Chapter 77: Silent Frost Domain

Chapter 77 The Deadly Silent Frozen Domain

Li Qing'an and the staff from the Academy of Sciences first entered the air wall to run tests, determining the pollution level on the other side and the patients' contamination levels.

After the tests, Li Qing'an returned with a troubled expression.

The small mushroom on the table darted instantly into a crevice, leaving no trace behind.

Shen Ji waited until they were all hidden before speaking up, "What's it like inside?"

"The situation is very bad." Li Qing'an sighed softly. "It's been confirmed that the other side of the air wall is the Pollution Fissure Research Institute. The missing personnel are staff members inside, with one-third already died from the extreme cold. The remaining two-thirds are also in poor condition. Most importantly, we currently can't move them."

Shen Ji was surprised by the numbers.

Not because of the high death toll, but because the number of deaths was surprisingly low.

The Silent Frozen Domain incident had occurred nearly two weeks ago, and with the extreme cold inside, even if everyone there were mutants, it would be difficult to survive.

Even the Pollution Prevention Center had prepared for the possibility that everyone had died, never expected two-thirds to still be alive.

Li Qing'an added, "But there are some weird things connected to them."

"Strange things?"

"Like ice but also like wood." Li Qing'an had trouble describing it. "Can Doctor Shen come take a look now?"

Shen Ji stood up. "Of course, no problem."

Stepping out of the temporary base, Shen Ji saw the staff bundled up like bears still setting up instruments around the air wall. Every few moments, they had to stand up and jump in place, but even then, they were still shivering when they resumed work.

It was just too cold here, making outdoor work nearly impossible.

Crossing the air wall, Shen Ji immediately came face-to-face with a victim standing motionless on the spot.

Just as Li Qing'an had described, he stood completely still, without even blinking. Ice crystals had formed all over his hair, and even his eyelashes were covered in snowflakes. His clothes were so brittle they would fall apart at a touch. Only his faint breathing indicated he was still alive.

Shen Ji crouched down to look at the victim's legs. Everything below his calves was frozen in ice, which radiated a strong pollution aura. The pollution was creeping up from his calves throughout his entire body.

But he also noticed something blue in the ice.

Blue?

Shen Ji instantly recalled what the small mushroom had said when it first returned to him: "They protected the humans inside."

Was it the small mushrooms?

So Shen Ji knelt on one knee in the snow and pressed his finger against the ice on the patient's calf.

The moment his fingertip touched the ice, the small mushrooms, half-hibernating from the cold, perked up suddenly. They quickly emerged from the patient's body, twining around Shen Ji's fingers and cheeping excitedly.

Their master had come to get them!

No more hibernating in this Siberian deep freeze!

Time for fresh meals!

Shen Ji thought: Exactly as I thought.

Only a small batch of mushrooms had returned earlier; more were still in this area, keeping them functioning inside each missing person's body.

This was the fundamental reason why two-thirds of the victims had survived despite being cut off for so long.

"Hold off on calling them back yet," the system spoke up. "They've been inside these people for quite some time and are more familiar with the patients' bodies than the mushrooms on you. So letting them control the pollution is quicker and easier."

'They haven't consumed the pollution inside the patients?'

[It seems not. They only suppressed the spread of the pollution without consuming it. This is partly due to the cold and partly because they lack the awareness to 'consume pollution inside humans'.]

"I suspect Hui also cares about humanity, but he never imagined that the small mushrooms could consume pollution without harming human bodies."

That made sense.

If not for the system's existence, and if Shen Ji and the system hadn't wanted to save Chen Guo and change the plot, they would never have thought that 'consumption' could actually save contaminated patients.

Named "Gluttony," but in essence, "Salvation."

It was perfectly normal for Hui not to have thought of it.

Shen Ji let out a soft sigh.

Beside him, Li Qing'an, hearing his sigh, assumed the pollution was difficult to handle.

And indeed, it made sense—Shen Ji had just treated Gao Yuan, saving him from going over the edge. Now, here was another disaster caused by an S-class pollutant. Even if Shen Ji was an S-class Healing-type mutant, he would still get worn out.

"Doctor Shen, there's no need to rush," Li Qing'an said to comfort him. "Both we and the Pollution Prevention Center have prepared for the worst. Please don't feel any psychological pressure."

But at that moment, Shen Ji pulled back his hand and said, "All set."

"Yes, we shouldn't rush things." Li Qing'an nodded hurriedly. "Huh?"

She suddenly realized what he'd said. "It's done?"

Shen Ji stood up, stepping through the snow as he looked deeper into the area. "Where are the other victims?"

Li Qing'an pointed in a direction, confused, and watched as Shen Ji nodded and trudged through the snow in that direction.

She started to go after him, but just then, she heard a faint cracking sound.

Turning to look at the victim nearby, she saw the ice on his calves beginning to crack and fall away. With a series of cracks, in moments, the until now motionless contaminated patient suddenly spoke.

He said, "It's so cold."

Then he toppled over stiffly to the ground, unconscious.

Meanwhile, Shen Ji had already entered the interior of the missing Pollution Fissure Research Institute. Unlike the research institute he had visited before, this one had been around for many years, with complete facilities and a huge footprint. As soon as Shen Ji reached the entrance, he saw someone huddled in the corner of the security room.

The person was still holding a coffee cup, eyes empty and lifeless. He wasn't breathing—one of the one-third who had died.

Shen Ji continued inward, quickly passing through the lobby and entering the conference room. Three to five people were sitting there, seemingly in the middle of a discussion. The documents in their hands were frosted over with ice, making them illegible.

Everyone was frozen in their original poses as if time had stopped, their breathing almost imperceptible.

Even the deceased had their bodies preserved due to the low temperatures, keeping them from rotting.

Shen Ji looked over his shoulder.

"Don't worry, Li Qing'an is calling people to handle the patient you just treated outside. They won't make it in time."

"All the pollution detectors and surveillance cameras in this research institute are wrecked by the cold. Come on, Hui, let's change the world!"

“...Call me Filth again and I'll install malware on you.”

“Is it Bird Wallpaper or 'Good Brother, stab me'?”

“Just some scummy software, what can it do to me!”

Stopping the bickering with the system, Shen Ji closed his eyes and began mentally communicating with each strand of hyphae left inside the disconnected individuals. Due to the extremely low temperature, they were all hibernating and would only wake when Shen Ji touched them.

And now what Shen Ji needed to do was: wake them up.

The blue hyphae were slumbering inside the humans.

Their master had told them to stay here and wait, waiting for the day when a new Contaminant would appear here. When that Contaminant emerged, they were to help block its corruption of the humans.

But it was just too cold here; they could only reside inside the humans' bodies to prevent the pollution from further eroding them.

The master didn't eat humans, so they didn't eat humans either.

Just then, a familiar aura suddenly swept over them. The blue hyphae jerked awake from their sleep.

This feeling, this scent!!

The Master!!

Outside the institute, Li Qing'an, who was discussing with the staff, suddenly looked up and turned toward the inside of the institute.

At that moment, she suddenly sensed a dangerous aura, one that nearly made her wings snap open reflexively, the feathers on them bristling straight up.

She was bristling, like a small animal with ingrained genetic instincts encountering a natural predator.

This was a feeling she had never experienced before; even on the day her wing was broken, she hadn't felt such gut-wrenching dread.

“Everyone!” Li Qing'an shouted. “Return to the temporary base now and await my further orders!”

“If I don't return, no one is allowed to come out!”

After shouting, Li Qing'an quickly ran toward the Pollution Fissure Research Institute.

“Oh, Li Qing'an sensed the Pollution Aura,” the system reminded Shen Ji. “You need to hurry.”

Shen Ji didn't respond to the system; he was still fully focused on communicating with the small mushrooms here.

“I've come back to take you all home.”

The small mushrooms instantly let out little whimpers.

They burrowed out of the human bodies and threw themselves into their master's embrace, frantically pouring out all their grievances over the years.

It's so cold, the small mushrooms hate the cold the most.

Master, you have to hold us properly!

Shen Ji gently patted their mushroom caps. “Can you help me with something?”

Master, master!

Help! We'll work hard, QAQ!

We mushrooms will work, QWQ!

“Eat away the pollution that has eroded into the humans' bodies. You can be rough, but don't let the humans die. Can you do that?”

Yes! No problem!

They spun their caps, puffed up with pride, and darted back into the bodies of the contaminated patients. They had long been annoyed by this pollution.

Hmph! Siberian deep-freeze! We'll eat you all now!

They were already familiar with these human bodies. The moment they returned, they could pinpoint the remaining pollution. Consumption was in their nature; hibernation didn't curb their hunger—it only made their gluttony worse.

The hyphae devoured all the Pollution Aura inside the humans and even gobbled up all the pollution around the entire Pollution Fissure Research Institute.

Then, they twined together into a clump and piled into Shen Ji's palm, seeking recognition.

Shen Ji praised them briefly.

Just then, rapid footsteps came from behind. Shen Ji closed his hand and looked back.

Li Qing'an rushed over, her wings already spread wide, covered in feathers standing on end. As she ran over, a feather or two was torn loose by the wind and blown to the ground.

“Doctor Shen!” Li Qing'an asked nervously, “Did you notice anything unusual?”

“I sensed a very threatening presence—it might be a Contaminant, or it might be something else.”

Li Qing'an cautiously looked around.

Shen Ji opened his hand; there was no trace of the small mushrooms left in his palm.

“Nothing, but I found numerous victims inside.”

Li Qing'an was about to say something else when a dull thud came from not far away.

Something had fallen to the ground, dragging nearby equipment down with it. The two quickly pushed open the conference room door in front of them and saw a person lying on the ground, moaning weakly in pain. A chair was pinning him down; he was stiff, unable even to push the chair away.

And it wasn't just him—everyone in the conference room was beginning to come to.

They started struggling, crying out from pain and stiffness.

Soon after, moans and cries echoed throughout the entire institute. All the victims who had been frozen in place had come to and were no longer covered in ice.

Li Qing'an was shocked and instinctively looked at Shen Ji beside her.

Shen Ji's black eyes were taking in the scene, showing no surprise or shock—only relief. And because they were so close, Li Qing'an unexpectedly noticed a few strands of deep blue hair mixed in with Shen Ji's, as if he had a few strands tastefully dyed.

Huh, Doctor Shen's kinda stylish.

No, wait!

Shen Ji wasn't surprised at all. Could she attribute these people waking up to Shen Ji's treatment?

Could it be that the overwhelming threat she sensed was actually Shen Ji using his Talent?

Li Qing'an: ...

Such an incredible and frightening Talent—she finally understood why every organization was vying to make Shen Ji their successor.

/

After professional assessment, the Academy of Sciences deemed the equipment at the Pollution Fissure Research Institute repairable. Once the generator was successfully activated, the institute's protective facilities and heating systems were superior to those of the temporary base. So, they gathered all Academy members who had come to support and conducted a comprehensive overhaul of the Pollution Fissure Research Institute.

During the overhaul, they made an unexpected discovery: the pollution level inside the institute was gradually decreasing.

They couldn't find the reason for the decrease in pollution levels, but it was a good thing nonetheless, as it meant they wouldn't be working under high pollution conditions.

After repairing all the heating facilities in the area and installing several pollution detectors at key locations, they finally activated the pre-installed generator within the research institute.

As the lights flickered on, several people cheered with laughter, shouting, "Yes!"

Li Qingan and the staff carved out three zones within the research institute.

The first zone was for the security team members, who would continue exploring further to search for more missing personnel; the second was for the technical staff of the Academy of Sciences, who were tasked with ensuring the research institute functioned properly, with heating and pollution detection as top priorities.

The third zone, and the largest, was the treatment area for pollution doctors.

All surviving patients were transferred here. Aside from the pollution doctors, Li Qingan was coordinating with the Pollution Prevention Center.

She needed a team of surgeons—many of the survivors had severely frostbitten limbs, and some would require amputation to save their lives.

Shen Ji looked at the unconscious person lying on the hospital bed before him, then glanced at the documents in his hand.

"Liu Zecheng, Professor Yang's last disciple and the head of the Silent Frost Pollution Fissure Research Institute, with a pollution level reading of 128, severe frostbite. Even if he survives, he'll probably be disabled."

"But at least he's alive."

Shen Ji observed the injuries—Liu Zecheng's limbs had turned blackish-purple from prolonged freezing, and his skin had lost all elasticity.

He was the most severely injured among all the survivors.

He pulled a chair over, sat down, and placed his hand on Liu Zecheng's wrist. In the next moment, a strand of blue mycelium emerged from Shen Ji's palm, piercing into Liu Zecheng's wrist as Shen Ji willed it, beginning to cleanse the residual pollution within his body.

The intense pain caused Liu Zecheng's eyelids to twitch uncontrollably. He struggled but couldn't break free, writhing in agony even in his unconscious state.

Finally, the pain jolted him awake, and the bright light from the ceiling immediately flashed in his eyes.

He instinctively shut them, then let out a pained groan.

But his strength was so depleted that the sound was barely louder than a mosquito's hum.

"Awake?" Shen Ji spoke. "Don't move. I'm treating you."

Liu Zecheng's mind was in chaos. He just stared at Shen Ji with eyes shot through with broken blood vessels, wide open and crimson.

It wasn't until Shen Ji retracted the mycelium from his body that Liu Zecheng seemed to return to himself.

He gasped for air, but his body remained completely immobile. Still, his mind finally began to function.

"Do you remember your name?" Shen Ji asked him.

Liu Zecheng stared at Shen Ji for a long moment before weakly responding, "...Yes. I'm Liu Zecheng, head of the Silent Frost Pollution Fissure Research Institute branch."

"Good." Shen Ji nodded. "Don't worry. All surviving staff from the research institute have been rescued, and the pollution doctors are providing treatment."

Liu Zecheng finally let out a long sigh of relief.

Seeing him relax, Shen Ji asked, "Do you know where the other missing personnel are?"

Unlike other Pollution Fissure Research Institutes, the Silent Frost Pollution Fissure Research Institute was built far from the pollution fissure itself. After all, it was a primordial fissure—most primordial fissure sites didn't have research institutes nearby. The exception here was solely because the Silent Frost region didn't produce pollutants.

In the end, they established the research institute near residential areas, not only to study the pollution fissure but also to investigate why no pollutants appeared in the vicinity.

Because of this, when the Pollution Fissure Research Institute went silent, the nearby residential areas also lost contact.

"...Puppet City," Liu Zecheng said in a weak voice. "Professor Yang... I sent the data to Professor Yang."

"Puppet City is what's now known as X City."

With that, Liu Zecheng passed out again.

Shen Ji was silent for a moment.

"Can I wake him up again?"

"No, his body can't take it. If you wake him now, he'll die. Let him rest. Try again tomorrow."

"Such a short window of consciousness, and all he gave us were riddles."

Shen Ji stood up and left the medical room.

Though he muttered a small complaint, he headed to Zone 2 nearby, where the Academy of Sciences technicians were stationed.

He first inquired about communication restoration.

"Restoring communications is difficult right now because all the facilities in the area are frozen and damaged. It's hard to replace them," the person in charge apologized to Shen Ji. "But if it's just for emergency contact, we can get it working for a short time. Captain Li used the emergency line earlier. Do you need to contact the Pollution Prevention Center?"

"No, call the head of the Pollution Fissure Research Institute, Professor Yang Xu."

The people around exchanged glances, hesitated for a moment, but eventually nodded and used this one emergency line they had to call Yang Xu.

After two rings, the call was answered.

"This location is... Silent Frost?!" Yang Xu's voice was laced with hesitation and anxiety. "Is that Zecheng?!"

"No, Professor Yang, it's me."

Yang Xu paused, and when he realized who it was, his voice grew even more emotional. "Xiao Ji?!"

"I'm providing support in Silent Frost. We've found the missing research institute staff, including Liu Zecheng. He's alive for now."

"Oh, thank God!" Yang Xu sounded on the verge of tears.

Shen Ji thanked the staff nearby before continuing, "Professor Yang, I called to ask you about something."

"What... what is it?" Yang Xu got his trembling voice under control, trying to shift back into work mode. "I'll tell you everything I know."

"While treating Liu Zecheng earlier, he mentioned a location. He said 'Puppet City' and told me he sent the data to you. He also said Puppet City is now X City."

Yang Xu fell silent for a few seconds, then let out a sharp breath. "Puppet City?"

"Xiao Ji, can you receive files there? I'll send you the documents."

Shen Ji glanced at the staff member beside him, who nodded and gave a thumbs-up.

Soon, Shen Ji received the files Yang Xu sent. For convenience, the staff printed them out and handed them to Shen Ji.

"Zecheng had been investigating the Silent Desert—now called Silent Frost—for years, trying to understand why there were no pollutants around despite the pollution fissure. He believed that if he could find the reason, it could be used as a basis to research methods to make pollutants disappear."

"He spent years researching there and eventually came across files related to 'Puppet City.'"

Puppet City, this is the nickname for the victim cities of the Silent Desert. According to records, the Silent Desert would engulf one city every year. Days before being swallowed, the city would exhibit extremely rigid behavior, such as countless people sat blankly at home without any reaction, refusing to eat or speak, like puppets.

The appearance of such anomalies indicated that the city had been targeted by the Silent Desert. Soon, everyone in the city would disappear. Even if people tried to flee, it was useless—they were all marked. Escaping recklessly would not only cause their own disappearance but also drag down anyone who sheltered them.

Thus, Puppet City quickly became a place everyone in the surrounding areas avoided.

However, in the 21st year of the apocalypse, the Puppet City incident occurred again, but this time, the people in Puppet City did not disappear. Instead, everyone survived, and from then on, similar incidents never happened again.

No pollutants appeared outside Puppet City anymore, and by the 30th year of the apocalypse, it had become a coveted "pollution-free" sanctuary.

"The clue was something he managed to buy from a resident—a diary written in desperation by a Puppet City resident who had experienced the incident at the time, believing they were about to die."

"Zecheng feared he might be in danger later, so he scanned it and sent me a copy."

Shen Ji thanked Yang Xu, but Yang quickly insisted he should be the one thanking Shen Ji, believing that as long as Shen Ji was there, Liu Zecheng would surely survive.

After hanging up the phone, Shen Ji left Area 2 with the materials.

As he walked, he read the contents of the materials.

"May 3rd, our city has become Puppet City. Why here?! We’re so far from the pollution rift!"

"May 4th, Mom sat on the sofa, the TV blaring, but she didn’t move. I turned off the TV, but she just stared blankly at the black screen. She stopped moving, eating, drinking, or sleeping."

"May 5th, there are people standing on the streets, but they’re not moving—just standing there."

"May 6th, some people fled, but I can’t leave. Mom is still here. I have to stay with her."

"Why us? Why is this happening? Why am I still aware? If I have to die, just let me be contaminated quickly. I can’t take it anymore. I want to die!"

"So tired, my body is so tired, everything is so tired. I don’t want to move. I just want to find a place to sit, forever."

"May 11th... Someone came into Puppet City. Who would be crazy enough to enter Puppet City? What was he thinking? Doesn’t he know this place is a death sentence?" (The handwriting is messy.)

"May 13th, he’s still alive. He didn’t turn into a puppet like the others. He found me and asked why I didn’t run away. I told him everyone in Puppet City is marked, including him. But he showed no fear, just stared at me silently."

"May 18th, he left, but before going, he told me it would all be over soon."

"May 20th, Mom moved."

"May 21st, the people of Puppet City didn’t disappear!"

The diary ends here, but there’s another page below. Shen Ji turns it over and finds it’s not a continuation of the diary but a summary written by Liu Zecheng.

"Even now, City X still has a worship tradition. Some residents believe it was the young man who suddenly appeared that saved Puppet City, as he stayed in Puppet City for nearly a week without being affected. So, they erected a monument for him, thanking him for saving Puppet City. But by today’s standards, that young man might have been a mutant, possibly even an A-class or S-class mutant."

"This would explain how he stayed in Puppet City for a week and how he truly managed to turn the city’s crisis around."

Reading this, Shen Ji glanced ahead thoughtfully.

"Is it Hui?"

"No, it must be Hui. Only he would leave a bunch of small mushrooms here. That’s the only explanation."

"With this, the reason there are no pollutants around the Silent Desert cities becomes clear."

It’s because of the small mushrooms Hui left behind.

Small mushrooms are highly voracious pollutants—they are the pollution of 'gluttony.' Their fundamental nature is to feed relentlessly. So, the left behind small mushrooms would hunt down pollutants around the city.

Thus, it’s not that there are no pollutants around the Silent Desert—it’s that the pollutants around the Silent Desert have all been devoured completely by the small mushrooms.

"But why the Silent Desert?" the System wondered. "Was he here to feed?"

"Because of Zhangyang."

Shen Ji rested his hand on his chin and mused, "Ten years ago, the Gardener hadn’t been discovered by the Pollution Prevention Center yet. It was still an S-class pollutant hiding in the shadows, occasionally causing minor pollution incidents. But Puppet City had been losing an entire city’s population every year for a decade."

"With such a blatant display, of course Hui would choose this place first."