The Last Gentleman
Chapter 580: 578: Accident

Not long after Orman, who has been parasitized, left along the corridor, William suddenly remembered that he hadn’t utilized his new ability yet.

"Forgot to check the student network~ Mr. Orman is an elite selected by the organization, a special gentleman specifically tasked with guarding the Grey Zone corridor, and the quality after being educated must be quite high."

What William found when he looked up the information was astonishing.

In the top right corner of the student’s file, there was suddenly an imprint of a "Black Worm," indicating that the student was in a state of parasitism, and although the education would still work, it might be influenced by the parasite of the same body.

In the personal information column, the "Parasitic Synchronization Rate" was listed, which meant that Orman had a natural affinity with the Black Worm Parasite and the two would not repel each other but could coexist synergistically, manifesting even greater strength.

The higher the synchronization rate, the stronger the parasitic form that could be displayed, which was currently at 31%.

Orman himself had also reached the Open Source Limit, and this state of parasitism, coupled with the desire for Seeking Knowledge bestowed by education, would greatly increase the possibility of finding a path, and it’s very possible that he would embark on a door to a Parasite-related path.

Since the recent education did not include specific experiences of Seeking Knowledge, it was impossible to assess his potential, but in William’s view, it certainly would not be lower than A.

Unfortunately, the other party had already entered the Old World, and due to the barrier of the world’s membrane, William couldn’t make him come back for further education and development.

"Never mind~ I’ll deal with it once I return to the Old World later. With Mr. Orman’s caliber and the help of parasitism, even without my offer for advanced training, he should be able to complete the path.

Sigh~ Time flies so fast."

William reminisced about when he had just resisted a heavy halberd’s thrust single-handedly, remembering how years ago when he first came to the mountain top to search the Old World for Relics, he couldn’t confront Orman at all. At that time, a hit from the heavy halberd could have resulted in his immediate death.

With the idea of ’returning home’ placed before him again after many years, William’s attitude towards going back had also changed slightly.

Now, returning to Zion, he no longer needed the Organization to provide education, materials, or assistance. He was capable of being a ’Special Record Combat Power’ for the Organization and could even play a leading role in guiding it towards a better direction.

William and Jin stood on the edge of the mountain peak, with the Grey Zone that pervaded here now developed into a ’heavy’ level, and various Pathological filths roaming the mountains.

If this level of the Grey Zone had been present during their first trip to Holy Grail Mountain, it would have certainly been deadly.

Now, however, it acted as a ’natural oxygen bar’ for the two of them. When needed, they could come here to inhale the rich Gray Matter, which could help recover their bodies and spirits.

With the path completed, both were categorized as ’Patients of the past days,’ an indispensable living part of the Old World.

Jin stretched her arms and gazed toward the general direction where Zion was located:

"The instructors wouldn’t have imagined our progress being so swift, right? With this, there probably aren’t many in Zion who can match us."

"Don’t underestimate the gentlemen; at least, teacher Zede at the academy and your Prophet Yuri, we probably still can’t beat them."

"That’s true, Prophet Yuri has been in the Silver Circle for a long time, and all of Cesimani has been running efficiently because of the killing he has constrained.

But still~ we’re not too shabby, at least now we have the qualifications to confront them face to face! Let’s go, we should hurry back."

Although Jin spoke as if she didn’t care about Zion and wasn’t interested in the organization’s development, there was still something evident in her eyes.

Whoosh~ Her body turned into a streak of red light, descending vertically along the mountain wall. William quickly followed, his speed not falling much behind.

For journeys not too distant, they basically no longer needed to use a carriage for transportation.

On the way, as they passed by Yarsoto Town, which is not far from Holy Grail Mountain and where the Cold Lake Cemetery is located, the town was already empty, with the Grey Zone spreading throughout.

William couldn’t help but recall some of the events that had taken place here, like the little grape absorbing the essence of the cemetery and how he was sought out by Moon Scar to journey together into the Old World.

Looking at the town remnants eroded by Pathological infection, William also felt a bit worried about the state of Zion.

"I found out about Zion’s issues almost half a year ago... I wonder what the final outcome is.

However, since the ’World Infection’ is not yet complete, and Patients of the Silver Circle cannot freely come to this side, with Zede, Prophet Yuri, the Principal, and the seniors in place, there shouldn’t be much of a problem."

However, as William, with high hopes, sped along the main road and was about 30km from Zion, he suddenly smelled a scent of blood.

Initially, he thought the scent must be coming from a nearby village, but as he ran closer, he found the scent was increasing as they neared Zion.

"Jin... this scent!"

Jin, having enhanced his olfactory nerves through directed proliferation of cancer cells, gave a slight nod, "It’s very likely coming from Zion, and the situation doesn’t seem too good."

The organization’s main stronghold—Zion City—was built amidst the most hidden and treacherous peaks of the mountains, easily defensible and difficult to assault. The city’s construction was also strictly divided by regions, with multiple concealed prohibitions in place. Even if the outer areas were to fall, regional lockdowns could be implemented immediately, effectively isolating the affected zones.

However... there was always a hidden danger within Zion itself.

Two figures swiftly weaved through the mountains, formally arriving at the foot of the mountain where Zion was located.

Whirr!

An EMP-like shock wave struck down from the peak of the mountain. Though invisible to the naked eye, one could feel the force field sweeping over their entire body, followed by a momentary buzzing sound within the skull.

William decisively tensed his physical body to ward off any potential covert shocks.

However, his body was not affected in the slightest. The only thing affected was the gentleman’s clothes he wore, as visible particles undulated on the surface of the suit, but were soon suppressed by the Yellow Skin.

It wasn’t just William,

the Knight Armor on Jin’s body that contained the Honored Tumor also experienced intense fluctuations, and parts relating to "skin" within the armor were forcibly peeled away, falling to the ground like crumpled paper and quickly turning into a pool of foul oil.

Although the skin components in the armor were minimal, they were used to lighten the armor and to enhance the closeness of fit due to the flexibility of the skin material, with many critical joints connected by skin.

This sudden skin stripping instantly caused the armor to fail, the joints stiffened, and the traits of the skin could no longer be retracted into the body.

"Huh!? What’s happening?"

Jin had no choice but to remove the armor and put it into a woven sac formed by the tumors, while she herself fashioned a makeshift wrap top and shorts with tumor proliferation to cover her body’s special parts.

On William’s side, he immediately received an urgent notification from the Yellow Skin, with writhing large characters streaming rapidly across his retina.

"≮Skin Bag Sealing! This is an instruction issued from the Skin Factory and might even have been directly issued by the Plague Master, imposing a complete sealing on the skin bags of your human organization.

Any item related to the skin bags, once affected by the energy pulse released from the Pita, will cause its internal structure to completely disarray and lose its pathology, turning it into this disordered oily substance.

Plus, with the scent of blood you smelled, the situation of your organization, William, is very bad~ especially those humans focused on skin development will directly lose their pathological ability and become invalids under such influence.≯"

"This... Mr. Spacy!"

William’s first thought was of Mr. Spacy, the President Tailor who often took care of him and from whom he had borrowed the "Skin Sack Bible." He was an absolute gentleman of the skin, having developed no illnesses.

Jin immediately picked up on the change in William’s expression, "Has Zion fallen? Haha, that’s great! Let’s hurry and become the heroes who save it, break into the city."

William did not reject Jin’s suggestion, but tried to remain as rational as possible, "First, lower your aura and stay as hidden as possible. Let’s look at the specific situation before making a final decision, and not act rashly."

Both of them treaded softly, climbing up the steep mountain path,

skirting the waist of the mountain, they stood on a protruding dangerous path between the mountains, from which they could barely make out Zion City built on the edge of the mountain top.

The memories of the past were no longer there,

instead, what they saw before them was a flesh and blood high wall coated with a thick layer of skin bag,

and at the heart of the city within the high wall stood a tower of skin bags with a multi-tiered ring structure on top, releasing high-energy pulses at regular intervals.

Just as William was about to continue upward, a familiar voice echoed in his mind.

"William, don’t startle the snake, come with me! And bring Jin along, this is an order!"