Chapter 12: Green Lake Town
After a full six-hour journey by carriage, it was now dusk.
When Yi Chen stepped down from the carriage with excitement,
he didn't see any organizational emblems or grand architectural complexes.
What met his eyes was another small town.
About 200 meters behind him on the roadside stood a huge billboard:
[Welcome to Green Lake Town]
This small town, preserving a medieval style, carried a sense of vibrant life.
The buildings here were mainly made of slightly yellowed white bricks, paired with brown or red roofs.
Perhaps because there were no factories set up in the town,
the air was fresh and the overall light transmission was better.
One could feel the last bit of warmth from the setting sun on their skin.
Coupled with the spacious streets, neatly arranged trees, large areas of grass coverage, and the large lake adjoining the town, it gave a sense of quiet and natural comfort.
It was a tourist destination away from industrial cities, returning to nature.
Seeing such a vibrant small town,
Yi Chen felt a slight stirring of plants within his body, and various physiological needs quickly emerged.
"Just a moment..."
He quickly ducked into a small grove by the road.
The moment he undid his belt, a feeling similar to a flood release swept over his lower body.
After dealing with the waste water accumulated in his body,
due to not having eaten for a long time,
his gaze was immediately drawn to the lush vegetation around him, and saliva secreted.
In the end, he couldn't resist. After confirming there was no pathogenic infection, he directly bit into the tree bark, also pulling down some leaves and grass to eat together.
The plants that entered his stomach quickly converted into nutrients, with extremely high efficiency.
The whole process took less than five minutes.
Yi Chen had fully recovered to his pre-journey mental state.
Just as he walked out of the small grove and returned to the carriage,
Different types of carriages were successively arriving in this small town within his field of vision.
The people alighting from these carriages were all under thirty years old,
well-dressed,
and elegant in demeanor.
Each had their own unique style.
Yi Chen tried to ask the coachman beside him, "Are all these people coming to join the organization?"
"Every month, quite a few people come from various places to participate in the organization's assessment.
Some are born into well-known large families, with ancestors who were members of the organization.
Some come from special training groups, specifically to supply talents to the organization.
Very few, like you, are of common birth, noticed by organization members during external activities and sent here for assessment on short notice."
"I see."
"This small town is just a temporary transit point.
[Three days] later, organization members will come to Green Lake Town to guide you group of examinees to the [Headquarters]. Before that, you need to stay here temporarily.
I have other work to do, so I won't say more."
After delivering the relevant information, the coachman quickly disappeared from view, driving the carriage away.
"Need to wait here for three days?
Could it be that they want to wait until there are enough people for the assessment before heading to the organization together?"
Yi Chen felt the silver coins in his pocket and strode towards Green Lake Town before him.
Just as he was approaching the first building of the town, he caught sight of three young men walking towards him out of the corner of his eye.
The leading blond youth took off his hat and held it to his chest.
"Hey, friend! I'm Edmund, from the Mariano family.
Interested in joining our team?
We can look out for each other during the subsequent organization assessment, and I also have some confidential information about the assessment that I'm willing to share."
Behind the blond Edmund was a tall, cold beauty wearing a feather-decorated hat, and a Nordic giant nearly two meters tall carrying a greatsword.
Yi Chen noticed that
these people's main focus was not on him, but on the 'Little Grape' on his shoulder.
For Yi Chen, who had just crossed over to this side, joining a team could also incidentally gain a lot of useful information, but some problems and potential risks would come along with it.
Just as Yi Chen was hesitating slightly,
'Little Grape's voice came into his brain:
"I'm not very comfortable teaming up with strangers. The two of us are enough... There's no need to mix with them."
This suggestion made Yi Chen make an immediate decision.
After a slight bow, he turned and left directly, without even giving his own name.
Seeing Yi Chen's figure gradually disappear into the town,
The blond Edmund showed an embarrassed expression, "Huh? Was I not gentlemanly enough, or was there some other reason... he just walked away without even looking back?
Or is this fellow quite formidable, simply disdaining to team up with us?"
The woman behind Edmund lightly brushed her nose and mouth with her black nails, saying softly:
"He has an ineradicable 'dead' smell on him, plus his gentlemanly attire leans towards a dark style... This young man should be from the [Cemetery] under the organization.
The thing on his shoulder must also be a Cemetery product.
Perhaps it's a rare necromantic type. Such a strong person naturally wouldn't accept invitations.
And if we stay with him, we might very likely be treated as corpses."
Edmund shrugged, "Ah, what a pity~
But since we're in the same batch of assessments, we should be able to meet later.
I really want to see the standards of the Cemetery."
...
Inside Green Lake Town,
Yi Chen walked on the spacious main street.
Although the townspeople living here also wore masks, there was no sense of lifelessness at all.
There were also relatively more townspeople active outside, and they would actively greet each other.
When they saw outsiders like Yi Chen, they would slightly tilt their heads to show friendliness.
However,
such a comfortable and pleasant small town did not bring a truly comforting feeling.
As the walking time increased, as he went deeper into this small town, his heart became increasingly restless.
When this restlessness reached a certain limit,
Yi Chen suddenly turned his head.
What met his eyes was a two-story building with a sense of age, preserving a medieval style.
The wooden signboard hung on the front door by metal brackets had been severely eroded by rain, barely allowing the words on it to be seen clearly.
[Green Shade Inn]
Intuition told him that this inn was important.
Perhaps there was something there,
perhaps it was related to the secret of the small town.
"The feeling Green Lake Town gives is not as comfortable as it looks from the outside at all... The longer I walk on the streets, the more uncomfortable I feel. I'd even prefer to patrol in the cemetery.
This small town is not quite right, and the inn before us stands out even more.
Could it be... the assessment has already begun?
Little Grape, can you hide away first?"
As Yi Chen made his request,
Little Grape rolled along the collar into the interior, burying more than half of its fleshy ball into the skin, completely hidden under the clothing.
He resolutely stepped into the inn.
Ding! The door bell rang.
A rather strong incense smell wafted towards him.
Black leather shoes creaked on the wooden plank floor of the inn~
The windows in the corridor were all sealed with wooden strips, with related words saying 'Under Maintenance' written on them.
Uneven white candles were placed in the corridor, burning weakly, replacing sunlight.
A man nearing thirty stood behind the counter, examining a dead fish specimen.
Swollen and protruding eye bags squeezed his lifeless and small eyes, which glanced at the young man entering the door, then quickly withdrew their gaze.
He was still holding a brown bottle of liquor with little remaining,
Only when Yi Chen came to the counter did he slowly turn around.
From his mouth full of yellow teeth, he squeezed out unclear local language with difficulty:
"Want to stay?"
Accompanied by a uniquely smelling breath,
it smelled like a mouse had crawled into the stomach, then that mouse got drunk and drowned right there.
"Are there any rooms available?"
"There are rooms everywhere, just that many haven't been cleaned... One silver coin per day, if you want to stay, choose a key yourself."
The owner put down the liquor bottle,
Throwing a rusty key ring onto the counter.
[0206]
Yi Chen put down a silver coin, deliberately choosing a key corresponding to a second-floor guest room.
This would allow him to go to the second floor of the inn to explore.
It would also provide a decent high vantage point to observe the conditions in the town during the day.
Stepping on the loose stairs to the second floor,
Moldy mattresses were piled at the stair corner, requiring one to squeeze past sideways.
The floral wallpaper in the corridor was also peeling off in large patches, damp and moldy.
Naturally, no one would stay in such an inn.
Yi Chen was probably the only guest this month.
Creak creak~
Stepping on the constantly groaning floor to the room door,
A sense of unease drew Yi Chen's vision to the end of the second-floor corridor.
"What is that..."
At the far right end, hanging on the wooden door labeled [0213] were seven different padlocks.
And there were several egg-pancake-sized black mold spots scattered on the wooden door, as if it were sick.
As Yi Chen stared intently,
a faint flicker of firelight flashed by his face.
When he turned his head,
A pale face suddenly pressed close to his eyes.
Yi Chen was so startled that he instinctively reached for his waist, preparing to pull out the silver axe from the cemetery.
However,
it was just the inn owner from earlier.
The candlelight made his already weak complexion even paler.
"Oh... I forgot to tell you.
I have a seriously ill sister living in the room at the end. Don't go near there usually, she's quite afraid of strangers."
After saying this,
The owner turned around, hunching as he walked downstairs.
His light, weak body surprisingly made no sound as he stepped on the floor.
(End of chapter)
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