The Last Gentleman

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 someone like Mr. Lee, who has a gentleman’s foundation and has taken an entire bottle of secret medicine, they are unlikely to become a 'Severe Patient.'

Most ordinary citizens transformed 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.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

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 'time' 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 informed the team that Little Grape had already extracted the pathogen serum from his bloodstream immediately 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-smelling 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 something had been active in the sewers for some time, selecting prime corpses for food or other purposes.

Touching a still-wet bloodstain, Edmund’s eyes gleamed.

"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 excitement—facing this rare Moon Disease for the first time, fundamentally different from Green Lake Town’s Ichthyosis.

These rare strains might grant the infected unexpected abilities.

"There..."

Juliana, who seemed 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 homeless people.

Through the gate, they could see faint firelight—clearly, something 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 same time, 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 armed team of four reached the deepest part, what met their eyes wasn’t a monster.

Instead, it was an elderly man, shirtless, wearing tattered cloth pants, with a thin frame 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 meat the old man handed it.

If you ignored the source of the meat, the scene seemed quite heartwarming.

“Oh… visitors?” The old man spoke. “If you’re just passing by and don’t mind my environment or food, come sit, eat, and chat.

If you’re here for a specific reason, please wait a moment. ‘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 movement, the bullet would be fired immediately.

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 some meat, 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 meat.

Looking into the old man’s silver eyes, Yi Chen asked, “Why don’t you leave this place?”

“The sewer is my home. Compared to before, there’s more food and a more comfortable environment. Why leave? And where would I go? To become someone else’s food?”

Yi Chen continued, “We found other survivors in the ruins, similar to you. Why are they staying here?”

“You must mean that group at Old John’s Theater. Recently, more survivors have regained full consciousness. They’re all being invited to the theater for some ‘leader selection’ event.

They invited me 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 home.”

“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 come to clear the area quickly.

By the way, your poor acting needs improvement.

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.