Evacuation

When the group crawled out of the sewer exit, they looked miserable beyond compare.

Hans was the first to emerge, covered in blood from head to toe.

But he had no time to worry about himself. He immediately turned and dragged the unconscious Valentin up. The once-elegant captain of Team Two had reverted to human form, his face deathly pale and his breathing faint to the extreme.

Hans took one look at Valentin's condition, and his expression changed drastically.

Then he pulled Lu Yuan up, along with the unconscious Gray and Ed, and finally dragged Toby out of the sewer.

"Get in the carriage! Now!"

Without wasting a second, Hans crammed all the injured into the rear compartment of the black carriage, then seized the reins tightly in one hand.

The carriage jolted violently over the gravel road, its wheels crushing through puddles and spraying mud everywhere.

Hans sat in the driver's seat, the reins in his hands pulled taut as a bowstring. The whip cracked through the air again and again.

He had to get back to the base before Valentin collapsed completely.

"Doctor Lu! I'm leaving the back to you!"

Through the carriage's wooden panels, Hans's voice sounded muffled in the fierce wind.

Lu Yuan knew it was time for him to step in. In the dim carriage, he knelt on one knee beside the stretcher, struggling to keep his balance as the carriage swayed.

The carriage was full of bodies. Although Ed and Gray were unconscious,

their breathing was steady, and neither was in serious danger. After simple examinations and wound treatment, Lu Yuan left them alone.

Toby, meanwhile, was merely exhausted, leaning in a corner and gasping for air.

The most troublesome one was Valentin.

The captain of Team Two was in terrible condition.

His tailcoat had become tattered strips of cloth, and the exposed skin carried a deathly gray, decaying hue.

The veins beneath his skin had turned black and writhed madly like living creatures. He was clearly on the edge of losing control.

Lu Yuan reached out and pressed a hand over Valentin's still-bleeding chest.

The instant his fingertips touched the skin, gray text appeared before his eyes.

[Contact target: Valentin (near death from backlash)]

[Information analysis: Eerie Transcendence, Tier II (unstable)]

[Transcendence Path: Deep Bloodthirster]

[Traits: Burns blood in exchange for extreme physical strength; possesses flight and beastification abilities. Currently in a state of "Spiritual Exhaustion" due to excessive blood depletion, and the Eerie is devouring its host in backlash.]

[Fatal weaknesses: Holy-attribute items; silver weapons striking the heart directly.]

[You have come into contact with a new Transcendence Path (superficial). Forbidden Studies—Seeker: +0.1]

Seeing that row of red words—"Fatal weaknesses"—Lu Yuan's hand, which had been reaching for the spare bottle of Holy Water in the first-aid kit, froze in midair.

For the current Valentin, Holy Water might directly take his life.

Lu Yuan's gaze sharpened. Decisively, he shoved the Holy Water to the very back and instead took out a large bottle of saline solution and Hemostatic Powder.

"Don't use Holy Water!"

Almost at the same time, Hans, who was driving, suddenly twisted around and roared, "Valentin can't use that stuff!"

"I know."

Without looking back, Lu Yuan's hands did not pause in the slightest.

He removed as much of the clothing stuck to Valentin's body as he could, cleaned the wounds with saline, then quickly sprinkled on Hemostatic Powder and applied pressure bandages.

"Valentin's reaction is severe. I can only perform basic hemostasis."

[Basic Medical: +1, 2.3/20]

[Forbidden Studies—Seeker: +0.2]

As the system notifications appeared, Lu Yuan wiped the blood from his hands. Given his current conditions and abilities, this was all he could do.

By the time Hans drove the carriage back to the underground base beneath Old John's Tavern, it was already late at night.

The medical team, which had long been standing by, swiftly took Valentin and the others away to the intensive care ward.

Lu Yuan and Hans, meanwhile, were taken to the Purification Quarantine Zone on the other side.

It was a sealed room filled with steam and the smell of disinfectant.

"Don't mind it. It's the rule."

Hans took off his mud-caked coat and tossed it into the incinerator.

"After coming into contact with high-tier mutated creatures, physical infection isn't the only concern. Mental contamination is even more dangerous."

"We have to stay here for a full two hours. We can only leave once we've confirmed that our sanity hasn't gone out of control."

Lu Yuan nodded and found a place to sit.

"What happened to Valentin?" After thinking it over, Lu Yuan still asked.

"Eerie Transcendence." Hans lowered his voice.

"He borrowed the power of something in the Bloodthirsty Ghost category. But as for what kind of Bloodthirsty Ghost he is, no one except the chief captain knows."

"Why?"

"To stay alive." Hans exhaled a ring of smoke. "The Eerie Path is powerful, but its weaknesses are too obvious."

"If someone learns what he fears, a specially made bullet can take his life. Among the Night Watchers, secrecy is survival."

Lu Yuan fell into thought.

This only strengthened his conviction—joining the Night Watchers had been the right choice.

There was structured knowledge here, ways to grind experience, and an official identity to serve as cover.

Of course, that was only if he had enough means to protect his own life.

Two hours later, the quarantine ended. After a preliminary examination by a Night Watcher, the two were finally allowed to leave.

Hans brought Lu Yuan to the office area.

"The higher-ups are pressing hard. The report has to be submitted tonight, Doctor Lu. I'm afraid you'll have to go home later than usual."

Hearing this, Lu Yuan felt somewhat helpless. He had not expected that even after transmigrating, he would still have to write reports.

But since he had already joined, and he was one of the few people still conscious, there was no helping it. He could only write it first.

So Hans pulled Lu Yuan over, and they began drafting the report.

In this report on the fall of the Waterworks, they emphasized the "premeditated internal demolition," the existence of the "Meat Mountain Aggregate," and the recommendation to immediately inspect the city's entire underground Pipe Network.

Near the end, Hans stopped writing. After giving it some thought, he said:

"I won't mention your name in this report."

Hans looked at Lu Yuan and continued, "The Waterworks incident has far-reaching implications. There may be believers behind it."

"Your identity right now is only that of a doctor who just entered the profession. If your name appears in this kind of top-secret file, we may not be able to keep you safe."

Hans lit a cigarette and continued with a weary expression:

"I know this somewhat goes against the terms I promised you, but the Black Pine Forest Water Plant shows just how unsettled Grim Port has been lately."

"Besides... the Night Watchers are desperately short on manpower. Of course, I'll convert the credit that belongs to you into points. Not one point less."

Lu Yuan did not blame him for this.

Instead, he was rather relieved. Hans had not tried to pull the wool over his eyes. At the very least, it showed that the Night Watchers' attitude toward him was not a problem.

"Deal." Lu Yuan had no objections. Making a fortune in silence was the true way.

"Ten points in total. You can exchange them for quite a few things at the Supply Office. My suggestion is to trade them for weapons, though that still depends on you."