Mucus Man

How did you throw an already shaky group into chaos and make it fall apart?

All it took was the tiniest fright.

That was what appeared before Zhou Zhi's eyes now.

Its skin was as deathly pale as a corpse's, just like a human's. Strange, viscous fluid clung to its body, leaving behind disgusting trails wherever it went.

"That's Aunt Mi!"

Xiao Nan's eyes widened, as if she couldn't believe it.

And the people behind her...

"They're all residents here!"

Those familiar faces left Xiao Nan stunned.

Then, in an instant, she broke into tears.

"Aunt Mi, everyone... do you... do you not recognize me anymore?"

"It's Xiao Nan..."

Zhou Zhi gripped the scalpel.

His gaze locked onto one of them.

[Mucus Man].

[Pathogenization Index: 63 percent].

[Pestilence Ability: 1. Basic Infection. Remaining in the same space for an extended period will significantly increase the Pathogenization Index.]

[2. Runny Nose. Its movements leave behind viscous bodily fluids. Any Disease Seed of the same sequence that comes into contact with the fluid will have its physical attributes enhanced.]

[3. Physical Enhancement. Significantly increases resistance to ordinary weapons and overall athletic ability.]

[Before pathogenization, it was a middle-aged human woman. Even after pathogenization, it still upheld its fine traditions. At least it ran very fast.]

Human.

Zhou Zhi's eyes shifted, and he took two steps back.

As expected, pathogenization meant that humans infected with disease to a certain degree turned into monsters.

"Fall back!!!"

Lei Heng's face changed drastically. He gripped his dagger and swung it twice through the air.

Monster!

Monster!

"Watch out!"

Xia Yu cried out from behind them.

In an instant, an elderly Mucus Man came charging toward them.

It was hard to imagine what its physical condition had been before pathogenization, but this elderly Mucus Man was incredibly fast.

It ran at full speed with every step, while its bones made a dull, grinding sound, as if they were cracking as gears meshed together.

Splatter!

Bodily fluid sprayed onto one of Lei Heng's lackeys.

At first, the lackey was terrified. Then, when nothing seemed to happen, he said, "Looks like... I'm fine."

Lei Heng's eyes shifted, his expression turning savage.

He gripped the dagger in his right hand and stabbed at the elderly Mucus Man's neck.

Clang!!

The creature's sharp skin actually stopped Lei Heng's dagger.

But at the same time, crack.

The sound of a bone breaking.

The elderly Mucus Man immediately collapsed, and Lei Heng's hand was smeared with a large amount of mucus.

"So... it's not that impressive."

"Ha ha ha ha ha!"

After his extreme terror came the sinister laughter of a gloomy man.

The Mucus Man writhed on the ground. Its bones had clearly been broken, leaving it with only its limp skin, like a maggot.

Zhou Zhi watched Lei Heng's group.

Its resistance to blows had indeed improved, and it had probably lost its sense of pain, too.

The problem was that this Mucus Man's body had been far too frail, so Lei Heng had taken it down easily.

This little thug was certainly used to brawling.

But...

Zhou Zhi had seen with his own eyes that the man's Pathogenization Index had leapt up from seven percent!

[Pathogenization Index: 25.6 percent.]

It was... the Mucus Men's bodily fluids!

"There are some up ahead, too!"

Lei Heng seemed to have found his confidence. He stood undaunted as the Mucus Men charged toward him in strange postures.

But this time, he wouldn't be so lucky.

A burly Mucus Man came toward them with a blank stare, its arm hanging strangely at its side.

"That's..."

"My son!"

"It's me! Xiao Jie!"

Uncle Liang, who had been hiding off to one side, stared at the person before him, his face filled with disbelief.

"That's my son!!"

"Look at me!"

Uncle Liang stood up, overcome with emotion.

But the burly figure didn't pause for even a moment. It charged straight toward the people scattering in every direction.

"After pathogenization, they no longer have their own thoughts," Zhou Zhi thought.

The burly Mucus Man wore a blank expression. It moved fast and grabbed one of the sick patients from the Clinic.

With a vicious twist, it snapped the patient's entire right shoulder blade!

The bone shattered completely!

Like a twisted steel bar.

Aaaaaah!!!!

A piercing scream echoed through the deserted streets.

At that, the Mucus Men scattered in every direction moved even faster.

Nearby, Xia Yu held a wooden stick against the head of a Mucus Man. Zhou Zhi had never realized that this strangely beautiful young woman could fight so well.

On the other side, Lei Heng had more men with him, so he wasn't in quite as much trouble.

Of course, it wasn't easy, either.

One of his lackeys got trapped in a Mucus Man's slime and could barely move. Amid terror and despair, the creature devoured him.

Devoured him.

It was nothing less than a person eating another person.

He'd observed enough before the operation.

Zhou Zhi took out his scalpel and gave it a slight flick.

At this rate, the little group would be wiped out here.

His long, slender fingers moved with the precision scalpel, like fireworks against the light of day.

[Surgery Start].

What Lei Heng and the others saw was several Mucus Men's heads being severed outright.

Their heads flew through the air, their faces as numb as they had been before.

"Stay clear of the mucus."

Zhou Zhi walked onward with the scalpel in hand. "Preventing infection is the first step in eliminating disease."

The man's voice was gentle and calm.

[Lobectomy].

The scalpel in his right hand shimmered with strange flecks of light, faint and fleeting.

The small blade flashed with an arc of light.

The Mucus Men's skin, which had been too tough for Lei Heng and his men, was as easy for Zhou Zhi to cut through as slicing melons and vegetables.

The Mucus Men's heads and bodies parted. What sprayed out wasn't blood, but a mucus-like substance.

Zhou Zhi did his best to avoid touching the liquid, which was basically snot, reducing the risk of infection.

The mask on his face served the same purpose.

The scalpel traced a precise arc through the air.

"Th-this..."

Xiao Nan's mouth hung open.

Behind her, Xia Yu's eyes flickered.

Fear lurked in Lei Heng's eyes, along with resentment he was struggling to suppress.

"Just as I thought."

Zhou Zhi leaped over the mucus on the ground.

A power spreading from his chest surged through his entire body in a strange form of energy.

He grew stronger and faster, and his mind became increasingly clear.

"And this so-called lobectomy isn't the name of a surgical procedure."

"It would be more accurate to classify it as... a martial art."

Huh?

The burly man who had grabbed a patient turned around, bending its head ninety degrees in a way no ordinary person could.

Fluid streamed from its nostrils, and its body grew even bulkier.

Target: the lungs.

Bai Xiu's Scalpel lay horizontally in a bow grip.

His hand moved with unwavering precision, without the slightest tremor.

"Don't... don't..."

Uncle Liang coughed as he tried to rush out from the corner, but Xia Yu and Xiao Nan held him back.

A heart-rending cry rang in Zhou Zhi's ears.

Plague Exterminator?

A doctor.

He had been a Plague Exterminator all along.

Whoosh.

The blade swept through the air.

Flesh fell.

Mucus drenched the ground.

The burly Mucus Man's chest.

Its lungs were now a hollow cavity.

Zhou Zhi's calm face was reflected within.

[Surgery End].