Chapter 35 Set Off In Advance

Standing outside the door, Jin maintained a temporary farewell waving gesture, as if the gears inside his body were stuck and time had been frozen.

It was not until Yi Chen came out from the Clothing Room that he returned to normal.

Seeing Yi Chen dressed in a formal, elegant suit, which exuded an aura of academia, one could guess his professional direction.

"Academic style~ It seems that your profession is inclined towards study and thought.

Even from this distance, I can smell the ancient aura emanating from your clothes. Is this the 'First Gentleman's Skin'?"

Unlike me, who can only make do with this diluted old skin for now, sigh~"

In Jin's eyes, the skin that embodied the aura of the old world and corresponded to an 80% assessment grade was not worth mentioning.

He had even thrown away the storage box long ago,

and the 'Gentleman's Skin,' which others viewed as a treasure, was casually stuffed between his shirts.

Jin cast his gaze towards the entrance of the Clothing Room, "Mr. Ivan~ is my clothing ready yet? Just rough it out, as long as it can inspect my physical condition.

Later, when I get the same skin as William, I'll come back to you for a new make."

"Having a high skin content isn't necessarily a good thing, you'll understand this in time.

Moreover, I would never treat my creations carelessly. Hurry over~ After dealing with your order, I need to rest for a good ten to fifteen days."

Jin shrugged his shoulders and headed straight for the Clothing Room.

As Yi Chen was still standing in the middle, they brushed past each other... Jin's fingers also slid onto Yi Chen's shoulders smoothly.

"Hey~ I have an idea.

How about we form a special squad together later? With our level, we can surely complete missions quickly and even consider applying for higher-level tasks.

We'll accumulate a lot of high-quality 'Skin' in a short time, complete our outfits,

and reach the 'Rank' limit sooner, so we can do more truly meaningful things."

Facing Jin's invitation to team up,

Yi Chen, still a novice regarding the organization, the world, and his newly acquired professional abilities, naturally would not accept,

"Our growth modes might differ, we'll talk about it later."

"Boring man."

Jin's fingers, just as they were about to slide off Yi Chen's shoulder, suddenly exerted force!

The instant sense of danger stimulated the defenses in his body trying to construct a protective layer on his shoulder.

However,

the fingers slid off normally, and nothing happened, as if it was some sort of trickery, completely deceiving Yi Chen's instincts.

Jin, with his hands clad in colorful gloves, backed them at his hip, waving goodbye slightly... indicating he still looked forward to their collaboration in the future.

As Jin walked into the Clothing Room and the secret door closed,

a drop of cold sweat slid down his temple and cheek, absorbed by his collar.

"This man... is very dangerous, more dangerous than any Pathological lifeform I have ever encountered."

Meanwhile,

a small grape squeezed out from between the collar, stretching its body.

"Indeed, an extraordinary human~ Even I could feel the instant killing intent, sensing danger... but the other party can control it so freely, as if nothing happened.

William, perhaps we should team up with this guy?

With him around, we could save a lot of energy in killing enemies.

After all, the 'Profession' you've chosen, combined with my sensory abilities, can rightly claim you're a support-type gentleman."

"We'll talk about it later, I'll consider it."

The small grape did not evaluate Yi Chen's choice of profession or gentleman's apparel,

but,

from its jumping about on the shoulder, waving its arms like seaweed, you could tell it was quite pleased with Yi Chen's transformation.

Yi Chen recalled their recent conversation,

"According to Jin's words,

after becoming a gentleman and completing the various tasks issued by Zion, you could also obtain skin to complete, amend, or even remake your outfit.

In this process, it seemed possible to gradually touch the 'Limit of Man,' advancing to the next Rank phase."

The small grape waved its arms,

"It's not that simple! You humans have been imprisoned in restrictive physical cages generation after generation. To break through the limit and escape such 'cages,' a great price must be paid."

"Then let's reach the limit first... by the way, do you know what the next phase is, small grape?"

"My memory doesn't include knowledge on this matter. It's probably directly related to ancient creatures and your profession."

"Oh, speaking of which, Little Grape, would you kill me?"

What was originally a casual conversation,

suddenly turned into a weird and tense atmosphere with Yi Chen's question.

However,

Little Grape was not displeased but rubbed its eyeball with its teeth, grinning as it said, "It seems your clothes have detected something, haven't they? Is my evaluation quite dangerous?"

Yi Chen nodded, "That's about right."

Little Grape folded its tiny hands across its chest, its mouth squinting into a slit like its eyelids.

"It is indeed possible that I might kill you... but there are conditions.

If I find that you are no longer 'interesting', grow disgusted with yourself and the world, and abandon the desire to explore the outside, becoming a completely meaningless coward, I will terminate your life ahead of time."

Upon hearing Little Grape's response,

Yi Chen seemed relieved as if that was the ultimate answer he had wanted.

"That's good... I need you to supervise me closely, Little Grape, and if I really turn out that way, or if there's a tendency for change, the two grapes are yours. Remember to tell me how they taste."

"You're really funny!"

A brief dialogue raised Little Grape's interest again.

It slightly protruded half its eyeball and rubbed it against Yi Chen's cheek, smearing slime all over his face.

The two suppressed their laughter, echoing around the second floor.

Just then,

the sound of a door opening came again from downstairs.

"Hmm? This tailor shop doesn't seem very secretive... Why another visitor?"

As footsteps ascended to the second floor, a familiar owl came into view.

"Professor Qian Bosen? Did you finish your tasks?"

"It was an emergency meeting called on short notice, very brief... Huh! This is your suit!"

Qian Bosen noticed the suit Yi Chen was wearing, his eyes bulging.

The owl on his shoulder also stared with wide eyes, observing together.

About a minute passed.

"Perfect!

Ivan's craftsmanship not only hasn't deteriorated due to his injuries but has become more personalized! It's just perfect... Even now, you still don't match up to this suit.

To be precise, you can't really utilize this suit's true function.

As the 'First Gentleman' has said, you are still a completely blank sheet of paper,

I will conduct a series of long-term training for you,

so that you can catch up with the other gentlemen at the 'basic level'."

"Report to the academy tomorrow and come directly to my office... Forget it! Let's not delay, let's go to my office right now and plan the relevant training program."

Qian Bosen was eager to polish this rarely seen gem that was Yi Chen.

"Well... Ivan, the store manager, asked me to stay here to do a follow-up review of the suit."

"With me here, don't worry about that; I'll take care of the review."

Qian Bosen pulled out a steel pen adorned with a white feather,

the nib engraved with the organization's emblem, and the pen body decorated with an ancient lacquer technique showing an owl half-hidden behind a tree trunk.

He wrote a note, tucking it into the crevice of a hidden door.

...

The two were about to go to Omphalos-Centric-Academy, located in the northern depths of Zion City,

The academy's exterior was bordered by towering walls, separating it from Zion City, creating a city within a city feel.

The academy was permanently enveloped in a night full of auroras, with no change between day and night, and any external observation was blocked, making it extremely secretive.

It is a special academy that most gentlemen (except for the Black Letter) must attend,

The training at the academy greatly reduces the mortality rate of gentlemen when carrying out missions, exploring the Grey Zone, or facing Patients,

It also effectively guides the gentleman community to touch the "Limit of Man" faster and more stably.