out through the door seam.

Before stepping into the bathroom, Yi Chen turned his head toward a corner of the room, noticing an important and peculiar detail.

In the corner stood a desk made of raw wood.

The walls around the desk were covered in fish scales, and the floor was the same, Yet the desk itself remained clean amidst all that filth, without a single fish scale, not even a patch of damp mold.

It seemed the wooden desk was very important to the sister; she cleaned it every day.

On the desk sat a few photo frames.

Including a family photo, and a picture of the sister and brother.

In the photo, the sister had a head of black, curly hair, and it was clear she had an excellent relationship with her brother.

Yi Chen silently committed this image to memory.

Creak~

He turned and pushed open the slightly ajar bathroom door, A horrifying scene came into view.

This bathroom was larger than the other guest rooms, and it also had a bathtub.

The sister was lying inside the bathtub, Her limbs firmly secured by the restraint straps attached to the tub.

Compared to her appearance last night, The sister had become a bit more 'human'... or rather, the fish scales on her body had greatly decreased.

However, These scales, still attached to flesh, hadn't fallen off on their own.

They had been pulled out of her body one by one by the boss, scattered both inside and outside the bathtub.

At this moment, The sister's screams had already become very faint.

The intense pain, accompanied by heavy bleeding, was also draining her vitality...

She was barely struggling anymore.

Her thin cheeks, marked with gills, showed no trace of blood or color.

For now, only the scales on both sides of her abdomen remained, roughly over forty pieces. The situation was not optimistic.

Before the boss could speak, Yi Chen spoke first.

"Boss, Your sister is evolving toward the 'Phase Three' of the disease, isn't she? The situation doesn't look good. May I take a look?"

These words surprised the boss greatly.

She hadn't expected that this young man, who had only been staying for a little over a day, had already identified the stages of the 'Fish Scale Disease.'

She gave a slight nod, granting silent permission.

Yi Chen carefully pressed himself close to the edge of the bathtub.

Although he had no medical background and little relevant knowledge, the plants inside his body could sense the flow of life force ebbing away.

"Boss, I'm to remove all the remaining scales, right?"

"Hmm."

With the Boss's approval, Yi Chen gently placed his palm against 'Sister's' abdomen, touching the surface of the fish scales.

One by one, tender, supple rootlets slid along the gaps between the scales, burrowing beneath the skin.

The tips of the rootlets could release a natural tissue fluid with healing properties, then slowly and gently pry out the fish scales.

This minimized blood loss and caused almost no pain... there was even a slight tingling numbness.

The only drawback was that it was somewhat inefficient and rather slow.

Yi Chen not only carefully picked out the scales on the abdomen, but also pressed his other hand against the areas on Sister's body where heavy bleeding occurred, weaving rootlets to staunch the flow.

Throughout this process, Sister stared with eyes like black gems, watching the tenant before her.

The Boss simply stood quietly by, keeping guard.

At that moment, Little Grape's voice rang out in his consciousness.

'Hey! Do you even know what the hell you're doing?

The one in front of you is a "Disease Infected."

Once she completes her Scale Shedding, she'll skip past the infection process and transform into a [Sick One] with a fully formed consciousness.

These are the very culprits that brought disease and ruin to this world!

Instinctively, they harbor hostility toward the non-infected, and their desires drive them to invade and occupy your flesh.'

'If they really wanted to make a move, they would have done so last night.

Besides, from the moment I stepped into the bathroom until now, the Boss has had plenty of opportunities to act.

I still don't fully understand how this world works.

I'm just integrating and analyzing the information I observe before my eyes and what my brain deduces, then drawing conclusions useful to myself—I think [helping] is necessary.

Once a mutual aid relationship is established, maybe we can get some key clues that let us directly touch the truth of the town and the mastermind behind it, passing the organization's assessment with a high score.'

'I seriously wonder if you're even a creature from this world.

Your approach might provoke some humans' displeasure... but it's pretty interesting.'

Little Grape said no more, silently observing the Boss's every move.

And so, like a major surgery, by the time the last scale was pried out of the body by the rootlets, a full eight hours had passed.

The time was now noon the next day.

Gurgle, gurgle~

The Boss twisted open the bathtub faucet, immersing Sister in the water.

When she woke again, she would fully become what Little Grape called a 'Sick One.'

Just then, the Boss's hand gently landed on Yi Chen's shoulder.

The latter was still slightly on guard, instinctively reaching for his hand axe.

But, it was merely a simple thank you.

"Hard work, Mr. William."

"It's nothing... I volunteered to help."

"You can go back to your room and rest.

I'll ensure that during the break, no trouble comes knocking at your door. By the time you wake up, it should be evening... then come straight down to the first floor for a meal."

Yi Chen made an OK gesture and turned to leave.

As he returned to his room, The exhaustion had completely overwhelmed him.

Little Grape voluntarily separated from him, putting on an act of guarding the door.

"Go to sleep quickly. I've slept enough inside your body. Don't wear yourself out. If that pair of siblings really gives useful information, or even agrees to help, maybe we can get the Giant Eyeball."

However, Yi Chen just leaned against the headboard, still worrying about one thing.

"Once tonight passes, the assessment will enter its final countdown. Even tonight won't be peaceful. Once the sun sets, remember to wake me up."

"Stop with the nonsense, go to sleep!"

Little Grape, like a Security Guard, dragged a wooden chair to the bedside and sat upright on it.

This sleep was the most restful Yi Chen had had since arriving at Green Lake Town.

Perhaps because of the plant inside his body, he naturally woke when the sun set and photosynthesis stopped.

Opening his bleary eyes, his field of vision was completely filled by a large mouth.

Black hair surrounded the mouth, and an eye held inside it stared at him almost 'eye-to-eye.'

A strange voice, blending multiple Vocal Cords, came from the mouth.

"You awake?"

"Little Grape, don't scare people!"

Putting on his clothes, gathering his gear, when he pushed open the Guest Room Door, the candlelight in the hallway was gone. All the candles had been cleared, leaving only pitch-black darkness.

He lit the Kerosene Lamp at his waist, stepped as quietly as possible, and headed downstairs.

Just as he reached the bottom of the stairs, a fragrance hit his nose.

Following the scent, he looked toward the guest room beside the counter on the first floor.

The door was half-open, candlelight spilling out.

Yi Chen pressed against the wall, crept to the doorway, and secretly peered inside.

The guest room had been arranged into a Dining Hall.

A wooden round table was covered with various fish dishes and soups.

Besides the Boss, a Black-Haired Woman was also seated.

A thin white dress covered her still-healing body.

She seemed to smell the 'strange scent' at the door, turning her youthful, fair-skinned maiden face toward the entrance.

The gill structure on her cheeks had vanished, making her look no different from an ordinary person.

"Mr. William, come eat~"