Chapter 59: Pollution Fissure Research Institute

Chapter 59: Pollution Fissure Research Institute

After touring the Pollution Fissure Research Institute, Shen Ji and Kang Xiaodong returned to their respective dormitories to rest.

What surprised Shen Ji was the unexpectedly small number of people at this research institute.

There were fewer than fifty in total, sparsely scattered across different areas. The cafeteria at mealtimes (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) was probably the only place where people gathered in larger numbers.

After seeing the workplace, Kang Xiaodong grew even more concerned. Both the state of the pollution fissure and the current number of people indicated that this was far from an ideal place. He had drawn the short straw.

But as the Chinese principle goes: *"Since we're already here."*

After all, he couldn’t just spend another day and night on the road back.

"Kang Xiaodong is Cheng Feng’s apprentice and also Jiang Ying’s junior. He once interned and worked at the same place as Jiang Ying. Though not as bold as Jiang Ying, his professional skills are top-notch."

"It seems Cheng Feng really trusts Dr. Yang, even sending his youngest apprentice here."

Shen Ji lay on the bed and yawned.

Although he was a pollutant and wouldn’t feel tired even after staying awake for days, the day-and-night journey had left him mentally exhausted.

This was one of those rare moments when he wasn’t at his best. Not only was his hair messily splayed across the pillow, but he also paid no attention to the wrinkles in his clothes, which were bunched up around his waist, revealing a slender waist. Being non-human, his skin was exceptionally pale, glowing like white jade under the light.

"Will Kang Xiaodong be the next head of the Pollution Harmless Treatment Center?"

"Why don’t you think it could be you? After all, you were sent here too."

Shen Ji sighed. "With my tangled relationship with Li Zhiyan, do you really think Cheng Feng would choose me as his successor?"

"Protagonist’s choice! *Top-tier quality guaranteed!*"

Shen Ji: "..."

System, your advertising slogans are both tacky and downright infernal.

"Huh?" The system suddenly changed the subject. "I detected that the protagonist sent a complaint letter to the Pollution Prevention Center."

Shen Ji rolled over and lay on his stomach on the bed. "He sent a complaint letter to the Pollution Prevention Center? Doesn’t he usually just argue directly with the higher-ups there?"

"Ah, it wasn’t a complaint letter he wrote. It was a complaint letter Cheng Feng wrote about him. When he went to the treatment center to look for you, Cheng Feng directly handed him the complaint letter, so he just went ahead and mailed it to the Pollution Prevention Center."

Shen Ji fell silent.

"You’re saying Cheng Feng wrote a complaint letter about him, and he just mailed it to the Pollution Prevention Center?"

"Cheng Feng accused Li Zhiyan of abusing his authority, repeatedly poaching potential successors from the Pollution Harmless Treatment Center with unclear intentions—possibly to dismantle the treatment center and create a major vulnerability for humanity. His behavior was deemed improper and sarcastic, as if he were impersonated by a pollutant, and Cheng Feng suggested an immediate special investigation team be formed."

"But because the Zero Abyss earthquake is happening in a month, the Pollution Prevention Center couldn’t find a replacement for Li Zhiyan, so they called Cheng Feng and, by the way, found him a psychologist."

"...What a clever way to use someone else to do your dirty work."

Shen Ji’s tone was subtle. "Rather than it being a proxy move, why don’t you think he genuinely wanted the Pollution Prevention Center to form a special investigation team?"

"That way, he wouldn’t have to work at Zero Abyss and could take a one-to-two-month vacation instead."

"..."

"Shen Ji, have you already gotten used to the protagonist’s train of thought? I didn’t even consider something this abstract."

"You already understand him this well?!"

Shen Ji: "..."

Tch, it seems he really should spend some time apart from Li Zhiyan. As the saying goes, "You are the company you keep." He’s been around Li Zhiyan for too long, which is why he can immediately decipher his abstract behavior.

It’s definitely not because he himself is somewhat abstract too!

"Give it a rest. You’re a mushroom yourself, yet you still want to drink mushroom soup. You’re not much better either."

The system interjected, "An abstract owner raises abstract mushrooms, so your small mushrooms are a bunch of abstract little mushrooms too."

"...Wasn’t it you who used to find pollution for the small mushrooms to eat every day?"

"Once the mushrooms grow up, they don’t listen to the system anymore."

After bantering with the system for a while, Shen Ji reached for his phone but suddenly realized something.

Shen Ji sat up on the bed. "Wait a second."

He scanned the dormitory. "Where are the small mushrooms? Why can’t I see a single one?"

"Huh?" Only then did the system notice. "You’re right, where are the small mushrooms? Don’t they love sticking close to you? Normally, they should’ve started marking their territory around you by now."

"...Territory."

"..."

Shen Ji and the system simultaneously remembered something, and a terrifying thought crossed their minds.

This was the Pollution Fissure Research Institute, and not far away was an actual pollution fissure!

Shen Ji quickly got out of bed. As he left the dormitory, he grabbed the thick coat hanging on the clothes rack, putting it on while running. The research base was extremely cold, and if he ran out wearing thin clothes without feeling cold, it would seem far too suspicious. One of the symptoms of pollution disease was temperature dysregulation.

To avoid unnecessary misunderstandings, Shen Ji had always maintained the habits of a normal person. Adding more layers in cold weather was the right thing to do.

After putting on the coat, he ran all the way to the research institute and finally spotted the small mushrooms through the window glass.

The tall, broad high wall had become their playground. They delightfully claimed the high wall as their new territory, occasionally nibbling on the pollution born from the fissure. After eating, they began spraying mushroom spores, which quickly formed new small mushrooms. The rapidly multiplying mushrooms soon covered the entire high wall tightly.

Fortunately, humans couldn’t see the mushrooms with the naked eye, and surveillance cameras couldn’t capture their presence either.

Otherwise, they would have seen the entire wall turn white.

Shen Ji could even sense them fishing for pollutants on the other side of the high wall. Specifically, they extended their tendrils into the pollution fissure, quickly entangling any higher-level pollutants they found, then pulling them up onto the high wall to hoard them. The bitter cold wind made the poor pollutants struggle and sway on the high wall, so the small mushrooms delivered a final tendril strike to end them.

The dead pollutants continued to hang from the mycelium, like dried salted fish.

They finally noticed Shen Ji’s arrival and extended a section of mycelium to cling to the window, greeting him.

Trying to please him, they even pulled the hanging "pollution jerky" and offered it to Shen Ji.

*Master! This territory is great! This is for you to eat!*

*Extra large! Extra fragrant! So much food! It’s an all-you-can-eat buffet!*

*We love it! Thank you, Master!*

Shen Ji: ...

"I'm touched, but no, I won't eat it, I won't eat contaminants! You guys eat them yourselves!"

"Ying! [*ying* – a cute sound of distress/excitement] The awesome master gives all the delicious food to us little mushrooms, master is so good!"

"The little mushrooms will thrive!"

Shen Ji let out a soft sigh.

Forget it, this is a Pollution Fissure after all. Pollution Fissures can only be controlled, not destroyed. The endless supply of contamination won't be depleted by the little mushrooms in a short time. Plus, while they devour the contaminants, they can also control the spread of contamination incidents, which is actually doing a great thing.

The mushrooms are controlling the Pollution Fissure's development; the mushrooms are heroes too.

But be careful!

When eating contaminants, avoid people and don't be discovered. If you're found out, we won't be able to stay here anymore.

There's no Li Zhiyan here to cover for him either.

Upon hearing they might have to leave, the little mushrooms let out a panicked *ying* and poofed up, quickly dragging their 'contamination chunks' away with unimaginable speed.

Just as he was puzzled, Shen Ji heard footsteps approaching hurriedly from down the hall.

The person held a large syringe of contamination inhibitor and was about to inject Shen Ji with it. Shen Ji quickly dodged to avoid being jabbed.

"What are you doing?"

The person, who nearly crashed into the wall when Shen Ji moved, pushed himself off the wall before finally reacting. "Huh? You're okay?"

"Of course I'm okay," Shen Ji said, looking at him strangely. "Who are you?"

The person stared oddly at Shen Ji for a moment before pulling out a contamination detector from his pocket. He pointed it at Shen Ji, let out a relieved sigh after confirming the readings were normal, and then put away the contamination inhibitor.

"Hello, I'm Chen Ting, a contamination doctor sent here for support from The Shelter. My job is to treat any potential contamination sickness in this research institute."

The person scratched his messy hair.

He laughed awkwardly. "Sorry, the alarm just went off indicating extremely high contamination levels here, and I saw you standing here on the monitor."

"So I mistakenly thought you were contaminated, which is why I hurried over with the contamination inhibitor."

Shen Ji: ...

The little mushrooms have caused another huge mess. He knew there had to be a reason why those little rascals suddenly ran off.

"The Shelter?" Shen Ji looked at him. "The Shelter sends people to the Pollution Fissure Research Institute too?"

"Only the main Shelter assigns people to various places for training. All government bodies operate this way. Our Shelter also has staff from the Academy of Sciences stationed there."

Chen Ting scratched his head. "So who are you? What are you doing here? I don't think I've seen you before."

"Hello," Shen Ji introduced himself. "I'm a newcomer assigned here today, affiliated with the Pollution Harmless Treatment Center."

"Oh." Chen Ting gave a nod. "I did hear two newcomers were coming from there today, but why didn't you mention your name?"

He asked curiously, "Normally, when introducing yourself, you'd say your name first, right?"

Of course, a normal self-introduction would include one's name first, but Shen Ji wasn't sure what kind of reaction he'd get if he gave his name. That damn Li Zhiyan ruined his entire image with that one phrase, "he played with feelings and then abandoned."

After a few seconds locked in a stare-down, Chen Ting showed no sign of awkwardness and was still waiting for him to give his name.

Shen Ji: ...

Could this guy really not tell he didn't want to give his name?

"Shen Ji."

"Oh, so your name is Shen Ji... Wait a minute? Shen Ji?"

Shen Ji knew it would come to this.

Chen Ting's eyes lit up even more. "That Shen Ji? The one who might have worked at the Q City Shelter branch, helped The Shelter develop a specialized treatment, and increased the recovery rate by 30%?!"

"The one who cured Chu Ye and might be a Healingtype mutant?!"

So that's what you're interested in.

Shen Ji turned and walked away.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't go! Big shot!" Chen Ting chased after him.

"Can you tell me how you cured Chu Ye? How did you manage to increase the recovery rate so much? I've studied this before—even high-level Healingtype mutants aren't powerful enough to raise the entire Shelter's recovery rate like that."

"Back then, I wanted to go to the Q City Shelter with my mentor, but I was rejected due to some issues. I never thought we'd meet here."

"It must be fate!"

Shen Ji deadpanned, "You've got the wrong person. I'm not that Shen Ji."

"No? Yes, you are!"

Chen Ting refused to believe it. "Li Zhiyan confirmed it! He said it's you!"

Shen Ji: ...

I'll go back and assassinate Li Zhiyan one day, and take his place as the protagonist!

Seeing that Shen Ji wasn't responding, Chen Ting finally wised up and realized Shen Ji didn't like being brought up in this context.

"If you say it's not you, then it's not!" Chen Ting quickly said. "But can you help me with something? I'm really in a bind here."

Shen Ji stopped and turned to look at Chen Ting.

Chen Ting sighed, clasped his hands together in a pleading gesture.

"Please, help me out."

"Are you going to help? If you do, your cover will really be exposed, you know."

Shen Ji subtly raised an eyebrow. After a few seconds, he finally spoke.

"Let's go take a look first."

Chen Ting's eyes widened in surprise.

"Alright, I knew it would come to this."

"Little reporter, your mouth is tough, but your heart is soft."

/

Since it was a newly formed pollution fissure, the Pollution Fissure Research Institute wasn't fully built yet, with only temporary sections for research and living. Even the heating system wasn't great. Walking through the area, Chen Ting shivered from the cold.

After finally making it down the corridor and turning into a side passage, he at last saw his workplace.

Swiping his card to open the door, Chen Ting let out a sharp exhale; the warmth made his whole body tremble. Shen Ji also exhaled and shivered, pretending to be affected as well.

Chen Ting didn’t notice this. He just took off his heavy coat and pointed toward a person isolated not far away.

The person was still wearing the uniform of the Pollution Fissure Research Institute, which was a bit dirty, with an ID badge hanging on his chest.

He didn’t look much different from a normal person. Following containment protocol, Shen Ji briefly observed him and confirmed there were no obvious signs of pollution on his body.

As soon as Chen Ting entered, the person immediately stood up, pressed himself against the isolation room door, and began cursing vehemently at Chen Ting.

Of course, due to the isolation, Shen Ji and Chen Ting couldn’t hear what he was saying—they could only tell from his lip movements and furious expression that he was using extremely foul language.

The fact that he could open his mouth to curse indicated that there weren’t clear mental pollution symptoms either.

Chen Ting sat down at a nearby desk and turned on the computer screen.

It displayed the person’s various vital signs and pollution level.

Pollution level 14—this number wasn’t high; in fact, it could even be considered very low.

After confirming the pollution level, Chen Ting tapped the keyboard again, and the person’s stream of profanity instantly blared from the speakers.

"Let me out!"

"I’m not polluted at all! Bastard! *damn it*!"

"You’re just !"

Chen Ting tapped the keyboard again to turn off the sound.

Shen Ji found a chair and sat down, looking at the pollution level. "Is he a mutant? If he is, this pollution level isn’t much and doesn’t meet the standard for contaminated patients."

"Exactly. Based on the numbers, he shouldn’t be considered a contaminated patient at all."

Chen Ting sighed. "That’s the strangest part."

Shen Ji nodded, signaling for him to continue.

"I found him through surveillance—he was standing in front of that window, just like you were." Chen Ting leaned back in his chair. "The entire pollution fissure containment facility is equipped with pollution detectors. As a pollution disease doctor, I have the authority to determine pollution levels using these instruments."

"That day, I saw him standing at the window. Outside was a strange statue—a pair of hands holding a peculiar little figure. He was staring right at that figure on the statue."

That’s why Chen Ting had been so agitated when he saw Shen Ji standing there earlier—he’d even fetched the largest dose of pollution inhibitor.

Unexpectedly, it wasn’t a scare but a pleasant surprise.

"But his pollution level is low."

"At first, I also thought he wasn’t polluted. After all, he’s a mutant, so it’s harder for him to get polluted even in high-pollution environments." Chen Ting said, "But since this happened, I needed to isolate and observe him for a day."

"Originally, we all thought it would just be a simple observation and we could release him the next day…"

Chen Ting was a very dedicated doctor. He was used to working three shifts at the containment facility, and even after coming here, he would check on patients when he went to the bathroom late at night.

That night, out of habit, he went to check after using the bathroom and noticed something wrong.

In the isolation room, the contaminated patient was standing by the bed in the middle of the night, staring fixedly outside the isolation room. And outside the isolation room was a huge statue—the little figure on it was transforming, growing eyes and eyebrows that looked strikingly similar to those of the contaminated patient.

Chen Ting hit the alarm, but by the time the security team arrived, the huge statue had already disappeared.

The contaminated patient’s pollution level hadn’t changed, and when awakened, he claimed to remember nothing.

"If it weren’t for the surveillance footage, I would’ve thought I was the one who’d been polluted."

Chen Ting pulled up the previous recording and showed it to Shen Ji. Sure enough, it showed the contaminated patient in the isolation room staring at the huge statue outside.

"They’ve been doing this almost every night. The face on the statue is looking more and more like him, but the pollution level remains very low."

"This number isn’t even at a level where pollution disease would be suspected."

Chen Ting banged his head on the desk in frustration. "Mr. Shen, what do you think is going on?"

"It’s clearly an abnormal pollution condition with mental symptoms. He doesn’t remember any contact with pollutants—based on that alone, his pollution level shouldn’t be this low!"

What worried Chen Ting most was: if this person was discovered by him, what if there were more contaminated patients who hadn’t been found?

It wasn’t that mutants couldn’t be polluted—it’s just that the criteria for judging pollution in mutants differed from those for normal people. For a mutant, a pollution level of 14 really couldn’t be considered pollution disease. If Chen Ting hadn’t witnessed the pollution incident, he wouldn’t have thought this person had a problem.

So he also couldn’t determine whether there were similar cases among normal people.

As his worries grew, he felt utterly powerless.

Unexpectedly, he ran into Shen Ji at a time like this.

If it was Shen Ji, the legendary Healingtype mutant, could he figure out what was wrong with this person?

Thinking this, Chen Ting looked at Shen Ji with shining eyes.

Shen Ji: ...

Actually, his identity as a Healingtype mutant was fake, and his identity as a psychic mutant was fake too.

His small mushroom only knew how to devour pollution—it couldn’t analyze pollution.

'All-powerful system,' Shen Ji called out to the one who could actually handle this, 'I’m counting on you!'

"Only when you need me to do work are you willing to call me the all-powerful system." The system complained for the who-knows-how-many-th time. "Alright, alright, let me analyze this."

"Ning Peng, Class C Mutant, pollution level 57, showing signs of mental pollution, no physical pollution symptoms. Pollution level is steadily increasing."

Shen Ji glanced at the person. 'His pollution level is actually 57?'

"Correct. This pollutant must have a way to conceal its pollution level, deceiving the pollution detection machines—just like Chu Ye back then? Of course, it’s not as powerful as the Gardener. At most, it can only fool pollution detectors. If Li Zhiyan were here, he’d notice immediately. But of course, this system won’t be fooled either!"

Shen Ji nodded.

"Stage III." Shen Ji said to Chen Ting. "Administer medication. His pollution level is still rising. If it isn’t controlled soon, by Stage IV, it’ll be too late."

Chen Ting’s eyes widened in shock. He looked at Shen Ji, then at the contaminated patient in the isolation room.

Huh? That fast?

While he was still wondering how Shen Ji would assess this contaminated patient, Shen Ji had directly stated the actual pollution stage?

"Really?"

"Hey, you can just take it as me rambling." Shen Ji stood up, "Suit yourself."

After saying that, Shen Ji left.

Chen Ting watched Shen Ji leave and quickly ran to another room to mix the drugs. He understood what Shen Ji meant—this contaminated patient wasn't just at a contamination reading of 14. A Stage III contaminated patient would have a contamination reading of at least 50, meaning this was a special case of contamination with hidden characteristics.

He pulled out a dose from his supplies. This medication was extremely precious, capable of detecting the true contamination level of a contaminated patient. He had only brought three vials with him.

To verify Shen Ji's claim, he decided to bite the bullet and use one.

After preparing the pollution inhibitor, Chen Ting immediately called for a colleague from the guards outside to help.

One of them held down the patient while the other jabbed it in. The moment the medication entered the patient's body, the contaminated patient frowned, looking out of it, and sat on the ground.

The pollution detector in the isolation room kept blipping on and off. Chen Ting watched as the numbers on the screen shot up, starting from a low of 14 all the way up to a peak of 57.

It really was Stage III, holy shit!

No way! So incredible! No wonder Li Zhiyan was all over him—if he were Li Zhiyan, he’d be clinging too!

This is what a true god looks like!

/

As Shen Ji walked, he yawned. It wasn't that he was particularly tired, just out of it.

He should've been sleeping in his dorm, but he ended up going to find Little Mushroom and putting in work.

So tired. Didn't want to work, just wanted to sleep.

"Obviously, you were the one who volunteered to help, and it was me, the Omnisystem, who detected the pollution level for you."

"Thank you, Omnisystem."

"Heh, that's more like it."

On his way back to the dorm, he passed by the cafeteria and noticed white steam rising from inside. The air was filled with the carbohydrate-rich aroma of staple foods. Shen Ji checked the time and realized it was already lunchtime.

After standing there for a moment, Shen Ji decided to go in for lunch. He figured eating before sleeping would help him sleep more soundly.

He picked up a tray of the cafeteria slop, found a random seat, and before he could even pick up his chopsticks, his phone pinged with a notification.

Shen Ji switched the chopsticks to his left hand, pulled out his phone, and saw a message from Li Zhiyan.

"Butterfly Spirit: Send me your address. I want to mail you some local goods."

Shen Ji: …?

As if to avoid misunderstanding, Li Zhiyan sent another message.

"Butterfly Spirit: It's not to stalk you."

Shen Ji stared at the message in confusion. After a few seconds, he decided to take a bite of his food.

This level of "playing dumb" was so obvious—wouldn't he himself find it laughable?

"Shen Ji: Thanks, but no. Send them to Chu Ye instead."

"Butterfly Spirit: He's in the shelter. He can't receive packages."

"Shen Ji: So you think I can? Nothing gets delivered here."

Li Zhiyan sat behind his desk, a lunch tray laid out in front of him. Jiang Ying sat across from him, eating lunch and glancing at him between bites.

Every time they ate, Li Zhiyan was like this—he ate like a bird, as if he had turned into a butterfly himself. He’d only take a few bites before picking at it. Even when Jiang Ying got him the smallest portion, he couldn't finish much. In contrast, Poison Mushroom ate happily and always managed to eat a lot.

"Boss, you should eat more," Jiang Ying finally spoke up. "You eat so little every time. Aren't you afraid you'll pass out hungry?"

"I won't faint. I don't rely on food for energy."

Li Zhiyan refused to eat and instead looked at Jiang Ying. "Jiang Ying, I have a question for you."

Jiang Ying nodded curiously. "What is it?"

"Do you know what 'kuaidi' is?"

"Kuaidi?" Jiang Ying thought for a moment. "Express delivery? Courier? Postal service? I think the postal service had parcel service, right?"

Li Zhiyan nodded. "You guessed right."

In the 21st century, express delivery took off with the rise of online shopping, eventually developing into a nationwide online shopping frenzy. The express delivery industry became increasingly sophisticated. But overnight, pollution broke out, the End descended, and the entire express delivery industry collapsed. Only the elderly who survived to this day still remembered how it was back then.

His Little Mushroom seemed to be from before the apocalypse.

But weren't all major contaminants born after the apocalypse?