Lu Yuan didn't look at the seed.
He was already mixing the medicine.
He uncorked the advanced holy water, and the orange-gold paste dripped down the edge of the crucible, falling into the transparent holy water like a fine thread.
"Hiss."
White mist rose.
The liquid shifted from transparent to dark gold. Bubbles churned for a few seconds before settling, and a scent of clear incense wafted from the mouth of the bottle.
Lu Yuan shook the bottle a few times until the solution was uniform and no longer layered.
A line of grey-white text flickered at the edge of his vision.
【Pharmacology: +0.5... 37/100】
Lu Yuan didn't linger on it.
He carried the bottle and knelt before Kail.
The seed's aura was already working on Kail's shoulder. The deep green networks had receded slightly more than they had on the street, but the rate of recession was too slow—it could barely keep up with the speed of the spread.
This was where the potion came in. Lu Yuan pressed one hand onto Kail's shoulder and tilted the bottle with the other, allowing the dark gold liquid to pour slowly and evenly over the blackened area of contamination.
"Hiss."
The moment the medicine hit the wound, it made a sharp sound. A burnt smell mixed with a fresh fragrance rose into the air.
Kail frowned in his unconscious state, his body instinctively trying to recoil, but Lu Yuan's hand held him firmly in place.
The dark gold liquid seeped down, following the path of the networks.
The twisted deep green networks beneath the skin began to be cauterized from their leading edges.
Something invisible was driving the parasitic spores out of the flesh one by one, burning them to ash.
A dark green liquid mixed with greyish-black grit seeped from the edges of the wound, trickling down his shoulder. Lu Yuan finished the application.
He withdrew his hand and glanced at the boy's shoulder.
The speed at which the networks were receding had significantly increased. The dense lines at the leading edge had lost their luster and were beginning to turn grey.
He turned to Milo.
Half of the paste remained in the crucible.
Milo's infection was much lighter than Kail's, and because Milo was a rank 2 eerie transcendent, the contamination hadn't actually penetrated very deep yet.
Lu Yuan mixed the remaining paste into a second bottle of holy water, adding only half a drop of igniter oil.
The color of this solution was a shade lighter than the one for Kail, leaning toward a pale gold.
Milo's brow furrowed slightly. Frank knelt beside him, holding his forearm steady.
Lu Yuan poured the liquid.
"Hiss."
Milo was conscious.
His forearm felt as if it were being branded by a red-hot iron. His body tensed violently, and veins bulged from the back of his hand all the way up to his wrist.
Frank's grip remained steady.
Milo's physical reaction was much faster. The swollen deep green blisters on his forearm collapsed one by one, shriveling and drying up as if the liquid inside had been sucked away.
After about five or six minutes, Lu Yuan looked at them again.
The deep green networks on Kail's shoulder were receding sharply from the collarbone area.
The contamination on both Kail and Milo had essentially vanished.
At that moment, the grey-white text in his vision updated.
【Detected Target: Milo (Eerie Transcendent) (Extremely Mild Contamination)】
【A basically healthy eerie transcendent human.】
It was the same when he looked at Kail.
Lu Yuan let out a long breath.
The inscriptions on Bolen's cane gradually faded.
The isolation inscriptions on the base returned to their positions layer by layer.
The warm aura spilling from the glass case was pulled back inside. The seed's sprouts and leaves swayed twice before settling into stillness.
The old man straightened up.
He said nothing.
But the hand resting his cane against the wall finally relaxed.
Only then did Hank and Frank step into the room.
Frank leaned in close to Milo, staring at the shriveled green blisters on his forearm for a few seconds before letting out a long sigh.
"Damn it... I thought..."
He didn't finish the sentence.
He didn't need to. Everyone present knew what he was thinking.
Hank remained silent.
He unhooked his hand-axe from his belt, set it on the floor, and crouched beside Kail to watch for a moment.
The boy's face had regained a hint of color from its deathly pallor. His breathing was deeper than before, and though his brow was still furrowed, he was stable.
Hank looked up at Lu Yuan.
He opened his mouth.
"Captain."
In the end, he only managed that one word.
But his tone carried everything.
Lu Yuan nodded.
Kail had fallen into a deep sleep, his breathing steady, his chest rising and falling slightly.
In his shirt, the inscription direction tablet that Grimm had given him was mostly covered by fabric, with only a corner peeking out.
On the tablet's surface, two symbols—【Dark Inscription】 and 【Eerie Inscription】—flickered extremely faintly as the seed's aura passed over them.
It was so dim it was almost invisible.
Milo was gritting his teeth and holding on. The green blisters on his forearm had completely shriveled, and the area treated by the holy water and inscription heat was regaining some color.
He was able to sit up on his own against the wall. His face was grey, but his eyes were clear.
After one last check of the wounds, Lu Yuan stood up.
"They're fine now, but to prevent any accidents, it's best they stay in this room for the rest of the night." He looked at Hank and Frank. "You two keep watch."
Hank nodded immediately. "Understood."
Frank hesitated for a moment. "Captain, Milo..."
"If he's awake, just have him lie down. Don't let him move around." Lu Yuan paused. "The seed's aura will continue to neutralize any residue. It's best if he sleeps."
Frank nodded and crouched down to help Milo take off his coat, folding it to use as a cushion behind him.
Bolen moved to Kail's side.
The patterns of the heat-increasing inscriptions on the back of the old man's hand had already dimmed, but he didn't get up immediately. He looked at Kail's face as if confirming something.
After a few seconds, Bolen stood up.
He tapped his cane on the floor and turned toward the door.
As he passed Lu Yuan, Lu Yuan heard him speak in an extremely soft voice.
"Thanks."
The voice was very low. Lu Yuan smiled but didn't respond.
He took one last look at the seed inside the glass case.
The pale gold luster was slightly dimmer than before. The seed itself seemed to have consumed something; the swaying of its leaves was smaller, as if it were tired.
Clearly, this seed had not yet moved past its primary stage.
This troubled Lu Yuan. Kraus's newspapers were being printed and distributed constantly, with some content attempting to inspire the residents of Bronze City to wish more for the safety of their home.
But the effect didn't seem significant. This made Lu Yuan think of the seed he had seen in the pipe network layer.
How had that one managed to reach maturity in such a short time?
Lu Yuan turned and left Room 7.
The lights in the C-District corridor were brighter than those outside.
He had only walked a dozen paces when he saw someone standing at the corner ahead.
A deep grey shirt and a gold-patterned badge.
It was Kraus. He seemed to have just arrived; he didn't look toward Room 7.
"Is it handled?"
"They're stable." Lu Yuan stopped in front of him. "They need to stay the night."
Kraus nodded. He already knew.
The message had been passed up when the Nightwatcher on duty ran to the pharmacy for the holy water.
Lu Yuan didn't beat around the bush.
"The leading tree-man escaped, but my pathway allows me to leave a trace of an aura mark on him. As long as he hasn't left Bronze City, I can track him."
Kraus looked at him.
"How long?"
"I don't know. The mark is unstable; the longer we wait, the more it fades."
Kraus didn't ask for details about the pathway.
It was a silent understanding between them.
"What do you need?"
"Lake." Lu Yuan paused for a heartbeat. "Bolen might follow."
Kraus fell silent for a moment.
"What level do you judge the opposition to be?"
"I'm not sure, but I suspect this thing belongs to the same category as the contamination we encountered with the Baron." Lu Yuan continued, "The Ascension Society seems to want to keep us in the dark about this, even if it means letting them go."
Lu Yuan's tone paused.
"So I need at least a rank 4."
Kraus's gaze lingered on his face for a second.
Then he pulled a hand from his pocket and gestured toward the backyard.
"I've already spoken to Lake. Go directly to him."
Lu Yuan paused slightly.
The news had only been delivered to the branch on his way back.
He had been in C-District for barely twenty minutes, yet Kraus had already arranged Lake's mobilization permit.
Clearly, Kraus had been waiting for him to ask.
Lu Yuan turned it over in his mind.
At the very least, it showed that Kraus was also paying attention to the Forest Seed.
"Do what you will with that old man Bolen, just don't let anything happen to him." Kraus added, his tone softening slightly. "Barring any accidents, he's being transferred in a few days. Headquarters has made full preparations for this rank 3 Inscriptionist."
Lu Yuan nodded and prepared to leave.
"Wait."
Kraus called him back.
"Lu Yuan." Kraus's tone was flat. "I hope you'll carefully consider your future arrangements. Bronze City seems to be getting more and more dangerous."
Recent events had been happening one after another, the intervals between them getting shorter.
Lu Yuan didn't respond, silently walking toward the backyard.
Kraus was asking once again if he wanted to leave, but Lu Yuan didn't want to go—at least not yet.
Because suddenly, he very much wanted to drag the creature in the shadows out, kill it, and feed it to the Knowledge Worm.
Kraus watched Lu Yuan's back disappear around the corridor corner.
He pulled his right hand from his pocket. The dark green crystal on the back of his hand shimmered under the light.
A faint crimson glow flickered within it.
The backyard.
Behind the main branch building was a semi-enclosed courtyard with copper walls on three sides and the fourth opening onto a narrow alley. It was usually used for storing supplies and parking patrol carriages.
Now, it was empty.
The carriages had been moved, and the supplies had been taken into the warehouse.
The only thing left in the yard was a lantern hanging from an iron hook in the corner, swaying and casting a dim, yellow light.
Lake was leaning against the far wall.
As Lu Yuan approached, he saw clearly.
Brown short hair clung to a head with blurred contours. His features were indistinct, and something was moving beneath his skin.
From the neck down, he was no longer human.
Grey meat-worms writhed beneath the tatters of his dark grey uniform. Since his exposure during the pipe network mission, Lake didn't even bother to maintain a human guise when he was alone.
Lu Yuan stopped in front of him.
Several tentacles turned silently toward Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan offered no pleasantries.
"I've encountered a new contamination and left a mark. Come with me."
The tips of the tentacles swayed slightly.
Lu Yuan paused.
"The destination tonight isn't just the one who ran. It's the thing behind him."
Lake was silent for a few seconds.
The torso composed of grey meat-worms straightened. The tentacles detached from the wall and retracted silently.
"Let's go."
Just two words.
The body made of worms reorganized into a human silhouette, and Lake returned to his original appearance.
The two of them left the backyard and walked to the side gate of the branch.
Just as Lu Yuan had expected, Bolen was already waiting there.
The old man stood in the shadows by the door, leaning on his cane.
A dangerous glint shone in his usually calm eyes. Clearly, Bolen did not intend to let this matter go.
He saw Lu Yuan and Lake emerge together. His gaze lingered on Lake for a moment before he gave a slight nod.
"I'm going with you."
"You consumed a lot of energy tonight."
"I have enough."
The old man cut Lu Yuan off, tapping his cane on the stone floor with more force than usual.
His steps were steady.
Lu Yuan didn't try to persuade him further.
The three of them left the branch and headed toward the inner city.
Rate on N.U.
