Chapter 20: Night Talk
"My name is Cadacy Haji. Thank you for your treatment, Mr. William."
"Mm."
Yi Chen sat down in the reserved seat.
Two exquisite main courses, soup, and dessert were prepared in front of each person.
Artevelde-style sashimi,
Red-braised fish chunks,
Large fish roe vegetable pie,
Thick mushroom fish bone soup,
The dishes laid out before them were a vibrant array of reds, purples, greens, and whites. If not for the enticing aroma, it would have been hard to bring oneself to eat.
During the meal,
The owner, while gnawing on fish meat, asked in a low voice:
"Have you seen through the essence of the town?"
Yi Chen quickly waved his hands, "Ah? Seeing through the essence might be an overstatement, but I barely understand the symptoms and process of the disease in Green Lake Town, or rather, a kind of 'screening mechanism'.
If my analysis is correct,
The disease infection should be divided into three stages:
Direct or indirect contact with Green Lake Town's water source will lead to the invasion of pathogens.
Thus initiating the 'First Stage'.
In this stage, the body will slowly grow some fish scales and begin to yearn for underwater life.
It should also be able to receive instructions transmitted by the 'parasitic mother body'.
The main structure of the body is still within the human realm, with no significant visible changes... Living normally in the town, organizing various activities to attract more tourists here.
When the state of the first stage stabilizes, or reaches certain indicators,
Individuals will be granted the qualification to go to Green Lake, have intimate contact with the lake water,
Officially entering the 'Second Stage'.
I personally call this stage - [Fish Transformation]
Due to deep immersion in lake water, the human body will undergo severe changes,
Skin grows scales, organs and tissues will all tend towards fish structure, gradually transitioning to a mermaid state.
As for the third stage.
It's the state you have currently reached,
Returning to land, removing the fish-like external structure, transforming into individuals with sound consciousness."
"You are indeed... different from others.
But there's one thing I couldn't understand even after thinking about it all night. Knowing that we are diseased people, why do you still provide help?
You came here to investigate the root cause of the disease and eradicate it, right?"
Hearing the owner's confusion, Yi Chen unhurriedly put a piece of sashimi into his mouth, swallowed, and then answered;
"To be precise, I'm still in the probation period.
I'm not very clear about some concepts and notions,
I'm just doing things in the way I think is 'correct'."
At this point, Miss Cadacy beside him chuckled.
The owner also revealed a slight smile, not saying anything more,
Just then,
A strong explosion sound came from outside the inn, from the direction of the town center... Along with various urgent footsteps and impact sounds, the town seemed to have entered a state of chaos.
Yi Chen was about to stand up to check,
But the owner gestured for him to sit down, saying softly:
"If 'outside visitors' have lived in the town for two days and still haven't been infected by the disease, we will take forced measures here.
The tourists who came to the town this time all have extremely high self-control, and their strength is not to be underestimated, effectively avoiding contact with water sources in various forms.
Tonight has been designated as the [Day of Disease] by the town mayor, and forced purification will be carried out against you all.
However, you don't need to worry... As long as you stay in the inn, no one will come looking for you."
"Mm."
Being able to stay in the inn until the end of the third day is also a good choice.
Yi Chen was self-aware,
Especially after meeting Edmund and the others, he was very clear that his foundation was poor, having not undergone systematic training... If he encountered more powerful diseased bodies, there was almost no possibility of winning.
Just as Yi Chen was gladly accepting this safe proposal,
Little Grape suddenly popped out from his shoulder, jumping onto the dining table.
Rows of teeth and eyeballs were exposed at the same time,
Hands on hips!
A mixed noise emitted from inside its body.
"Hey~ William has helped you complete an important 'patient transformation'... You should know that the human side might view such actions as [crimes], maybe even directly send you to the guillotine.
Do you really think a meal can settle this?
Give some effective information and substantial help."
Although Little Grape's meatball appearance looked somewhat comical,
These words contained a hint of threat,
The owner remained expressionless,
But his sister Cadacy instinctively moved her chair a bit, away from this meatball.
Although Yi Chen was a bit surprised, his expression remained unchanged... tacitly approving Little Grape's behavior.
The owner and Little Grape's single eye stared at each other, and he finally chose to compromise.
"I was originally planning to discuss this matter after dinner,
Since you want to use the 'Green Lake Town' as a platform to pass the so-called assessment and achieve a higher score, I will give you a special path.
There is a [good thing] hidden in the deepest part of the lake.
It is this thing that supervises the 'fish transformation' process, while monitoring and controlling the diseased ones.
Once this thing is killed, it would be considered eliminating the root cause of the town's disease.
If you have such thoughts, my sister and I will cooperate to disguise you as 'sacrifices', offering you to the thing at the bottom of the lake... This way, you can easily avoid the interference of the fish people and aim directly at the target.
The dinner you just ate is enough to make you emit sufficient 'fishy smell', so you won't be suspected."
The owner's words reminded Yi Chen of the feeling of being watched from the bottom of the lake during the lake tour,
As if a huge eye was staring at him.
Currently,
Green Lake Town is carrying out a 'purge', with townspeople and other examinees engaging in large-scale battles, making it the best time for action.
This way,
Two paths leading to the end of the assessment are laid out before him.
1. Stay honestly in the inn, passing the assessment safely under the cover of the owner and his sister.
2. Take advantage of the current best opportunity, under the cover of the siblings, to go to the depths of Green Lake and kill the hidden root cause of the disease.
Before making a choice, Yi Chen had one more question.
"If we fail in our action and are unable to kill the thing at the bottom of the lake, you and Miss Cadacy will inevitably be implicated... Why do this?"
"Mutual benefit.
My sister has completed de-scaling, transforming into an individual with independent thinking.
But due to the existence of that thing at the bottom of the lake, we are still bound here... Only by eliminating that thing can we leave the town, I promised her we would go see the outside world.
The decision is yours, Mr. William~ If you decide to go to the bottom of the lake, I believe you have confidence in this."
"I need to consider... Give me five minutes."
Although he couldn't see any problems from the expressions of the siblings,
And from the information collected so far, and from an objective perspective, although the siblings were patients, they retained a certain humanity.
However,
Yi Chen was still completely unfamiliar with this world, and there were many 'stance rules' he didn't quite understand.
『Little Grape, can they be trusted?』
『Of course they can be trusted, why not... Because I myself am an independent entity that defies the 'pathogenic foundation', reassembled and born anew from the graveyard, unbound by any constraints.
I can understand the feelings and thoughts of these two.
Such a great opportunity is laid out before us, it's worth taking the risk.
If you can do it, your assessment score will surely surpass other humans, thus gaining the organization's esteem, and future opportunities, survival probability, and possibilities to explore the world will also increase.
Don't you think so?』
『Do we have the ability to kill the disease root that controls and dominates the entire town?』
『This kind of [mother body] that needs to control a large number of parasites while also being responsible for fish transformation, is often fixed in one place and unable to move.
Its essence also belongs to 'parasites', and won't have much combat power.
The biggest difficulty lies in [approaching],
Any outsider going into the lake will not only be infected by the lake water but will also be attacked by merpeople.
With the cover of the two siblings, as long as we can get close to the mother body, everything will become simple,
Besides,
Even if your silver axe is not enough to kill the target, this grape still has so many teeth!』
Little Grape proudly showed its mouthful of white teeth, eager to take action.
Yi Chen didn't respond immediately, crossing his hands in front of his nose bridge, quietly thinking.
He had already noticed that Little Grape seemed a bit unusual, being more enthusiastic about this matter than ever before.
Just when he was struggling to make a decision,
He suddenly recalled his experience in the cemetery,
That feeling of infinitely approaching death when fighting zombies... He also remembered the crucial assistance provided by Little Grape, and it was because of the visual enhancement that he was able to leave the cemetery alive.
Sigh... He took a deep breath.
『To survive in this world, [seeking stability] is absolutely not possible, just like when I didn't stay in the wooden house but actively went to Tomb No. 4 to solve the problem.
I'm also not clear about Little Grape's background, true nature, and specific stance.
Since it saved me once, I'll trust it unconditionally this time,
If we can survive, it proves it's trustworthy, and we can cooperate long-term in the future.
And I need to seize such [opportunities] to stand on a higher platform... Just like when I was in the orphanage before, seizing the opportunity to leave the institution at all costs.』
(End of Chapter)
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