The Last Gentleman

The journey through the towering trees forming high walls was smooth. Apart from the occasional cries of an infant, there was no other disturbance.

As the distance increased, Yi Chen became more adept at maneuvering. With just one outstretched hand, the tree trunks ahead would move aside on their own.

During this process, Yi Chen gradually noticed the unique characteristics of these towering trees.

The sap flowing within their trunks carried a distinct metallic scent of blood. This undoubtedly had a direct connection to the nutrients absorbed by their roots. Such peculiar nutrients must be the reason these trees could grow into these extraordinary hundred-meter-high walls.

Meanwhile, Jin followed leisurely behind, as if on a sightseeing trip, even finding time to chat.

"I didn't expect a man like you to have such exceptional control over plants... Planning to open a clinic in the future?"

"No such plans for now."

"Hopefully, you'll never have that plan. Clinics are just tools organizations use to restrain talent.

Someone like me prefers to minimize ties with Zion. Once Zion's value is fully exploited, I'll leave. Would you join me then?"

"You're such a boring man."

After traversing over 300 meters through the walls of trees, they finally broke through the innermost layer of trunks.

What greeted them wasn’t a paradise or the comfort of emerging into sunlight. Instead, they found themselves in an even darker, completely lightless area.

The canopy at the top of the nearly 100-meter-high walls defied natural growth patterns. Branches intertwined densely, overlapping and tangling to form a cover that completely enveloped the space within the walls.

Mixed within this dense canopy was a grayish fog-like substance that filled the gaps between the leaves, blocking even the tiniest rays of sunlight. This created an absolutely dark, enclosed area.

An ordinary person walking through such an environment for two to three minutes would feel an overwhelming sense of claustrophobia creeping over them like an invasive insect.

Yi Chen lowered his head to observe the grayish haze swirling around his shoes. Its concentration was comparable to that of the Twilight Clinic, reaching advanced stages. However, the area it covered here was significantly larger, with its effects penetrating deeper.

It was possible that similar abnormal patients like the IV drip doctor or the bandaged nurse could appear here.

Under the influence of the gray haze, the trees growing in this inner region were no longer upright. Instead, they grew chaotically, twisting at bizarre angles.

The branches resembled human arms, while the dark, lifeless leaves clinging to their surfaces looked like skin—some even embedded into the wood, creating a particularly eerie sight.

Some trees, accelerated by the gray haze, appeared unusually bloated. Their trunks were grotesquely swollen, with thick greenish liquid oozing continuously from their midsections, seeping into the soil to become nutrients once again.

Additionally, the bark and surrounding ground were densely populated with massive fungal growths.

Some of these larger fungi had open, mouth-like tops, mimicking the act of breathing. Each pulsation released spores that deepened the haze’s effects, further driving the mutations within the forest.

The gray spores floating through the forest obscured vision even more. The light from an oil lamp could barely illuminate a range of ten meters.

Thanks to Little Grape, Yi Chen’s vision range was doubled.

Suddenly, Little Grape’s voice came through telepathically:

“It’s so rich here~ This place isn’t much worse than the Twilight Clinic. Be careful, William! If you’re unlucky and run into another Open Source Patient, things could turn deadly.”

“Stop jinxing it. I’ll be cautious.”

Yi Chen approached a diseased tree dripping with pus and placed his palm on its bark to sense what was happening inside.

“Hmm? A tumor?”

Beneath the tree’s bark was a fleshy red malignant tumor. This tumorous structure was causing the trunk to swell and ooze.

Moreover, the tumor was connected to the vascular transport system, extending toward the tree’s roots.

“It seems the lower roots are linked to something.”

Before Yi Chen could process further, Jin approached without hesitation, dipped her fingers into the thick liquid, and tasted it on her tongue.

“There’s a distinct taste of blood and flesh! So it’s related to the roots? Let’s find out what’s going on.”

Without consulting Yi Chen, Jin took the initiative...

Jin wrapped her arms around the tree trunk, red threads crisscrossing her forearms. With explosive force, she wrenched the tree from the ground.

Yi Chen did not intervene but focused intently on the roots.

What came into view made his brows furrow and left him uneasy.

The roots of the uprooted tree were swollen, smooth, and writhing as if alive. Rather than ordinary roots, they resembled the tentacles of an octopus.

The living roots writhed actively, even attempting to reach out and burrow into Jin’s arms. Unfortunately for them, their length fell short.

“What exactly are these roots feeding on?”

Yi Chen brought the kerosene lamp closer to the hole in the ground and leaned in to look.

A bead of cold sweat formed on his forehead.

In the depths of the hole lay a "larval form" that defied modern biological classification.

It possessed limbs resembling those of a human, but their lengths varied, and they were tipped with structures like hooves and fleshy pads.

The body was covered in black fur, adorned with budding goat-like horns and a snout similar to a pig's.

Its overall form was coiled like a mosquito coil, huddled at the bottom.

Its surface was riddled with cavities that opened and closed with each breath, as though yearning for the roots to penetrate its body.

Just then,

The creature’s eyes snapped open.

Its pupils were slit-shaped, staring intently at the intruder above.

Its grotesque, uneven mouth opened and closed, emitting strange cries that sounded as if it were in agony from the absence of the roots.

“This creature isn’t just nourishment; it shares a symbiotic relationship with the tree, exchanging the nutrients they need to survive.

Jin, put the tree back. Let’s avoid alerting them for now; our exploration has only just begun.”

However—

Jin rubbed her fingers together lightly, forming a simple blood-red lotus from the red threads.

Releasing it with a flick of her fingers, the lotus drifted down and landed on the strange larval creature’s body.

The lotus rooted itself into the surface,

Red threads invaded,

Spreading throughout the creature.

Pop!

The larva exploded like a bomb, its flesh and blood evaporating into nothingness.

Moments later,

The uprooted tree began to wither and shrivel, starting from its roots. Within five minutes, the entire tree had aged and decayed into death.

“This poor creature—death is the best gift for it. Don’t you think my actions are rather gentlemanly, William?”

…

At the same time,

In the depths of the forest, within a concealed and completely gray-washed chamber—

An elderly man clad in religious robes and wearing a bishop’s crown adorned with golden and green plant patterns awoke in his seat.

As he slowly raised his wrinkled, skeletal hand,

A mysterious figure in a black clerical robe materialized in the shadows, kneeling before him.

“Your Excellency, what are your orders?”

“There are visitors…”

“Are they here to deliver more nourishment to us? Humans can be so generous.”

“This time, it’s different. Let the expendable villagers greet them first and test their capabilities. If necessary, initiate the trials.

Our plan is still ongoing, and we must proceed with caution, Theodore.”

“As you command.”

The man called Theodore retreated swiftly into the shadows, vanishing.

The bishop, awakened from his dream, shifted uncomfortably in his seat, as if suffering from prolonged immobility.

After painstakingly adjusting his posture,

He lifted his clerical robes, revealing a bloated and heavily wrinkled abdomen.

What was grotesque, however,

Was the umbilical cord-like structure extending from his navel, covered in the same wrinkles, connecting him to his chair.

It seemed to anchor him there, while simultaneously functioning as a conduit to draw nutrients from beneath the seat.

From the gaps below the chair, faint wafts of a corpse-like stench emanated.

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