Unable to repay my student loans, I had no choice but to work part-time as a demon hunter.

After doing all this, he returned to No. 9 Knight Road.

Gordon reads, while Vera looks after the house.

"Books, books," Vera said, resting her chin on her hand as she sat next to Gordon, her tone as if describing someone who had been possessed by books.

"This book is very important." Gordon kept browsing and reading, his eyes shining. "This is 'Symptoms of Source Pollution,' which records many people like you."

"Like me..." Vera murmured, "so I'm not the only unlucky person in the world."

"Yes," Gordon said. "The Source will change our perception and habits. If the integration is good, that's fine, but if the integration is bad, there will be problems."

"..." Vera turned her gaze to the books.

"Look... this book records that some people are always furious and angry, some are afraid of the dark, and some slowly lose their memories. There are also people who, like you, love to eat."

Vera lowered her head.

"Then how should it be treated?" she asked.

"Wait until I finish reading it."

Gordon watched it intently for several hours.

Night fell, and Vera was already asleep.

He had already made a detailed note, including the source name, pollution manifestations, causes, case studies, and his own hypotheses.

Winslow only wanted the reading notes, while Gordon was already planning a treatment for the source of contamination, hoping to bring some progress to the history of medicine.

"I understand now," Gordon exclaimed.

"!" Vera opened her eyes.

She is very sensitive to this word.

In Gordon's words, "to have realized" usually means that someone is about to suffer misfortune.

It seems to be her this time.

"Treatment is possible, partly through reconciliation," Gordon pointed out the unique aspects of several cases. "It can be achieved by absorbing other source substances to reconstruct existing source substances and change their nature. On the other hand, it can be through suppression, relying on inhibitory mixtures or sobering salts. However, the former is rare and the latter only treats the symptoms, not the root cause."

"..." Vera crossed her arms and rested her head on them. "There's just no way around it."

"There is a way."

"You just mentioned two methods, one of which can't be found, and the other is useless."

“That’s just the existing method,” Gordon said. “We need to find a third one now. The only problem is that I need to locate the source matter within you first.”

"what?"

  

Golden can see through the source material.

However, the target cannot be seen if it is covered by fabric.

For example, when they first searched for the source material on the spider demon, they couldn't see anything once it was covered with a thick white cloth.

Once it's opened, you'll soon see it.

This shows that although his abilities are mysterious and powerful, he has great respect for fabric.

and so……

If they were honest with each other, Gordon would probably be able to see what kind of essence Vera possesses.

"Hmm!" Gordon said. "Let me examine the source matter in your body, Miss Carterett."

"Check it out." Vera's brain hadn't quite caught up with the current situation.

"A medical examination," Gordon said.

Vera thought for a long time.

In the end, she placed the black dagger on the table instead of using it to hit Gordon. After all, in this room, sometimes she was only wrapped in bandages, so there was no need to hide it.

"Where should we check first?" Vera asked.

"The eyes." Gordon decided to start with the area least likely to be hit.

Vera turned to Gordon, and their eyes met.

Gordon leaned closer.

He could feel that both of their heartbeats had quickened.

medicine!

Gordon, Medicine!

He tried to concentrate.

At first, they were just checking the pupils, but then they got a little too close.

Vera's gray eyes were beautiful but not gentle; her expression always carried a hint of coldness, which became more obvious the closer you got to her.

"My heart is beating very fast." Vera could hear it.

"I'm strengthening my heart muscle."

"Have you seen enough?" She was beginning to believe that Gordon, though perhaps a doctor, was first and foremost a villain. So close…

"I saw it." Gordon suddenly became serious.

After observing for a while, he finally vaguely discovered the source material structure in Vera's eyes.

Like a scarlet chain, hidden in the optic nerve.

[The Twisted Medium-Sized Source Material - "Tearing Fate," used to disrupt predetermined destinies. Nothing is indestructible; forge your own path.]

This is Vera's essence.

She won't beg for mercy, she'll only bite.

Beside it was an even smaller, hazy entity, Vera's second source substance, which had already been completely fused with the primary source substance. This was good; fused source substances usually didn't cause trouble.

Therefore, the real problem lies in the third source material.

"It blends very well." Gordon withdrew his gaze.

"..." Vera's eyelashes fluttered slightly. "You know I've fused two source materials..."

Gordon glanced at her and seemed to have discovered her secret.

"Yes, next I need to check where your third source material is hidden. Do you have any clues? Is it in your stomach?" Gordon asked.

"Hmm..." Vera instinctively protected her belly, "Let's start by looking at other places."

She placed her hands on the table.

Her fingers were long and slender, with distinct knuckles, but from years of wielding and wielding swords, and climbing walls and railings, they were beautiful but not supple. That was all Gordon could say, just like her.

"Watch out for wrist wear and tear," Gordon said. "Next up is..."

Vera pulled the chair back, hesitated for a moment, but still untied her boot laces and put the boots aside.

foot.

Gordon observed carefully.

It exuded a moderate aura that made Gordon feel very calm and content.

It obviously couldn't smell good, but it didn't smell bad either, because Vera was careful about hygiene at 9 Knightsway.

Her lines were clean and crisp, her toes neat and tidy, slightly curled under Gordon's gaze. The instep was thin, and because of her fair skin, the pale blue veins were visible. But Vera had been traveling all over the city, so calluses were inevitable.

"Have you seen enough?" Vera asked.

"You can change into softer shoes at home." Gordon raised his gaze and then stopped.

Vera stopped too.

Both of them knew where the rest was.

At this moment, Vera truly hoped to find the source substance inside her stomach. Because if she couldn't find it, the next step... would probably be...

"The abdomen," Gordon said seriously, "it doesn't seem to be in the limbs or the eyes..."

"Hurry up, it's not your first time." Vera closed her eyes and grabbed the hem of her shirt with both hands.

then……

Show.

Gordon took a deep breath.

"Why are you inhaling?" she asked, her eyes closed.

"To oxygenate the brain."

"You didn't need as much oxygen when you were reading."

"The situation is different."

She was clearly a little nervous; her abdominal muscles were slightly tense from being on guard, but soon relaxed due to fatigue.

Gordon tried his best to concentrate.

The unbroken string scans breathing, heartbeat, and muscle tremors, listening to the subtle movements between organs.

soon……

Gordon finally noticed a subtle glimmer of light hidden between his stomach and diaphragm.

Unlike Vera's cold, chilling "biting fate," this essence appears more volatile and active.

[A small, explosive source material - "The Instinct to Burn" - can be used to preserve and store large amounts of energy. With the resolve of a monster, it devours everything, enduring pain and the harsh winter.]

Gordon took a deep breath.

This is the source substance that cannot be fused.

On the one hand, it is not very compatible with "biting fate," one advocates biting first and then talking about it, while the other advocates eating first.

On the other hand, it is also a source of very special personality, which is always burning and consuming.

"...Is the check done...?" Vera prepared herself mentally, waiting for Gao Deng to reach out.

"Alright," Gordon said. "Yes, yes, it's over. Vera."

She turned around, buttoned her clothes, and then turned back.

Actually, she had considered that Gordon might take action, and she even wanted to give him permission.

As long as she tidies up quickly enough, embarrassment won't catch up with her.

"What did you find?" she asked.

"I have identified the problem. Have you ingested a terrible source substance?" Gordon said.

Vera remained silent for a moment.

"...I thought the more Source Essence the better," Vera said. "Everyone said the more Source Essence the better. I earned that Source Essence through my own efforts, and I consumed it."

"Don't refine source essence indiscriminately in the future. Only salespeople would want you to think that way; more source essence isn't necessarily better."

"Can it be cured?" Vera was still concerned about this.

"..." Gordon pondered, "The source has already established a connection with people. If we dig too shallow, we can't get it out; if we dig too deep, people will be gone. But perhaps we can manage this abnormal impulse."

"Symptoms of Source Pollution" records most of the cases in the Logris Empire over the past three hundred years and can be considered a divine book.

The book explicitly states that appropriate behavioral management may mitigate or even reverse source pollution.

"How do you manage hunger?" Vera asked. "Hunger is uncontrollable."

"That's the problem. You start to think that hunger is a default state," Gordon said. "You feel that when you're hungry, you should eat, and eat more, without any restraint. When you eat too much, you take on a lot of commissions and fight monsters, exhausting yourself. Over time, you learn to justify your illness."

"Um……"

Vera vaguely saw a direction she had never imagined. That direction had everything, except food, so it was terrifying.

"It's time to start anew, Vera," Gordon said earnestly. "Re-establish the habits a person should have, manage your appetite, go to bed early and get up early, make peace with yourself, and stop being possessive of your food."

"Aww."

Gordon took out a small booklet.

"Starting today, you will be registering your health, including your food intake, your perception of hunger, sleep duration, whether you have nightmares, the frequency of your use of source matter, and your daily mood... During the two weeks of the Easter holiday, we will find your health rhythm."

[Vera's Health Management Record. It records many things.]

"Ugh...?" Vera made another strange sound, "Every day?"

"every day."

"Do you have to remember every single bite?"

"right."

"Are you sneaking a bite?"

"Especially important to remember."

Then, ignoring Vera's expression, Gordon took out another piece of paper.

He was writing elementary school arithmetic problems on it.

7 + 8 =

13-5=

6 × 4 =

36÷6=

……

Twenty dishes were served.

"What is this now?" Vera asked in shock.

"Intellectual training."

"I'm not stupid," she protested sternly.

"I know, but I've noticed that sometimes you get really 'dazed'!" Gordon said.

"That's hunger."

"Hunger won't make you stare at the wall and drool."

"The problem of the wall."

"The wall itself isn't the problem; it's the depletion of your source energy that's making it hard to concentrate, causing your attention to wander, your memory to become hazy, and your emotions to become difficult to control... Thinking about math can make you more rational."

Why?

"Purification of the source matter fills the mind with hallucinations, while mathematics fills the brain with pain. Stable pain can suppress unstable hallucinations!" Gordon said.

Vera stared at the first question.

There was a long silence.

"Seven plus eight," Gordon suggested.

"fifteen."

"Very good," Gordon said. "Miss Cartrett has triumphed over her three-year-old self."

Vera's eyes were filled with murderous intent.

"...Continue," Gordon said.

She lowered her head and wrote.

I finished the first few questions quickly, but paused a little longer when I got to the two-digit algorithm.

Gordon didn't urge him; he just took notes from the side.

His breathing gradually stabilized.

The heartbeat returned to normal.

Vera finished writing a page and put down her pen.

It felt like a dream, even though it was quite reckless.

But she seemed to be...not that hungry, and her mind seemed to be a little clearer?