The Last Gentleman

The quiet clinic was disrupted by the sharp, piercing sound of high heels, each step like a nail relentlessly driving into the eardrums. It almost felt as if the heels were made of iron spikes to produce such an unsettling noise.

Moreover, the high-heeled footsteps were intermittent, pausing briefly after every few steps.

Captain Edmund quickly realized the reason behind this pattern. “Is this individual inspecting each apprentice dormitory on the third floor one by one?”

Yi Chen nodded. “Very likely... If that’s the case, it indirectly suggests that the intruder isn’t aware of our exact location. Our situation isn’t entirely passive yet.

I’ll take a look and see if I can identify what’s patrolling the rooms.”

Edmund was puzzled. “How will you do that? Going outside now isn’t wise.”

“No need to go out.”

Yi Chen pointed to his shoulder and then lightly tapped it.

A black, fleshy sphere slowly squeezed out from his collar, stretching its tiny black hands lazily as if still half-asleep, seemingly indifferent to the ongoing “grey-erosion.”

Someone or something is inspecting each room on the third floor. Can you sneak out the window and take a look when they check the room next door?”

“No.” Little Grape refused instantly.

“Not even a quick glance?”

“I’m still in what’s called a ‘juvenile’ state... In this unknown environment, especially with the grey-erosion happening, the risk will multiply if I leave your body.”

Yi Chen caught a key point in this statement and smiled.

“So, as long as you stay connected to my body, it’s fine?”

Soon, Yi Chen pressed his body against the window, extending his left arm outside along the outer wall, trying to reach the next room.

Of course, his arm alone couldn’t reach the neighboring window.

Creak~

After six months of special training, Yi Chen had become proficient in controlling plants. A thick branch grew from his palm, almost as wide as his arm.

Little Grape followed the branch toward the adjacent window.

『Enough! Don’t be too conspicuous!』

The branch stopped growing as soon as it touched the window frame.

Little Grape gently clung to the rusty window frame with its tiny black hands, peeking out with half an eyeball to observe the adjacent room’s condition.

The dormitory was in poor condition. The lower half of the door was missing, leaving only the upper part connected to the hinges, barely blocking the room.

Tap!

With a sharp sound, the mysterious patroller stopped in front of the door.

The missing lower half of the door revealed a pair of black high heels, about 20 cm high, two long, pale legs, and the hem of a white lab coat.

Based on this information, one might imagine a tall, graceful, night-shift female doctor doing her rounds.

However, when the upper part of the door was pushed open, that beautiful fantasy shattered instantly:

1. A preserved lower half of a body, severed at the waist.

2. At the severed waist, a metal IV stand was vertically inserted.

3. An IV drip connected to the legs, maintaining their freshness and energy.

4. At the top of the stand, a head with long black hair covering the face obscured any facial details.

5. The figure wore a white coat with "Twilight Hospital" printed on it in English.

If you only looked at the lower half or from behind, there really was a bit of a "female doctor" vibe.

When this visual image came through Little Grape, Yi Chen felt slightly uneasy.

Most of the pathogenic entities he had encountered before still retained human forms—at most, they were mermaid-like figures covered in fish scales.

But what he was seeing now went beyond the human domain in some ways.

Now that he had seen it clearly,

the plant-like growth with branch structures quickly retracted into its hand, and Little Grape returned to his body.

When Yi Chen described the "female doctor" he had seen in detail to Edmund,

Edmund mentioned another specialized term:

“'Non-Normality'. Have such entities already appeared? If so, this means the Gray Zone transformation here has entered its late stages.”

This term had also been mentioned in their classes on gray-erosion.

Edmund muttered softly:

“The ‘False Moon Incident’ in the past must have affected the clinic. There were large-scale battles inside, with heavy casualties. Some leftover blood, bodily fluids, or even intact limbs combined with the clinic’s equipment under the effects of gray-erosion, following some pathological logic.”

“This gave birth to these Non-Normality entities.

Their ‘ego-consciousness’ is very strange, and their actions and attack patterns are difficult to judge or predict through conventional experience.

I’ve never encountered such things before, let alone fought them.”

“Hmm…”

At this point, the examination in the next room had concluded.

The "female doctor," wearing high heels, took just two large strides to reach the bedroom door where they were staying.

Screech! Screech!

A metallic object scraped against the door. The door, being locked, refused to budge.

Suddenly—Boom!

The thick wooden door was kicked open, creating a large hole. Broken wood and parts of the door lock flew through the room.

The door opened.

Long legs in high heels stepped into the suspicious bedroom.

The head attached to the metal frame sniffed the air for signs of life and began inspecting the room with exaggerated steps.

Unfortunately, the search result was disappointing—no one was there.

Under her black hair, the female doctor's face showed clear disappointment. She sighed slightly before turning and leaving the room.

Ten seconds earlier:

Yi Chen and Edmund had already climbed out of the window and onto the open rooftop.

Perhaps the barrier effect of their gentleman’s outfits shielded them; they didn’t feel any discomfort from being exposed to the moonlight… as long as they avoided looking directly at that eerie moon in the sky.

Before understanding what had happened in the clinic, avoiding combat was the priority.

A battle with the "female doctor" in the bedroom could draw more, and more troublesome, entities.

“Why don’t we climb down into the front courtyard of the clinic… Then start a thorough search of the clinic from the main hall at dawn to look for Dagobert and the others?”

“Hmm, that seems to be our best option.”

If it weren’t for their missing teammates, they could have temporarily left the clinic and retreated to the forest. They could wait for the night to pass and the moon to disappear before continuing their secret mission.

Just as the two were about to climb down from the rooftop—

Thud! Thud!

Heavy footsteps echoed from the rooftop entrance.

A large, shadowy figure, bigger than a human, stood there. Its “head” was connected to a fluid container, and the eyeball inside the container stared at the two preparing to “go downstairs.”

In the awkward silence,

a black flesh ball suddenly squeezed out of Yi Chen’s shoulder, shouting excitedly:

“Grape!”

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