“——I’m waiting for your answer.”

The way Lin Sinan said this sounded almost like a marriage proposal.

Lu Yan didn’t even need to think twice before choosing the former. A research institute? He would never set foot in a research institute in this lifetime. The outside world was so fascinating; what was the difference between going to a research institute and sitting in a jail cell?

Besides, he wasn’t really a “Healer-type” Awakened anyway.

Lu Yan put on his down jacket and mask and headed downstairs. Lin Sinan was leaning against the car smoking. When he saw Lu Yan approaching, he quickly stubbed it out. The cigarette butt traced a graceful arc in the air before landing straight into the trash can.

“Mr. Lu,” Lin Sinan said, his demeanor slightly reserved.

Lu Yan replied, “I’ve decided. I still hope to have more contact with pollution disease cases.”

Lu Yan rarely had worldly desires. Or rather, his emotional fluctuations were very weak. He didn’t feel happiness, nor did he find it easy to grieve. He was well aware that he was “ill”—indifferent and lacking empathy—so he wrapped himself in a layer of camouflage. He studied hard because universal social norms demanded that everyone strive upward; whether it was reading or studying medicine, everything he did was because it was “appropriate.” He didn’t like it much, nor did he hate it.

But pollution disease was different. It was like a game without a known ending, where every time you opened it, there were new surprises.

Lu Yan liked it. He liked the… thrill of it.

Lin Sinan looked at him deeply. “I understand. Then I will do everything in my power to protect your safety.” Even if that protection came at the cost of his own life.

Lu Yan said, “Actually, there’s no need.”

“This is an order from headquarters,” Lin Sinan replied. “Obeying orders is a soldier’s duty.”

K City, Pollution Disease Prevention and Control Center.

A middle-aged man, under the protection of several soldiers, arrived. This was a researcher sent from headquarters, from the Third Research Institute, named Ji Wen. He had the appearance of a scholar, looking elegant and easy-going. The director of the Prevention Center stepped forward to try and strike up a conversation, but Ji Wen raised his hand, forcing the director to retreat awkwardly.

He was currently sitting at a computer, watching the precious footage captured by the intelligent surveillance cameras—the two clips of Lu Yan healing the pollutants. Occasionally, Ji Wen would hit the spacebar, pause, and reveal a thoughtful expression.

“Devouring?” Ji Wen muttered to himself. “‘Zero’ is extremely susceptible to pollution and therefore cannot contact the outside world; it is said she has always been in a life pod, but no one has ever seen her. ‘The Pope’ has a reclusive personality and rarely leaves the institute… Honestly, I don’t know much about the Healing-type talent.”

But he had seen the tiny fish scales that had emerged on Lu Yan’s arm.

“Compared to an ability like ‘Devouring,’ based on comparisons, I am more inclined to believe that he came into contact with a special pollutant during this disaster and fused with a part of the pollutant’s body. This is a very dangerous move, but clearly, he succeeded.”

“He lied and said his talent was ‘Devouring.’ The purpose of the lie was to hide his true talent. From this, it can be inferred that he actually knows something.”

“But Lu Yan’s past life, both online and offline, has always been under surveillance. I am certain that before this incident, he had never come into contact with pollution disease information, so how did he know?”

“Therefore, I deduce that he actually possesses an ability related to information acquisition.”

“On the talent sequence list, there are 6 abilities related to this. Omniscience, Precognition, Information Cocoon, Mind Reading, Soul Detection, and Heavenly Eye. The only ones that fit well are…”

Ji Wen suddenly fell silent, then scribbled some bizarre symbols on a piece of paper that only he could recognize. When he was young, Ji Wen and a friend had discovered a script that looked like a combination of oracle bone script and cuneiform. The origin of this script was unknown; it hadn’t circulated in the market and was very rare. Thus, every time he had important information he didn’t want others to know but needed to record, Ji Wen would use this script.

He was forty-seven this year and had been conducting pollution disease research since he was twenty, studying under Qin Changsheng. Qin Changsheng’s mentor was Qiao Yu, who was also the first person in the last century to discover pollution disease and turn it into a specialized field of study. Twenty years ago, due to disagreements in research philosophy, Qin Changsheng broke away from the First Research Institute and established the Third Research Institute. As Qin Changsheng’s direct disciple, Ji Wen was naturally quite capable.

Neither Lin Sinan nor Bai Qiushi had figured anything out, but Ji Wen, just by watching the surveillance footage, had deduced most of the truth.

This was exactly why the System had always been wary of the research institutes; they housed the smartest people in the world who understood pollution disease the most deeply.

Ji Wen adjusted his glasses and put away his pen. “Logically, I should report this, but he is the son of Experimental Subject 18.”

He closed the playback software and, in the system backend, chose to delete the two videos. A warning box popped up on the screen, demanding an authorization password. This deletion wasn’t a simple case of dragging things into the recycle bin; it made these two videos disappear from the world entirely. No one else would ever see them.

“Consider it repayment for the time I dissected 18’s brain… Should I meet Lu Yan?”

Ji Wen waited for the progress bar on the computer to reach 100% and took out an assessment form.

[Lu Yan, male, 26 years old. Mental state: Stable. Mutation degree: Low. Education: Master’s degree.]

[Relatively sensitive to external perceptions, cautious and suspicious personality. It is not recommended to monitor him for long periods to avoid his loss of trust in the Prevention Center.]

[Preliminary confirmation: Healing-type Awakened. Talent: “Devouring.” Can use a spiritual body to devour sources of pollution. Significant effect on Awakened at mid-low stages of mutation.]

[Feasibility of assisting “Tyrant’s” treatment: Unknown. (Note: Due to an extremely low spiritual threshold, contact with “Tyrant” is not recommended at this time; there is a risk of being polluted.)]

[Danger level: Low.]

Back then, the friend who had recorded the script with Ji Wen was named Lu Cheng. He happened to be Lu Yan’s father. Thirteen years ago, Lu Cheng became infected and turned into a pollutant; it was estimated his talent was “66-Precognition.” Relevant departments housed him in the First Research Institute, designated as Subject 18. The following year, Lu Cheng escaped from the institute and his whereabouts remained unknown to this day.

“Better not meet. Many years ago, I even held him in my arms. That child always had a good memory; I would be recognized.”

Ji Wen stopped writing, thought for a moment, and still felt uneasy. He threw the paper with the bizarre script and the photographic data into the shredder.

Lin Sinan brought Lu Yan to the Pollution Disease Prevention and Control Center, preparing to meet the researcher from headquarters. However, when he arrived, he was shocked to hear the news that the researcher had already left.

“Vice Director Ji is very busy,” the staff member said helplessly. “He arrived at 8:00 AM and left at 9:00. He said there were many important experiments to conduct, but he had already completed the assessment report.”

The System complained to Lu Yan: [The researcher sent this time seems to have discovered my existence. If we’re being confident, we can drop the ‘seems.’ It appears I underestimated humanity again. Fortunately, he is temporarily on your side.]

There were countless things happening in the world every second. Although the System was “omniscient,” knowing too many things at once would only result in the host’s brain exploding and turning into a vegetable. It had a sensing range—not too big, not too small. Beyond that, it was truly worthy of its title of “omniscient.”

“Mr. Lu, please come with me to collect your uniform and this month’s stipend.”

Lu Yan’s data had been registered, and he had become an official staff member with a file and a rank. Codename “Di Ting,” spiritual power threshold 440, F-level Awakened, mutation degree 3.1. Affiliation: Special Operations Department, First Group, Seventh Squad.

The staff member opened the vault on the basement floor of the headquarters, took a suitcase out of a cryogenic chamber, and began the introduction.

“This is the ‘Galaxy Detector’ recently developed by the research center, standardized as a watch. If you don’t like it, you can apply to switch it to something you prefer, including but not limited to necklaces, mobile phones, etc.”

“The detector can monitor your own mutation level in real-time, as well as the pollution value of nearby pollutants. Besides that, it has navigation, positioning, Bluetooth calling, and other functions. Here is the manual. You can also choose to turn off the GPS and give up data transmission.”

The shape of the detector was an exquisitely crafted, high-tech electronic watch. Lu Yan didn’t put it on immediately but tucked it into his pocket.

“This is one of the institute’s most precious inventions: pollution disease special medicine. Because the raw materials come from pollutants, the cost is high. Please do not sell it for cash.” Because there had been such precedents before, the staff member emphasized this specially. “If you are short of money, you can contact headquarters directly. Your current cash withdrawal limit is 5 million.”

The special medicine appeared as capsules, only four of them.

“The standard allocation for an F-level Awakened is two per month; the remaining two are a performance bonus for your excellent performance in the K City pollution disease management.”

[This special medicine is good stuff. It’s not the same as the drugs distributed to aberrants in the shelter. At critical moments, it’s no different from a life-saving drug. Your mutation level isn’t high yet, so you can hoard more.]

“This is your work ID.”

The work ID was a card similar to a national ID card. It contained Lu Yan’s photo, collected fingerprints, and DNA coding.

“Every time you go on a mission, you can earn corresponding contribution points upon completion. Contribution points can be used for item exchange, issuing tasks, pollution management, etc.”

“Finally, this is the weapon prepared for you by headquarters based on the information provided by the researcher.”

A dagger. Exquisitely crafted. Lu Yan removed it from its sheath; the blade glimmered with a cold, ghostly blue light. The dagger was double-edged.

[Made from the bones of a D-level pollutant, a Land Turtle. Market price: 500 contribution points. Anything better would be a waste on you and easily snatched by other masked superheroes. It suits you well. They’ve really put a lot of effort into this; are you the illegitimate son of the Director-General?]

“Thank you.” Lu Yan swung it twice and said, “I like it very much.”

The staff member bowed deeply to him: “I’m glad you like it. Thank you for your contribution to the future of humanity. I hope to serve you again next time.”

…

When Lu Yan came out, he couldn’t help but say: “That was too solemn.” He hadn’t even done anything yet.

[Just rhetoric. Everyone has a bit of heroism and ‘chunibyo’ (middle-school syndrome) in them; some people just eat that stuff up. You can consider yourself as basking in the glory of the martyrs.]

This respect wasn’t just for Lu Yan, but for all Awakened in the Special Operations Department. The Research Institute was theory, the Special Operations Department was combat, and the Pollution Disease Prevention and Control Center was logistics. The three supported each other in search of a future.

Lin Sinan was waiting for him in the SUV at the entrance, sprawled over the steering wheel, his eyes squinted, looking lazy. After taking the special medicine, his mutation level had dropped significantly—from 53 a few days ago to 39. Contact with pollution sources increased mutation, while leaving for a period would slowly cause it to decline to a standard value. The effect of the special medicine was to lower this standard value. Lin Sinan’s current standard value was 31, exactly ten times Lu Yan’s.

Lin Sinan waved his hand: “Let’s go. I’ll take you to meet your teammates.”

He was a member of the Special Operations Group’s Sixth Group. Special Operations Groups were divided by region; K City, Xidu Province, and the surrounding area all fell under the protection of Group 6. By rights, Lu Yan should have joined his squad, but headquarters probably felt that Lin Sinan’s spiritual threshold was too low and the tasks were too dangerous, so they specifically assigned Lu Yan to another squad.

Lin Sinan took it in stride. After all, his spiritual threshold was only 1600, which according to the classification was only D-level. It was hard to feel at ease using him to protect a Healing-type Awakened. Lu Yan was joining the First Group of the Special Operations Department, which hadn’t taken on a new recruit in years; Lu Yan was the only one in three years.

Lu Yan sat in the back of the car, thought for a moment, first turned off the data transmission, and then put the measuring watch on his left hand. The dial displayed his mutation value: 7.5. The right hand: 3.1. The two sides were indeed not the same.

Lu Yan hadn’t slept well in the past few days. The village he was heading to was more than 200 kilometers away from K City, and the roads were bad; it would take at least three or four hours. He leaned back in the passenger seat and uncontrollably fell into a deep sleep.

When he woke up again, the sky was pitch black.

Lu Yan felt a bit dazed, wanting to ask, “Why aren’t we there yet?” but suddenly became alert. He smelled blood. It was too quiet here. More importantly, Lin Sinan was not in the driver’s seat.

[You’re finally awake. Damn it, why did it run over here…]

[There isn’t much time left for me; you must remember what I say—]

[You have encountered an A-level pollutant: The Dream Eater. This place is both a dream and reality. What you see may not be true, but it may not be false either. In short, if you die here, you die for real. You will become nourishment for the Dream Eater; I wonder what your soul tastes like. It is a pity that I am suppressed in this false space because you are not the owner of this dream.]

[If it were just the Dream Eater, it wouldn’t be this bad, but I didn’t expect that stinking wall to appear here too. The two superimposed have become a nightmare-difficulty dungeon. I thought we were going to the新手村 (Novice Village), but I didn’t expect to accidentally walk into a hidden dungeon.]

[People are already on the way to rescue you. The key to leaving here is: Make the owner of the nightmare wake up.]

[The only thing to be thankful for is that you are not a nameless schoolgirl in this dream… Alright, I can’t say any more; it’s about to discover me.]

The System fell completely silent.

Lu Yan lay quietly in the backseat, hearing no signs of movement. After a while, he felt around and retrieved his phone. He blocked the light; the battery was at 90%, with no signal. In his inbox, there was a text message from Lin Sinan.

“You haven’t woken up yet, so I’m going out to take a look. Something seems wrong outside. Wait for me to come back. Under no circumstances should you go outside. Be careful.”

When Lu Yan was a doctor, he had discovered that the first patients to be discharged were always those who strictly followed the doctor’s orders. So, he stayed in the backseat until dawn. During the second half of the night, occasional roars and calls for help drifted in from outside, but Lu Yan remained unmoved.

After dawn, Lu Yan finally discovered the source of the bloody smell.

Lin Sinan had been nailed to the rear car window.

All night long, the corpse had been there, separated by a pane of cold glass, staring fixedly at the person in the car with bloodshot eyes. Several maggots, grown excessively large, had crawled out of his ears and were crawling on the window.

Lu Yan’s phone dropped to the floor. After a long while, he slowly said: “Pupils visibly dilated, highly turbid. Slight cadaveric odor. Estimated time of death… 36 to 48 hours ago.”

…

…

K City suburbs, the region bordering W City.

The highway was blocked for a long stretch. Countless traffic police were busy and overwhelmed before the blockade line. Staff from the Prevention Center rushed to the scene and had been assisting researchers in analyzing the pollution source for over twenty hours. Many reporters rushed over, holding up their microphones:

——”May I ask, what is the level of the newly appeared pollution source in K City? Will it threaten the survival of nearby residents?”

——”May I ask, within the 48 hours that the fog has appeared, have any survivors escaped from it?”

Behind the traffic police was a thick mass of fog.

The gray-black fog rolled endlessly, like the heartless, gaping maw of a Leviathan devouring everything.