They Called Me Trash? Now I'll Hack Their World-Chapter 184: Corruption [2]

"Scarlet!" I moved to her immediately, dropping down beside her.

Her breathing was labored, her glamour flickering unstably.

"I’m fine," she gasped, but her voice was strained. "Just... just tired. Need a minute..."

I grabbed her arm, turned it over.

The dark veins were spreading from a wound on her forearm, a shallow scratch I’d seen her take during the fight but hadn’t thought was serious.

[ENTITY_SCAN: SCARLET]

corruption_status: ACTIVE_INFECTION

source: CORRUPTED_WOLF_SCRATCH

progression: 12%

symptoms: {

mana_disruption, physical_weakness

}

No.

No, no, no—

"Tessa!" My voice came out sharper than intended. "Get over here! Now!"

She was already moving, dropping to Scarlet’s other side, her earlier playfulness completely gone.

"What happened? What’s wrong?"

"Corruption. From the scratch." I pointed at the spreading black veins. "It’s in her system and it’s spreading fast." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Tessa’s face went pale.

Scarlet tried to pull away.

"I said I’m fine. Just need... need to rest..."

I held her tight, keeping her from collapsing completely.

"Stop being stubborn."

Tessa’s eyes had already closed, her expression shifting to intense concentration.

Her hand moved to her own ring and a small glass vial appeared in her palm with a soft shimmer of displaced air.

She thrust it toward me.

"Here!"

I stared at the vial.

The liquid inside was a familiar bright blue, shimmering slightly in the light.

That’s...

"This is what you created in Oakmere," Tessa said urgently. "The compound for the miasma infection. I made more before we left... thought it might be useful—"

"How did you—"

"Later! Just give it to her! Now!"

I closed my mouth, took the vial, and uncorked it with shaking hands.

"Scarlet. Drink this. All of it."

She tilted her head back and I poured the contents into her mouth.

She gulped it down reflexively, coughing once, her body convulsing slightly.

Then we waited.

Five seconds. Ten. Fifteen.

The dark veins that had been spreading like cracks through glass suddenly stopped.

Then began to recede.

Pulling back, concentrating around the original wound site instead of spreading toward her heart.

The pulsing slowed. The sickly purple-green glow faded to a dull grey.

Her breathing steadied, becoming less labored.

I exhaled shakily, relief washing over me so strongly my hands trembled.

It worked.

I looked at Tessa, who was grinning despite the obvious tension in her shoulders.

"You made this? Before we left Oakmere?"

"Of course I did!" She said it with pride. "After you successfully treated everyone, I thought... what if we ran into something similar while traveling? So I made a batch. Just in case."

My eyes widened.

She really is talented.

Tessa was already putting the empty vial back into her ring, the silver band glowing softly for a moment as the item disappeared into dimensional storage.

She has a storage ring too. That’s how she’s been carrying all those materials and items.

She’s had dimensional storage this entire time and never mentioned it.

...Should I be annoyed or impressed?

Scarlet groaned, shifting in my grip.

"Damn it..." Her voice was rough, pained. "What the hell happened?"

"You got infected," I said, helping her sit up more carefully. "That wolf scratch you—"

"Easy there," I added as she tried to stand immediately.

She hissed, "I’m fine..." but grabbed my arm anyway, using it for support as she got to her feet.

Her legs were shaky, balance uncertain.

I quickly activated my debug vision, scanning her status.

[ENTITY_SCAN: SCARLET]

corruption_status: SUPPRESSED

progression: 12% → 5% (DECLINING_SLOWLY)

replication_rate: 0.0%

stability: MODERATE

The corruption didn’t heal completely. The compound just subdued it.

We’ll need to monitor her. Make sure it doesn’t start spreading again.

But that was a problem for later.

Right now, we needed to get out of this corrupted mine before something else went wrong.

"Can you walk?" I asked Scarlet.

"Of course I can walk," she snapped, but didn’t let go of my arm. "I’m not an invalid."

"Right. Of course not."

I helped her toward the tunnel entrance, moving slowly.

Then stopped.

Turned back toward the dungeon seed crystal.

I need a sample. Something to show the guild that this is real.

"Wait here," I told them both.

"Jin?" Tessa’s voice carried concern. "What are you doing?"

I didn’t answer, just moved back to where the crystal formation grew from the cavern floor.

Activated my debug vision, analyzing its structure.

I drew Oathstorm, channeled just enough lightning to enhance the cutting edge, and struck the crystal formation near its base.

The blade bit into the corrupted material with a sound like breaking glass.

A shard of the size of my palm broke free and fell to the ground.

[CORRUPTED_CRYSTAL_SHARD]

purity: 68%

corruption_level: HIGH

mana_content: MODERATE

I picked it up carefully, feeling the wrongness of it even through my skin, and immediately stored it in my ring.

The dimensional space accepted it, and the uncomfortable sensation disappeared.

Evidence secured.

Now we leave.

I turned back to where Tessa was supporting Scarlet, both of them looking at me with varying expressions of concern and confusion.

"Let’s go," I said. "Before anything else decides to try killing us."

No one argued.

We made our way back through the narrow tunnel, into the main chamber, up the shaft, and finally out into the late afternoon sunlight.

The fresh air hit like a blessing.

Scarlet took several deep breaths, her color returning slightly now that we were away from the corrupted atmosphere.

"Can you make it back to Thornhaven?" I asked her.

"I can make it," she said stubbornly. "Just need to... take it slow."

"We’ll take it as slow as you need."

The journey back took longer than the trip out, we had to stop frequently for Scarlet to rest.

By the time we reached the main road, it was twilight.

By the time Thornhaven’s walls came into view, it was full dark, the town’s lamps creating a warm glow against the night.

"Almost there," Tessa encouraged, still helping support Scarlet despite her own exhaustion.

"I can see that," Scarlet muttered. "I’m injured, not blind."

"Just making conversation—"

"Well stop. Your voice is annoying."

"You’re annoying."

"You’re both annoying," I interjected before they could start a full argument. "Can we please just get inside, turn in the mission, and collapse somewhere comfortable?"

They both fell silent, apparently too tired to keep bickering.

We passed through the gate, the guards gave Scarlet’s condition concerned looks but didn’t stop us, and headed straight for the inn.

Mission report can wait until morning.

Right now, we all need rest.

I helped them both up to our rooms, made sure Scarlet was settled with water and instructions to call if the corruption symptoms worsened.

Then finally, finally, I collapsed onto the bed in my own room, every muscle in my body screaming with exhaustion.

Tessa settled beside me without asking, close enough that I could feel her warmth.

"We survived," she said quietly.

She was quiet for a moment. "Thank you. For saving me. From that last wolf."

"You’re welcome."