"My name is Kadesi Haji. Thank you for treating me, Mr. William."
"Mm."
Yi Chen sat down in the reserved seat.
Two exquisite staple dishes, soup, and dessert had been prepared in front of each person.
Avengrade-style Raw Fish,
Braised Fish Chunks,
Large Fish Roe Vegetable Pie,
Thick Mushroom and Fish-Bone Soup,
The dishes—bright red, purple, green, and white—were laid out before them. If not for their enticing aroma, they would have been difficult to stomach.
During the meal,
Boss asked in a low voice while gnawing on a piece of fish:
"Have you seen through the town's true nature?"
Yi Chen quickly waved his hands. "Huh? I wouldn't say I've seen through its true nature. I've only managed to gain a rough understanding of the Diseased Symptoms and process occurring in Green Lake Town, or rather, a kind of Screening Mechanism.
If my analysis is correct,
Disease Infection should be divided into three stages:
Direct or indirect contact with Green Lake Town's water source will result in the invasion of the Pathogen.
This will trigger 'Phase One.'
During this stage, the body will gradually grow patches of fish scales and begin yearning for life underwater.
They should also be able to receive commands transmitted by the Parasitic Mother.
The body's main structure will still remain within the human range, with no obvious changes... They will live normally in the town and organize various activities to attract more tourists here.
Once the Phase One state stabilizes, or a certain criterion is reached,
the individual will be granted permission to go to Green Lake and come into close contact with its water,
officially entering 'Phase Two.'
I personally call this stage Fish Transformation.
Due to prolonged exposure to the lake water, the human body will undergo severe changes.
Scales will grow over the skin, while the organs and tissues will also trend toward a fish-like structure, gradually transitioning into a Mermaid State.
As for Phase Three,
that is the state you have currently reached.
Returning to the surface, shedding the fish-like structures on the outside, and becoming individuals with sound consciousness."
"You really are... different from the others.
But there's one thing I couldn't understand no matter how long I thought about it last night. Since you knew we were diseased, why did you still help us?
You came here to investigate the Root of Disease and eliminate it, didn't you?"
Hearing Boss's confusion, Yi Chen calmly placed a piece of raw fish into his mouth. After swallowing, he answered:
"To be precise, I'm still under assessment.
I'm not very clear on certain concepts and ideologies yet.
I'm merely acting according to what I believe is the 'correct' way."
At this point, Miss Kadesi suddenly giggled.
Boss also revealed a faint smile and did not say anything more.
Just then,
a powerful explosion came from outside the inn, from the direction of the town center... It was accompanied by hurried footsteps and crashing sounds. The town seemed to have descended into chaos.
Yi Chen was just about to stand up and investigate,
but Boss gestured for him to sit down and spoke softly:
"If an 'outside traveler' has lived in the town for two days without suffering Disease Infection, we will take compulsory measures.
The tourists who came to the town this time all possess extremely strong self-control, and their abilities are impressive as well. They successfully avoided contact with water sources in all forms.
Tonight has been designated by the Town Chief as the Day of Diseasement. A forced Purge will be carried out against you.
However, you don't need to worry... As long as you stay inside the inn, no one will come looking for you."
"Mm."
Being able to stay inside the inn until the end of the third day would be a decent choice.
Yi Chen knew his own limits.
Especially after seeing Edmund and the others, he understood that his basic abilities were very poor, and he had never undergone systematic training... If he encountered a stronger diseased entity, he would have almost no chance of winning.
Just as Yi Chen happily accepted this proposal for safety,
Little Grape suddenly poked out from his shoulder and bounced onto the dining table.
Rows of teeth and its eyeball appeared at the same time.
It planted both hands on its hips!
A mixture of distorted noises came from within its body.
"Hey~ William helped you complete the important 'Patient Transformation'... You should know that the humans might regard such an act as a crime, and he could even be sent straight to the guillotine.
Do you really think cooking us a meal is enough to settle things?
Give us some useful information, along with some real assistance."
Although Little Grape's fleshy-ball appearance looked somewhat comical,
its words carried a hint of coercion.
Boss remained expressionless,
but her younger sister Kadesi instinctively shifted her chair away from the fleshy ball.
Yi Chen was somewhat surprised, but his expression remained unchanged... He silently approved of Little Grape's actions.
Boss met Little Grape's single eye, and ultimately chose to compromise.
"I was planning to discuss this after the meal.
Since you want to use 'Green Lake Town' as a platform to pass the so-called assessment and obtain a higher score, I will give you a special route.
There is a Good Thing hidden in the deepest part of the lake.
That thing oversees the Fish Transformation process while monitoring and controlling the diseased.
Once it is killed, it will amount to removing the town's Root of Disease.
If you have such intentions, my sister and I will cooperate by disguising you as 'Sacrifices' and offering you to the thing at the bottom of the lake... This will allow you to easily avoid interference from the merfolk and head straight for your target.
The dinner you just ate is enough to make you give off a sufficient 'fishy smell,' so you won't arouse suspicion."
Boss's words reminded Yi Chen of the feeling he had experienced while touring the lake.
It had felt as though something at the bottom of the lake was spying on him, like a gigantic eye glaring at him.
At present,
Green Lake Town was carrying out a 'Purge.' The townspeople and the other examinees were engaged in large-scale battles, making this the best time to act.
Thus,
two paths to the end of the assessment now lay before him.
1. Stay honestly inside the inn and safely pass the assessment under the cover provided by Boss and her sister.
2. Take advantage of this perfect opportunity and travel to the depths of Green Lake under the siblings' protection, killing the Root of Disease hidden there.
Before making his choice, Yi Chen still had one question.
"If our operation fails and we fail to kill the thing at the bottom of the lake, you and Miss Kadesi will inevitably be implicated... Why would you do this?"
"Mutual benefit.
My sister has completed her molting and transformed into an independent individual with her own thoughts.
But because of the thing at the bottom of the lake, we remain bound here... Only by eliminating that thing can we leave the town. I promised her that we would go outside and take a look.
The decision is yours, Mr. William~ If you decide to go to the bottom of the lake, I believe you have confidence in it as well."
"I need to think about it... Give me five minutes."
Although he could not detect anything wrong from the siblings' expressions,
based on the information he had gathered so far and an objective analysis, the siblings, despite being diseased, had retained a certain degree of Human Nature.
However,
Yi Chen was still completely unfamiliar with this world, and there were many 'rules of allegiance' he did not understand.
Little Grape, can it be trusted?
*Of course it can. Why wouldn't it be trustworthy... I myself am an independent individual born by violating the Pathogen Root, reassembled from the Cemetery, and am not bound by anything.
I can understand these two's feelings and thoughts.
With such an excellent opportunity right in front of us, it's worth taking the risk.
If we succeed, your assessment score will certainly surpass those of the other humans. You'll receive greater recognition from the organization, and you'll have more opportunities in the future, a higher chance of survival, and more possibilities for exploring the world.
Don't you agree?*
Do we have the ability to kill the Root of Disease that controls and rules over the entire town?
*The Mother Entity responsible for manipulating a large number of parasites while also handling the Fish Transformation process is usually fixed in one place and unable to move.
Its essence also belongs to that of a 'parasite,' so it won't have much combat power.
The greatest difficulty lies in approaching it.
Any outsider who enters the lake will not only be affected by the lake water but will also be attacked by the merfolk.
But under the siblings' protection, as long as we can approach the Mother Entity, everything will become simple.
Besides,
even if your Silver Axe isn't enough to kill the target, I, Little Grape, still have all these teeth!*
Little Grape proudly bared a mouthful of white teeth, impatient to take action.
Yi Chen did not respond immediately. He crossed his hands in front of his nose and quietly contemplated.
He had already noticed that Little Grape seemed somewhat unusual. It was more enthusiastic about this matter than it had ever been before.
Just as he struggled to make a choice,
he suddenly recalled his experience in the Cemetery.
The sensation of being infinitely close to death while fighting the Living Corpses... He also remembered the crucial assistance Little Grape had provided. It was precisely because of Vision Enhancement that he had been able to leave the Cemetery alive.
Phew... He took a deep breath.
*If I want to survive in this world, Seeking Stability is absolutely not an option. Just like back then, when I didn't remain in the Wooden Cabin but instead took the initiative to go to Graveyard Plot 4 to resolve the trouble.
I still don't know Little Grape's origins, its true nature, or its exact position.
Since it has saved me once, I'll trust it unconditionally this time.
If we survive, that will prove it is worthy of my trust, and we can cooperate for a long time in the future.
I also need to seize this opportunity and rise to a higher platform... Just as I did back when I was alive in the Orphanage, when I seized the chance to leave at all costs.*
Before you continue