Amid bewilderment,
a familiar voice resounded near his ear,
It was the urging voice of a junior in the laboratory, a favorite of his tutor and often acted as a messenger for important matters.
"Senior brother, senior brother! You're the only one who hasn't submitted the paper for external review yet!"
"Damn...I haven't finished revising it yet!"
These words were a hundred times more terrifying than a nightmare,
An indescribable mental shock tore through the dream barrier, pulling Yi Chen back to reality.
He abruptly sat up,
his back drenched in sweat,
Before him lay not the familiar laboratory, but a desolate, dark, and decaying graveyard.
Alongside him, a corpse with a devastated brain, devoid of life, lay motionless.
At that moment,
a faint glow flickered beside his face,
a tiny black creature with slender arms and legs, holding a kerosene lamp stood beside him.
"You're awake!
That's pretty impressive~ You actually managed to kill the mutant.
The potentially lethal wounds on your body have been stemmed and sutured...try standing up."
"Hmm?"
Yi Chen quickly checked his body,
his left arm, which should have been immobile, now lifted smoothly.
The coin-sized cavity in his upper left arm was stuffed with unknown black flesh, connected by dense, fluffy hairs.
Not only was the bleeding stopped,
but the broken muscles and nerves were also connected and repaired,
as were the other parts of his body.
He slowly stood up, supporting his body with his hand
Aside from some dizziness and some pain, there seemed to be no major problems.
"Thank you... Next, I still need to take this corpse to Graveyard No. 7."
Yi Chen was well aware that the whole matter was far from over,
he couldn't relax until the body was dealt with and the surplus of graves were flattened.
The tiny creature was quite pleased with Yi Chen's attitude,
hopping back onto his shoulder and lend a hand with the kerosene lamp.
...
Creak, creak~
The wooden wheels of the cart rolled over the ground, making a strange frictional noise,
The body, jostled between the sacks during the short journey, finally arrived at Graveyard No. 7, set apart and completely isolated at the edge of the cemetery.
According to the Handbook,
it should only be approached when an unknown corpse cart appears between the graveyards; ordinarily, it required no approach nor patrol.
Unlike Graveyards 1 to 6,
it was entirely enclosed by a five-meter-high stone wall, decorated every three meters with a crow sculpture, as if monitoring everything nearby.
Moreover,
Yi Chen could smell an entirely distinct aroma wafting from Graveyard No. 7,
beyond the decay inherent to graveyards, there was also a scent of something burning.
Just then,
the iron gate embedded in the stone wall opened by itself,
accompanied by the sound of footsteps on stone,
a tall man in a high hat and black suit stepped out.
His hands, clad in white gloves, elegantly supported a cane in front of him, the gold-decorated skull at the tip faintly exuded an aura of the dead.
For some reason,
the light from the kerosene lamp failed to clearly reveal his face, as if it were masked by a layer of fog.
One could only vaguely spot his prominent nose,
However,
Yi Chen, with his unique vision, noticed an important detail.
The middle of the cane was decorated with a ring of gold inscribed with the organization's emblem,
[G&D]
Presumably,
This person was likely an agent sent by the Organization to deal with trouble, and if Yi Chen had died in section 4 of the cemetery, this person would personally handle it.
There was another possibility, this person belonged to the Organization and had always been in section 7 of the cemetery.
At that moment,
the other party initiated the conversation.
"William Behrens,
An external ordinary employee managing to handle the metamorphosis incident in section 4 all by himself... It has been seventeen years since we've had someone as interesting as you in this cemetery.
Bring the body in, I need to conduct a more thorough examination of the metamorphosis."
The Mysterious figure glanced specifically at the small flesh ball on Yi Chen's shoulder,
seemingly determining the flesh ball's 'harmlessness' or verifying its category and identity, then led Yi Chen inside.
Contrary to what had been expected,
this so-called section 7 of the cemetery had no graves at all,
only a metal dome-shaped building constructed at the center, topped with a towering chimney... The smell of charring that had been noticed earlier was drifting from this chimney.
Furthermore,
Yi Chen also noticed that telephone lines from the wooden cabin extended to this place, making it very likely that the mysterious person here was the 'Manager' referred to in the Handbook.
Upon entering the dome-shaped building,
the inside was mainly divided into two areas,
one being equipped with various surgical instruments and an old-fashioned operating table designated as the [autopsy area].
The other connected to the chimney, in constant incineration state, was the [Cremation Area].
Yi Chen, following instructions, maneuvered the corpse with a blown-open head onto the operating table,
the Mysterious person donned a white apron, picked up the instruments, and began the process.
The speed was fast, even somewhat dazzling... conclusions were reached within a few minutes.
"Metamorphosis infection, a rather rare case.
The pus-like pathogen was lens-shaped,
with excellent transparency and visible distinct 'color particles',
belonging to a special, rare variant, and at the initial stage of infection.
The wound was deep, the pus-like pathogen was split open in a single move... Silver impregnation, eliminating illness.
Elegant and effective."
While examining the lethal wounds of the zombie, the Mysterious person suddenly cast a meaningful look at Yi Chen.
"Cultivate a bit, and you could become a decent gentleman.
Since you cut the pathogen in a single move without using any non-physical forms of attack,
this body's damage rate is less than 10%, its value can be further exploited.
Next, send the body to the incinerator, see how your luck holds."
Yi Chen just listened quietly,
though not understanding some parts, he faintly sensed an opportunity.
[Cremation Area]
In front of the steaming giant incinerator, connected by a hook conveyor belt.
The body needed to be hung on an iron hook, then sent into the oven for incineration using a hand-cranked wheel situated beside it.
This design structure,
reminded Yi Chen of a delicacy he often enjoyed in his life—[Beijing Roasted Duck].
Thinking of the charring smell permeating the air, a stirring sensation immediately arose in his stomach.
He still resisted it, though.
Following the Mysterious person's instructions, he pierced the corpse's shoulder blade with the iron hook.
As the plant zombie was sent into the incinerator, several other skeletons that were burned down to the bones could be seen.
"That... the extra coffin and tombstone from section 4 haven't been removed yet, I'll handle that now," Yi Chen mentioned.
"No rush.
You've killed the pathogen, eliminated the 'illness'. The tombstones and coffins associated with this body will disappear in succession, no need for further handling.
Before the cremation ends, we can have a private chat."
"Okay."
Yi Chen himself wanted to understand more about this world.
Just the bizarre experiences in the cemetery had completely drawn him in.
The Mysterious person opened a secret passage leading to the basement,
which effectively isolated the dry heat and odor from the Cremation Area,
the so-called basement turned out to be a room lavishly decorated in heavy European style, a three-room suite, fully equipped with living necessities.
Seeing this,
it was quite possible that the other party had been living here for a long time.