The Last Gentleman-Chapter 99

Despite the strong sweat-absorbing ability of the gentleman's attire,

it couldn't stop the sweat pouring from Yi Chen's forehead, each drop infused with the scent of hormones.

The rising body temperature and the awakening of primal desires quickly made Yi Chen realize that the spores permeating this place seemed capable of slowly penetrating clothing and plant defenses in a peculiar way, influencing the body.

Perhaps the Gray Zone had enhanced the penetrative effect of these spores.

The hands of the two, tightly clasped, began to sweat profusely, with droplets even trickling through their interlocked fingers—slick and sticky.

It felt like a sweltering countryside cabin, where a man and a woman, trapped in an unventilated bedroom, suddenly experienced a power outage.

As they walked along the village path, the two drew closer and closer, until they halted, turning to face each other.

Even with masks between them, they could still hear each other's increasingly rapid breaths.

Beside the road:

• A twin-headed deer clung to the ground,

• A bat-goat hybrid lay on the grass,

• A massive sow in labor—all were watching them.

It even felt as though their writhing bodies, flesh, and fur emitted low whispers that traveled through the airborne spores, echoing clearly in their ears:

“Join us, unite with us.”

The only one unaffected by this strange scene was Little Grape.

But it did nothing to stop what was unfolding before it. In its eyes, this was not harmful behavior.

This content is taken from fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm.

Moreover, it was curious to witness the peculiar union between these two humans, both of whom intrigued it.

At this moment, Yi Chen extended his sweat-drenched palm, gently placing it on Jin's neck. Slowly, he slid his hand upward along her smooth skin, attempting to touch her cheek and remove her mask.

The mask shifted upward under his hand, revealing her already moistened lips. Just as he was about to glimpse her entire face—

Smack!

A lightning-fast slap struck the side of Yi Chen's face, even triggering a small explosion where it landed.

The force of the blow sent him flying, crashing heavily in front of a wooden house and crushing a dozen grotesque mushrooms that were releasing spore dust.

The intense ringing in his ears, the sharp pain on his cheek, and the dizziness in his head snapped Yi Chen back to his senses.

His entire right cheek was blown open, exposing a row of teeth and gums, with bits of flesh hanging off the side.

“Wow! That feels amazing!”

Yi Chen's sensation was akin to pouring icy-cool herbal water directly into his mouth—a cooling, explosive shock.

Pressing his hand against his injured cheek,

newly sprouted green plant roots began to stop the bleeding, stitch the wound, and repair the damage.

At the same time, Yi Chen looked up at Jin, standing in the path.

She showed no intention to kill. She simply adjusted her mask back into place and silently stared at the flung Yi Chen, saying nothing.

One thing was certain:

Both of them had just been affected, their deep biological desires awakened. If not for the mask removal attempt, they might have truly engaged in some form of "intimate contact." ȐÅΝộ𝐁ЕṠ

Yi Chen was the first to speak, breaking the awkward silence.

“It seems the environment here stimulates the 'mating' instincts of living beings. Once triggered, this could result in actual union, possibly even genetic-level pairing.”

“Hmm...”

Jin responded with just a hum, then walked up to Yi Chen and helped him to his feet.

“Jin, let’s adjust the way we conduct our ‘contact investigation.’”

Whoosh!

Green roots grew from Yi Chen’s palm, slowly wrapping around Jin’s wrist.

The roots connected their wrists like bracelets, maintaining constant contact. The length extended up to ten meters with high elasticity, instantly retracting under external force to prevent them from being separated.

“Such a troublesome type of Gray Zone,” Jin remarked, her words noticeably fewer.

As their minds gradually broke free from the grip of desire, their perception of the environment also began to recover.

A series of strange, squelching sounds of flesh writhing could be heard.

The sound came from the villagers' wooden houses behind them.

Yi Chen noticed a small stone sculpture placed beside the door—a figure of a woman cradling a child, with the umbilical cord still intact. Neither the woman nor the child had any facial features carved.

Glancing at the entrances of other wooden houses, Yi Chen saw identical sculptures, likely connected to some kind of church.

“Jin, let’s go inside and take a look.”

Yi Chen pushed open the unlocked door.

The two entered the villager’s wooden house, using a cross-entry formation for safety.

The interior scene was even more shocking than the sights on the streets.

The confined and limited space of the sealed house was entirely occupied. Every usable area was taken, and even the floor was covered with a layer of soft, sticky substance somewhere between grease and cortex.

The wooden structure of the room was riddled with fungi of various sizes. Branches and vines had even sprouted, blooming into vibrant flowers along the beams.

It felt as if one had entered a nutrient-rich botanical greenhouse—visually striking on some level.

However, this initial sense of beauty within the house didn’t last long.

Following the source of the fleshy sounds, the two stepped carefully on the slimy floor, moving deeper into the wooden cabin.

They leaned together against the bedroom doorframe, casting their gazes inside.

A heap of grotesquely distorted flesh was piled on the bed, which had been completely crushed under its weight, occupying two-thirds of the bedroom space.

Amidst the mound of rotting flesh, faint outlines of a man and a woman’s faces could barely be discerned.

In addition, the heap contained three wild dogs, two cats, as well as parts like ram horns, a boar’s snout, and other unidentifiable appendages.

The rotting mass writhed continuously under the stimulation of spore dust, the layers of flesh slapping and pressing against one another, producing the “fleshy sounds” Yi Chen had heard. The room was suffused with an odd, pungent odor.

Clearly, the massive pile of flesh was undergoing some intense form of biological activity.

About a minute later—

Squish!

A large quantity of flesh-colored fluid oozed out from between the heap, covering the floor and adding to the sticky, slippery mess. Along with the discharge, a grotesque newborn entity, still connected to the heap by an umbilical cord, slid out.

Birth was complete.

The malformed offspring continued to draw nutrients through the umbilical cord, growing to an adolescent state within mere minutes.

“...So this is the source of those accelerated pathogenic beings?”

“What a fast reproduction rate. No wonder there are so many ‘villagers.’ Killing them all seems impossible.”

While Yi Chen and Jin each expressed their views on the grotesque phenomenon, the flesh heap in the bedroom sensed movement.

Whoosh! Several flesh-like tendrils shot out from the rotting body, probing the area outside the door.

The tendrils barely extended out before they were severed by a sharp axe.

The two simultaneously stepped into the doorway. As Yi Chen prepared to switch his axe into its "Slaughter Mode" to execute the pitiful being inside the room, Jin suddenly blocked his way.

“Don’t be hasty. We’ve finally encountered a genuine ‘villager.’ Leave this to me... With this much flesh, I might be able to extract something useful.”

With a swift step, Jin kicked the developing offspring’s head, instantly exploding it.

The death of its progeny sent the flesh heap into a frenzy. Its body split vertically, revealing a massive, jagged-toothed maw. Dozens of powerful flesh tendrils sprouted from within.

Jin, however, didn’t resist.

She willingly allowed the tendrils to entangle her and drag her into the heap’s body.

The next moment, a horrifying sound resembling a pig’s squeal mixed with the screech of a chainsaw echoed from within.

What happened in the bedroom after that, Yi Chen chose not to watch.

One could vaguely imagine it as a chef preparing an oversized pineapple for a dish. Selecting the largest pineapple, the chef violently inserted a meat grinder through its base, pulverizing and hollowing out its interior.

The hollowed-out pineapple shell was then split in half and repurposed as a serving bowl.

When Jin finally emerged from the room, her face was full of disappointment.

“This kind of amalgamated, immobile pathogen that can only reproduce loses part of its essence every time it spawns offspring.

The quality of the flesh is terrible. It’s not even comparable to low-grade synthetic meat. What a complete waste of time.

But this—maybe you can use it.”

With a casual toss, Jin threw two warm brain-like masses into Yi Chen’s hands.