In the damp, fishy-smelling laboratory, an ancient being who needed the "Old System Calendar" to calculate its life span suddenly sensed a prying gaze from behind.
Hmm? Has something interesting been sent here?
The being paused its writing with tentacle-like fingers, turning its head. The gills on its neck slightly opened, revealing an oceanic world teeming with eerie fish through the gaps.
As it twisted its head—a face too grotesque for the human eye to process or words to describe—there was a soft pop! A tiny, grain-sized fish eye burst open in the experimental jar behind it, and the sense of prying vanished.
However, in this single jar, there were thousands more of these tiny fish eyes.
The being ignored it, returning to its critical data recording work.
*[Perspective Shift]*
Listening to the epic sounds of the sea, gazing at the terrifying form far beyond comprehension, Yi Chen almost instantly lost control of his consciousness. His vision was frozen; he felt like a helpless fish ready for slaughter.
“I need a longer rest. Don’t call me unless there’s a life-threatening crisis.”
With that, the connection in Yi Chen’s consciousness weakened to one-tenth, leaving only a faint sense of the small fleshy ball in his abdomen, quietly nurturing and growing.
Yet, the crisis in Green Lake Town had not ended. The giant eye was only a “Watcher.” Its death merely freed the townspeople from their chains, making them more liberated… and those infected with "Ichthyosis" might become even more frenzied.
At the same time, merfolk lurking in Green Lake turned their gaze to the unfamiliar human at the bottom—instinct driving them swiftly toward him. Their numbers left no escape!
At the critical moment, a white blur dove into the lake with blinding speed. The white light sliced through the shoals of fish. Two powerful claws latched onto Yi Chen's shoulders, digging into his flesh and bone.
Before he could even feel the pain, an unimaginable force pulled him up from the lakebed. Any merfolk attempting to block the way was shredded by invisible wind blades.
Splash! Water splashed everywhere as Yi Chen was yanked out of the lake, skimming the ground, finally being dropped at the back door of the Green Shade Inn.
Thud! He braced himself against the wall, barely able to land. Looking up, he saw that his rescuer was a white-feathered owl. Before he could express his thanks, it had flown away.
Just then, the innkeeper opened the back door, pulling Yi Chen inside.
The innkeeper’s previously dull eyes became sharp and clear.
“You… actually did it! Kadacy, quickly take Mr. William to the basement to recover.”
The Giant Eye, which spread ichthyosis and ruled over Green Lake Town, was merely a small creation of the lab. I'm so weak right now, he thought. There must be ways to grow stronger in this world, and perhaps the organization has those methods.
After his near-death experience at the lake's bottom, Yi Chen wasn’t fearful; instead, he felt driven to explore the world even further, eager to grow stronger and uncover more secrets.
Just then, Kadacy entered the basement with a special bowl of fish soup. It was thick, bubbling, black in color, filled with fish heads that looked as if they'd been radiated, crowding the bowl. The smell was like a dead fish that had drowned in a foot bath and gone unnoticed for a week.
“This is a special preparation from my brother. He said that if you made it back alive, this fish head soup would be of great help to you.”
Yi Chen took the oversized bowl of fish soup, cautiously touching its thick surface with a finger to make sure his internal plant powers wouldn’t reject it. Then, pinching his nose, he gulped it down. As his stomach churned, the constant ringing in his ears began to fade, and the swelling sensation in his head gradually subsided.
“This stuff is amazing!”
As Yi Chen marveled at the odd yet effective delicacy, a loud voice from above echoed through the inn, reaching his ears clearly—and audible throughout the entire town.
"All assessors, please note: head to the eastern town exit as quickly as possible. The organization’s carriage will be waiting there for you, with a time limit of ten minutes. Failure to arrive in time will result in disqualification."
“Has the assessment ended early?”
Hearing the announcement, Yi Chen immediately perked up and hurried back to the inn. Green Shade Inn was located near the southern town exit, quite far from the eastern exit where they were meant to gather. The town was in disarray, with a significant risk in traveling. Moreover, Little Grape was in a special state and couldn’t assist him visually.
“Mr. William, to reach the eastern exit, you’ll either need to pass through the town center or take a detour around the lake. It’s dangerous. Let us take you there.”
“Won’t that be too risky? If there are organization personnel at the eastern exit, they might attack you.”
“As long as we don’t get too close, it should be fine.”
Yi Chen accepted their help; he indeed needed the siblings’ assistance. Using a disguise, he lay flat on a wooden cart, pretending to be a corpse, as the siblings pushed him towards the eastern entrance. Due to the dangerous, fully mutated diseased patients in the town center, they opted for the lake route. The journey was smooth; no townspeople would question the siblings, considering their high status.
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