Chapter 58: Unique Ability of mutant

“The mutant he fused with is ‘tongue,’” the doctor promptly explained to Duan Wenxuan. “Bai Di’s girlfriend was previously involved in a monster massacre incident. Although it was resolved later, due to unknowingly kissing his girlfriend at the beginning, his tongue was replaced by a special ‘mutant’.

The advantage now is that he can practically consume anything, and it will all be digested, perfectly enhancing his body. So far, his physical attributes have been continuously increasing, seemingly without any end.

The downside is that he constantly remains in a state of hunger; to him, each one of us is essentially food. The worst part is that as his body approaches perfection, his uncontrollable true fear lies in wanting to eat himself.”

Bai Di silently listened to the doctor speak. In reality, before becoming a Nightwatcher, his personality had been more cheerful and lively. The complete reversal occurred because he deliberately wanted to keep everyone at arm’s length. Otherwise, if he were to momentarily lose control over the gnawing urge within, those close to him could inadvertently be killed and consumed.

“In other words, compared to physical harm towards others, your main struggle is actually due to uncontrollable thoughts?”

Bai Di closed his eyes briefly. The price of enduring prolonged sleep deprivation was evident as each blink brought a stinging pain, and his eyes were heavily bloodshot.

“Thoughts… it’s even harder. Once I fully fall asleep, I lose control over myself.” Bai Di spoke somewhat slowly; with his tongue being mutant, it affected his articulation.

At the doctor’s gesture, Bai Di promptly removed his long-sleeved shirt from the upper body.

Bai Di’s physique was nearly perfect, but the issue lay in the bandages wrapped around his arms and abdomen. His abdomen bore a large gaping wound, torn and ragged, resembling as if a chunk of skin had been viciously bitten off by a wild beast. Upon removing the bandages, one could faintly see internal organs beneath.

This was the consequence of succumbing to overwhelming drowsiness just days ago. While asleep, his mouth nearly devoured himself entirely. Although highly unscientific, under the influence of the mutant, it indeed occurred.

“Follow me.”

Duan Wenxuan, without any hesitation, treated the Night Church branch as his own territory. He instructed the doctor to keep watch over Qiao Si and the clergyman while he led Bai Di to an empty room.

Throughout their journey, Bai Di remained highly vigilant.

Silently, Duan Wenxuan opened the door. While Bai Di was momentarily distracted, he swiftly transported them to reality. The two figures vanished from their original location and reappeared in the real-world room. Immediately upon arrival, Duan Wenxuan instructed the paper figurine to intervene with Bai Di’s thoughts.

However, this time there was a small issue—the paper figurine indicated it felt somewhat strained. Bai Di’s mutant tongue seemed infused with a strong ‘gluttony’ influence. Although the paper figurine could briefly suppress it, such mental suppression typically needed renewal every half month or so; otherwise, its effect would diminish.

Experiencing failure for the first time, the paper figurine appeared disheartened, even covering its face shyly, reluctant to look at Duan Wenxuan.

“It’s alright, you’ve done very well,” Duan Wenxuan gently stroked the paper figurine with his index finger, smiling reassuringly.

The paper figurine hugged Duan Wenxuan’s index finger tightly, still feeling somewhat dejected. With its thin head drooping, it scurried back into Duan Wenxuan’s pocket.

In the Fourth Monster World…

Bai Di felt a momentary daze, as if he had suddenly lost some memories yet also remained exactly where he was.

“Take a moment to sense - is that intense gluttony still present?”

Bai Di was taken aback, suddenly feeling a long-awaited sense of relief throughout his body. The sensation where every cell, from his stomach to all over, had screamed ‘hungry’ disappeared. His tongue lay quietly in his mouth, and even seeing his own flesh no longer triggered any desire to consume it.

Conversely, with the disappearance of gluttony, the pain in his abdomen and arms gradually took hold of his nerve endings, causing Bai Di to instinctively clutch at his stomach.

“Am I cured?” Bai Di looked towards Duan Wenxuan with joy and gratitude, some of his usual cold demeanor fading away.

Duan Wenxuan directly shook his head. “Currently, my ability is not sufficient enough. This state can only last for about half a month. After that, I will need to re-intervene in your thoughts.”

Noticing Duan Wenxuan’s unsatisfied expression, Bai Di felt torn between laughter and tears.

The spontaneous “I’m cured” just uttered was merely a hopeful expectation born out of excessive excitement. In reality, he wasn’t so unrealistic; his expectation was simply that if there could be a few days of relief from his condition, he would already be immensely satisfied. After all, the holy relics at the branch also provided similar temporary effects.

However, to his surprise, not only had Duan Wenxuan completely eliminated the terrifying binge-eating state, but it could last for half a month.

After the extreme joy gradually subsided, Bai Di felt an overwhelming sense of fatigue and drowsiness. Nearly losing strength in his legs, he almost collapsed on the spot to sleep. Nevertheless, mustering his remaining energy, he looked earnestly at Duan Wenxuan and said, “Thank you. From today onwards, I am a believer of the Universal Church. Just as Nightwatchers obey the directives of the Night Church, so too will I follow your commands.”

“Then go ahead, Qiao Si is waiting outside.”

In less than ten minutes, upon seeing Bai Di’s condition, the clergyman immediately understood that Duan Wenxuan indeed had a way to help them resolve their mutant issues.

Bai Di, much like the doctor before him, had unequivocally defected with unwavering loyalty. The reason was simple: the newfound freedom to breathe without any burden, just this moment alone. For them now, living a normal life seemed priceless.

The clergyman felt utterly devoid of any resistance.

“What about Qiao Si’s issue?”

Compared to Bai Di and the doctor, Qiao Si, the old man, had a remarkably resilient mindset. There was a sense of going with the flow about him, as if he no longer valued his own life.

“I’m already at this age; what difference does it make whether I live or die?” Qiao Si spoke cheerfully.

According to the doctor, in his younger days, Qiao Si raised five children - three boys and two girls - alongside his wife. However, after he and his wife grew old, none of their children were willing to support them. Instead, they took away all their valuable possessions.

His wife passed away from illness, and once Qiao Si also fell sick, his children placed him on a wooden board near the door, disliking the decaying smell he brought inside the house. Occasionally, they would leave some leftover food for him, indifferent to whether he ate it or not.

One day, without knowing exactly when, Qiao Si woke up to find that the wooden board he lay upon had gained an additional broken bowl. He couldn’t tell who put it there, but inside, there was some rice porridge. Thirsty and hungry, Qiao Si tilted his head back and took a sip. Unexpectedly, the bowl was a mutant, and it immediately fused with him.

The bowl’s ability was ‘Begging’, meaning that whenever Qiao Si made a request, the owner had to fulfill it. Failure to comply would result in their sudden death within three days, while compliance would bring them continuous misfortune until they ultimately lost everything and their life.

As for the side effect, each use of the broken bowl’s power caused Qiao Si’s back to become more hunched. With every increment of his curvature, a tremendous force pressed upon him, gradually increasing until one day he could no longer bear the weight and would be crushed to death.

Without hesitation, Qiao Si began asking his children for food. Eventually, two of his sons met unfortunate deaths, truly passing away. The remaining son and both daughters also suffered sudden fatalities.

Left alone and bereft, Qiao Si joined a branch of the Night Church.

Seemingly having lost all hope in life, Qiao Si became the only member of the Night Church who cared little about missions, recklessly harnessing the energy of mutants without restraint.

For him, the distinction between life and death held no significance.

After Bai Di and the doctor explained Qiao Si’s situation, Duan Wenxuan understood that Qiao Si simply surrendered along with the clergy when they did. If the clergy had chosen to resist fiercely, Qiao Si likely wouldn’t have cared either.

However, upon hearing Qiao Si’s side effect, Duan Wenxuan could only shake his head helplessly. “Currently, I have no solution for your side effect, but I can send you to another place where your lifespan will be extended. I assure you, I will swiftly find a way to resolve it.”

“Alright,” Qiao Si agreed readily, as he genuinely did not seem to care.

In the end, only the clergyman remained.

By now, Duan Wenxuan had effectively taken control of the Night Church’s branch, which proceeded smoother than he initially anticipated, yet it was also within reason.

After sending the fat man and Vena back to reality and witnessing Qu Huachi hand over the badge, Duan Wenxuan hastily returned to the manor. He knew there would likely be more developments, and indeed, he encountered a newly infiltrated Nightwatcher.

Duan Wenxuan sighed; it truly felt like the葫芦 Brothers rescuing their grandpa, one after another.

Once they arrived, Duan Wenxuan certainly wouldn’t let them leave. Capturing the doctor proved even simpler than subduing the fat man and Vena. The slime swallowed him whole at first sight. Similar to the fat man, once Duan Wenxuan demonstrated his ability to suppress mutants, the doctor fully defected and became complicit, guiding others accordingly.

The reason the clergyman, Qiao Si, and Bai Di could be gathered at the church’s branch owes thanks to Dr. Qu, who diligently found excuses to bring them together. Only Winter genuinely couldn’t make it back in time.

Suppressing his thoughts, Duan Wenxuan looked towards the clergyman.

The clergyman was quite unique; he possessed exceptional traits across various aspects, essentially making him a prodigy without having fully integrated with a mutant. The reason why he temporarily took charge of the branch and maintained contact with Headquarters is that the clergyman served as a ‘firefighter’ - stepping in during emergencies.

At the Westphalia branch, there exists a special mutant known as the Twisted Eye.

The Twisted Eye can absorb the eerie distorting power brought by mutants, and the clergyman was responsible for guarding it. In extreme situations, the clergyman would sacrifice himself to fuse with the Twisted Eye, then utilize its ability to counteract the harmful effects of mutants on Nightwatchers, thereby preserving their lives.

Apart from this, if any Nightwatcher suddenly met an untimely death, the mutant within their body would also need to be extracted. Sometimes monsters attempted to seize these mutants, so to prevent them from being taken, the clergyman would choose to proactively integrate the mutants into his own body.

Westphalia was relatively peaceful, so the clergyman had seldom utilized the power of the Twisted Eye. As a result, his appearance seemed quite healthy. Similarly, at present, he is merely an ordinary person.

“Mr. Clergyman, I’m now very interested in the Twisted Eye and the other mutants you have collected.”

Given the situation, the clergyman could only let out a long sigh. “Follow me.”

Duan Wenxuan smiled and nodded. Seeing that the doctor and Bai Di intended to accompany him, he paused momentarily and said, “I believe Mr. Clergyman is a wise man who won’t resort to tricks. Your mental states have just returned to normal; what you need most now is rest. There’s no need for you to protect me closely.”

Bai Di and the doctor were indeed pushing themselves, especially Bai Di. Upon hearing Duan Wenxuan’s assurance, his legs gave way immediately, causing him to collapse onto the ground without even attempting to get back up. His snores began right away. The doctor fared not much better, with heavy-lidded eyes and unsteady movements.

Leaving them behind, Duan Wenxuan urged, “Let’s go, Mr. Clergyman.”