When Lu Yan had originally taken his driving test, for the sake of convenience, he had chosen to test for an A1 license.

The entire driving school had been testing for a C1, leaving him as the only one paying the highest tuition fees while driving the oldest, most dilapidated vehicle. The driving instructor had been deeply perplexed by this, especially after learning that Lu Yan’s profession was that of a doctor. After all, an A1 license allowed one to drive long-distance buses; what use would it be to Lu Yan after he finished testing?

But now, as Lu Yan drove the RV along the winding mountain highway, he truly admired his own foresight. If he hadn’t tested for an A1 license back then, out of safety considerations, Lu Yan wouldn’t have been able to drive the RV either, leaving him with no choice but to walk out of the mountains on his own two legs.

Walking mountain paths was exhausting.

Perhaps before he could even walk his way out, the three-day deadline would arrive, and Zhou Qiming and the other two would have been furiously killed by the crooked-mouthed Dragon Girl.

Lu Yan drove alone for roughly 2 hours before his phone’s signal finally returned to the service area. He chose to dial the unified customer service hotline equipped by the Prevention and Control Center. Lu Yan had originally been pondering whether anyone would even be there at 5:00 AM, but within less than a minute, someone answered the call.

And it was an old acquaintance.

“Mr. Lu.” Su Fufeng’s voice was as gentle as always. “It just so happens to be my shift on customer service today. May I ask how I can help you?”

[Tsk, how could there be such a coincidence in this world? Without any surprises, he has been promoted to become your exclusive liaison.]

The Special Operations Department didn’t just take any Apocalypse Envoy. First, one had to have a clean family background without any unforgivable criminal records; second, one’s talent had to be useful—this usefulness referred to the ability to combat pollutants.

The confrontation with pollutants was far more dangerous than imagined; the mortality rate of the Special Operations Department’s personnel had always remained persistently high. If they put some people with absolutely no combat capability up there, it would simply be sending them to their deaths.

Although there were 60,000 Apocalypse Envoys registered on the forum, subtracting those abroad and those whose talents were useless, the members of the Special Operations Department numbered fewer than 500 to this day.

Therefore, behind every single member, there were many people serving them—ranging from researchers in the scientific institutes above, down to the most inconspicuous cleaning aunties at the Prevention and Control Center. An exclusive liaison customer service agent like Su Fufeng was on standby 24 hours a day at any given moment.

Lu Yan said: “I want to find someone. If possible, please arrange for him to meet with me at the fastest speed. I have already turned on my location tracking now.”

“His name is Chen Shi’er’s grandfather, Zhao Cheng.”

[A native of City X, ID card number: ******]

As an outsider, the fact that he knew this much was clearly not very scientific. But Lu Yan thought about it and reported the ID number anyway. Time was pressing, and the name Zhao Cheng was far too common; he feared that checking the files one by one wouldn’t be done in time. At worst, he could just blame it on the Dragon Girl when the time came.

“Alright, Mr. Lu.” Su Fufeng was somewhat perplexed. “What are you looking for him for?”

“My friends and I went to a low-level pollution zone…” Lu Yan briefly summarized the course of events. “If he is found, just tell him that we found his daughter and want to take him to see her.”

There was no need to conceal this matter; after all, there were still three people left in the village.

Su Fufeng’s expression instantly turned grave: “Are you saying there is a pollutant with a pollution value exceeding 7000 inside Dragon Girl Village?” His other hand had already clicked open the headquarters’ emergency assistance hotline.

“Yes.”

“Alright, I will immediately request instructions from headquarters to dispatch personnel to eliminate the pollution.”

Lu Yan’s brows knitted slightly: “She has been in Dragon Girl Village for a very long time, and hasn’t gone out for over ten years. She has always merely stayed inside Dragon Girl Lake, and the targets of her retaliation are entirely the people who harmed her back then. If possible, I hope you guys do not engage in any redundant actions.”

“Mr. Lu, do not look at pollutants from a human standpoint; they are merely aberrated monsters.” Su Fufeng’s tone grew slightly rushed. “To be merciful to pollutants is to be cruel to your own kind. Please do not retain this kind of ignorant kindness.”

Lu Yan furrowed his brows slightly: “Low-level pollutants might indeed be so, but I have encountered high-level pollutants a few times. In my eyes, they are creatures capable of communication and interaction…”

Su Fufeng, who had undergone excellent training, clearly adopted a fierce attitude: “Pollutants possess a primitive craving for human flesh and blood; if they don’t feed, they will fall into a state of hunger. Humans are merely food for pollutants. No one can endure hunger for a long time, and pollutants can’t either. They won’t starve to death, so they are more easily driven by this sense of hunger to hunt. Does a lion feel guilty for biting a gazelle to death?”

[He speaks quite correctly. Pollutants do indeed crave feeding. But who decreed that the food source cannot be their own kind? Pollutants frequently eat humans merely because humans taste good and are convenient to hunt.]

“Mr. Lu, in my eyes, you are a very calm person who possesses your own baseline. But I indeed do not believe this action of yours is mature—”

His words were cut halfway across, interrupted by someone. A burst of clamor came from the phone, and very soon, it switched to another unfamiliar male voice.

“Hello, Mr. Diting. I am Li Zhiming, the Deputy Director of the K City Pollution Disease Prevention and Control Center.”

“We are very sorry for bringing you an unpleasant experience. Su Fufeng’s father died at the hands of a pollutant. He was rescued from a patch of ruins by a member of the Special Operations Department, so he is exceptionally hostile toward pollutants.”

“Perhaps he is right,” Lu Yan sighed. “But this is a deal between her and me. My companions are still in her hands. I don’t want any actions that might enrage her.”

“Please wait a few minutes. We will first dispatch personnel to contact Zhao Cheng.”

Lu Yan waited for roughly 10 minutes before receiving a call from the Prevention and Control Center again.

Deputy Director Li said: “Your proposal has undergone careful consideration by headquarters. The final decision is to dispatch an experienced member of the Special Operations Department to follow along. If it is determined that the pollutant is relatively dangerous, eradication measures will be taken. Is this solution acceptable?”

“It is.”

“Alright, please remain in place and do not move. Do not turn off your location tracking system either,” Deputy Director Li said gently. “We are already deploying a small passenger aircraft and a pilot to head toward your location.”

Lu Yan looked around, glanced at the rugged mountain road, and felt that this place didn’t look like somewhere a plane could land either. Because he didn’t know how long he would have to wait, Lu Yan pulled out an eye mask and earplugs, taking a nap inside the RV. He hadn’t slept the entire day and had stayed up late into the early morning driving; he was truly very sleepy now.

The system said: [Sleep, sleep. If anything happens, I’ll call you.]

Lu Yan didn’t know how long he had slept. When the sky was dimly dawning, he was awakened by the sound of aircraft propellers. He took off his eye mask and walked outside the car. Above his head, a helicopter was hovering in the airspace.

The sun rose, and a thread of crimson dawn appeared at the edge of the sky.

The helicopter’s cabin door opened, and Lu Yan saw a man holding another person in his embrace, leaping straight down from mid-air. From this height, if a normal person fell down, they could be pulled straight to the nearest funeral parlor.

Sailing against the light, Lu Yan couldn’t see the newcomer’s face clearly; he could only see a pair of pitch-black feathered wings suddenly spread out behind his back in mid-air. The morning light shone upon the lepidopteran scales of the feathered wings, looking beautiful.

Tang Xun’an landed steadily on the ground, pulling back his massive wings that had a total wingspan close to 4 meters wide.

Although the other party had some discrepancies from his appearance in the dream, he wasn’t hard to identify—especially those golden eyes that were as brilliant as gold. To be honest, because he looked at his own face in the mirror every day, Lu Yan had already become somewhat numb to “good-looking humans.”

However, Tang Xun’an nonetheless possessed an outstanding appearance that made his eyes light up. Unlike in the dreamscape, Tang Xun’an’s face bore a bark-inhibitor, with half of his face cloaked beneath the shadow of the metallic contraption.

“Hello,” Tang Xun’an pulled out his work credentials. “Special Operations Department, Tang Xun’an.”

He looked much more proper and serious than in the dreamscape.

“Lu Yan.”

This was the very first time Zhao Cheng had experienced a high-altitude jump. Although Tang Xun’an’s movements had been very steady, his legs still trembled uncontrollably when he came down. After a moment, having caught his breath, Zhao Cheng fished out a walking cane, tapping it on the ground as his heart burned with anxiety: “Where is my girl?”

His gaze had already lost its focus, merely fumbling around blindly.

Tang Xun’an explained in a low voice: “His daughter went missing, and Zhao Cheng cried himself blind a few years ago. We found him in a community nursing home.”

Lu Yan pressed his lips together: “Uncle Zhao, I will take you to see her.”

Allowing a human to see a pollutant was actually a very risky action. Therefore, when Tang Xun’an went out this time, he had specially brought Huang Chen along. He didn’t particularly love to speak; in recent years, the number of times he spoke to dogs was greater than to humans. So the journey was very silent, even though his heart was not entirely peaceful.

A few hours later, the group returned to Dragon Girl Village.

Zhao Cheng presumably felt that the time was far too lengthy, unable to resist asking “exactly how much longer until we arrive” multiple times. The surrounding air grew increasingly damp. The RV drove all the way to the edge of Dragon Girl Lake.

By the lakeshore, the three people—Zhou Qiming and the others—were currently sitting together playing Fight the Landlord, playing with burning enthusiasm. Not only him, but the Dragon Girl had also kept the agreement.

Almost the exact moment the car came to a halt, Zhao Cheng impatiently fumbled his way out of the car, crying out from his mouth: “Yuanyuan! Yuanyuan! Papa has arrived!”

Inside the lake water, the Dragon Girl poked her head out once more. She hadn’t expected that Zhao Cheng would actually arrive this quickly; a trace of panic actually appeared on her expressionless face. She extended her hand toward Zhao Cheng, yet suddenly caught sight of the incomparably sharp fingernails and scales upon her hand.

In the next instant, the Dragon Girl performed an action that left even Tang Xun’an profoundly shocked.

She bit off her fingernails, then ripped off her scales piece by piece. Deep red blood flowed out from her arm, blending into a single expanse with the lake water beneath.

All of this occurred within a mere minute.

The Dragon Girl crawled to the shore with great effort.

One couldn’t see, and one couldn’t speak. However, much like a resonance existing in the dark, Zhao Cheng arrived precisely and flawlessly in front of the Dragon Girl.

The moment he touched the Dragon Girl’s hand, he suddenly burst out into a crying sound: “Yuanyuan, it’s Papa!”

Zhao Cheng’s face flushed crimson, choking with sobs. He was terrified that everything right now was merely a dream. Yet the tactile sensation transmitted back was so real.

Separated by a span of 17 years, if Zhao Yuan hadn’t turned into a pollutant, what would have awaited Zhao Cheng would have been nothing but being separated by life and death.

The Dragon Girl opened her mouth, wanting to speak, yet merely released a few hoarse cries.

Lu Yan actually didn’t have too many emotions, but he felt this scene was beautiful. A blood-drenched monster and an old man like a candle flickering in the wind, a picture of them together was actually beautifully striking.

Lu Yan explained: “Uncle, her throat is hoarse; she can’t speak.”

The Dragon Girl indeed couldn’t speak. Her throat already differed from the structure of a human throat. Lacking a vocal tract, nothing remained but the function of swallowing.

However, in the next second, a faint, raspy female voice echoed by Lu Yan’s ears.

Just like someone learning to speak for the very first time, the Dragon Girl spoke with great difficulty: “Pa… Pa, Papa…”