Ding! The doorbell rang.
The shop owner, who was fiddling with a dead fish specimen, looked up at the young man entering. A hint of surprise flickered in his dull eyes, as though he hadn’t expected Yi Chen to return "unscathed," yet a slight smile curved at the corners of his mouth.
"You seem to have discovered something by the lakeside."
"I ran into a little trouble, but it’s taken care of."
The owner buried his head back into the specimen, asking no further questions.
Click—the guest room door closed and locked behind him.
Yi Chen took a glass from the bathroom, pouring the lake water preserved in the roots into it. As he squeezed water from the roots, he recalled the spine-chilling encounter by the lake.
Just then, Little Grape popped out from his collar, jumping in with a bit of information.
"The ‘variety’ in mutation symptoms is beyond imagination. This scaly kind of mutation is fairly common in seas, rivers, and large lake regions one."
"Don’t worry. The plant within you forms a protective layer; mere skin contact won’t infect you. But if you get a cut, it’s risky… remember to use an axe next time."
Setting aside thoughts about the sheriff, Yi Chen picked up the glass of lake water and placed it before the kerosene lamp.
Like a high-resolution scanner, his eyes examined the water quality. The magnified images revealed terrifying details invisible to the average eye.
"Is this… some kind of parasite?"
Countless parasites floated in the water, in massive numbers. And just ten seconds after pouring the lake water into the glass, these parasites began laying eggs along the cup’s walls.
The transparent eggs refracted a faint green glow; perhaps this was the origin of Green Lake’s name.
"Could this be why the owner advised against ‘interacting’ with the town? Yet, the plants inside and outside the town appear unaffected, showing no signs of mutation."
"Even the roots I used to store lake water remain unaffected… meaning these parasites have no effect on ‘plants.’ I’ll have to make good use of that."
As Yi Chen murmured his analysis, Little Grape suddenly leapt from his shoulder, holding up the glass with weak, soft black arms.
Gulp, gulp—a big swig.
The sight gave Yi Chen a shock. "What are you doing?!"
Little Grape gently shook its three-fingered arm, signaling him not to worry.
"Direct observation always has limitations. Consuming it lets the body sense things more directly and in greater detail. Relax~ I’m a mutated being myself; this stuff won’t infect me."
"Did you gain any useful information?"
"Mm-hmm~ These little things that rely on water sources are evidently controlled by some kind of [conscious entity]... the moment I swallowed them, they tried sending a signal. Unfortunately for them, my body isn’t that easy to penetrate."
"Shall we try tracking down the entity? We might just find a nice, big ‘Grape.’"
"No rush; this needs to be taken slowly."
"True… given your current abilities and my still-immature state, even if we locate the ‘entity’, taking it down won’t be easy. This will require some careful planning."
"Tired now~ I’m going to rest."
Little Grape buried most of his body into Yi Chen's shoulder, leaving only a small patch of black fur exposed.
Not long after, the bonfire party at the town center also came to an end.
Yi Chen leaned against the window, observing the tourists and residents on the street as they returned to their homes, without any major incidents... at least none visible on the surface.
Thoughts swirled and intertwined in his mind.
During the party, they accepted an invitation from a “maskless person” to venture into the alley, where they were ambushed.
The blonde Edmund wore a murderous expression, his eyes bloodshot.
In one hand, he held a short sword; in the other, a handgun bearing the Mariano family’s feather insignia.
The rapier was drawn, its blade still bearing remnants of pus.
Before him lay a man with fish-scaled skin, the pathogen buried in his brain pierced by the short sword... Edmund hadn’t even fired a single shot, dispatching the infected solely with his sword.
Similarly, his two companions each killed another infected person.
Nearby, a woman was wiping her silver dagger with a cloth, murmuring softly:
"It seems this town is the key to passing the examination. To pass, we probably need to either find the root cause or contribute enough to ‘eliminate the disease.’
Judging from the party, the mayor with the golden demon mask and the security bureau are highly suspicious."
Blonde Edmund adjusted his clothing.
"No rush... we still have over two days.
Since we attended the party today, tomorrow we can experience the free lake tour and gather more intel before the final action.
I’m eager to earn the organization’s [skin]."
Apart from this team, other examination participants also discovered abnormalities, taking down or even capturing diseased townsfolk in different areas.
News of numerous deaths spread throughout the town.
The townsfolk holed up in their homes became increasingly agitated and irritable, scratching at the fish scales hidden under their clothing and even mimicking strikes at furniture.
There was also a disturbance in [Green Shade Inn], where Yi Chen resided.
An arm covered in scales reached out from a hidden compartment under the door.
Perhaps due to the mutations caused by disease, the arm’s length and flexibility now surpassed human norms, extending close to two meters.
With an unnatural twist of joints, it bent upward...
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