Chapter 8: Requirements
In the fireplace made of red bricks,
The burning firewood, like an old man about to exhaust his life, made its final moan with a hoarse, feeble voice.
Yi Chen sat across from the mysterious person on a tea-colored leather sofa,
Holding a steaming cup of ginger tea, which effectively dispels the cold accumulated from years of living among graveyards.
"Your elegant performance has earned you the opportunity to talk with me here.
As an outsourced worker, you must have many questions in your mind... Don't be restrained, feel free to chat about anything."
"How should I address you?"
"Just call me Wilbert. I'm in charge of this Seven-Day Cemetery."
As Yi Chen had guessed, this was indeed the manager mentioned in the handbook.
"I'd like to know why an extra corpse suddenly appeared in Grave No. 4?
If a corpse was brought in from outside the cemetery,
There must have been a transportation and burial process, which should be easy to notice, right?"
Yi Chen started with the small question directly related to him, trying to open up the conversation between them. If possible, he would then inquire about the basic situation of this world.
"The 'corpse' you killed didn't come from outside, but was generated by the cemetery itself."
"Self-generated?"
"Grave No. 4 is the area with the most and most diverse corpses.
Such chaos easily attracts 'disease',
The animated corpse you slayed was a product of tree disease... Because it formed within the cemetery, it naturally tended towards the corpses here for 'morphological evolution'."
Having received the answer, Yi Chen generated more questions, "Trees turn into corpse-like forms after being infected? Then where did the matching coffin and tombstone come from?"
"[Concealment and disguise] is what pathogens are best at, blending into the environment with almost perfect mimicry... By the time they're discovered, the disease has already spread.
However, their disguise is not absolutely perfect.
Once you become a gentleman in the organization, you'll naturally learn the identification methods."
Yi Chen looked surprised, "Are you saying that metal coffin and tombstone were all simulated by the pathogen?"
"That's right, this is just the most basic disguise.
You haven't seen pathogens disguised as a village, a cave, or even a mountain range yet."
Although Wilbert's words were brief, they allowed Yi Chen to envision a completely diseased end-of-the-world scenario.
However,
A slight smile appeared on Yi Chen's lips, a smile full of anticipation and desire for exploration.
Taking a sip of the ginger tea, he said softly:
"Is this world... sick?"
"That's right, for most people, the fact that we can sit here drinking tea and having a normal conversation is already quite a luxury.
The situation [outside] is far worse than you can imagine,
However, topics about the outside world are not what we should be discussing now, that belongs to your subsequent exploration work."
Seeing the topic being pulled back, Yi Chen didn't insist further and continued to ask about things within the cemetery.
"I still have some questions about the cemetery,
The employee handbook records many standardized requirements, which should all be used to determine whether something is 'infected' or not.
From this perspective,
It seems that abnormalities and disease outbreaks could easily occur in the entire cemetery... Knowing these corpses might cause problems, why not directly cremate them instead of choosing to establish this cemetery?"
"The reason is simple,
The 'benefits' generated here outweigh the 'risks' that need to be borne,
You can view the entire cemetery as a large factory,
For example, this little fellow on your shoulder is an almost perfect [product], it can effectively assist us in combating pathogens."
"I see."
Yi Chen had already witnessed the 'capabilities' of the little flesh ball,
Without visual enhancement, he wouldn't have been able to confront the animated corpse head-on.
The manager continued:
"Technically speaking, this little fellow belongs to the organization's property.
However, I'm very pleased today, and I'm glad to see an interesting newcomer like you.
If you can fulfill one requirement, I'll 'quietly' give this little fellow to you."
"What requirement?"
Not beating around the bush, Yi Chen really wanted this little flesh ball.
"You'll know after the cremation is over."
Afterwards,
Yi Chen inquired about the situations in various areas of the cemetery,
Learning that before him, at least over two hundred outsourced employees had worked here, and none of them had successfully left the cemetery.
He also obtained another important piece of information.
The organization's mark G&D,
Stands for Gentleman & Doctor.
However,
Regarding other matters of the organization, world information, and the cause of the disease, the manager didn't say much.
According to him, these things need Yi Chen to explore for himself in the outside world.
Verbal recounting would be a waste of time and meaningless.
Time passed quickly.
The manager rolled up his sleeve and glanced at his watch.
"The cremation should be about done, follow me."
Returning to the hot, aromatic cremation area,
When the metal cover of the incinerator was opened, the plant corpse slain by Yi Chen had basically carbonized, but still retained a relatively complete form.
It was taken out, placed on a tray, and sent to the operating room.
The manager brought a large pair of tweezers, plucked out a crystal-clear spherical crystal about the size of a ping pong ball from the corpse's waist and abdomen.
The little flesh ball, which had been resting with its eyes closed the whole time, woke up at this moment,
Revealing the eyeball in its mouth, staring intently at this pearl-like body.
Thick saliva also flowed out, soaking all the fluff around its mouth.
Ding~ The manager gently placed the pearl on a metal tray nearby,
Took out a monocle from the inner lining of his suit, and carefully observed:
"Hmm? To have such color and shape... I'm a bit regretful now.
This thing could fetch a high price if taken to the organization. It could even help me expand and upgrade the cemetery."
After completing the inspection,
The manager placed the pearl in his palm, displaying it before Yi Chen's eyes.
It was white jade in color,
With about 80% transparency,
Some moving green light spots could be clearly seen inside,
"I have to say, your luck is really good.
The probability of an initial-stage infected producing a 'crystal' like this is less than 5%,
Not to mention that this crystal is of superior quality in both shape and color, with the internal essence perfectly preserved.
Now you have three choices.
1. Keep and hide this crystal, then head to the city where the organization is located.
After you become a resident there, or are granted the status of a gentleman, give the pearl to local craftsmen to forge a good piece of equipment.
2. Similar to the previous method, you need to become a member of the organization, and sell it at a high price through internal channels.
Or sell it directly to me at 50% of the price, which can help you avoid a lot of risks. After all, once this pearl is seen by others, it will inevitably bring considerable trouble.
3. Swallow the crystal on the spot here, making it a part of your body.
This process carries a risk of death,
If you succeed, you will gain the 「disease characteristics」 preserved in the crystal... These characteristics can help you live longer in this world, and also give you a greater chance of passing the tests to become a member of the organization.
The third point is also the [requirement] we discussed earlier,
As long as you can swallow it and survive, the little fellow on your shoulder will be given to you as a farewell gift from the cemetery."
Yi Chen didn't rush to answer, but instead appeared to be in deep thought.
"Manager, I have only one question.
If I'm not mistaken, this thing is a crystalline product of the pathogen... After I swallow it, is there a possibility that I could become infected and turn into something similar to an animated corpse?"
"That's correct, the risk lies there.
If you fail to integrate normally and show any symptoms of infection, I will personally execute you."
"I understand."
Yi Chen carefully took the crystal, feeling the residual heat of incineration on its surface.
Having already made his decision in his heart,
Gulp~ He swallowed it in one go.
(End of Chapter)
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