the highly aggressive mermaids swimming around the lake voluntarily retreated,
even though many of their companions had been slaughtered, they showed no intention of pursuit... or rather, they currently seemed to lack the qualifications to come ashore,
After several minutes of high-intensity escape,
even the well-trained Edmund and his companions began to catch their breath and immediately checked their bodies for any issues.
From the inner pockets of their coats, they extracted a flexible test tube,
and applied the liquid from the tube onto the surface of their skin, washing off the blood and lake water they had accumulated during the battle.
Edmund even proactively offered a flexible test tube to Yi Chen.
"William, need some?"
"No need... Thank you."
Edmund shrugged his shoulders, naturally noticing that Yi Chen was unaffected by the water quality.
"It's only been one day~ and we've already had such an incident come our way. The next two days might be tough. I reckon a batch of assessors will end up dead here."
While Edmund spoke these words, he cast Yi Chen a special glance, quite deliberately,
Yi Chen turned his attention back to the retreating mermaids on the lake, while also sizing up the fully swollen corpse of the sheriff,
"Can I have this corpse?"
"Of course, we have no use for such a corpse... After all, there are no 'Doctor' descendants or clinic-bred prodigies in our squad.
By the way, dragging a corpse back like that, won't it look bad if someone sees you?"
"Just wait for me a moment."
Yi Chen jogged back toward the town streets,
and within minutes, he had procured a sufficiently large burlap sack and some spare small knives,
He expertly packaged the swollen corpse and dragged it off towards the inn as if taking out the trash.
With Yi Chen's slightly slender and tall physique, combined with his gloomy attire, he gave off the aura of a 'Corpse Collector.'
"Hey Mr. William~ I'm looking forward to our next cooperation."
The sunny-faced Edmund waved goodbye,
Yi Chen simply carried the body on his back, haphazardly responding with his free left hand raised above his shoulder.
As his figure slowly disappeared,
Edmund intentionally furrowed his brows,
"Did you guys see that?
This guy even controls a rare 'Plant' Pathological Trait; he could very well become a [Doctor] in the future and would definitely be highly sought after within the Organization.
For this assessment, a 'quality skin' spot will undoubtedly be taken by William.
We need to perk up now."
Juliana quietly commented, "An air of melancholy about him, likely from a graveyard background, yet possessing the life-symbolizing plant illness... What a strange fellow."
what these people did not know was,
Yi Chen was still in the state of exhilaration from having killed the enemy and escaped danger; he was merely suppressing his emotions.
"These guys have psychological qualities and combat foundations that are far superior to ordinary people... They must have undergone extensive training, which is fundamentally different from mine.
Teaming up with them might reduce risks and could yield useful information.
But it would also reveal my 'rookie' status,
and I might end up being used or even treated as bait in a moment of danger.
Maintaining such a distant relationship is best."
The proprietor was still observing the fish specimens by the counter, completely ignoring Yi Chen's return by boat.
Just as he passed the counter,
The proprietor suddenly placed several white candles on the tabletop and, without raising his head, said:
"Don't make a mess everywhere. The [scent] could affect my sister's rest. Ensure that the candles stay lit while you work."
After returning to his room and locking the door,
Yi Chen placed the candles in various corners of the bathroom. As the incense-like fragrance filled the air, he officially began 'work.'
Up next, Yi Chen needed to clarify a few things,
1. Why didn't the sheriff's corpse turn into one of those swimming 'mermaids' after falling into the lake, but instead died of drowning?
2. What kind of physical changes do the lake waters induce in the human body?
Phew... Since I've never done this before, it's natural to feel a bit nervous.
Yi Chen placed his hands on either side of his cheeks.
Green plant sprouts extended from his fingertips, intertwining and weaving together to form a homemade plant mask.
Whether it was the stench from the corpse or the scent of the candles,
both were purified by the mask into fresh air.
"The Pathological ability is really useful... According to Mr. Albert, as long as I pass the assessment, I will be able to thoroughly examine this ability by some means,
and should be able to further develop it,
perhaps even reaching the standards of the living dead by turning roots into spears or whiskers into legs."
"Even if it means facing the risk of death, it's much more comfortable than being stuck in a lab writing papers day and night."
Having gone through these past few days,
Yi Chen felt his innate nature being gradually awakened and was perfectly clear that this was the world most suited for him.
Continuing to weave a pair of natural gloves from tender plant shoots,
he took the sharp knives he bought from the store,
perhaps owing to the innate ability that this body of "William Behrens" possessed,
he found the process of handling the 'corpse' remarkably smooth, almost reaching the proficiency he had with experiments during his lifetime.
Immersing deeply into the task,
he was filled with interest,
with even the little grape being amazed by Yi Chen's level of concentration on this matter.
Several hours passed unknowingly,
the fully dissected corpse displayed a picture that defied medical logic,
with slimy body cavities,
various organs shifted in position,
and surfaces of the cavities and organs sticking to one another,
The ribs had become slender, sharp, and grew extra bone spur branches, scattered throughout the blood and flesh.
But some parts still maintained the original human structure,
this change was not complete... it seemed like an 'evolution failure'.
A clue that could touch upon the root of Green Lake Town's "fish scale disease" surfaced.
"If that's the case, everything can be explained clearly."
Yi Chen was very satisfied with the results of the dissection, and even bowed in thanks to the 'Sheriff'.
Packaging the remnants,
digging soil and burying,
once everything was taken care of, it was already midnight.
In the bathroom, the faucet was turned up to the max, rinsing off the residual tissue fragments and sticky fluid.
Yi Chen also took off his clothes,
exposing his body to the cold water, washing away the sweat and fatigue from his skin.
The reason for choosing to bathe was twofold,
one, due to the battles at Green Lake today and the experience of contact with lake water, Yi Chen confirmed that his skin could resist external contamination from the lake.
Two, it was necessary to attempt this,
as the situation in the next two days was still uncertain, and he may fall into Green Lake for various reasons; it was essential to perform 'water adaptation' in advance.
Yi Chen could clearly feel the movement of plant roots in his body, autonomously forming a defense system.
"No problem... even if I encounter danger and fall into the lake later, I'll be able to ensure that my body isn't invaded."
he quickly fell asleep as soon as he hit the bed.
the night was still not peaceful,
as Yi Chen was once again startled awake from his deep sleep,
this awakening was not due to plant stimulation,
but because of a series of sharp, almost throat-tearing pitiful screams coming from outside the door,
emanating from the 'sister's room' at the end of the hallway.
Pushing open the room door,
Yi Chen stood back against the side of the door, using the little grape hidden in the sleeve of his robe to observe,
Sharing the vision that came through the window,
the door at the end of the hallway was already open,
intense candlelight projected from inside the room,
and along with the candlelight 'ran out' a red liquid,
cold, sticky, and smelling of blood.
After observing for a while, Yi Chen decided to take action,
the kerosene lamp hanging at his waist,
just as he was about to approach the 'sister's room',
the innkeeper's voice came from inside, tinged with impatience.
"Either stay away, or come in and help."