Chapter 3: The Fish People

Chapter 3: The Fish People

The helmet was very intelligent, equipped with a locking function that highlighted sixteen pollutants in the pitch-black sewer, their shapes barely resembling human forms anymore.

The helmet had a filter, so Zhu Ning couldn't smell the stench, but she could tell it should be overwhelmingly foul. Broken pieces of flesh were scattered on the ground, which wasn't particularly terrifying to her, as she had seen monster corpses before.

What was terrifying were the things on the corpses.

Drops of blood emerged from the bodies and floated in the air, taking various shapes. Some remained droplet-like, while others had mutated into something resembling bacteria with gnashing teeth and flailing limbs.

The blood drops continued to float upward slowly, moving like jellyfish, shimmering with red light.

Amidst this scene, Zhu Ning felt as if she had stumbled into an ancient, mysterious cave. From a certain aesthetic perspective, it was oddly beautiful.

Zhu Ning recalled what the training video had said: once a pollutant is killed and its vital signs disappear, the pollution spores do not die; they seek new hosts.

Hosts could be humans, plants, animals, or even objects without vital signs, such as walls, tiles, or some robots.

Fang Ying mentioned that robots short-circuit because pollution spores can contaminate machines and even invade networks. It seemed these blood drops were the pollution spores.

Pollution spores cannot be eliminated, only contained.

This explained why cleaners were needed to clean up. In the training video, there was only one spore, but now there were many throughout the space, leaving Zhu Ning deeply impressed.

With a rustling sound, Xu Meng and Li Nianchuan landed beside her.

Xu Meng: "You didn't vomit."

Zhu Ning hadn't vomited yet. Normally, people's first reaction upon seeing this would be revulsion. She was the first newcomer who hadn't vomited.

Zhu Ning: "…"

Should she pretend to vomit? Not vomiting was one thing, but this was indeed quite disgusting.

"Tsk," Li Nianchuan frowned as soon as he landed. "Water-based pollutants are troublesome."

"What's wrong with water-based?" Zhu Ning asked.

Xu Meng: "They have high water content, making the pollution spores more active."

Indeed, the blood drops Zhu Ning saw were floating much faster than those in the training video.

With a loud thud, the opening above them was covered by a metal plate, plunging them into darkness. They had sealed the entrance.

"Don't worry," Xu Meng said. "It's standard procedure to prevent the spores from spreading. It will automatically open when we're done."

Understood, but being trapped in a sealed sewer still felt uncomfortable. Zhu Ning shifted her neck.

Xu Meng added, "This E-level task isn't difficult, and the pollution concentration is low. We'll finish quickly."

The floating speed of the spores was limited, and the pollutants had just died, preventing rapid spread.

Earlier, Li Nianchuan estimated the polluted area at 2,500 cubic meters, the size of a standard swimming pool.

This estimate was imprecise, covering a larger area than actually contaminated. Their data unit was 2,500 cubic meters. So, this area could be one or two swimming pools, depending on the actual contamination.

Zhu Ning found this work intriguing. She used to only fight monsters and had never participated in such detailed cleanup tasks.

"Be careful," Xu Meng warned. "Don't let the spores contaminate you."

Spores easily parasitize skin contact, which is why their "work suits" were tightly sealed. As a novice, she might easily get contaminated during her first day of containment.

Xu Meng demonstrated, carefully using a straw-like tool to touch a floating "blood drop."

With a soft hiss, the blood drop was sucked into the transparent straw.

The straw's back end connected to a transparent box where the blood drop settled at the bottom. Every ten blood drops formed a pea-sized cube automatically.

The entire process was satisfying for someone with OCD. Xu Meng moved slowly and methodically, as this required precision.

It was similar to… picking cotton.

An inappropriate analogy popped into Zhu Ning's mind: they were like a three-person cotton-picking team.

The workflow involved containing the spores first, then cleaning the corpses, soil, water, and stones touched by the blood. Finally, washing the polluted area to ensure no spores were left behind.

It truly was garbage collection.

Zhu Ning joined the cotton-picking team, touching a spore with the straw. After containing the spore, she heard a ding in her head.

System: "Primary Pollutant, Purification Value +1"

Purification value? What purification value?

Zhu Ning tried again. Each time she contained a spore, the voice sounded. Regardless of its purpose, she knew how to take advantage of it.

Zhu Ning's movements became faster. Li Nianchuan watched her curiously, as newcomers usually slacked off. This was the first time he saw such enthusiasm.

So competitive?

After a while, Zhu Ning's arm started to stiffen. She now had 45 purification points. She asked, "How long do we need to keep doing this?"

Li Nianchuan: "About an hour."

Garbage collection was physical labor, neither thrilling nor dangerous, relying purely on endurance. Zhu Ning found the process quite therapeutic.

Xu Meng: "If you can't handle it mentally, you can ask for a break."

Zhu Ning: "Mentally can't handle it?"

Xu Meng: "Our work uniforms can't completely block out contamination; they only ensure you won't be parasitized by the spores. But it's hard to defend against their mental pollution."

Zhu Ning's hand, which was holding the contaminated spore, trembled slightly. She began to feel uneasy about this thing. The spores constantly emitted contamination, and even with physical barriers, mental pollution couldn't be entirely blocked.

Zhu Ning: "What does mental pollution feel like?"

Xu Meng: "Mild symptoms include vomiting, having nightmares, feeling exhausted and lethargic. Moderate symptoms involve mental instability, hallucinations. We had a colleague who got pretty bad; he thought he was a two-headed pink lotus."

Zhu Ning: "...?"

Is the sacrifice that great?

Xu Meng: "More severe cases lead to aggression or deep-seated belief in evil gods and monsters. Some might commit suicide, others might kill. There are too many cases."

In short, mental pollution doesn't aim to parasitize but can disrupt your mind, making you act abnormally.

Xu Meng asked, "Do you feel any effects now?"

When they bring new recruits, they pay close attention to whether the newcomer is being contaminated.

Zhu Ning carefully felt around and cautiously said, "I don't feel anything."

She really didn't feel anything. Xu Meng glanced at her, finding Zhu Ning quite unusual.

"I can't take it anymore." After a while, Li Nianchuan was already drenched in sweat, saying, "I need to catch my breath."

Hearing his voice filled with pain, Zhu Ning asked, "How do you catch your breath?"

Li Nianchuan: "Just move away. The closer you are, the more contaminated you get. Generally, a kilometer away should be enough to feel nothing."

That makes sense.

Contamination has a distance limit; otherwise, the spores would never be eliminated, continuously contaminating without restriction, potentially polluting the entire world.

Xu Meng: "Zhu Ning, come along."

Zhu Ning wanted to say she was fine, but Xu Meng gave her a gesture, indicating that Zhu Ning should keep an eye on Li Nianchuan?

There weren't many spores left, just about one-fifth. Xu Meng could handle it alone.

Zhu Ning put down her tools and followed Li Nianchuan. They were in a sewer of the Federation, and Zone 103 was essentially a landfill where all the Federation's waste was transported.

The sewers were extensive, and Li Nianchuan led Zhu Ning deeper into them, relying solely on their helmet night vision for visibility.

Li Nianchuan walked further and further, and if someone didn't know better, they might think he was leading them away to murder them. Out of caution, he walked nearly two kilometers before stopping.

Li Nianchuan removed his helmet and took a deep breath, "I was suffocating."

His face was pale, and his forehead was covered in sweat, looking as if he were sick. Zhu Ning, unaffected by the spores, didn't remove her helmet and asked, "Are you okay?"

Li Nianchuan cursed, "My head hurts."

Zhu Ning knew from their first meeting that Li Nianchuan had a rather impatient temperament, but now he seemed even more irritable. Was this mental pollution?

Zhu Ning watched Li Nianchuan cautiously and asked, "Should you put your helmet back on?"

The work guidelines stated not to expose skin, and the training videos emphasized not removing the helmet unless necessary. Li Nianchuan was acting more like a novice than she was.

Li Nianchuan: "I can't breathe with it on."

It wasn't just breathing; he felt like he was suffocating. Why did he feel even more suffocated after coming out for air?

Li Nianchuan's eyes started to redden. His eye pressure seemed high, pressing on the capillaries in his eyeballs, causing blood vessels to appear slowly.

But he only felt a slight itch and kept rubbing his eyes. Zhu Ning stepped back half a step, subtly reaching for the gun at her waist.

She couldn't determine if Li Nianchuan was infected.

"Should I report to the captain?" Zhu Ning recalled the manual stating that if there were any signs of contamination, it should be reported immediately to a superior, and the mission should be aborted if necessary.

Li Nianchuan: "No need, I'll be fine after a moment. We still have work to do."

He sounded lucid, but Zhu Ning didn't release her grip on the gun. She realized that the only danger in this job came from her teammates!

Rule number two in the manual: Always watch your teammates.

Indeed, the experience of seniors was not misleading. While keeping an eye on Li Nianchuan, Zhu Ning considered reporting.

Suddenly, rustling.

Zhu Ning frowned. What was that sound?

Rustling, rustling

From Li Nianchuan? No, he was rubbing his eyes; the sound came from farther away.

Rustling, rustling, rustling

Something seemed to be moving in the distance.

"Did you hear that?" Zhu Ning asked.

"What?" Li Nianchuan, after rubbing his eyes for a while, looked confused and somewhat foolish.

Zhu Ning reacted quickly, drawing her gun and pointing it at the darkness.

Li Nianchuan, whose mental state wasn't good, suddenly became alert when he saw Zhu Ning with the gun.

"What are you doing?" Li Nianchuan was startled, "Put the gun down! I'm not contaminated!"

Li Nianchuan immediately realized that Zhu Ning might think he was contaminated and wanted to get rid of him.

Cleaners must be cautious about their teammates going mad. Zhu Ning was wary of Li Nianchuan, and Li Nianchuan was also wary of Zhu Ning. He now suspected that Zhu Ning might be contaminated.

"Stay calm," Li Nianchuan said. "We don't have the authority."

To prevent cleaners from killing each other, all firearms were set with permissions. They couldn't fire unless given orders from superiors.

Wait, Li Nianchuan suddenly frowned. Zhu Ning's grip on the gun was very standard and steady; she didn't even tremble.

Does Zhu Ning know how to use a gun? What would a 19-year-old girl need a gun for? Where did she get this experience! Li Nianchuan was now more lucid than ever.

"There's something behind you," Zhu Ning said.

Li Nianchuan was stunned before realizing that Zhu Ning wasn't pointing at him but behind him.

Li Nianchuan turned around. Behind him was a pitch-black sewer, unlit, and the helmet's night vision had limited range, showing only darkness.

"What?" Li Nianchuan was more afraid of Zhu Ning than what was behind him. He only glanced back, not daring to leave his back exposed to her.

"Can you put down the gun while we talk?"

Zhu Ning, staring into the darkness, spoke into the public channel: "Captain Xu Meng, requesting weapon authorization."

Xu Meng didn't respond in the channel, either not hearing or weighing the situation. Li Nianchuan, of course, heard it too. How reckless this little girl was; there was no third person in the sewer besides them.

Li Nianchuan didn't want her to get into trouble on her first day, "Can you just calm down?"

Zhu Ning didn't look at Li Nianchuan and repeated, "Requesting weapon authorization."

Zhu Ning looked firmly into the darkness and activated the flashlight function on her wrist. With a swish, the flashlight illuminated a hundred meters away instantly.

Rustle rustle rustle

The rustling sound approached from afar, and the flashlight caught something. Li Nianchuan's body stiffened; now he could see it too.

It was a man, dressed in a suit with a red tie, carrying a briefcase. His white shirt was slightly dirty, and his pant legs were covered in mud.

Judging by his attire, the man looked like an office worker just off work. Zhu Ning's flashlight moved up, casting a circular light on the man's face.

There was no head above the neck, or rather, no human head.

Where the head should be was replaced by a massive fish head, complete with cold scales.

A man in a suit, carrying a briefcase... a fishman?

The fishman's lips pointed upward, and his fish mouth moved. A fist-sized dead fish eye stared at Zhu Ning, giving the impression that the fish was exhausted despite having no face.

"Excuse me..." The fishman spoke in a bizarre bubble-like voice, "Is this where the last train on Line One stops?"

"Contaminant!" Li Nianchuan's face changed drastically as he instantly put on his helmet.

Li Nianchuan pressed the distress button, "Report, there's a live contaminant, requesting to unlock—damn!"

Before Li Nianchuan could finish, the distant fishman suddenly waved his arms and charged towards them at incredible speed.