Rayleigh was completely broken.
This was practically a death sentence for him!
Honestly, he was panicking.
He didn’t want treatment anymore!
He didn’t want to suffer social death!
But that social death… had become inevitable!
Absolutely not!
Even if he had to use every ounce of his strength and his butt to resist…
Rayleigh still began to move, driven by sheer willpower.
He dragged himself slowly toward the sea.
As long as he reached the water…
As long as he got to that place…
He could survive!
Just as Rayleigh reached the edge of the railing, preparing to leap into the sea—
*THUNK!*
A massive needle slammed down in front of him.
At the same time, a hand grabbed his ankle—
And started dragging him back, inch by inch.
Rayleigh’s face was full of terror!
He struggled desperately.
But the strength he could muster was nothing.
Nowhere near enough to match Vir!
He was like a lamb being led to slaughter.
Only able to let out helpless and useless wails.
This scene…
It looked exactly like a horror movie, right at the moment the victim realizes there’s no way out.
And Vir? He was the cold-blooded hunter, weapon in hand, pushing everyone to the edge.
“Running away~?”
Vir’s sinister voice echoed.
Rayleigh trembled.
He swallowed hard.
Sweat was already pouring down his forehead like a waterfall.
“Sweating buckets” wasn’t even an exaggeration anymore.
Had he… had he truly failed to escape his fate?!
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You’ve earned 120,000 negative points!]
Rayleigh’s mental collapse—
Only made Vir even more excited.
Hoisting the now fully-loaded syringe,
Vir dragged Rayleigh back by the ankle.
Returning him to his original position in no time.
Without wasting words, Vir raised the needle, ready to strike.
But Rayleigh squirmed, his rear twisting unpredictably—making it impossible to aim properly.
The others watched in horror as Vir, the monstrous syringe tucked under his arm, tried to “treat” Rayleigh.
Robin had seen her fair share of outrageous medical techniques…
But this was a first.
That needle could probably pierce right through a person…
Something that thick…
Wouldn’t it just kill the victim outright?
Just imagining what the patient must be feeling was unbearable.
No wonder Chopper ran so fast earlier…
Had he been a victim of this thing before?
One of its past targets?
Seeing it now must’ve traumatized him.
That must be it.
From now on, she resolved to treat Chopper more gently.
So young and already gone through something so traumatic…
Robin made a silent vow to be good to him.
Yamato’s expression didn’t look so good either.
From this perspective…
What she’d experienced before didn’t even compare.
This had gone beyond being a doctor—
This was full-blown horror movie villain material.
She only lose an arm and got a little ointment.
Compared to this, she might’ve gotten off easy.
Rayleigh, right? Rest in peace.
Yamato had already begun mourning Rayleigh in her heart.
She had clearly accepted that he was doomed.
You could tell, plain as day — Old Ray was truly suffering.
If that’s how they reacted…
Then there was no need to even mention poor Bonney.
Right now, Bonney had only one thought in her head:
‘Cherish life, stay away from doctors.’
In her eyes, doctors didn’t save people anymore.
They just made you suffer a more painful death.
At this rate, the girl might never want to see another doctor for the rest of her life.
If death is inevitable…
Then she’d rather go quickly.
Just then, Marco landed on the deck.
Seeing that everyone else had mostly recovered, he assumed the smell must’ve dissipated.
But the moment he landed—
He caught sight of Vir preparing to stab with that monstrous syringe—
And choked on his own spit.
That needle tip—
Was bigger than Jozu!
How was Old Ray supposed to survive this?!
He… he’s never experienced anything like this before, right?
And if the whole thing went in…
Could he even handle it?
Marco couldn’t help but feel anxious for Rayleigh.
*WHAP!*
Marco’s head took a slap before he could turn around.
Yamato had suddenly appeared in front of him.
“You bastard! Some big brother you are! I kept yelling for you to take me with you, and you just ignored me?!”
“Old Man! You useless old horse! At least carry something!”
Yamato was furious, glaring at Marco with displeasure.
Marco just chuckled awkwardly. “Heh, sorry, didn’t hear you. Next time, next time.”
He wasn’t stupid—no way was he arguing with her.
And hearing that, Yamato, though annoyed, couldn’t blow up.
After all, this was Ace’s close friend.
Otherwise, she would’ve already served him a Thunder Bagua!
Seeing her back off, Marco let out a smug chuckle.
Carry her? What a joke.
If he’d been even a second slower—
He’d have crash-landed into the sea!
No one knew better than him how brutal Vir’s “biochemical weapons” were.
There’s no waiting, no hesitation.
And definitely no carrying!
Next time, huh? Sure, keep waiting.
Right now, Marco had the expression of a soldier who, under General’s command, had just slapped the enemy’s commander twice and walked away grinning.
Pure smugness.
Meanwhile…
Rayleigh was still squirming.
Constantly shifting his rear.
Vir just couldn’t line up a shot.
“Alright, fine. If that’s how you wanna play, I’ll just stab randomly.”
“If I accidentally hit the middle, don’t blame me for using too much force~”
Vir finished, closed his eyes, and—
Raised that gigantic syringe high.
And brought it down without hesitation.
Rayleigh’s heart shattered.
What the hell was this?!
The middle?!
You closed your eyes too?!
And he couldn’t even run!
His leg was pinned.
As the needle descended at terrifying speed, Rayleigh felt utterly defeated.
What could he do?
There was no escape.
With no other option—
He had to sacrifice himself.
He aligned it himself. Aimed. Adjusted.
Anything but the middle!
That would mean instant death!
*Squelch.*
The needle stabbed deep — right into the left side.
At least a dozen centimeters in.
Rayleigh’s eyes bulged.
King of Crimson returned.
He clenched his teeth, refusing to scream.
It’s okay!
Not bad.
Doesn’t hurt!
Not at all!
As Rayleigh was mentally reassuring himself—
He saw Vir leap high into the air.
Then grab the tail end of the syringe and—
OH SH—
Rayleigh’s heart skipped.
But it was too late to think.
The injection began.
It was in! All of it!
Way too fast!
He couldn’t handle this!
Rayleigh’s rear visibly inflated…
Yep.
The exact same pose.
The exact same process.
Even Chopper, who had been hiding in the control room and peeking out, glanced back at his own butt.
Just watching this kind of pain was agonizing.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You’ve earned 180,000 negative points!]
…Too few.
Seems like mere pain doesn’t faze our Uncle Ray.
But as the serum kept flowing—
Rayleigh’s frail body began to swell.
Vir slowly descended.
Rayleigh slowly expanded.
Like a balloon being pumped up.
Absolutely ridiculous.
Eventually, serum even started leaking out of Rayleigh’s nose.
Only then did Vir finally finish the injection.
Just a little shot.
All done.
Vir looked at the fruits of his labor, nodding with satisfaction.
“Prrt~”
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You’ve earned 500,000 negative points!]
—–
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