Mutation

Early the next morning, the fog in Gelimu Port was heavier than usual, and the salty, fishy scent in the air was so thick it was almost choking.

Lu Yuan was dressed neatly, having specially changed into a dark trench coat that was easy to move in. He tucked a sharply ground scalpel into his coat and stuffed a full bottle of intermediate holy water into the inconspicuous leather pouch at his waist.

"Let's go."

Lu Yuan spoke concisely as he looked at Brent, who stood at the door with dark circles under his eyes.

Brent had clearly not slept well either; his small, dirty face was full of anxiety.

He led Lu Yuan through the bustling central district and all the way down toward the lowest, dampest part of the harbor area.

The further they went, the more dilapidated the surrounding environment became.

The bluestone slabs of the road turned into muddy ground, and the buildings on both sides changed from Gothic-style houses to crooked wooden shacks. The air was thick with the stench of rotting matter mixed with sewer gas, making one's head throb.

This was the slums of Gelimu Port, the place closest to the sea.

"It's right ahead... that low-rent housing."

Brent pointed to a tottering black wooden building not far away.

The house looked as if it had been pieced together from scrap wood salvaged from ships; it was covered in moss, and a pile of trash that had been there for who knows how long sat by the wall.

Even before getting close, Lu Yuan smelled a fishy stench hanging in the air.

The smell was incredibly potent, even mixed with a hint of blood, causing Lu Yuan to instinctively cover his nose.

Lu Yuan stopped in his tracks and glanced at the bottom right corner of his vision.

【Environmental Perception: High concentration of abnormal biological traces】

"Doctor Lu?" Brent looked back at him, his eyes filled with supplication.

"It's fine. Let's go."

Lu Yuan pulled up his collar and followed Brent into the dim hallway.

The wooden stairs creaked under their feet, and the corridor was pitch black. The doors on either side were tightly shut, and an occasional suppressed cough could be heard from within.

"It's this one."

Brent stopped in front of a door draped with a tattered cloth curtain, his hands trembling slightly.

"Uncle... it's Brent. I brought a doctor to see you."

There was no response from inside.

Only a strange sound, like a wet rag being dragged across the floor, and heavy panting.

Lu Yuan didn't waste words; he reached out and pushed open the door.

The room was very dark. The windows were nailed shut with thick wooden planks, letting in almost no light. Furthermore, the fishy stench in the air was at its peak intensity here.

Lu Yuan took a few seconds to adjust to the darkness before he could barely make out the scene in the room.

The room was a mess, with water stains and mucus everywhere on the floor.

On a dilapidated bed in the corner, a figure was curled up.

By the faint light filtering in from the corridor, Lu Yuan saw the "thing."

It was a bloated monster.

His skin had completely sloughed off, revealing grayish-brown scales beneath. His skull was swollen and deformed, his eyes bulging out to the sides, and his mouth split open to his earlobes, revealing a row of fine, sharp teeth.

Most terrifying were the sides of his neck, where three bright red slits had opened, expanding and contracting with his breath; those were gills.

【Witnessed a Deep Mutation: Low-level merman kin (incomplete form)】

【Warning: Sanity check in progress... Check failed. Gazing at the target causes continuous minor Sanity pollution.】

A greyish-white warning box popped up.

Lu Yuan remained expressionless, discreetly taking half a step back.

"Un... Uncle?"

Brent hadn't yet seen the thing on the bed clearly and was about to walk inside.

Lu Yuan reached out and pressed down on Brent's shoulder, dragging him back a bit.

"Brent," Lu Yuan said, his voice calm as he stared at the figure in the room. "I need to speak with your uncle alone. You can come in later."

"Huh? But..." Brent hesitated.

"It's required for the treatment; I don't want any disturbances." Lu Yuan's tone was unquestionable as he watched the monster slowly turn its head. "Move quickly."

Brent was cowed by Lu Yuan's stern tone. Though he worried for his uncle, out of trust for the "doctor," he gritted his teeth and turned to run back out.

Hearing the footsteps fade away, Lu Yuan closed the door behind him.

But he did not lock it.

Facing such a thing in this cramped space, if he couldn't win, it would be easier to run.

Lu Yuan turned around, watching the monster that had already climbed off the bed, and pulled out his scalpel.

"Growl..."

A murky low growl escaped the monster's throat. Its dead fish eyes stared fixedly at Lu Yuan, and cloudy mucus dripped from the corners of its mouth.

"He's probably beyond saving."

Lu Yuan gripped the handle of his knife tightly as he looked at the monster before him.

"It seems you might lose an uncle, Brent. I hope he has other relatives."

Before the words had even fully left his mouth, the monster suddenly lunged!

Its speed was startling!

Lu Yuan felt his vision blur as a fishy wind rushed toward him.

Instinctively dodging to the side, the monster's webbed and clawed palm slammed hard against the doorframe.

"Bang!"

The solid wood doorframe was instantly gouged with three deep furrows, wood chips flying.

【Detected low-level merman kin】

【Analysis starting: Cranial hardness is four times that of a normal human, bone density is... Weak points located at gills, eyeballs, and abdomen.】

In his vision, greyish-white text continued to emerge, but Lu Yuan only saw a small portion—the fact that the weak points were actually labeled?!

"The gills?"

Lu Yuan's gaze narrowed, and his scalpel flashed like a cold light, heading straight for the monster's neck.

But the monster's reaction was faster than Lu Yuan had imagined; the scales covering it suddenly flared open.

"Clang!"

The scalpel struck the scales, making the sound of metal hitting iron and leaving only a white mark.

"I'm likely not its match... I'll try again."

Lu Yuan made a silent judgment, using the momentum to roll backward, narrowly avoiding a leg the monster swung horizontally.

That leg was covered in mucus; when it slapped against the wall, it left a corrosive black mark.

The room was too small; there was no space to maneuver.

Having missed its strike, the monster grew even more frenzied. It opened its large mouth full of sharp teeth and lunged again.

This time, it blocked all paths of retreat.

"No choice then."

A fierce look crossed Lu Yuan's eyes as his left hand reached into his coat and pulled out the black glass bottle.

He unscrewed the cap and, seizing the opportunity, splashed nearly half the contents into the monster's wide-open mouth.

"Sizzle—!"

It was like water being poured into a boiling pot of oil.

The moment the holy water touched the monster's mouth, a thick cloud of white smoke erupted.

"Roar—!!"

The monster let out a shrill scream, rolling on the ground in agony as it clutched its mouth. The soft flesh inside its mouth rotted and charred at a visible rate, emitting a nauseating burnt smell.

"Seems it's quite effective."

Lu Yuan panted, backing away toward the window, but he did not follow up the attack.

This was because he saw that although the monster was in pain, its scales were turning a deeper shade of red under the stimulation of the holy water. Its body even grew a size larger, and its originally grayish-brown eyes instantly became bloodshot.

"Has this thing entered... phase two?"

【Warning: Target has entered a berserk state. Danger level increased!】

Lu Yuan glanced at the remaining holy water in his hand.

"Only half a bottle left. I probably can't kill it."

The monster, whose mouth was ruined but whose killing intent was even heavier, was staring fixedly at him.

"Can't win. Retreat."

Lu Yuan made a split-second decision, grabbing a nearby chair and smashing it toward the monster. Taking advantage of the moment the creature blocked, he turned to grab the doorknob.

However, right at that moment.

"Boom!"

The monster, which had been on the floor, suddenly surged up. Its thick tail swept across, smashing the chair in Lu Yuan's hand to splinters. Without losing momentum, it slammed heavily into Lu Yuan's back.

"Cough!"

Lu Yuan was sent flying, crashing against the wall, nearly spitting out a mouthful of blood.

With red eyes, the monster approached step by step, its sharp claws raised high.

Lu Yuan struggled to crawl up, his hand touching the holy water bottle in his coat.

Just as the claws were about to fall.

"Clang—!"

A silver sword light sliced through the dim room like a bolt of lightning.

The claws, which were as hard as iron, were as fragile as tofu before the sword light, snapping into two pieces that twitched on the floor.

Immediately after, a tall black figure blocked the path in front of Lu Yuan.

A black trench coat, a wide-brimmed hat, and that silver greatsword emitting a faint glimmer in the darkness.

"Get back."

The person didn't look back, their voice low and raspy. The figure stood before Lu Yuan, exuding the aura of a powerful individual.

"Uninvolved personnel, please leave."