Chapter 65

As Yi Chen tightened his grip on the axe handle, his suit suddenly seemed to come alive. Threads of fiber split off from the cuffs of his shirt sleeves, weaving themselves into the gaps of the axe's bone handle, as if trying to decipher the specific details of the weapon. Before long, ancient, worm-like text emerged in Yi Chen's vision, revealing the axe’s detailed information: [Canine Jaw Axe] - Quality: Excellent - Type: Axe (Chop/Slash) Attribute Correlation: - Physique: C - Coordination: E - Intelligence: - - Perception: - - Luck: - () Special Effect: - "Mad Dog Under the Moonlight": Inflicts 1.3x physical damage to fleshy targets (only at night). () Evaluation: ... “Huh! A special effect targeting against life forms with flesh and blood structures? Perfect—our operation is scheduled during the night anyway!” Unable to wait, Yi Chen started testing the weapon, executing a swift combo mid-air. As the axe blade tore through the air at high speed, a faint sound resembling a dog's bark could be heard. “A weapon forged from the limbs of the afflicted…” Edmund and the others were equally drawn to the hand axe. They could all sense its latent ferocity and destructive energy—similar to the guard dogs they had encountered in the sewers. The feeling was unmistakable: this weapon was crafted directly from the remains of the infected. The masked boss spoke from behind his moon-shaped mask: “This axe should help you carve through the flesh of those rats. However, as it’s my first creation, the refinement is far from perfect. Use it wisely.” “Understood.” The theater boss adjusted his mask and asked, “When shall we head to the rat’s nest?” “There’s no need to rush over at exactly midnight; that would make the skinning process seem far too easy. Let’s wait until 3 or 4 AM to make our move. “Mr. John, you’ve had a long day—take the chance to rest a little.” But the boss firmly declined the offer of rest. “Nightfall is when I’m at my peak. Just the thought of having a chance to kill that despicable rat fills me with excitement—I can’t sleep at all.” Yi Chen had a sudden idea. “Why not join me for a warm-up? Let’s test out the new weapon.” “No problem at all. I could use some exercise myself.” And so, Yi Chen and the moon-masked boss headed to the main theater hall, engaging in a sparring session with a hint of performative flair. Edmund and the others circled to the main hall, and after watching for a while, they couldn’t resist joining in on this pre-battle warm-up. --- Recovery of Secret Medicine – Day Four 02:50 AM With the warm-up concluded, the masked theater boss stretched his limbs out fully and collapsed on the floor in a starfish pose. “Go ahead, start your plan. Don’t worry about my condition—just make it as gruesome as possible. S~eaʀᴄh the Nôvelƒire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. “That rat is extremely cunning. If we aren’t brutal and realistic enough, it’ll sense something is off. Just don’t damage my moon mark—I won’t die otherwise.” “Got it.” Over the next half-hour, sounds resembling butchery echoed from the depths of the theater. With everything ready, Dagobert and Juliana each carried large backpacks manufactured in Zion, packed with a hodgepodge of items. The contents even sloshed with the sound of liquid as they moved. ... Four figures stumbled out onto the road at the foot of the mountain near the clinic. With haggard faces, disheveled hair, and blood-stained gentlemanly attire, it was evident that they had endured prolonged and intense "battles." As they stepped off the roadside and onto the slope, the previously empty, pitch-black night sky suddenly revealed a full moon. The moonlight fell like a creeping organism, clinging tightly to their bodies as though trying to seep into their brains and invade their skin. When the moonlight touched the backpacks filled with fragmented substances, an intense and excited stirring could be felt from within. It even seemed like some of the flesh pieces were trying to squirm out of the backpacks to bask in the moonlight. “Let’s go,” someone said. Without stopping, the group dragged their weary bodies up the slope, arriving at the clinic and returning to the apprentice dormitory where they had once slept. Without a word, they each lay down on their beds and fell asleep. When Yi Chen reopened his eyes, a bloodstained face wrapped in bandages was almost pressed against his own. "So late, and yet you still made it here~ You two are truly dedicated. I’m sure Mr. Lee will be very pleased." The bandaged nurse wagged her needle-tipped finger, from which a luminous green liquid continuously oozed. “Look at how utterly exhausted you are… Would you like a shot of stimulant?” “No need. Please take us to see Mr. Lee,” Yi Chen replied. “Follow me.” As expected, only Yi Chen and Edmund, who slept on the lower bunk, ventured Dagobert and Julianna remained in slumber. After taking a deep breath, Yi Chen and Edmund followed the nurse to the underground area. They passed through a meat elevator button, a sprawling underground palace teeming with white rats, and finally reached a deeply hidden ward. There lay Mr. Lee, whose features bore a slight resemblance to a rat’s. He remained confined to the bed, the silvery-white veins on his back firmly rooted into the ground below. Female doctors and nurses were responsible for his round-the-clock care. Seeing the two young men again, Mr. Lee showed no particular joy. “Cough… cough… I gave you seven days, and yet you’ve returned after just two? Are you worried the drug’s effects might activate early? Or are you here because you’ve already completed the task I assigned you?” Yi Chen stared into Mr. Lee’s beady eyes and replied, “We have slaughtered all the Moon People in the Vinal City and collected their moon skins.” Hearing this, Mr. Lee’s eyes narrowed to slits. “Oh? The term ‘Moon People’—so you’ve had rather in-depth encounters with them. But how exactly did you achieve ‘all’? You, along with the two teammates outside, managed to completely scour Vinal City in just two days? "I find that hard to believe. I hope you can provide a reasonable explanation; I don’t take kindly to liars.” Yi Chen replied, “The Moon People weren’t scattered throughout the city but had already gathered together. They seemed to be preparing to form a special organization to leave this place. “When we arrived, many had already evacuated. The remaining ones were all intercepted and killed by us. Without resting, we brought the harvested moon skins directly here. “If Mr. Lee doesn’t believe us, feel free to send someone to verify. If any Moon People remain in the city, we’re willing to offer up our bodies and remain here forever.” Of course, that last sentence was deliberately aimed at Mr. Lee. If he could truly influence areas outside the mountain, he would have acted himself long ago. Even if he assigned tasks to Yi Chen and the others, he could have easily sent a nurse to monitor the moon skin collection and prevent any tricks. Unfortunately, he was completely confined here, unable to do anything. The "gray-erosion" brought by the moon only affected the co-located space. Any "Aberrant Patients" born from here would disintegrate into flesh and machinery once they left the moonlight zone. Unless Mr. Lee ascended to a higher level where the co-located space and reality merged, he would never truly be able to interfere with the outside world. His only hope for ascension and freedom lay in the Moon People’s “moon skins.” Yi Chen had accurately guessed this, granting him a measure of leverage. --- Rats with red eyes crawled over Yi Chen and Edmund, sniffing at their sweat and sensing their neural activity. Meanwhile, Mr. Lee, lying on the hospital bed, stared at the two youths for a long time. Time ticked by, and he failed to detect any deceit. A sickening smile spread across Mr. Lee’s skeptical face, revealing scurrying rats between his teeth. “It seems you two are indeed quite capable. There’s no need for verification; I trust in your Let’s proceed with the final transaction.”