Chapter 71: Abyss Zero

Chapter 71: Abyss Zero

The helicopter brought the group back to the temporary base. Only after getting off the plane did Shen Ji realize that the people he had thrown out earlier had also been picked up one by one by Jiang Ying.

Most of them were still unconscious, with pollution doctors from the support team examining them, but no matter what, they couldn’t be woken up.

Just as everyone was growing anxious, Shen Ji turned to Li Zhiyan and said, "Wake them up."

Li Zhiyan was still admiring the photos on his phone. Hearing Shen Ji, he looked up puzzled. "What? Wake who up?"

"These people." Shen Ji pointed at the unconscious individuals. "Didn’t you put them to sleep?"

Li Zhiyan stared strangely at the group, and after a few seconds, it was as if he just remembered. "Oh, these people too."

He snapped his fingers, and butterflies materialized before them. With a gentle flutter of their wings, the sleeping people slowly opened their eyes as if waking from a deep slumber, yawning. Still drowsy, they were led away by volunteers to receive pollution inhibitors.

Li Zhiyan yawned as well and went back to scrolling through his phone, admiring the photos.

Watching Li Zhiyan’s state, Shen Ji recalled what Chu Ye had once told him: "Using his Talent too much makes Li Zhiyan stupid."

Shen Ji suspected it wasn’t about turning into an idiot but rather, like himself, suffering from indigestion due to ingesting high levels of contamination.

Having been out of touch for two full days and nights, most people rushed to grab a hot meal after their check-ups. Shen Ji glanced at the provided field rations—conditions were poor, and the food looked rather plain and unappetizing.

"Do you eat?" Shen Ji asked him.

Li Zhiyan glanced at Shen Ji and shook his head. "No, I’m stuffed."

"You haven’t eaten anything in the days we were out of touch, right?"

"Don’t need to eat." Li Zhiyan said, "I’ve turned into a plant. I can survive on photosynthesis alone."

"...That’s de-evolution, not evolution."

"Fine." Li Zhiyan sighed. "I’ve de-evolved into a plant. I can’t stomach normal food."

Despite Li Zhiyan’s words, Shen Ji still pulled him along to the makeshift cafeteria, grabbed two work meals, and sat down at a table.

Li Zhiyan continued glued to his phone, only glancing at the food when it arrived, showing no desire to eat.

Shen Ji took a bite of the vegetables. Well, not great, but not awful either.

"Eat." Shen Ji rapped Li Zhiyan’s plate with his chopsticks.

Li Zhiyan looked at Shen Ji, then at the plate, appearing utterly helpless.

"Can we add some mushrooms?" Li Zhiyan requested.

"No." Shen Ji coldly refused.

The small mushrooms let out a squeak and scurried under the table.

That damn butterfly! Actually likes eating small mushrooms!

Next time, I’ll definitely take bites out of a few more little butterflies!

Li Zhiyan pushed the food around and took a couple of bites but really couldn’t eat more. He gave a helpless look at Shen Ji across from him, who was eating naturally—already more than halfway through his meal, not seeming to find the food hard to swallow at all. He seemed more human than Li Zhiyan did.

"Contaminants have their categories too," Li Zhiyan complained quietly. "Eating these vegetables is like eating mud—completely lacking color, smell, or taste."

Shen Ji looked at him. "Then what do you like to eat? Besides poisonous mushrooms."

"Plants with a bit of contamination, maybe?" Li Zhiyan wasn’t entirely sure. "Last time I had Moth Flower—it was sweet."

"Your tastes make you seem more like a contaminant than a human."

"So a lot of people think I have pica. Plus, being an S-Class Mutant, they assume it’s normal to have some weird habits." Li Zhiyan chuckled. "But this way, they don’t suspect that I’m not human. It’s a good thing, so I’ve never clarified."

...Not human. This guy still says the strangest things.

Seeing that Li Zhiyan really couldn’t eat, Shen Ji finished the food on his own plate, then reached over and took Li Zhiyan’s plate.

"Wasting food isn’t good," Shen Ji said.

Li Zhiyan rested his chin on his hand, watching Shen Ji eat the second portion, his pale blue eyes shining.

Even the way he eats is good-looking. I like it.

People eating nearby kept sneaking glances their way, eyes full of gossip-hungry excitement.

Whoa! Li Zhiyan!

Whoa! The guy who broke Li Zhiyan’s heart!

Whoa! One eats two bites, the other eats two plates!

In a way, they’re a match made in heaven!

After finishing most of the food, Shen Ji picked up his water glass and took a few sips. It seemed he could’ve eaten a bit more, but adhering to a regular portion, he didn’t continue.

"Such a greedy little mushroom."

Of course, Li Zhiyan didn’t dare say that out loud—he was afraid Shen Ji would hit him.

"What’s next?" Shen Ji glanced outside. Most people were busy, especially Jiang Ying, who had left again on the helicopter after dropping them off, saying survivors had been found in another location.

Li Zhiyan thought for a moment. "Probably need to send the squid back first."

He sighed. "I crave grilled squid. I used to dislike it, but now that it’s gone, I’ve learned to cherish it."

Shen Ji: ...

"What’s the deal with Gao Yuan?" Shen Ji asked. "He seems normal, even if he’s like a ghost."

"He’s another victim. When the crimson mist incident happened, he was out sea fishing. A wave knocked him into the ocean, and while struggling, he was bitten by a blue-ringed octopus—almost died from the poison right there." Li Zhiyan tsked. "Not sure if the neurotoxins had already affected his brain, but after surviving, he developed this odd demeanor."

"Like a dog that likes to bite people. He doesn’t snarl when you meet him, just stares at you hauntingly, then out of nowhere bites you."

Everyone around stood up almost simultaneously, scattering out of the makeshift cafeteria. Shen Ji stood and intercepted the plate Gao Yuan was about to smash onto Li Zhiyan’s head.

Li Zhiyan sighed. "I wasn’t even trash-talking you. No need to get angry."

A vein throbbed on Gao Yuan’s forehead. "You, with your pica, dare to criticize others."

"I admit I have pica. Do you admit your head’s screwed up?"

Gao Yuan: ...

I really want to punch that guy!

Finally, Gao Yuan silently crouched at the corner of the table, staring at him with a hollow, intense gaze, his plate in front of him completely empty.

Shen Ji went to return the plates, leaving only Li Zhiyan and Gao Yuan behind.

Li Zhiyan glanced at him, "What are you really here for? I don’t believe the Pollution Prevention Center would actually let you out. You’re more dangerous here than a pollutant."

Gao Yuan didn’t answer, but he didn’t deny it either.

The Pollution Prevention Center has only three S-Class mutants.

Li Zhiyan is the only irreplaceable S-Class. He’s young, incredibly powerful, with no risk of losing control—at most, he just gets tired after using his Talent on a large scale. Even in that state, he has enough self-awareness to instantly kill any sneaky pollutants in their dreams.

So even if Li Zhiyan opposes the Pollution Prevention Center, no higher-up dares to confront him directly.

No one wants to lose their most powerful fighter.

Aside from Li Zhiyan, the other two S-Class mutants each have their own issues.

Gao Yuan has the most severe problems. His periods of lucidity are getting shorter, and he often loses control. When he does, he sprays venom everywhere. His toxin is incredibly potent and terrifying—just a touch can cause instant rot in humans.

It’s safe to say his current lucid state is already at its limit.

"S-Class Healing-type mutant," Gao Yuan finally spoke.

His eyes fixed on Li Zhiyan, the blue rings in them particularly striking. "They want to know if this Doctor Shen, who you’re protecting, can help solve my losing control problem."

Li Zhiyan raised an eyebrow slightly, "So they’ve taken an interest in my little doctor."

"So, can he treat me?"

Li Zhiyan shook his head, "I don’t know. Didn’t you hear him say it? We’re not close."

Gao Yuan: ...

Now you’re not close? Weren’t you the one clinging to him earlier, talking about him ditching you after getting what he wanted?

"I really don’t know," Li Zhiyan emphasized through gritted teeth. "I’m not sure what Shen Ji is capable of. He did save Chu Ye and completely cleared the Gardener’s pollution, but I’m not certain he can handle your innate condition."

Besides, Li Zhiyan knows full well that Shen Ji isn’t really an S-Class Healing-type mutant.

He’s more like an S-Class pollutant.

He was probably affected during the early stages of the red fog like me, then fell into a deep sleep. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have just recently appeared among humans. Q City was likely his first contact with people after waking up, and he accidentally joined the Q City shelter. His lack of understanding led him to become a pollution disease doctor.

He transitioned rapidly from the pre-apocalypse to now, so he’s not very familiar with everything in the apocalypse.

Keep in mind, Shen Ji’s main profession was a journalist—nothing to do with being a doctor.

"Li Zhiyan, you have to help me," Gao Yuan said. "If I keep losing control, I’m going to have to kill myself."

Li Zhiyan looked at him but didn’t respond.

So Gao Yuan painfully offered up his tentacle, "...Even if you want to use this in exchange."

Li Zhiyan was tempted, but after some thought, he couldn’t cross that line in his heart.

Even though it’s from an octopus, it’s attached to a person. Grilling it would be too messed up; I can’t handle that.

Shen Ji returned after returning the plates and looked strangely at Gao Yuan holding out his tentacle and Li Zhiyan frowning opposite him.

"What are you two doing?"

"A business transaction," Gao Yuan said. "In exchange for you treating me."

Shen Ji: ...?

"Although Gao Yuan has no defined ending in the original work, the plot clearly states he doesn’t have much time left," the system explained. "As the oldest S-Class mutant, over time his toxin has grown stronger, he secretes more venom, and he loses control more frequently. This is because the pollution has eroded his entire body, along with his rationality and mental state."

*'Can it be handled?'*

"Normally, it’s impossible to treat, since it’s caused by excessive pollution. But if it’s you..."

*'Eat away part of the pollution inside him?'*

"You can try, but since this is his innate Pollution Talent, like with Chu Ye, forcibly removing the pollution might cause his Talent level to drop. This drop would be irreversible."

Shen Ji sat back down and reached out to Gao Yuan, "Give me your hand."

Gao Yuan silently offered his tentacle.

Shen Ji fell silent for a few seconds before speaking, "Your hand, not the tentacle."

So Gao Yuan let go of his writhing tentacles and placed his hand on the table. To make it easier, he took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeve.

Without the cover of his clothes, Shen Ji could see the large and small blue rings covering his arm. They even seemed to glow fluorescently, quite glaring.

"The blue rings on his body have a hallucinogenic effect," Li Zhiyan remarked casually, holding Shen Ji’s water cup. "They induce fear, making people afraid to approach him. In severe cases, it can drive people insane, so he usually keeps them covered."

Gao Yuan glanced at him, then looked back at Shen Ji.

"They have no effect on you."

He stated firmly, "You must be S-Class."

Never expecting to have his rank confirmed in this way, Shen Ji helplessly placed his hand on Gao Yuan’s wrist, his palm covering a small blue ring.

The hyphae quietly emerged from his palm, carefully following Shen Ji’s intent to probe into the blue ring.

Gao Yuan felt a sting. He frowned slightly but didn’t move.

The pain was mild, like a light pinprick. He had never met an S-Class Healing-type mutant before. Those brought in by the Pollution Prevention Center took one look at him and said he was beyond saving, so he had never been treated by one.

Maybe all Healing-type mutants’ treatments come with some sting.

He followed the doctor’s orders strictly, not daring to move a muscle.

The pollution inside Gao Yuan was extremely complex. A domineering pollution aura tightly controlled his body. The moment the small mushroom tried to invade, all the blue rings on Gao Yuan’s body lit up simultaneously. Even Gao Yuan looked surprised, staring at the glowing rings on his arm.

Tearing through this resistant pollution by force was possible, but it would definitely trigger massive resistance, causing Gao Yuan to lose control immediately.

They couldn’t continue the treatment here.

Shen Ji directed the hyphae to temporarily move to Gao Yuan’s brain area, doing their best to prevent him from losing control, then pulled back his hand.

The blue rings on Gao Yuan’s body were still glowing. He curiously poked at one of them.

"How is it?" Li Zhiyan asked him.

"This isn't a suitable place for treatment; I can only ensure he won't go out of control for a short time," Shen Ji said. "After this mission is over, we'll choose a secure, open area to continue the treatment."

Gao Yuan looked at Shen Ji in surprise. "I won't go out of control anymore?"

"You still will, but I can help control it for a short while," Shen Ji explained.

Gao Yuan, still amazed, repeated, "I didn't feel anything at all, and now I won't keep going out of control? Just like that?"

"The old folks at the containment center said I was incurable, and now it turns out it's this simple to treat me?"

Shen Ji: ...

He simply doesn't listen to what people say.

Li Zhiyan chimed in, satisfied, "Of course! Doctor Shen is the most amazing doctor I've ever met!"

...And here's another one who doesn't listen.

/

The missing staff still hadn't all been found, and the pollutants affected by the earthquake were still trying to break through and escape. Li Zhiyan and Gao Yuan had to return to work after less than two hours of rest.

On the surface, Shen Ji was a Healing-type mutant, and he had come to provide support, so he stayed behind to offer medical assistance.

To all the contamination specialists providing support, it seemed that even though they used the same pollution inhibitors, Shen Ji's injections were always more effective than theirs. They had even compared the drug components and confirmed they were using identical medications.

It was utterly baffling, so they could only attribute it to the intimidating effect a Healing-type mutant had on contamination sickness.

Because of this, patients with severe conditions could be effectively stabilized under Shen Ji's care. Almost everyone treated by him showed significant improvement in under twelve hours.

After injecting the pollution inhibitor into the contaminated patient in front of him, Shen Ji told him to go to another area for observation, then waited for the next patient to come forward.

As he was sorting the pollution inhibitors, someone slowly shuffled forward and sat down in the seat opposite Shen Ji.

In that instant, Shen Ji got a strong whiff of sulfur, acrid and burning.

The scent of one of his kind.

Shen Ji looked up and saw a person completely covered in mud sitting before him. He wore a security team uniform, now turned dirt-brown and slimy and clinging to his body, with only his eyes visible.

Those eyes seemed to be all pupil, large and unfocused, staring eerily at him.

"Extremely high pollution level detected!" the system warned Shen Ji. "Pollution level over K! The value is stable!"

"It's Bào Nù!"

The person didn't speak, just kept staring at Shen Ji. After a while, he finally spoke.

"Mushroom."

His voice was hoarse, as if he hadn't spoken in ages.

"You've become more human-like."

Shen Ji stared back without responding, appearing calm and silent, as though Bào Nù's arrival wasn't surprising at all.

In reality, he had already started ranting to the system.

'He seems to know me—no, he knows Huì? Is he initiating contact with me?'

"I don't know," the system replied, even more confused than Shen Ji. "The original story didn't include any plot about Huì; it first appeared in Q City. How could Huì have interacted with other S-level pollutants?!"

'So annoying—this hack author dropped a bunch of foreshadowing and never resolved any of it!'

Seeing that Shen Ji remained silent, Bào Nù leaned on the table, scattering chunks of mud everywhere.

"Why aren't you saying anything?"

Shen Ji looked at him and cautiously replied with something that was impossible to misinterpret: "Did you come to me just to say this?"

"But this is what I wanted to tell you," Bào Nù said. "You're much more human-like than before. Have you remembered who you really are?"

No idea what it's talking about.

When Shen Ji didn't answer, Bào Nù asked another question: "Is the human world interesting?"

Shen Ji gave him a subtle look, remained silent for a moment, and then said, "What I find interesting might not be what you find interesting. We're different entities, so our definitions of 'interesting' aren't the same."

"But I suggest you stay in the Zero Abyss forever and never leave. If you go out, the humans won't find it interesting anymore."

Bào Nù cocked his head. "You said the same thing last time. It seems you haven't changed much."

Shen Ji: ...

He said the same thing last time?

Before Shen Ji could ask more, footsteps sounded from outside. Bào Nù glanced back, and the next moment, the person's pupils dilated suddenly. The dark blackness faded from his eyes, and he collapsed to the ground, instantly unconscious. The pungent sulfur smell also disappeared.

The next second, Li Zhiyan pushed open the door to the treatment room, and the pollution alarm instantly blared.

Every pollution detector displayed the last detected pollution level: 3710.

An extremely high and terrifying pollution level.

Li Zhiyan glanced at the pollution level, then walked over to stand opposite Shen Ji. Looking at the unconscious staff member, he sighed.

"Was Bào Nù here?"

"Seems like it."

"Alright, I knew it."

Li Zhiyan asked Shen Ji for help, and together they carried the unconscious person out and sent him to a makeshift isolation room for observation.

After everything was done, Li Zhiyan finally spoke.

"Although there are no observation records of Bào Nù in the Zero Abyss, I've noticed that Bào Nù really enjoys taking over mutants' bodies, pretending to be an ordinary person and tagging along with support teams."

Shen Ji looked at Li Zhiyan. "The classic horror trope of 'four go out, five come back'?"

Li Zhiyan nodded with a complicated expression. "Pretty much."

"Anyway, it basically didn't cause harm. It just likes to replace a person and impersonate them, blending in with the group and doing whatever humans do."

At first, Li Zhiyan had no idea this could happen until the first time he led a team to suppress the Zero Abyss.

He had no idea how creepy it was when, during the operation, he suddenly smelled a pungent sulfur odor, turned around, and saw one of the team members he was leading staring at him with huge, pitch-black, unnerving eyes.

After discovering that Li Zhiyan could accurately identify it, Wrath bolted and never possessed anyone in Li Zhiyan’s squad again.

However, other teams fell victim left and right.

To others, it seemed as though their team members—perfectly fine one moment—would suddenly collapse to the ground, covered in signs of contamination, polluted and completely out of it.

"It really loves playing cosplay," Li Zhiyan quipped.

"Last time I was here on support duty, Zhou Ye brought back a survivor. I looked up and immediately recognized it was Wrath. As soon as it saw me, it ran off, and the survivor collapsed right onto Zhou Ye, who almost freaked out."

Shen Ji: …

What a peculiar hobby.

"Have you ever tried communicating with it?" Shen Ji asked.

"No," Li Zhiyan tsked. "It can’t stand me."

"...Seems like there are people who dislike you everywhere."

"It's not the same!" Li Zhiyan retorted, defensive and sure of himself. "I can recognize Wrath. Back then, I had just awakened not long ago and wasn’t very familiar with the apocalypse. Of course, I thought all pollutants were things that needed to be eliminated. If I encountered a pollutant pretending to be human, I had to call it out."

"Who knew that after calling it out so many times, it would hold it against me?"

As he spoke, Li Zhiyan gestured at the scars on his arm. "It attacked me precisely because it hates me!"

Shen Ji went quiet.

He began to imagine a scenario: if one day he were in cosplay, and there was someone particularly annoying who, no matter who he cosplayed as, would point at him and blurt out his real name—repeatedly, over and over again.

From Wrath’s perspective, that person would indeed be a total pain.

Shen Ji let out a laugh.

He was still wearing the support corps’ white uniform, with black-framed glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. He had a naturally cool vibe, and his recent encounter with Wrath had left him lost in thought.

Shen Ji was usually standoffish, with little expression, appearing very serious and detached. Such a cold beauty was rare, and even rarer was seeing that cold beauty smile.

As Li Zhiyan watched Shen Ji’s smile, his displeasure vanished in an instant.

Doctor Shen’s smile could fix everything!

"Have you reported this to the Pollution Prevention Center?"

"I have," Li Zhiyan said helplessly, spreading his hands. "But there’s nothing to be done. I can’t lead the team every time. Besides me, no one else can recognize Wrath. And even if they could, there’s nothing they can do—no one can handle an S-class pollutant. So, the Pollution Prevention Center decided to sweep it under the rug."

Rather than causing panic, it was better to pretend not to know.

The thought of a possible S-class pollutant hiding among them was enough to cause immense psychological pressure on the staff.

"I think we could try communicating with it," the system interjected. "Wrath seems to know something about Filth, which could help us understand the plot better."

The system practically seethed. "We just learned about the protagonist’s background, and now we’re setting up the villain. That lousy author who left us hanging!"

Shen Ji dished out some half-hearted comfort to the system.

But compared to what the system was saying, he had other things bugging him.

Wrath and Filth had met, yet Wrath referred to Filth as "Mushroom."

Mushroom, not Filth.

If Filth had never been discovered by humans, and even the contamination rift where it existed remained unfound—then who gave Filth its name?