Chapter 26: Treatment Plan

Chapter 26: Treatment Plan

Chu Ye was assigned to an area under strict protection by the Guard Team.

This place was the medical training facility of the sanctuary, housing some young people with the potential to awaken their Talents. It boasted excellent protective measures and was fully equipped with anti-pollution equipment.

Not just the sanctuary, but the Guard Team and the Pollution Prevention Center also had similar facilities. During his time on the front lines, Chu Ye had even visited to select candidates, making it a fond memory from the past.

As Chu Ye was lost in thought, the door next to him creaked open, and a little girl jumped out from inside.

Chu Ye looked over curiously, his eyes lit up.

A psychic mutant? Such a promising prospect was actually in the sanctuary?! And so young!

Regardless of which side they were on, psychic mutants were scarce resources. A high-level psychic mutant could quickly locate the source of contamination on the battlefield, saving precious time that could be used to rescue ordinary people and prevent sacrifices among Guard Team members. As a result, the Guard Team had always actively recruited psychic mutants.

Thrilled, Chu Ye wanted to say a few words to the little girl. But before he could make a move, another person came out from behind the door—this time, an adult woman.

"Guoguo, stop jumping around. You’ll disturb the people downstairs," the woman called out to the girl ahead.

"Okay, Mom!"

The adult woman clearly noticed Chu Ye. She bent down to pick up the little girl named "Guoguo" and gave Chu Ye a polite smile before carrying the child downstairs.

Realizing that he might have frightened the mother and daughter, Chu Ye felt somewhat embarrassed. In the end, he could only turn and head into the room assigned to him.

There was a click, and the door automatically locked. He sat down on the sofa in this temporary residence.

He called Li Zhiyan.

"Li Zhiyan, you know what? The Q City Sanctuary actually has a psychic mutant! A really young kid! A kid with boundless potential!"

Li Zhiyan tossed his phone onto the table and sighed, already used to Chu Ye’s loud voice.

"Didn’t you know? Before the Gravedigger pollution outbreak, the Q City Sanctuary cured a contaminated patient. After recovering, the patient awakened their Talent and became a Class C psychic mutant. They’re currently under the protection of the sanctuary."

"So it’s her? And she’s already Class C? She's a prodigy!"

Chu Ye exclaimed, "Do you think our Pollution Prevention Center can recruit her?"

He made no attempt to hide his desire to recruit her, his tone brimming with eagerness.

The Pollution Prevention Center, the Guard Team, and the sanctuary were part of the same organization, but they still had different responsibilities. The number of mutants was limited, and when they couldn't be evenly distributed, competition was inevitable—unless it was an emergency, in which case personnel would be dispatched to critical areas first.

For example, during the Q City pollution outbreak, the sanctuary was operating beyond capacity and simply couldn’t handle the workload. Even Zhou Ye’s first thought at the time was that Shen Ji, as a newly awakened mutant, should go to the sanctuary to help.

Under normal circumstances, if they could successfully poach someone, good for them!

"Instead of trying to recruit this psychic mutant, you should think about how to recruit the doctor who treated her."

"Recruiting the doctor would be a bit heartless. Why would we do that?"

Sometimes, Li Zhiyan wondered if the battlefield had eaten away at Chu Ye’s brains. How could someone be so sharp on the battlefield yet act like their brain was soaked the moment they left it?

Li Zhiyan yawned, giving up on scolding him. Chu Ye was, after all, a patient, and it wasn’t right to yell at a patient.

"Figure it out yourself."

"Fine, I’ll figure it out myself." Chu Ye replayed the conversation with Li Zhiyan in his mind.

A contaminated patient was cured, and after being cured, this patient awakened as a mutant, even with a C-rank sensory-type Talent. Such an event is seriously insane, given how low the cure rate for pollution disease is nowadays. With odds that low, it's like hitting the goddamn jackpot.

It's like a Healing-type mutant was a gift from heaven.

As that thought crossed his mind, Chu Ye suddenly froze.

"Hey, no way?" Chu Ye stood up. "Don't tell me your Q City Shelter has a Healing-type mutant."

Li Zhiyan neither admitted nor denied it.

"Holy shit, a Healing-type mutant!" Chu Ye paced back and forth in the small room, whether out of excitement or something else. "Wait, all Healing-type mutants are registered with the Pollution Prevention Center. How did one suddenly appear in your Q City? Is it a newly awakened one?!"

"Shouldn’t this be reported to the Pollution Prevention Center immediately?"

"If you report it, your treatment will be ruined," Li Zhiyan said slowly.

Chu Ye, who had just pressed a digit, instantly let go. "Why?"

"I’ve sounded them out a bit. This suspected Healing-type mutant has no intention of leaving the shelter and has a serious aversion to the guard team. The shelter is keeping the news tightly under wraps, and it seems neither side plans to report it. If you report it and the news gets out, I’m not sure this Healing-type mutant will still be willing to treat you."

Chu Ye broke out in a cold sweat. He wiped his forehead before speaking. "So this is the real reason you suggested I come to the shelter for treatment?"

"But can this person really cure me?"

Chu Ye had been treated by Healing-type mutants before.

It's not like Healing-type mutants don't exist. The Pollution Prevention Center has a few, and they've got this 'Pollution Disease Doctor Training Program,' though it hasn’t been formally implemented yet. The people they picked for the program had all attempted to treat Chu Ye, but in the end, his contamination couldn’t be cleared.

The stuff you can't see or get a handle on had already seeped deep into his organs, eroding his bones. Even when he got scans, all he could see was a murky, black fog.

He had been sentenced to death and given a critical condition notice, but Chu Ye refused to accept it, so he kept searching for any possible treatment.

He didn’t want to die so quickly or easily—he had to push through until he found the missing person before leaving this world.

Ding dong—the doorbell rang.

"Can't talk now, the doctor is here."

Chu Ye hung up the phone, opened the door, and saw the young doctor standing at the entrance.

He was still wearing a white coat, extremely good-looking, with a sharp and striking handsomeness. Fortunately, the black-framed glasses on the bridge of his nose added a touch of refinement. The man seemed somewhat quiet, but his clothes were neat and well-fitted, making him very pleasing to look at from the first glance.

People with this kind of temperament were rare in the guard team—as expected of a doctor.

Chu Ye took another glance at his ID badge.

"Doctor Shen?"

"I'm not a doctor," Shen Ji replied. "The one prescribing the medicine is Doctor Wen. I'm only responsible for delivering the medication and testing your pollution level. In fact, I’m just support staff—after the doctor prescribes the medicine, I ensure contaminated patients take it and record their pollution levels at different times."

The shelter was completely different from the guard team and the Pollution Prevention Center. It focused on treatment, working mainly with contaminated patients who carry pollution. There were very few people who were both doctors and mutants, so the shelter recruited a large number of mutants to assist with the work.

They were also medical staff, even if they weren’t involved in prescribing or preparing medicine.

Shen Ji placed the medicine on the table. "This is your medication for today."

Chu Ye had always followed medical advice. He thanked him and swallowed the pills right in front of Shen Ji, then downed a glass of water. While taking the medicine, he also mentally noted the type of drug… it wasn’t much different from what he had taken before, maybe just a slight variation in dosage.

He still felt vaguely uneasy, holding out little hope.

Completely unbeknownst to Chu Ye, the mycelium gradually entered his body. They showed no resistance to their new territory; instead, they excitedly scurried around, staking out territory while gobbling up the pollution.

"Like a playful little dog."

"Truly terrifying pollution," the system suddenly spoke up.

"He's a B-level mutant. To pollute him so thoroughly, this pollutant has to be at least A-level, possibly even S-level."

Shen Ji could sense Chu Ye's physical condition through the mycelium's perspective.

Inside was pitch black, and the pollution was more stubborn than imagined. It had completely eroded him. On the surface, his pollution level was only 39, but in reality, he was more dangerous than a patient with a pollution level of 89. Just a little worse, and he could transform directly into a pollutant.

It seemed this was the reason why Chu Ye chose to stay in the polluted area instead of returning in the original work.

He had discovered this—he wasn't merely dying; he was also going to turn into the very pollutants he hated most. He would rather be buried alongside his teammates in that unknown polluted land.

'Curing him is far more difficult than treating Chen Guo. Chen Guo is only at stage I pollution, while he's actually already at stage IV pollution.'

'Such a pain. I should've just ignored it.'

But Shen Ji had a very bad habit: he hated leaving things unfinished. Once he started something, he would follow through, including treating these patients.

"True, but it's not entirely incurable."

'Is it possible?'

"In ancient times, there was scraping the bone to treat wounds; today, there are mushrooms devouring pollution. Treating him requires a fierce approach—ripping this pollution apart ruthlessly. Though it'll cause some physical harm, it's still better than him mutating into a pollutant."

'Sounds incredibly painful.'

"It will indeed be very painful. He might even cry from the pain."

Shen Ji looked at Chu Ye for a moment, imagining what this person would look like if he cried.

"Mr. Chu, I need to inform you in advance that your follow-up treatment may be quite painful."

When he said this, Shen Ji's expression remained as collected and professional as always, as if he were simply informing the patient of precautions to prevent any extreme reactions.

However, these words hit Chu Ye like an earthquake.

"P-painful?" Chu Ye was surprised but also felt a glimmer of hope.

Through all his seeking treatment, no doctor had ever told him, "The treatment process might be painful," because everyone else had said, "There's no cure for you."

Multiple Healing-type mutants had told him this, even though his detected pollution level was only 39.

"No problem, absolutely no problem! I’ll cooperate with the treatment. I can endure it!"

Chu Ye grew excited. "As long as it can treat me, I’ll do anything!"

"Your pollution levels might fluctuate, but such fluctuations don’t signify anything. It’s important to stay mentally stable," Shen Ji continued to remind him.

"I understand!" Chu Ye said seriously. "I won’t give up until the very end."

"Thank you for cooperating with the treatment." Shen Ji nodded. "I’ll return tomorrow morning to deliver your medicine. Please rest for now."

Watching Shen Ji leave, he excitedly paced around the room several more times. He really wanted to share his excitement with Li Zhiyan right now but managed to restrain himself.

This experience, so different from before, kindled hope within him. Could it really work? The treatment would be very painful—when would the pain start?

He never thought in his life that he would actually long for pain.

And the pollution might recur? To what extent?

It had been a year since he was contaminated, and his pollution level had barely changed, with the pollution detector showing only a slow increase from 37 to 39.

It didn't look dangerous in the slightest, yet no one could cure it.

Steeling himself to stay calm, Chu Ye picked up the ceramic cup on the table to pour himself a glass of cold water, thinking it might cool down his feverish mind.

Halfway through pouring the water, the pollution detector on his right wrist suddenly lit up.

Chu Ye froze, looking down at the detector. He had worn it ever since he was diagnosed with the pollution sickness, but it had never lit up on its own—the only two times it did were when his pollution level increased slightly.

He remembered Shen Ji saying before leaving that his pollution level might recur…

Ding dong. The pollution detector issued a mechanical alert.

"Reminder: Detected pollution level 38, a decrease of 1 from yesterday. Pollution level has dropped. Wishing you good health."

Chu Ye’s hand trembled. His grip on the cup faltered, and the ceramic cup, still half-filled with cold water, slipped to the ground and shattered. The faucet was still running, water spilling everywhere, but Chu Ye paid no attention.

No one could understand what Chu Ye was feeling in that moment.

He even felt like he wasn’t thinking anything at all, because he couldn’t feel anything—his mind went completely blank, leaving only disbelief.

It dropped?

How did it suddenly drop?

What had he done? He had just taken a handful of pollution medicine that, in his mind, was completely useless.

Treatment? When was he treated? How did he not feel anything at all?

The pollution level dropped, the pollution level dropped, the pollution level dropped…

Only after the realization hit did Chu Ye notice he was crying. Large teardrops fell onto the pollution detector, and he hurriedly tried to wipe them away. As a high-ranking official in the Pollution Prevention Center and a frontline soldier, how could he cry?!

But no matter how hard he wiped, the tears wouldn’t stop—instead, they fell faster and faster. Eventually, he gave up and let them flow.

It was as if he were crying out all the panic from when he was first diagnosed and the despair of searching for years with no results.

…So miracles really could happen to him.

/

After delivering the medicine to Chu Ye, Shen Ji’s work was done for the day.

Zhang Qingli had been discharged from the hospital and returned to work. All his patients had been returned to his care, but these past few days, Zhang Qingli found it very strange. He couldn’t understand why these patients showed clear improvement under Shen Ji’s care—even if their pollution levels only dropped by a few points—while under his own care, they didn’t improve at all.

It was a real blow to his pride.

Shen Ji could only reassure him: "Maybe they’ve developed resistance after taking the same medicine for too long. Just adjust the prescription, and it should be fine."

Zhang Qingli was half-convinced and went to consult the responsible doctor to adjust the medication.

After changing into casual clothes, Shen Ji left the shelter. Following the "Midnight Song" pollution incident, the shelter had arranged new accommodations for Shen Ji and Zhang Qingli. The new place was a bit far from the shelter, requiring a shuttle bus to get there.

Yes, the shelter even had a shuttle bus.

While waiting for the bus, Shen Ji’s phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and glanced at it—it was "Troublesome Protagonist."

Shen Ji: "..."

He didn't feel like picking up.

"He used to send you random plant photos, why is he calling today?"

"It's weird, why is he suddenly so persistent in contacting you?"

"I find it strange too." Shen Ji looked at the caller ID. "Let it ring. That's just how the protagonist is; if you don't answer once, he won't call again."

"Just say I'm stuck working late and couldn't answer the phone."

Yes, in the original story, this protagonist is very independent and does his own thing. He does things whatever he feels like, so he can pick poisonous mushrooms from contaminated zones for hotpot, or camp out next to a pollutant's corpse playing games on his phone. If something upsets him, he can just walk away immediately.

With this personality, as long as you don't answer his call, he'll lose interest and stop calling after one attempt.

However, this time Shen Ji misjudged—he watched as Li Zhiyan's third call came through.

Colleagues waiting for the bus kept glancing over, their eyes hesitant and concerned, mixed with three parts worry, three parts curiosity, and four parts post-overtime irritation at unwanted noise.

So Shen Ji took his phone and walked out of the bus stop, answering the call just outside where nobody was around.

"Hello, Mr. Li." Shen Ji spoke as if he hadn't been ignoring him, his tone calm and steady. "Sorry, I was just working and didn't have my phone on me."

Li Zhiyan didn't care whether he was working overtime and missed the call—as long as he answered now, it was fine.

"Is Chu Ye being treated by you?"

"If you want to inquire about a patient's condition, please call the shelter's admin office or contact the patient directly. Our staff are not allowed to disclose patient information to others." Shen Ji's tone was very formal, his words particularly by-the-book. "If there's nothing else, I'll hang up now."

Li Zhiyan didn't beat around the bush. "You're being pretty obvious about blowing me off."

"Not at all." Shen Ji denied it. "Mr. Li, you're actually the mutant our shelter likes working with most. With you around, we feel much more at ease."

"Quite the opposite, I'm probably the mutant your shelter least wants to work with. The contaminated areas I lead teams into are all high-risk areas. Your shelter staff wouldn't want to be sent to such high-casualty areas either."

"You're mistaken about that." Shen Ji said seriously. "When it comes to saving disaster victims, our shelter feels the same way as you."

Li Zhiyan fell silent.

Just as Shen Ji thought he had hung up, Li Zhiyan suddenly spoke again.

"Every time I talk to you, I feel like you're exactly my type. I was about to give up yesterday, but you fit too well—I can't quite bring myself to just walk away."

Shen Ji: "..."

'What does the protagonist mean? Is he really into me?'

"No way? Is the protagonist really gay?! Shen Ji, whatever you do, don't agree to him!"

'Absolutely not!'

"But I called this time about Chu Ye's matter." Li Zhiyan changed the subject. "Can you cure Chu Ye?"

Shen Ji feigned confusion. "You should really ask the shelter's doctors about that. I'm not a doctor; I don't handle prescribing meds. I just give out the meds to each contaminated patient."

"Asking you is the same." Li Zhiyan didn't care about these details. "Can your shelter cure Chu Ye?"

"That depends on the doctors, but I believe they will do everything they can to treat Mr. Chu."

The line went silent again.

A few seconds later, Li Zhiyan spoke up, "Impressive. Your answer is as good as not answering at all..."

"Fine. If Chu Ye can be cured, how about I agree to one unconditional term from the shelter?"

"What?! Agree to one unconditional term! Right, why didn’t I think of that?!"

"The protagonist and Chu Ye are friends, good friends at that. If we cure Chu Ye, the protagonist will owe us a favor. How could he still have the nerve to hunt us down after owing us?"

"Shen Ji! Agree! This will be our bargaining chip in the future!"

Shen Ji: ...

You fickle system, you were just crying and begging me not to agree to him.

Moreover, Shen Ji felt the system was being overly optimistic. After all, Li Zhiyan was the protagonist, an S-Class Mutant aligned with humanity. He was born to protect humanity—how could he let go of an S-Class pollutant that might cause large-scale terrorist events just because of a favor owed to a friend?

At best, this statement could only be used later to morally pressure him.

But guilt-tripping wasn’t so bad either.

Thinking this, Shen Ji said amusedly, "Then, to what extent can Mr. Li go?"

Li Zhiyan sat in his chair, thinking deeply. Across from him, a man and a woman pretended to be handling documents, but in reality, their ears were perked up, dying to gather around Li Zhiyan and listen to the gossip.

Zhou Ye exchanged a glance with Jiang Ying, his eyebrows dancing with excitement.

'See, Vice-Captain? I wasn’t lying! Captain Li is really wrapped around someone's finger!'

Jiang Ying shot him a look in response, 'Keep it down. If the captain finds out, we’ll be kicked out.'

'If I miss out on the captain’s embarrassment, you’ll pay for it!'

Li Zhiyan ignored their antics. After serious consideration, he answered earnestly, "Nothing that crosses my bottom line."

Here it comes, the bottom line.

Shen Ji knew it—for a novel protagonist, their bottom line was always the biggest issue. Often, a protagonist’s bottom line involved grand moral principles centered on protecting humanity.

"Hmm, bottom line? Where is the protagonist’s bottom line? Can an S-Class pollutant touch his bottom line?"

'Not sure.'

A shuttle bus arrived, and all the waiting passengers boarded. Shen Ji hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided not to board. Instead, he continued his conversation with Li Zhiyan.

Shen Ji asked, "What is Mr. Li’s bottom line?"

Was it humanity? The Pollution Prevention Center? Or perhaps his team members?

Amidst these thoughts, Li Zhiyan slowly spoke up, "Wearing red underwear."

Shen Ji: ...

"..."

"Red is my color of bad luck. Every time I wear red, something bad happens. So, no one can make me wear red underwear—not even in my birth year."

Shen Ji: ...

"..."

Shen Ji hung up the phone and glanced into the distance at the departing shuttle bus, deep in thought.

A few seconds later, he whispered very, very softly, "I should’ve just hung up and boarded the bus to go home and sleep."

"Same here."