The Last Gentleman
Chapter 511: Activity and Stillness

The circus this time chose to debut in the Hydatoncus Mountains of the Old World, also known as the Water Tumor Mountains, so named because the mountains resemble tumors.

Since they are tumors, they must certainly be associated with the Cancer Palace, although the mountains are far from the Cancer Palace, requiring more than two days even with the Black Worm Train.

In addition, the Water Tumor Mountains did not always exist but formed during the invasion war that changed the landscape of the Old World and put the rules under lock and key.

At the time, a squad of thirty Honored Tumor Knights, to buy time for the main force, deliberately led the enemy here, engaging in heavy battle for two full days and nights, far beyond the expected delay, but the knights were completely surrounded with no chance of escape.

In the end, all the knights chose "cancerous self-destruction," determined to annihilate the enemy as much as possible even if it meant their own death.

Upon detonating the Pathogen Core known as "Honored Tumor," the Physical bodies of the knights underwent irreversible hyper-proliferation, and rapidly spreading tumors seized the surrounding area in an instant, devouring the enemy’s bodies and finally forming thirty tumor-like mountain ranges.

After the war ended, the Cancer Palace also sent people to mourn the thirty brave and decisive Honored Tumor Knights, building a monument at the foot of the mountains.

As time passed, with the gradual revival of the Old World, the Water Tumor Mountains slowly developed into a well-known tourist attraction.

There is even a small town adjacent to the mountains that has rapidly developed thanks to the tourism industry and has now become a large Neutral City, renamed from Kasi Town to Water Tumor City.

The most famous product here is the "Knight Mountain Spring,"

collected from the mountain springs of the Water Tumor Mountains, flashing a faint red and carrying a light fishy taste, which suits the taste of many Patients, with some even deliberately waiting for it to ferment and go bad before drinking.

Therefore, aside from Cancer Removers, many Patients come here, some for tourism, while others wish to taste the true mountain spring water among the mountains. There are even some treasure hunters who try to delve deep into the mountains in search of undiscovered War Relics.

Today, despite being the off-season for tourism and Water Tumor City not hosting any mountain climbing ceremonies or events, the number of people leaving the city for the mountains exceeds that of the peak season, including some local people who usually stay home all day.

Even some passersby crossing the mountains have, as if bewitched, changed their original routes to go hiking,

The City Lord of Water Tumor City noticed this abnormality immediately and dispatched multiple subordinates disguised as Ordinary tourists from different directions to investigate the mountains.

However, after one day had passed, the dozens of competent subordinates who had been sent out all lost contact, and they could not relay even a single piece of information back.

The City Lord decisively pressed a hidden button on the bookshelf, and a chamber sealed with multiple layers slowly opened.

This room, filled with various treasures, also contained an oddly-shaped telephone, a biotechnological product of the Cancer Palace, covered in tumorous sacs.

A continually Proliferating cancerous flesh wire was buried underground, stretching all the way to the Cancer Palace, and could repair itself in a short time even if the phone line were accidentally dug up and damaged.

The City Lord’s greasy palm snatched up the receiver without the need to dial, as this special telephone was already connected to the information processing department of the Cancer Palace.

The voice on the other end was harsh, "Is there an urgent report you need to make?"

The situation the City Lord wanted to explain had just reached his lips,

Buzz! The ringing in his ears disrupted everything.

A Nightmare Flower in black and white bloomed over the surface of his brain, erasing all memory of the abnormality he intended to report, he even forgot what he was doing and only wanted to return to his bed for a good sleep.

"It’s nothing, nothing... I must have just been verifying whether the line was clear, since it’s been a long time since I last contacted the Cancer Palace."

"Please hang up the phone."

"Okay."

After hanging up, the City Lord, his belly greasy with fat and spring water, scurried back to his bed,

feeling as if he had not slept for several days, and once asleep, he likely would not awaken for days and nights.

However, the Information Department of the Cancer Palace did not overlook the matter.

The Neutral Cities that are connected to the Cancer Palace and serve as organizational bases are numerous, but only 5% are granted an "exclusive telephone line."

The Cancer Palace has extremely strict rules for exclusive line calls, allowing them only in situations of extreme urgency or events directly related to the interests of the Cancer Palace—a call just to verify line clearness is clearly unreasonable.

And Water Tumor City is one of the more important cities under the Cancer Palace, contributing a substantial amount of money every year.

Minutes later, a Knight Squad of three Death Plague Knights skilled in rapid investigation had already boarded a boat, crossing Nong Lake.

When the ship docked, they successively threw out lumps of tumor tissue the size of tennis balls. As the tissue landed on the ground, it rapidly began to proliferate in a directed manner, morphing into a mount that corresponded to their own traits.

Unlike the standard-issue dead horses of the Death Plague Knight Order,

the Honored Tumor Knights’ mounts were induced from their own stem cells, giving rise to diverse forms.

The three mounts that had appeared before them were a large wild boar with tumors, a diseased sika deer with tumorous antlers, and a mammoth, the specifications of which far exceeded those of the other two riders’ mounts.

"Is there a suspected crisis in Water Tumor City? If there’s nothing to worry about, it would be nice to take a tour; I feel like I haven’t been out in a long time."

"That is the battlefield of our predecessors, treat it with reverence."

...

[Fear Circus - Kitchen]

William, who dozed off on the chopping board, wasn’t just taking a quick nap; he slept straight through to the next morning, a full ten hours.

On the other hand, Chef Timi, who had unburdened himself and returned to his room early, was infuriated and couldn’t sleep all night. He just couldn’t understand how William could sleep so peacefully.

Timi, with bloodshot eyes, stared at the monitor, "Only one day left, let’s see what you’re really preparing to do?"

But the surveillance footage that followed infuriated Timi so much that he almost charged out without even remembering to put on his clothes, wanting to hang William by the tongue and lash him thoroughly.

William, after sleeping all night, still hadn’t joined the bustle of the kitchen crew,

Instead, he went through his routine of rinsing and washing his face without any sense of urgency. After a brief inspection of the ingredient preparation by Poker Face, he actually left the kitchen directly.

For a moment, Timi thought that William had simply recklessly taken the opportunity given by the boss and decided to give up due to lack of time.

In reality, William had not been wasting time at all; he went back to the Magic Area to get a special magic box from Jian before returning.

When he returned to the kitchen, he happened to run into Timi at the entrance.

"Chef, good morning!"

"Good my ass! What are you doing? Why are you wandering around outside, and not hurrying to prepare the performance?"

"I took the opportunity to conduct a ’dialogue with myself’ while sleeping last night, discussing the details of the performance, which involved a key tool I needed to borrow from Mr. Jian."

William also proactively showed the black box he held in his hand.

"What is this?"

"A completely sealed lottery box, which will be used to stir up the atmosphere on-site; it’s an indispensable tool for the middle of the performance."

Hearing William’s explanation, Timi gradually calmed down, barely believing in the young man who had brought surprises on multiple occasions.

"What do you plan on doing next? Today is the last day, you should start cooking, right?"

"No rush, if I cook now, it will be stinky by tomorrow. Even with freezing, it will lose its freshness... I plan to continue sleeping, and then get up in the early hours to cook fresh. By then, the timing will be just right.

With the efficiency of the Poker Face group, even without my help, the preparation of the ingredients will be easily handled."

"You still want to sleep!? Didn’t you sleep last night?"

"Hmm? Did Chef Timi come to the kitchen last night?"

"Cough cough~ The staff told me earlier that you slept all night."

"Is that so~ A formal performance is no ordinary event. I have already arranged the details with my time. Rather than that, it’s better to adjust my mental state to an optimal level and gamble everything on the spot.

Plus, resting in the kitchen environment allows me to get into the zone faster. When I wake up at dawn, I can fully engage in cooking the dishes, and maybe even come up with some better, more performance-suited ideas."

"You..." Chef Timi had nothing else to say, his tongue taut as he waved his hand, "Go rest, then. I’m looking forward to your performance tomorrow; don’t let any problems arise."