The past was built upon collecting unique characteristics.

Most afraid of the air suddenly quiet.

Morian's heart leaped into his throat. His gaze was fixed on Joseph in front of the car, and his right hand quietly reached for the gun holster at his waist.

If the other party makes the slightest move, be prepared to take them down on the spot.

Seemingly drawn to the broadcast, Joseph stopped glancing around nervously, slowly turned his head, and looked past the vehicle at Morian.

His face showed no hostility as expected, only an unusual calm, but what lay beneath that calm remained a mystery.

The atmosphere became somewhat awkward for a moment.

After a moment, Joseph's tightly pursed lips parted slightly, and he slowly spoke:

"Your car... even has a radio, that's such a rare thing?"

call……

I thought you were going to say something... Morian breathed a sigh of relief, his heart easing slightly.

He almost couldn't resist pulling out his gun and striking first.

It seems Joseph did hear the broadcast, but due to the distance and the fact that the voice was indistinct, he couldn't make out the specific content.

Morian forced a somewhat stiff smile and said to Joseph, who had asked the question:

"Yeah, this thing isn't cheap; it's the latest model."

"Judging from your attire, you must have come from the Bate City dock area, right? There was quite a commotion there when I left." He tried to steer the conversation away from there.

Joseph instinctively wanted to deny it, but then he caught a glimpse of his stained work clothes and swallowed the words he was about to say.

"Yes, but I don't want to join in the fun. Those guys are always causing trouble. Who cares what happens?"

Then he suddenly raised a hand, pressed his temple hard, and gave Morian a weak and apologetic smile:

"Thank you so much, kind sir."

"But I'm not feeling well, I'm really dizzy, can I go back to the car and get some medicine?"

……

...Morian felt as if a thousand alpacas were stampeding through his heart.

Can I say no?

God knows whether you went back to the car to get medicine or something deadly.

Morian's nerves, which had just relaxed, tightened again. He seriously doubted whether the other person's unusual calm was a pretense. Was he using the excuse of getting medicine now to realize that something was wrong and was preparing to take action?

"I think you're probably feeling unwell because you've been exposed to this damn wind for too long, and that's combined with effective anxiety," he quickly offered a plausible explanation, speaking with concern.

"Relax, friend, you just need to take a deep breath."

"No, it's not the wind." Joseph shook his head. "I'm really feeling unwell... I'm sorry, I need to go rest for a while."

After saying that, he gave no further chance to dissuade him and staggered toward his gray car.

He walked unsteadily, looking so weak that it seemed he had suddenly fallen ill.

"He's putting on quite a show?" Morian raised an eyebrow, quickly caught up with Joseph, and patted his back.

"Take a deep breath, okay? It's normal to feel dizzy, it'll be fine in a bit." He said these comforting words, but what he was really thinking about was how to stall for time.

However, in those few short seconds of helping each other up, Morian sensed something was amiss.

Joseph's body was so cold! He was as cold as someone suffering from hypothermia, and even his lips had lost all color and turned deathly pale.

Joseph waved his hand with difficulty, but his body was already weak. If he hadn't been supported, he probably would have collapsed to the ground.

Brother, are you serious?

Morian was a little dumbfounded, and his doubts began to waver.

Could it be that Joseph was genuinely feeling unwell and wanted to get his medication from the car, only to be misunderstood by Joseph?

Fine beads of sweat covered Joseph's forehead. He slumped helplessly onto the grass, his breathing becoming heavy. He clenched his yellowed teeth as if enduring immense pain.

It was only then that Morian noticed that Joseph's skin inside his slightly open collar had undergone a strange change.

His originally rough, bronze skin was now covered with a layer of smooth, fish-like scales, and a viscous, slippery liquid seeped from between the scales.

Such a change was definitely not caused by Joseph's own will; it was a mutation caused by pollution!

No longer caring about pretense, Morian grabbed his shoulders with both hands and hissed sharply:

"What's wrong? Where exactly are you feeling unwell?! Tell me clearly!"

Joseph was startled by the sudden force and struggled to lift his eyelids.

Those eyes no longer held the previous calm and pretense; only boundless regret and terror remained.

"It's...those guys."

"What? Who is it?" Morian pressed.

"...An organization called the 'Endless Cult,' I shouldn't have trusted them... I shouldn't have made those deals..."

Morian's heart sank to the bottom, because Joseph's change was not some kind of illness, but an irreversible alienation. He could feel the other's life force rapidly slipping away, being replaced by something else filthy.

"They say it's a ticket to the new world... that can take us away..." As Joseph's mouth opened, a green, fishy-smelling slime dripped down his chin.

The smooth scales had covered most of his skin, grown onto his face, and were still encroaching upwards.

"Where is that keepsake! Is it in your car?!" Morian shook him violently, trying to extract the most crucial information.

However, the only response was a few "ho ho" sounds that came from his throat.

Joseph was speechless.

The mutation robbed him of his ability to speak in a very short time and caused his body organs to change in unknown directions.

With his last ounce of will and strength, he pointed his severely deformed finger, with faint webbing, at the broken-down gray car, his cloudy eyes filled with pain.

[06 minutes 46 seconds]

The last vestige of humanity vanished from Joseph's eyes, replaced by a sense of emptiness.

"Ha!"

A piercing, inhuman screech came from its mouth full of fine teeth, sending chills down one's spine.

Joseph… or rather, the “thing” that was once Joseph, began to convulse violently.

Seeing this bizarre scene, Morian was so frightened that he let go and retreated.

Just a few meters after he stepped back, the "monster" struggled to its feet like a fish out of water, then thrashed about before falling back to the ground.

The dark work jacket was already ripped open, and the monster's back bulged out, revealing the slippery scales underneath.

Then, it turned around, supporting its body, and stared intently at Morian with its empty, pitch-black eyes, which had no whites. Thick green liquid dripped continuously from its mouth.

But it did not attack or engage in any other behavior; rather, it seemed to be tormented by pain, emitting a series of mournful, desperate cries that echoed across the empty wilderness.

Just then, countless tiny points of light appeared out of thin air.

They intertwine with starlight as their lines, forming a long outline, which is the unique scene of the "Key of Chaos" opening the passage.

After the portal stabilized, a resolute figure stepped out from the starlight and landed steadily on the grass.

The newcomer's emerald green eyes instantly scanned the entire scene, finally settling on the mutated Joseph and Morian.

"Mr. Morian... what is this?"

Upon seeing "Joseph," even with Charlotte's good upbringing and temperament, a sense of physical disgust and coldness couldn't help but surface on her solemn face.

"Yes, that is Joseph," Morian replied briefly, his expression extremely serious.

Even for him, this was the first time he had ever encountered something so supernatural.

It wasn't fear, but rather the discomfort of confronting these fellow beings who had transformed into inhuman monsters in a short period of time. It was a rejection that was a fundamental human instinct, and it demonstrated the eeriness of the extraordinary world far more directly than any battle.

But there was no time for them to sigh now; the fluctuating numbers at the edge of their vision repeatedly reminded them that they had to stop the relic from entering its final stage immediately.