The Gentleman at the End
Chapter 364 - Chapter 364 Chapter 363 Research Progresses

Chapter 364: Chapter 363: Research Progresses Chapter 364: Chapter 363: Research Progresses In order not to disturb the rest of the Sacred Bodies,

the Archbishop led Yi Chen out of the secret chamber and into a resting room inside the Church, while setting up a Radiant Barrier to prevent the leakage of new life aura.

As Yi Chen placed the Shortened shotgun tainted with Iron Disease on the table,

it seemed to trigger some sort of ‘Ancient Switch’,

the Archbishop, who appeared to have been left behind by the times, resembling a decrepit corpse, and even seemed to struggle to walk, surprisingly held the gun handle with practiced ease and even made a spinning motion to cock it in the palm of his hand.

Click~ the gun pointed at Yi Chen and was then drawn back for Appreciation, his ancient, wrinkly fingers touching the metal patterns on the surface of the gun.

“This is… the craftsmanship of Mariano, isn’t it? The Sick Object’s essence is basically preserved, short yet heavy, suitable for close to mid-range combat, a superior category, no wonder you want to get promoted.”

“Archbishop, you know how to use a gun?”

“Did you think this old fellow couldn’t keep up with the times? Or that I didn’t even know the word ‘firearms’?

I don’t just stay here every day. Occasionally, I go out to see how the Organization is developing, to experience something novel. Firearms happen to be my favorite product of technological progress, and I’m quite happy to see the development of these new weapons and their combination with illness.

But such a Sick Object involving modern craftwork, the ‘upgrade’ will be a very troublesome process.

Suitable Relic materials are just one aspect, a substantial amount of craft materials are also needed, as well as a gunsmith capable of handling Open Source Sick Objects.”

“Then…”

Yi Chen also felt troubled, even considering choosing the most valuable Tool from the secret chamber and trading it with the Duke in the Old World when the time comes, to directly buy a firearm or related materials from them.

“You definitely won’t be able to produce this thing before your trial, due to the specialty of the materials it might need redesigning, estimated to take one month, maybe a bit quicker if you are lucky.

The ‘Production Process’ can be offset with the Reward from your contribution this time.

As for the Beast Disease Cord, keep it for now. If it’s determined to be needed in the firearms upgrade, it’s not too late to hand it over to me… Such a rare object falling into your hands must have significant meaning.”

“This… Thank you, Archbishop.”

Yi Chen felt a bit embarrassed, but still immediately thanked the other party, not wanting to miss such an opportunity.

The shotgun revolved in the Archbishop’s hands and was slipped into the folds of his clerical robe.

“Tell me about the origin of the ‘Beast Disease Navel’… There are many kinds of Beast Disease, but this kind involving Origin, new life ‘umbilical cord’, is among the rarest.”

Yi Chen then detailed his visit to the village and his encounter with the New Church’s mission.

He also talked about the abandoned Holy Embryo – the girl Lene, who was ultimately chosen by the Old World for a ‘Half-sheep Beastification’ Open Source process.

The Archbishop too, rubbing his facial wrinkles, murmured:

“New Church, cross-breeding of Beasts, Holy Embryo selection, Black Sheep birth.

William, you should know, the Old World, named ‘Sick Focus’, suffered a catastrophic event, with even the World’s Rules sealed, causing the extinction of numerous Patients, and many Source Epidemic Areas collapsed completely.

In that extinction event, only one herd of beasts survived, and that was the sheep.

But their living conditions were still dire. In a completely sealed Old World, even if they barely survived, they couldn’t reproduce and could only rely on our world to continue their lineage.

The girl you met was a Black Sheep bred from our world’s rules and vitality and other conditions provided by their side.

To date in our Organization’s development, of all the Beastification cases handled, the number of Black Sheep encountered does not exceed ten… and most of them are not like the Black Sheep girl you described.

Open Source leading to Half-Sheep transformation, indeed rare.

Since they are willing to give you such an important cord, it shows you are quite important to her.

Since it’s a token of sentiment, don’t use it as weapon material.

When our World is completely covered by the Grey Zone, you’ll be able to connect with that herd of Beast Disease sheep through this cord, and perhaps secure a decent living environment, perpetuating the flame of humanity.”

“What about the base material for the Relic?”

“I’ll try to sort it out for you, or maybe just skip the Reward the next time you come over.”

“Ah, this…”

“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Since you’re willing to make contributions and sacrifices for the organization as the First Gentleman, it’s only right that I offer a bit of help.”

As Yi Chen descended the Church’s steps after his farewell to the Archbishop, he couldn’t help but sigh repeatedly, marvelling at how different the people he had met in this life were from those in his previous one. Perhaps it was the so-called ‘balancing of destiny’ at work invisibly.

He had just stepped out of the Church’s main door,

when a strong yet slender arm, reeking of the smell of flesh, wrapped around Yi Chen’s shoulder, with another presence making itself felt from the side.

“Jin, Reagan, you haven’t left yet?”

Jin’s chin was already resting lightly on Yi Chen’s shoulder. “Aren’t we waiting for you? Let’s see what kind of secret treasure you’ve obtained.”

Once Yi Chen had explained the situation, Jin shrugged, “Boring, I should have left if I’d known… What are you going to do with the remaining few days, William? Continue training outside the city?”

“Not this time. My body has just recovered, and if it gets bombarded by spiritual power again, I’ll have no strength left when the assessment comes around.

Let’s just relax for the remaining days. Jin, why don’t you come with me? We can read some ‘books’ together during our days off.”

“Sure~”

However, at that moment, Reagan proactively interjected, “Wait, William, don’t rush off to have fun with Miss Jin just yet. There’s something worthwhile to do before you attend the assessment, and it won’t affect your condition at all–in fact, it may even be beneficial for your assessment.”

“What is it?”

“Don’t you remember the task you promised me before? The [Research on the Dead]. Although the true dead man has passed away, you should have something he left behind, right?

Also, I’ve ‘peeled off’ multiple times during combat, and a part of the true dead man’s samples have already been collected by me.”

Hiss-hiss~ Hydraulic release

Reagan produced a test tube from the portable cryo-container he carried, within which floated the real tissue fluids of the deceased, all obtained through Reagan’s mental confrontations with the deceased.

“Fine! Jin, will you come with us?”

“Being alone is just as boring, so let’s go together! By the way, it seems the research institute has a special training room. Director Reagan, could you arrange access?”

“Are you referring to the prosthetic training room, Miss Jin? No problem, leave it to me.”

Ever since he had gone hungry and then sampled the takeout brought by Jin, Reagan’s attitude towards her seemed to have shifted from friendliness to respect.

[The Research Institute]

As Jin was arranged to go to the prosthetic training room,

Yi Chen also donned a set of experimental overalls and went with Reagan to the sealed laboratory with a BSL-4* rating.

(BSL stands for Biosafety Level, which is divided into four levels from lowest to highest: 1-4).

Level 4 laboratories are extremely expensive to build, used exclusively for research on pathogens and patients with the highest lethality and transmissibility. The research institute only has two such labs in total, and Reagan secured one of them to use for research on the Death Plague.

An electronic auxiliary high-resolution optical microscope, custom-built by Reagan, was already adjusted and equipped with a binocular tube for two people to observe together.

As Reagan used his spiritual power to force the Death Plague bacteria onto the slide, the two leaned closer to the oculars and immediately observed the structure of the bacteria originating from the First Dead Man.

Black, tubular flagella constantly excreted black mist.

When the Death Plague bacteria sensed the presence of an observer, the intercellular proteins quickly formed a cross structure, and the bacterial colonies also rearranged themselves, executing their unique ‘visual propagation’.

Reagan decisively moved his gaze away,

but Yi Chen, instead of any evasive action, opened his eyes wider, gently cradling the oculars, even allowing the ash to fill his entire eyeball, observing more meticulously.

Saliva dripped from the corner of his mouth,

and from his throat emerged a sigh of admiration from the depths of his heart:

“Such beautiful structure!”