The Last Gentleman

Before his death, Yi Chen had seen countless false faces. Even his so-called "close" friends wore deceptive masks.

If one couldn't discern truth from lies, they would inevitably fall to the lowest rung of society.

For this reason, during his conversation with the old man in the sewer, Yi Chen quickly saw through the man's facade after just a few words. The deceit was too obvious, lacking any real pretense.

However, the theater owner standing before him was different. Though outwardly masked, his essence was pure. His words and actions contained no trace of falsehood, much like the innkeeper in Green Lake Town.

This was why Yi Chen decided to take his role seriously. Establishing a relationship with the "Moon-People" would greatly benefit the progress of his mission.

Moreover, Yi Chen had just gleaned an important piece of information from the theater script:

The head of Twilight Clinic, Dr. McCoff, was acquainted with "Moonscar." This directly confirmed Yi Chen's initial suspicion that the false moon incident was indeed connected to the clinic.

---

Front Bar, Old John Theater

The owner, now playing the role of bartender, prepared his signature cocktail, "The Witch and the Monster," named after his favorite play.

Edmund and the others, maintaining a neutral stance with the "afflicted patient" for the first time, seemed tense. Only Yi Chen calmly sipped the layered red-and-black cocktail.

"Mr. John, before I ask for your help, I need to confirm something. In the play we just performed, what is the relationship between Dr. McCoff and Moonscar?"

"When it comes to matters involving Lord Moonscar, I don't know much. What I do know was conveyed through the play. It seems Lord Moonscar was once a special patient at the clinic. I don't have any further details."

When the owner revealed this crucial information, Edmund and the others were stunned. They hadn't expected such a strong link between the false moon incident and the clinic. Their admiration for the esteemed profession of doctors wavered.

Edmund interjected, "When the false moon incident began, you were just an early-stage infection, not even fully conscious. How did you know about the connection between the patients and the clinic?"

"Whether you believe it is up to you. I saw glimpses of Lord Moonscar's past when I gazed at the moon."

At that moment, Dagobert, who rarely spoke, shared his thoughts from the far end of the bar.

"The organization classified the false moon incident as secret, likely because it involves disgraceful actions unbecoming of gentlemen. The information presented to us has been edited, deliberately concealing the clinic's true issues."

This sparked an idea for Yi Chen, who followed Dagobert's line of thought:

"Exactly! Recovering the secret medicine might just be the surface of the task. The real purpose could be to test our investigative abilities—to see if we can uncover the hidden truth behind the false clues."

Hearing this, Juliana nodded slightly, lifted her black veil, and took another sip of her cocktail.

Captain Edmund also drank, sighing deeply. "When I was young, my elders often told me that the disease itself and its effects aren't what's truly frightening. If you're strong enough, you can eliminate them. The real danger lies in being infected without realizing it.

Perhaps Dr. McCoff was affected while fighting the disease. But we'll uncover the clinic's secrets ourselves before drawing conclusions."

He scratched the needle marks on his neck, noticing more mouse fur around him than during the day.

The theater owner noticed this detail and asked softly, "Have you encountered the old rat on the mountain?"

Yi Chen replied, "Yes. Our true purpose in Vinal City is the abandoned clinic. That’s where we need your help."

"Oh, I see."

The boss was sharp. He quickly pieced everything together by considering the puncture wounds and the matter of collecting moon fragments.

“We, the remaining Moon People, also visited the mountain clinic during our regrouping, hoping to find more of our kind... However, that rat hiding deep underground devoured two of our companions. 𐍂

Despicable and insidious,

For some reason, he became stronger than us and seemed closer to the ‘distance of the Moon.’ But because of this, he is also trapped underground and cannot escape.”

The conversation paused.

Yi Chen seized the opportunity, locking eyes with the boss’s silver pupils:

“Mr. John, would you assist us in killing that rat? With your ‘performance assistance,’ our chances of success will greatly increase.”

“With pleasure.”

---

There was still time before the one-week deadline.

After confirming the theater owner’s ‘goodwill,’ everyone stayed at the theater to rest.

There was another thing to confirm:

Would the effect of the co-located space extend to the city center? They waited until midnight, but the result was... nothing.

The ruined city remained pitch-black at night, and no full moon appeared.

This confirmed that the co-located space created by the Moon only affected the Twilight Clinic and was directly related to Mr. Lee deep underground.

In the theater's main hall,

the four of them laid out bedding and lowered their guards.

Edmund relaxed completely, engaging in some bedtime chatter with Yi Chen beside him.

“Phew~ Things went smoother than I expected. William, you’ve totally stolen the spotlight from me as the team leader.”

“It’s nothing. I’m just better at dealing with people…”

“Dealing with the afflicted patient is completely different~ How did you manage that, or where did you get that experience? You haven’t been on a mission in the past six months.”

“It was from that time in Green Lake Town…”

Now more comfortable with the group, Yi Chen began recounting his experience in Green Lake Town.

“Weren’t you afraid of dying? Trusting the patient you met after just two days and letting them take you to the ‘Observer’ without any guarantee?”

“It was a gamble I took in that situation.

Of course, the gamble was based on my observations of the two. The siblings who ran the inn were similar to the theater owner; they weren’t wearing any masks of deceit.

That gamble made me realize the importance of ‘communicating with the afflicted.’

Later, in our organization’s evaluation, the examiners didn’t reject this approach, which shows that the organization also somewhat supports this kind of special interaction.”

Edmund, usually light-hearted and cheerful, became serious as if recalling something. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

“Communicating with the afflicted isn’t as simple as it seems. Every human in this world instinctively rejects the afflicted patient, who are like pathogenic carriers of the world’s disease.

It’s a natural biological aversion, hard to overcome.”

Yi Chen replied calmly, “I don’t feel that way. I simply judge from experience whether they are approachable and trustworthy.”

Hearing this, Edmund remembered something.

“No wonder you completed the ‘Pathogenic Crystal Acceptance’ before becoming a gentleman.

William, you must be the kind of person my grandfather talked about…”

“What kind of person?”

“One who can completely adapt to this diseased world, blend in effortlessly, yet still retain their sense of self...

A madman.”