Night Watcher

That silver sword light was too fast.

So fast that Lu Yuan did not even see how he swung his sword. All he saw was a cold afterimage flash before his eyes, followed by the dull thud of something heavy hitting the ground.

The Aberrant that had been so arrogant and frenzied moments ago had now become a pile of flesh scattered across the floor.

The cuts were smooth as mirrors, without the slightest bit of adhesion. The sword had even moved so quickly that the black blood did not gush from the wounds until half a second later.

[Target life signs have disappeared] [Source of aberration eliminated]

Lu Yuan leaned against the wall, his chest still aching faintly from the impact. He did not speak right away, instead quickly steadying his breathing as his gaze casually swept over the black figure standing in front of him.

A long black coat, a wide-brimmed hat, and a massive silver sword still dripping blood.

Even without a system prompt, Lu Yuan could guess the man's identity.

In this port, there was only one kind of person who could slice a monster as neatly as sashimi and dare to enter the slums at a time like this.

"Night Watcher?"

Lu Yuan's voice was hoarse as he asked tentatively. His hand gripping the Holy Water Flask did not relax. Instead, he discreetly drew it farther into his sleeve.

The man turned around.

His face was hard and cold as rock, his chin covered in bluish stubble. A pair of gray eyes, sharp as a hawk's, scrutinized Lu Yuan from head to toe.

"Not bad reflexes."

The man flicked the massive sword in his hand, splattering black blood across the wall. Rather than answer Lu Yuan's question, he walked over to the pile of flesh and used the tip of his sword to lift a still-twitching piece of tissue.

"Corroded by highly concentrated Holy Water, with part of its vocal organs severed. You even used the terrain to keep it occupied for quite a while."

The man raised his head, a hint of surprise appearing in his eyes. "For a Doctor, your combat ability is higher than I expected."

"When ordinary people encounter something like this, they usually end up one of two ways—becoming one of them, or becoming food."

"I'm a Doctor."

Lu Yuan straightened his rumpled collar and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his tone calm. "To a Doctor, it was merely a patient with a rather serious condition..."

The man raised an eyebrow, apparently neither agreeing nor disagreeing with that explanation.

He sheathed his sword. The scrape of metal sounded especially piercing in the cramped room.

"I'm Hans, captain of the Night Watchers' Third Squad."

Hans walked up to Lu Yuan, his tall shadow carrying an invisible pressure. "Doctor Lu, though you performed bravely, regulations state that anyone who has come into close contact with a deeply aberrant individual faces an extremely high risk of infection."

"So?"

"So you need to come with me." Hans's tone was firm, leaving no room for discussion. "I need to ensure everyone else's safety."

Lu Yuan fell silent for two seconds.

He knew he had no choice.

Resistance was meaningless before that silver sword. Besides, he did want to learn more about this world's official organization.

"Fine." Lu Yuan nodded. "But I need to settle things here first."

Just then, hurried footsteps sounded from outside the door.

"Doctor Lu! Uncle!"

Brent, who had been waiting outside all this time, seemed to have heard the fighting subside and finally could not hold himself back from rushing in.

The moment he entered, the intense, nauseating stench of blood hit him. Then he saw the chunks of flesh all over the floor, along with the two men standing amid them.

"Un... Uncle?"

Brent stared blankly at the scales remaining on the rotten bed, then at the indescribable mass of tissue on the floor. He looked as though his soul had left his body.

Hans frowned, seeming about to say something.

But Lu Yuan got there first. He did not offer empty words like "my condolences." He merely bent down, picked up a fragment of cloth that was still recognizable, and handed it to Brent.

"He's gone."

Lu Yuan's voice was soft, yet clear. "Before he became a complete monster, I let him rest. He went quickly. He didn't suffer."

That was the truth. For someone irreversibly sliding into The Abyss, their body and soul both enduring agonizing pain, death truly was the only release.

Brent trembled all over as tears silently ran down his face.

He knew his uncle was sick, and he knew that illness was difficult to cure. But he had never imagined it would end like this.

"Big brother..."

A tiny voice came from behind the door.

Lu Yuan looked toward the sound and saw a little head peeking out from behind Brent.

She was a girl of about five or six, dressed in old clothes that did not fit her. Her hair was dry and yellow, but her eyes were astonishingly large as she timidly looked at everything in the room.

Brent suddenly snapped back to his senses. He covered his little sister's eyes and shielded her tightly behind him.

"It's okay... It's okay..." He consoled his sister through his tears, then turned toward Lu Yuan and clumsily pulled out the handful of Copper Shields stained with sweat and shoe polish from his pocket.

"Thank you... Thank you, Doctor Lu."

Though he was young, he had spent enough time around the docks to know that if his uncle had truly become a monster and escaped, the Night Watchers would not only kill his uncle—they might even dispose of him and his sister as Sources of Pollution. Lu Yuan had not only freed his uncle, but also saved the lives of the two siblings.

Lu Yuan looked at the dirty little hand held out to him and did not refuse.

He reached into the pile of copper coins and picked out one.

"This Copper Shield will be my consultation fee."

Lu Yuan slipped the Copper Shield into his pocket, his tone calm. "Keep the rest to buy bread for your sister."

Then he turned to Hans. "Let's go, Captain."

Hans glanced at the siblings kneeling on the ground, then at the expressionless Lu Yuan. A thoughtful glint flashed through his eyes.

"Follow me."

After leaving the cheap rental, Hans did not take Lu Yuan to the police station or the Church. Instead, after winding through countless turns, he brought him to an old street at the edge of Grim Port.

The fog here was lighter than at the docks, but the cold was more biting.

Hans stopped in front of a decrepit building with a sign that read "Old John's Tavern."

"We're here."

When he pushed open the door, a smell of cheap ale, tobacco, and rotting wood rushed at them.

There were not many people in the tavern. Only a few weary-looking figures in long coats sat in the corners, drinking in silence.

When they saw Hans enter, they merely nodded slightly. Their gazes lingered on Lu Yuan for a moment before moving away.

It was the sort of gaze one gave a dead man—or trouble.

"Take him to Room Two in the basement."

Hans called out to the area behind the bar, then turned to Lu Yuan. "Stay here and don't wander around. If you don't mutate, you'll leave alive."

Lu Yuan shrugged. He neither showed fear nor asked questions, merely obediently following a waiter toward the basement.

But his mind was racing.

[Contact with key faction stronghold: Night Watcher base]

[Grim Port status: 25/50]

Looks like I made the right move.

Lu Yuan was led into a cramped room containing only one table and two chairs.

As the iron door slammed shut with a clang, the surroundings fell into dead silence.

Lu Yuan sat in a chair and closed his eyes to rest.

He knew the real test had only just begun.