CHAPTER 232: THE BENEVOLENT DOCTOR, THE HARBINGER OF PEACE

[Ding! Raven SAN -10]

Raven stared hollowly at his longtime partner standing before him, at the face of that once-vibrant mature woman, and his worldview shattered into pieces with a loud crash.

Black Skull cleared her throat, looking a little embarrassed as she averted her gaze and said,

“Cough cough! Sorry, Commander! When I was just a skeleton my bone structure was too degraded to know my own gender, but after that young man restored me to something like my former appearance, I discovered that I ended up being female…”

“Sorry for freakin’ you out.”

Click—

Raven instinctively took a few hollow steps back, feeling as if something inside had smashed to bits.

Something’s wrong!

What on earth happened in the three days I was gone? What kind of magical nonsense is this?!

I don’t understand it! I just don’t understand it!

…

Several dozen minutes later, Raven, frowning deeply, had finished reading the observation reports from the past three days, his face twitching wildly at the corners of his mouth.

His subordinates before him stood trembling and wary, walking on eggshells, not daring to utter a single word.

Raven gripped the observation report, took several deep breaths, clenched his fists with a grinding sound, and turned to glare at Lynn inside the wooden cell, grinding his teeth as he said,

“Impressive! I didn’t expect I’d still be underestimating you. Turns out you have a bunch of strange abilities! My twenty-odd subordinates—did you really manage to play them all like puppets?!”

He was furious!

When he first arrived he was worried his man might be treated maliciously by his subordinates.

But now…

What the hell was he worried about!

This guy’s living better than anyone!

If I had come back a few weeks later, the team might have been led off to start their own faction!

One after another, they were all completely converted to him!

Lynn shook his head and said shyly, “No, no! I only did it to cultivate good coworker relationships. After all, this is the Dark World—harmonious, loving coworker relations not only boost team cooperation, they also help survival odds, and furthermore…”

“Shut up!!” Raven exploded.

Lynn nodded earnestly, then asked, “Mm, okay. Commander Raven, so what’s the situation? Has a decision been made about how to deal with me? It won’t be execution, right?”

Raven inhaled deeply, fetched a document from his breast, and said flatly,

“The higher-ups gave me decision-making authority. Given the special nature of your abilities, to prevent you from casually spreading disease if you go out, we can provisionally accept you as one of the Night Doctors. But whether you can ultimately join depends on every Night Doctor present…” ṘÁΝȮ𝖇Èŝ

He paused.

Then he looked at his subordinates, teeth grinding, eyes flashing bright as snow.

“A vote…a decision by ballot!”

Vote my ass!

(╯‵皿′)╯︵┻━┻

Look at those damned faces—your affinity meters must be maxed out already, the votes have basically been cashed in ahead of time!

Raven took a deep breath, closed his eyes, but the procedure had to be followed.

“Those who do not agree to let him join our Raven squad, raise your hands.”

He raised his own hand.

“…”

Silence fell around them.

After an awkward stretch of time, Black Skull finally trembled and forced a smile, raising her hand.

Raven glanced over.

Of course—true to form for an old partner.

Always coordinated with me at the crucial moment! Fine! Fine! Fine!

Black Skull kept smiling and nodded toward Raven, a few beads of sweat running down the back of her head.

You can’t…

Make Commander Raven too embarrassed…

Do a little face-saving, give Raven a way out—after all, he’s an old comrade…

Actually, she could tell the higher-ups probably wanted the boy brought into the fold;

this was just going through the motions. Regardless of whether he truly fit the Night Doctor role, his ability to impart disease was terrifying.

Better to absorb him than let the plague doctors snatch him away—that would be far worse.

…

The next day.

After saying goodbye to the Silent Town townsfolk, having received qualification as a Night Doctor, Lynn followed Raven and the others on the road to their base.

“Mr. Raven, am I considered a member of the Night Doctors now?” Lynn asked, trailing behind Raven and adjusting his new monocle.

Raven walked with a cool demeanor and said,

“You only have the qualification to join the Night Doctors. Whether you are ultimately accepted still requires some essential tests.”

“When we return to our base, I will personally take you to our main camp. Whether you pass the examination will depend on your own luck.”

[Ding! You have obtained the qualification to join the Night Doctors!]

[Ding! Your current notoriety within the Night Doctors is: 65. When notoriety reaches 100, the next-stage mission will officially unlock!]

A System notification sounded in his ear.

Lynn nodded seriously. “That’s great!”

Soon after, Lynn followed Raven’s group, passed through the Cursed Territory, and arrived at a foothold located among a cluster of mountains.

Within the entire Night Doctor collective, every Night Doctor is assigned to one independent squad. Some squads can have hundreds of Night Doctors;

smaller ones have dozens.

This arrangement allows unified action and timely support.

Raven’s squad was the one responsible for the Cursed Territory region.

“Remember this.”

Raven led Lynn to a pitch-black portal in the base and traced a series of complex runes in front of it with his hand.

As the runes formed, the gateway in front of them slowly took on a black luster.

Raven looked up and said,

“When you register, do not use your real name. If you’re joining the Night Doctors you must pick a unique code name.”

“Among the patients we encounter are creatures adept at true-name curses. Recklessly using your real name would bring you serious trouble.”

Lynn nodded in understanding.

And at the next moment,

A flash of light slit across the portal.

When they opened their eyes again, they were standing in a busy transit hall.

[Ding! You have arrived at the City of Night!]

“We’re here! This is our organization’s headquarters, the City of Night under the stars!” Raven said, looking up.

Lynn stared in astonishment at his surroundings.

This was a massive transit hall;

every person around them wore black clothing and a bird-like beaked mask, shuffling back and forth.

Looking out through the hall, one could see towering spires piercing the night sky one after another.

It was even grander and more shocking than he had imagined!

Lynn realized he had severely underestimated the scale of the Night Doctors.

In the Dark World, this was unquestionably a powerful organization and force.

“Quit gawking. I’m taking you to the trial hall.”

Raven tugged his hat brim, grabbed Lynn’s wrist, and strode in another direction.

Soon, after turning left and right,

They arrived at the base of a tall tower. Compared to the transit hall, this place was noticeably less crowded.

Inside the tower Lynn saw many creatures like him who weren’t wearing beaked masks: Dark Elves, mechanical beings, ghosts—even tentacle monsters.

Clearly, these were beings who had obtained Night Doctor qualification through various channels.

At a counter resembling a reception desk, Raven knocked on a post and looked at a multi-eyed tentacled creature inside, saying,

“Nightmare, long time no see. Give me a profession form. I brought a newcomer who needs evaluation.”

Clack—

Eyes opened across that mass of viscera—vertical eyes staring at Lynn and Raven—then the flesh mass split open in a grin and emitted a series of weird laughs.

“Heh heh, Raven, is this the kid you said can give people diseases? Looks like a very cute human, heh heh heh.”

An evil gaze fell on Lynn as tentacles writhed around him with a squelching sound.

Lynn immediately brightened. “Thank you for the compliment. You’re the first creature to call me cute.”

Lynn extended a tentacle of his own and shook its tentacle in a friendly gesture.

The tentacle monster’s eyes visibly stiffened.

A fellow… fellow member?!

It stared, (.;

ﾟ;

:益:;

ﾟ;

.) scrutinizing Lynn’s plump tentacle up and down, then shakily produced a form and placed it on the counter.

“Fill out the form. Also, retract your tentacles;

although he’s also a tentacle monster, he has psychological trauma toward other tentacle monsters—don’t scare him.”

Lynn was taken aback. “Uh… I thought he’d be nice to me.”

He quickly pulled back the tentacles he had flung out trying to rack up “same-species” affinity, then his gaze fell on the form.

Picking up a quill, he skimmed it and rapidly filled in the basic information.

“All done?”

“Mm-hmm!”

Raven casually glanced at the paperwork, then his mouth twitched.

“You sure you want to use that as your code name?! And your self-introduction—are you sure you don’t want to reconsider?”

Lynn adjusted his monocle. “I think it suits my character. I’m not changing it.”

Raven rubbed his temple and, with a grimace, handed the form over.

Fine! Fine!

Their reputation was already bad—one more won’t hurt. Not worth arguing over.

Soon the identity badge was printed.

[Code Name]: Benevolent Doctor · Harbinger of Peace

[Identity]: Trainee Night Doctor

[Assessment]: Not yet conducted

[Introduction]: A kind human Night Doctor who brings people happiness and wellness, possessing excellent soothing and medical capabilities. Accepts medical commissions in various fields: gynecology, internal medicine, psychiatry, mechanical medicine, and proctology, all with some achievements.

Raven held the paperwork with a pained look and said,

“Let’s go! I’ll take you to the assessment!”

…