Specimen

The doctor gracefully raised his chest and saluted, and his gentle eyes swept over the Xia Lin group of people one by one.

"Everyone, was the reception tonight considerate?"

He bowed slightly, put his right hand on his left chest, and performed an impeccable gentlemanly courtesy.

The movement was as standard as measuring the angle with a ruler, which not only expressed respect for the guests, but also revealed a faint elegance of a superior.

"I have heard of your heroic deeds at New Stefan." Azma's voice was full of sincere gratitude, "Without you, I'm afraid more innocent lives would have perished in that disaster. As a doctor, I must pay my most sincere respect to you."

"Thank you, Sir Azma." Kade immediately straightened his back, "We just did what we should do. We just fought."

"It's really rare to have such an awareness." The doctor's smile became even warmer, "Especially in this era of impetuous people."

Celia also clasped his hands together, his eyes shining with respect for this saint. "Your kindness is the true reflection of Goddess in the world. We have always heard those stories about you."

"Fighting and healing are two sides of the same coin." The doctor said gently, "You prevent the damage from happening, and I repair the damage that has been caused. This world needs the efforts of all of us."

Xia Lin noticed that Sera's expression was a little subtle.

She usually sneered at such "sage" figures, but for the first time at this moment, she did not show that sarcastic expression.

"Dr. Azma's good deeds are indeed admirable." Although her voice still had the usual hoarseness, her tone was surprisingly polite, "Although I have always believed that true charity should teach the poor to help themselves instead of giving alms forever, but your hospital is at least doing practical things, which is much better than those nobles who can only make speeches."

The doctor didn't seem to care about this "venomous compliment" and instead laughed.

"Haha, this lady is right. So my hospital is also cultivating Medicine talents. I hope more people will take over this career in the future."

Xia Lin stood aside, maintaining a polite smile on the outside, but feeling panicked on the inside.

He always felt that the breath of Ruiwen still lingered on his body. Although his reason told him that it was impossible to smell it, when facing this "parent", the feeling of guilty conscience lingered.

It's like the feeling of secretly climbing over the wall to go online in high school, and being called to the office by the class teacher when you came back.

He tried to make his expression look natural, nodding from time to time, pretending to listen carefully to what the doctor said.

But in fact, all he could think about was:

(End it quickly... end it quickly...)

"Lord Xia Lin?"

Azma's voice suddenly got closer, making Xia Lin's back tighten in fear.

"Ah----doctor, what did you say?" He tried to sound calm.

"I mean, about the previous action of cleaning up the sewers Cultist." Azma pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose, and the lenses reflected a white light, "There are some specific details, especially about the treatment of those mutated monsters, I would like to ask you alone. And----"

He paused and his tone became a little helpless. "This also involves my incompetent assistant, Ruiwen. There are some private matters. I thought if it's not troublesome, can I borrow some of your Captain time?"

"Of course!" Kade agreed without hesitation, "That's business."

"We happened to be tired and planned to go back first." Celia said understandingly.

Only Sera took a deep look at Xia Lin, whose eyes seemed to say, "Be careful not to get dissected." Then he turned around and left the hall with the other two people.

Watching his teammates leave, Xia Lin's heart skipped a beat.

(Let's chat alone? About Ruiwen? Could it be that Ruiwen revealed his secret when he went back just now?)

He swallowed, his throat feeling dry.

"Please come with me, Lord Xia Lin." Azma turned sideways and made a "please" gesture, "The air in the garden may be more suitable for conversation than here."

The garden outside the villa is extremely quiet.

Various rare plants are carefully pruned to show their perfect shape, and each plant is placed in the most appropriate position like a work of art.

But Xia Lin the more I looked at it, the more I felt something was wrong.

These plants are so neat.

A strange sense of order that has been forcibly corrected.

The shrubs were pruned into perfect spheres, with not a single branch daring to protrude beyond that invisible border.

The trunk of the tree is as straight as if it were pressed with a mold, and the crown is forcibly straightened into a standard cone shape.

This is not a garden, this is simply a prison for plants.

Those plants seemed to have been forcibly deprived of the freedom to grow by some cruel will, and were forced to twist into shapes according to the owner's aesthetics.

A specific shape. Here, the wildness of natural growth is seen as a "lesion" that must be removed.

"This way please."

Azma stopped in front of a white iron round table.

Almost at the same time, a waiter walked out of the shadows silently.

He was wearing a black tuxedo, wearing the iconic beak mask on his face, holding a tray in his hand and a crystal scepter on his waist. He seemed to be the leader of these waiters.

The waiter placed two glasses of amber liquid on the table.

Then he bowed and retreated into the darkness like a shadow.

"Thank you." Xia Lin took the wine glass.

The doctor also picked up his own glass, shook it gently, and watched the moonlight refract through the wine.

"Actually, I want to thank you."

The doctor suddenly spoke, with a sincere warmth in his voice.

"Thank me?" Xia Lin was stunned for a moment.

"Yes." The doctor turned around and stared at Xia Lin with his gentle eyes, "Thank you for your support to Sewer Market for Ruiwen

of care."

Xia Lin's heart beat hard.

(How much does he... know?)

"Doctor, you are serious. Miss Ruiwen is very capable. In fact, she helped me a lot."

"You don't have to be modest." The doctor shook his head and his tone became a little heavy, "I know what kind of child Ruiwen is. She is very withdrawn, has low self-esteem, and is not good at interacting with others. There are only a handful of people who can let her approach her proactively."

He paused, and there was a hint of bitterness in his voice. "And, as an experienced adventurer like you, you should have noticed it by now, right?"

"You mean----" Xia Lin considered the words, "She seems a little different?"

"There is no need to use such euphemistic words." Azma smiled, "Death Soul Sprite, and it is a spliced body forcibly sewn together with Death Soul Sprite Fragment of ???? and human souls."

His tone seemed to be telling a sad story, full of paternal helplessness. "Once many people discover this, they will feel disgusted and even afraid of her. After all, she is no longer a living person in the strict sense."

"But you didn't." The doctor looked at Xia Lin and said happily, "As far as I know, not only did you not discriminate against her, you also

I chose to fight alongside her when she was in danger. This moved me very much."

Xia Lin breathed a sigh of relief.

(This is what I was talking about. It scared me to death.)

"Miss Ruiwen is very brave in battle." Xia Lin said sincerely, "I don't care what race or... composition she is. Her ability to survive depends on her strength and courage."

"Well said." The doctor's smile became more sincere, "That's why I admire you."

6

He raised his glass and touched it lightly with Xia Lin's glass.

"For those who don't judge heroes by their birthplace."

"Cheers."

They both took a sip of wine at the same time.

Xia Lin I feel that this wine is a bit sweet, with a certain fruit aroma, but it is not greasy.

"Actually... besides thanking you, I have another thing I want to talk to you about." The doctor put down his wine glass and his tone became serious, "About your Mythical Power."

Xia Lin's vigilance was instantly raised to the highest level.

"Did you know? Carlos Lilsburn thinks very highly of you." The doctor said, "He said that the Mythical Power you have is the most special one he has ever seen."

"Mr. Carlos is a successful businessman, and businessmen always like to exaggerate." Xia Lin responded calmly.

"Don't be nervous." The doctor waved his hand, "I don't have any ill intentions. It's just that as an alchemist, I am naturally curious about this power that transcends ordinary principles."

He turned around and started walking in the garden, Xia Lin following behind him.

He stopped in front of a plant.

That is a miserable looking flower.

The whole plant was a sickly deep purple color, the petals were half-open and half-closed, the edges were burnt black, and the stems were twisted as if they were struggling in pain.

But even so, it still bloomed tenaciously, and the purple bud revealed a strange beauty in the moonlight.

"This is [Transient Rose]." The doctor said softly, "A very special alchemy plant. Its flowering period is only one hour, and it only takes sixty minutes from blooming to withering."

"One hour?" Xia Lin frowned.

"Yes." The doctor squatted down and carefully stroked the deformed flower, "Because of this, its flower language is the eternity of a moment."

"But this one..." He shook his head, "It was a failure in my alchemy experiment. I originally wanted to extend its flowering period, but it was distorted. Now it can neither bloom normally nor die, and can only exist in pain like this."

He stood up, uprooted the plant and handed it to Xia Lin.

"Legend has it that Mythical Power can reverse destiny."

The doctor's eyes shone with a certain kind of expectation in the moonlight. "I wonder if Lord Xia Lin can get this wrong life back on track?"

Xia Lin looked at the strange plant in his hand and didn't know how to respond.

This is obviously a test.

If he refuses, it will appear that he is deliberately hiding his power, which will make him even more suspicious.

But if shown, who knows what this unfathomable doctor would see in it?

(Forget it, anyway, he already knows that I have Mythical Power. Instead of hiding it, I might as well take the initiative to show something insignificant.)

Xia Lin did not take the flower. He just stretched out a finger and gently hovered over the bud.

"I'm sorry, doctor." Xia Lin said calmly, "I am not a god and cannot reverse life and death. This flower is already dead.

, this is its destiny."

Azma seems disappointed.

"But," Xia Lin changed the subject, "I can do this."

He mobilized the mythical power within him.

[Mythic Ability: Pen of Illusions].

This ability is usually used by Senses to create realistic battlefield illusions or deceive enemies, but at this moment, Xia Lin has compressed it to the extreme, condensing it on that small bud.

"Pah."

Xia Lin's fingers lightly flicked the withered petals.

It's like pressing the play button on time.

Then, the air begins to twist.

A faint halo suddenly appeared around the withered [Transient Rose].

In the halo, an illusion slowly took shape.

That's a seed.

The seeds fall into the soil, germinate, break through the soil, sprout branches, and grow leaves.

Time passes extremely quickly in the illusion, but it is extremely clear.

The buds gather and bloom.

That purple rose bloomed so beautifully in the illusion, and every petal was perfect, shining like a gem in the sunlight of the illusion.

Then wither.

The petals fall one by one, the stems wither, and eventually turn into dust.

From birth to death, from seed to flower to soil.

The complete life of a plant [Transient Rose] was completely presented to the two of them in the form of an illusion in just ten seconds.

The real plant in Xia Lin's hand has not changed at all, it still looks distorted and painful.

But the illusion is so real that even the details of the trajectory of the petals falling and the cracking of the soil when the seeds germinate are revealed.

The illusion dissipates.

Silence returned to the garden.

Only a layer of fine sweat beads on Xia Lin's forehead proved that the scene just now was not a simple trick.

66

Dr. Azma was silent.

He stared at the still distorted plant in Xia Lin's hand, and then looked at the location where the illusion appeared just now.

A long time.

He took a deep breath.

"I understand now why Carlos is so optimistic about your future."

There was a hint of tremor in the doctor's voice.

"What you are showing is not strength...

He said word for word, "It's stories, it's imagination, it's creation."

Azma suddenly raised his head and looked at Xia Lin.

At that moment, Xia Lin felt like he was being targeted by a hungry tyrannosaurus.

"If this power could be studied, analyzed, replicated...

The doctor murmured to himself, completely immersed in his own world. "What a breakthrough that will be... What a masterpiece..."

Xia Lin's back was instantly soaked with cold sweat.

That kind of gaze is not looking at a person.

But just the next second.

The doctor suddenly came to his senses.

The enthusiasm was like a flame extinguished by ice water, disappearing without a trace in an instant.

He put on the gentle mask again, and his voice returned to calmness. "Sorry, I made you laugh." He smiled bitterly, "As a researcher, seeing such a magical power, it is inevitable to be a little embarrassed."

"No... it's okay." Xia Lin forced a smile.

But his palms were already sweaty.

(There is definitely something wrong with this guy.)

(At that moment, he looked at me like he was looking at a piece of meat waiting to be slaughtered.)

The doctor seemed not to notice Xia Lin's nervousness at all, or in other words, he deliberately pretended not to notice.

He calmed down all his emotions and returned to the elegant, gentle and respected Saint Doctor.

"Lord Xia Lin."

The doctor said solemnly, "I have a request."

"You said."

"I hope you can visit me often in the future." The doctor said with a smile, "Ruiwen That child is too lonely. If you can come often to stay with her, maybe it will be good for her condition."

He paused and added, "In return, if you or your companions are injured in any way in the future, whether it is physical or spiritual, you can come to me directly."

Xia Lin vaguely noticed something.

(He is using Ruiwen to tie me up?)

But on the surface, he could only nod. "I appreciate the doctor's kindness."

"Then it's settled." The doctor smiled with satisfaction and clapped his hands.

A waiter wearing a beak mask appeared silently beside the two of them.

"Send Lord Xia Lin away."

"Yes, Master."

Xia Lin bowed politely. "Then I will take my leave first, doctor. Thank you for your hospitality."

"You're welcome. Looking forward to seeing you next time."

Xia Lin turned around and left with the waiter.

After walking out of the garden and walking through the villa, his tense nerves relaxed a little.

The cold sweat on my back was blown dry by the night wind, bringing a biting chill.

Azma was the only one left in the garden.

The gentle smile on his face was slowly taken off like a mask.

Instead, there is a kind of extremely rational indifference and naked greed.

He lowered his head and looked at the still deformed [Transient Rose] in his hand.

"... It's very similar."

He murmured to himself, "It's very similar to the one from back then."

"No, that's not right."

He shook his head. "It has more potential than that."

The doctor closed his eyes and took a deep breath, as if he was tasting the most delicious delicacies in the world.

"But there's no rush."

He opened his eyes, and there was no longer any warmth in those eyes, only the cold gaze of the scalpel. "It's not the time to harvest yet, the fruits need time to mature, and the specimens need time to be perfected."

"I will wait patiently for you, Xia Lin Torelli."

The doctor said softly, his voice echoing in the empty garden. "Wait for the day when you are mature enough."

The night wind blows.

The plants in the garden that have been forcibly corrected into a "perfect state" cast distorted shadows in the moonlight.

It's like a soul that has struggled for countless generations and is forever nailed to an exhibition shelf.