Chapter 927: Amidst the Misty Rain (Part 2) (Patreon)

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"All these items were piping hot, emitted a tantalizing aroma, and had a delightful taste. So, when we delivered these provisions to the disaster relief site, the gang members were all in high spirits."

"Despite being occasionally called 'little rascals' by them, I couldn't believe it when one of the gang leaders actually praised us as geniuses. They had originally prepared to subsist on fast food..."

"In that case, why did conflicts arise?" Schiller asked with some confusion.

Tire sighed and replied, "It wasn't us clashing with the gang; it was the rescued old street residents."

"As the houses were on the verge of collapsing, many people felt the tremors and ran out ahead of time or jumped directly from the upper floors. These people suffered minor injuries and had no trouble moving or speaking."

"When the gang members rushed to the scene to help, these residents were still searching for their belongings amidst the ruins. It was windy and pouring rain at that time, and most of them had fled from their sleep. They lacked proper clothing for protection, and some had bleeding abrasions."

"The gang members advised them to take shelter in the tents set up by Wayne Group and get their wounds treated. However, this group insisted on rummaging through the debris, trying to salvage their belongings."

Tire said with some exasperation, "Originally, after the completion of Phase Two, they should have moved out promptly. But because they were busy with their belongings, it delayed the process. Otherwise, there would have been no one left in those hazardous buildings."

"They were willing to sort their things there, and the gang members didn't bother with them. However, later on, when Wayne Group's construction vehicles came to clear the debris, they blocked the way, claiming that the vehicles would damage their belongings..."

"Oh God! Who would cherish those rotten items of theirs? But they insisted on staying put, and of course, the gang didn't indulge them. They ended up shooting and injuring one of the leaders."

"Normally, in Gotham, when so many gangs draw their guns, everyone should run for cover."

"But I don't know what happened; these people acted like they were possessed, especially that leader who got shot by the gang. I know him; my mom used to call him 'tuberculosis ghost' because he always coughed incessantly when refueling..."

"The gang members had a tough time driving them away. After daybreak, the gang members were initially sitting there, wanting to grab a bite to eat. However, this group returned, this time intending to snatch the food brought over by the children."

"The gang initially wanted to open fire and eliminate them all, but Wayne Group's people stopped them. After all, these people were already Phase Two residents, and Wayne Group wanted to ensure their safety, which was understandable."

"The gang members guarded us with their guns, but that tuberculosis ghost, who had barely survived the gunshot, somehow managed to slip past the gang members and charged towards me..."

"At that moment, I was handing out soup spoons to people having their meals. I was startled when he came rushing at me, and I swung the spoon to hit his head. But to my surprise, he seemed unfazed by pain, extended his hand to grab me..."

"I... I had never experienced anything like that before..." Tire displayed a traumatized expression. He continued, "From childhood to adulthood, the work I did was always arranged by my mother. I had never seen anyone charge at me with such a menacing demeanor, as if they wanted to devour me..."

"At that moment, I was somewhat stunned, not knowing whether to hide or not. Jason pushed me aside, but as he did, the tuberculosis ghost captured his arm..."

"The girl with six fingers beside us pulled Jason back, and when Jason forcefully pulled his arm back, although he managed to break free from the tuberculosis ghost's grip, the man's nails had already pierced deep into Jason's flesh, leaving three deep gashes when he pulled away..."

Tire expressed deep regret, saying, "It's all my fault. I should have sent him to the hospital earlier! But Jason insisted it was a minor injury, and we were busy at the time. I thought about it and didn't force him to go to the hospital..."

"But after the busy morning, Jason's face turned unnaturally pale. One of Wayne Group's female doctors examined his wound and mentioned the possibility of infection. She applied some ointment, bandaged it, and gave him two fever-reducing pills..."

"We initially thought everything was fine, but when he didn't come out after a while, we called the building administrator to open the door, and we found out he had fallen into a deep sleep, running a high fever."

Copperpot sighed and continued, "At that moment, we realized he had a fever. We gave him two more fever-reducing pills, and initially, his temperature dropped slightly, but it didn't last."

"I tried calling Bruce Wayne, but he was busy too, dealing with those residents rescued last night. Apparently, one of them had a sudden mental breakdown and attacked him. He's currently investigating the situation with a doctor."

Schiller squinted at Jason's arm. The three wounds were no longer bleeding but were quite swollen, affecting his entire forearm.

Jason looked very pale, but his lips were red, giving the impression of being congested due to a high temperature. Schiller used the back of his hand to check Jason's neck temperature and found it alarmingly high.

"Both of you, step outside. I need to examine his wound," Schiller said, turning his head towards the two of them. After Copperpot and Tire exited the room, Schiller grasped Jason's wrist and asked Grey Mist, "Can you perform a medical check on him? This doesn't seem like an ordinary wound."

Grey Mist remained silent for a moment before responding, "It is indeed peculiar. I've been restructuring his cells and lowering his overall temperature, but for some reason, the wound he sustained from the attack keeps undergoing changes."

"Changes? What do you mean?" Schiller inquired.

"I can alter the structure of human tissues to heal nearly all types of wounds. After all, wounds are essentially damaged human tissue, and as long as they can be repaired, the injuries will heal."

"My symbiote factor can transform into human cells, replacing lost or necrotic cells. Theoretically, for such a minor injury, it should have healed instantly. However, during the process of repair and replacement, it keeps deteriorating..."

"What is the reason?" Schiller asked.

Grey Mist conveyed a series of puzzled emotions, saying, "...It's hard to discern. I can only sense that there is a mysterious factor attacking the wound. I am attempting to isolate them... but it's proving to be difficult. I can't fully remove them."

Schiller heard Grey Mist sigh and said, "He's not my host, and I don't have as much control over his body. Using forceful measures might cause him to lose an arm."

"Then let him lose the arm," Schiller stated firmly. "There are medical procedures for limb regeneration; he can regrow it eventually."

Grey Mist seemed to hesitate for a moment before saying, "I've trapped this factor in the wound on his arm. Physically cutting off his arm should suffice. I've blocked his pain receptors; he won't feel anything."

Schiller paused for a moment and then asked, "...Isn't there a gentler treatment method?"

Grey Mist contemplated for a moment before suggesting, "You could try having that guy living inside the umbrella consume this factor. He seems to eat just about anything."

"So, you're refusing to eat it because you're picky?" Schiller asked, turning to Grey Mist. Grey Mist made a couple of annoyed noises and said, "No, I can only consume things that can be converted into symbiote factor. If it can't be transformed, I'll have to regurgitate it as it is."

"So, you can't convert this mysterious factor?" Schiller inquired.

Grey Mist thought for a moment and replied, "Calling it a factor is not entirely accurate. It doesn't truly exist, so I can't consume it. It's more like... hmm... an elusive curse. That's why I suggested you try with that pitch-black guy; they both are curses, so maybe it will work?"

Schiller brought the umbrella over and brought the tip of the umbrella closer to Jason's arm. Soon, a black mist enveloped Jason's arm.

After Curse Spirit lingered on Jason's arm for a while, it returned to Schiller's umbrella handle.

As Curse Spirit departed, Jason's arm showed no change, but in the next moment, Grey Mist began repairing it, and the wound instantly healed.

Grey Mist said somewhat triumphantly, "See? I told you it would work. This thing is definitely a curse; otherwise, he wouldn't have found it so delicious!"

Schiller held the umbrella handle and sensed the emotions conveyed by Curse Spirit. He noticed that this time, Curse Spirit's emotions seemed clearer, and he was indeed satisfied and joyful.

"So, you enjoy eating curses?" Schiller said in surprise. "I thought you should prefer eating souls or something..."

But at that moment, Curse Spirit had a thought, roughly along the lines of "Souls don't taste good, but this curse is delicious."

Schiller was once again surprised because Curse Spirit hadn't previously demonstrated the ability to answer his questions.

This Curse Spirit, born conjoined with Constantine, had innate magical abilities from being in their mother's womb. However, he was later killed by Constantine and turned into an everlasting curse spirit. Later, he became Schiller's umbrella spirit.

But this little fellow wasn't like Grey Mist, who had strong growth potential. Despite being in the umbrella for so long, Schiller had attempted to communicate with him, but each time was futile.

Curse Spirit could only convey very basic emotions and could only express one emotion at a time, without the ability to answer yes-or-no questions. However, this time, Schiller clearly felt that Curse Spirit had two attitudes towards two things, showing a rudimentary form of logic.

Now, Schiller had a feeling of, "It's not that the children are foolish; it's that I haven't raised them properly." He indeed had no idea that Curse Spirit wanted to eat curses and seemed to need curses from this world specifically. Previously, he had been too hungry to think about it.

Schiller shifted his attention back from Curse Spirit to Jason. The wound on his arm had disappeared, and his complexion had improved significantly. Schiller reached out and tested his body temperature, finding that his fever had subsided.

Just as Schiller withdrew his hand, Jason suddenly leaped up from the bed, as if awakened by a nightmare. He gasped for breath, surveyed his surroundings, and upon seeing Schiller, let out a sigh of relief.

Schiller looked at Jason and asked, "Do you remember what happened?"

"I... I..." Jason closed his eyes tightly, and his voice still sounded weak. However, he suddenly widened his eyes and said, "Those residents... the rescued residents... they're going crazy!! We need to stop them!!!!"

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, and thanks for the invaluable support!]

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 928: Amidst the Rain of Mist (Part Three)