Evacuation

Inside the damp laboratory, thick with the stench of fish,

an ancient being whose life cycle had to be calculated using the "Old Calendar System" suddenly sensed someone watching from behind.

Hmm? Has something interesting been sent over?

Its writing tentacle-finger stopped.

It turned its head,

the fish gills on its neck opening slightly. Through the gill slits, it seemed able to see an ocean world filled with bizarre fish.

Just as it turned that sickly face—impossible to parse with the naked eye and difficult to describe in words—

Pop~

Inside the experimental tank behind it, a fish eye as small as a grain of rice burst apart.

The sensation of being watched vanished as well.

However,

there were still tens of thousands of tiny fish eyes like that inside this single tank.

It paid them no mind and continued devoting itself to the important task of recording data.

Perspective shift

Listening to the epic music from the depths of the sea,

and watching that terrifying back far beyond the limits of understanding,

Yi Chen almost lost control of his consciousness in an instant. Even his field of vision could not move... He was like fish on a chopping block, entirely at the mercy of the butcher.

Within his field of vision,

the unknown being recording data before him seemed to notice that he was watching.

It slowly turned its head.

Such an ordinary action nevertheless stirred unprecedented terror in Yi Chen's heart.

This most ancient and primal emotion was like a pair of enormous hands, squeezing his soul so tightly that it might be torn apart completely at any moment.

The turning of its head was like a countdown to death.

At the critical moment,

familiar overlapping noise came from within his consciousness.

"William, wake up!"

At the same time as the voice arrived, a powerful pulling force accompanied it.

Buzz!

Yi Chen's Consciousness Body broke free of its restraints at that moment, tearing itself away from the abyss covered in fish scales and filled with a rancid stench. It passed through the cracks between time and space and returned to Green Lake.

When he opened his eyes again,

he had already returned to his familiar body.

Deep beneath the dim lake,

the Watcher Giant Eye had been completely drained. It lay lifeless on the lakebed like an emptied balloon.

Little Grape, completely sated, had returned and hidden beneath his flesh, in a rather strange state of gestation. It left behind only one sentence.

"From now on... I need a fairly long period of rest. Unless you encounter a crisis that threatens your life, don't call me."

When its voice ended,

the connection within his consciousness weakened to one-tenth. He could only sense the flesh ball in his abdominal cavity, undergoing subtle gestation and growth.

However,

the crisis in Green Lake Town had not been resolved.

The Giant Eye was merely a Watcher.

Its death had only allowed the townspeople to break free of their chains and become even freer... The townspeople infected with Fish Scale Disease had lost none of their vitality. They might even have become more frenzied.

At the same time,

the Mermaids wandering through Green Lake all turned toward the unfamiliar figure on the lakebed, staring at this uninfected stranger... Instinct drove them to swim over at high speed.

There were so many of them that there was nowhere to escape!

At this critical moment,

a white shadow crashed into the surface of the lake, moving so fast that no creature could see it clearly.

White light swept across the school of fish.

Two powerful, sharp talons sank straight into the flesh of Yi Chen's shoulders, wedging into the gaps between his bones~

Before he had time to feel the pain,

an unimaginable pulling force surged over and directly dragged him out of the lakebed. Along the way, the Mermaids that tried to block it were torn apart by some hidden Wind Blade, unable to impede it.

Splash!

A huge amount of water sprayed into the air.

Yi Chen was dragged out completely and flew close to the ground,

before finally being thrown at the back door of Green Shade Inn.

Smack! He braced both hands against the wall and barely landed.

Yi Chen hurriedly looked up,

only then seeing clearly that the one who had rescued him was actually a White Feathered Owl.

Before he could thank it, it had already flown away.

At that moment,

Boss opened the back door and yanked Yi Chen into the inn.

The dim eyes of Boss suddenly became clear.

"You... really did it! Kadesi, hurry and take Mr. William to the Basement to recover."

"Got it!"

The thin younger sister in a white dress easily hoisted Yi Chen onto her shoulder,

then followed the secret passage to the Basement.

His sister brought over some dry towels and carefully wiped Yi Chen's body.

Unexpectedly,

after he had been submerged in the lake for so long,

his clothes were not wet at all. Wiping away the water remaining on the surface made them look as good as new.

The only thing that needed attention was the shoulder pierced by the owl. A little lake water had flowed into the wound...

Kadesi first wiped it with a towel,

then suddenly pressed her cold lips against it,

and sucked hard~

All the blood and lake water mixed within it were drawn out, stopping the infection.

"This should be fine now~ I'll go upstairs and get something tasty. Wait here, okay?"

His sister left,

and Yi Chen sat alone on a chair in the Basement.

Although this adventure beneath the lake had not caused any substantial injuries,

his overall mental state was not very good.

The persistent ringing in his ears,

the slight swelling in his cranial cavity,

and the Abyss Laboratory that flashed through his mind from time to time—

before he knew it,

a trickle of blood had run from his nose. Accompanied by intense dizziness, it nearly made Yi Chen fall from the chair.

"Are these aftereffects of the mental invasion?

I didn't even open my eyes, yet I was still affected... Afterward, I had to rely entirely on Little Grape to finally kill the Watcher Giant Eye.

And a Giant Eye that spread Fish Scale Disease and ruled Green Lake Town was merely a small product in the laboratory.

I'm far too weak right now.

There must be ways to grow and become stronger in this world, and the organization may possess one of them."

After experiencing life and death beneath the lake,

Yi Chen did not become afraid.

Instead, it stimulated his desire to explore the world and made him desperately want to grow stronger, so that he could learn more.

At that moment,

Kadesi carried a bowl of specially prepared Fish Head Soup into the Basement.

Thick,

bubbling,

black,

various fish heads that looked as though they had been irradiated crowded inside the bowl.

The smell was like a foul fish that had drowned in a washbasin and gone unnoticed for an entire week.

"This is something my brother prepared especially. He said that if you came back alive, this Fish Head Soup would help you a lot."

"All... all right."

He accepted the huge bowl of Fish Head Soup, seemingly enough for several people.

He tentatively touched the viscous surface of the soup with a finger.

After confirming that the plant inside him showed no rejection,

he pinched his nose with one hand,

held the bowl with the other, and gulped down the soup.

As his stomach churned violently, the persistent ringing in his ears gradually weakened, and the swelling in his cranial cavity slowly faded as well.

"Good Thing!"

Just as Yi Chen marveled at the wonder of this exotic food,

a deep, booming voice came from above. It penetrated the layers of the inn and reached Yi Chen's ears clearly... The entire town could hear it as well.

"All examinees, attention.

Proceed to the East Exit of the town as quickly as possible. The organization's carriage will be waiting there. You have ten minutes.

Exceeding the time limit will be considered a failed assessment."

"Did the assessment end early?"

After hearing the announcement, Yi Chen immediately perked up.

He returned to the inn.

Green Shade Inn stood at the southern exit of the town, quite far from the East Exit where they were to assemble... Crossing the completely uncontrolled, chaotic town posed considerable risks.

Not to mention that Little Grape was in a special state and could no longer provide visual assistance.

"Mr. William, to reach the East Exit, you either need to pass through the Town Center or go around the lake.

The journey is dangerous. Let us take you there."

"Wouldn't that be too dangerous? If the organization's people are at the East Exit, they might attack you."

"As long as we don't get too close, it should be fine."

Yi Chen did not refuse. He truly needed the siblings' help.

Using a similar method,

they disguised him as a "corpse," laid him flat on a wooden cart, and had the siblings push him toward the eastern entrance.

Because there was a dangerous Sick One in the Town Center who had completely undergone Scale Shedding, they chose to go around the lake... The entire journey passed without any obstruction. No townspeople suspected the pair of siblings, beings of such a high order.

When the outline of the carriage could barely be seen,

the siblings stopped.

On the eve of their parting,

considering that he was about to embark on the path of Disease Removal,

their positions might be entirely different if they met again in the future.

They merely gave him a silent embrace, without saying anything like "goodbye."

However,

when he embraced Boss, she gently patted Yi Chen's back and whispered beside his ear:

"Leave this place quickly, Mr. William... You're the strangest human I've ever met, completely different from all the others. Perhaps you really do have a chance to heal this incurable world.

If we have the chance to meet again,

please don't hesitate. Kill us immediately."

Yi Chen did not reply.

He merely met Boss's eyes for a second before turning and rushing toward the assembly point.