Chapter 7

In a daze, a familiar voice sounded in his ears. It was the urging voice of a junior lab member, a favorite of their supervisor, often serving as a messenger to deliver important updates. “Senior! Senior! You’re the only one left who hasn’t submitted the paper for external review!” “Damn… I’m not done with the revisions yet!” These words were more terrifying than any nightmare, tearing through the fabric of his dream and yanking Yi Chen back to reality. He jolted upright, drenched in sweat, but the familiar lab wasn’t in front of him. Instead, he found himself in a desolate, dark, and decayed cemetery. Beside him lay a lifeless corpse, its skull shattered, completely still. At that moment, a faint light flickered beside his face—a small black creature with thin limbs, holding a kerosene lantern, stood nearby. “You’re awake! Not bad at all~ You actually managed to kill this mutant.” “The wounds on your body that could’ve been fatal have all been stitched up and stopped from bleeding... Try standing up.” “Huh?” Yi Chen quickly checked himself over. To his surprise, his left arm, which should’ve been immobile, lifted with ease. A coin-sized hole in his left upper arm was filled with an unknown black tissue, connected through dense fibers. Not only had the bleeding stopped, but the torn muscles and nerves had also been reattached and healed. His other injuries had been treated similarly. Using his hand to steady himself, he slowly stood up. Aside from a bit of dizziness and some pain, he felt mostly fine. “Thanks… I still need to transport this body to Cemetery No. 7.” Yi Chen knew the task wasn’t over yet; he couldn’t relax until the corpse was dealt with and any extra burial mounds were leveled. The small creature was quite pleased with Yi Chen's focus. It hopped onto his shoulder, still holding the kerosene lamp. … Creak, creak… The wooden wheels of the cart scraped against the ground as he pushed it forward. After a bumpy journey, he finally arrived at the isolated Cemetery No. 7, set apart at the edge of the cemetery. According to the manual, this cemetery was only used when an unknown corpse transport cart appeared, requiring no regular approach or patrol. Unlike Cemetery No. 1–6, it was surrounded by a high stone wall over five meters tall, decorated every three meters with a crow sculpture, as if observing everything nearby. Moreover, Yi Chen caught a strange scent wafting from Cemetery No. 7. It was not only the usual rotting smell of a cemetery but also carried a faint smoky aroma, as if something was burning. Just then, the iron gate set into the stone wall swung open on its own, accompanied by the sound of leather shoes tapping against the stone floor. A tall man wearing a top hat and dressed in a black suit stepped out. His gloved hands elegantly rested on a cane adorned with a golden skull at the tip, faint wisps of death seeping from the skull’s hollow eyes. For some reason, the light from the kerosene lamp couldn’t fully reveal the man’s face, as if it were shrouded in a misty veil. All Yi Chen could make out was the man’s prominent nose bridge. However, with his unique vision, Yi Chen noticed an additional critical detail. A golden circle on the middle section of the cane bore an engraved insignia: [G&D] It seems that this person is very likely an official sent by the organization to handle troublesome matters. If Yi Chen were to die in Cemetery No. 4, this person would handle it personally. There is also another possibility: this person belongs to the organization and has been stationed at Cemetery No. 7 all along. At this moment, the other person took the initiative to speak. "William Behrens, a mere external employee, managed to handle the mutation event in Cemetery No. 4 on his own… It’s been seventeen years since we’ve had such an interesting guy in this cemetery." "Bring the body in. I still need to perform a more in-depth lesion check." The mysterious person cast a particular glance at the small lump on Yi Chen's shoulder, seemingly confirming its ‘harmlessness’ or identifying its type and affiliation before leading Yi Chen inside. Contrary to his expectations, Cemetery No. 7 had no graves at all—only a dome-shaped metal building at the center with a towering chimney. The scent of burnt flesh he’d smelled earlier was drifting from the chimney. Additionally, Yi Chen noticed a telephone line from the cabin extending here, making it likely that the mysterious person before him was the "Overseer" mentioned in the manual. Inside the dome-shaped building, the interior was mainly divided into two areas: one was the 'Autopsy Area,' filled with various surgical tools and an old-style operating table, and the other was the 'Cremation Area,' connected to the chimney and in a constantly burning state all day long. Following instructions, Yi Chen placed the corpse with the head injury onto the operating table. The mysterious person donned a clean apron, picked up the tools, and began working. The process was swift, almost dizzyingly fast; within minutes, they had reached a conclusion. “Plant-based mutation infection, a rather rare case. The pathogen appears in a flattened spherical shape, highly translucent, with visible ‘pigment particles,’ belonging to a special, uncommon variant in the early stages of infection. The wound is deep; the pathogen split cleanly in one strike…once...silver was impregnated to eliminate the symptoms. Elegant and effective.” While examining the lethal wound on the undead corpse, the mysterious person cast a meaningful glance at Yi Chen. "With some training, you might make a fine gentleman. You split the pathogen in a single cut, without using any non-physical means of attack. The damage to this corpse is less than 10%, which means we can still extract more value from it." "Now, send the corpse to the crematorium, and let’s see what luck has in store for you." Yi Chen remained silent, sensing an opportunity even if some parts were hard to understand. Cremation Area. In front of the steaming cremation furnace, there was a conveyor belt with hooks attached. He needed to hook the body and use the manual crank to send it into the furnace. This setup reminded Yi Chen of a food he often ate in life—Beijing Roast Duck. The charred aroma in the air stirred his stomach, but he held back. Following the mysterious person’s instructions, he pierced the hook through the shoulder blade of the plant-infused corpse. As the corpse entered the furnace, he could see other bodies burned down to the bone. "The extra coffin and gravestone in Cemetery No. 4 haven’t been removed yet. I’ll go take care of it now." "No need. You’ve killed the pathogen and eradicated the 'disease.' The gravestone and coffin associated with this body will gradually disappear on their own, so there's no need to handle them further. We can have a private chat before the cremation is finished." "Alright." Yi Chen was also interested in learning more about this world. The bizarre experiences in the cemetery had completely captivated him. The mysterious person opened a hidden passageway leading to a basement, where the heat and smell from the cremation area were effectively blocked out. Surprisingly, the so-called basement was a lavish, European-style room with three bedrooms, a living room, and all the necessary amenities for daily life. It seemed highly likely that this person resided here long-term.