That's right, that's what adventure is like!

The layout of Broken Rock Town is actually quite chaotic.

Initially, this was just a small border town directly under the kingdom, existing as a candidate territory for nobles to bestow titles upon.

Until one day, the surge of magical energy strangely stopped here, attracting the attention of the Adventurers' Guild and the Church of the Righteous God. They successively opened branches, making the town's population increasingly diverse.

The real golden age was fifty years ago.

That year, a large quantity of rare ores, including mithril, was discovered beneath the town. Countless miners flocked to the area, merchant guilds lined the streets, and the kingdom took it very seriously, reorganizing the town hall and establishing dozens of mines.

At that time, Duanyan Town was not called by this name, but was known as "Shenlian Town".

Unfortunately, prosperity is always fleeting.

With the last rich mine exhausted, miners went elsewhere, and the chamber of commerce gradually left, leaving behind only countless abandoned mine pits and a chaotic landscape.

For example, the street Roland is on now is not far from the town center, but it is full of ragged homeless people and pairs of cold eyes in the shadows.

The streets were lined with dilapidated shacks, and sewage flowed from many corners, bypassing the discarded garbage, and finally flowing into a huge puddle.

People were gathered under the eaves, their numb eyes watching the passersby. A few children stared at Roland's money bag, but noticed the javelin behind him and ultimately didn't dare to strike.

Roland stepped on the dirty ground, his gaze sweeping over the occasional wooden houses on both sides, finally settling on an old man on the street.

Ding-dong—

Several copper coins clinked together in the bowl, making a crisp sound that startled the old man, who opened his eyes wide and uttered a hoarse voice in surprise.

"Who...are you looking for?"

Roland said calmly, "Doctor, it's said to be near the mining area."

The description was vague, but the old man glanced at the longsword at Roland's waist and then at the javelin that gleamed coldly, and quickly remembered.

"Go straight ahead, turn right at the third intersection, and it's next to a big tree."

Thank you.

Roland turned to leave, but then he keenly heard the old man whisper, "Be careful, the Black Horn Gang is behind that."

Blackhorn Gang?

The name sounds somewhat familiar. It's said to be a local gang that gathers some thugs and hooligans, with a town government official secretly backing them up.

His brow furrowed slightly, then relaxed.

It's just a gang, nothing special.

Besides, he figured that someone who could survive in Broken Rock Town couldn't necessarily be a fool.

Roland tossed the old man a few more copper coins and continued along the road, eventually reaching the doctor's location.

Old Colin Clinic.

The shop's name was casually written on a dilapidated wooden board, which was hung from the door frame by two hemp ropes. It was crooked and looked like it might fall down at any moment.

Roland pushed open the door.

A strong smell of cheap alcohol wafted towards us, and the lighting was quite dim, with only an oil lamp illuminating the floating dust.

A middle-aged man wearing brass-rimmed glasses was looking down at an account book behind the counter. Hearing the voice, he asked without looking up, "Seeing a doctor or getting medicine?"

"I'm looking for you."

Old Colin raised his head, revealing a fairly fair face. His gaze swept over Roland's attire, and his eyelids twitched slightly. "And you are...?"

Roland, too lazy to waste words, took two steps forward, grabbed him, and pulled him close. The force of his grip tightened the collar around Old Colin's neck, making his face turn red.

"Did you prescribe Aletta's medication?"

"I...I don't know..."

Feeling the pressure on his neck tighten, old Colin frantically pointed to the door: "It's...it's me...don't kill me...half the money went to the Blackhorn Gang..."

Where are they?

"I...I don't know."

Roland pressed his left hand against his chest, his fingers tightening so that the bones began to creak.

After consuming that tree root multiple times, his strength has now increased to 7 points. Although it's still not enough to deal with burrowing worms, it's more than enough to deal with ordinary people.

The intense pain caused old Colin to kick his legs wildly, but no matter what he did, he couldn't break free of his restraints. Snot and tears streamed down his face, and he could only tell them his location.

"I'll tell you! I'll tell you! There's a casino inside the mine! They're all there!"

Roland didn't hold back; instead, he became even more forceful: "What exactly is wrong with that child?"

"Phobia... poliomyelitis..."

boom--

With a kick, the ferocious force sent old Colin rolling twice on the ground before his head slammed against the wall behind him, blood trickling down his nose and onto his chest.

Roland stood before him, his face obscured by the sunlight, and his voice carried a chill: "I've checked. Even without medication, people with polio can live for at least five years from the onset of the disease."

Blood pooled together and was stepped on by him, making a soft splattering sound.

"That child only lived for six months," his voice grew colder, "Tell me, what disease was it?"

Old Colin huddled up, too afraid to look up.

Roland bent down and pulled him up, bringing the face contorted in pain to his eyes, and his voice softened.

"You should know that as an adventurer, I have many ways to deal with you..."

Old Colin trembled for a long time, finally letting out a hoarse sound just as Roland began to show displeasure and prepared to draw his longsword.

"Blood core..."

"What?"

Roland crouched down, his eyes slightly narrowed.

Old Colin looked up, tears and snot mingling together, and said shakily, "That child... initially it was indeed polio... later... it was hematuria..."

"What is a blood core?"

"...It is...a kind of medicinal herb."

"What kind of medicinal herbs?" Roland stared intently at the doctor who didn't live up to his reputation.

After uttering the words "blood core," old Colin seemed to finally let go of all his concerns and recounted the whole story.

"Boss... I heard... there's something on the market... that... when given to children... as medicine... can make them... become... blood cores..."

"That child... when he first came... did indeed have polio... until I gave him those expensive medicines... and only then did he slowly begin to... develop blood clots..."

Roland laughed: "So, the money Aletta gave you wasn't even enough to cover the cost of the medicine?"

Old Colin hurriedly waved his hand and explained, "It's... the boss's idea... he said at least... we can break even..."

"And the result?"

The responses gradually became more fluent.

"It failed... The formation of the blood core is probabilistic... I misjudged the timing... I couldn't make it in time for the final... moment of death..."

"How many more people here are preparing to become blood cores?"

"There are... a lot... some of them volunteered... but that child... has a lot of potential... that's why I..."

boom--

Old Colin's head hit the ground with a crisp "click" as his skull snapped shut, and he fell completely unconscious.

Roland didn't kill him.

He simply led old Colin out of the clinic, then beckoned to a few men who were looking this way, and paid them a few copper coins to take old Colin to Ramona's shop.

"Please pass on a message for me," he said softly, "that person is to be handled by that child; let her continue to deal with him..."

"I'll continue collecting debts."