Chapter 73: Everflow River

The revelations the interviews brought determined the team’s next course of action: visiting the Everflow River.

Although the river itself was not the source, they had to study the site where the battle took place and collect soil samples. With everything set, the team of researchers and security team headed to the riverside.

The drive to the river took about half an hour.

Arriving on site, the team continued on foot, with a few of them carrying the equipment they would need to sample the soil and possibly river water.

The riverside lay several kilometres beyond Ashvale, far enough from town to escape the noise of daily life. A broad sandy clearing stretched along the riverbank and was bordered by scattered trees.

Everflow River itself was wide and tranquil, its weak currents carrying the water steadily downstream without disturbing its clear surface. It was a place the town people gathered during summer.

Though the Festival of Renewal had ended about a week ago, faint traces of the celebration remained. A handful of weathered ribbons still hung from wooden posts and trees. The decorations were easy to miss, blending naturally into the peaceful scenery.

The team stepped out of the path through the trees onto the sandy clearing. They wore nose masks and gloves as protocol dictated.

"What a nice place."

One of the technicians commented as they looked around, appreciating the serene environment.

"Yeah... I wouldn’t mind taking a dip."

"I’d advise against that." Miss Xin chipped in smoothly.

"Please tell me this isn’t the same river that flows through the academy?" Adam asked, glancing at Miss Xin.

"I’m afraid so, Adam." Miss Xin replied with a sigh. "It’s part of a network of rivers that flow through Academic City. But you don’t have to worry. The water is treated before being circulated."

Turning to the guide who led them here, she instructed, "Please lead the way."

"Of course," the guide said.

The team followed behind the guide as he led them a few tens of meters. He came to a stop around a cluster of rocks embedded in the ground, connecting one side of the river to the other.

Even without saying a word, they noticed the patches of disturbed earth and shattered rocks that hinted that some kind of battle took place.

"The bear came from the other side of the river." The guide said, pointing to the other side of the river.

On the other side was a tree line that spread in either direction. The trees were not too clustered, so they could see farther into the woods. It led further into the woods and hills.

"Thank you, Mr Samuels." Miss Xin said.

"It was no trouble at all, ma’am. I’ll take my leave now."

Captain Jack and his men created a perimeter around the site while Miss Xin directed her team to get to work sampling the soil. Adam, in particular, observed the site carefully.

He moved around the place, carefully noting everything he saw. His actions did not go unnoticed. But no one disturbed him, as they had come to understand his observant nature.

He had shared his concerns about the nature of the Sparkblight with the team the day prior, which surprised them, as they had yet to make a connection between the bacterial strain and the patients’ microbiome.

While they continued with their work, Adam observed an entirely different world, one that was solely microorganism-based. Different types of microbes appeared as coloured hues to his perception, allowing him to separate one colony from another.

And even those that mingled had distinct differences that could not be missed.

The Sparkblight looked different when not attached to humans. Unlike how they clustered around nerve tissues, Spark-rich places in the human body and interacted with other microbes, they jarringly stood out.

’There’s a clear space between their colonies and the other colonies.’ Adam observed calmly, his brows furrowed. ’They’re not interacting with the other colonies at all. Did they absorb the other colonies or something? And they seem dormant.’

That would make sense if they did that for the Spark those colonies contained. In the bodies of the patients he observed, they freely interacted with the other colonies without issue.

Curious as to whether his theory was right, he looked to one of the technicians and asked, "Can you pass me a disposable inoculating rod?"

"Is there something you’ve noticed?" Miss Xin finally stepped in. She had observed Adam for a while and knew the boy was up to something.

"I’m just checking something," Adam said as he took the rod.

"Can you actually see microbes?" Riley asked after observing Adam for a while.

"In a manner of speaking, yes." Adam freely disclosed.

His response caused several of them to exchange looks. Just how many things was the wonder boy hiding? His intelligence was already considered another aspect of his great talents.

After all, intelligence and smartness like that were unheard of.

The place went quiet as everyone focused on Adam while he bent and used the disposable rod. All they saw was him shifting the sand slightly, barely a centimetre apart.

What Adam saw, however, was another colony of bacteria overlapping with the dormant Sparkblight colony. Nothing happened for several long minutes, but no one moved to disturb him; they just waited.

After about fifteen minutes of observing, Adam confirmed his suspicions. The Sparkblight colony became active and devoured the other colonies, and they did so aggressively.

Adam was not comfortable with the discovery.

Would the seemingly harmless Sparkblight devour the cells of their host if they ever ran out of Spark? That was a scary thought. The average person almost never ran out of Spark.

The explorer and fighters, on the other hand, did.

’So they’re not truly harmless. They’re essentially parasites. Give them enough Spark, and they’ll behave. Ran out and you’re in trouble.’ Adam concluded, his expression darkening. ’This could be—’

"Take cover!"

The shout rang out, desperate and urgent.

Adam had barely turned his head toward the source of the yell when Captain Jack slammed into him, carrying him out of harm’s way. The spot where Adam had been standing moments earlier erupted in a shower of sand and rocks.

Cries of alarm broke out among the others as they scrambled for cover behind the nearby trees.

Captain Jack had saved Adam in the nick of time. Fortunately, the man was powerful enough to carry him clear of the affected area, sparing him from getting in contact with the study area.

But that was the least of their troubles.

Moments later, several figures clad in black blurred out of the tree line, surrounding the group from all sides. They all wore sleek, black helmets that covered their faces.

But something immediately struck Adam as strange. Their attention wasn’t on the others.

’They’re after me.’