"I'm sorry, I don't care for raw food."
Lu Yuan leaned back in his chair, his hand remaining inside his trench coat pocket.
"And rather than eating, I would prefer to see the patient first."
"Do you actually have a sick nephew?"
The Baron's rhythmic slicing of the meat did not slow as he finished the last piece on his plate.
He slowly raised his head, his cloudy eyes staring intently at Lu Yuan, a playful curve tugging at the corner of his mouth.
The smile carried a sense of condescending mockery.
"Doctor, sometimes knowing too much isn't a good thing."
The Baron set down his knife and fork, picking up a napkin to wipe away the non-existent blood from his lips.
"But you are truly lucky, somehow getting involved with the Nightwatchers."
"It means I have to handle this personally. How troublesome."
Lu Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly as he inconspicuously gripped the black sphere in his pocket.
The Baron saw Lu Yuan's subtle movements but didn't care in the slightest; he had received the blessing of 'Mother'.
How much could mere gunfire hurt him?
"Doctor Lu, follow me. Since you are so eager to see my nephew, I shall grant your wish."
Following the Baron up to the second floor, the surrounding air became noticeably more viscous.
Oil paintings of past family heads lined both sides of the corridor, but under the dim wall lamps, the facial features of those in the portraits appeared somewhat distorted.
The further they went, the more suffocating the humidity became. The red carpet beneath their feet even squelched with water as they stepped on it.
It made a sickening "squish-squish" sound.
"We're here."
The Baron stopped before a heavy oak door.
The moment he pushed it open, a stench so thick it was almost tangible rushed toward them.
The curtains in the room were tightly drawn, making the space as muggy and humid as a steamer basket.
A massive four-poster bed stood in the center of the room, surrounded by burning incense, yet the fragrance still could not mask that underlying smell.
"This is my nephew, poor little Edward."
The Baron stood by the bedside, his tone full of pity, though his eyes burned with fanaticism.
Lu Yuan stepped forward.
A young man lay on the bed.
His limbs were as thin as withered branches, and his skin was so pale it was almost transparent, clearly revealing the veins beneath, which had turned an eerie dark green.
But the most horrifying part was his stomach.
It was highly distended, as large as that of a pregnant woman about to give birth.
Beneath the thin skin of his belly, something was writhing violently, occasionally pushing out bulges that made one's skin crawl.
Lu Yuan focused his gaze.
In his vision, several lines of greyish-white text slowly surfaced.
【Observation Target: Mutation Host (Final Stage of Incubation)】
【Status: Near Death / Incubating】
【Analysis: The abdomen is parasitized by eggs originating from the deep sea. The host's internal organs have been completely devoured, leaving only a skin husk to maintain life signs as a breeding ground for incubation.】
【Weakness: Fears high-intensity holy items】
【Warning: The hatchling is about to burst from the body!】
"Well, Doctor?"
The Baron's voice came from behind, carrying a cold, mocking laugh. "Can you treat him?"
Lu Yuan turned around.
Without him noticing, the Baron had already blocked the doorway, and those four "servants" had silently surrounded him, cutting off all exits.
"It can't be treated."
Lu Yuan's voice was calm. His eyes swept indifferently over the monster on the bed before looking back at the Baron.
"He isn't sick."
"But Lord Baron, you are truly heartless. You could even lay a hand on your own nephew?"
The air went deathly silent.
The elegance on the Baron's face gradually stiffened, replaced by an expression of extreme fanaticism and ferocity.
"To offer one's flesh to Mother is such an honor!"
The Baron's voice became hoarse, and the skin on his neck began to writhe unnaturally.
"No wonder that person insisted I get rid of you. Doctor Lu, your eyes see a bit too much!"
"Children, it's time to eat."
At the Baron's command...
Rip—!
The clothes on the four servants suddenly burst apart.
They tore away their scarves and gloves, revealing scale-covered necks and hands that had transformed into webbed claws.
Their lower jaws unhinged and swung open, revealing mouths full of needle-like teeth as they lunged at Lu Yuan with beast-like roars.
At the same time, the "nephew" on the bed let out a shrill scream. His stomach violently split open, and several slimy tentacles covered in mucus reached out!
It seemed like a certain death trap.
But under the Baron's gaze, the young doctor did not scream in panic, nor did he even draw his gun.
He simply pulled a pitch-black iron ball from his pocket.
As the exorcism gunpowder came into contact with the eerie atmosphere that had almost solidified in the air, the previously cold sphere began to turn burning hot!
"Since you all love eating so much..."
Looking at the monsters lunging at him, Lu Yuan's mouth curled into a cold smirk.
"Then taste this."
Lu Yuan slammed the iron ball onto the floor in the center of the room. Simultaneously, he lunged backward, kicking over a heavy oak table to serve as a shield.
The next second.
Boom—!!!
There was no violent shockwave as expected.
What erupted was light.
A blinding flash of light instantly filled the entire room, illuminating the dim bedroom brighter than midday sun.
Following that, silver powder filled the air, diffusing wildly with the blast of the explosion!
For the mutated creatures who lived year-round in the darkness of the deep sea and were weak against holy attributes, this sudden flash of intense light was no different from staring directly at the sun.
And that high concentration of exorcism silver powder acted like extremely corrosive acid.
"Aaaaargh—!!!"
Shrill, agonizing screams instantly filled the room.
The servants, who were mid-lunge, clutched their bleeding eyes and rolled on the ground.
The scales on their bodies emitted a sizzling sound as they came into contact with the silver powder, releasing plumes of black smoke.
Even the Baron screamed as he covered his eyes, stumbling backward repeatedly.
Taking advantage of the chaos...
Lu Yuan emerged from behind the table, his enchanted standard revolver already cocked.
In those eyes, calm to the point of being cold, these screaming monsters were nothing more than moving targets.
Bang!
The first shot precisely shattered the head of the servant closest to him.
The explosive effect of the enchanted bullet instantly turned that fish-like head into a pulped watermelon.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Lu Yuan moved through the dust and the fading flash, his movements as swift as a seasoned hunter.
Every gunshot was accompanied by the fall of a mutated servant.
In an instant, all four servants were dead.
Lu Yuan shifted his aim, pointing the gun at the octopus-like monster that had already burst from the body and was attempting to flee through the window.
"Trying to run?"
Bang!
The final silver-plated bullet whistled through the air, drilling precisely into the monster's head.
With a dull popping sound, the hatchling that hadn't even had the chance to see the world was reduced to a puddle of sludge.
"Noooo—!!!"
A piercing, wretched scream echoed through the entire room.
Rate on N.U.
