Chapter 50

Chapter 50: I Found You (Seventh Update)

The next day.

In a row house across from the Clock Tower Hospital, a man awakened from his bed.

Dressed and standing before a full-length mirror, he adjusted his robes meticulously.

He picked up a bottle of ink-green potion emitting bubbles and green mist from beside the bed, slowly unscrewing the cap and downing it in one gulp. His facial muscles began to contort, but soon calmed down again.

The potion had already seeped into every part of his body.

He slowly put on a silver raven mask and grabbed a brown leather suitcase with an ancient bronze clasp.

He could never walk the path of a “Newborn”… He lacked the courage to embrace death. He feared it.

After years of research, he finally developed a highly harmless, barely detectable, and extremely slow-spreading infectious bacterium.

This was the most covert bacterium, crafted by his own hands, and no one would ever discover it.

The best “Plague Doctor” would also be the finest “Epidemic Messenger.”

If one path doesn’t work, take another…

He had tested the drug on two villages without any issues. Until now, no one knew why occasional deaths occurred in the villages.

A year ago, he had spread the virus, following the speed of dehydration syndrome. By now, almost the entire Clock Tower Lane District was affected, yet no one noticed. But if he delayed further, the virus’s reproduction rate and harmfulness would increase rapidly.

Now, all he needed was to wait until he completed his regular tasks and when the crowd was at its densest. Then, he would simply activate the Sealed Object hidden in the sewers…

At that moment, those wretched church lackeys and lowly commoners would become nutrients for his growth.

Having consumed the potion, tonight he would activate the Sealed Object!

Everything was ready.

He carried the suitcase and descended the stairs.

“You’re awake? Doctor?”

“Good morning, Teacher!”

“You look very happy today, Doctor Xiu.”

Xiu nodded continuously, greeting those around him. He noticed many people on the street today, all heading in the same direction, each holding some sort of promotional flyer.

Xiu, originally headed toward the hospital, stopped in his tracks.

“Hey, where are you going?” Xiu curiously called out to a passerby.

“Look,” the passerby said, handing Xiu the flyer without hesitation.

Xiu took the flyer and his pupils slightly contracted.

“Shocking! Terrifying Unknown Dehydration Syndrome Spreading! Have you been feeling thirsty lately?!”

The headline was enough to grab attention. Xiu quickly scanned the flyer. The front talked about common symptoms of dehydration, which most people tend to overlook. But later, the tone changed.

It mentioned that a high-ranking bishop from the An Su Church would be reading healing scriptures for free, helping everyone to resolve the unknown cause of dehydration, and distributing free lunch after the ceremony.

Bullshit!

F*ck!

Xiu crumpled the flyer in frustration, his face under the mask showing visible veins.

How could anyone discover his virus? Reading scriptures to remove the virus? After years of hard work developing my unique virus, you think reciting a few lines can get rid of it?

Go to hell!

Xiu felt his breathing quicken, and soon a terrifying thought crossed his mind.

Enjoy preaching?

Enjoy gathering crowds in the square?

Alright, I thank you.

Let me activate the Sealed Object during your sermon, causing everyone to die right in front of you.

Xiu discarded the ill-fated flyer and hurried towards the Clock Tower Church. It involved his promotion ceremony, and he had to see what this preaching was about.

He had planned this for a long time. Having drunk the potion, he didn’t have much time left to prepare another virus spread. He had changed his plan mid-way, only managing to develop one virus.

Soon, he found himself in a crowded square, trying to push his way toward the sewer inspection hatch, diving into the crowd.

Suddenly, he bumped into something. His brow furrowed as he looked down.

The hand-pulled cart covered with cloth had barrels inside.

What could it be? Xie Lun frowned slightly.

At this moment, the entire square fell silent. A red-haired girl held a piece of paper in her left hand and a megaphone in her right, speaking slowly with a mocking tone coming from the megaphone.

“Uh… I’m very sorry, you lost in your replication ritual. Your dehydrated infection is like dog feces.”

“Ten thousand people? Ten thousand people are mine…”

But Xie Lun, standing below the stage, felt his pupils tremble. The words coming from the megaphone made him feel a sense of foreboding.

What? What do you mean I lost in my replication ritual?

Who?

What do you mean ten thousand people are hers…

“Zi…”

The faint smell of gunpowder entered Xie Lun’s nostrils. He looked in horror at the handcart beside him; the cloth revealed a burning fuse.

“Who! Who is it!” Xie Lun suddenly looked up, scanning the surroundings, trying to find the hidden hand behind the curtain.

“Boom—!”

“Boom—!!!”

“Boom—!”

Explosions rang out one after another. Countless explosive barrels detonated, covering the entire square in flames, shrapnel, body parts, and smoke. Screams and cries echoed everywhere. The explosion of the gunpowder mixed with oil drums spread the fire rapidly through the crowd, turning the scene into a hell on earth!

At this moment, Xie Lun, who had been blown away by the explosives, had half of his mask blown off. He stared in horror at the terrifying scene before him, mouth agape, unable to utter a sound.

Freaks!!!

Freaks!!!

This is the replication ritual!!!

Is this the “Tempter” path or the “Assassin” path?!!! Ten thousand people!!! How dare you!!! Ten thousand people!!! How dare you!!!

Beneath Xie Lun’s skin, dark green muscle tissue was rapidly regenerating. The empty eye socket on his left side was filled with dark green vitreous fluid.

Dead… dead…

No… no… no… my sealed object is still in the sewer and hasn’t been activated. You can’t just die like this…

How could anyone gather in the church square after this explosion???

It’s her!!!

After the ear-splitting noise from the explosion gradually faded, he looked up at the girl on the church steps. She seemed as calm as if she were watching a comedy that wasn’t funny.

“My ritual… my new path… my pathogen…”

Everything felt like a joke, cruelly shattered.

Xie Lun could feel his mind whispering maniacally, and everything around him began to blur.

“It’s you!!!”

Xie Lun’s consciousness was already muddled. He rushed into the inferno, crossing over the sea of corpses and flames, charging toward the podium above. He lunged forward, splattering the girl’s face with blood mixed with green toxins.

“You bastard! Why did you destroy my ritual!!! Die!!!”

The skin on the girl’s face was being eroded furiously, but her smile grew even wider. She looked at Xie Lun with joy, as if she had found some treasure.

Xie Lun looked down and saw that the girl was staring at the Redemption Society emblem hanging loosely on his black robe, which bore the name Xie Lun.

The girl’s smile grew even broader: “I found you…”

A shadow emerged from behind the girl, holding a brand-new revolver aimed at her temple.

“See you later.”

Bang—!

A gunshot rang out, the shadow vanished, the gun landed, and the girl’s brains splattered out the other side, dying right before Xie Lun’s eyes.

“Freaks!!! Freaks!!!”

Xie Lun, feeling the spreading flames behind him and the increasingly frenzied whispers in his head, roared to the sky.

“Why is this happening!!!!”

“Aaaahhhhhhh!!!!”

Xie Lun screamed helplessly, his poisonous green arm emerging from his mouth along with his roar. The potion was rapidly eroding his body, corrupting his spiritual reason…