The Last Gentleman-Chapter 226: Accelerating Death

The next morning.

Barry woke himself up with a loud snore and sat up from the bed. His gaze caught Yi Chen, who was meditating on the sofa and looked rather strange.

Metallic spikes had grown all over his body, as if the spikes were a part of Yi Chen himself.

Merely looking at them made Barry feel an indistinct pain — he certainly didn’t want to touch the spikes.

By that time, the spikes had slowly retracted, and Yi Chen opened his clear, transparent eyes.

“Barry, are you awake? Let’s go downstairs for a meal and then head out immediately.”

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“Okay,” Barry said as he put on his armor, still concerned about the spikes he had just seen, “William, what’s with those metal spikes growing inside you? I don’t remember feeling anything like that when I fought you.”

“They’re something I only got recently in the Old World.”

“You found more than just relics? Also some physical gains?”

As soon as he said this, Barry felt the gap between him and Yi Chen widening significantly.

“Right, nothing happened last night, did it?”

As Barry asked this, Yi Chen glanced at the iron hammer emblem between the large shields, “Nothing at all.”

…

When they took the elevator to the restaurant on the Second Floor.

Yi Chen noticed that the gentlemen dining there all looked forlorn and lacked any vigor, a stark contrast to the energetic young people within Zion.

Barry remarked on the side:

“These gentlemen, who couldn’t stay in Zion but were assigned to cities under the organization, basically have no future prospects. Of course, that excludes clinic apprentices and some special staff.

These gentlemen are often past the prime age for breakthroughs and have limited potential. They wouldn’t get a turn at the newly discovered ‘relic incidents’ unless they achieved something remarkable enough to catch the organization’s attention at their posts.

Of course, they are still much stronger than ordinary people.

Ah~ I need to work hard too. If I can’t make a breakthrough in another two years, the organization will also give up on grooming me. Even if I could use my family’s influence to stay in Zion, there wouldn’t be much hope for a breakthrough.”

Yi Chen gently patted Barry on the shoulder, “This incident is a great opportunity, as long as we can return smoothly, the organization should arrange a relic incident for you.”

“True, I really need to push myself,” Barry replied.

Barry stuffed three croissants into his mouth in one bite, poised as if ready to sprint.

After devouring three portions of breakfast, Barry looked around and said, “You know, there seem to be some gentlemen here who have reached their limit, are experienced, and very familiar with the city area. Should we recruit them to join us?”

While slurping spaghetti, Yi Chen quickly shook his head. Next to his plate lay a map of Levinholm City with its sewer passageways.

“Facing the unknown, it’s actually better to have people like us, who are unfamiliar with the city, as we are more likely to spot problems. Besides, these people have no fighting spirit, bringing them along would only hold us back.

If we encounter unavoidable death situations, it would just be the two of us dying, rather than dragging others down with us.”

Barry felt a chill in his heart upon hearing this, feeling as if he was collaborating with a madman.

When their leisurely breakfast was over and the duo was about to set off, a frantic hotel staff member hurried to the center of the restaurant, loudly conveying an urgent message:

“Gentlemen, please pay attention! We just received a message from a team stationed at the Dom River. Last night during the rain, over 900 civilians drowned themselves in the lake. Their bodies are now floating on the lake surface, and many deaths occurred in other blocks as well.

Gentlemen who have reached their ‘limit’ please go to the Dom River immediately for the assembly to assist in retrieving and loading the bodies.”

This announcement caused a stir in the cafeteria.

One should know that previous death incidents had all occurred secretly;this kind of mass death was unheard of, creating an uneasy atmosphere throughout the cafeteria.

Yi Chen frowned, pondering in his mind:

“As the ,Death Symbol,’ was unearthed by the hospital and after I captured a dead person alive, are those hidden in the shadows preparing to make their move?”

Just then, a young gentleman in the cafeteria, looking terrified, said:

“I… Many of us have not yet reached the Limit, and can’t be of much help, staying at the hotel only temporarily uses public resources. It might be better to allow us to evacuate the city area ahead of time to reduce the burden.”

However, the person in charge responded with a serious face, “Zion has issued a notice, to prevent the leakage and transmission of the ,Death Factor,’ no one is allowed to leave Levinhome until the exact source of infection and its nature are identified or unless a unified evacuation directive is received.

If anyone evacuates privately, they will be considered ,Defectors.'”

These words immediately spread panic throughout the dining hall.

“Gentlemen who have reached the Limit, please take your equipment and tools, and gather in the lobby within five minutes. We will head to the Dom River together.”

Yi Chen stood up immediately, and with a snap of his fingers in front of the stunned Barry, said, “Let’s go!”

…

Dom River, a river running from west to east through the inner city of Levinhome.

Due to the heavy rain last night, the water level had risen almost to the edge of the bank.

Swollen bodies, faces down, were crowded on the surface of the lake. The gentlemen were using their abilities to bag the bodies in body bags that had isolation effects, and then carefully retrieving them to shore.

Yi Chen, who had rushed over, did not participate in the retrieval work, but stood on an arch bridge carefully observing the bodies on the lake surface, quite puzzled.

The nearby gentlemen couldn’t help but see Yi Chen’s behavior as ‘slacking,’ occasionally casting contemptuous glances.

Until a hand gently rested on Yi Chen’s shoulder, the surrounding gentlemen immediately turned their heads, their faces filled with shock.

Black-skinned, bald, with a Sun emblem on his back.

Director Dis actually took the initiative to come up to the arch bridge, resting a hand on Yi Chen’s shoulder, “William Behrens, it seems you’re puzzled by this ,mass suicide,’?”

Even though he felt the director’s presence, Yi Chen remained focused on the lake, not turning back.

“It’s obvious that they want to accelerate the rate of death invasion because we discovered the ,Death Symbol,’ and captured a dead person. They aimed to affect a large number of civilians directly by last night’s torrential rain, carrying out such a mass suicide.

But if the torrential rain covered the entire city last night, why did the residents near the river choose to jump into the water rather than resolve it at home?

If I remember correctly, the majority of the suicides found so far were also discovered in rivers and under bridges.

If it’s just suicide, it could be done anywhere, but the specific choice of the river implies they want to gain something from the suicides that occurred in the Dom River.

By the way~ Director Dis, did you get any conclusions from the samples taken from the deceased yesterday?”

“So far we only know that the black liquid inside the patient’s body can connect various biological corpses together, mimicking the appearance of the deceased when they were alive, with memories also fully inherited.

This liquid quickly evaporates into a colorless, invisible gas once it leaves the attached object.

More conclusions are still under investigation by Mr. Helvoye.”

“Carrying memories, connecting, and an invisible, colorless gas…”

Yi Chen had a vague realization,

“If I’m not mistaken, these suicide victims, after death, pass on something carrying their memories, then invade other animals’ corpses to construct the dead, mimicking their appearance before death.

With so many people dying in the Dom River, it’s possible that the ‘thing’ released from their bodies could settle at the bottom of the riverbed.

I suggest conducting a search around the sewage areas near the Dom River.”

“Good, just like I thought… My troops from the Sun Church are already on their way, do you want to join?”

“Sure, both Barry and I will join.”