I can see experience bars after being transported to another world.

The wood fibers and flesh began to re-weave, making it impossible to distinguish which were the aliens on the left and which were the aliens on the right.

Bones were recast, organs were reorganized, and muscles were reconnected.

The whole process took very little time; it was so fast that people couldn't even react.

The fusion took shape before everyone's eyes.

It was a size larger than the original mutant.

The wood grain on the skin's surface is deeper, and there are more cracks at the joints, from which you can see the constantly wriggling fibers and veins inside each crack.

It first stood up.

Then, something gushed out simultaneously from countless ruptures all over his body.

The spores covered a large area, almost encompassing the entire street.

Buren reacted extremely quickly.

The old man tapped his cane three times on the stone slab.

"Buzz!"

Three dark gold inscriptions stood before him, forming a low wall, like a partition about half a person's height.

The barrier blocked most of the liquid rushing towards them. The dark green droplets hit the inscription, hissing as they were evaporated by the high temperature.

Haimon reacted quickly, and at the moment the spores burst forth, a melodious piano tune began to play.

It enveloped Lu Yuan and Hank's group, blocking all the spores.

But that wouldn't work at Buren's place, because the barrier was limited in width.

Beren glanced at Kel's location out of the corner of his eye.

"quick!"

The old man shouted at Kai'er.

Kel paused for a moment.

Just this once.

However, his shoulders protruded beyond the barrier's protective perimeter.

A drop of contaminated liquid flew over from the trajectory of the fusion body's scattering.

Lu Yuan saw it.

He was too far away to make a sound.

"Smack."

The drop of liquid landed on the fabric of Kel's shoulder and seeped in.

Kel's body stiffened for a moment.

I didn't make a sound.

Buren turned his head and saw it.

"You idiot..."

The old man didn't finish his sentence.

Just as Kale was hit, a muffled groan came from Milo's side on the outside.

Lu Yuan glanced in Milo's direction.

Milo was originally at the entrance of the guard alley, but the fusion eruption was too sudden, and he didn't have time to retreat behind the barrier of Beren.

A drop of spore rubbed onto his arm.

The skin blistered immediately.

Dark green blisters swelled up on his forearm at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Milo gritted his teeth and didn't say a word, but he had already staggered back a step, his knee buckling slightly.

At the edge of my field of vision, gray and white text jumped out.

[Detection Target: Kel (Exceptional Knowledge) (Pollution)]

[A human being parasitized seems to be nearing the end.]

[Detection Target: Milo (Mysterious and Extraordinary) (Contamination)]

[The same fate, but a little later.]

Lu Yuan's face darkened.

Beren turned around and saw Kel clutching his shoulder.

The old man was stunned for a moment.

Then his expression changed.

The calm, analytical look that that third-tier inscription master possessed was gone.

Instead, a surge of anger welled up from the depths of his chest, and even the light in his eyes changed.

The aura of the third rank no longer spread out as quietly as before.

The inscription on the cane shone all the way to the back of his hand and forearm. Dark gold patterns spread along his skin, as if some kind of anger itself was growing from his body.

The old man turned around to face the merged entity.

The cane struck the stone slab heavily.

"Buzz...!"

The stone slab shook.

At the very same instant that Burren turned around.

Lu Yuan caught a glimpse of the movement on the other side out of the corner of his eye.

The fourth member of the Ascension Society raised his gear-shaped short blade.

He leaned forward, as if trying to go around the fusion body from the side.

The direction is Kel and Milos.

He recognized the action; it was the Ascension Society's rule for dealing with the spread of pollution: if anyone was infected, regardless of whether they were one of their own, they would be dealt with on the spot.

This is their most cold-blooded rule.

The fourth man had already raised his knife and taken a half-step forward.

He only needs to go half a circle to cross this distance, separated by the fused entity.

The mechanical arm's metal hand reached out from the side and pressed down on the fourth person's wrist.

Lu Yuan and the person with the robotic arm exchanged glances in mid-air.

The person with the robotic arm didn't look away, but his eyes were full of mockery.

It's as if to say, this is the price of meddling.

Lu Yuan's expression darkened slightly. It was clear that the Ascension would know something and that he was certain the Night Watch would handle the spread themselves.

Meanwhile, there was new activity on the side of the merged entity.

Its two cores merged into a larger core.

Lu Yuan saw it clearly through his dedicated study.

The dark green core that was originally in the left mutated body's chest cavity and the small core that emerged from the debris of the right mutated body have now merged into a larger mass.

The location is still slightly to the left and below the sternum, but the volume has almost doubled.

The core began to expand.

The internal atmosphere is rising.

The veins throughout the fused body glowed simultaneously, and dark green light spots lit up one by one deep within the gradually woody flesh, as if something was accumulating inside the body.

The mutant's body temperature rose sharply, and a burnt, sweet smell began to fill the air.

The one who had been hit in the chest by the branch suddenly staggered backward.

"Retreat immediately!"

It was rare for the Ascension Society to call for a retreat.

His voice carried the ingrained fear that came from witnessing his predecessors die on this thing.

But the mutant gave it no chance, frantically pulling out branches that forcefully blocked its path.

Lu Yuan didn't even need the gray text; the green aura within the vision provided by the Insect of Knowledge surged at a visible speed.

"This thing is going to explode!"

Although the civilians all hid back inside their houses, once this thing exploded, the entire street and the houses on both sides would be covered in spores.

Including Kel and Milos.

That includes themselves.

Lu Yuan's hand was already on the center slot.

Haimon moved.

A series of extremely low notes fell from the stringed instrument.

The rhythm of this string of notes was so heavy it felt like something was being smashed; each note was like a stone falling onto the drumhead, dull and heavy.

Lu Yuan felt the stone slabs beneath his feet vibrating slightly in rhythm with that.

The expansion of the fusion entity stopped.

The brightness of the glowing veins on the whole body remained at one level and did not continue to rise.

The rapidly rising black-green energy inside was abruptly stopped, but only for a moment.

Buren, consumed by rage, has now gathered new inscriptions.

A deep blue hue interspersed with golden patterns enveloped both the Ascension Society and the mutated beings.

The next moment, a ray of light, visible to the naked eye, shone down. The light, as gentle as the rising sun, was like a knife.

The controlled mutant's body parts were peeled off strand by strand.

The wooden flesh and bones were 'sliced' off piece by piece.

"roar!"

The alien body emitted an instinctive tremor.

Meanwhile, the two members of the Ascension Society were also not having an easy time. Although Beren did not target them specifically, they were attacked indiscriminately.

The specially made clothes and exposed flesh on their bodies were gradually peeled away.

Large swaths of flesh and blood melted in mid-air before even hitting the ground.

The underlying mechanical structure was exposed, and even the mechanical structure itself showed signs of slight corrosion.

The next moment, Lu Yuan pressed his thumb on the largest hole in the center of the magazine.

A sliver of reason seeped into his fingertips.

[Sanity: -1...108/140]

The sanity bar in the center is lit up.

A bullet appeared out of thin air.

It was a whole ring larger than the outer copper-cased incendiary bomb.

It was pure white, and the bullet itself was glowing.

The surface is covered with extremely fine inscription patterns, which are very similar to the patterns of angel wings on the "Flame" gun barrel, as if they were part of the gun barrel growing out of it.

Of the four members of the Ascension Society, only one realized what was happening.

The person with the robotic arm.

His mechanical eye turned.

The internal lens rotated, aiming at Lu Yuan's gun muzzle.

The existence of that bullet.

That aura that didn't belong to any conventional weapon.

The other three Ascension Society members were still retreating and had no idea that what Lu Yuan was holding had changed.

Only the robotic arm is watching.

The chamber clicks into place.

The center bullet is automatically loaded.

Lu Yuan raised his gun.

The gun was aimed at the lower left side of the fused body's chest.

The vision provided by the Insect of Knowledge allowed Lu Yuan to see clearly that the dark green core was right there, a core that was slowly overloaded.

Pull the trigger.

boom.

It felt as if something was being sprayed from the muzzle of a gun, tearing through the air itself.

The muzzle flash was pure white.

The bullet sliced ​​through the air, leaving a very short white trail under the streetlights.

The core of the fused body is located in the chest area.

The moment the bullet embedded itself in the wooden surface.

There were no warning signs whatsoever.

From the core of the entire fusion, a ball of blue-white alchemical flames exploded outwards.

It was swallowed up directly from the inside.

The self-destruction process was completely aborted.

The overloaded core didn't even have a chance to trigger self-destruct before it was swallowed up from the inside by the flames brought by the white bullet.

The wood fibers wither and carbonize simultaneously.

The thick branches withered from the very tip, as if all the moisture had been drained away.

The semi-timbered body collapsed in the blink of an eye, turning into a charred, twisted wreck.

Then it broke.

With a crash, the entire fused body shattered from the inside into a pile of charcoal and burnt fragments, which fell onto the stone slab.

The two members of the Ascension Society, who had been struggling to maintain their position, finally felt the 'sharpness' around them dissipate.

They glanced at the fallen fusion.

He glanced at Lu Yuan and Bo Lun again.

A flash of anger crossed his eyes, but he ultimately didn't dare to speak.

Lu Yuan didn't look at them.

He sheathed his gun and turned to walk toward Kale and Milo.

Lu Yuan squatted down in front of Kai'er.

The boy's face had turned mostly pale, his lips were bloodless, and the areas on his shoulders where the contaminated liquid had seeped through were beginning to turn black.

Dark green veins are faintly visible under the skin, extending from the collarbone towards the chest.

Lu Yuan stared at the wound on Kai'er's shoulder, his thoughts sinking into the depths of his mind, activating [Forbidden Studies - Specialization].

The gray and white text danced wildly in my vision.

[Taboo Studies - Research Begins]

[Analyzing target trait: Forest Species (Early/Parasitic)]

[Status Analysis: Spores bearing the "Forest Seed" mark diffuse throughout the host's body via the bloodstream, nourished by the host's life force.]

[Formula being derived...]

[Solution Generation: Hopeful Solution (Optimal Version)]

[Principle: The spiritual imprint of the "Forest Seed" is neutralized with the aura of "Hope," and high-level holy water is used to peel away the parasitic structure. Fire-type herbs accelerate the burning and decomposition of the remaining implant fluid.]

[Estimated success rate: 81%]

[Note: The source of "Hope" is solely the seed found in room seven of area C. Fire-type herbs have not yet been identified.]

[Solution Generation: Purification and Suppression (Reliable Version)]

[Principle: The seed's essence neutralizes the spiritual imprint, while high-level holy water peels away the parasitic structure. Lacking an accelerator, its effects are slow.]

[Estimated success rate: 41%]

[Note: This must be completed before a heart infection occurs, and holy water should be continuously used to suppress its spread during the process.]

[Solution Generation: Holy Water External Application (Emergency Version)]

[Principle: Temporarily delays the diffusion of the implanted fluid, but cannot eradicate the infection.]

[Estimated success rate: None (only delayed)]

[Note: After use, you must connect to the optimal or reliable solution as soon as possible; otherwise, assimilation will still be completed.]

Lu Yuan's expression remained unchanged after reading the string of text.

My heart sank; the probability was rather low.