On his way, he overheard that a mass contamination event had suddenly broken out in the dock area.
Almost all combat personnel from the base had been urgently deployed, including Hans and Mary.
Aside from logistics and hidden sentries, the base was now nearly deserted.
Lu Yuan instantly realized something was wrong.
A mass contamination event occurring at this specific time, especially if someone were to come looking for him now...
His heart gradually sank.
"Old Morgan."
Lu Yuan tapped on the iron bars.
Behind the counter, Old Morgan, who was wiping a shotgun, lifted his eyelids and glanced at Lu Yuan. "Instead of hiding at home, what are you doing here at a time like this?"
"Ink said someone checked my files," Lu Yuan said in a low voice, looking directly into the old man's eyes.
Old Morgan's hand stopped.
He slowly lowered the shotgun, a sharp glint flashing in his clouded eyes.
As a veteran who had stayed at this base for decades, he naturally knew what that implied.
Someone was targeting Lu Yuan.
After all, who would pay attention to a mere conscripted doctor? Old Morgan thought about the sewer mission and the inexplicable discussions about Lu Yuan that had recently surfaced at the base.
"I'm just a doctor, and I don't want to die for no clear reason," Lu Yuan said calmly. "So, I need a bit of... protection."
"I'll write you a certification. You can stay here with me for a while. No one will be able to transfer you during this period. Once Mary and the others return, everything will be fine."
Old Morgan fell silent for a moment before speaking.
"Or, you can choose to take some things I've prepared for you and go home. You are just a doctor after all, but that would be very risky."
Lu Yuan understood the meaning behind Old Morgan's words.
Old Morgan had offered two paths. The first was to hide from this 'coincidence,' even if it wasn't specifically targeted at him.
But those with ill intent would definitely not pass up the opportunity. If he stayed here with Old Morgan, there would certainly be no issues.
The second option was for Old Morgan to prepare some items so he could deal with those hiding in the shadows who only dared to play petty tricks.
After all, this 'coincidence' couldn't have been prepared specifically for Lu Yuan.
To deal with a minor character meddling in this, nothing too extreme would be dispatched.
But it was risky.
Lu Yuan was no soft target to be trampled upon.
"Prepare some things for me."
Lu Yuan made his choice.
Hearing this, Old Morgan turned and walked deep into the warehouse.
After a period of rummaging, he emerged with a black orb wrapped in oil paper and slammed it heavily onto the counter.
"Exorcism Gunpowder Type-3, a failed product created by those lunatics in the alchemy department."
Old Morgan snorted.
"This thing isn't very powerful, and it's hard to detonate against humans."
"But if what you encounter isn't human, this contains a high concentration of flash vine powder and exorcism powder from the Holy Church. It's enough to be quite a handful for most Eerie."
Old Morgan looked at Lu Yuan meaningfully. "As long as this thing goes off, I'll have a reason to bring people over immediately, even if the opponent really is human..."
Lu Yuan took the heavy black orb and stuffed it into his trench coat pocket.
【Contacted alchemy knowledge. Insufficient knowledge; acquisition failed.】
'Is my understanding of alchemy too lacking?'
Lu Yuan thought to himself as he looked at the prompt.
"Thanks."
"Don't be so quick to thank me. This thing is expensive. I'm putting it on your tab. Just make sure you don't die out there."
Lu Yuan walked away quickly upon hearing this.
By the time he left Old John's Tavern, the sky over Gelimu Port had completely darkened.
A peal of muffled thunder rolled through the air.
Sploosh—
Rain had begun to fall at some point.
But the smell of this rainwater was strange, carrying a weirdly viscous sensation. It felt greasy against the skin, and the air was filled with a nauseating, briny stench.
Fortunately, upon contact, no strange information appeared.
Lu Yuan turned up his collar and walked quickly back to the clinic.
Just as he reached the entrance, he saw a thin, small figure huddled under the eaves, waiting for something.
It was Brent.
"Doctor Lu!"
Seeing Lu Yuan return, a pale-faced Brent hurried forward, his voice carrying a hint of a sob.
"Please... save my sister!"
"Come inside and talk."
Lu Yuan opened the door, pulled the chilled youth into the house, and handed him a dry towel. "What happened?"
"My sister... something seems to be happening to my sister too!"
"Doctor Lu, I beg you to save her. She's the only family I have left..."
Brent was highly emotional, his voice cracking as he spoke.
Lu Yuan looked at the panicked boy and patted his shoulder.
"Don't panic. Tell me clearly, what exactly is wrong with your sister?"
Feeling the weight of Lu Yuan's hand, Brent seemed to find an anchor. He forced himself to suppress his emotions and spoke haltingly.
"Ever since my uncle died... my sister has been acting strange. Mina started refusing to eat, just staring out the window. Then... Mina started humming songs I can't understand every night."
"She doesn't react when I call her name, but she's fine again during the day! When I ask her, she says she doesn't know."
"My sister is still so small. I'm afraid she won't last more than a few days..."
Brent's tears began to fall again as he spoke.
'At night?'
Lu Yuan pondered, recalling a certain possibility.
"Don't be afraid."
Lu Yuan turned and went into the pharmacy. He diluted the guangyin grass mixture with water into three portions and handed them to Brent.
"Go back and give this to your sister, to Anna, to drink. Remember, she must drink it at night."
"After she drinks it, you must pay attention to her state! If it works, use this to sustain her for now. If it doesn't, bring her directly to see me the next day."
"If I'm not here, go to the tavern next door and find Mary. Tell her I sent you, and they will look after you both."
Brent finally couldn't hold back his tears and wiped them away in handfuls.
"Thank you, Doctor Lu. Thank you."
Then, Brent took several silver shields from his pocket.
He placed them on Lu Yuan's table.
"Doctor Lu, this is the medical fee. You must accept it!"
Lu Yuan did not refuse this time; he simply nodded silently.
Wiping his eyes, Brent tucked the medicine away. Before leaving, he pulled out a newspaper.
"Doctor Lu... you must absolutely not eat fish lately, and don't go near the sea... those fish... are all like the ones that killed my uncle."
Brent's speech was disjointed, but he pointed at a news report for Lu Yuan to see.
Lu Yuan looked down.
It was today's edition of the Gelimu Morning Post.
The headline was printed in bold, black letters:
Bumper Harvest in Offshore Fishing! Fish Prices Plummet, a Blessing for the Slums!
Rate on N.U.
