[Talent transplant surgery? I’d rather call it the “Off to the Afterlife” surgery.]

[The surgery donor goes straight to the afterlife.]

Even pollutants fall into a state of extreme weakness after having special items stripped from them, let alone humans having their talents stripped away.

Lu Yan still remembered the first day he awakened his talent, when Lin Sinan brought staff to his home; the system had warned him then: Never enter the Research Institute.

Of the three departments related to the Awakened, the Research Institute was arguably the most mysterious, never opening its doors to the public. Yet, no one could deny the Institute’s contributions. Whether it was the props and special medicines provided by the Prevention and Control Center, or the detectors that every Awakened carried, none of it could exist without the day-and-night toil of the various laboratories.

It was like a knife: the knife itself was harmless; it all depended on whether the person wielding it wanted to kill or save.

Therefore, Lu Yan stated frankly: “I accept the file change, but I am unwilling to undergo talent transplant surgery.”

As an experienced logistical officer, Director Li responded smoothly: “Understood. Headquarters had considered the possibility that you might not be willing to accept the surgery. In that case, the talent recorded in your file will be registered as ‘Early Warning’ and ‘Cross-Species Communication.’ How does that sound?”

“Cross-Species Communication” was information obtained from the reports sent back by the Detective and Tang Xun’an, but this talent had low practical utility and was not on the Special Operations Department’s selection criteria.

“Early Warning” was ranked 501 on the talent cycle sequence list—coincidentally the talent that most ordinary people awakened. Moreover, it was a fairly vague term, easy to justify. Besides, no one expected an Auxiliary-type Awakened to kill many pollutants anyway.

Lu Yan felt that was acceptable.

Director Li: “Good. Additionally, the research team has reviewed the mission report you wrote earlier and deemed it extremely valuable. We have specially paid out 100 contribution points as an intelligence reward.”

This was something Lu Yan hadn’t expected.

Lu Yan left the director’s office and went to the physical examination center to update his ID card.

“Spiritual power threshold: 1,450. Congratulations, Mr. Lu, you have reached the level of an E-rank Awakened. We will issue your new ID card immediately.”

Spiritual power threshold 500-1,500: E-rank.

Lu Yan had previously been a bottom-tier F-rank. He hadn’t expected that in just over a month since awakening, he had already touched the threshold of D-rank.

However, the few instances he had experienced would have been a death sentence for any other Awakened at his level. Danger always coexisted with opportunity; Lu Yan had no complaints.

After updating his rank, he would receive a higher monthly salary.

Lu Yan went to the logistics department to collect this month’s special medicine—three pills—and picked up a promotional brochure laid out at the front desk.

The staff member glanced at the ID pinned to his chest and smiled: “Hello, sir. This is the latest list of spiritual energy props stocked by the K City Pollution Disease Prevention and Control Center, along with the contribution point exchange list.”

1 contribution point could be exchanged for 10,000 in cash; 100 points for one D-rank special medicine pill.

Lu Yan took out the medicine he had just received and compared it to the photo—it was identical.

According to the brochure, headquarters invested an average of ten million on Awakened per month; it seemed they weren’t joking.

Lu Yan flipped to the back.

F-rank spiritual energy weapons averaged around 100 points.

F-rank healing items averaged around 300 points.

The first page of the brochure featured a B-rank spiritual energy item: a beautiful silver longbow named “Startling Dream.”

Introduction: B-rank spiritual energy prop. Arrows fired have a hallucinogenic effect upon hitting the enemy and include damage reduction.

Recommended user spiritual power threshold: 5,000 and above.

Price: 30,000 contribution points.

Lu Yan had originally earned over 6,000 contribution points for treating Zhou Qiming, but unfortunately, he had turned around and spent them before they were even warm in his pocket. Now, his account was dirt poor, so he had to put the brochure down, pretending to be uninterested.

The skills training conference for new Awakened was held in A City. It was to last three months, from April 1st to June 30th.

During the wait for the training, Lu Yan had nothing to do, so he returned to his regular shifts at the hospital to perform surgeries.

Because his body was in such peak condition after awakening, Lu Yan could perform seven or eight major surgeries a day, so much so that the anesthesiologists working overtime started trembling whenever they saw him. Even the young nurses who used to flutter around him like butterflies all changed their expressions, desperately wanting to leave.

Given Lu Yan’s outstanding performance, he successfully took the post as the youngest Chief Physician at the K City First People’s Hospital.

This didn’t follow the rules, but it was highly reasonable. Some younger doctors who didn’t understand the situation expressed dissatisfaction, but were quickly suppressed by the hospital management.

What a joke, they thought. His main job isn’t even being a doctor anymore, so what does it matter if he’s a Chief Physician!

However, Lu Yan didn’t get to hear the honorific “Chief Lu” for more than a few days before he was forced to hitch a ride with Zhou Qiming to A City.

The ticket had been booked by headquarters—first class.

Zhou Qiming drove a silver Rolls-Royce to the hospital entrance to pick up Lu Yan after work. He wore sunglasses and a floral shirt, looking exactly like a playboy heading to a nightclub; a large, bright red silk banner lay on the passenger seat.

Seeing Lu Yan come out, Zhou Qiming got out of the car, pulled out the banner, shook it, and said excitedly: “Dr. Lu, I looked it up. They say doctors don’t care for other gifts, but they love this. Do you like it?”

Lu Yan scanned the banner, which bore two lines of bold text:

— Master of Gynecology, Benevolent Heart of a Physician.

— Gifted to Dr. Lu Yan of K City First People’s Hospital by patient Zhou Qiming.

The system couldn’t help it: [Pfft.]

Lu Yan felt a headache coming on: “…Are you terrified that other people might not know you were pregnant?”

In that instant, Zhou Qiming saw a line of text clearly pop up over Lu Yan’s head: [Favorability -1].

Yes, because of his “Virtual World” talent, everything around him could be visualized in Zhou Qiming’s eyes.

The title over Lu Yan’s head had changed, too. Before, it was “Cannibal Flower Doctor.” After a few days of not seeing him, for some reason, it had changed to “Bloodthirsty Fish-Killing Maniac.”

Lu Yan didn’t accept the banner; he couldn’t afford to lose that kind of face.

He sat in the passenger seat, and Zhou Qiming slammed the gas, driving the luxury car all the way from the hospital to the airport.

Zhou Qiming: “I never joined the Special Operations Department; it’s not free enough. But Dr. Lu, I support you joining. Becoming a civil servant is good—you get benefits, and your life is guaranteed. After all, not everyone is like me: a self-made first-generation rich man.”

System: [His ‘self-made’ wealth was sponsored by the Prevention and Control Center, just so he wouldn’t retaliate against society if his investments failed.]

Zhou Qiming: “My talent sequence number is 39. It counts as a very high-ranking advanced talent. I haven’t trained much over the years, but my spiritual power threshold has still risen to over 7,000. I think I’m quite reliable, Dr. Lu.”

Lu Yan listened with one ear and let it out the other: “Mm.”

Half an hour later, the car finally reached the airport.

Lu Yan got out of the car and was just about to go get his boarding pass when he saw Zhou Qiming open the trunk and pull out a bouquet of bright red roses.

Zhou Qiming said affectionately: “We’ve been through life and death together. Dr. Lu, I’ll be honest—you are the only person who has ever made my heart beat faster in my forty-some years of life.”

The sky was very blue, and the sun was brilliant. Zhou Qiming was also quite handsome. His conditions seemed decent enough.

Lu Yan whispered to the system: “Is there any way to politely refuse?”

Although Lu Yan always told the outside world he was gay, in reality, he was more like an asexual. His interest in anatomical cadavers far exceeded his interest in living people.

System: [There is. Think carefully about his forum name.]

And so, Lu Yan took the roses and smiled: “Mr. Zhou, you are a good person, but I am a ‘0’ (bottom).”

The atmosphere became slightly awkward.

For the rest of the trip, Zhou Qiming didn’t say another word to Lu Yan.

The seats in first class were spaced out, and Lu Yan watched as Zhou Qiming ordered three whiskies on the plane, trying to drown his sorrows.

Lu Yan thought for a moment, put on an eye mask, and lay down to sleep.

But not long after he fell asleep, he was shaken awake by violent turbulence.

Overhead came the pilot’s slightly panicked exclamation: “We have unexpectedly encountered extreme thunderstorm weather during our flight. The plane is preparing for an emergency landing nearby; passengers, please do not panic, fasten your seatbelts—”

Lu Yan turned his head and looked out the window.

Dark clouds pressed down on the city, as if ready to crush it.

The pitch-black clouds were like ink. Occasionally, wisps of purple lightning flashed at the edges of the cloud bank.

If it were just this, Lu Yan wouldn’t be too worried. After all, he’d heard the pilot was from the “fighting nation” (Russia); surely this extreme weather was just a minor scene.

What made Lu Yan feel worried was the value constantly rising on the detector in his hand.

Pollution level: 2,000.

The system said gloomily: [Mutated bird flock. They were originally a group of geese; now they are ‘Thunderbirds.’ E-rank pollutants, usually appearing in flocks.]

[They are on a migration route, and your plane just happened to hit them.]

[Honestly, the system suggests the host go out less. Every time you go on a long trip, you’re guaranteed to trigger the ‘flying disaster’ buff.]

“Animals can mutate, too?”

[Animals are also living things; why can’t they mutate? Aside from animals, plants can too. Anything with life can. Especially things in the sea… they are far more terrifying than the pollutants formed by human mutation.]

[Mutations on land started a hundred years ago. But mutations in the sea have been going on for hundreds of years…]

Lu Yan ignored the flight attendant’s attempts to dissuade him, unbuckled his seatbelt, and went to Zhou Qiming’s side.

“Zhou Qiming.” Lu Yan shook him awake. “Wake up, there are pollutants.”

Because the plane was jolting, Lu Yan was practically leaning over Zhou Qiming with both hands, looking exactly like a “wall-pin” (kabedon).

Zhou Qiming’s eyes were hazy, still not recovered from his hangover, and he said tearfully: “Dr. Lu, you’re so handsome. I’ve thought it over—I’m willing to be the ‘1’ (top) for love.”

In that instant, Lu Yan really wanted to dump a bottle of water on his face to wake him up.

Author’s Note: Bonus chapter for reaching 12k nutrient solution.

Note on Awakened/Pollutant Rank Classification:

0-500: F-rank

500-1,500: E-rank

1,500-2,500: D-rank

2,500-5,000: C-rank

5,000-8,000: B-rank

8,000-10,000: A-rank

10,000+: S-rank