As evening had fallen,
the free boat ride event had ended, and we would have to wait until tomorrow.
The sun, obscured by a thin fog, descended down the slope as night enveloped the town.
Yi Chen walked over to the window,
and swiftly tore off the newspapers plastering it.
His gaze followed the street towards the town center, where he could clearly see the light emitted by a giant bonfire.
Townspeople and travelers alike donned masks, making their way to participate in the bonfire evening.
The bustling crowd, each holding candles or carrying oil lamps,
illuminated the town of Green Lake just as the night began.
Among them were also the group that invited Yi Chen to form a team,
wearing masks of various styles and concealing weapons.
"It seems most people coming for the assessment have chosen to participate in tonight's bonfire event... Little Grape, let's go check it out too~ We might discover more information."
"Let's go, maybe there will be delicious grapes."
Before setting out, Little Grape conscientiously burrowed into his body, ready to appear when needed.
just as Yi Chen pushed the door to leave,
the haggard-looking landlady happened to pass by the door,
she was carrying a plate of 'raw fish cuisine,' apparently heading towards a room at the end of the hallway.
The so-called raw fish was an entire unprocessed dead fish on a plate, rotting and foul-smelling.
and with one hand holding the plate, the landlady placed her index finger to her lips with the other.
In a voice only the two of them could hear, she softly warned:
"This town has long since violated the 'Rule' and is rotten to the core. To survive, just stay in your room and don't attend the bonfire evening wrapped in a glamorous facade.
Leave quietly first thing tomorrow..."
These words caused Yi Chen to frown slightly,
Clearly, the landlady knew some secrets about the town.
Yi Chen also lowered his voice and quietly replied:
"For some special reasons, I need to stay in Green Lake Town for three days."
"Three days... Hardly any visitors can stay that long and leave normally.
Even if you stay in my inn and never step out... there will be problems too.
Just tonight's bonfire event alone can bind many outsiders and the town together forever.
Looking at your attire, you must be here for an investigation, right?"
"You could say that."
"If you really want to find out something, you can take a walk by the lakeshore tonight, you might discover something.
Do not participate in any events hosted by this town, do not drink any source of water... Any interaction with Green Lake Town will thicken the 'ties' that bind you to it."
The landlady said no more,
walking with nearly silent steps towards the end of the corridor, placing the plate of food in front of her 'sister's door,
without even a sound as the plate touched the ground.
Yi Chen had finally noticed that the landlady's 'silent trait' was not bizarre.
first, she had lived in the inn since she was little, treading the floor thousands of times and knew exactly where to step to make no noise.
Secondly, it was due to her care for her sister, creating a silent environment to avoid disturbing her as much as possible.
"Since I'll be here for three more days, there will be plenty of opportunities to talk more with the landlady... There's no need to rush into asking about her 'sister' or about the town's affairs.
I should follow the landlady's suggestion and take a look around the lakeshore."
Not long after Yi Chen left,
rustling sounds came from the locked room at the end of the second floor,
A hidden compartment, just big enough for a head, remained at the bottom of the locked door.
It was now opened from the inside.
First, a stench-filled liquid oozed out~
Then, an arm covered in fish scales suddenly reached out, grabbing the dead fish from the plate.
A series of strange gnawing sounds came from inside the door.
[Green Lake Lakeshore]
The sky was filled with a pathological mist,
blocking out any light from the moon or stars.
As the sun set, it was like drawing a curtain over the world, instantly plunging it into darkness.
Also, because of the bonfire event, over 90% of the townspeople were gathered there,
leaving the lakeshore exceptionally quiet, altogether engulfed in darkness.
Yi Chen wrapped his body entirely in a black coat, with the hood covering his face,
treading on fine pebbles, wandering amidst the damp soil.
Once again, the oil lamp became the sole source of light.
The small grape hidden in his sleeve was also peering ahead,
walking along the lake shore for over ten minutes without seeing a soul,
the fog settled on the surface of the lake also blocked any creatures from peering at Green Lake, even Yi Chen, with his enhanced vision, was limited.
every ten meters along the shore stood a warning sign.
[Do Not Collect Water Privately]
[All contact with Green Lake is Forbidden]
"This lake is quite large..."
While he was reflecting,
a small boat slowly emerged from the lake's fog and headed towards Yi Chen's position.
A man in a blue work uniform was standing at the edge of the boat, waving with a smile.
"We are currently offering a free boat ride service, would you like to tour Green Lake?"
Yi Chen waved his hand to refuse and turned to leave without looking back.
As he moved away from the boat,
the grape quietly moved to the back of his neck, peeking out with half an eye to observe the situation behind him.
The refused worker did not follow.
Instead, he maintained an extremely exaggerated and discordant smile,
his bulging eyeballs as if they were about to fall out of their sockets,
completely unblinking,
this eerie sensation made Yi Chen quicken his pace until he completely left it behind and then he finally relaxed a little.
"So there is a night boat after all, the problems with this town are indeed quite serious... Let's check the lake water."
Confirming that no other boats were coming,
Yi Chen stepped on the gravel, drawing close to the shore... and stretched his right hand toward the tranquil lake water.
Just as he was about to touch it, his fingers stopped.
The skin at the tip of his fingers split longitudinally, growing a slender root tendril with the scent of a graveyard.
This was one of the "Pathological Traits" Yi Chen had acquired,
discovered during the boring time riding in the carriage.
Although he couldn't use roots as 'appendages' like the living dead, nor pierce like a spear... basic growth was not a problem.
The root tendril that touched the lake water became even more plump.
The lake water absorbed by the root did not enter his body's cycle but was merely stored between the root segments.
After collecting the 'lake water sample',
Yi Chen tried to fully activate the "Pathological Trait," allowing the root at his fingertip to continue to grow, aiming to reach the deep parts of the lake.
just as he was about to reach the growth limit, the tip of the root suddenly felt a soft sensation, as if it had touched some living thing.
a burst of light came from behind, accompanied by a stern questioning.
"What are you doing here?"
Yi Chen quickly retracted his root and turned around, pretending nothing was amiss.
The man was in uniform, resembling a middle-aged Sheriff.
Yi Chen put on an innocent face and explained,
"I just arrived at Green Lake Town today, and feeling bored in the inn, I came out for a walk. I don't really like crowded places, so I didn't join the bonfire party."
The man did not respond,
but showed his Sheriff's badge and then stepped forward to search Yi Chen,
After a thorough search of the body,
nothing was found that proved any water collection or contact with the lake,
he thought that would be the end of it.
at the end of the search,
the Sheriff's hand also fell naturally on Yi Chen's shoulder,
and with force, he pushed!
With such an unexpected move, most people wouldn't react in time.
Yi Chen had sensed something was wrong from the start,
his mind remained highly focused,
as his body leaned back, he grabbed the Sheriff's collar.
Borrowing power, he exerted strength,
at that instant, he could even feel the cooperative action of his arm's muscle fibers and the plant's vascular bundles, directly throwing the other into the lake,
as he completed the throw,
a root tendril shot out from between his palms, rooting in the shore to stabilize his body.
A huge splash arose four meters away in the lake,
the sinking Sheriff seemed to be restricted by something, didn't struggle, and quickly sank.
Yi Chen steadied his mind, acting as if nothing had happened, and quickly returned to the inn.