The carriage halted on the road at the foot of the mountain. The coachman, wearing a tal mask, gave a reminder:
"When you complete the mission, head east along this road for three kiloters. You’ll find at the fork there. If it takes you more than a week, you’ll need to walk back to Zion."
"Got it."
Gazing up at the hill adjacent to the city of Vinal,
In Yi Chen's forr world, this place would have been developed into a tourist attraction—with cable cars, entertainnt facilities, and perhaps even a temple on the summit.
However, here there were no elevators or cable cars, not even stone steps on the mountain path.
The four of them could only climb the steep trail, holding onto trees, experiencing the primal joy of hiking.
During the ascent, Yi Chen gnawed on so bark and touched plants to sense the surroundings of the hill.
Nothing happened along the way—not a hint of danger, not even a small animal in sight.
A deathly silence.
As they climbed the last stretch of the slope, glimpses through the trees revealed stone walls built from large, roughly hewn blocks. Gradually, the clinic’s front door, made of pitch-black iron, ca into view.
Gargoyle statues adorned the walls, similar in style to those in Zion.
But most were cracked, chipped, or completely broken, no longer serving their purpose.
"Finally here..."
Edmund stretched lazily,
An apparently casual movent, but in reality, he was adjusting the team’s formation.
Dagbert, carrying a massive sword, imdiately moved to the front. Edmund and Juliana aligned themselves behind him, forming a stable triangular formation—second nature to them.
Edmund glanced at their new teammate. "William, your vision is better than ours. Stick close to Dagbert during the initial exploration phase, alright?"
"Got it."
The four of them approached the gate.
Dagbert extended his muscular arm, marked with the "Muscle Emblem." His open palm pressed against the iron door,
Shifting his weight downward,
Both feet sinking into the ground,
He strained against the gears inside the door, forcing it open.
Dagbert’s profession—[Strongman]—ca from the Blue Letter.
Characteristic: "Muscle Developnt"
This further unlocks the individual’s muscle potential, optimizing and rearranging muscle cells, raising the upper limit of the "Physique" standard. It introduces a seventh level—'Transcendence.'
This allows the individual to exceed their physical limits, achieving even greater heights.
...
Standing closest, Yi Chen could clearly see the rhythmic movent of muscle fibers in Dagbert’s arm as he pushed the iron door. It was as if powerful waves were surging through him, granting incredible strength.
‘What an impressive physique!
The enhancents from his profession are terrifying. If I had chosen the Blue Letter, I might control mountain plants or turn roots into spears like the undead, greatly boosting my combat ability.’
But Yi Chen dismissed the thought; given the choice again, he would still pick the Purple Letter.
They stepped through the gate.
The three-story main building stretched out before them.
The front courtyard was flattened, showing the many footprints of previous recovery teams.
The doors and windows of the main building were almost entirely damaged,
The walls had so cracks,
But the structure remained intact and solid.
The overall appearance resembled a hospital from a bygone era, abandoned and forgotten by ti.
Following the main stone path forward led to the entrance of the main clinic building.
A tal sign reading "Twilight Clinic" hung vertically beside the front door.
At this point, Edmund gave instructions:
“The first day’s exploration doesn’t need to be too thorough. Focus on understanding the clinic’s layout and identifying potential dangers… Avoid acting alone, and stay in small teams throughout.”
“Understood.”
Lighting the kerosene lamp, the team stepped into the abandoned Twilight Clinic.
[First Floor Lobby]
Upon entering, they imdiately saw a large portrait of Dr. McCoff fallen on the ground. The area above the mouth was completely burned.
The counter next to the door was also in ruins; all the drawers were open, and discarded docunts lay scattered across the floor.
Directly opposite the entrance stood an elevator that led to the second and third floors. The iron elevator shaft was severely deford, as if a violent struggle had taken place inside, rendering it unusable.
Furthermore, the presence of the elevator and wall lamps indicated that the clinic once operated on electricity.
Due to the power outage, the hallways leading to the left and right were shrouded in darkness, with no visible end.
“Let’s start with the right side.”
After a preliminary exploration, the clinic appeared ominously eerie but posed no imdiate danger. Even Little Grape's keen eyesight detected nothing unusual.
The hospital had a simple three-floor structure:
- The first floor was the standard treatnt area.
Gentlen with common injuries or surface infections would receive quick treatnt here. Secret transactions for dicines or even secret dicine also took place discreetly.
- The second floor housed inpatient rooms on the left and operating rooms on the right.
This area treated gentlen with severe, life-threatening injuries. A strict evaluation system was in place; if an injury or disease reached a certain severity, the clinic could refuse treatnt or even execute the patient in advance. So gentlen, knowing their condition was hopeless, sought euthanasia here, donating their ailing bodies to the clinic for research.
- The third floor had an apprentice rest area on the left and a storeroom for instrunts, standard dicines, and miscellaneous items on the right.
However, the team noticed one issue: there was no area dedicated to secret dicine in the main building.
“Is it at the back?”
Leaving through the front door and skirting the periter wall to the backyard, they discovered a sealed tal tower standing deep in the courtyard, near the edge of a hill.
On the way to the tower, nurous warning signs were planted in the ground, each with different ssages:
- "Danger Zone: No Unauthorized Access"
- "Clinic Restricted Area: Trespassers Will Face Consequences"
- "Unauthorized Entry Will Result in Imdiate Execution"
“Is this where they make the secret dicine?”
The tower's main entrance had already been breached by the salvage team. Passing through a cold, dark stone corridor, they entered a starkly different area inside the tower, contrasting sharply with the main building's style.
[Material Extraction Zone]
Even after two months, the air was still thick with the sll of blood. The kerosene lamp’s light reflected off bloodstains and liquids, creating a deep red scene.
Most of the extraction equipnt had been destroyed, leaving only scattered remnants.
Yi Chen could vividly reconstruct a terrifying "Torture Chamber" in his mind due to his specialized training over the past six months.
The intense lessons from Zed’s “Paradise” had left an indelible mark. Any sign of torture or suffering imdiately triggered unpleasant mories.
Additionally, a circular staircase along the wall led to the upper "Secret dicine Processing Area" and Dr. McCoff's office.
Lingering there for a while, Yi Chen imagined the agony of past patients. He wondered:
“Why treat the ‘patients’ so cruelly?
Couldn’t they extract the materials directly?
Must they use such near-fatal thods to ‘force out’ what they need from patient's body? How exactly is the so-called ‘Twilight Silver Liquid’ made?”
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