The four of them walked into the Vinal City.
Edmund provided a brief analysis of the upcoming Hunting Plan:
"Only two months after the 'False Moon Incident,' the remaining 'Moonscar' have grown on their own in the ruined city, without any leadership.
Unless soone like Mr. Lee, who has a gentleman’s foundation and has taken an entire bottle of secret dicine, they are unlikely to beco a 'Severe Patient.'
Most ordinary citizens transford into Moonscar can at most reach the level of 'Infected.' I believe most survivors are still in the early stages of infection, with incomplete awareness.
The city's ruins have already been cleared once by the organization, so the overall threat level shouldn't be much higher than Green Lake Town.
Considering the 'ti' factor, we can gradually increase our hunting speed. Before the deadline, we need to gather as much moon skin as possible to increase our leverage."
As Edmund laid out the action plan, he scratched the needle mark on his neck. The skin around it had sprouted white fur, similar to a rat's.
Yi Chen also pretended to scratch his neck, mimicking discomfort.
He hadn’t inford the team that Little Grape had already extracted the pathogen serum from his bloodstream imdiately after the injection.
The reason was simple: to share the psychological burden with Edmund.
Upon entering the city,
The group did not wander aimlessly in search of Moonscar. Instead, they headed to a specific area.
Their destination was the spot where they had sensed a "watchful gaze" while crossing the city by carriage the previous day—likely the hunting target's origin.
However,
They didn’t explore suspicious buildings, ruins, or sewers directly.
Instead, they deliberately chose prominent locations such as open streets, the tops of broken buildings, and intersections, pretending to investigate as they walked back and forth.
Just ten minutes into their "stroll,"
A hidden eye between Little Grape's teeth suddenly opened, and he felt the gaze again.
"They’ve taken the bait~ Southeast direction, Old-John Theatre... and it seems there’s more than one. Multiple Grapes are watching here."
Upon receiving this crucial information, the team didn’t approach directly.
They continued the charade of investigating and naturally turned into a side street that obscured the view of the theatre.
Clank!
Dagobert lifted a manhole cover marked with the city's abbreviation, (Vinal City).
When the four descended into the sewer, the scene below could only be described as hellish.
Mangled, rotting, maggot-infested body parts floated in the foul-slling water channels or piled along the passages.
During the 'False Moon Incident,' many unaffected citizens had sought refuge in the sewers. Yet, in the end, none escaped death.
They hadn’t walked far when they discovered fresh 'traces'.
Blood trails and signs of rummaged corpse piles indicated that sothing had been active in the sewers for so ti, selecting pri corpses for food or other purposes.
Touching a still-wet bloodstain, Edmund’s eyes glead.
"An unexpected bonus... Let’s deal with whatever’s in the sewers before heading to the theatre."
Following the dragged blood trail,
The team felt a mix of tension and excitent—facing this rare Moon Disease for the first ti, fundantally different from Green Lake Town’s Ichthyosis.
These rare strains might grant the infected unexpected abilities.
"There..."
Juliana, who seed to possess a special tracking ability, quickly pinpointed a rusty iron gate.
Beyond it lay a side section of the sewer, once a haven for holess people.
Through the gate, they could see faint firelight—clearly, sothing was hiding inside.
Pouring lubricant on the hinges to ensure silence,
They extinguished their kerosene lamp and crept along the wall.
The firelight grew brighter, and they could hear the raspy crackle of burning wood.
At the sa ti, a giant monster's shadow was cast on the corridor wall. It appeared to be a four-legged beast, devouring corpses voraciously.
“Get ready!”
When the fully ard team of four reached the deepest part, what t their eyes wasn’t a monster.
Instead, it was an elderly man, shirtless, wearing tattered cloth pants, with a thin fra and long silver hair cascading down to his waist.
He sat cross-legged in front of a campfire he had built, roasting body parts he had recently collected.
A prominent "moon mark" was visible on the back of his neck.
Beside the old man, a well-behaved white Chihuahua sat, happily enjoying the fragrant grilled at the old man handed it.
If you ignored the source of the at, the scene seed quite heartwarming.
“Oh… visitors?” The old man spoke. “If you’re just passing by and don’t mind my environnt or food, co sit, eat, and chat.
If you’re here for a specific reason, please wait a mont. ‘Mili’ hasn’t had such a good appetite in days—let her enjoy a bit more before moving on.”
Yi Chen didn’t sense any hostility for now. He signaled his teammates to stay still, approached, and sat cross-legged by the fire.
“Let William handle the talking… he seems experienced with this,” said Captain Edmund, having fought alongside Yi Chen the night before.
Of course, his right hand was already on his holstered gun. If the old man showed any hostility or suspicious movent, the bullet would be fired imdiately.
By the fire, Yi Chen noticed the old man’s silver eyes—matching his hair—glistening with an eerie gleam. Little Grape, the team’s pet, stared intently, drooling.
When the old man handed over so at, Yi Chen accepted it calmly.
However, he didn’t eat it himself but, like the old man, fed it to their “pet.” Little Grape, while primarily an eyeball-eater, was happy to eat any kind of at.
Looking into the old man’s silver eyes, Yi Chen asked, “Why don’t you leave this place?”
“The sewer is my ho. Compared to before, there’s more food and a more comfortable environnt. Why leave? And where would I go? To beco soone else’s food?”
Yi Chen continued, “We found other survivors in the ruins, similar to you. Why are they staying here?”
“You must an that group at Old John’s Theater. Recently, more survivors have regained full consciousness. They’re all being invited to the theater for so ‘leader selection’ event.
They invited
too, but I wasn’t interested.
I guess after they pick a ‘leader,’ they’ll organize everyone to leave together. Moving as a group is more effective when looking for a new ho.”
“Leader selection.”
It was valuable intel. If the old man was telling the truth, Yi Chen and his team wouldn’t need to search anymore—all the lunar survivors were gathered at the theater.
“Do you know how many people are in the theater?”
“No idea… I’m just a wanderer. I don’t care about those things above ground.
By the way, you’re special humans sent to clear out the remaining survivors after the ‘False Moon Incident,’ right?”
“Yes.” Yi Chen didn’t deny it.
“There must be more of you than just the four here. Are others waiting to clean up the city?”
At this, Yi Chen noticed the old man’s silver eyes flash. He smiled and replied:
“Exactly.
We’re the reconnaissance team. Once we confirm survivors, the main force will co to clear the area quickly.
By the way, your poor acting needs improvent.
You deliberately revealed information about the theater, trying to lower my guard. Halfway through, you couldn’t resist probing if others were with us above ground.
You tried to distance yourself from the theater while setting your ‘lair’ near the sewers leading to it.
Even leaving faint firelight and blood traces—too obvious, old man.
If I’m right, you’re part of the theater, the ‘Watchdog’ responsible for guarding the sewers, aren’t you?”
As he finished speaking, a silver bullet struck the old man in the back of the head.
Reviews
All reviews (0)