The Last Gentleman

Events in Jose Valley, Shepherd Village, and the emergence of the new Church somewhat stirred the higher-ups; several managers took joint responsibility for the verification of the incident.

The staff at Gentleman Hall also conducted private inquiries about Yi Chen and Jin, carrying out three checks within five days.

The last verification was carried out personally by the manager,

The manager who approached Yi Chen alone was none other than Mr. Aiji, known for his intersecting dealings and his fondness for wearing his hat at a tilt.

A few days ago, when he took over the review of the incident, he immediately recognized “William Behrens” on the list of those who handled the incident and volunteered to take charge of this individual.

Because of the regret over the investigation into the Twilight Clinic and recalling Yi Chen’s fearless defiance in the face of death, refusing the gentlemanly character bestowed by the Moon Scar,

Aiji fully believed Yi Chen’s account of the events and even took the initiative to ‘beautify’ these records on his own accord.

He asked only one question: why the intermediary that Yi Chen encountered with the event was “Cesimani.”

After receiving the answer, he did not ask further, but he did suggest that Yi Chen should try to take on tasks through “Gentleman Hall” in the future, as it would be more beneficial for a gentleman like him to grow through normal channels.

“Due to the impact of the incident exceeding estimates, the final assessment will take a few more days. Don’t worry, you did very well, and the reward will certainly not be less,”

“Thank you, Manager Aiji.”

Aiji held his hat on one side and picked up the gentleman’s cane by the door, immediately returning to the hall to submit the documents.

Two days later,

Professor Qian Bosen personally came to Yi Chen’s dormitory to inform him that the event evaluation and reward distribution would take place in the meeting room of Gentleman Hall in a few hours.

His personal visit was due to the need for a series of special preparations before departure, to prevent any slip-ups.

The two arrived at the meeting room just in time,

Four managers including Aiji were already in place.

Jin had also taken her seat early, dressed in a temporary suit without the “Gentlemen’s Skin,” and wearing a remade rainbow mask, sitting beside the entrance.

The chair next to her had been pulled out in advance, as if waiting for Yi Chen to sit down.

No sooner had Yi Chen taken his seat than snap! Jin clenched his wrist, red threads burrowing into it, while she murmured softly,

“Didn’t we agree that you would come to find me? Why have I heard nothing from you these past few days?”

“There have been many things at the academy; I will definitely come over after the assessment is over.”

Jin turned her mask slightly, giving an affirmative look, and then retracted her hand.

She was actually also looking forward to the upcoming rewards, whispering,

“With four managers participating in the assessment, we should be able to receive quite good rewards, right? Maybe it’s exactly what I need for my weapon making. I hope these people can be generous.”

After a brief private exchange, they returned their attention to the table.

Manager Aiji once again announced the results of the event assessment.

“First of all, we are extremely grateful to you as the support team for arriving promptly at the site and effectively containing the situation that had severely escalated.

Your performance in this incident has fully surpassed that of rookie gentlemen, and I am pleased that we have talents like you serving the organization; the organization will naturally provide the richest resources to cultivate you.

After subsequent investigative teams went to Jose Valley to verify the situation on the site, and based on our collation of information and multiple assessments over these days,

we have rated the difficulty of this support incident as five-star under the human difficulty level,

and your deeds will be directly highlighted in your personal files.

The specific rewards are as follows:

1. Each person receives 8,000 silver coins.

2. Task Points (important) +1.

3. The birds you brought back have passed the pet certification; if you agree to let the organization handle the pet sale, we will distribute the silver coins obtained from the sale to you at a ratio of 30/70.

4. You can choose any item or material that is one level higher than your current level from the Gentleman’s Treasure Vault.

5. Permission to meet with the First Gentleman.”

When issuing the rewards, Jin stood up and gave an exaggerated gentleman’s bow to the managers, unaware that beneath the mask was a face twisted with excitement.

“How generous indeed, the rewards are even better than I expected… Thank you very much.”

Yi Chen also realized the significance of the rewards, which were much higher than those from the Twilight Clinic.

This was probably directly related to containing the spread of the new Grey Zone, forcibly preventing the birth of an Open Source patient and exterminating them.

“Jin, you just need the materials, so I’ll give you the privilege of going to the treasure vault.”

“This doesn’t seem quite right~ You are the main driver of the investigation.”

“You can pay me back when you have the opportunity later; I’m not in a hurry to need materials or tools right now.”

One of the reasons why Yi Chen voluntarily relinquished his opportunity to visit the vault was not easy to express; it was that he had already gained the most valuable reward from the incident—the “Relic.”

“Really~ You make others owe you favors again.”

After accepting Yi Chen’s goodwill, Jin stood up again, turned to the managers:

“By the way~ I’ll pass on meeting the First Gentleman~ I don’t like the ‘Skin’ with too high a concentration. Just give me a piece of ordinary skin with the aura of the old world, 10×10 cm will be fine,

or you could give William some extra ‘Skin’ on behalf of the First Gentleman.”

Manager Aiji replied, “The First Gentleman himself will determine how much to give. Since you forfeit the opportunity, we will compensate you with a 10x10cm piece of ordinary ‘Skin.’

With a shrug, Jin showed no concern.

Yi Chen seemed to understand why Jin did this. At the beginning of their journey by carriage out of the city, Jin had expressed her views on ‘Skin.’

In her eyes, Zion was just a stepping stone; she had no desire to be bound by ‘Skin.’ Once her own strength was sufficient, she would leave this place, even departing from this continent.

The meeting concluded.

One of the supervisors took Jin to the Gentleman’s Treasure Vault to choose a reward,

while Qian Bosen and Supervisor Aiji took Yi Chen to meet with the “First Gentleman” once again.

Before they parted, Jin used a look to remind Yi Chen to remember their agreement. After sorting out the reward, he should go find her.

“Divine Skin Mansion”

This time, as Yi Chen walked down the secret passage leading to the deeper layer, he no longer relied on Little Grape.

With wisps of white smoke rising from his head, he resisted the whispers emanating from the deep on his own, but his skin still felt uncomfortable and seemed ready to peel off at any moment.

Supervisor Aiji felt somewhat uneasy walking here as well, scratching his wrist involuntarily to stop the incessant itching underneath his skin.

He could have chosen not to come and let Qian Bosen handle everything.

But out of curiosity, Aiji still wanted to see how much “skin” Yi Chen could obtain from the First Gentleman.

While descending, he used a special means of telepathy to ask Qian Bosen privately:

“Not even a year in the city, and already you’re meeting the ‘First Gentleman’ for the second time. You really found yourself a good student, White Eagle~ But there’s an issue that you must have noticed, right?

Such outstanding performance will undoubtedly attract the attention of the ‘Divine Skin.’ Just now, walking through the mansion, we received plenty of strange looks from the clergy.

If the student you’ve been carefully nurturing is truly chosen by Divine Skin, what will you do then?”

“I will seek William’s opinion in advance and assist him in making the right decision… It’s too early to discuss this now; focus on your own matters, Aiji.”

Supervisor Aiji slightly adjusted his top hat and said no more.

“Deep in the Mansion – Underground Church”

The First Gentleman – Alexis King Claude was still suspended above the Altar,

perhaps sensing the scent of the skin that came from Yi Chen, he opened his eyes in advance, fixating them on the familiar young man.

He wasn’t surprised,

It seemed he had already foreseen the youth’s return.

When the First Gentleman quickly scanned the report of deeds presented by Aiji,

his eyes, weaving through his white hair, deeply scrutinized Yi Chen, and his voice filled the Underground Church.

“Come over.”

As usual, Yi Chen ascended the steps, ready to undergo the ‘exchange of skin.’

But the First Gentleman didn’t touch his palm as before; instead, he directly asked Yi Chen about something the supervisors had never asked.

“When you dealt with the ‘Newborn Church,’ did you get drawn by some medium, did your consciousness travel to a special area, an ancient world area symbolizing ‘rebirth’?”

These words stunned Yi Chen, but before the First Gentleman he dared not deny it outright, as the other party might have seen something on him.

“I’ve been there… When I was slaying the Holy Embryo, my consciousness was drawn to a mucous area.

There, the ground was covered with the mucus of rebirth, the sky drifted with umbilical cord-like tubes, and a ram’s head like a sun.

Just as I was about to observe the view inside the ram’s head, my comrade woke me up.”

Yi Chen steadied his mind and responded to the First Gentleman with a mixture of truth and fabrication.

“Is that so? I can feel a strong aura of newborn Black Water from you, especially in the heart area…”

The moment the words fell, whoosh!

Yi Chen’s chest was torn open by the First Gentleman’s decrepit arm grown from his shoulder blade, the process too fast to see, exposing the heart that had only recently been reconstructed.

Examining the heart covered with rooting plant tendrils, the First Gentleman asked again:

“The heart you supposedly lack couldn’t have been reconstructed by the official Doctor, could it?”

At the crucial moment,

a black meatball emerged, its mouth spouting new strands of flesh, “It’s a heart reconstructed jointly with William’s plant abilities. As we killed the malformed Holy Embryo, I gained a certain ability of rebirth by consuming its eyes.”

The First Gentleman assessed the black creature and identified it as a product of the Organization’s managed graveyard.

Nodding slightly,

The First Gentleman’s gaze penetrated every part of Yi Chen’s body, every corner, for a thorough inspection.

No anomalies were found, nor any trace of an umbilical cord.

(Before the event assessment and receipt of awards, Qian Bosen cautiously left Yi Chen’s umbilical cord relic in a fleshy safety deposit box in the dormitory, which proved prudent.)

The examination ended,

the First Gentleman extended his right arm, touched the heart wound, and instantly healed it as if nothing had happened.

He also gave Yi Chen a piece of “Gentleman’s Skin,” measuring 15cm×15cm, more than what was given during the newcomer assessment.

“An extra gift, as compensation for injuring your body… After all, that being who controls Black Water Life is extremely dangerous and highly skilled in enslaving the Physical.

I look forward to seeing you perform even better in the future.”

“Thank you for your grace.”

Yi Chen bowed in gratitude, stabilized his heartbeat to a normal rate with a similar method, then descended from the Altar and left with the professor and supervisor.

He didn’t know if it was his imagination,

but in that brief contact, Yi Chen distinctly felt that the First Gentleman’s condition was significantly worse than at their last meeting, his appearance noticeably aged, even seeming to have aged five, perhaps more than ten years.

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