Chapter 1: Transmigration Begins

Chapter 1: Transmigration Start

Q City was in the midst of a chilly autumn. A bitter wind whipped through the streets, making bundled-up pedestrians shiver and hurry on their way.

It was evening, and the sky was dim. It had rained earlier in the day, leaving puddles on the ground. The neon lights reflected off these puddles, casting the pavement in vibrant hues.

On the bustling Central Street, a crowd had abruptly gathered. People of varying ages and genders all stood with their heads tilted upward, staring at a massive screen hanging from a tall building. What played on the screen was neither a celebrity nor an advertisement, but a person clad head-to-toe in white protective gear, their face completely obscured. Even their voice was muffled by the protective mask.

"The Pollution Control Center has issued an emergency lockdown order. A leak has been accidentally discovered at Q City’s shelter. Staff contaminated due to occupational exposure have been initially isolated. The specific cause of the leak is still under investigation."

"Starting today, the guard team will conduct multiple area-wide sweeps in the city center. Citizens are advised not to panic."

As if accustomed to such occurrences, the gathered crowd remained silent, not even bothering to discuss the matter. This eerie quiet lent the entire scene a strange, unsettling atmosphere.

Amid the crowd, a man stood at the very back, dressed in a long black coat.

He was undeniably handsome—short hair, sharp eyebrows, thin lips. His black trench coat was impeccably neat, worn over a white shirt and a black tie. A pair of black-framed glasses rested on the bridge of his nose. His slightly reserved expression and the dark pupils behind his lenses gave him an air of cool detachment, making him appear rational yet not unapproachable—like a stern but popular NPC from a video game.

At that moment, this "NPC" was, like everyone else, completely focused on the large screen.

The screen switched to a new image: a massive fissure cutting across the landscape.

Around the fissure stood remnants of human architecture, long abandoned and now as lifeless as ghost buildings. Drones hovered in the air, while countless detection devices of various sizes were installed around the fissure. Upon closer inspection, one could even spot people dressed in dark blue protective suits, scurrying about like ants.

Pollution fissures—bizarre rifts that had appeared in cities after the Blood Mist Incident. These fissures continuously generated unknown matter, capable of twisting and warping humans, both physically and mentally, into terrifying monsters.

Even more frightening was their infectious nature, akin to a virus. If one person became contaminated, those around them would soon exhibit the same symptoms, leading to rapid and relentless spread.

The Pollution Control Center termed it: Pollution Disease.

Shen Ji turned and walked away from the crowd. The people, too, began to disperse, each heading their own way. Some were already planning to stock up on groceries at the supermarket, bracing for worse to come.

"Now do you believe me? I wasn’t lying. You really have transmigrated—into that apocalyptic novel you read."

A mechanical voice sounded in Shen Ji’s mind. He ignored it, instead following the flow of the crowd across the street, walking in a specific direction.

As he walked, Shen Ji habitually kept his head slightly lowered. The artificial lights along the road reflected off his glasses, creating a white glare that completely hid whatever might be in his eyes.

"You’re going the wrong way. Your home is in the opposite direction. If you keep going like this, even if the Earth is round, you won’t make it back."

"I’m not going the wrong way," Shen Ji finally spoke. He adjusted his black-framed glasses with a finger, his voice as clear and composed as his appearance.

Unfortunately, both his voice and his demeanor were nothing but a facade.

Just like how he wasn’t actually nearsighted but insisted on wearing black-framed glasses to appear steady and reliable.

Shen Ji replied to the system as though it were the most natural thing in the world: "Didn’t you say I’m the villain? I’m going to turn myself in at the Pollution Control Center."

"You’ll be executed on the spot. You’ll be dead long before the original story's plot even concludes, without even ashes to remain. After all, the 'shelter leak incident' you just saw on the news—that was your doing."

Shen Ji came to a halt, pressing his fingers against his temples as he let out a soundless sigh.

"I told you, that wasn’t me."

Transmigrating into a book—a trope you only found in web novels—was now his reality. Shen Ji wanted no part of it.

Shen Ji considered himself an ordinary person. The only noteworthy thing about him since childhood was his sharp mind and academic prowess. He tested into a good university, and after graduating, he became a minor journalist, constantly on the move for interviews and assignments, often working irregular hours.

Just as he was considering quitting to start his own media venture, he was assigned to investigate and report on a case of hospital violence. Little did he know that once he left for that assignment, he would never return.

A fool's bright idea harms both others and themselves. The medical rioters wanted to prevent the TV station from reporting the incident but didn't know how to stop it, so they took it to the extreme and stabbed Shen Ji twice late at night.

In the end, the emergency treatment failed, and Shen Ji died on the operating table.

When he woke up again, he found himself here, with a robotic voice constantly speaking in his mind, repeatedly telling him that he had transmigrated into a book and was now the infamous Final Villain of this novel.

Shen Ji still remembered this novel with a rushed ending, as well as the Final Villain in the story, "Pollutant Wu."

Pollutant Wu was the earliest pollutant in this novel to develop rationality, yet his rationality did not include emotions—he harbored only aggressive intentions toward humans.

To him, humans were both food and competitors, and his sole purpose was to turn humans into pollution.

The final outcome was naturally a showdown between the story's protagonist and the Final Villain. Unfortunately, this was a novel with a rushed ending—in the last chapter, Pollutant Wu died in a bizarre manner, and then the author abruptly declared the book finished.

Authors who leave stories unfinished should be locked in a dark room for life!

Turning at the next intersection, Shen Ji slipped his hands into his pockets and veered into a side alley.

"Taking a shortcut?" the system reacted. "You’ve actually familiarized yourself with the nearby routes in such a short time."

"Of course, when you first arrive, you have to scout out the best escape routes. Who knows if you’re a system or a scam syndicate."

"......"

The system wanted to retort, but before it could speak, a person emerged from around the corner. His appearance was so peculiar that Shen Ji’s attention was instantly captured.

The man wore a security team uniform. The black-blue outfit enveloped his body, making him appear quite tall—and indeed, he was very tall. Shen Ji was already a tall person, but this man was even slightly taller. Of course, the strangest thing was that this man had long silver-white hair, even white eyelashes, and pupils tinged with a faint gray-blue.

*Kill-la-Kill style?*

"Don’t apply your real-world common sense to the people of this world. These are very clear mutant pollution traits."

Shen Ji raised an eyebrow slightly. So this was a mutant.

In the original work, not everyone turned into a pollutant after being contaminated. A small portion of the population developed antibodies to the contamination and gained abilities similar to pollution. The Anti-Pollution Center referred to them as: mutants, and the abilities mutants acquired were called: Pollution Talent.

Mutants were also currently the only absolute force capable of resisting pollution.

"Li Zhiyan, S-Class Mutant, Ability: Mimic Butterfly. Captain of the Sixth Special Operations Team, actual head of the Q City Anti-Pollution Center branch, the protagonist of this story. He awakened as an S-Class Talent powerhouse, possessing some unknown secrets and often criticized by the Anti-Pollution Center for slacking off and skipping work."

"A very suitable person to surrender to. The moment you turn yourself in, he’ll send you to your doom."

"Strange. Although this is the protagonist’s jurisdiction, running into him so casually feels too coincidental."

Shen Ji: ...

He lowered his head slightly again, avoiding eye contact with the man. The other party didn’t seem to care either, walking away quite briskly. Before turning the corner, Shen Ji glanced back at Li Zhiyan’s retreating figure. The white-haired young man walked while tossing his keys into the air and catching them, looking as though he was lazily slacking off.

"He’s gone, and he left so decisively."

Shen Ji stroked his chin, thinking seriously. "Is it possible that I’m not the villain, but just an ordinary human?"

"See, even the protagonist didn’t sense that I’m a pollutant when we met."

"Don’t deceive yourself. You’ve read the novel too. Pollutant Wu, in order to hide among humans and deal a heavy blow, concealed his own contamination. Unless he willingly releases it, no one can discover his true identity. That’s the terror of the Final Villain."

Alright, alright, if you say so.

Shen Ji shrugged and continued walking. He passed by a convenience store where nearby residents were stocking up on supplies inside. Shen Ji only glanced from outside before leaving, not joining in the rush.

Because he had no money.

"Even if he's hiding among humans, he actually doesn't have a single cent." Shen Ji's voice carried a hint of something subtle. "How can that count as a qualified human?"

"No one can survive without eating, drinking, or buying daily necessities. I predict he'll be tracked down by the Pollution Prevention Center within a week."

"No, he did find a job."

Shen Ji was somewhat surprised.

Ever since transmigrating, Shen Ji had formed an extremely stereotypical impression of this 'pollutant'.

Brutal, arrogant, insane, narcissistic—extremely narcissistic.

His temporary residence was completely empty except for a bed, yet it oddly featured a massive mirror standing upright. The mirror was two meters wide, stretching from floor to ceiling, so that the moment he opened his eyes in bed, he could see his own drowsy reflection. To an outsider, it practically screamed, "I'm not normal."

Besides, banking on being a pollutant, he didn’t eat or drink, never went to supermarkets or markets, left no transaction records, and engaged in no human social interactions.

Shen Ji was utterly speechless and had directly labeled him as a 'stereotypical non-human.' So it was surprising to hear the system say he had actually found a job.

"What kind of job?" Shen Ji asked curiously.

"The novel doesn’t go into detail about such minor plot points. It only mentioned in one sentence that he took a job to better blend in."

"You don’t even know where the workplace is?"

"Just wait for the boss to call."

Shen Ji: ...

Unauthorized absence would lead to a ruthless dismissal—that’s how humans operate.

Just as he was preparing to face this dismissal disaster, Shen Ji’s phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket. Note: This was the pollutant’s phone. After observing humans for a day to confirm that phones were essential, the guy had used his pollution ability to snag one for free—zero yuan spent.

It was almost impressive that he managed to get this right.

Looking at the contact name on the screen, Shen Ji curiously stroked his chin.

"Object D?"

"Can you explain what this contact name means?"

"I told you, the novel doesn’t include such trivial details, not even the final villain’s minor verbal habits."

"How do you not know anything?"

"Because the current timeline is during the author’s rushed ending phase. Both the plot and settings are collapsing without foreshadowing, making it impossible to deduce subsequent developments based on earlier content."

Alright then, it’s still the fault of the author who rushed the ending.

Shen Ji answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Xiao Ji, where are you? Why aren’t you back yet?"

Shen Ji glanced again, puzzled, at the contact name, trying to guess who was calling.

Fortunately, the person on the other end kept talking.

"Q City is about to go under lockdown, there will be a curfew at night. I knocked on your door and found you weren’t home. Hurry back before the doors are locked."

Given Ji’s non-human approach to social interactions, Shen Ji didn’t think this was someone particularly close to him. After some thought, it occurred to him—it must be the landlord.

So Shen Ji cautiously replied, "Thank you, but was there something urgent that made you come knocking at this hour?"

"No worries, no worries. As a landlord, I’m responsible for looking out for my tenants. Something’s happened recently in Q City—you need to be careful!"

"Come back as soon as possible and stay home. Don’t go anywhere."

With that, the other end hung up. After a moment of silence, Shen Ji exited the call screen and opened the phone’s contact list, where he found many strange labels.

For example: "Nightmare A," "Object C," "A Fish"...

"I’ve got it!" the system suddenly spoke up. "Pollutants don’t have a strong sense of familial connection to humans, so he labels them by species. Yes, it must be by species!"

"Object D… a Class D pollutant?"