Lu Yuan quickly pulled a small vial of high-grade holy water from the inner pocket of his trench coat and uncorked it.
He poured it over the contaminated area on Kail’s shoulder.
“Hiss—”
The moment the holy water soaked in, the spread of the dark green networks beneath the skin slowed significantly, as if they were being forcibly held back.
Kail gritted his teeth, remaining silent.
Lu Yuan didn't linger. He shoved the remaining half of the vial into Frank’s hand.
“Handle Milo the same way, hurry!”
“Understood.”
Lu Yuan stood up.
Among the three solutions provided by Specialized Research, only the seed could truly provide a cure. That seed was in Room 7 of C-District.
He had to move faster.
“Hank, carry Kail.”
“Yes, sir!”
Hank didn't ask questions. He hooked his hand-axe back onto his belt and crouched down for Kail to climb on.
The boy’s movements were sluggish, but he managed to haul himself onto Hank’s back.
On the other side, Frank had already used strips of cloth to bind Milo’s arm tightly and was supporting him by the shoulder.
The man with the mechanical arm retracted the metal plates of his limb section by section into his sleeve, a wisp of white smoke still rising from the scorched marks at the nozzle.
He looked up at Lu Yuan.
“Good luck.”
His tone was flat, devoid of emotion.
“I hope your teammates don't die too ugly a death.”
Lu Yuan didn't respond.
The man didn't wait for a reply either. He jerked his chin toward the other three behind him.
“Target lost. Mission ends here.”
As he turned, his gaze lingered for half a second on the “Flame” at Lu Yuan’s waist.
“By the way...”
“Nice gun.”
With that, he left without looking back.
The four of them disappeared at the end of the next street.
Haimeng took the lute off his shoulder, flipped it over, and wiped the surface with his sleeve.
He walked over.
He glanced at Kail on Hank’s back, then at Milo supported by Frank.
“Your buddy doesn't look so good.”
He paused.
“I can’t help with healing work.”
“I can save them,” Lu Yuan replied shortly.
Haimeng smiled.
“That’s good then.”
He slung the lute back over his shoulder.
“It’s been lively enough tonight. Take care. Until we meet again.”
He turned and walked toward his companions.
The one carrying the wind instrument whispered something, and Haimeng shook his head.
The silhouettes of the three men gradually merged into the darkness at the end of the street.
“Let’s go.”
Bolen was already standing ahead, leaning on his cane. Lu Yuan took up the rear.
The group headed toward the branch base.
Hank carried Kail in the middle of the line, with Frank supporting Milo behind him.
The orange glow of the streetlamps hit the empty stone slabs, illuminating the pile of extinguished, charred remains and the lamp posts bent by the branches.
The corpses of the two mutants were still there.
Those problems would have to wait.
Lu Yuan quickened his pace to catch up with Bolen.
“Don’t worry,” he whispered. “They can still be saved.”
Bolen didn't look up, nor did he slow down.
“We need to move faster,” Lu Yuan added.
The old man said nothing, but his pace increased.
The branch gates came into view.
Two hanging lamps were still lit in the night, the gaslight illuminating a small patch of the stone ground.
The two Nightwatchers on duty saw Hank rushing toward them with Kail on his back, and their expressions changed instantly.
“Captain!”
The one in front stepped forward immediately, reaching out to take Kail.
“No need,” Lu Yuan interrupted him. “Take them straight to Room 7 in C-District.”
The other Nightwatcher had already spotted the dark green networks on Kail’s shoulder and the green blisters on Milo’s forearm.
His hand went to the short-gun at his waist.
“Contaminated?”
“Yeah.” Lu Yuan didn't stop. “Notify Vice Director Kraus. Tell him I’m handling it in C-District and to come over.”
“Yes, sir!”
The young man turned and ran toward the main building.
The other Nightwatcher stepped aside and quickly followed Lu Yuan.
“What else do you need?”
“High-grade holy water and any herbs with a flame attribute.” Lu Yuan didn't look back. “Have them sent directly to Room 7, as fast as possible.”
The Nightwatcher acknowledged the order and ran toward the pharmacy in the side wing.
In the corridors of the first floor, several people poked their heads out after hearing the commotion.
Kail was slipping into unconsciousness on Hank’s back, his face deathly pale. The blackened fabric on his shoulder was strikingly visible under the gaslights.
Not many Nightwatchers had seen this kind of contamination, but those on duty tonight were veterans; they could all tell the situation was dire.
No one dared to ask questions.
Lu Yuan led the group through the first-floor corridor and turned toward C-District.
The C-District corridor.
A Nightwatcher stood guard before the iron door of Room 7.
Seeing the group, the guard was stunned for a moment and instinctively stepped forward.
Lu Yuan pulled the key from his pocket and unlocked it himself.
After two turns of the lock, the iron door creaked open.
A wave of warmth surged out from the gap.
Just like two days ago, it felt like stepping into a room with a lit fireplace.
It was the aura of the “seed.”
The glass case stood in the center of the room, half a man’s height. The isolation inscriptions on the copper base were running quietly.
Inside the case, the seed with its pale gold amber shell sat peacefully, its warm orange sprouts and leaves swaying slowly in the windless space.
“Bring them in.” Lu Yuan signaled for Hank to hurry and pointed to the floor on the left side of the glass case. “Place him close to it.”
Hank crouched carefully, letting Kail slide off his back.
Frank helped Milo to the other side of the glass case, seating him against the wall.
The two wounded were placed in the positions closest to the seed.
Bolen was the last to enter the room.
The old man stood at the door, his gaze bypassing everyone else to land directly on Kail’s shoulder.
The area where the fabric had been soaked by the liquid was now completely black. The dark green networks were clearly visible beneath the skin, spreading toward the collarbone, having expanded further since they were on the street.
Bolen’s expression shifted.
As an Inscriptionist who had traveled far and wide, he knew better than anyone that for someone who had not yet stepped onto a transcendent pathway, the pain of this contamination was no less than torture.
More importantly, if handled incorrectly, Kail could be left crippled at best—or at worst, lose himself entirely and face immediate execution.
He said nothing, slamming his cane heavily onto the floor as he strode over and knelt beside Kail.
Hank and Frank stood at the doorway, not entering.
Both of their faces were grim.
Frank’s lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but he swallowed the words.
Hank stood motionless, his arms still stained with traces of the dark green liquid from carrying Kail.
Lu Yuan didn't look at them.
He was already kneeling in front of Kail.
Deep within his left eye, the Knowledge Worm squirmed slightly as his vision covered the contaminated area on Kail’s shoulder.
The black-green contamination was still slowly spreading, but fortunately, the effect of the high-grade holy water had not yet faded. The Forest Seed’s contamination was being gradually suppressed, temporarily prevented from consuming more flesh.
Lu Yuan withdrew his Specialized Research and stood up.
“Go to the pharmacy and hurry them up. Tell them to bring the holy water,” he said to the guard on duty.
The guard froze for a heartbeat.
“Now.”
The young man turned and ran.
Lu Yuan turned to Bolen.
The old man was kneeling next to Kail, his right hand pressed three centimeters away from the edge of the contamination on Kail’s shoulder.
Flashes of light occasionally pulsed from his hand.
“Holy water can strip the parasitic structure, but it’s not enough,” Lu Yuan said. “I need to formulate an accelerant.”
He turned and walked toward the west wall.
After the seed had been moved in, the copper-topped experimental table had been pushed into the corner, but the equipment on it remained untouched.
A crucible, a mortar, and an old-fashioned alchemical furnace sat under a thin layer of dust.
Lu Yuan whipped off the cloth covering the furnace and ignited it.
As the flames flared up, he was already unwrapping the bundle sent by logistics.
Three flame-type herbs and a small vial of igniter oil.
Lu Yuan laid the three items out on the table and scanned them.
His thoughts sank into his mind.
The solution provided by Specialized Research on the street only gave a direction, not the details.
“Flame-type herbs accelerate burning and decomposition,” but the specific herbs were marked as “not yet identified.”
But now, the materials were right in front of him.
Grey-white text began to flicker once more at the edge of his vision.
Since the direction was already established, he only needed to plug these three herbs into the existing framework. It took only a few seconds.
By the time the text finished scrolling, a complete operational procedure was reflected in Lu Yuan’s eyes.
Which herb to grind first, which one to roast, how many drops of igniter oil to add, the timing for adding the holy water, the rhythm of stirring—everything was written clearly.
Lu Yuan didn't hesitate. He grabbed the first herb and dropped it into the mortar.
The pestle struck down. One, two, three times.
The powder dispersed. He didn't stop; on the fourth strike, he poured the contents of the mortar directly into the crucible.
The second herb was dried fire-grass leaves.
Lu Yuan crushed them between his fingers and sprinkled them in.
The third was flame-stone, a dark red chunk.
He picked it up with forceps and held it to the furnace opening for a few breaths. As soon as a scorched crust formed on the surface, he released the forceps, dropped it into the mortar to smash it, and poured it into the crucible.
The three medicines sat together.
Lu Yuan picked up a glass rod and reached in to stir. His wrist moved rapidly, circle after circle.
Under the heat and the stirring, the powders in the crucible began to fuse, their colors merging from a variegated mess into a dark red, finally becoming a mass of viscous paste.
Lu Yuan uncorked the igniter oil and added two drops.
“Sizzle.”
Steam immediately rose from the paste as its color shifted from dark red to a copper orange-gold, and a layer of fine bubbles surfaced.
A pungent, burnt-sweet scent filled the air.
The entire process had taken less than two minutes.
Bolen stood by the glass case, watching Lu Yuan’s movements in silence.
He wasn't an alchemist and couldn't tell if the technique was correct.
But he could see the speed. Lu Yuan’s speed was as if he had known the answer beforehand; there was no hesitation in any step.
“Bolen, open it,” Lu Yuan said, lifting the crucible from the furnace. “Open the inscriptions all the way.”
“All the way?”
“Yes.”
Bolen didn't ask again.
The tip of his cane landed on the outer ring of the base’s inscription array.
With a flash of light, the isolation inscriptions failed layer by layer from the inside out.
The seed inside the glass case reacted.
The pale gold amber shell instantly brightened, and the warm orange sprouts and leaves unfurled completely, their span doubling in size.
A wave of warmth diffused from the glass case, filling the entire room.
Hank and Frank, still standing at the door, felt it—like pushing open the door to a heated house on a winter night.
Rings of inscriptions continuously surfaced on Bolen’s cane as he carefully controlled them.
At the same time, Bolen’s brows twitched slightly as he opened the inscriptions. The aura before him was too clean—so clean it didn't seem like something that should exist in this world.
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