The Gentleman at the End

This hostel was converted from a relocation building. Due to an unknown danger, the four of them found a relatively spacious two-bedroom apartment to live in together.

As soon as they entered, each person demonstrated their skills.

Jin sowed Red Lotus Tumors on the walls, quickly covering the entire top floor area, while Reagan set up an invisible magnetic field encompassing the entire building and the surrounding area.

Seeing this, Yi Chen and Lorrian made no extra moves.

Jin's hand then rested on Yi Chen's shoulder,

"Hey! Haven't you noticed there's something off with the innkeeper here?

Though he looks like an ordinary person, he's wrapped in a murderer's aura. The entire building reeks of blood, and it seems every room here has witnessed a tragedy."

"Precisely, that's why I chose this place."

Jin immediately understood the reasoning, "Oh! Are you actually a good person? Deliberately staying here to avoid the noisy areas, so if malice finds us, the only casualty would be a scumbag.

Alright~ let's talk about William now."

Yi Chen directly took out a hairy square box that merged with a small grape from the lining of his coat.

As the hair on the surface receded, a videotape appeared before everyone.

A red smiley face mark was drawn between the reels of the videotape. At first glance, you could tell there was something wrong with this tape, and you could faintly hear laughter from it even before inserting it into a player.

The three present had different expressions as they looked at the videotape.

Lorrian had already located this bizarre videotape while searching in the mall, but was a step slower than Yi Chen. Having been involved in malicious incidents himself, he could roughly guess William's situation upon seeing the smiley videotape and clicked his tongue.

"Tsk~ is this the result of your two years? Encasing yourself into a black box. The first Plague Master among the Madmen of the Old World, trapping himself like a cocoon.

But... it's rather innovative, quite interesting."

Beside them, Reagan remained in a closed-eye state, seemingly able to penetrate this technological product, reading the familiar digitized aura within the videotape.

Only Jin picked up the videotape, observing it back and forth, "You say William is inside this thing? I can't sense anything at all. According to the Lord, William absorbed Art, so there should be an obvious cancer sensing, right?"

Yi Chen explained, "This involves the concept of Evil. William has turned himself into a special malignant vessel, with his true form residing within this videotape."

"What's a videotape?"

Jin looked puzzled, having never encountered such a technological product capable of recording video.

Yi Chen didn't verbally explain but instead pulled out an old film machine he had taken from the mall. After connecting it to a power source, he inserted the videotape into it.

Click~ as the videotape started playing inside the machine, the TV screen switched directly to a stage covered by a red curtain after a burst of colored stripes.

Dong dong dong!

Loud music accompanied the curtain's opening,

William in a black suit, with a bun in the middle, beamed exaggeratedly while bowing to everyone.

"Long time no see, everyone~ I've missed you all! Originally, I planned to meet Mr. Yi alone but didn't expect everyone to become so formidable.

In that case, let's work together! As you can see, I am currently stored inside a videotape.

To make me appear, you must have these devices and a power source, which are rather strict conditions. But I believe you'll be able to find the necessary playback equipment when you need me."

Just as William finished his speech,

Reagan, still in a closed-eye state, had metal wires emerging from his arm, constructing metallic structures in the air. Within two seconds, he built a brand-new film machine.

This scene stunned William on the TV.

"Wow! Reagan, your Mechanical Ascension is incredible, I'd love to dissect your all-metal Neisser brain.

With Reagan around, you can summon me anytime... I've already told Mr. Yi that if you encounter evil that's difficult to handle, immediately press play on the device [play me].

I've been busy these two years, fulfilling my duty as the Plague Master, embodying the Pathology World's concept, transforming myself into a Mad Shell Virus capable of spreading amidst malice.

That's all for now! My existence mustn't be discovered by those gods. Every word I say increases the risk of exposure.

You are all trustworthy partners, which is why I decided to temporarily meet with you."

Suddenly, the kindly William in the TV pressed his clown-like face against the TV screen, his hands gripping the edges tightly.

The TV screen could only capture William's bright red lips and slightly exposed nostrils, speaking in a bizarre voice:

"Make sure to keep this a secret for me! Don't reveal my existence, or don't blame me for turning my back on you, peeling your skin and breaking your bones, making you wish you were dead."

As soon as he finished speaking.

Bang!

The TV, broken in two, sparks flying, smashed through the window, crashing to the ground below. Fortunately, there were no pedestrians nearby; such high-altitude debris could be very hazardous.

The innkeeper, with few hairs left on his head, wearing flip-flops, walked over to the TV, looking up at the upper floor, about to lose his temper when—

Whoosh~ he saw over a dozen bills raining down, and his anger instantly turned into a smile.

His antique TV could be traded for two kitchen knives at most, not to mention all these red bills.

He even carried a toolbox, enthusiastically coming upstairs to help repair the window. To his surprise, when he arrived, Reagan had already fixed it.

"Huh! Do you carry glass with you... truly remarkable foreigners, then I won't disturb you!"

As the innkeeper left, he subconsciously slowed his pace when closing the door, his gaze lingering longingly on Jin. He suppressed his trembling hands and the saliva seeping from his mouth.

After another encounter, he had decided to act that very night.

In the stairwell, the innkeeper began to stretch his muscles. Though he was in his sixties, his body remained robust, and especially in recent years, he felt rejuvenated, deep desires awakening each night.

Crack crack crack~

His elbows rotated in full circles twice.

"Hmm? Were my joints always this flexible... Ah! Why do I feel younger, it's unbearable! I can't wait to touch that perfect body, and then slowly dismantle it piece by piece, ah! Just thinking about it makes me excited."

He glanced down at his grease-stained, unwashed shorts for days, the bulge forming a tent.

He quickly returned to the first-floor counter, intending to retrieve the gloves he always wore during his crimes—gloves stained with dozens of lives. However, he found the newspaper-stuffed drawer empty.

"Where are my gloves?"

He became agitated,

the gloves were like his most valued possession, their loss causing his eyes to turn bloodshot, disregarding the task planned for the night as he frantically searched.

His peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of the gloves appearing at a corner over twenty meters away outside the door.

He dashed over madly, as fast as a twenty-year-old athlete, but when he reached the corner, the gloves vanished again, appearing further away.

The mad innkeeper couldn't think about the current predicament, all he could see was reclaiming the gloves.

Thus, he was lured away from the hostel, beyond Reagan's magnetic field detection range, eventually arriving at a pitch-black bridge not illuminated by light.

When he prepared to pick up the now stationary gloves, an oversized pair of black leather shoes appeared before him.

It began to rain under the bridge,

black lips whispered something by the innkeeper's ear.