Steam Old Days: The Extraordinary Begins with a Corpse Collector

White nodded blankly.

In truth, he still didn't understand Professor Hughes's thoughts.

He was taught from a young age to be realistic and pragmatic.

I don't understand the teacher's complicated reasoning either.

He felt that these things would only make his head spin.

However, since the teacher has already spoken, there's nothing more I can say.

Would your own teacher harm you?

When Hughes and White, teacher and student, returned to the mansion, Emily had already driven everyone away from the house.

Even her mother, Mrs. Holly, was taken by the coachman to another house to rest temporarily.

Hughes asked who arranged it.

Emily answered truthfully that Lyndon had given her the suggestion.

"It seems this person is quite knowledgeable."

Hughes praised Lyndon once again.

"Evacuating the crowd to prevent endangering others is the right thing to do, however..."

Hughes smiled.

"However, professionals like us don't really need to do this, because there won't be any accidents, beautiful Miss Emily."

Just then, Lyndon appeared at the top of the stairs on the second floor and called down, "Gentlemen, please come up."

Hughes and White went up the stairs to the second-floor room where Mr. Wendell's body was kept.

The curtains in the room remained closed.

But Lyndon had lit candles early on, and the orange candlelight illuminated Wendell on the bed.

His empty chest was now filled only with bloody flesh.

Hughes bent down and examined the knife wounds on the corpse closely, as if he were admiring a flower or a leaf.

White calmly took out paper and pen, lay down beside the body, and quickly recorded the condition of the corpse.

This is hard-won research data.

"The insect eggs were burned and the mother insect was dealt with in time, which is good and prevented a greater disaster."

Hughes's voice was calm, revealing little emotion.

"Right now, the biggest threat is the nightmare within Mr. Wendell. It's stable for now, but it could awaken at any moment."

Hughes drew something on the sheets with his fingers, muttering to himself about his next plan.

"I can set up a confinement array to trap the nightmare with spiritual power, and seal this space to prevent the nightmare from escaping. Then I can perform a ritual to peel it off the corpse and then contain it."

"White!"

Hughes suddenly shouted.

"I am here!"

White was startled and jumped to his feet.

"I need the Imprisoned Lake Potion, the Tranquil Water, and some Holy Angel Potion. The rest can be prepared normally."

"yes!"

White received the order and hurried off to prepare the potion his teacher needed.

Lyndon watched White's hurried retreating figure, then turned to Hughes: "What do you need me to do?"

"Of course, of course." Hughes said seriously, pointing to the corpse's limbs and gesturing to show their length. "Find some ropes this long and tie them up. We'll start working soon; this corpse might be a bit restless."

"clear."

Lyndon nodded, seemingly obedient to Hughes, but in his heart he was rapidly planning his next move.

Soon, Lyndon found a rope as Hughes had asked, and as he passed through the living room, he saw White fiddling with a bunch of bottles and jars.

There was also a large black briefcase in front of him.

It is divided into three layers.

It also contained bottles and jars.

He placed a bottle in front of him, then picked out another dark green bottle, shook his head, put the bottle he had initially chosen back, and picked out another one.

White's every move exudes an academic rigor.

What's in these bottles?

Lyndon stopped and squatted down next to White, reaching out to touch the bottles.

"Don't move!"

White quickly slapped Lyndon's hand away, spreading his arms wide like a mother hen protecting her chicks, not allowing anyone to touch his things.

"These are all potions! Don't touch them!"

"A potion?" Lyndon's mouth dropped open, his eyes wide with surprise.

He moved closer to White, asking with great eagerness, "Could you tell me about it?"

"What do you want to do?"

White stared at Lyndon with great vigilance. In his eyes, Lyndon was not just a corpse collector, but also a casual visitor to the black market. If he didn't need Lyndon's help, he would have arrested him long ago and handed him over to the police station after completing the mission.

Lyndon scratched his head sheepishly and said, "I haven't seen much of the world, but I'm really interested in supernatural beings and potions!"

White remained wary of Lyndon, and asked him a question in a cold tone.

"and then?"

Upon hearing this, Lyndon lowered his head.

"And then, you guys are really amazing, I admire you, and I want to be like you. When I was at Langton University, I often went to eavesdrop on Potions classes."

White paused slightly, his eyes filled with doubt.

The profession of corpse collector is not honorable and is often done by people from the bottom of society. How come there is someone who has been to college?

"You've been to school?"

Lyndon nodded.

"I did attend, but I studied architecture."

"Then why did you become a corpse collector?" White asked.

Lyndon looked dejected, and his voice was low.

"Because my parents died in a shipwreck, my family went bankrupt, and I couldn't continue my studies."

White was taken aback. His Adam's apple bobbed, and his gaze toward Lyndon was filled with pity and sympathy.

It turns out his background was so tragic.

White was frustrated; he even wondered if Lyndon was going to the black market out of necessity, just to make a living.

"Feel sorry……"

Lyndon waved his hand.

"It's okay. I'm used to being discriminated against because I was a college student before, and I was often ridiculed."

After hearing this, White was reminded of his own past; before meeting Professor Hughes, he was often bullied.

This Lyndon seems to have many things in common with me.

"I'll stop talking now. I'm sorry to have bothered you. You can continue with your work."

Lyndon said, standing up dejectedly, as if to leave.

"Wait a moment."

White suddenly called out to Lyndon. After a moment's hesitation, he patted the cushion next to him and said, "Actually, it's not that I can't talk about it, it's just that I can't go into too much detail."

Lyndon was overjoyed upon hearing this, and his face lit up with a smile again. He sat down next to White, straightened his back, and sat up straight, looking just like a well-behaved student.

White coughed lightly, his fingers sweeping across the bottle in front of him.

White picked out a few bottles of potions and said to Lyndon:

"This red bottle is made from the blood of the Swamp Demon Frog. Consuming it will enhance our strength."

"And these are all glittering gold."

White opened a bottle of potion and then used tweezers to pick out a small pinch of shimmering starlight powder.

"It's called 'The Afterglow of Dawn,' formed by collecting and crystallizing the first rays of light in the morning."

"What about this one?"

Lyndon suddenly spoke, his gaze falling on a bottle of potion containing a clear liquid.

"That's called 'Water of Tranquility,' it's used to stabilize the spiritual space. It can strengthen your soul, and we'll need to use it in a bit."

"A psychoactive potion?" Lyndon suddenly blurted out.

"Looks like you know quite a bit." White didn't suspect anything, assuming it was something Lin Deng learned when he was in school.

He then took out several identical bottles from a box next to him.

"That's right, these are psychoactive potions."

"It can't actually deal with any alien species, but it can greatly enhance the perception and control of mental superhumans, so it's still a very powerful potion."

Lyndon listened intently, nodding in agreement from time to time, giving White plenty of emotional support.

"These potions are very stable; they won't cause any problems even if they fall on the ground. However, you must be extremely careful not to mix them up when using them, or something bad will happen!"

White suddenly stood up, spread his arms, and drew a circle in the air.

Linden was caught off guard and fell to the ground with a thud, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

He looked ridiculous.

Just then, Hughes's urging came from upstairs.

"White! Where's the potion? We should get started!"

"Almost done!"

White responded, then remembered the important matter.

He selected the potions he needed and put the rest back in the box.

"Let me help you!"

Seeing this, Lyndon also stepped in to help.

"Thank you!"

White expressed his gratitude to Lyndon.

At this moment, he only regarded Lyndon as an ordinary person, and an ordinary person with a tragic background.

It seems they forgot he was still a solo traveler.

He also forgot what Hughes had told him.

"Okay, let's go up."

White closed the box and went upstairs with a smile.

Lyndon stood there watching him, a bottle of clear potion hidden in his hand.

He put the potion in his pants pocket.

After the group tidied up, Wendell's room was transformed.

The curtains were drawn back, and the bright moonlight shone through the window onto the bed, as if a white veil had been laid on it.

Thick white candles were lit around the room, their flames flickering.

Lyndon tied Wendell securely to the bed with a rope.

The enormous mansion was now empty except for the three people and the corpse.

Even Emily was persuaded to leave by Lyndon.

Hughes stood before the bed, his expression solemn.

Seeing that everything was almost ready, Hughes gestured for the two to step back.

White prepared the potions, ready to provide assistance to Hughes at any time.

Lyndon stood aside and watched coldly.

The ceremony began.

Hughes drank the entire bottle of clear potion, then his lips moved as he began to chant deep, ancient syllables.

Suddenly, a faint white light began to emanate from Hughes's body.

With each syllable he uttered, the light emanating from his body rippled like a pebble dropped into water.

Hughes spread his hands out as if to catch something.

Upon seeing this, White quickly poured a bottle of potion into his teacher's hand.

Then, something amazing happened.

The overturned potion didn't fall to the ground or into his hand; instead, it seemed to be enveloped by something, gradually turning into a ball of water.

Hughes pushed his palm forward, and the water sphere moved with his movement.

Finally, the water balloon came to rest above Wendell's body.

Hughes adjusted his posture, and his chanting intensified.

Suddenly, Wendell's corpse opened its mouth, and wisps of pale yellow gas floated out.

The gas floated upwards and gradually merged into the water sphere.

Upon witnessing this bizarre scene, Lyndon's heart leaped into his throat.

"Is this what it means to be extraordinary?"

What Lyndon had always longed for was now less than five steps away from him.

At that moment, Wendell's body also suddenly underwent a strange transformation.

Wendell, who was supposed to be dead beyond any doubt, actually spoke.

He let out a low growl like a wild beast.

The corpse, which was nothing but bones and flesh, also began to struggle violently.

"Don't be afraid, this is normal. The nightmare has been woken up, so it will start to fight back."

Hughes remained calm and spoke eloquently.

He directed White to continue adding the potion, and then had Lin Deng reinforce the ropes to prevent the corpse from breaking free.

"Don't worry, I'm here, you'll be fine."

Hughes, worried that Lyndon might be scared on the spot, made a statement to reassure him.

Lyndon didn't say much. He walked around and passed by White.

Because Hughes and White were focused on the corpse, they didn't notice that Lyndon had secretly moved one of the potion bottles forward a little as he passed by.

The arrangement of potions is deliberate, like a chef adding seasonings; everything has its place.

With just a slight adjustment, they can make serious mistakes.

Just as Lyndon had expected, White became excited as he saw the pale yellow gas he was absorbing from the corpse becoming increasingly scarce. He grabbed a bottle and added it in.

hum!

The expected stable aura did not appear; instead, the water sphere began to tumble and expand in mid-air.

"What did you add?!"

Hughes's expression changed drastically; he instantly realized something was wrong.

White was also stunned. He looked down at the potion bottle, where the potion that should have been added earlier was now sitting quietly.

"Teacher, I think I added it wrong..."

But before he could finish speaking, a sudden change occurred!

The water balloon was like an inflated balloon, unable to withstand the pressure inside any longer.

With a loud bang, the water sphere exploded, and the yellow gas inside immediately filled the entire room.

"Damn it!"

The containment failed, and Hughes was also affected by the power of the potion, leaving him no choice but to let his consciousness be devoured by the gas.

Just as his eyes were glazed over, he saw Lyndon take out the bottle of potion he had stolen earlier from his pocket.

Without the slightest hesitation, Lyndon unscrewed the cap and drank the potion in one gulp.

An indescribable feeling of coolness instantly shot from my throat to the top of my head.

Immediately following was a sharp pain, as if it were a soul-tearing agony.

Lyndon clutched his chest, his face contorted in rage.

He felt dizzy and disoriented. After a while, Lyndon's consciousness sank into endless darkness.

……

Am I dead?

Lyndon's consciousness wandered aimlessly in the darkness.

When a beam of light appeared, Lyndon opened his eyes again.

Only then did he get a clear look at his surroundings.

It felt as if I were on a barren land, with nothing but emptiness all around.

Even the grass underfoot was lifeless, withered and decaying.

"Where am I?"

Lyndon asked again, but he could only walk aimlessly.

The air was filled with the stench of decay.

The sounds of crying and shouting came from afar.

Lyndon looked up at the gray sky, and suddenly his eyes widened.

Countless souls with only half a body wandered in the air.

They seemed to have spotted Lyndon and let out a piercing howl.

The ghosts swooped down from the sky.

Like sharks that have smelled blood, they pounced on Lyndon from all directions!

Lyndon instinctively took off running.

He ran across the boundless wilderness, the biting wind whipping his face.

The ghosts were hot on their heels.

Lyndon felt like his lungs were about to explode.

Just as he was running around frantically, he vaguely saw a tree.

And standing under the tree was a familiar figure—White!

He was a young man, and he was in a sorry state.

His robe was torn, and his hair was a mess.

He was surrounded by several twisted, ugly ghosts.

However, the ghosts only watched White from afar, and none of them dared to approach him.

Lyndon ran towards the tree without a second thought.