Destruction

Zhou Zhi noticed it.

From the moment they entered the door and saw Qiu Ti.

Although Yu Jinhai tried his best to relax, his body remained intensely rigid, his hand never once leaving his Plague-Slaying Blade.

The words spoken just now were full of holes.

This applied to both Wu Ji and Qiu Ti, who was a formal Plague Exterminator.

Upon hearing Yu Jinhai's question, the expression on Wu Ji's face seemed to freeze.

His body trembled slightly, and a bead of sweat rolled down his forehead.

"Uh... I... I just didn't see Lin Rui..."

His peripheral vision flickered toward Qiu Ti.

It was filled with a subtle, imperceptible fear.

But by now, Yu Jinhai had already retreated several steps.

Zhou Zhi ran a little faster than Yu Jinhai.

He stood to the left of Xia Yu.

"Trash."

Only a few seconds later.

The smile on Qiu Ti's face vanished.

It was immediately replaced by a deathly indifference.

"To call you trash is to give you too much credit."

"You can't even handle such a small matter, yet you want to become a Plague Exterminator?"

"You truly lack even the qualifications to be bait for the plague."

Qiu Ti, dressed in a Western-style uniform, stood up.

Cough, cough, cough.

He coughed twice.

Zhou Zhi noticed that this was the exact same coughing sound that had come through Lin Rui's communicator earlier.

He slowly raised his hand: "Originally, I didn't want to do this myself."

Yu Jinhai's complexion had completely changed.

He could not believe the scene unfolding before his eyes.

He did not look at Qiu Ti, but instead looked past the man toward the youth standing behind him.

The high-spirited captain, the talented person whom everyone in the squad trusted.

"Captain!"

"What on earth is... this..."

Wu Ji stepped back, remaining silent.

The air congealed.

Qiu Ti's face was as still as death.

"The [Mucus Man Vanguard] is still lacking some."

Yu Jinhai gripped his blade with his right hand, gritting his teeth.

Cardiac Ventricle...

In an instant.

Viscous liquid surged out from his nasal cavity.

It felt as if worms were crawling in his throat.

Every Plague Extermination Art, even the simple act of drawing his blade, became impossible to continue.

Qiu Ti merely waved his hand.

"[Pingchang First Medical College], I hear you specialize in cardiac surgery."

"What a pity."

Qiu Ti toyed slightly with his small mustache; his skin was constantly oozing grotesque, deep-yellow mucus.

"If you were a true Plague Exterminator, I might have had to think carefully about how to deal with you."

Despair washed over Yu Jinhai's face; a sense of powerlessness surged through him, and his body collapsed onto the floor.

"Take him inside."

Qiu Ti said indifferently: "Don't waste any more of my time, trash."

Wu Ji hurriedly lowered his head: "Yes, My Lord."

From start to finish, Zhou Zhi and Xia Yu remained outside of Qiu Ti's line of sight.

Feeling that twisted sense of pathogen-induced corruption, both of them collapsed limply onto the ground.

"Captain..."

Yu Jinhai's trembling voice rang out.

Wu Ji lowered his head, his expression indifferent.

"Jinhai."

He lifted Yu Jinhai's body slightly and spoke calmly, "In this world, there are many things you cannot learn in school."

Wu Ji's voice was chilling.

He then dragged them into the inner door of the office.

Cough, cough.

Zhou Zhi coughed twice.

[Zhou Zhi].

[Pathogen-induced corruption index: 42.5%].

A distinct sense of discomfort surged through his body, and his nasal passages were completely blocked.

This level of corruption had already reached the threshold for turning into a monster at any moment.

However, compared to Xia Yu, who had already fallen into a deep coma, Zhou Zhi remained conscious, even though he felt sluggish and unable to think at this moment.

For those who had mastered spiritual power, their physical constitution was worlds apart from that of an ordinary person.

[Captain] Wu Ji dragged the group along with ease using a rope.

Zhou Zhi was not having a good time.

But even here, he managed to hear the full story.

In a story as serious as this, people like Zhou Zhi and Xia Yu were nothing more than background scenery.

"Stop looking at me with those eyes, Jinhai."

Wu Ji spoke while dragging them along.

"You know how it is; this world is just like this."

One week ago.

A group of five interns from Pingchang First Medical College, accompanied by one extra, arrived at Blue Stone Town for their graduation internship.

Yu Jinhai and Lin Rui had separated from the others.

And at that time.

The disease descended.

"The core of the disease is not someone else."

Wu Ji said nonchalantly, "It is Mr. [Qiu Ti]."

As expected.

Zhou Zhi was dragged along like trash, but he decided to just give up and go with the flow.

In this Xuanyuan Kingdom, it was impossible for such terrifying Pestilence Zones to be everywhere.

Nor could a plague appear out of thin air.

In a place like Blue Stone, it was far more likely that someone had introduced the [Influenza Plague] to this area.

"Why... would he... do this..."

Yu Jinhai spoke while snot streamed from his nose, leaving trails on the ground that looked like water stains.

"He is... a Plague Exterminator..."

Wu Ji cast a cold glance at Yu Jinhai on the ground.

Then, he continued walking forward through the corridor.

"For a Plague Exterminator, the most important thing is talent."

"Those with talent do not need much effort to become powerful Plague Exterminators."

"The Plague Extermination Arts that are impossibly difficult for people like us can be learned by those fellows in just a single pass."

"Among those who shine as the [Seven Shining Stars] of Xuanyuan, some haven't even reached the age to enter medical college yet..."

Wu Ji said faintly.

Yu Jinhai looked at his captain as if seeing him for the first time.

This classmate he had known for four years.

The prominent figure in medical college, a seed for a future Plague Exterminator with a bright path ahead.

He had always been the object of others' envy.

Now, however, he was so utterly unrecognizable.

"You wouldn't understand."

Wu Ji's voice grew increasingly cold: "Doctor Qiu Ti introduced the [Influenza Plague]. As long as one reaches the level of total infection, there is a chance to obtain the [Influenza Vaccine]."

"When that time comes, I will be able to master the complete set of [Influenza System] abilities."

"Mr. Qiu Ti said that once he succeeds, he will help me get inoculated too!"

"As for that [Heart] ability... I've had enough of it!"

"That sister of yours with the [In-Situ Tremor]."

Wu Ji's expression turned ugly: "A piece of trash, yet she dares to order us around."

"Once I have the power, I will surely be able to rise to the top."

The young man walked forward.

"Doctor Qiu Ti has already promised me."

Not to mention that Yu Jinhai was already unable to speak.

Zhou Zhi finally pieced together the full picture of the situation.

It was not complicated.

But Zhou Zhi only found it amusing.

What was even more interesting were those few words Wu Ji had said regarding talent.

This guy seems to have had his mindset corrupted under Qiu Ti's influence.

Zhou Zhi felt it clearly.

Come to think of it.

If a Plague Exterminator seed like Wu Ji was considered someone without talent.

Then Zhou Zhi wondered.

What, then, did that [Bai Xiu], the owner of the scalpel back at the clinic, count as?

His only surgery had been an excision performed on himself.

It was hard to say whether it counted as a success or a failure.

As a good person without talent, the life he displayed.

What exactly did it amount to?

While he was lost in thought.

The path suddenly opened up.

Qiu Ti Operating Room.

They had arrived.

[Entering the core of the Pestilence Zone - Great Sneeze Space].

[Pathogenization level rising sharply].

[Pathogenization index will increase significantly in a short time due to the Influenza Plague].