EnCoffin Me Chapter 40
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 40
Zhen, still in the conservation center, had no idea what had just happened underwater. With a hint of worry, he followed his caretaker to see the newly arrived dark creature. Several staff members were using machinery to unload a massive water tank from a transport vehicle. The tank had special settings and appeared dark for the moment. Once it was fully in place, it would be adjusted to turn transparent.
“The report says it's a water nymph named Zerita,” his caretaker said with a slight smile, though the smile quickly faded. “Because of her poor condition, she had been recuperating at the southeast branch, where the facilities aren't particularly advanced. Only recently did her condition stabilize enough for her to be transferred here by aircraft.“
Zhen immediately felt a surge of compassion for this frail comrade. He watched as the staff carefully moved the water tank into the center, with instruments constantly monitoring the water nymph's condition in real time. When he leaned forward for another look, he noticed Dr. Zhu Heng among the people below.
“Is Dr. Zhu on duty tonight?”
“I think so.”
Zhen didn't ask further. He glanced down once more and noticed that Dr. Zhu seemed to be in an unusually good mood. That made him feel happy as well.
Zhu Heng was, indeed, in good spirits. After personally confirming Zerita's condition, he followed her transfer all the way to the quarantine area for rest. The water nymph was different from the resurrected Alexio. Like ordinary dark creatures, she was sensitive and fragile. She would likely stay at the center for a long time to gradually adjust, and possibly remain here permanently.
Once she was settled, the staff began to disperse, leaving only the night-shift doctor and a temporary caretaker. Zhu Heng lingered, watching for a good while before tidying his things, preparing to leave work. On his way back to the medical department, he ran into Zhen.
“Hello, Dr. Zhu,” Zhen greeted him as cheerfully as ever. “How is Zerita doing? When can we visit her?”
Zhu Heng smiled. He pulled a golden candy from his pocket and handed it to Zhen, giving his head a gentle pat.
“Very soon,” he said. “She needs a few days to adjust. After that, we'll invite some of the other dark creatures to visit and play with her.”
“Can I come with Alexi to see her?”
So they had already become good friends. Zhu Heng chuckled. He was glad to see the dark creatures getting along. The concentrated fostering method at the center also helped establish good relationships among them. But…
The center's rescue efforts hadn't been able to save the Zerita from before.
Zhen was still waiting for an answer. Zhu Heng quickly pushed those thoughts aside and replied with a smile.
“Of course. Not just Alexi, but also Dondon and Lucy… you can all come visit Zerita together.”
Come visit… a healthy Zerita…
Zhu Heng boarded the center's night shuttle. He had little desire for material things, so he never bought a car, and his housing was assigned by the center. He truly didn't need much. After being saved, he had devoted his entire life to the dark creatures.
The shuttle was quiet. The staff, exhausted from a full day of caring for dark creatures, sat silently around him. Zhu Heng closed his eyes. He seemed to fall into a troubling dream.
He dreamed of a time long ago, back when he was still at the southeast branch of the conservation center. Zerita had been the most difficult young patient he had ever treated. Her congenital elemental imbalance made her body weak beyond cure. Night after night, he had stayed by the edge of the pool, only to watch helplessly as the water nymph grew weaker with each passing night.
He had felt completely powerless.
In the depths of his despair, Theo appeared before Zhu Heng and revealed something to him. Although he was one of the senior members at the southeast branch, he secretly practiced a method of treatment forbidden by the center. This method was radical but had succeeded in ensuring the survival of the vast majority of dark creatures.
“Elements,” Theo told him, “Just like thousands of years ago, we use elements to heal.
“By extracting the excess dark elements, we ultimately bring about a balance within the dark creatures' bodies… Sounds scary, right? Don't rush to report me. I can show you some successful cases. Follow me.”
Zhu Heng followed Theo into that underground world and thereafter kept silent about it. He maintained contact with Theo and personally observed the treatment process several times until today, when the healthy Zerita safely arrived at the main center.
In his heart, it felt as if a heavy stone had finally been lifted, yet somehow it also felt even heavier.
After returning from the Emerald Inner Sea, Alexio greeted Zhen before heading home with the lunatic. For a late-night snack, they made a small batch of wontons, a specialty of eastern faction. As Alexio sprinkled pepper into his bowl, he suddenly remembered something.
“By the way, can you condense some of your light power for me?”
Lucius reached out his hand. Alexio reluctantly put down the pepper shaker and watched as Lucius sprinkled light power into the bowl.
“Sure, but what do you need it for? Light power is so abundant in this world. Why not just draw it directly from the outside?”
For beings at their level, condensing and separating a bit of their internal power would have no impact. Besides, after ten thousand years, the external supply of light elements was plentiful. Any minor loss could be replenished quickly.
Alexio shook his head.
“I can't just grab it directly. It's too impure. I want to use this condensed light power to help those children adjust the balance inside their bodies.”
When it came to the purity of light power, who could compare to the hunters of the Holy Temple from ten thousand years ago? The ‘Lucius filter’ was definitely Alexio's top choice.
Lucius understood. Although elemental imbalance was rare ten thousand years ago, there were still documented cases. Initially, the extraction method was used for treatment. However, many patients, despite regaining their health, lost their magical abilities or were left chronically weakened. This approach was then abandoned. Later, the replenishment method was introduced. At first, it directly extracted elements from the external environment to replenish the imbalance, but after several cases of fatal bodily rupture, the practice of using purified energy for treatment gradually became the mainstream approach.
Given the extreme environment and the imbalance of light and dark ten thousand years later, Lucius wasn't surprised that some dark creatures had internal imbalances.
However, this provided an opportunity to set some conditions. Lucius held out his empty spoon. Alexio stared at him for a long time, then reluctantly scooped a wonton from his bowl and placed it on Lucius' spoon as an offering.
“I'll give it to you after I finish eating. Use it wisely, and remember to return any leftovers.”
“……”
Truly a dog!
The hard-earned condensed light power gathered into a small glowing orb, which Alexio placed carefully inside a lunchbox. For safety, he also condensed some dark power in case he over-replenished. Once replenished this way, the dark creatures would undoubtedly become healthier and even stronger.
Worrying like an overprotective father!
But… was there something else he needed to do?
Lying in bed, Alexio tried hard to remember, but unfortunately, his mind was now completely preoccupied with having to work tomorrow.
“……”
Over the next two weeks, Alexio diligently ‘boost’ any dark creature he could catch at the center while also patiently training the wolf cub and Lucy. By now, the wolf cub had mastered empathy so well that he wanted to connect with everyone he met. As for Lucy… she could finally control two skeletal chickens and make them race each other.
Zhen's ability was somewhat unique, a system specific to the eastern faction focused on control. Alexio wasn't very familiar with this, but he was experienced in tempering mental strength. He instructed Zhen to move on to the next step only when he managed to levitate a dictionary, all to strengthen his mental power.
Zhen : …so hard!
Bored out of his mind, Alexio even started implementing wartime drills at the center. Whenever the alarm sounded, everyone had to report for duty. The staff thought they were just playing pretend and smiled indulgingly. Only the dark creatures present wept together.
It was terrifying! If they moved too slowly, Alexio would send them to deliver things to the lunatic! That saint was truly frightening!
But since Alexio had arrived, the normally listless dark creatures became lively and healthy. The center was chaotic every day, dark creatures running everywhere as if there was never a shortage of things to do.
Zhu Heng carefully stepped over the white bone fence left by the lich. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew behind him, and he quickly dodged aside. The wolf cub leapt gracefully over the cluster of bones. Even while running, he no longer wheezed like before. His mouth was tightly shut, eyes sharp and focused ahead, where Alexio stood with a whistle in his mouth and a stopwatch in hand.
“Beep—” Alexio blew the whistle and stopped the timer. This time, they were over ten seconds faster than before.
“Good. You do run faster when you keep your mouth shut,” Alexio said, lowering the whistle to hang around his neck. His tone grew serious. “Only dogs bark while running.”
The wolf cub shyly hung his head and let out a small whimper before lifting it again. As expected, the vampire's hand came down to rub his ears and head.
“Helgodon, remember that you're a werewolf. Even if you can't transform into your human form now, you have to be proud, fierce, and brave like a true werewolf. If all of us are a battle line, then you're the sharpest blade that cuts deepest into the enemy. Your role demands you be twice as strong.”
“Woof!”
“And Lucy, your bone spikes placement was good. Next, you need to learn how to coordinate with Helgodon.”
The lich nodded heavily in agreement.
Zhen squatted gloomily in the corner, trying to make a dictionary float. But he could only get it to hover about a centimeter before it dropped. Watching him struggle, Alexio sent a message to the lunatic first before approaching.
【Alexio: What do you know about the abilities of the eastern faction?】
After a while, the other side finally replied.
【Lucius: The eastern faction has remained secluded for a long time. I've only seen fragments of their writings, but there are two lines of poetry I find quite interesting.】
【Lucius: “The imperial son holds a domain, where all beings possess spirits.”】
As someone favored by a god, Alexio was very sensitive to the word ‘domain.’ He pondered for a moment, then asked, “Zhen, do you have any natural tattoos on your body?”
The dictionary fell with a soft thud. Zhen turned around in surprise, then smiled.
“That information hasn't been made public. How did Alexi find out?”
There really was!
Zhen stood up, his wide sleeves falling gracefully. The red tassels on his robes shimmered with elegant colors.
“The imperial son of the eastern faction is born with a heaven-bestowed xuan bird tattoo,” he said apologetically, as it was not convenient to show. “It's a bird with tail plumes and a crest, right on my back.”
It was indeed a divine favor. Alexio now knew how to guide Zhen.
With that concern addressed, Alexio turned back. Zhu Heng seemed to have been waiting there with a smile for some time.
“Doctor Zhu, sorry to keep you waiting.” Alexio nodded slightly. “Is there something you needed?”
Zhu Heng shook his head lightly, showing he didn't mind. His gaze shifted to Zhen standing behind Alexio.
“She's ready for visits now. Zhen asked me about it earlier, so…”
“I want to go!” Zhen brightened. “Am I the only one allowed? Can I come with the others?”
Seeing how he kept looking at Alexio, Zhu Heng couldn't help but smile and nodded.
“Of course. Zerita's emotions have stabilized. The others can come along too.”
This could be considered a mid-session break, so Alexio didn't object. With a string of followers trailing behind him, he walked alongside Zhu Heng, chatting as they headed to the water nymph's area.
Zhen went ahead and entered the room. Inside was a medium-sized pool. Suddenly, a fish tail flashed beneath the surface, followed by a faint splash. The water nymph had already grasped the edge of the pool, timidly peering out. When she saw the dark creatures approaching, a flash of deep violet light shimmered in her right eye.
Theo, controlling the water nymph from a distance, smiled. After waiting so long, the dark creatures had finally come.
Yes, that's it. Come and see poor Zerita… even better if they visit one by one…
Suddenly, he straightened up. His heterochromatic eyes widened like never before, fixating intensely on the figure that had appeared in Zerita's view.
The dark-haired, red-eyed vampire was the last to enter. Several dark creatures gathered around him, speaking upward to him. The vampire then looked toward the pool, meeting the water nymph's stunned gaze. His deep rose-colored eyes were calm and still, and the tattoo on his right eye was strikingly beautiful.
It was Alexio!
Theo and the water nymph he controlled both grew excited. The water nymph rose halfway out of the water, reaching out earnestly to Alexio, as if asking for a hug. Theo didn't understand why he cared so much about this resurrected vampire. He only knew that even if it meant ruining his entire plan, he had to use Zerita immediately to bring Alexio back… bring him back…
Alexio looked at the water nymph who seemed on the verge of tears. Although a little puzzled, he slowly stepped forward and reached out his hand, about to touch the top of her head—
His lightbrain beeped, and Alexio immediately withdrew his hand. Concerned it might negatively affect the water nymph, he left the room and then answered the call.
“What's up? Why are you suddenly calling?”
“Nothing much. I got a coupon. Want to go out for dinner tonight?”
When Lucius named the restaurant, Alexio's spirits soared. He had wanted to eat there for a long time!
“Let's go!”
“Then I'll pay with the coupon, and you cover the rest.”
“…Huuh?”
Lunatic dog!
After a brief angry exchange, Alexio ended the call. Seeing the children follow him out when he left, he felt a bit apologetic and ruffled Zhen's head.
“Aren't you going to play a bit longer?”
“No,” Zhen said with a bright smile. “I'll go back and practice some more. I'm sure I can make the dictionary float higher!”
The lich and the wolf cub also insisted on continuing their training, which made Alexio quietly pleased.
Of course, feeling pleased was one thing, but skipping work to go out for dinner was still on the agenda!
Back in the room, the water nymph sank to the bottom. On the other side, Theo buried his face deep in his palm, his violet right eye trembling.
Almost… there…