Xia Yu

Blood splashed through the air like a full moon.

At the end of the corridor stood a hulking monstrosity.

Its hideous face and massive body were completely out of proportion.

A humanoid monster with a powerful build.

"What is that...?"

Lei Heng felt his legs go weak.

Its oppressive presence was nothing like the Mucus Man's.

Its body was hard as bedrock.

"Something out of the ordinary... In the game from my past life, would something of this caliber count as an elite monster?"

Zhou Zhi thought to himself.

Suddenly, the faces of the two Medical Students beside him changed.

"How is this possible?!"

"It's... Meng Ling!"

"How did he turn into this?!"

Yu Jinhai couldn't believe it.

The hulking monster that had appeared out of nowhere was another member of their five-person group!

His skin had turned a gray, decayed color, much like the Mucus Man's. Strange mucus oozed from his seven orifices. Meng Ling had once been small and skinny, but now... his whole body looked rotten and bloated, as if it had soaked up water.

He looked just like a corpse that had been soaked until it swelled to an enormous size.

In an instant!

Yu Jinhai and Lin Rui gripped their Plague-Slaying Blades and pointed them at the monster in front of them.

Ever since they had entered Blue Stone Town,

they had never imagined this would happen.

This was supposed to be a simple, harmless apprenticeship.

Why had Zhu Xie died, and why had Meng Ling become this kind of monster?

Then...

What about their captain?

Yu Jinhai's breathing quickened slightly.

Life in the ivory tower of their studies had never prepared him for such a bizarre sight.

"Damn it."

In the distance,

Xiao Nan let out a pained, ragged cry, one of his legs torn off.

"Help me!"

"Come save me, now!!"

Xiao Nan's face was twisted in agony. He looked to be in excruciating pain.

Zhou Zhi didn't move. He looked ahead.

That small, numb face against such an enormous body made for a jarring contrast.

[Pathogen: Meng Ling].

[Pathogenization Index: 100%].

[Pathogenization Source: Influenza].

[Pathogen Level: Lesser Pathogen].

[As an Apprentice Plague Exterminator, his body has received a certain degree of enhancement].

[As an Apprentice Plague Exterminator, he can wield a certain amount of spiritual energy to perform simple Plague Extermination Arts].

[The pathogen has obtained power from the disease. It can alter the environment and pathogenize all things. Take care when fighting it].

[...]

[...].

["What a wretched fellow"].

[So said the one who made it].

Even though Meng Ling had been a Plague Exterminator of the same rank as Yu Jinhai, and had now transformed into this, there was still a great deal about him that Zhou Zhi couldn't discern from the information.

When Liang Xiao had pathogenized and the Throat Beast had appeared, Zhou Zhi had even been able to learn what abilities they possessed.

But he couldn't do that now.

"Lesser Pathogen... Above a Disease Seed is a Pathogen."

Zhou Zhi understood.

This was the level at which a pathogen could alter its surroundings on its own.

"Xiao Nan!!"

Xia Yu stared at the miserable young man ahead.

He was howling in pain. His gaze wasn't on the two Plague Exterminators, but on Xia Yu and Zhou Zhi.

"He's a clever one."

Zhou Zhi sighed softly.

It was clear that even before Blue Stone Town had been pathogenized, Xiao Nan hadn't held a particularly high place in society. That was how he'd developed this habit.

He befriended useful people and won their favor. Zhou Zhi hadn't realized it at first, not until the Throat Beast appeared.

Xiao Nan's words had been far too ingratiating.

Zhou Zhi possessed some spiritual energy and knew Plague Extermination Arts, while Xia Yu seemed to have a trump card of her own. They were people Xiao Nan could rely on.

"Who could say that's wrong?"

Still,

Zhou Zhi gave a slight nod and lowered his center of gravity.

He gripped the broken scalpel and slowly raised it.

He had lost too much blood in a short time, and Xiao Nan's Pathogenization Index was rising rapidly.

Rip.

Rip.

The sound of granulation pushing through skin came from behind Zhou Zhi.

The strange, muffled noise made him turn around at once.

It was...

[Lei Heng] and the few survivors who remained.

Strange granulation was pushing out from beneath their skin.

The sound of flesh sticking together came with a succession of startled, tearing cries.

"They're pathogenizing."

Zhou Zhi stopped stepping backward.

There didn't seem to be any clear threshold for pathogenization. Some of them hadn't even reached fifty percent.

And the cause of their pathogenization was, of course...

That [Meng Ling].

"No... No... I can't turn into this..."

Mucus flowed from his seven orifices. A strange sourness rose in his throat, and his head buzzed. Lei Heng's eye sockets were already filled with countless tiny maggots.

The [Influenza Plague] was spreading through his flesh.

It was a sensation unlike anything he'd ever experienced, as reason slipped away.

"Damn... damn it... I'll... kill... you..."

His reason was swallowed up in moments. The sullen man's face turned blank. This was the first time Zhou Zhi had witnessed someone being completely transformed by a disease.

[Mucus Man].

"Useless."

Yu Jinhai looked back, saw what was happening, and cursed.

"Hold this thing off for now. Lin Rui, find the captain."

"The captain's strong. He's the strongest among us."

Lin Rui's Communicator had a tracking function. As the captain's voice grew clearer through it, the two of them knew they were getting closer.

"Meng Ling's already pathogenized. Then... we'll take him out!"

Yu Jinhai said through clenched teeth.

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

[Tremor].

Aside from Xiao Nan, who was screaming miserably on the ground,

the only ones still more or less human behind them were Zhou Zhi and Xia Yu.

"Mr. Zhou Zhi!"

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

"Xiao Nan..."

"And everyone... they're all..."

Xia Yu seemed never to have imagined things would end this way.

They'd left Bai Xiu Clinic only two days ago. Now, only she and Zhou Zhi remained.

She'd never imagined anything like this.

She had only wanted everyone to survive.

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

Xia Yu bit her lip.

A captivating air emanated from her.

Her features were exquisite, like a flawless piece of porcelain.

Any man would feel pity for her.

"In fact, I think you're right."

Zhou Zhi's calm voice drifted over from beside Xia Yu. "Human stupidity is behind most failures in any medical procedure."

"Right?"

Zhou Zhi said it without any other implication; he was simply making an observation.

Xia Yu's eyes widened. She stared blankly for a moment, then lowered her head. "Sorry."

At the same time, Zhou Zhi had already begun attacking the Mucus Men that Lei Heng and the others had transformed into.

In the distance,

the giant Pathogen had completely suppressed the two Medical Students.

"[Pollution Pathogenization] is getting worse."

"Our Plague Armor won't hold for long."

A few wounds had appeared on Yu Jinhai's face, oozing black mucus.

The Communicator crackled with static.

"On the third floor!"

Lin Rui shouted.

"Right on the third floor! Captain!"

The signal was very close now.

They just had to get around this monster.

"[Ventricular Fibrillation] doesn't work on a Pathogen... We have to find another way."

"And... with a Pathogen here, the [Mucus Men] and [Throat Beasts] are all gathering around."

Yu Jinhai looked out the window.

At some point,

the grounds outside Bluestone Central Hospital

had become packed, wall to wall.

With those monsters.

There was no way out anymore.

"Charge through."