15: Chapter 15 Harvest by the East River

December 29th, 30th, 31st, three consecutive nights.

Skeleton Soldier No. 1 and Skeleton Soldier No. 2 took turns guarding the abandoned dock area along the East River, while Yan Zheng himself stayed in the Antique Shop, monitoring remotely via Mental Link.

Nothing happened on the first two nights.

The water of the East River was pitch black, with broken ice and trash floating on the surface. Occasionally, a seagull or two would squat on the rotting wooden pilings by the shore, dazed. Other than that, there was only the sound of the wind and the water.

"Patience," Yan Zheng said to himself, holding a cup of hot water and leaning back on the folding chair behind the checkout counter.

"Boss Gao's fighting ring has a special night on the last Saturday of every month. The Mutants they beat to a pulp need to be disposed of, but they won't throw them into the river on the spot; that would make too much noise."

"Transportation takes time, choosing a location takes time, and avoiding police patrols also takes time."

"A two-to-three-day window, and tonight is the third day."

Yan Zheng: ( ˇ ꒳ ˇ )

"If nothing happens tonight, then I'll just wait until next month. It's not like I'm rushing to meet a submission deadline anyway."

December 31st, 1:04 AM.

The sound of an engine finally appeared within the perception range of Skeleton Soldier No. 1.

Yan Zheng put down the cup of hot water, closed his eyes, and poured all of his Mental Power into the vision of No. 1.

In the gray-green night vision, two dark vans drove over from the gravel road on the north side. Their headlights were set only to fog lights as they came to a stop in the clearing by the riverbank.

The car doors opened, and four men jumped out.

All of them were wearing blue work uniforms, identical to what those two young men who were wiping down the Honda Accord at the fighting ring were wearing.

"Acquaintances," Yan Zheng said to himself.

The four men walked to the back of the van, pulled open the doors, and dragged out three bulging black trash bags.

Each trash bag was shaped like a human, tied into three sections with coarse hemp rope, and had concrete bricks tied to the bottom.

"Skilled technique, clear division of labor, even the specifications of the concrete bricks are uniform."

Yan Zheng: ( ꉺ ꒳ ꉺ )

"Seems like this isn't their first time."

The four thugs, in groups of two, lifted the first trash bag and walked to the edge of the riverbank. One, two, three, and they threw it with force.

The black trash bag traced an arc in the air, splashing into the East River with a thud. The spray of water flashed in the light of the fog lamps before being swallowed by the darkness.

The second, the third, same process, same splash.

After three splashes, the four thugs clapped the dust off their hands, handed each other cigarettes, stood by the river smoking for two minutes, and then got in the car and left.

From start to finish, it took no more than ten minutes.

Yan Zheng waited for the taillights of the vans to disappear at the end of the gravel road, waited another five minutes, and after confirming there was no second wave of people, he issued his command.

"No. 1, No. 2, get in the water."

"Retrieve all three bags."

The water temperature of the East River at the end of December was near zero, but the Skeleton Soldiers had no need for temperature regulation, nor did they have the risk of drowning.

The two white skeletons, wearing soaked old clothes, waded into the river. The water soon submerged their heads, and the will-o'-the-wisp flames underwater turned into two dim green spots of light, like ghost-fire fish in the deep sea.

Three minutes later, the first trash bag was dragged onto the shore.

Yan Zheng controlled No. 1 via Mental Link to use its bony finger to cut the zip tie at the mouth of the bag.

The black plastic bag tore open, revealing a pale, bloated face inside. The eyes were half-open, the pupils already dilated, and a clump of black blood was pooled at the corner of the mouth.

Male, around thirty, thin build, with multiple blunt force trauma wounds on his body.

Yan Zheng issued the order to collect the corpse.

The bony hand of Skeleton Soldier No. 1 pressed against the corpse's chest.

[Ordinary human corpse detected (intact), collect?]

"Collect."

A dark green glimmer flashed, and the corpse turned into black mist and dissipated, leaving only the wet black trash bag sprawled on the ground.

[Ordinary human skeletal material ×1, muscle fiber material ×1, stored. Material rating: E.]

The second trash bag was dragged up, same process.

[Ordinary human skeletal material ×1, stored. Material rating: E.]

"Two E-grades, about the same as that batch at the dock."

Yan Zheng: ( ˊ _ ˋ )

When the third trash bag was dragged ashore by Skeleton Soldier No. 2, Yan Zheng issued the collection order as usual.

The bony hand of Skeleton Soldier No. 2 pressed onto the corpse.

The prompt box that popped up on the panel lit up in his gray-green mental vision.

But this time, the color of the text was different.

It wasn't gray.

It was gold.

[Mutant corpse detected!]

[X-Gene type: Epidermal Keratin Strengthening (Low-level). Gene integrity: 78%. Material rating: D+.]

[Collect?]

Yan Zheng sat behind the checkout counter, his closed eyelids twitching.

The golden system prompt emitted a soft light in his mental vision, forming a sharp contrast with those dull, gray E-grade materials from before.

"Collect."

His voice was very soft, but his pronunciation was extremely clear.

The dark green black mist wrapped around the third corpse. This time, the speed of dissipation was significantly slower than the previous two by a few seconds, as if the system was performing a more precise decomposition and storage.

The black mist dissipated.

The panel updated.

[Mutant gene material ×1 (Epidermal Keratin Strengthening) has been stored.]

[Stitched Soldier blueprint unlock progress updated: 1/2.]

[Note: The first item of "two different types of biological materials" (Mutant subtype) has been satisfied. One more special material of a non-human type is needed to fully unlock the Stitched Soldier blueprint.]

Yan Zheng opened his eyes.

The water in the hot water cup had already gone cold. He picked it up and downed it in one gulp. The cold water slid down his throat into his stomach, suppressing the heat in his chest that he couldn't tell was excitement or greed.

Yan Zheng: ( ✧ ᴗ ✧ )

"The first Mutant material, acquired."

He set the empty cup on the checkout counter and tapped his fingers lightly against the side of the cup twice.

"Epidermal Keratin Strengthening, D+ grade, not top-tier, but enough to open a new door."

"Stitched Soldier blueprint unlock progress is halfway, still need one more non-human material."

His gaze shifted to the old newspaper in the corner, where the news about the abnormal claw marks in the sewer had been circled three times by him with a ballpoint pen.

"Five claw marks, two inches deep, the fishy smell of a snake."

"The sewer entrance on 43rd Street in the West District is waiting for me right there."

Yan Zheng stood up, walked to the window, and took a look at the pitch-black street outside through the gaps in the blinds.

In the direction of the East River in the distance, nothing could be seen, only the cold wind howling.

The Skeleton Soldiers had already followed his new plan, throwing the three empty trash bags and concrete bricks back into the river.

The riverbank was clean, and even the footprints had been washed away by the river water.

"However, the sewer business isn't urgent; Mental Power is not enough yet."

He glanced at the data on the panel.

[Host Mental Power: 8/8. Mental Power experience progress: 2.4/5.0.]

"Save up two or three more days of patrol experience, let Mental Power rise to nine, then go explore that hole."

Yan Zheng pulled down the blinds and turned to walk towards the Underground Room.

"But before that, that line at the East District fighting ring still needs to be cultivated."

He paused on the steps, the lenses of his gold-rimmed glasses flashing in the dim light.

"Boss Gao has 'waste' to throw out every month, and Liu Kun is responsible for handling daily affairs."

"If I can establish a connection with him, the supply of Mutant material won't have to rely on luck anymore."

Yan Zheng: ( ˵ ᵕ ˗ ᵕ ˵ )

The footsteps disappeared into the darkness of the Underground Room, the last sentence carrying the satisfaction of a businessman finalizing a supply channel.

"After all, compared to squatting by the river for three days waiting for a corpse, I prefer having others deliver the goods to my doorstep."