Chapter 3: Transmigration Begins

Chapter 3: Beginning of Transmigration

Shen Ji didn't know his casual remark would become a prophecy—the Pollution Prevention Center was about to come for him.

Fresh out of the shower, he stood in front of the mirror studying the strange scales on his forehead.

“What is this?” Shen Ji asked the system.

“Characteristic of pollution.”

“What?” Shen Ji pressed on the pink scales. “First of all, I’m a pollutant. Second, I’m in disguise. And lastly, are these things growing? They seem denser and more numerous.”

“Even among pollutants, the contamination from ‘Filth’ is very special. Its external manifestation takes the form of mushrooms—small, pinkish-white, umbrella-shaped fungi that can sprout anywhere on the body, even… down there.”

“Don’t be fooled by its harmless appearance; this contamination is savagely vicious. It can devour both humans and other pollutants. Everything that becomes its nourishment fuels its growth.”

“In other words: mushrooms are growing on you because you’re in a highly contaminated area. The mushrooms on your body are crawling out to feed.”

How interesting.

Shen Ji thought: a villain growing mushrooms in a highly contaminated area.

This ability would be incredibly useful for cosplaying a disillusioned office worker.

“So, guess why the area around you has become highly contaminated?”

Shen Ji turned to look toward the door. Through the sound of the dripping rain, he could faintly hear a strange sound—the scraping of something sharp against metal, growing increasingly distinct in the dead silence of the hallway.

He had heard a similar sound not long ago, when his landlord had been crouched at the corner of the stairwell, incessantly scratching the metal handrail with his fingernails as Shen Ji returned home.

Walking to the door, Shen Ji peered through the peephole. The scraping grew louder, and the motion-sensor light remained on, yet no one was visible.

“Look down.”

Shen Ji leaned closer to the peephole. The next moment, he saw a black tail flick into view, followed by twisted, crawling feet. As if noticing Shen Ji’s gaze, the thing suddenly slammed against the door, finally revealing its face.

Its face had mutated into a triangular shape, with a sharply protruding nose and a covering of stiff black hair. Long whiskers on its chin stood up like steel needles, and blood-red eyes fixed intently on the peephole, baring a mouthful of sharp teeth.

Even so, Shen Ji could still recognize the landlord’s original features.

“Squeak, squeak.” The humanoid rat made noises.

It extended its claws, scratching at Shen Ji’s door.

“Squeak, squeak.”

Shen Ji’s phone rang. He instinctively stepped back before looking down at the screen. The caller ID read: Subject D.

He answered the call.

“Xiao Ji, what are you doing?” The landlord’s aged voice came through the phone. “Why aren’t you opening the door?”

“I brought you some food. Hurry up and open the door.”

“D-class pollutants have some mobility but very little intelligence. The contamination leaves them with nothing but an endless, insatiable appetite.”

“This pollutant seems to hold a particular grudge against his tenants. Perhaps he had bad experiences with previous renters, so he’s decided to devour his tenants before moving on to others.”

“You’re his third tenant—and possibly his last.”

Shen Ji thought of the black and red gunk crammed under the landlord's fingernails—he was pretty sure he didn't want to know what that was.

“Thanks, I’m not hungry.”

“How could you not be hungry?” The landlord’s voice was full of concern. “I know you’re hungry. Open the door. Let’s eat together. I haven’t eaten all day either.”

This was the first time a monster had been worried about whether he’d eaten. Usually, during work, interviewees would just point at his nose and yell, “Don’t you have anything better to do?!”

Now that he thought about it, it was weirdly touching.

Deeply moved, Shen Ji sincerely replied, “‘No. Piss off.’”

“…”

“‘The point stands, but damn, your delivery is rough! As a journalist, can’t you be a little more tactful?!”

The landlord clearly hadn’t expected Shen Ji to be this blunt. After a moment of silence, the rat began frantically scratching the door.

“I kindly rented this place to you, and you tell me to piss off?!”

“You ungrateful bastard! I should've just watched you die!”

“This is my house! Who are you to keep me out?!”

As it ranted, the rat suddenly let out a shrill, squeaking laugh.

“I’ve been prepared for you. I knew you wouldn’t let me in, so I kept a spare key for myself.”

“I’m coming in.”

The large black rat stood up on its hind legs, pressing against the door. Its thin, long tail hung down the stair steps. Its blood-red eyes held a grotesque, human-like smirk as its sharp claws clutched a key, working to unlock the door while emitting squeaky noises—like something straight out of a horror movie.

*Scrape, clunk.* The sound of the key twisting in the lock.

Shen Ji immediately slammed his weight against the door, bracing himself to keep the rat out. He asked, a little disgusted at the thought, “If a rat bites me, do I need a rabies shot?”

“What are you, stupid? You’re way more poisonous than it is! If it bites you, it’s the one that’ll need the rabies shot!”

“Is there really no way where neither of us needs a rabies shot?”

“You’re the Final Villain, the most terrifying pollutant. You could wipe out this little D-class pollutant with a finger. Try commanding your little mushrooms.”

Little mushrooms?

Shen Ji paused. He looked down—a dense patch of hyphae was swaying around his wrist. Only then did he realize these little protrusions had gotten so big without him noticing. Almost instinctively, he directed them, and the hyphae lengthened like they’d received an order, drilling into the keyhole beside his wrist.

The feeling was totally surreal.

He shared senses and sight with these hyphae. As some strands squeezed into the keyhole, others slipped through the gap under the door. The moment they emerged on the other side, the hyphae swarmed into the squeaking giant rat’s body as though they’d found their target.

“Squeak?!”

The rat’s eyes shot wide open. It let out a wretched shriek and started thrashing wildly. But the hyphae had no intention of releasing their prey. More strands pierced into it, invading every blood vessel, greedily feeding on the pollution inside it.

“I’m truly terrifying,” Shen Ji remarked, gave the hyphae on his wrist a little tug. Outside, the rat screamed again in agony.

“It’s the first time I’ve really felt like a little monster.”

“A big monster,” the system corrected again. “But in this world, being a monster has its perks.”

Shen Ji felt a small warm current flowing into his body through the fungal filaments. After a few seconds, he finally spoke, "The landlord turned into a contaminant. Does that mean this house belongs to me now?"

He suddenly brightened, though to an outsider, it only looked like the corners of his mouth twitched upward slightly, almost like a faint smirk.

"Now I have my own house."

"..."

The system fell silent for a long moment. "You really have no aspirations."

"You, an AI, just don’t get it."

Shen Ji was displeased. "This is called deadpan humor! You need a sense of humor in a depressing environment!"

"Your sense of humor surpasses 8% of people. Title acquired: King of Dead Air. Give it up—you simply don’t understand humor."

/

Zhou Ye and Li Zhiyan followed the route into this old, run-down residential area.

Perhaps because the rain clouds weren’t thick enough, the downpour had finally lightened to a drizzle after a heavier bout earlier. It was one of those in-between rains—not heavy enough to warrant an umbrella, but enough to get you soaked if you went without one.

"This rain is so petty," Li Zhiyan remarked, yawning wearily as he glanced up at the inky black sky. "It never rains when I’m off work, but the moment I start working, it just won’t stop."

"Does the Pollution Prevention Center have it out for me or something? Do they have to schedule artificial rainfall precisely during my shifts?"

Zhou Ye took advantage of the dark night, knowing his captain couldn’t see his face clearly, and secretly rolled his eyes.

He had long grown accustomed to his captain’s unreliable personality. Honestly, with behavior like this, it was hard to believe he was the captain of the Special Operations Team.

Slacking off, always slacking off. Going to work was like torture to him. When he got angry, he’d even dare to slam the table and confront the higher-ups at the Pollution Prevention Center, calling them a bunch of bald-headed geezers. This containment leak incident had already provoked him into sarcastically mocking many people.

But who could deny his capabilities? Not only was he an S-Class Mutant, he was also the most stable S-Class Mutant. No matter how much he slacked off, it never interfered with his mission completions. So, the higher-ups had no choice but to grin and bear it. Even when he insulted them, they still respectfully requested his presence to resolve issues.

So enviable and jealousy-inducing.

"We’re here." The building number plate for Building 8 saved him. Zhou Ye quickly pointed it out to Li Zhiyan. "Captain, let’s get inside quickly!"

The two stepped into the stairwell together. The moment they crossed the threshold, the alarms on their bodies erupted in a frenzy.

"Warning! Warning! Entering a high-pollution zone! Pollution level: 78%!"

Zhou Ye and Li Zhiyan exchanged a glance. Without needing orders from Li Zhiyan, Zhou Ye bounded up the stairs three steps at a time. He reached the fifth floor in just a few seconds, but the scene before him wasn’t what he had expected.

It wasn’t the reported single male resident mutated into a contaminant and going on a rampage. Instead, a large black rat was pressed tightly against the door, twitching spasmodically.

Zhou Ye rarely saw contaminants in such a state.

Its claws and teeth were embedded in the iron door, and deep scratch marks were visible on the torn metal. It seemed stuck on the door, unable to move, only struggling helplessly. It was even rolling its eyes back, showing the whites, and emitting weak squeaks, its long tail limply beating against the floor, cracking the floorboards with each strike.

It felt... as though it were the victim of an attack.

Zhou Ye turned on his scanner again. After confirming that this thing was indeed the source of the pollution, he immediately drew the gun from his waist.

Contaminants were different from humans—they possessed stronger vitality and resistance. Some contaminants couldn’t be completely killed even if shot through the heart or head, requiring more specialized methods. Fortunately, Zhou Ye had confirmed earlier that this type of large rat could be eliminated with a headshot.

Bang. The bullet shot out from the barrel, accurately piercing through the large rat’s skull. Black blood splattered against the iron door with a sizzling sound, instantly eating a corrosive hole into it. The rat convulsed once and then fell still.

Zhou Ye, however, grew puzzled. He raised his gun and wiped his damp forehead with the back of his hand.

"So weak?"

Half an hour ago, he had cleared one of the same type in the neighboring residential area. Rats are creatures that carry germs, and it, like a rat, was carrying a large amount of toxins. Even a slight brush against its fur could cause poisoning symptoms, so it had to be eliminated from a safe distance. At the same time, its black fur had mutated to be exceptionally rigid, making it difficult for bullets to penetrate.

But this rat—it was so easily pierced by the bullet and just died?

The large rat’s corpse swayed as it hung from the door. Zhou Ye could hear the sound of something being dragged inside the room. Right, there was still someone living in here.

Not dwelling any further on why this pollutant was so weak, Zhou Ye stepped forward, pulled off the rat’s body, and kicked it down the stairs.

"Security team, please open the door for inspection."

Zhou Ye reached out and knocked, carefully avoiding the black hole rotted by the rat’s blood.

After about ten seconds, with a creak, the iron door opened, and a head appeared in the crack.

Male, estimated to be over 20 but not yet 30, with black hair and dark eyes, wearing a pair of black-framed glasses. He had a somewhat cold demeanor.

The young man appeared wary, perhaps a bit startled by what had just happened, so his clothes were slightly disheveled. A white shirt hung loosely on him, while the black pants below were crisp and well-fitted, the contrasting styles mixed on him, yet unexpectedly adding a touch of vitality to his appearance.

Zhou Ye raised an eyebrow slightly. Hey, pretty handsome.

"Security team inspection." Zhou Ye pulled out his ID from his soaked jacket pocket. The plastic, waterproof casing meant it was still readable.

Shen Ji didn’t take the ID but instead asked, "Where’s the landlord?"

"Landlord?" Zhou Ye glanced around the room. "Is there someone else here with you?"

"No." Shen Ji pointed at his now wrecked iron door. "That rat was the landlord."

No panic, recognized the pollutant’s original identity, and wasn’t easily fooled by it.

Zhou Ye raised an eyebrow again. Hey, good material.

"The pollutant has been cleaned up. Its body requires special disposal. Rest assured, the Pollution Prevention Center takes responsibility for all residents."

Seeing that Shen Ji wasn’t taking the ID, Zhou Ye casually stuffed it back into his damp pocket. "Now I need to test you for pollution levels. Please cooperate."

As if finally sure it was safe, Shen Ji opened the door, and Zhou Ye followed him inside.

Truth be told, during their earlier exchange, Zhou Ye had already determined Shen Ji was fine. Such smooth responses weren’t easy for pollutants unless they were highly advanced ones.

But procedure was procedure. A contamination check was mandatory.

After testing Shen Ji’s pollution level in the room and conducting pollution detection around the area, recording the data on his device, Zhou Ye turned to leave. Just as he was about to step out, he paused.

"Is that a mushroom?" Zhou Ye pointed at a bunch of small mushrooms on the room’s only table. "What kind? Where’d you buy them?"

Shen Ji feigned serious thought, putting on a pondering expression.

A few seconds later, he replied, "At the market to the left of the People’s Supermarket. There’s a vegetable stall there—the vegetables are very fresh."

Zhou Ye nodded, picked up one of the mushrooms, placed it in an evidence bag he carried, and held it up to show Shen Ji.

"Need this for record-keeping. You don’t mind, right?"

"Not at all."

And so, Zhou Ye took the small mushroom with him. Only when the sound of footsteps had completely faded did Shen Ji breathe a soft sigh of relief.

"You actually know where the market is? Even which one sells mushrooms?" The system was completely astonished. "When did you collect that information?"

"Do you think being a journalist is that easy? Investigating local customs and the personal connections of those involved, mapping out routes and locations before reporting—these are the basic skills of a journalist."

"I haven't just been wandering around aimlessly these past few days."

Shen Ji gathered the mushrooms scattered on the table. "But what should we do with these mushrooms?"

When the personnel from the Pollution Prevention Center arrived, Shen Ji was truly caught off guard. He only had time to quickly tear off the mycelium growing on the rat, pluck the fully grown mushrooms from his body, and toss them onto the table, passing them off as groceries he'd bought. Yes, his groceries.

"Is it a problem that someone took one?"

"Southern mushrooms brought north! Contaminating the entire Pollution Prevention Center!"

Shen Ji: …

"Just kidding, it’s fine. Once those things detach from you, they’re just ordinary mushrooms—they won't contaminate anything—unless you reawaken them."

Shen Ji nodded. He lowered his head and continued staring at the mushrooms on the table. After a few seconds, he asked seriously, "Can we make mushroom soup out of these?"

"I actually really like mushroom soup."

"…"

Sometimes the system found itself puzzled by the fact that Shen Ji was human.

Mushroom soup? What kind of person would actually do that?