Various existences that transcend common sense, and exploitable abilities,
as well as the mysterious organization they were about to head to,
endless unknown waiting to be explored,
Yi Chen, due to being overly excited, had only slept for four hours last night... Perhaps it was because he had obtained the "Pathological Characteristic," not only was he not tired, but his spirit and appearance were both in an excellent state.
Just as he stepped out of the cemetery gate,
he had expected to be greeted by fresh air, warm sunlight, and townsfolk full of life and diverse colors.
the street scene was not much better than the cemetery,
The wind blowing in his face was mixed with a thick scent of crude oil, industrial wastewater, metals, and various by-products, which he could almost taste.
Over rows of low, pointed town buildings, several thick smokestacks could be seen emitting exhaust.
The sunlight was not as bright as anticipated,
The sky seemed covered with several layers of fine fabric, with only sparse light falling on the ground, not even enough to dispel the dark dust left from the night before.
Around him, the number of townspeople did not exceed the number of fingers on a hand.
They seemed unwilling to expose their bodies to the air, covering themselves with large pieces of cloth,
Even their faces were hidden behind homemade simple masks, hunched over, trying to breathe the air closer to the ground as much as they could.
The entire town was strange and cold,
even mixed with a hint of despair,
"This world... is even worse than I imagined."
Just then, a cheerful friction sound came from his shoulder,
The fuzzy black furball seemed to have just woken up,
Opening its mouth wide, revealing its black and white eyeballs, it rubbed continuously... as if stretching lazily.
Two slender black hands waved back and forth like waves.
"Finally leaving this damn cemetery, it's fantastic!
Before we embark on our adventure, let's go eat something first... I haven't eaten in a long time."
"Okay, what do you want to eat?"
"Grapes, lots of grapes..."
As the black furball uttered the word "grapes," it also pointed to its eyeballs, and Yi Chen naturally understood the true meaning of "grapes" in its context.
He didn't find anything inappropriate,
Recalling that in his previous world, many people liked to eat foods like fish eyes and roasted pig eyes.
"That's fine, but first let's make a stop at the tailor shop."
Yi Chen was only wearing a shabby, damaged shirt,
There were puncture holes in the sleeves, and marks of tears on his waist and trouser legs.
Paired with the body of William Behrens that hadn't been washed or bathed for several days, he would rank at the bottom even among the homeless.
Walking along the fairly spacious streets of the town,
due to a long lack of cleaning, the joints in the ground were filled with sunflower seed shells, dirty water, and rotten insect carcasses.
The number of people in the town had been decreasing year by year, and many shops had been closed for a long time.
The few remaining stores were just barely surviving, possibly closing at any time.
Such scenes made Yi Chen wonder if there really was a decent clothing store here.
As he puzzled over this,
around the corner of the alley, a building structure drastically different from the surrounding residential buildings entered his view,
Dominated by black and possessing a rich Gothic style, tall and thin.
Between the long, narrow windows, it seemed as though someone was secretly peeping outside.
The overall feeling was one of delicacy and gloom, akin to a noble building that would only exist in a big city, completely out of place in this decrepit town.
The brass-framed sign at the door read - "Maurice & Sad."
With the visual enhancement granted by the little furball, he could see the high-end clothes inside the window from a distance.
"This should be the high-end tailor shop that Mr. Wilbert mentioned.
I wonder, with daily expenses being quite substantial, the townspeople's income seems unlikely to afford this level of shop.
Why would such a store exist?"
With doubts in his mind,
Yi Chen crossed the dirty streets, under the watchful eyes of the masked residents, and pushed open the front door of the tailor shop.
The silver bells attached to the door frame chimed together.
A light, ethereal fragrance swiftly enveloped Yi Chen, drowning out the industrial smell lingering in his nostrils.
Such a scent instantly filtered Yi Chen out from the dilapidated town and drew him into this elegant and tranquil tailor shop.
Various styles of portable lamps were distributed around the shop,
In the corners of the walls,
Or displayed individually as accessories on some exhibition stands,
The interwoven lights conveyed the full view of the tailor shop to customers, while bestowing warmth and safety.
A lady wearing a flower-embroidered hat, her face obscured by a veil, and her long dress sweeping the floor, walked out from the inner room.
The firelight was able to outline a beautiful visage through the veil, as if painting a portrait.
Yi Chen thought his shabby appearance would be looked down upon by the owner, maybe even kicked out.
The woman stopped in front of him,
Gently sniffing through the veil,
Capturing the unique graveyard scent that lingered on Yi Chen,
"How rare, it has been a long time since a living person managed to leave the graveyard... Did Wilbert send you here?"
Mr. Wilbert asked me to purchase a fitting outfit here before boarding the carriage."
Yi Chen immediately took out a metal business card from his pocket.
"Do you need to leave urgently today?"
"In that case, you'll have to choose from the 'ready-to-wear'... Once you've passed the organization's vetting, you can go to that tailor shop over there for a 'fully customized' suit."
When the lady mentioned 'organization', it seemed that she and the tailor shop must be related to it, which explained the backing of their economy.
"I wonder if the money I have on me is enough?"
Yi Chen pulled out all his earnings from working in the graveyard - a pocketful of silver coins.
The lady paid no attention to those scattered coins,
Instead, she grabbed Yi Chen's wrist with her hand, her sharp nails nearly piercing his skin.
Through this simple contact,
She completed measuring his physical dimensions and also read some internal information.
"No wonder you managed to walk out of the graveyard alive, and even got Wilbert's card and graveyard products. You've actively embraced the 'Pathological Characteristic.' Interesting."
Her words retreated along with her hand,
And she even took away nearly half of the silver coins in the cloth bag.
"I happen to have a ready-to-wear suit that fits your physical dimensions.
However, it's necessary for you to 'purify' your body before trying on the outfit, washing away the dust of the deceased brought from the graveyard."
Led by the lady, Yi Chen came to the bathroom within the tailor shop.
The lady personally trimmed his face and hair,
With the exterior modifications complete, Yi Chen finally had a chance to see his own appearance in the dressing mirror.
Under the finely groomed black hair, his facial features weren't much different from his original self. One might even say it was his usual appearance with some added Western characteristics,
Such as a higher nose bridge, and deeper eye sockets.
Upon closer inspection, he resembled a young Keanu Reeves... Although not precisely in detail, overall it was quite good.
"I really do share quite a bit of resemblance with the original owner of this body; it probably has something to do with the transcendence."
Next was the fitting.
A dark green striped waistcoat,
Black trousers with a certain amount of elasticity,
And a black coat similar to the work clothes in the graveyard, capable of covering the whole body and hiding the face... giving off a somber feel.
After tying the laces of the black Oxford shoes,
The lady personally tied a black tie for him,
Seeing the new image in the mirror, Yi Chen's spirits were instantly lifted.