The Gentleman at the End

Chapter 66: Chapter 65: Returning to the Clinic

When Yi Chen gripped the handle of the Hand Axe, the suit on his body seemed to come to life as well.

The cuffs of his Shirt actually began to split on their own, releasing several fine fibrous threads that inserted themselves into the gaps of the axe handle, seemingly reading the specific information of the weapon.

Soon,

ancient, maggot-like characters appeared within Yi Chen’s field of vision, providing detailed information about the axe.

“Dog Jaw Axe”

Quality: Excellent

Type: Axe (Slashing/Cutting)

Attribute Association:

[Physique] C [Coordination] E [Intelligence] – [Sensing] – [Luck] –

*The higher the associated attribute values, the more damage the weapon can cause

Special Effects:

“Moonlit Mad Dog” – Deals 1.3 times physical damage when hitting blood and flesh targets (night-time only).

*The craftsmanship of the weapon is not perfect; excessive use may cause damage.

Review – “The full moon in the night sky awakens the beastly instincts of hunting dogs!”

…

“Hmm! Special effects against life forms with blood and flesh structures too? And our operation takes place during the night as well!”

Yi Chen couldn’t wait to test the weapon and swiftly executed a combination of strikes in the air.

When the axe blade was swung at high speeds, it tore through the air, and one could faintly hear a hint of a dog’s bark.

“Weapons crafted from the limbs of the Patient…”

Edmund and others were also intrigued by the Hand Axe,

they could all feel a sense of aggression and destructiveness emanating from the axe that was very similar to the Gatekeeper dogs in the sewers, almost as if the Patient had been turned directly into a weapon.

The boss’s voice came from beneath the moon mask:

“This axe should help you carve through the rats’ physical bodies. @@novelbin@@

However, as it is my first creation, the details are still far from refined. Use it judiciously.”

“Alright.”

The Theater owner adjusted his mask and asked, “When shall we go to the rat’s den?”

“There’s no need to head there right at midnight, it would make our ‘Skinning’ process seem too easy… Let’s set out around 3 or 4 in the morning.

Mr. John, you’ve had a long day; this will give you a chance to rest as well.”

But the owner decisively rejected the suggestion to rest. Night had fallen, and this was when he felt most energetic, “The thought of having a chance to kill that despicable rat keeps me so excited I can’t sleep at all.”

An idea struck Yi Chen, “Then how about you warm up with me? Test the new weapon.”

“No problem at all, I need to get my body moving too.”

And so,

Yi Chen and the owner wearing the moon mask went to the main theater to have a practice duel with a certain performative nature.

Edmund and the others also made their way to the main hall, and after watching the fight for a while, they too couldn’t resist joining in the pre-battle warm-up.

…

Secret Medicine Recovery – Day Four

02:50 in the early morning

As the pre-battle warm-up ended, the owner of the Theater, wearing a mask, spread out his limbs as much as possible and lay on the ground in a spread-eagled position.

“Come on, start your plan.

Don’t worry about my condition, chop it up as much as possible.

That rat is quite cunning, and if we don’t make it vicious and real enough, he will surely become suspicious. Just avoid damaging my Moon Seal, and I won’t die from it.”

“Okay.”

For the next half an hour, sounds like those from a slaughterhouse emerged from deep within the Theater.

All was ready,

Dagbert and Juliana each carried a large backpack from Zion, filled with miscellaneous items, and as they moved, one could even feel a swishing of liquid inside.

…

On the road below the Clinic in the mountains, four figures staggered out,

With haggard faces, disheveled hair, and blood-stained gentleman’s clothes, one could surmise the four had been through a prolonged and intense ‘battle’.

As they stepped up the slope from the side of the road,

The previously empty night sky suddenly had a full moon appear.

The cast moonlight clung to their bodies like a reptile, always eager to penetrate the brain and take over the skin.

As the moonlight fell upon the backpacks filled with fragmented materials,

An intense excitement immediately transmitted from the inside, with some chunks of flesh seemingly eager to wriggle out of the backpack to personally bask in the moonlight.

“Let’s go.”

Without lingering, they dragged their ‘weary’ bodies up the slope to reach the clinic and returned to the apprentice dormitory where they had slept before.

One after another, wordlessly, they collapsed into bed and fell into sleep.

Hum!

When Yi Chen opened his eyes again,

a blood-stained, bandaged head was almost completely pressed against his face.

“So late and still rushing over— you two are really dedicated. I’m sure Mr. Lee will be very happy.

Looking at how exhausted you are… do you need an injection to perk you up?”

The bandaged nurse swayed her syringe-tipped finger, from which a bright green liquid continuously oozed.

“No need, just take us to Mr. Lee, please.”

“Follow me.”

As expected,

only Yi Chen and Edmund, who slept in the lower bunk, came “inside”,

while Dagbert and Juliana continued to sleep “surface”.

Whew…

After taking a deep breath, Yi Chen and Edmund followed the nurse down to the underground area.

The flesh bubble elevator,

the complex subterranean palace swarming with white rats,

and the most hidden and deeply secretive wards,

Mr. Lee, bearing a resemblance to a rat himself, was still confined to the bed, the silver-white veins on his back firmly rooted into the ground beneath.

He was under the full-time care of the female doctor and nurses responsible for the infusions.

Upon seeing the two young men again, Mr. Lee wasn’t especially happy.

“Cough cough… I gave you seven days, and you’re back after just two?

Are you worried about the medicine acting too soon, or did you really finish the task I gave you?”

Yi Chen stared into his small eyes and responded:

“We have slaughtered all the Moon People in Viner City and completed the collection of Moon Skin.”

These words caused Mr. Lee’s eyes to narrow to slits.

“Oh? You even know the term ‘Moon People’, it seems you really have had quite an in-depth encounter with those folks.

But ‘all’? How did you come up with that word?

Do you mean to say that you and the other two teammates outside could complete a thorough search of Viner City in just two days?

I personally find that hard to believe; I hope you can provide a reasonable explanation, as I don’t quite like dishonest people.”

“Those Moon People weren’t scattered around the city; they had gathered together in advance… It seems they were planning to form a special organization to leave this place of dispute.

By the time we arrived, many Moon People had already evacuated, and the rest were all intercepted and killed by us.

Without almost any rest, we immediately brought the cut-off Moon Skin to the clinic.

If Mr. Lee doesn’t believe me, you can order your subordinates to confirm it… If there are any Moon People remaining in the city, we are willing to offer our bodies and stay here forever.”

The last sentence, naturally, was said deliberately for Mr. Lee to hear,

If he really could intervene in areas beyond the mountains, he would have acted on his own long ago.

Even asking Yi Chen and the others to do the job, he could’ve easily placed a nurse to accompany them the whole time, monitoring the collection of Moon Skin to prevent any tricks.

Unfortunately, he was completely confined here, powerless to do anything.

The ‘Grayification’ brought by the moon only applied to ‘Same Space’; those ‘Non-Normality Patients’ born here would crumble into chunks of flesh and machinery once they left the moonlit area.

Unless Mr. Lee reached a higher level and combined Same Space with reality, he could not truly intervene in the outside world.

To be promoted, to gain freedom, his only hope lay in the ‘Moon Skin’ from those Moon People.

It was precisely because Yi Chen guessed this point that he was able to hold some initiative.

…

Squeak, squeak!

Innumerable red-eyed white rats perched on Yi Chen and Edmund, sniffing for any traces of sweat that might seep out, sensing their nervous activity.

Mr. Lee on the sickbed watched the two young men’s eyes for an extended period,

As time passed, he did not capture any signs of deceit.

Mr. Lee’s questioning face slowly split into a disgusting smile,

between his teeth, one could even vaguely see rats scurrying around,

“It seems you really are quite capable; no need for verification, I trust your ‘honesty’ as gentlemen… Let’s complete the final trade now.”