Chapter 9: Departure
Perhaps because it was the first time swallowing a hard object the size of a ping pong ball,
Perhaps because the upcoming events would determine life or death,
Perhaps due to the sensory enhancement brought by the small fleshy ball,
Yi Chen could clearly feel the digestive reactions occurring in his stomach,
The crystal's embryo-like smooth outer layer was constantly bubbling and decomposing under the erosion of gastric acid... These digested outer layers were absorbed by the stomach as nutrients,
Finally exposing the pathological substance in the crystal's core,
A "green strip-like body" between an ascaris and a rootlet
Entering the intestines through the stomach, it was eventually broken down and absorbed by digestive enzymes and bile in the intestines, flowing into the blood circulation.
In an instant,
Yi Chen's blood throughout his body showed a fluorescent green color,
The structure of the blood vessel walls was undergoing 'secondary growth' unique to plants, a kind of vascular bundle similar to plants nested within the blood vessels,
The whole process was extremely painful, as if it would separate the blood vessels from other body tissues,
Far exceeding the intense pain brought by the previous piercing and pulling out of the foot,
Just as consciousness was about to be scattered by this pain,
The pathological essence mixed in the blood formally flowed into the depths of the brain, bringing his thoughts to a peculiar memory recall.
This was an intermittent signal memory stored in plant cells,
Integrated and processed using Yi Chen's brain, and finally projected into the memory area for 'personal experience'.
He could feel the entire process of a tree experiencing seed germination, sapling growth, and trunk formation.
Experiencing the roots growing downwards, sucking moisture from deep in the soil, and the subtle feeling of forming a symbiotic structure with bacteria in the soil.
Feeling the photosynthesis unique to plant cells, breathing in carbon dioxide from the air.
Experiencing staged transformations - primary growth and secondary growth, establishing a complete and sound plant system, becoming a silent guardian in the cemetery.
Until finally being infected by an unknown pathogen, transforming into a zombie through mimicry.
What Yi Chen himself didn't know was that during the process of reading this plant memory,
His physical body in the operating room was undergoing strange changes,
Newborn green stems grew from the pores, emerging from the cuffs, collar, or waistband.
Wriggling hyphae emerged from the corners of his mouth, nostrils, and ear canals,
The wide-open pupils were dyed green, constantly dilating and contracting to varying degrees.
This state lasted for an unknown period,
When the memory review ended and his thoughts returned to reality,
"Am I alive?"
Yi Chen hurriedly examined his entire body, finding no bark or branch structures (they had already retracted into his body)... His body was still the same as before, only vaguely feeling that his physical qualities seemed to have improved somewhat.
The cemetery manager, Mr. Wilbert, revealed a satisfied smile,
"I knew you could do it."
He seemed to have anticipated that Yi Chen would survive
Bringing over pre-prepared, unprocessed vegetarian food,
When Yi Chen saw these vegetables,
He had a sense of déjà vu like a homeless person seeing delicious delicacies, devouring them without regard for appearance, eating a full five or six pounds of vegetarian food.
During the meal,
The wounds caused by the previous battle with zombies were healing at a visible rate, and the sutures provided by the small fleshy ball were also covered by new flesh.
Yi Chen muttered: "My body... has undergone some changes."
The manager explained, "That's right, you have perfectly accepted the 'pathological characteristics' in the crystal. What specific changes it has made to your body needs to be explored on your own.
Once you officially become a member of the organization, you will be able to search for details about this characteristic."
As he spoke,
The manager took out a special metal business card from his pocket, entirely silver in color.
The back was engraved with the logo of organization G&D,
The front was printed in a flowing italic font with [Seven-Day], representing the current seven-day cemetery.
While handing over the card, he also said:
"Since you have achieved the 'requirement', the little one on your shoulder also belongs to you.
Note that if someone asks about the origin of this little one, you can choose to ignore it.
If necessary, just show this card, which can save you a lot of trouble.
The world is diseased,
Even healthy organisms become suspicious by nature, try to avoid trouble when traveling alone as much as possible."
"Thank you."
Just as Yi Chen took the card, Wilbert suddenly remembered an important question.
"I seem to have not asked for your voluntary consent before starting to guide you to join the organization on my own.
Let's start over... Do you want to become a member of the organization?
If your willingness is not strong or you are rather reluctant, you can continue to work in the cemetery, and you will receive a generous salary when you reach the contract period."
Yi Chen answered without any hesitation:
"I want to go out and see the world outside."
"Very well.
At noon tomorrow, go to the eastern exit of the town.
Show the card to the coachman, and he will naturally take you to the area related to the organization."
As he spoke, the manager tossed over a small linen pouch containing heavy coins,
"These are your overdue wages for the past few months and the special bonus for this event.
Since your work uniform was damaged in the battle,
Before departing, remember to visit the most high-end clothing store in Easton Town... Show the card to the owner, and she will make a set of quality clothing befitting your status.
The organization has certain requirements for a person's attire and appearance.
Don't throw away the gentlemanly etiquette you learned in the orphanage... Elegant habits can effectively isolate the mental effects of pathological changes."
"Understood. Um..."
Yi Chen looked somewhat reluctantly at the silver-plated hand axe in his hand, this axe was quite good in both workmanship and the disease-repelling effect of silver.
The manager waved his hand,
"Take this basic weapon made by the organization's craftsmen, along with the specially made long-lasting oil lamp. The journey to the organization will not be smooth sailing, light sources and sharp tools are indispensable."
"Thank you."
With little time left until the next morning,
After saying goodbye, Yi Chen returned to the wooden house to sleep and rest.
When the thin sunlight penetrated through layers of mist, squeezing through the narrow gaps between branches and leaves into the cemetery,
The young man, with an oil lamp and hand axe stored at his waist, bowed deeply to Cemetery No. 7 before setting off...
Correspondingly.
At the entrance of Cemetery No. 7.
The cemetery manager, Wilbert, with raven-like eyes, penetrated through the buildings and trees in the cemetery, watching the young man's departing figure, his lips twitching slightly.
He seemed extremely reluctant to part with a certain 'item' that the young man had taken away.
It wasn't the high-quality [crystal] taken from the corpse,
But an important product of the cemetery, the small fleshy ball stuck on Yi Chen's shoulder.
"I wonder if such an expensive investment is worth it.
How long has it been since a 'mature consciousness entity' appeared in the nameless grave? Probably over a hundred years?
Coincidentally appearing at the same time as a potential candidate who can kill zombies and accept crystals.
Coincidence? Or some kind of synchronicity?
Nevermind... Let's consider it a big gamble."
In yesterday's conversation with Yi Chen, the manager deliberately didn't elaborate on this small fleshy ball, only briefly mentioning it as a "pet" and "cemetery product".
Moreover, what Yi Chen didn't know was that,
The division of the cemetery not only corresponded to differences in corpse forms, rule management, and tombstone types.
The [order] of 1 to 6 also had important significance.
As the number increased, the cycle for the cemetery to produce corresponding 'products' would greatly extend, and the complexity and danger of the corpses buried within would also increase gradually.
In other words,
Those [nameless strange corpses] buried in Cemetery No. 6, without names and of unknown origin, were the most dangerous.
(End of chapter)
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