Chapter 21: Midnight Song

Chapter 21 *Midnight Song*

"Are you okay?" Shen Ji asked with a calm expression and serious tone.

Zhang Qingli composed himself, releasing the hand that had been scratching his skin and letting go of Shen Ji's sleeve. He looked at the needle Shen Ji was holding out and nodded with strained calm.

Shen Ji regretfully put away the pollution inhibitor.

Zhang Qingli: ...

This guy really wanted to jab him with that needle!

"What's the current situation?"

Shen Ji shook his head, adjusting his glasses to the proper position. Zhang Qingli noticed this little habit - he always fussed with his appearance before starting work, yet it never came across as pretentious. But honestly, buttoning his jacket all the way up before work... didn't that just make people imagine more?

Of course, he didn't realize this was also part of Shen Ji's occupational habit. Journalists needed to appear on camera, and people on screen had to look put-together and presentable.

After fastening the last button on his wrist, Shen Ji finally sent a voice message in the group chat.

"Zhang Qingli is with me. He's fine now. What's the current situation?"

His words set off a storm. Instantly, voice messages began popping up in the group chat, quickly filling the entire phone screen.

Shen Ji clicked on the top messages one by one to listen.

"The main door on the first floor is locked! The back door won't open either. I can't reach the dorm manager either. Messages show sending failure - it's like everything outside our floor has lost network connection!"

"Reverse thinking - maybe it's not that the outside lost connection, but that our network here has been cut off. This often happens in polluted areas."

"Holy crap, polluted areas? I thought I'd never set foot in a contamination zone in my lifetime!"

"So that singing is actually from a pollutant?"

"The singing is coming from everywhere. Where exactly is the singer? Is anyone showing contamination reactions?"

"Not yet, but that doesn't mean anything. Those affected don't realize they're contaminated at the beginning of pollution exposure. Even we doctors can't self-diagnose - it's better to stay in groups so abnormalities are easier to spot."

"Exactly what you'd expect from containment facility pollution doctors - reacting instantly when noticing something wrong, and their responses are completely correct."

There weren't many people staying in the dormitory during shift rotations, at most twenty or thirty people. After discussion, they decided to temporarily gather with others - whether in pairs or groups of three, absolutely no one should stay alone in their rooms. The containment facility would notice something was wrong when they couldn't reach them.

During the wait for rescue, under no circumstances should they become contaminated.

"Zhang Qingli probably has some hero complex," Shen Ji muttered about Zhang Qingli behind his back. "Still can't stay put at a time like this."

"That's because unlike you, he's a real doctor."

Yes, Zhang Qingli had left.

After stabilizing his condition and receiving another injection of pollution inhibitor, Zhang Qingli hoped to use his Talent to find the source of this pollution.

Fortunately, he was now a Class C Mutant and could still take this kind of risk - anyone of lower rank would just be walking to their death.

Just then, a small mushroom fell from the ceiling. Shen Ji looked up and saw the dense mat of hyphae covering the ceiling. The hyphae formed a hand that was gingerly poking at him, just like how Shen Ji used to poke their mushroom caps.

Shen Ji: ...

This little thing actually learned from example.

"They found a place with high pollution nearby. Wanna check it out?"

Yes, right from the start of the pollution outbreak, Shen Ji had sent the hyphae to locate the area with the highest pollution levels. After all, pollution spreads outward from the source—the higher the pollution, the more likely the source was there.

"Let's go."

Shen Ji stood up from the sofa. The small mushrooms dutifully dangled from the ceiling, pointing the way for him.

As they crawled forward, they couldn’t help but scatter in all directions. Whenever they scurried back, they’d be noticeably rounder—clearly sneaking off for some solo feasting, stuffing themselves until they were plump and tender.

Shen Ji reached out and grabbed one of them. "Lead the way properly."

He threatened like a terrifying parent, "If you keep running around, I’ll fire all of you."

The mushrooms popped open their caps with a poof, releasing a stream of transparent spores. The spores quickly took root, sprouting countless new small mushrooms.

"Such a bully, tricking these clueless little mushrooms."

Not bothering to argue with the system about whether mushrooms were silly or not, Shen Ji followed the hyphae to the basement. Yes, this dormitory building had a basement, where each person had a storage room for keeping junk.

Heading deeper into the basement, Shen Ji soon spotted a person curled up in the corner.

He was wearing a white lab coat. The basement had motion-sensor lights, but since the person wasn’t moving at all, the lights remained off, leaving him swallowed by the darkness.

Shen Ji walked over and crouched down, checking the person’s breathing.

Still breathing. He's alive.

"Xu Nanzhou, staff member of Containment Zone II, E-level mutant. Talent unknown. Known for low susceptibility to pollution, he is a survivor of three pollution incidents. Recruited by the Containment Zone to work there, he resides in the third-floor dormitory. Current pollution level detected: 63%. Environmental pollution is high—he has been contaminated."

Shen Ji helped him up, and it was then that he noticed the man’s eyes were open.

The lights flickered on in response to the motion. In the dim glow, Xu Nanzhou stared fixedly at Shen Ji, his eyes filled with an eerie intensity.

"You..." Shen Ji lowered his voice gently. "Are you okay?"

"She hasn’t finished singing yet. I promised her I’d listen to the end," Xu Nanzhou replied. "The song is so long, but she’s always been so lonely. It’s rare for her to find someone who will listen to her sing."

As he spoke, he covered his ears. "But I’ve been listening for so, so long. Why hasn’t it ended yet?"

"I don’t want to listen anymore!"

He began to struggle. As he thrashed, his sleeve slid down his arm, and Shen Ji saw that his arm was covered in dense, festering marks.

The rotting wounds were streaked with red blood vessels, and brownish fluid soaked through his white shirt. But he seemed completely unaware, screaming in panic.

"Calm down." Shen Ji held him firmly, keeping him from thrashing around. With every struggle, his clothes scraped another layer of skin and flesh from his rotting wounds, and blood quickly seeped out.

Hyphae extended from Shen Ji’s wrist and pierced into Xu Nanzhou’s skin. His body was already riddled with holes, everywhere scarred by pollution and corrosion.

"Don’t move."

"What? What do you mean, don’t move?" Xu Nanzhou looked at Shen Ji blankly. He turned his head toward Shen Ji and, in the next moment, saw the rotting holes on his own arm. The gruesome sight made him scream.

"It hurts, it hurts!" The moment he saw the wounds, his sense of pain returned. Excruciating, bone-scraping agony racked his body, making him convulse.

Shen Ji held him down. "Don’t move! You’re a doctor—you know damn well what shape you’re in!"

"Even if you’re contaminated, you’re still a Containment Zone doctor."

Xu Nanzhou trembled, stopping his useless struggles. The excruciating pain left his face ghostly white. After a full minute of adaptation, he slowly opened his eyes.

"Knock me out, I can't take it anymore," he begged Shen Ji, sobbing. "Please."

Instead of complying with his request to knock him out directly, Shen Ji retrieved a sedative from his pocket—leftover from his last trip to East City. He injected the medication into Xu Nanzhou's body and stayed with him until he passed out from the drugs and fell asleep. Even in slumber, he continued to twitch from the pain.

"Shen Ji, have you noticed? This contamination feels so familiar."

"Mm." Shen Ji placed one hand on Xu Nanzhou's chest as fungal threads extended from his wrist, eventually covering Xu Nanzhou completely.

"It matches the signs of contamination from occupational exposure at the shelter."

"Class A Pollutant Chen Guo broke out at the shelter. Due to the deaths of numerous medical staff and infected patients, there was no longer any need to pursue the 'Decaying Organism.' But even after we prevented Chen Guo from becoming a pollutant, this inevitable outbreak still occurred."

"The butterfly effect's always a factor."

Shen Ji sighed, taking off his coat to cover the unconscious Xu Nanzhou.

"Suddenly, I recall something. Wasn't that lone victim of 'Midnight Song' a community doctor?"

"Correct. That's the information released by the Pollution Prevention Center—very accurate."

"So, this pollutant... is it obsessed with doctors? Song Yuanzhang was also a doctor once."

"A pollutant that rots people, is obsessed with doctors, and sings..."

"Got it! I know what pollutant this is! Do you read the author notes? This author has a habit of jotting down his settings there, like sharing ideas with readers."

Shen Ji: ...

"Sorry, I always skip author notes."

"In chapter 18 of volume three, the author wrote a setting: the infection is named 'The Little Girl in the Sewer.'"

"This infection was born during the outbreak period. The girl's father was a doctor, and her mother was a nurse who often sang her lullabies. After the outbreak, her parents hid her in a nearby sewer and were killed by the infection. Unfortunately, the girl hidden in the sewer didn't escape either. After death, she turned into a pollutant. Endless loneliness drives her to constantly search for her parents, but the infection causes her to infect everyone within her range."

"That's the story of 'The Little Girl in the Sewer.'"

"Lullaby?" Shen Ji looked up, listening to the hoarse, repeatedly hummed song. "Is this the lullaby her mother sang to her?"

"But if we solve this infection, can we say goodbye to the protagonist?"

"How so?"

"First, the protagonist discovered Chen Guo from the shelter's contamination leak incident, and through Chen Guo, found me." Shen Ji stroked his chin, thinking seriously. "Now, Chen Guo isn't a Class A Pollutant, but the contamination leak incident is still ongoing."

"If we handle the contamination leak incident too, then the protagonist has no reason to come to the shelter. Without coming to the shelter, we have no reason to meet."

"Perfect."

"You're right! Teaming up with you was indeed the correct choice! We'll soon be living freely! Go, Shen Ji!"

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch. If something goes wrong because of a flag, it'll be all your fault."

"..."

Spoke too early.

/

"No! Cough, cough, you can't go!"

Zhang Qingli grabbed someone's arm, stopping them from proceeding further while coughing violently.

He could feel his body reacting badly; his emotions were on the verge of bursting. Suppressing his instincts made his arms tremble.

Ahead was the rooftop. This was the fifth floor, and the person before him was about to jump.

He had come here searching for a way out but instead found a colleague about to jump. The colleague was deeply infected, not only hallucinating but also convinced he should immediately join the pollutants.

Rotten flesh smeared into Zhang Qingli's palm, carrying an unbearable stench, but Zhang Qingli didn't dare let go. Once released, a colleague would kill himself.

"Why stop me?" The decaying colleague couldn't even perceive his own contamination, only asking in confusion, "My friend is waiting for me. She said she's waited so long, lonely there for years. If I don't go, who will be with her?"

"She's so pitiful."

"Let me go. I promise, I'll just go down to stay with her for a while and come back."

"If you go down, you won't come back!" Zhang Qingli grabbed him with both hands, frustratedly. "Has she ever pitied you?! What about your wife and child?!"

"Damn it! Wake up!"

"How could that be?" The colleague grew more puzzled. "I'm just going to be with a friend. Why would that disappoint everyone? Let me go. You're really being unreasonable."

Who's being unreasonable here?!

Seeing Zhang Qingli unwilling to release him, the colleague sighed. A half-decayed face sighing helplessly was a horrifying sight. Even though Zhang Qingli was used to dealing with contaminated patients, he couldn't help but frown. Just then, the colleague used a hand visible to the bone to pull a syringe from his pocket.

Before the needle could pierce Zhang Qingli's hand, Zhang Qingli finally let go, avoiding the injection.

Damn, someone actually carries contamination suppressant like Shen Ji!

"Sorry," the colleague even apologized to Zhang Qingli. "She's really too pitiful. I'll just go down to be with her."

With that, he rushed toward the rooftop and jumped straight down. Zhang Qingli lunged forward but failed to grab the colleague's clothes.

Only a loud thud was heard—the sound of a body hitting hard ground, sticky. Even without looking, Zhang Qingli could imagine the scene.

Decayed flesh and undecayed crimson intertwined, splayed on the ground...

Zhang Qingli gagged again.

He stood up, staggered back against the wall as he retreated. His breathing was rapid, but the intense gasps couldn't calm him—only risked heading for an alkalosis attack from hyperventilation.

"Are you crying?"

Zhang Qingli turned to look beside him.

At the staircase entrance, Shen Ji stood on the steps, looking down at him from above.

Shen Ji was still the same—his dark eyes calm as if nothing had happened, as if all disasters were merely minor hurdles not worth noting. His clothes remained clean and neat, a black tie at his collar, the bookish look under black-framed glasses unchanged.

It was a sense of security that was bone-deep. Zhang Qingli even felt his breathing begin to slow.

"Was I crying?" Zhang Qingli touched his cheek but found no tears.

"Just looked like you were about to." Shen Ji walked down. "What happened?"

"He jumped. I couldn't hold him back." Zhang Qingli answered briefly.

Even with such a short sentence, Shen Ji understood. He nodded without further questions, standing opposite Zhang Qingli quietly accompanying him, as if ready to see him through this wretched time of guilt.

But Zhang Qingli didn't need to feel remorse; he had merely attempted a rescue that failed. Such incidents had already occurred countless times within the shelter.

"Your appearance is truly impeccable. I feel like everyone in the entire shelter sees you as gentle, reliable, and powerful."

'Am I not gentle, reliable, and powerful?'

"I guess so."

Only after Zhang Qingli's breathing had steadied did Shen Ji continue descending. It wasn't until Shen Ji was half a step down that Zhang Qingli finally registered what was happening.

He quickly grabbed the railing and leaned out. "Where are you going?"

"Wait, why are you even out here? It's dangerous outside. Get back to the dorm!"

Shen Ji stopped and looked up at Zhang Qingli, their eyes meeting.

Contrary to before, it was now Zhang Qingli who was looking down from above, yet he inexplicably felt that he was still the one being looked down upon. Shen Ji's gaze was clear, his dark eyes still calm and collected, carrying his unique sense of aloofness yet not feeling distant.

Whether here or back in Dongcheng, he was always so composed, making one suspect that he had experienced scenes far more terrifying than the present, so these things were not enough to frighten him.

Shen Ji said, "Haven't you noticed? This pollution comes from the same source as the occupational exposure pollution in the shelter. It might even be the actual pollutant causing the leak."

"I'm going to find it."

After saying this, Shen Ji turned and continued walking. Zhang Qingli hesitated for a moment before choosing to follow.

"Don't go! At this level, this pollutant is at least Class C. Class C pollutants aren't easy to deal with!"

"Shen Ji!"

"Li Zhiyan said my Talent level is very high," Shen Ji replied calmly without turning around, merely pushing up his glasses. "Since my Talent level is high, it means this pollution won't affect me. That means I can do a lot."

"Such as finding this pollutant, or perhaps even a way to escape."

Zhang Qingli followed step by step behind him. "Even mutants who aren't aggressive can die. We're only human. The pollutant might not be able to corrupt you, but it can kill you."

"I still have to go."

Shen Ji's voice was very soft, like a murmur, yet it carried a determination and gentleness that couldn't be ignored.

"Perhaps we'll find a treatment for occupational exposure."

Zhang Qingli's eyes widened.

"Treatment for 'Decaying Organism' has always been a dead end. Almost all treatment methods have failed. Now that the source of the pollution has finally appeared, we might be able to find a cure."

"To save everyone suffering from occupational exposure—isn't that our responsibility as doctors?"

Zhang Qingli felt his heart racing, not because of the high-concentration pollution, but out of admiration and respect for another person.

As a doctor, as a friend, or even as a colleague... he couldn't help but be moved by Shen Ji.

How can someone this good even exist?

"I'll go with you," Zhang Qingli decided, looking intently at Shen Ji as if putting all his trust into another person.

"I won't be at ease if you go alone."

Shen Ji paused...

Could he refuse?

"Perfect, this poor kid has been fooled by you again. Look at his eyes—he absolutely admires you to the extreme. Shen Ji, you're a menace!"

'Rather than that, I can't just deal with the pollutant in front of him. I need to find a way to ditch him.'

"You actually want to abandon him? How heartless~"

'Maybe I should just bite him.' Shen Ji considered seriously, his glasses glinting with a strange light, like a movie villain about to reveal their true self and betray the protagonist.

'Anyway, if he dies in the pollution zone, we can easily blame it on the pollution.'

"...Don't suddenly break out your villain act at a time like this!"