Xia Yu

Blood splattered like a full moon.

Appearing at the end of the corridor was a gargantuan monstrosity.

Its hideous face was completely out of proportion with its massive frame.

It was a humanoid monster possessing a formidable body.

"What is this..."

Lei Heng felt his legs go weak.

It was a sense of oppression entirely different from that of the Mucus Man.

Its body was as hard as a boulder.

This is unusual... In the games of my past life, would something of this level be considered an elite monster?

Zhou Zhi thought to himself.

Suddenly, the expressions of the two medical students beside him shifted drastically.

"How is this possible!"

"It's... Meng Ling!"

"How could he have turned into something like this!"

Yu Jinhai found it impossible to believe.

This hulking monster that had suddenly appeared was one of the other members of their five-person group!

His skin now displayed a grayish, necrotic hue, bearing a striking resemblance to the Mucus Man, with strange mucus oozing from his seven orifices. The once thin and small Meng Ling had transformed; his entire body now appeared bloated and putrid, as if he were a corpse that had been soaked in water until it swelled to a massive size.

In an instant, Yu Jinhai and Lin Rui gripped their Plague-Slaying Blades, pointing the edges toward the monster before them.

Since entering Blue Stone Town, they had never imagined this.

It was supposed to be a simple, danger-free internship.

Why had Zhu Xie died, and why had Meng Ling turned into such a monster?

Then...

What about the captain?

Yu Jinhai's breathing grew slightly ragged.

His life of study within the ivory tower made it truly difficult for him to conceive of such a grotesque scene.

"Damn it."

In the distance, Xiao Nan, who had been torn of a leg, let out a painful, ragged cry.

"Save me!"

"Someone, come save me!!"

Xiao Nan's face was twisted in agony, clearly enduring excruciating pain.

Zhou Zhi did not move, his gaze fixed ahead.

The contrast between that small, numb face and the massive, hulking body was jarringly violent.

[Pathogen: Meng Ling].
[Pathogenization Index: 100%].
[Source of Pathogenization: Influenza].
[Pathogenization Level: Primary Pathogen].
[As a Plague Exterminator apprentice, his body has received a certain degree of augmentation].
[As a Plague Exterminator apprentice, he is capable of channeling a certain amount of spiritual power to perform simple Plague Extermination Arts].
[The pathogen has gained power from the disease, capable of altering the environment and pathologizing all things; exercise caution when engaging it in combat].
[...]
[...].
["What a miserable fellow"].
[So says the one who created it].

Even though it was a Plague Exterminator of the same rank as Yu Jinhai, there was still a significant amount of information Zhou Zhi could not discern, even in its current state.

When Liang Xiao had undergone pathogenization and the Throat Beast had appeared, Zhou Zhi had been able to identify their abilities.

But now, he could not.

"Primary pathogen... above the disease strain, there lies the pathogen."

Zhou Zhi understood clearly in his heart.

It was a grade capable of independently inducing pathological changes in the environment.

"Xiao Nan!!"

Xia Yu looked at the miserable boy ahead.

The boy was howling in agony, his gaze not fixed on the two Plague Exterminators, but rather on Xia Yu and Zhou Zhi.

"A smart person."

Zhou Zhi sighed slightly.

He could tell that even before the pathological changes in Blue Stone Town, Xiao Nan's social status could not have been particularly high, which was why he had developed such habits.

Associating with useful people and gaining their favor—Zhou Zhi hadn't sensed it at first, not until the Throat Beast arrived.

Xiao Nan's words had been far too obviously ingratiating.

Zhou Zhi possessed a certain amount of spiritual power and the Plague Extermination Art, and Xia Yu seemed to have her own trump cards; these two were people one could rely on.

"Yet, who could say that is wrong?"

Only.

Zhou Zhi nodded slightly, shifting his center of gravity downward.

He gripped the broken scalpel in his hand and slowly raised it.

Too much blood had been lost in a short time, and Xiao Nan's pathological index was rising rapidly.

Rip.

Rip.

The sound of granulation tissue tearing through skin erupted from behind Zhou Zhi.

That obscure sound made Zhou Zhi turn his head instantly.

It was...

[Lei Heng] and the few remaining survivors.

Unexplained granulation tissue was burrowing out from beneath their skin.

The sound of flesh fusing together accompanied various jarring sensations of tearing.

"Pathological transformation."

Zhou Zhi stopped his backward steps.

It seemed there was no clear numerical threshold for pathological transformation; some of them hadn't even exceeded fifty percent.

And the catalyst for their transformation was, naturally...

That [Meng Ling].

"No... no... I cannot become like this..."

Mucus flowed from his seven orifices, an strange, sour bitterness erupted from his throat, and his head buzzed; Lei Heng's eye sockets were already occupied by a mass of tiny maggots.

The [Influenza Plague] spread through his flesh.

That unprecedented sensation, that feeling of reason dissipating.

"Damn it... damn it all... I want you... to die..."

His reason was swallowed in an instant, and the sinister man's face turned wooden; this was the first time Zhou Zhi had witnessed a complete disease transformation.

[Mucus Man].

"Trash."

Yu Jinhai looked back, saw the scene, and cursed.

"Hold this guy off first. Lin Rui, find the Captain's location."

"The Captain is strong; he is the strongest among us."

Lin Rui's communicator had a tracking function. As the Captain's voice became clearer through the device, the two of them naturally knew they were getting closer to him.

"Since Meng Ling has already undergone pathological transformation, then... eliminate him!"

Yu Jinhai said viciously.

He drew his Plague-Slaying Blade and curled the fingers of his right hand.

[Tremor].

Excluding Xiao Nan, who was screaming wretchedly on the ground.

Behind them, the only ones who could still be considered normal humans were Zhou Zhi and Xia Yu.

"Mr. Zhou Zhi!"

Xia Yu's beautiful eyes flickered as she looked into the distance.

"Xiao Nan, he..."

"And... everyone, they all..."

Xia Yu seemed to have never once imagined such an ending.

It had only been two days since they left Bai Xiu Clinic, and now only she and Zhou Zhi remained.

She had never thought such a thing could happen.

She had only wanted everyone to survive.

"If I hadn't insisted on bringing them along... perhaps they wouldn't have ended up like this..."

Xia Yu bit her lip.

An alluring aura radiated from her body.

Her features were so exquisite, like porcelain without a single flaw.

Any man would feel a sense of pity for her.

"In fact, I think you are right."

From beside Xia Yu, Zhou Zhi's calm voice drifted over: "Failures caused by human stupidity always account for the highest percentage in any medical surgery."

"Right?"

Zhou Zhi spoke without any ulterior meaning, simply stating the fact.

Xia Yu widened her eyes, stunned for a moment, before she lowered her head: "I'm sorry."

Simultaneously, Zhou Zhi had already begun to move against the Mucus Men that Lei Heng and the others had mutated into.

In the distance.

The giant pathogen completely suppressed the two medical students.

[Contamination Pathogenization] is intensifying.

Our epidemic gear won't hold out much longer.

Several wounds had already appeared on Yu Jinhai's face, oozing pitch-black mucus.

The sound of electricity crackled and hissed.

"It's on the third floor!"

Lin Rui shouted.

"It's right on the third floor, Captain!"

The transmission of the message was already very close.

They only needed to bypass this monster.

[Ventricular Tremor] is useless against the pathogen... we must find another way.

Also... because of the pathogen's appearance, [Mucus Men] and [Throat Beasts] are all gathering here.

Yu Jinhai's gaze turned toward the window.

He didn't know when it had started.

Outside Bluestone Central Hospital.

It was dense, packed with them.

Those monsters.

There was no way back anymore.

"Charge through."