Since arriving at the Disease Prevention and Control Center and waiting for Subject 06, Lu Yan took the opportunity to check on Subject 03.
Qin Woyu was still in the intensive care unit, unconscious. Many intravenous tubes were connected to his body, making him look as fragile as a thin sheet of paper.
[In the last operation, the gu cultivator was seriously injured. Subject 03 fell into a state of deep unconsciousness due to this.]
After all, this was the headquarters of the Disease Prevention and Control Center in City A, and it wasn't easy for advanced pollutants to leave unscathed.
"Where is the gu cultivator?"
[The cultivator was buried by the city lord in the underground dungeon... Both of them are not dead. It's just that the gu cultivator feels unsatisfied because he couldn't rescue his younger brother.]
Lu Yan didn't have to wait too long at the headquarters. Yanbei, accompanied by the staff, arrived in front of Lu Yan.
At first glance, it was a bit difficult for Lu Yan to determine Yanbei's gender. Yanbei had a face that was overly neutral, with slightly long hair cascading down the waist like undulating waves and mountains. Among the strands of hair, a few tightly closed flower buds were scattered.
Surprisingly, his appearance was quite beautiful, with light blue eyes and pale skin, resembling an elf emerging from a valley.
The system provided a detailed introduction: [Experimental Subject 06, real name Yanbei. Before becoming a Harbinger, he was a painter. The Louvre has collected his works. Initially, the research institute believed that pollution was not a mutation but evolution. Early awakeners of Harbingers, mostly with high social status and special talents, were considered an exceptionally outstanding group within humanity.]
[During early modifications, 06, due to merging with pollutants, left permanent sequelae, gaining the talent 201, Masochism. Although he did not awaken powerful talents, his unique distorted characteristics still piqued the researchers' high interest, leading to him being observed.]
[There is no longer blood flowing in 06's body; cells have cell walls. The color of the cut blood is transparent, belonging to a special pollutant source with the ability to promote wound recovery. The flower bud on his head will bloom.]
[In a highly distorted state, 06 is more akin to a tree than a person. The evolutionary/distorted sequence he belongs to is called the "World Tree."]
[Spiritual power threshold: 6700.]
[Talents: Regeneration, Masochism.]
[Mutation direction: Plantification.]
Lu Yan withdrew his scrutinizing gaze and politely greeted, "Hello, Lu Yan."
Yanbei opened his mouth but felt a bit unfamiliar with speaking, so the uttered words sounded somewhat awkward, "Yanbei."
The headquarters didn't keep Lu Yan waiting for too long.
With the company of the staff, Yanbei came to Lu Yan's side.
Since Lu Yan wasn't familiar with Yanbei, he refrained from making a move.
After about a minute, the white daisy withered, and its petals fell to the ground.
From GMT+8 to GMT+0, the flight lasted a total of 11 hours.
When Lu Yan arrived at his destination, Tang Xunan had just received notice of his discharge after passing the examination.
The system conveyed this information to Lu Yan, who simply responded with a light "Hmm."
[System: Host, to be honest, if Tang Xunan changed genders, your way of handling emotions might become a hot topic on Weibo. I've even come up with a headline for you: What to do when your crush is a PUA master?]
"Really?" Lu Yan was puzzled.
[Please, spare some time to read a couple of romance novels another day.]
Lu Yan fell into contemplation, carefully recalling that he did tend to leave abruptly.
Nevertheless, he felt it was reasonable, considering everyone was adults, losing sleep daily worrying about the future of humanity. There wasn't much time for romance.
Regardless, Lu Yan still took out his phone and sent a text to Tang Xunan.
Lu Yan: On a mission, busy. See you another day.
[System: ...]
Even in the 22nd century, the peninsula experienced rainfall throughout the year.
Lu Yan messaged Michael, and they agreed to meet the next day at 2 PM in the Pollution Disease Prevention and Control Center in Roy City. The center was a global organization, emphasizing mutual assistance, though resources weren't shared due to regional constraints.
Lu Yan arrived a bit earlier, and the staff served them afternoon tea with various options – milk, tea, coffee, and a variety of desserts.
Yanbei didn't seem very interested, sitting beside Lu Yan like a vigilant cat, hardly moving.
Several blond, blue-eyed staff exchanged glances and brought a nutrient solution to him.
"Thank you," Yanbei said softly, and then his hair, resembling vines of trees, extended into the nutrient solution, emitting a comfortable sigh.
Another flower bloomed on his head.
Michael descended from the sky, shook his wings to remove water from the staff's bodies, and revealed a standard Slavic appearance with golden hair and gray-blue eyes.
Michael had three pairs of wings behind him. The smallest pair covered his eyes, located on the back of his neck. The central pair, the largest, was used for flying. His long tail feathers trailed on the ground.
Undoubtedly, he was a handsome Slavic man, especially as an awakened Harbinger, making him appear extraordinarily slender, with a height close to 2 meters without any bulk.
"I hate rainy days," Michael said, taking a towel from the staff and wiping his face after putting down his heavy sword.
The blade fell to the ground, producing a loud noise.
After scrutinizing the two for a moment, he extended his hand towards Lu Yan, "Hello, Eastern Beauty. You can call me Michael. And this is... Qiongshu?"
Qiongshu was the code name given by Yanbei to himself.
Michael surprisingly spoke Chinese quite well. After all, the Huaxia region was the most prominent among the several major blocks today, and not being able to understand Chinese forum posts would be a disadvantage.
Wearing gloves, out of politeness, Lu Yan shook hands with the international friend, "Just call me Lu Yan."
Michael was curious about Subject 06, who suddenly appeared. According to forum information, four new advanced Harbingers had been added in the Huaxia region.
Apart from Lu Yan, the other three had no prior information, and even their registration dates were recent. In other words, they were individuals who had appeared out of nowhere recently.
There were rumors that these were new human weapons released by the Huaxia Research Institute, similar to the early release of tyrants.
Michael's gaze was too probing, making Qiongshu uneasy. He timidly hid behind Lu Yan.
Half an hour later, a hunter from the Hunter Guild arrived.
Many Harbingers had peculiarities due to mental issues, and this person was no exception.
His code name was Silver Spear, a Disaster hunter from the guild. He wore a Victorian-style high-collared trench coat with a hat that covered most of his face. His exposed hair was messy, with crumbs and mud.
"Hello, gentlemen. I am a survivor from the Kroman Manor exploration team. I'm glad to provide
information for you..." Silver Spear's voice was hoarse. "Kroman Manor was built in the 13th century and has lasted for over nine hundred years, undergoing over a hundred renovations. It is surrounded by water and located on an island in the heart of Lake Ford. Looking from above on a satellite map, this area is completely shrouded in black mist. Therefore, we need someone familiar with the terrain to guide us. This time, I will also be your guide."
He took off his hat, bowing slightly, "Please rest assured. Although my spiritual power threshold is not high, I am an experienced Disaster hunter. I will leave after escorting you to the entrance of the manor."
His distortion level was not low, with grotesque tumors covering half his face. Occasionally, one could see a few black fly larvae squirming in the tumors. Even in broad daylight, it sent a chill down one's spine.
The system considered and said, [Silver Spear, spiritual power threshold: 2100. Mutation degree: 84, extremely unstable mental state. He is on the verge of complete distortion. The guild plans to send him to an uninhabited island in the Pacific after he completes this mission, hoping he can survive until then.]
Arriving at the edge of Kroman Manor, it was already dusk.
Built on an island in the heart of a forest, Kroman Manor had markings left by Silver Spear at the edge of the woods.
On the stone monument, a red-painted crescent moon was depicted. Next to it were some Daoist charms that Lu Yan found oddly familiar...
[Suppressive, warding off evil. A prior clarification: this is feudal superstition and is useless.]
Silver Spear explained, "Last time in Kroman Manor, there was a Taoist from the Huaxia region in the team. His name was Master Kong Kong. He left this before entering, saying it was a talisman for safety."
Lu Yan opened the Harbinger Forum and searched. This Taoist was a D-level Harbinger, already deceased, in March of this year.
[Although the charms are useless, they indeed concealed some things. For example, the strange things left behind by the Truth Society.]
Lu Yan asked, "What things?"
[Kurdish. "With the advent of the Blood Moon, demons will appear."]
Silver Spear coughed a few times, took out an Aide Cha calming cigarette, and said, "This forest is strange. We can only enter and find Kroman Manor when the moon turns red at 12 every day. Let's wait... Gentlemen."
It was still early for midnight.
Mikael took a selfie with this stone monument, spent two hours editing the photo, and finally posted it on his social account.
Mikael: The Archangel is going on a mission again!! [Image]
Instantly, numerous Disease Prevention and Control Center staff received special alerts.
Evaluating Mikael's KPI was also one of the tasks for the staff. They had robots to comment and human water army members.
Mikael liked to post on social media regardless of the mission's confidentiality. However, many missions required secrecy.
Therefore, after discussions at the higher levels, a dedicated internet cable was provided for Michael. Ordinary netizens couldn't find Michael's account online at all.
After artificial intelligence identified the images, it emitted a series of colorful praises. However, among them, there was a sarcastic individual expressing admiration for the handsome black-haired guy in the corner of Michael's photo, wishing to have a social media account for him.
Michael enlarged his own picture and was surprised to find that Lu Yan had inadvertently revealed half of his profile in it!
He glanced at Lu Yan and quietly used a mosaic pen to erase him from the picture.
In this world, there was no room for a man whose original photos were better edited than those taken with high-end cameras!
The sun slowly set.
In Yanbei's hands, there was still a bag of liquid nutrients given by the staff, occasionally taking a sip.
The moon here seemed unusually close to the ground.
Lu Yan stared at the data on his phone. As the night approached, the pollution values kept rising, finally stopping at 2500. The surrounding temperature dropped below zero, but there was no snowfall.
This pollution value was even higher than the spiritual power threshold of the old hunter. Despite wearing protective clothing, black blood still oozed from his nose.
Michael spread his final pair of wings, and a faint layer of dim light enveloped him, resembling fireflies in the dark.
Not bright, but warm.
【Talent 30 - Holy Light】
Where the holy light reaches, it can reduce the increase in morbidity.
The old hunter turned around in amazement and sincerely said, "Thank you, Lord Michael."
The old hunter endured intense pain, squeezing a thin, long worm from the tumor on his face.
The worm fell to the ground and quickly completed its metamorphosis, turning into a buzzing fly.
The hunter said, "Keep up, don't lag behind. Getting lost here is troublesome."
The group walked through the soft humus layer on the ground and headed towards the forest.
Yanbei followed behind Lu Yan, and her long hair reached out, entwining around Lu Yan's wrist.
A black flower bloomed on Yanbei's hair.
【Yanbei's Black Little Flower: A product of Yanbei's fear. Removing it can reduce Yanbei's morbidity.】
So, Lu Yan lowered his head and plucked the black flower.
Yanbei shivered all over, and a strange blush appeared on her cheeks.
The system expressionlessly said, "[Refreshing]. This flower is also a part of his body and can feel sensations."
Lu Yan: "..."
Damn, really strange.
Yanbei took a deep breath and whispered, "Lu... Lu Yan..."
This was the first time Yanbei had called his name.
Lu Yan turned around, adopting the attitude he had when working in pediatrics, gently asking, "What's wrong?"
Yanbei pitifully said, "The trees are alive. Many eyes are watching us, and I'm scared."
After speaking, another cluster of hair also wrapped around Lu Yan's arm.
At this moment, the system emitted a strange laughter: "[Welcome to the border of hell, where the Blood Moon was born. Welcome to our world, my precious little princess.]"
A distant owl's cry came from somewhere. It sounded like a baby's cry.
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