The Gentleman at the End-Chapter 719 - 717: First Contact

Physical bodies combine, two become one.

This was Nash’s first deep encounter with Yi Chen, which brought him a completely different and even more thrilling sensation than William had. Nash was no longer an actor, but had fully reverted to his role as the Circus Executioner.

"Second Boss, just how many people have you killed?! My body actually got attached to yours automatically, as if there was some kind of biological magnetism, without my conscious consent to combine like this."

"How many I’ve killed isn’t important.

How and why I kill, that’s what matters~ But well, everyone has their own traits, and your current state isn’t bad, you don’t need to learn from me. I really like the concealed and scattered Killing Intent in your body, it’s a perfect fit with mine.

Also, don’t tense up your body so tight and hard, it makes it inconvenient for me to move."

"Ah~ Combining with you is a bit too exciting, give me a moment to adjust and I’ll be able to soften up.

By the way, Second Boss, do you want me to evolve a human form too? There’s an entire Greed Treasure Vault at Big Boss William’s place, and he could casually give me a couple of weapons to assist you in battle."

"No need, this is best.

There’s only one thing you need to do, stick as close as possible and regulate our shared Killing Intent within our bodies, don’t think too much about anything else. When the time comes, I’ll bring out my real skills to make sure our fusion doesn’t fall apart.

I’ll do some warm-up exercises now, you just feel it out."

"Got it."

Yi Chen started to perform very ordinary warm-up exercises, stretching his torso, flipping his elbows, pressing his legs, and so on, and then began to swirl the weapon in his hand.

"Nash, this dagger of yours is quite interesting, it seems a bit different from your philosophy of slaughter, doesn’t it?"

"Oh! This one~ This represents the only time I had a subjective desire to kill. I should have told Big Boss William, I slaughtered my entire tribe, and it was while they were parasiting in their most prideful ’Hosts’ that I proceeded with the beheadings.

I took the heads of the entire tribe to the circus, and with the boss’s introduction, I forged this special dagger. I hope you, Second Boss, find it to your liking."

"Not a bad weapon."

"Yi Chen, are you warmed up?" At this moment, William’s voice came from nearby.

"Pretty much, let that old man open the Sealing~ Speaking of which, aren’t you going to bring out ’that stance’?"

"Not in a hurry, let’s see what’s at the bottom of the lake first... I can’t maintain that stance for long; it has to be used as a trump card."

William seemed unprepared,

but had already had Dentist Jessica inject him with a special neurostimulant from ’Teeth Hall,’ fully activating his Madness Brain.

After wiping away a trickle of blood from his nose, William said softly, "Old-timer, start~ We’re ready."

"Final warning, once the coffin is opened it cannot be sealed again. If we fail. Not only will you be killed, but my remnant incarnation (Purple Lung) will also perish here.

If the city’s sealing is broken, she will be completely freed, and this border world you are in will be utterly destroyed."

William was still optimistic, "It won’t get to the point where the world is destroyed; even if we die, the Old World’s powerhouses can easily deal with it, don’t underestimate the creatures born from a Sick Focus.

Senior, begin."

"Alright."

Tap!

The cane struck the ground forcefully, and the lung, emitting purple vapor, slowly lifted, hovering over the center of the lake, directly above the coffin at the lake’s bottom.

Strands of purple aura visible to the naked eye spilled out from the lung, wrapping around the cane and turning it into a giant brush, gliding slowly through the air.

With every stroke, parts of the seal on the coffin were erased, and with each erasure, the sensation of the flesh being stripped away intensified, and the sound of bubbles filled with resentment and evil grow louder.

Even the Gu Dragons of Lungs at the city’s borders heard it clearly, and they immediately flew away, returning to the Lung Temple.

When only two lines remained on the seal of the coffin lid! The coffin shook violently and cracks appeared, which also shocked the old man floating in the air.

"Hm! All this time sealed, and it wasn’t weakened in the slightest? Get ready, it’s about to come out!"

At the old man’s shout, a huge gap split open in the center of the coffin.

Gurgle, gurgle!

The flesh-laden lake surface started to bubble like boiling water, with bubbles several meters large, and all the flesh-like lily pads floating on the lake melted, turning the entire lake incredibly viscous.

But this viscous feeling didn’t last long,

the boiling meat slurry all rushed toward the inside of the coffin, and the whole lake instantly became clean, even completely transparent, with no more scent of blood in the air.

Everyone’s gaze was fixed on the nearly split-open coffin at the bottom of the lake,

1s, 2s, 3s

but there was no movement,

Yi Chen, standing on the shore, seemed a bit anxious, and suddenly stomped his foot,

Hum! The vibration immediately transmitted through the clear water, and the already shattered coffin collapsed in an instant, but there was nothing inside.

"Where did it go?"

Just as William threw out that question,

the Purple Lung elder in the sky, and Yi Chen who had just been standing beside him, vanished without a trace,

leaving him alone in the entire park,

and, unbeknownst to him, the sky had grown dark,

sizzle, sizzle~ Park lamps flickered incessantly due to a voltage problem.

William suddenly turned, on the park’s lakeside jogging path to his right,

a woman wearing a sun hat and a mask, shrouded in an oversized black trench coat, was slowly approaching.

Barefoot.

Her right foot’s toenails had been completely stripped away and were still bleeding, while her left ankle was completely fractured, walking with her foot twisted, limping along.

Sweat beads slid down William’s cheeks as he was utterly baffled.

"Why would she come for me first? If it’s by ’hatred,’ she should go for the elder who had sealed her,

If by contact, she should be after Yi Chen, who broke the coffin with his foot,

I didn’t do anything, why come after me first? Why... what key thing have I triggered?

Moreover, how is this possible, managing to isolate me from them in an instant in different spaces, or is it that I have been lured into some kind of consciousness space without realizing it?

Don’t think too much for now, focus on the situation at hand! Think, William. Even if a part of my body is to be stripped away, at least I must obtain valid information and share it."

Madness Brain began to whirl at high speed,

the thought of fleeing through the Abyss was the first to be rejected, as according to urban legend, ’fleeing’ after encountering the Human Body Collector would result in being marked, and it may even result in full body collection all at once.

He quickly came to a conclusion, neither to flee nor to attack, but to try and ’chat’ with the other party.

Based on the Human Body Collector – Daria Miko’s movements, eye contact, and spoken words, he attempted to use his Madness Brain to deduce the optimum reply.

Pop!

The street light flickered,

and the woman was already standing before William, just like in the urban legend; she began to undo the buttons of her trench coat, then spread the coat wide open with both hands.

Not only were ’exhibits’ hanging from the lining of the coat, but the woman’s torso was also torn open, inside hung ’human exhibits’ she had meticulously selected.

Such as a finger with an extremely smooth cut, still wearing an engagement ring and tagged,

"Engagement Finger" - ’Perfect finger severed at the instant of exchanging rings in a wedding ceremony, 37 years old, male.’

Or a beating heart, similarly tagged,

"Eternal Heart" - ’The heart of a devout believer practicing spirituality, excavated at the most excited moment when a miracle occurred, 51 years old, female.’

And even some outrageously mutilated body parts, each marked meaningfully and appended with gender and age.

"Giggle giggle giggle~ Please~ admire my exhibits, and give your evaluation when you are done."

"Certainly."

William maintained a smile and responded, while he himself surveyed the exhibits with utmost seriousness, perfectly camouflaging himself as an actor, imagining he was visiting a national museum.

"Hmm! Quite the finger, Miss Daria!

From the marks on it and the indentation from the ring, it seems this man wasn’t very faithful to his wife, often taking it off, yet each time he put it back on, he did so with care, fitting it tightly. Was he feeling guilty towards his wife?

Such contradictory thoughts are contained within, a valuable collectible indeed.

Then there’s this bone, broken multiple times, either severed or shattered, each instance profoundly memorable, enough to represent the torture this person endured in life... Oh! No, it’s self-harm!

Right? It’s definite self-harm; this person damaged this piece of hand bone every single time, he’s either a natural masochist or a fervent believer!

Such meaningful stuff!"

The more William talked, the more excited he became, he was almost poking his head into Daria’s chest cavity, nearly pressing his eyeballs against the exhibit surface to observe them closely.

Moreover, in such a state, he suddenly shook hands with the woman and started introducing himself,

"Hello, Miss Daria! I hadn’t expected you to be someone with such artistic taste; how neglectful of me not to introduce myself earlier.

My name is William Behrens; I’m a bit off in the head, so please don’t mind if I offend you in any way. I too am a great art lover, what a surprise to meet you here!

Ah! Another fine exhibit, I’m so thankful you’ve given me the opportunity to see all this."

Despite the seemingly exaggerated performance, in reality, a social phobia was taking effect, growing continuously with William’s words... indeed.

The first tactic William employed was an unconventional disease that scared the Old World—[Fear Phobia]

The woman’s eyes started to flicker slightly, and the body serving as the exhibition hall also began to shake.

New n𝙤vel chapters are published on fre(e)webnov(l).com