Chapter 115

One Hundred and Fifteen: Poison Gas

Inside the An Yin Bureau of Igewent, within Bureau Chief James’s office.

Viscount Field, who was originally answering questions in the office, was now writhing on the floor, convulsing wildly, emitting painful sounds, and deep red mysterious patterns gradually spreading across his body.

“Ah… ah… No… no! I don’t want to turn into a monster! I don’t want to d*e! Help me, James!”

Field struggled and screamed in agony. His voice became muddled and distorted, his figure visibly swelling. His suit burst open, buttons flying off, as if he were being inflated by a continuous stream of air.

“k*ll him!”

Seeing this scene, James ordered directly. Immediately, Elena and several Hunter team members nearby drew their guns and fired at Viscount Field, who was undergoing gradual mutation.

Unexpectedly, the severely bloated Viscount Field reacted surprisingly quickly. He rolled away to dodge the bullets aimed at his vital points, while the remaining bullets had no effect as they hit his flesh.

Then, Field got up on all fours and looked toward the door with a contorted expression of hatred replacing his previous pain. His skin began to take on a faint greenish hue.

At this moment, Gregor rushed forward with a sharp blade, intending to decapitate Field. Facing Gregor’s attack, Field opened his mouth abnormally wide. From his mouth, several bl**d-stained green vines shot out, aiming for Gregor.

Seeing this, Gregor urgently rolled aside to avoid them and then slashed at the vines with his sword. However, these vines proved unusually resilient. Gregor, using a sword imbued with “Shadow,” managed to cut only one vine in one stroke.

The remaining vines flew rapidly towards others at the door, seemingly intent on piercing everyone.

Just then, James’s hand trembled slightly, and a small stone kn*fe fell from his sleeve. He waved the kn*fe in front of him, and a gust of wind formed a sharp blade that sliced through the incoming vines, cutting them all.

Seeing this, Field, now barely human-shaped, howled and spat out the remaining vines in his mouth before charging towards the door with an open mouth.

“d*e! Monster!”

At this moment, Turner stepped forward two paces and pulled out his single-shot shotgun, firing directly at Field. The gunpowder sprayed dense iron pellets, hitting Field’s swollen abdomen.

Suddenly, Field exploded like a balloon. Surprisingly, a green smoke emerged from the explosion, spreading rapidly. Without warning, the smoke poured out of the room and into the crowd outside, many people inhaling the pungent fumes immediately.

“Aah! What is this stuff?!”

Caught in the green smoke, Turner and Gregor retreated immediately. Upon sensing something amiss, James spoke up.

“Beware! Don’t breathe!”

James then waved his hand, creating an unnatural pressure difference in the space. Under the subtle influence of extraordinary power, the office formed a low-pressure environment. The pressure difference caused the green smoke that had initially spilled out to rush back inside.

James promptly closed the office door and ordered:

“Quickly find some wet towels and block the door!”

As soon as he gave the order, a series of urgent coughs came from behind him. James turned around to see several Hunter team members collapsing and coughing violently, while others removed their masks and leaned against the wall, retching uncontrollably, clearly feeling unwell.

‘Oh no… Did they inhale some? Hmm… I seem to be feeling a bit off too…’

James thought, suddenly experiencing a slight discomfort.

‘A poison gas-infused Poison Recognition mutant… Is this the result of careful planning?’

“What’s happening, Chief?”

At this moment, other bureau members noticed the commotion and rushed over. James, despite his own discomfort, commanded:

“Quickly bring wet towels to block my office door! Also, notify the church immediately! Tell them to send the Extraordinary Infection Control Unit!”

“Yes!”

…

Not long after, the An Yin Bureau was bustling with activity. With the effort of several staff members, James’s office was tightly sealed, leaving no gaps for the poison gas to escape.

The Hunters affected by the poison gas were moved to the hall, lying in rows on the ground, moaning in distress. Those unaffected colleagues were taking care of them.

Although many were poisoned and the situation looked dire, fortunately, there were no fatalities yet. Thanks to James’s timely intervention, the Hunters only inhaled a minimal amount, although symptoms were severe, none seemed life-threatening.

If James had acted any slower or if the Hunters had inhaled more, the consequences would have been severe.

Sitting weakly in a chair, James watched the scene, slightly relieved. Beside him, Gregor sat on the ground, struggling to stand.

“Cough… Cough… Breathe… Breathe… Mr. James, what exactly was that thing just now?”

Gregor asked James, who replied slowly:

“It was a monster mutated from Poison Recognition after being subjected to high-intensity exposure from a secret transmission. It should have already been on the verge of mutation, but drugs were used to temporarily suppress it. Just now, the suppression failed, causing the mutation to erupt… Hmph, this must have been a carefully prepared trap…”

“Poison Recognition mutation…” Gregor murmured, beginning to think about the dangers of Poison Recognition.

The dangers of Poison Recognition vary based on the dose ingested, progressing from mild to severe: mental derangement, madness, d*ath, and mutation.

Among these, mutation is the most severe. It occurs only when a large dose of Poison Recognition is taken in one go, leading to both mental collapse and physical transformation into a monster. Only a few methods can temporarily suppress it, but ultimately, all suppression will fail over time. The outbreak of Poison Recognition can be delayed but not prevented.

“Cough… Mr. James, you mean Viscount Field was fed a large amount of Poison Recognition, pushing him to the brink of mutation, and then drugs were used to suppress the final step of mutation, setting a trap for whoever catches Viscount Field later?”

Gregor interpreted, and James nodded.

“I’m afraid… Viscount Field probably didn’t expect to be betrayed like this either…”