Chapter 64: Pollution Fissure Research Institute

Chapter 64: Pollution Fissure Research Institute

"Shen-ge, there's a package for you!"

Shen Ji looked up from a pile of medicine and looked over at Kang Xiaodong. "For me?"

"Yeah, it came with this batch of supplies."

Shen Ji pointed to the corner of the table. "Just leave it there for now. I'll check it later."

"Got it!" Kang Xiaodong set the package down and hurried out to move more supplies.

Even after the snow stopped, the roads remained blocked. Everyone had been shivering in the cold for three days before the first batch of supplies finally arrived post-snowstorm.

The Pollution Prevention Center had learned its lesson, fearing a second snowfall, so they sent triple the usual supplies while transport was still possible. This way, they could endure even if another emergency occurred.

But this made things tough for the staff here.

With only a few dozen people, they had to move triple the amount of supplies in the freezing snow. Some items were specialized equipment that only trained personnel could sort, transport, and store—especially Chen Ting and his pollution medicine. After nearly breaking down from the organizing chaos, Chen Ting decisively called Shen Ji over to help.

Well, there was no other choice—Shen Ji was the only one who understood a pollution doctor's work!

After sorting the last box of medicine, Shen Ji finally breathed a sigh of relief. Chen Ting was already slumped in a chair, completely exhausted.

"The medicine is five times the usual amount."

Chen Ting's fingers were trembling weakly. His eyes were glazed over as he spoke in a monotone, "I get that it's a special situation and we need to prepare for emergencies, but ten times the pollution inhibitors and five times the anti-pollution medicine? That's just excessive. Do they even remember there are only a few dozen people here and I'm the only pollution doctor?"

Shen Ji sat across from him. "Want to share some with me?"

"What?"

"Pollution inhibitors."

Chen Ting bolted upright. "Who are you planning to stab this time?"

"Just feels safer to carry some around."

"Safer? As in, you can casually pull out a pollution inhibitor and inject someone?"

"If you say so."

So, Chen Ting, looking conflicted, hurried into the pharmacy to count the pollution inhibitors and figure out how many to give Shen Ji.

After such a questionable conversation, Chen Ting still decided to share the pollution inhibitors with Shen Ji. What was this? It was righteousness! Kindness! Blind trust!

While Chen Ting was off fetching the pollution inhibitors, Shen Ji opened the package Kang Xiaodong had given him earlier.

It was a very small parcel, enclosed in a box. The box's exterior was blank, just plain white.

Shen Ji opened the box and found a packet of black granules inside. The surface of the packet was clean too, without any labels.

But Shen Ji recognized it—a bag of seeds.

Seeds?

He took the seeds out and finally noticed a small note tucked inside. Handwritten lines were written across it.

The moment Shen Ji saw the writing, he recognized whose it was. The script was as free and effortless as ever—Shen Ji could almost picture the curve of his smile as he wrote the note.

"These are the most beautiful flower seeds I've collected. Trading with you."

"Next time we meet, remember to bring me that silk banner!"

Li Zhiyan loved flowers, plants, trees—everything in nature. Gardening and growing flowers were his hobbies, and collecting seeds was the most important part of the process.

'Last year’s flowers live on through this year’s seeds—it’s a magnificent and beautiful thing.'

That was his go-to line.

Now, Li Zhiyan had sent his precious seeds to Shen Ji, calling it a 'trade.'

"A bag of seeds, and you're already swayed," the system grumbled, exasperated.

"It's not about the seeds," Shen Ji said, looking at the seeds in the bag. The hyphae crept along his wrist, gently brushing against the packaging, curiously eyeing the little black dots inside.

"Some things can't be measured by value. Money is useless in this era, but seeds carry life."

"At the very least, it means he cares about me."

Chen Ting came out holding several pollution inhibitors. He noticed what Shen Ji was holding and, after a moment, seemed to realize something.

"Holy shit!"

Chen Ting dumped the pollution inhibitors on the table and crouched excitedly beside it, peering at the seeds.

"Moth Flower seeds!" He pointed at the packaging. "These are incredibly rare!"

Shen Ji pulled the package back. "Rare?"

"Of course they are!" Chen Ting's voice trembled with excitement. "Moth Flowers grow on the edges of Moth Valley, but that place is way too dangerous. The pollution level there is extremely high, and harvesting is incredibly difficult. But we need Moth Flowers for ingredients, so researching and cultivating them has become a major challenge."

"I remember the Academy of Sciences hasn't even figured out how to grow Moth Flowers yet. They barely managed to extract some seeds and are still in the trial phase. I saw that press conference—Moth Flower seeds look just like the ones in your package, with little yellow feather-like shapes. Holy shit, Shen-ge, where did you get these?"

Then he muttered to himself, "I remember besides the Academy of Sciences, only one person has successfully grown Moth Flowers, but he did it just for fun."

"...Wait a second?" Chen Ting paused, blinking. "Did Li Zhiyan give these to you?"

Shen Ji neither confirmed nor denied it, but Chen Ting had already put the pieces together.

Damn it!

He’d almost forgotten the outrageous rumor about Shen Ji before he came here—that S-Class Mutant Li Zhiyan had publicly accused Shen Ji of mistreating him and then abandoning him! He demanded Shen Ji take responsibility and even tried to recruit him into the guard team!

And now, casually handing out Moth Flower seeds as a bribe!

Total loss.

"We can’t be bribed!" Chen Ting said earnestly. "The guard team isn’t for us. They only recruit combat-capable mutants. Healing-type mutants belong in shelters—that’s where our real value lies!"

"Mr. Shen, please don’t even think about joining the guard team!"

Shen Ji sighed helplessly. "I’m not planning to join the guard team."

"That’s a relief!"

"I’m staff at the Pollution Harmless Treatment Center."

"No, that doesn’t have to be permanent! Our shelter will save the best spot for you!"

Shen Ji: ...

Is it really okay for the double standards to be this blatant?

After saying goodbye to Chen Ting, Shen Ji went to the cafeteria for lunch. The aunt serving food was delighted to see him and loaded his plate up, so this time Shen Ji left after just one meal.

A second helping of such a large portion would be way over the top.

Back in his dorm, Shen Ji placed the flower seeds and the letter on the table. He took a photo and sent it to Li Zhiyan.

A reply came quickly.

"Butterfly Spirit: Wow, you actually received it! Looks like Cheng Feng wasn’t pulling my leg."

"Shen Ji: You had Cheng Feng send it?"

"Butterfly Spirit: Yeah, only Cheng Feng knows where you went. I had to ask him to mail it, but he was super unwilling to be the go-between and didn’t want to send it."

"Butterfly Spirit: That is, until I told him I’d keep sending complaint letters to the Pollution Prevention Center and go on strike immediately if he didn’t."

What a classic case of all stick and no carrot.

"Shen Ji: Why no butterfly?"

"Butterfly Spirit: The butterfly can’t go too far from me, so it couldn’t make the trip. You should just plant the flowers instead. When they bloom, the butterfly and I will track the blossoms to find you."

Shen Ji smiled to himself and lay back on the bed.

Outside the dorm, everyone was still busy clearing the snow. Little mushrooms were tangled on the window, curiously watching why those humans were messing around in the snow despite the cold.

Humans are such weirdos.

"Butterfly Spirit: Oh, by the way, check out the commendation banner I made!"

"Butterfly Spirit: /image/"

Shen Ji opened the image and was immediately greeted by the most classic red background with gold lettering. The first thing that caught his eye were four large golden characters: "Deep Love and Strong Sense of Justice."

Shen Ji: ...

He took a deep breath and read the banner from top to bottom.

"To: Li Zhiyan, Captain of the Sixth Special Operations Team, Pollution Prevention Center Guard."

"Deep Love and Strong Sense of Justice!"

Damn, this guy is shameless! After just spreading rumors that I abandoned him, he now wants Shen Ji to hand him a "Deep Love and Strong Sense of Justice" banner.

Wait, no—originally, Li Zhiyan wanted to make a banner for Shen Ji, but then changed his mind and decided to give it to himself.

In other words, those four words—"Deep Love and Strong Sense of Justice"—were originally meant for Shen Ji?

That's even worse.

"Butterfly Spirit: I’m going to hang it in the most eye-catching place in my office!"

"Shen Ji: ...Throw it in the trash."

"Butterfly Spirit: Why? I didn’t even put your name on it."

"Shen Ji: You wanted to put my name on it?"

"Butterfly Spirit: I knew you wouldn’t agree, so I didn’t. It’s fine if you don’t give it to me—I’ll just pretend you did and still hang it in the most eye-catching place in my office!"

"Shen Ji: ..."

This guy really knows how to make things difficult for everyone, himself included.

Soon, Shen Ji received another photo. It was a selfie of Li Zhiyan throwing a peace sign, with the banner hanging on the wall behind him. In the background, Shen Ji could also see Zhou Ye with a puzzled look. That cat seemed particularly tempted by the banner’s tassels but was too scared to touch them after reading the words.

His expression seemed to say: What nonsense is Li Zhiyan up to now?

Besides that, both Li Zhiyan and Zhou Ye were dressed neatly—not in their usual guard uniforms, but in their field gear. Zhou Ye was also carrying a backpack, packed to the brim.

Shen Ji turned over and started typing.

"Shen Ji: Are you going on a trip?"

"Butterfly Spirit: Oh, you noticed! Yeah, I have to make my way to Zero Abyss. There’s an issue over there."

"Shen Ji: What kind of trouble?"

"Butterfly Spirit: Snow from the Silent Frost Domain drifted into Zero Abyss. For the contaminated species, it’s like another contaminant trying to invade their territory, so Zero Abyss is experiencing minor disturbances. We’ve picked up some weird readings nearby, and this year’s major earthquake might happen earlier than expected."

"Shen Ji: You and Zhou Ye?"

"Butterfly Spirit: And Qin Changye. He’s still getting his stuff together. We’ll head out once he’s ready and gathered."

Shen Ji was somewhat in the loop about these matters.

The Pollution Prevention Center had made tons of prep for this major earthquake. They even planned to send two S-Class Mutants to lead a team into Zero Abyss, aiming to hold off the contaminated species while trying to locate the main body of the contaminant—Rage.

But before the major earthquake even began, trouble broke out in the northwest first.

The Silent Frost Domain went haywire, bringing a massive snowstorm, and even snow drifted into Zero Abyss, messing with its normally steady quake patterns.

The Pollution Prevention Center had to divide up the two prepared S-Class Mutants. One was sent to search for the missing personnel near the Silent Frost Domain, while the other continued the mission in Zero Abyss.

"Li Zhiyan: Those seeds are pretty hardy. Most of them are contaminated species, very tough—they’ll survive as long as there’s soil."

"Li Zhiyan: If you manage to grow the flowers, remember to send me a photo."

"Zhuo Yuegu: ."

"Boss, I’m all packed!" Qin Changye, his hair tied in a daoist topknot, burst in with his backpack. "Ready to go!"

Li Zhiyan took one last look at Shen Ji’s message and nodded.

"Let’s go."

But Qin Changye’s gaze drifted to the wall, where he stared curiously at the prominently displayed commendation banner. "Boss? What’s this? Who gave you this commendation banner?"

"Shen Ji gave it to me."

Qin Changye: ...

This definitely didn’t seem like Doctor Shen’s style. Doctor Shen would never be this shameless.

Probably, Li Zhiyan made it himself, hung it up, and then pinned it on Dr. Shen.

/

Li Zhiyan and the others were the first group heading to Zero Abyss.

One reason was to prevent any unexpected incidents, and the other was to get an early understanding of the surrounding environment.

Aside from the members of Li Zhiyan's team, there was also a special individual joining the trip.

Her name was He Linqiu.

"Are you sure you can hold up?" Qin Changye asked her.

He Linqiu nodded seriously, "I think I’m fine. I have to come this time."

After leaving the Pollution-Harmless Treatment Center, He Linqiu was transferred to the Containment Headquarters for treatment, with Huang Jining taking over the entire process. She eventually woke up during the heavy snow.

She had forgotten all her experiences in Zero Abyss, yet felt she must have forgotten something very important, and that she needed to return to Zero Abyss one more time.

Qin Changye performed a divination for her but couldn’t see her future, only obscure and illegible scribbles.

Beyond the writings was eternal peace.

In the end, Qin Changye personally vouched for her and decided to bring He Linqiu along for this major earthquake incident in Zero Abyss. He asked Li Zhiyan, who didn’t say much and just let him bring her along.

In many ways, Qin Changye was very glad he could join Li Zhiyan’s team.

Li Zhiyan never dwelled on consequences like the higher-ups at the Pollution Prevention Center. He preferred to act first—as long as Qin Changye provided sufficient reasons, Li Zhiyan would agree to let him proceed.

As for the consequences, Li Zhiyan would take responsibility.

Arriving at the edge of Zero Abyss, the staff began setting up various machines and setting up camp. Li Zhiyan climbed up the high wall and gazed out.

Inside the high wall were leafless, bare branches covered in a layer of snow, stretching out in a blanket of white as far as the eye could see.

Zero Abyss covered an extremely large area—so large that the mutant responsible for building the "high wall" spent several months fully encircling this polluted zone. After finishing the wall, he needed a full three months of rest before barely being able to take on the next task. Even then, this high wall would still sustain damage during earthquakes.

As a result, the mutants were stuck repairing it every three months and rebuilding it entirely every two years.

Just then, Li Zhiyan spotted a hint of yellow.

He climbed over the high wall, dropped down into the snow, crouched down, and dug into the snow, soon uncovering a yellow chrysanthemum hidden beneath.

Chrysanthemums bloom in autumn, but this one had been wilted by the sudden snow, looking rather worse for wear. So, Li Zhiyan gently dusted off the flower to shake off the snow, took a photo with his phone, and sent it to Shen Ji.

The message wasn’t marked as read immediately—probably because Shen Ji was working.

Li Zhiyan didn’t pay it much mind. He used the portable pollution detector he carried to test the flower.

The pollution level was only 6.

"Chrysanthemum?" Qin Changye stood behind Li Zhiyan, curiously studying the flower. "Why are there flowers around Zero Abyss?"

Li Zhiyan looked around and dug out another chrysanthemum from the snow nearby.

"Were these flowers found during the previous exploration around Zero Abyss?"

"No." Qin Changye pulled out the previous exploration files and compared the data. "Neither the last tremor nor the preliminary survey a week ago found any flowers."

"The flowers were buried in the snow, meaning they likely grew either before or during the snowfall."

Li Zhiyan stared at the flower for a long time, his pale blue eyes intent and composed.

He seemed deep in thought, his expression serious and focused.

Just as Qin Changye thought Li Zhiyan was about to act serious and issue a serious command—

Li Zhiyan suddenly remarked, "It's beautiful. I want to give it to Shen Ji."

Qin Changye: …

"Wait, no, I can’t give it to Shen Ji," Li Zhiyan muttered to himself. "Giving chrysanthemums to young people isn’t very auspicious. It was fine when I gave them to higher-ups—I could just claim I didn’t know the meaning behind gifting chrysanthemums. But I can’t give the same to Shen Ji."

"Shen Ji knows what chrysanthemums symbolize."

Qin Changye gasped, "Wait—boss? You said you can’t give chrysanthemums to Doctor Shen? Because it’s inauspicious?"

"Then what was with the chrysanthemum you gave me last year?"

Li Zhiyan glanced at him but said nothing.

Qin Changye fell silent.

He knew it—Li Zhiyan was never that nice! How could he just hand out flowers to everyone in bulk?!

Whatever couldn’t be given to Shen Ji definitely wasn’t anything good!

/

Shen Ji wanted to dig up some soil to plant flowers, but unfortunately, it was bitterly cold outside—the ground had turned to rock-hard ground and was impossible to dig.

Chen Ting passed by and asked what he was doing. Upon hearing that Shen Ji wanted to dig soil for planting, Chen Ting remembered the Moth Flower seeds and excitedly ran to find a shovel to help Shen Ji dig.

In the end, they still couldn’t dig up the soil. After discussing, they turned their attention to the nearby high wall—though they didn’t dig into the wall itself. Instead, they scavenged dirt from a pile of rubble from the high wall that had been lightning-struck before.

They brought the pile back to the dorm, and as it warmed up, it actually thawed into proper soil.

An excellent high wall—they’d definitely scavenge from it again.

Shen Ji asked a support colleague from the Academy of Sciences for a spare small bucket, poured the soil into it, buried the seeds, after a moment's thought, and then moved the bucket to a warmer spot.

The three essential elements for seed germination: nutrients, temperature, and moisture.

But this was a Contaminated Seed—who knew if it obeyed these three rules?

Shen Ji took a photo of the flowerpot and, just as he opened Li Zhiyan’s chat, saw that Li had sent him a message.

It was a photo of a chrysanthemum in the snow.

The chrysanthemum looked wilted, clearly chilled to the bone, with many petals already fallen.

"Shen Ji: Yellow chrysanthemums symbolize longevity. Since this flower is blooming so well, instead of throwing it out, why not give it to the higher-ups at the Pollution Prevention Center?"

"Butterfly Spirit: How did you know I’ve given them chrysanthemums before?"

"Shen Ji: …?"

"Butterfly Spirit: But I wasn’t wishing them longevity—I gave them white chrysanthemums."

Shen Ji: …

White chrysanthemums are typically used only to pay respects to the dead. Typical Li Zhiyan.

Just as he was about to reply, Kang Xiaodong peeked over from the side.

"Brother Shen, there you are!"

"Professor Yang called for a meeting, but couldn't reach you. You're the last one we need."

"Oh, okay." Shen Ji left the bucket behind and headed to the institute's conference room with Kang Xiaodong.

As they walked, Shen Ji asked, "What's the meeting about?"

"We're resuming work tomorrow. With the new equipment, we'll get more accurate readings than before. We still haven't found the reason for the abnormal drop in pollution from the contamination rift last time."

"Brother Shen, why aren't you saying anything?"

What could Shen Ji say? That the pollution in the rift decreased because of his small mushrooms?

But due to the heavy snow, the cold-shy small mushrooms had crowded into his dorm, refusing to go out. After a few days without feeding on pollution from the rift, the contamination levels should have recovered somewhat.

Well, things probably couldn't get worse.

When they arrived at the conference room, Shen Ji was indeed the last to arrive. After apologizing, he and Kang Xiaodong tried to sit in the back, but found it full, so they had to sit in the front row. Yang Xu smiled at them and proceeded to go over the plans for resuming work the next day.

It seemed the old man had gotten over the grief of his missing students.

After all, they were living through the apocalypse—sacrifice and loss were the norm.

The meeting lasted a long time, and by the time it ended, it was already dark. Shen Ji and Kang Xiaodong went to get dinner together, and Shen Ji once again ended up with a full plate.

After dinner, Shen Ji returned to his dorm. As soon as he pushed the door open, he saw a soft glow.

Tiny, hazy yellow specks of light were coming from the bucket—a fiery color, and you could feel warmth coming off it up close.

Shen Ji stared at it in surprise, not expecting the seeds to sprout in just a few hours.

He fumbled for his phone in the dark, took a picture of the Moth Flower's tiny sprout, and only turned on the light after making sure the photo came out well.

The small mushrooms were huddled together around the bucket, like clumps of melting marshmallows.

Compared to the cold outside, being near the little flower felt like sitting by a fireplace.

They loved it!

Shen Ji reached out and gave a small mushroom a poke, then sat on the sofa and sent the photo to Li Zhiyan.

Li Zhiyan must have been waiting for his message, replying instantly upon receiving it.

"Butterfly Spirit: Moth Flowers are difficult to grow. They only bloom if they like the people around them. Looks like they must really like you."

Shen Ji glanced at the message and replied casually.

"Shen Ji: Like your butterflies?"

"Butterfly Spirit: Not quite."

"Butterfly Spirit: My butterflies are me. Because I like you, my butterflies like you. So, thinking about it, it’s not the same."

Shen Ji’s heart skipped a beat.

He stared at that word "like" in silence for a long time, pondering the deeper meaning behind those words.

Being a journalist meant always having to decipher the true intent behind simple phrases, considering whether there were hidden implications or if he was being led to think in a certain direction.

Besides, Li Zhiyan was gay—he was pretty open about it.

"If you ask me, you should just block him," the system offered its bad advice. "We can fake our death again and never speak to him again!"

Shen Ji didn’t respond to the system. He opened the chat box, closed it, opened it again, then closed it again.

Blocking him was out of the question. Relationships between people weren’t so easily severed. Moreover, he didn’t want to cut ties with Li Zhiyan forever.

Finally, he clicked to type and sent a reply.

"Shen Ji: I like your butterflies too."

"Butterfly Spirit: Then you might as well like me too."

Shen Ji: ...

This guy really didn’t do subtle.

"Shen Ji: Then I don’t like your butterflies anymore."

"Butterfly Spirit: QAQ."

Playing pathetic was useless—it only made Shen Ji more relentless.

"Shen Ji: Why don’t you cry in front of me in person? Maybe I’ll change my mind."

In the night, Li Zhiyan stared at the message, lost in thought. After a long while, he scratched his head in confusion.

"Is that really his character?"

Li Zhiyan was completely baffled and muttered to himself, "When did he become so scary?"