The Last Gentleman

The ancient monastery before me combines various old elements, giving off the feeling of a dilapidated spirit temple.

Yi Chen still maintained his Vision fully open, inspecting this individual in yellow clothes, who was suspected to be a Watcher.

He recalled the books he had read in Zion, which contained very little information about such organizations, merely revealing the pseudonym of this special gentleman and their related duties.

It was also from Zede’s teacher that he gleaned some more detailed information.

According to Zede, if his eyes hadn’t failed him, he might have become one of the Watchers as well.

[Tunnel Watcher]

A class of high-rank gentlemen in Zion, who received special training and excelled at handling events alone,

They often had hermit-like dispositions, preferring not to stay in the city among others but rather to engage in activities outside the city, even living in the sparse Grey Zone for extended periods.

This habit might be related to the scenes of the Old World they witnessed when making an Extreme Breakthrough “Limit of Man”.

But in essence, they hadn’t strayed from humanity or the Organization and maintained the comportment of a gentleman, rotating between various Organization strongholds and always keeping in touch with Zion.

Whenever a new passage was discovered, the nearest person would be granted a “Monitoring Task” to rush to the entrance of the passage.

Rumors suggested that Watchers could sustain themselves on the Old World essence leaking from passage entrances, slaying any Patients who tried to approach the passage and ensuring its Stability,

One person could maintain the stability of a newly formed passage for nearly a hundred days.

The most important point was,

Thanks to the sacrifices of Tunnel Watchers, new gentlemen had the chance to approach the passages and venture into the Surface layer of the Old World to seek Relics without considering other factors, significantly improving the “Success rate” and “Depth” of their Extreme Breakthrough before it.

Before him,

Under the combined observation of Yi Chen and Little Grape, he detected nothing unusual from the yellow-clad Watcher, only feeling an invisible aura of a strong individual.

Following the gentleman in monk’s clothes as he stepped through the gates of the Monastery,

A Holy Mother Statue holding the Holy Grail stood at the center, roughly three times the size of a normal human, with its head completely covered by a flesh-colored skin with an unknown Sealing emblem carved on its surface.

In the main hall area, the vault supported by stone columns was carved with reliefs of the sun, moon, and stars,

Though the Monastery was built within a mountain, these reliefs seemed to keep the people here in constant communication with the universe.

The Watcher’s voice came through:

“Even I am not completely clear about the origins of this Monastery… but it has at least two hundred years of history.

The Monastery shortens the distance between our World and the Old World and as the walls and floors day by day exude Grey Zone fluid, [Passages] also begin to form.” ℝä₦Ổ𝖇ĘS

With a wave of the Watcher’s hand,

The skin covering the statue’s head slid off, revealing a shocking and eerie sight to Yi Chen.

The so-called [Passage],

Was located on the Holy Mother’s face,

Occupying over 90% of the face area, the layered flesh wall structure seemed to pulse rhythmically with the statue’s breathing.

The thick gray matter, fluid-like, spilled from the facial passage, and in just a few seconds exposed to the air, it filled the Monastery with gray as if the walls and floors were coming to life.

Whoosh!

With one gesture from the yellow-clad gentleman, a yellow skin was shot out to reseal the face, and everything returned to normal.

“It seems your teammates haven’t caught up?”

“Yes, we were separated during the climb due to the effects of Gathering Eye Disease… but with their abilities, they should be able to find this place.”

“No wonder you found this place so quickly; you chose the nearest climbing route. The fact that you saw through the Illusion and found this place means you have the Qualification to head to the ‘Old World’.

Let’s give your teammates one more day’s time. If they do not arrive, then you will have to enter the passage alone.

Come with me.”

Under the guidance of the Watcher,@@novelbin@@

Circling around the main hall of the Monastery, passing through the long corridor, Yi Chen arrived at the residential area on the backside of the Monastery, where several chambers designed for the resting of former teachers were situated.

Apart from dust, there was nothing else.

Stone-built hard beds, simple desks, and a stone window the size of a head.

“The Monastery has been cleaned up by me, you can rest assured here, shake off the fatigue and discomfort from your body, and get ready for the journey to the Old World that is about to begin.”

“Thank you.”

The Watcher did not stay long, a yellow shadow fluttered by and returned to the main hall, continuing his monitoring task.

It was only after Yi Chen watched the yellow figure completely disappear that he returned to the room temporarily arranged for him.

The wooden door lock of the chamber had long been broken,

Yi Chen pressed his palm against the door, creaking and crunching~ A plethora of roots fortified the decrepit wooden door, creating an entirely enclosed plant-based lock, isolating the inside from the outside.

The window was sealed in the same manner with plants,

after cleaning the dust from the bed,

placing the suitcase beside the bed head, Yi Chen also sat down on the stone bed,

his tensed nerves finally got to relax, sweat kept overflowing from his forehead, the black hair-like pupils in his eyes gradually dispersed.

The little grape separated from the brain and reappeared on the shoulder.

“I’ve told you, engaging in such deep visual fusion will exponentially increase the burden on your brain…”

However, Yi Chen didn’t care about the brain exhaustion at all, rather he seemed very excited.

“No~ Just need to get used to it a few more times! This ability to accept more details, more light, this visual sensation is truly comfortable… Let me rest for a bit, and then we continue to maintain the previous fused state.”

Wisps of white smoke spilled from between the head, the Emblem at the back of the head flipped rapidly, speeding up the brain’s recovery from fatigue.

The little grape asked, somewhat puzzled, “Isn’t it already safe here? There’s a Watcher guarding this place, and the Patients in the mountains dare not come close, why continue the visual fusion?

Wouldn’t it be better for us both to get a good night’s sleep and prepare for the journey into the Old World that’s about to start?”

But Yi Chen had no intention of resting,

he propped his hands behind him and leaned back his head to look at the ceiling of the room, “Little Grape, do you really think it would be that easy to reach the location of the ‘Tunnel’?”

“How is that easy? Our combined vision discovered a hidden wall… Without that discovery, we’d still be trapped on mountain paths, climbing like headless flies.”

“Is there a possibility that my accidental discovery of the Stone Sick Object’s ‘peering’ and the hidden wall were all intentionally guided by the other party?

A true illusion is not entirely false,

It is these kinds of illusions, both real and fake, that more easily ensnare an individual, making them fully believe in them.

Of course, this is still my speculation,

and it is indeed possible that the real Tunnel has been found by us, and that this gentleman in yellow is indeed the Watcher. After all, our vision didn’t detect anything amiss.

Before we are 100% certain of safety, we must remain vigilant,

Next, we’ll pretend that everything is normal, feigning rest inside the Monastery… If there really is a problem here, it’s highly likely they will take the initiative to find us tonight.”

“I’ll listen to you.”

During the remaining daytime, Yi Chen wandered leisurely inside the Monastery, making sure his eyes scanned every corner, not missing any details.

No problems were discovered; everything within this historically significant mountainside Monastery was normal under the management of the Watcher.

The Watcher himself stayed in front of the Holy Mother Statue,

one could even clearly see a bit of the gray matter that drifted down from the Holy Mother’s head being absorbed as ‘food’ by the Watcher, consistent with the rumors.

After a simple stroll, Yi Chen honestly returned to his room, double-checked the plant-sealed doors and windows, and fell asleep.

The gentleman’s clothes too cooperatively switched to ‘sleep mode,’ transforming into a fully enclosed sleeping bag that wrapped Yi Chen inside.

In the deep silence of the night.

Beneath the door that should be sealed by plants, a strip of yellow cloth crawled in…