District

Listening to the description of the Secret Medicine, Yi Chen fell into thought once more.

However, He wasn't contemplating the concept of the Secret Medicine or matters like doctors and clinics. Instead, he connected the Secret Medicine with some descriptions and details of the current mission, pinpointing a rather peculiar detail.

"Edmund, you mentioned that the raw materials for the Secret Medicine are sourced from the Diseased. Could the False Moon Incident that erupted in Vinal City possibly be related to the development of the Secret Medicine?"

As soon as he spoke, Edmund suddenly froze, placing his index finger to his lips.

"William~ You can't just say things like that. Besides, the incident information the Organization showed us clearly stated that the patient with 'Moonscar,' an Open Source patient, possesses an stealth ability that surpasses their peers. The 'False Moon Incident' erupted suddenly, without the local gentlemen and clinics noticing."

Edmund, born into a prominent family, had been instilled with concepts related to gentlemen since childhood. He had also met Doctors who visited his family. He firmly believed that those who qualified for clinics must have noble character and could not be directly or indirectly involved in such a heinous incident.

"I was just guessing, after all, you just said the Secret Medicine requires the Diseased for its refinement."

Edmund realized he might have overreacted and adjusted his posture, explaining some aspects of the clinics.

"That's right, the core ingredient of the Secret Medicine does indeed come from the Diseased. However, the Organization has clear regulations that these Diseased must come from 'hunts.' Clinics, after all, are established by powerful doctors. Some gentlemen who graduate from academies and are stuck before the Limit Membrane choose to apply as clinic apprentices to gain relevant experience. Generally, a clinic will have over ten gentleman apprentices. The way apprentices 'pay tuition' is by 'hunting' in the surrounding areas and bringing back valuable Diseased for the clinic. Besides providing raw materials for the Secret Medicine, these hunted Diseased also have research value, which is very significant for humans to understand 'disease'."

"Mm," Yi Chen continued to ask, "Then why must clinics be built next to cities?"

"Two reasons: 1. Clinics themselves, as special armed departments, cooperate with local gentlemen to jointly ensure city safety and provide medical services to passing gentlemen. Moreover, the Organization also requires clinics to conduct random sampling for city residents at intervals, providing free physical examinations to better eliminate latent pathological changes. 2. Based on years of experience fighting the Diseased, humans are the most susceptible to becoming Diseased, and their rate of becoming Diseased and growth speed is the fastest. This might be directly related to our self-awareness and our desire to explore the unknown. Therefore, most clinics are established around cities to ensure city safety while also obtaining raw materials as quickly as possible."

"I understand."

Yi Chen gained quite a bit from the conversation. His special training over the past six months had left him with no time to read. He was determined to go to the Grand Library between academies to acquire more world knowledge once the mission was over.

At that moment, A slight commotion came from his shoulder, reminding him of his long-absent 'friend.'

"Little Grape, you seem a little excited."

"How could I not be excited? We've been stuck in that damned teaching building for a full six months. While your physical changes are interesting, this grape would rather come outside and see. My heart yearns for the outside world, for all sorts of novel, colorful, and uniquely flavored 'grapes.' Fortunately, the mission you chose this time is quite interesting, actually involving Open Source. My fragmented memories contain traces of ancient records. I wonder how amazing it would be to taste the grapes imbued with ancient energy from an Open Source patient."

"The mission report given by Zion shouldn't be fake. The real culprit of the False Moon Incident is dead, so we won't encounter them… Besides, even if we did run into them, could we survive?"

"In our current state, we'd definitely die, and miserably at that. Sigh~ You're really boring. I was just fantasizing. As long as I can eat some mutated grapes related to an Open Source patient during this mission, I'll be satisfied."

"Mm, the Diseased we kill during this mission, their grapes are all yours. Since the mission is primarily for searching, your visual assistance, Little Grape, is quite important. Don't be lazy when the time comes."

A three-hour carriage ride.

The carriage was about to arrive at the location where the False Moon Incident had occurred – Vinal City.

The front window of the carriage opened, And the coachman, wearing a metal mask, spoke for the first time:

"As a protective measure for new gentlemen, I will drive through Vinal City and take you directly to the doorstep of the [Twilight Clinic].

Of course, you can also choose to take a detour through the relatively safer outskirts."

"Let's just go straight through the city,"

Edmund made the decision. The reason was simple: this carriage could isolate the diseased, and even if they encountered any of the diseased hiding in the city, the others would definitely not be able to catch up.

Traversing the city would allow him to gauge the danger level of this mission.

"Then please pay attention. Once we are attacked by the diseased, the carriage speed will double... Don't get thrown out. I won't stop to wait for any of you."

As he spoke, the carriage officially entered Vinal City, This pitiable city, which had suffered the "False Moon Incident," had now turned into ruins.

Almost every building bore traces of damage, large or small, and some buildings had completely collapsed, cutting off the city roads.

Even though two months had passed since the incident, One could still smell the stench of decay and the fishy odor mixed in the air... Coupled with the lingering bloodstains on the ground, lampposts, or buildings, it was as if the screams that once echoed through the streets and alleys could still be heard.

It was hard to imagine that such a normal city, with a population of over ten thousand, where gentlemen were stationed and clinics kept watch, had become a living hell overnight.

At this moment, Yi Chen deeply tasted the bitterness of "disease," a flavor of despair.

Just as he was staring blankly at the constantly moving streetscape, A "peeping sensation" came from the vision window provided by Little Grape.

Oh, something's watching us from the shadows. Looks like there's really some grapes to be had... But they're not chasing us, just watching from the dark. A bit of a shame.

Yi Chen's thoughts were also pulled back by Little Grape.

Perhaps it's because these guys born from the moon only come out at night?

That's very possible. I look forward to these guys changing at night and adding flavor to the grapes.

While communicating with Little Grape, Yi Chen also informed the team members of the situation.

Edmund asked, "Can you determine the number?"

"I can clearly sense no more than three sources of this peeping, but I can't rule out some that I haven't detected, or those dormant in the depths of the ruins."

"Hmm.

Our main area of activity will be the [Clinic], and we'll try to avoid contact with the city area as much as possible afterward."

After half an hour of fast driving.

The carriage smoothly exited the city and followed a winding road to the outskirts.

A small hospital-like building, similar in architectural style to Zion, was being built on a small hill here, right next to Vinal City.

This height allowed the doctors and apprentices at the clinic to get a general overview of the city.