When the group crawled out of the sewer exit, they looked absolutely wretched.
Hans was the first to emerge, his entire body covered in blood.
But he ignored his own condition, immediately turning back to drag the unconscious Valentine up. The once elegant Second Team Captain had now returned to human form, his face deathly pale and his breathing incredibly faint.
Hans took one look at Valentine's state and his expression changed drastically.
He then pulled Lu Yuan, the unconscious Gray and Ed, and finally Toby out from the sewers.
"Get in the carriage! Now!"
Hans didn't waste a second, stuffing the casualties into the back of the black horse carriage before grabbing the reins with a death grip.
The carriage jolted violently on the gravel road, the wheels splashing through puddles and kicking up mud.
Hans sat in the driver's seat, the reins held taut in his hands as the whip cracked repeatedly in the air.
He had to get back to the base before Valentine completely collapsed.
"Doctor Lu! I'm leaving the back to you!"
Hans's voice sounded muffled through the wooden boards of the carriage amidst the howling wind.
Lu Yuan knew it was his turn to act. Inside the dim carriage, he knelt half-beside the stretchers, struggling to maintain his balance as the carriage swayed.
The carriage was filled with bodies. While Ed and Gray were unconscious, their breathing was steady and they weren't in any immediate danger. After a brief examination and basic wound treatment, Lu Yuan left them be.
Toby was simply exhausted, leaning in a corner and panting heavily.
The most troublesome one was Valentine.
The Second Team Captain's condition was terrible.
His tailcoat had been reduced to tattered rags, and the exposed skin had a grayish, decaying hue.
The veins beneath his skin had turned black and were writhing frantically like living creatures, clearly on the verge of losing control.
Lu Yuan reached out to press down on Valentine's still-bleeding chest.
The moment his fingertips touched the skin, gray text surfaced before his eyes.
【Target Contacted: Valentine (Backlash, Near Death)】
【Information Analysis: Eerie Transcendent Rank II (Unstable)】
【Transcendent Pathway: Deep Bloodsucker】
【Traits: Trades extreme physical strength by burning blood, possesses flight and bestial transformation abilities. Currently in a state of "spirituality depletion" due to excessive blood overexertion; the eerie power is backlashing against the host.】
【Fatal Weaknesses: Holy attribute items, silver weapons directly to the heart.】
【You have made contact with a new Transcendent Pathway (Shallow), Forbidden Lore: Seeker: +0.1】
Looking at the row of red "Fatal Weaknesses," Lu Yuan's hand, which had been reaching for a spare bottle of holy water in the medical kit, stopped mid-air.
For the current Valentine, holy water might actually kill him.
Lu Yuan's gaze sharpened, and he decisively pushed the holy water to the back of the kit, pulling out a large dose of saline and hemostatic powder instead.
"Don't you dare use holy water!"
Almost at the same time, Hans, who was driving, suddenly turned his head and roared, "Valentine can't handle that stuff!"
"I know."
Lu Yuan didn't look back, his movements never faltering.
He cleared away as much of the clothing stuck to Valentine's body as possible, cleaned the wounds with saline, and quickly applied hemostatic powder for a pressure bandage.
"Valentine's reaction is very severe. I can only perform basic hemostasis."
【Basic Medicine: +1, 2.3/20】
【Forbidden Lore: Seeker: +0.2】
As the system prompts popped up, Lu Yuan wiped the blood from his hands. Under the current conditions and with his current abilities, this was the most he could do.
By the time Hans drove the carriage back to the underground base at Old John's Tavern, it was already late into the night.
The medical team, which had been on standby, quickly took Valentine and the others to the deep-care intensive unit.
Meanwhile, Lu Yuan and Hans were led to the other side, the "Purification Quarantine Area."
It was an enclosed room filled with the smell of steam and disinfectant.
"Don't mind it, it's the rules."
Hans stripped off his mud-caked coat and threw it into the incinerator.
"When you come into contact with high-rank mutated creatures, beyond the physical infection, the mental pollution is even more dangerous."
"We have to stay here for a full two hours to confirm our Sanity is stable before we can leave."
Lu Yuan nodded and found a place to sit down.
"What exactly is going on with Valentine?" Lu Yuan asked after a moment of thought.
"Eerie Transcendent," Hans said in a low voice.
"He borrows power from the 'bloodsucker' variety. But as for which specific type of bloodsucker, no one knows except for the commander."
"Why is that?"
"To stay alive," Hans exhaled a puff of smoke. "The Eerie Pathway is powerful, but its weaknesses are too obvious."
"If people knew what he was afraid of, a single specialized bullet could take his life. In the Nightwatchers, keeping secrets is the same as keeping your life."
Lu Yuan fell into thought.
This only further solidified his belief—joining the Nightwatchers was the right choice.
There was a system of knowledge here, channels to gain experience, and the cover of this official identity.
Of course, the prerequisite was that he had to have enough means to save his own life.
Two hours later, the quarantine ended. After a preliminary check by a Nightwatchers member, the two were finally allowed to leave.
Hans led Lu Yuan to the office area.
"The higher-ups are pushing hard. The report has to be out tonight. Doctor Lu, I'm afraid you'll have to stay a bit later."
Lu Yuan felt a bit helpless upon hearing this. He hadn't expected that even after transmigrating, he would still have to write reports.
But since he had joined, and as one of the few people still conscious, he had no choice but to write it.
And so, Hans pulled Lu Yuan along to start drafting the report.
In this report concerning the fall of the water plant, they primarily emphasized the "premeditated internal explosion," the existence of the "flesh mountain agglomerate," and suggested an immediate inspection of the city's entire underground pipe network.
As he reached the end, Hans stopped his pen, thought for a moment, and said:
"I won't mention your name in this report."
Hans looked at Lu Yuan and continued, "The matter at the water plant has massive implications. There might be the shadow of Believers behind it."
"Your current identity is just a doctor who recently entered the field. If your name appears on a top-secret file like this, we might not be able to protect your safety."
Hans lit a cigarette, his expression appearing somewhat weary as he went on:
"I know this contradicts the conditions I promised you at the start, but as you can see from the Black Pine Forest Water Plant, Gelimu Port hasn't been peaceful lately."
"Plus... the Nightwatchers are severely short-handed. Of course, I will convert your contribution into points, not a single one less."
Lu Yuan didn't blame him at all upon hearing this.
On the contrary, he was quite relieved. Hans wasn't trying to trick him, which at least showed that the attitude of the Nightwatchers' internal hierarchy toward him was fine.
"Deal." Lu Yuan had no objections. Keeping a low profile while making a fortune was the way to go.
"A total of ten points. You can exchange them for quite a few things at the supply department. I'd personally suggest getting a weapon, but it’s up to you."
Rate on N.U.
