The Last Gentleman

Although the train carriage was luxurious with all the essentials for life, three days still felt quite long.

However, both Yi Chen and Reagan had anticipated this and packed several abstruse books in their suitcases, spending their time lying in bed reading when there was nothing else to do.

Jin was the exception, like a corpse that couldn’t be awakened, she fell asleep soon after boarding the train and no amount of noise could rouse her.

This peacefulness was only undisturbed for a day.

The fast reading ability brought by his student profession meant that Yi Chen had unwittingly finished all the books he had prepared.

Furthermore, reading no longer stimulated his brain, and it seemed reaching an Intelligence Limit[6]might require some special opportunity.

“Mr. Reagan, could you lend me a few books to read?”

“Sure.”

A novel related to neuroscience was thrown over, and Yi Chen, holding it in his hands, finished the entire book in less than twenty minutes.

Taken aback by this question, Reagan first exclaimed, “Huh? You’ve already finished the whole book? Or did you just read the beginning?”

“My profession helps me read quickly. For these kinds of novels that don’t require much understanding, I can get through them in about ten minutes…”

Reagan, who was gnawing on a duck leg, finally realized, “Oh right, I still don’t know what your profession is?”

Since Reagan had previously shared his own personal information and now they had formed a small team, Yi Chen also moved his shoulder over and took the initiative to share his Basic Attributes and some abilities.

Of course,

Information about ‘Death’ and ‘Grapes’ was omitted, and the information about plant Pathological was relatively simplified.

“To think there’s even a [Student] profession, I’m jealous~ If I had the ability to accelerate my knowledge and understanding, perhaps my research could make a breakthrough.

You’re right about what you said earlier; these unrealistic and fantastical pseudo-science fiction novels lack substantive reference value.

But throughout the whole of Zion, no one has researched consciousness… After all, in such a world, having the conditions to conduct scientific discussions is a luxury.

Since there are no predecessors’ experiences, this creation of consciousness from nothingness has to rely solely on myself.

These seemingly useless pseudo-science fiction might offer me some research inspiration from their unrestrained imagination.

For example, Faye’s current semi-physical state attached to me was inspired by a novel called ‘Mind Wanderer.’

Without this idea, Faye would still be following me around like a living dead, and I might even lose her at any moment.”

Hearing this, Yi Chen also took out a bottle of grape wine from the refrigerator and started drinking with Reagan, discussing ‘research’ in detail.

With his experience from his research days before his death, he quickly delved into more in-depth topics with Reagan.

Perhaps it was because they drank too much,

Reagan actually divulged some secrets that shouldn’t be shared,

He wasn’t an electrician or an ordinary researcher; because of his contributory research in the field of neural circuits, he had become a [Senior Researcher] favoured by the Station Head, and was the only human stage senior researcher at the Power Station. ȑἈɴỒᛒЕȿ

This also explained why Reagan had the conditions, and even the Station Head’s support, to create the biomechanical enhancement that was the spine system on his back, representing the highest exoskeleton technology of Zion’s Power Station.

The more they talked, the deeper they delved,

Reagan, drunken from the wine, once again took off his upper garment and sat sideways on the bed.

Yi Chen had Grapes also open his eyes to carefully observe the structure of the spine, then, like a massage therapist, began to perform plant-based therapy on the spine.

Previously at the hotel, Yi Chen only helped Reagan suppress the pain, but this time he truly helped with equipment tuning and even reinforced the devices and tried to further stabilize the neural connections to reduce the rejection response.

…

On the afternoon of the third day, the carriage, which had been speeding the entire time, finally came to a halt.

They had arrived at “Yarsoto Town,” a stop along the way,

It was a small town completely managed by the Organization, serving as a crucial supply hub; any gentleman carrying out missions in the nearby area could rest here temporarily.

The town’s gentleman facilities, marked out as follows:

1. “Alexander Luden’s Tailor Shop” on South Street offered free clothing alterations and repairs for gentlemen on missions.

2. “Seagull Clinic” at the intersection in the middle of town provided quick treatment and hospitalization services free of charge for injured gentlemen.

If a patient was confirmed to be seriously infected and transforming into a Patient, and if the head of the clinic judged the situation irreversible, the clinic had the right to perform euthanasia and retain the body for research.

To purchase the Seagull Clinic’s exclusive secret medicine, one had to speak with the head of the clinic and obtain a qualification; even then, it would cost heavy gold to acquire.

3. To the east of the town was a lake known as Cold Lake.

Its size was about the same as the lake in Green Lake Town, but it was much shallower, at most ten meters deep, and had experienced no Pathological transformations.

Surrounding this lake was a special cemetery—Cold Lake Cemetery.

The reason it was special was that the most important and central gravesite was the lake itself; most of the bodies were buried at the bottom of the lake.

Furthermore, the more bodies there were, the clearer Cold Lake became. During daylight, one could see the tombstones standing at the bottom of the lake from the shore.

The method of lake burial was straightforward. As long as the body met the standards and rules,

the tombstone would be tied to the body’s back with hemp rope in advance, and by rowing a wooden boat to the designated burial point, the body could simply be dropped into the lake.

The bodies that sank to the bottom would bury themselves in the soil, and the tombstones would stand in their proper places.

Some of the maturely cultivated bodies were transported back to Zion and handed over to Hippocrates Hospital for research to obtain information on water-related illnesses and to prepare for future sea ventures.

…

The three teams would regroup for one day at this stop to further confirm the details of the Relic event.

Everyone, including the Coachman, was invited to dine at the town’s most famous hotel, the floors above offering rooms for all to rest free of charge.

Just as everyone had taken their seats and the food had not yet been served,

a limping old gentleman entered the hotel’s door, his damp black rain boots on his feet, bringing in a sense of moistness to the entire hotel lobby.

This was the town’s main gentleman in charge and the Cemetery Manager—”Limping Field.”

His somewhat whitened eyes looked up and down at the group of young people who had come from far away, lingering for a moment on Yi Chen and Reagan, as if he had detected the aura of the cemetery on them.

Information on “Black Pus Disease,” “Gathering Eye Disease,” and “Septicemia” was laid out on the dining table, which had not yet been served.

Limping Field placed one hand on the edge of the table, and before he spoke, a gurgling sound could be faintly heard emanating from his throat.

“As required by the Organization, after you thoroughly understand the rooted illnesses that occurred near Greyrell Mountain,

each of you will need to choose one illness to eradicate to gain recognition from the Watcher; only then will he open the passage to the Old World for you.

This choice will also determine your path up the mountain.@@novelbin@@

If you cannot come to a decision after dinner, I will assign it directly.”