Bear School Astartes

After taking a stroll around the first floor of the research hall, Lann had basically explored the area once.

Under Adeline’s guidance, various small rooms and large doors were selectively revealed to Lann.

However, Adeline couldn’t continue leading him to the higher levels.

"Recently, many gray blood patients have shown symptoms of agitation and delirium during treatment, and they have attacked the church’s doctors."

Adeline clasped her hands together, speaking to Lann with a hint of apology.

"The church has therefore sent some Sumeru descendants to guard the stairs, along with some hunters to prevent things from getting out of hand. I can’t take you above the second floor."

But as she spoke, she looked at Lann with a gaze filled with expectation.

"So, how about it? Even if just on the first floor, you should be able to see the church’s advancement in medical technology, right? After all, you understand, don’t you?"

Lann hesitantly nodded: "Yan’an is indeed very advanced."

These were false words; Lann had never been outside this world beyond Yan’an, so naturally, he didn’t know what medical standards were like outside of Yan’an.

But when he thought of the many foreign hunters coming from all over the world to counter critical diseases with [blood therapy] in Yan’an, a vague answer probably wouldn’t be wrong either.

Yet immediately, Lann crossed his arms and, with interest, questioned Adeline.

"But... you seem eager to persuade me to join the Healing Church."

The Blood Saintess first seemed a bit evasive, pushing her hair behind her ear.

"...Although not everyone can become a Blood Saintess, the fact that I have my current position in the church is probably more due to luck, right?"

"I don’t have any special skills or advantages; I’m not as wise as scholars who can research those great knowledge. Nor am I as brave and calm as hunters who can fight monsters to protect the city."

Adeline’s clasped hands twisted nervously.

"I want to do something for the church, for others. After all, I’ve already received more care than others because of luck, but all I can give is blood... I don’t know what others think, but I don’t like this!"

"Though I lack knowledge, wisdom, and strength, I can at least strive to do something! That’s how I see it!"

Initially, Adeline might have only wanted to respond to Lann and make him more willing to become a Yan Nan Hunter.

But as she spoke, Lann could clearly sense that Adeline should have gathered the courage to express some of her emotions.

After finishing, she lowered her head shyly and apologetically.

"I’m sorry, did I say too much?"

"By Yan Nan people’s conversational standards, it is indeed a lot." Lann’s comment made Adeline lower her head further, "But I’m a foreigner, completely unable to adapt to Yan Nan people’s conversational style, so this one is okay."

Adeline breathed a sigh of relief and looked up: "Phew~ Please don’t tease me anymore."

Lann shrugged, indicating he would comply, and then brought the topic back around.

"But Adeline..." The Demon Hunter shifted the topic, then with an exploring gesture turned his head, looking at the spacious research hall.

"Is this really a facility for treating and researching gray blood disease? Dealing with plague, the Healing Church seems to have no awareness of isolation. Hunters and clergy all roam freely without any barriers."

In the architectural structure of this research hall, the middle is completely hollow.

Lann didn’t know if there were staircases in the surrounding building body, but in the middle of the building was a thick and tall wooden pillar, around which a spiral staircase extended to the corresponding floor height, connecting to the floors.

The giant pillar was consistently adorned with intricate reliefs and engravings, filled with Gothic gloomy beauty.

"The Healing Church’s determination to aid humanity and defeat plague is unquestionable!"

Facing Lann’s inquiry, Adeline smiled.

"Every patient here receives good care. Clergy and scholars dedicate themselves to treating them, while hunters ensure they do not harm themselves or others during their illness."

"We have undergone [blood therapy]; those of us who have received the holy blood will not be infected by gray blood disease, so protective measures are optional."

Lann chuckled ambiguously: "I suppose that’s right."

Underneath the cloak, the subtle sound of Smaug’s armor plates occasionally rubbing and clashing caught Adeline’s inquisitive glances several times.

For Yan’an in the Victorian Era style, Lann’s heavily solid full armor was entirely a relic of a bygone era.

It could be considered an antique.

Adeline couldn’t imagine that people outside were still using such equipment for hunter work.

Lann seemed to have been persuaded by what she said.

The Blood Saintess thought to herself.

Perhaps she should suggest to him later that using such outdated combat equipment in Yan’an will surely cause major problems at work.

However, just as Adeline was about to open her mouth to remind the tall man beside her.

Lann suddenly seemed to notice something, twitched his nostrils, and then furrowed his brow, looking seriously at Adeline.

"Are you still researching the beasthood disease here?"

Amidst the complex scent of medications in the research hall, the Demon Hunter’s acute senses suddenly detected a stench similar to that of Yan’an beasts, yet distinct from the typical beasthood patients’ intense, viscous human blood smell.

More complex, more concealed...

"Beasthood disease?" Adeline obviously paused, surprised that Lann would ask this here. "No, how could we?"

"This place originally conducted blood research, and later began receiving patients with the Gray Blood disease. But they all received the divine [blood treatment], how could it be related to the beasthood disease..."

Adeline’s tone was very certain, almost as if it were a foregone conclusion.

[Blood treatment] can cure everything. Beasthood disease still exists in Yan’an today merely because the Holy Blood isn’t enough; [blood treatment] cannot be provided to every Yan Nan person.

This is what the Healing Church claims, and Adeline and Mark sincerely believe it.

But before Adeline could finish saying the words ’related to.’

On the second floor of the research hall...

"Crash!"

A chaotic sound of glass and wooden window frames shattering abruptly broke the previously busy yet quiet atmosphere of the research hall!

A clergy member in black uniform fell from the air behind Adeline, smashing directly into the dry pool on the first floor of the research hall like a bursting water bag!

Under the pressure of gravity, a line of blood was squeezed out of his body, flying diagonally three to four meters away!

In an instant, Lann realized: the height difference between the second and first floors of the research hall was about seven meters; this could not cause such a bleeding amount and intensity solely from a fall — this person was already severely bleeding before falling!

Sure enough, the culprit causing the massive bleeding fell the next moment!

"Aow aow!"

Screaming hoarsely, frenzied and irrational. The forceful roaring mixed with chaotic panting sounds.

Like a dying donkey.

But these screams are not amusing; on the contrary, they are extremely crazy and dangerous.

It was a patient wearing filthy hospital clothes.

The Yan’an hospital clothes are essentially a loose gown, identical in style for both genders, supposedly designed for medical personnel to easily check patients’ bodies.

But now, the patient’s chest and upper arms were bound with strong leather straps, as if to restrict their movement.

Just like the Gray Blood Patient corpses Lann had seen before, he indeed hadn’t grown dense and tough black hair on his exterior.

This vastly differed from beasthood patients, enough to be considered two distinct diseases.

But simultaneously, this jumping Gray Blood patient, his body began to deform!

As the opponent leapt down while screaming, Lann reached out and pulled the oblivious Adeline, who was facing away from the scene, behind him.

Meanwhile, he frowned at the frenzied Gray Blood patient.

You couldn’t tell much about the torso due to the loose hospital clothes, but the limbs had already become as thin as broomsticks, with arms likely able to easily touch their calves if completely dangled down!

A deformity caused by the disease!

On the Gray Blood Patient, the most conspicuous part was his head.

His head was wrapped in a gray burlap sack, displaying large patches of red and gray blood seeping from inside.

The sack was enormous, certainly appearing loose on a normal person’s head, capable of fitting two heads inside without issue.

But on this Gray Blood patient’s shoulders, the burlap sack was bulging taut.

Vaguely seen, there seemed to be a large chunk of creeping flesh inside, pushing out one contour after another!

Is it really still a human head inside that sack?

"Splurt!"

With his deformed, skeletal hands, the Gray Blood Patient grasped an iron rod, appearing as if he’d yanked down an IV bottle rod from the hospital.

The sharp broken end stabbed again into the clergy member’s body within the dry pool as the Gray Blood patient fell.

Abundant blood gushed out with the appearance of a fresh rupture in the body.

The Gray Blood patient’s strength was immense, and with a swing of the iron rod, the pierced clergy member flew around like a rag doll.

In mid-air, splattering blood, accompanied by wind sound, "wham," slammed into a cupboard against the first-floor wall.

The cupboard’s glass shattered, and a slew of bottles and jars crashed to the ground.

The impact seemed to have shattered something potentially perilous stored inside the cupboard.

A bluish-gray liquid spilled out, sizzling like frying fat as it hit the ground, emitting a cloud of corrosive white smoke.

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