Chapter 24: The Second Origin

Pierre nodded.

“Boss, didn’t you just say you couldn’t find any living geopulse creatures in Hoggen City? This is one.” Gao De felt joy inside at the confirmed answer.

“This counts?” Pierre couldn’t understand.

In his mind, the geopulse creatures Gao De wanted to “buy” were either edible ones or pet-worthy ones.

How could these sewer-dwelling worms count? Geopulse creatures were extremely dangerous, but kept entirely outside cities, with mages regularly patrolling and clearing the surrounding areas to ensure none approached human settlements.

So under normal circumstances, geopulse creatures never appeared in cities—if they did, they were always controlled.

The only exception was the gray-eye rat.

Though possessing geopulse bloodline, they posed no threat, so to humans they were no different from ordinary animals.

The Dark Mire Crawler was another such creature.

Of course, such geopulse creatures were exceedingly rare; most were extremely dangerous.

How could this not count? Gao De thought to himself, though of course he wouldn’t say it aloud.

“Since these worms are good at hiding, how do you usually clean them out?”

“Either flush the sewers with large amounts of boiling water to drive away and remove some of the worms.”

“Or use insecticide solution, diluted and injected into the sewers to kill these Dark Mire Crawlers,” Pierre said, shrugging.

“But because these Dark Mire Crawlers are geopulse creatures, their lifeforce is incredibly resilient. Using boiling water to drive them away takes a lot of time, so insecticide solution is generally used for cleanup.”

“Is the insecticide expensive?” Gao De seized on the key point.

“Not particularly,” Pierre shook his head. “It’s just insecticide for worms—how expensive could it be? If it were too pricey, no one would buy it. You can just spend more time.”

“Then what’s the issue?” Gao De saw Pierre was troubled by this task.

“Mainly because the sewers stink and are dark and damp—who wants to go there?” Pierre said helplessly.

Gao De suddenly understood.

Anyone who could secure a shop in the commercial district was at least somewhat well-off, and lived a relatively comfortable life.

Suddenly asking such a person to go clean worms in the “filthy sewers” would naturally be repulsive.

Larger shops could delegate the task to employees.

Pierre was unlucky—his grocery store had no employees besides himself.

And the city guards had given only temporary notice; the trading day was in two days, and with such tight timing, he had no chance to hire a temporary worker—he had to do it himself.

“Two Three-Leaf Flower silver coins. You provide the insecticide; I’ll clean the Dark Mire Crawlers for you.” Gao De’s offer caught Pierre completely off guard.

“You’d actually want to earn this kind of money?” he blurted out in surprise.

“Why not?” Gao De spread his hands. “Aren’t you willing to pay this?”

Two Three-Leaf Flower silver coins for cleaning Dark Mire Crawlers—honestly, this price was high.

Normally, during off-season, you could hire someone for one silver coin plus a few coppers. But with time so tight, Pierre wouldn’t quibble over the difference.

“If you don’t mind the sewer environment and are willing to take this job, I’d be delighted,” Pierre said cheerfully.

“Then let’s do it today—I’ll finish cleaning the Dark Mire Crawlers before I leave.” Gao De kept a calm face, but inside he was eager.

“Fine. I still have a few bottles of insecticide left—take them.” Seeing Gao De so eager, Pierre had no reason to refuse.

Taking the insecticide, Pierre led Gao De to the nearest sewer entrance to his grocery store.

Compared to his previous life, this world’s sewer system was crude and unsystematic, far from modern standards. The entrances were even more haphazard—simply drainage openings set beneath buildings or at street corners.

Called drainage openings, they were in fact just simple holes directly connecting to shallow underground stone pipes, with no covers, grates, or protective measures.

The hole itself was small, barely wide enough for one person to pass through.

When the wind blew, a foul stench drifted out, making Pierre instinctively step back two paces and cover his nose and mouth with his right hand.

The smell was unpleasant to Gao De too.

But he was paid to do the job—he took a deep breath and crawled into the hole.

Inside the sewer, a miasma of countless odors hit him. Even with mental preparation, he couldn’t help gagging twice.

Money is hard to earn, shit is hard to swallow—our ancestors didn’t lie.

Fortunately, Gao De’s real goal wasn’t the two silver coins—he was here for the Dark Mire Crawlers. He asked for payment merely to justify his actions and because why not take free money?

Hoggen City’s sewers were a labyrinth, the damp ground slippery and nauseating underfoot.

Not only were they narrow, but light was nearly nonexistent, making direction hard to discern.

Besides the insecticide, Pierre provided Gao De with a handheld oil lamp for illumination.

Using the light from the entrance as a reference, Gao De quickly determined direction.

Following Pierre’s instructions, he carefully stepped along the narrow, slime-coated pipe walkway.

After passing two junctions, he reached a sewer corner.

Directly above was Pierre’s grocery store; the stretch ahead was the section needing cleanup.

Gao De confirmed the location, then swiftly pulled out the insecticide Pierre had given him.

The insecticide wasn’t as precious as magical potions; since its purpose was to be injected into sewer wastewater to kill insects, the bottles were large.

This one bottle, for instance, held a full pint (20 ounces)—nearly six hundred milliliters.

Gao De unscrewed the cap and attached the dedicated nozzle for precise application.

But first, he didn’t aim at the Dark Mire Crawlers hiding in pipe wall crevices—he targeted those likely lurking in the sewage at the bottom of the pipes.

It was the perfect chance to test something he’d long wanted to try.

—To obtain the Origin, must I kill the creature myself, or is it enough if it dies by my “tool”? Gao De sprayed the insecticide into the murky water, sending ripples across the surface.

The effect spread rapidly through the water.

After spraying about ten ounces, Gao De lifted the oil lamp to illuminate the water’s surface, staring intently, waiting.

Minutes later, a segment of worm corpse surfaced with a gurgle, carried by the current toward the city’s outlet.

Gao De knew the insecticide had taken effect.

He steadied his mind and immediately focused inward.

Origin:

0th Level—【Human】(1/7), 【Gray-Eye Rat】(used), Dark Mire Crawler (2/7)

Spells:

0th Level—【Mage Hand】, 【Repair+】, 【Acid Splash】, 【Freezing Ray】, 【Enhanced Resistance】

Indeed, I don’t need to kill them myself to gain the Origin!

This was tremendous news for Gao De.

If he had to kill them personally, then using magical potions or other magical items to kill would yield no Origin.

That would be a severe limitation for a mage.

Good fortune lifts the spirit.

Gao De instantly felt renewed energy.

He thought, and the insecticide bottle floated into the air.

‘Mage Hand!’ He cast Mage Hand, guiding the nozzle toward the crevices in the pipe walls, then squeezed the trigger. The insecticide instantly sprayed out as a fine mist into the cracks.

The Dark Mire Crawlers hidden in the crevices, along with ordinary worms, reacted immediately upon contact—bodies twitching, writhing, trying to flee the sudden deadly assault.

But the insecticide’s potency was overwhelming, quickly penetrating their cuticles and reaching the nervous system, causing them to lose vitality, grow limp, and die within moments.

Most were ordinary worms; Dark Mire Crawlers were still few.

Gao De advanced step by step along the pipes, meticulously spraying every crevice and injecting insecticide into the sewage.

With Mage Hand, his efficiency soared. Within minutes, he finished cleaning this section of sewer.

A faint chemical odor lingered in the air; the insecticide’s active ingredients would continue working for a while. It wouldn’t be a permanent fix, but at least it prevented worms from returning quickly.

And the second Origin was already complete.

Origin:

0th Level—【Human】(1/7), 【Gray-Eye Rat】(used), 【Dark Mire Crawler】(7/7)

(End of Chapter)