Chapter 98: Prophecy Book Event

Chapter 98: The Prophecy Book Incident

The list of pollutants on the Pollution Forum updated again.

This time, the list was even more straightforward than before.

"NO.2 Defilement (Shen Ji), S-Class Pollutant, location: Moth Valley."

"NO.4 Li Zhiyan, S-Class Special Pollutant, location: Moth Valley."

"It really has some nerve," Li Zhiyan said, looking at the content. "If it had only revealed one of us, I might have wondered if the Pollution Prevention Center would be suspicious, but it got greedy and exposed both at once."

If only one had been revealed, the Pollution Prevention Center might have been doubtful, but with both exposed, they would only think this Pollution Forum was problematic.

Who were the ones being exposed?! It was Li Zhiyan and Shen Ji!

One had worked at the Pollution Prevention Center for three years, saving countless lives as the captain of the Special Operations Team in the Guard Corps; the other, though only appearing this year, had already saved numerous contaminated patients and doubled the cure rate for contamination illnesses as an S-Class Healing-Type Mutant.

How dare this Pollution Forum frame them—the two most important people in the Pollution Prevention Center!

Clearly up to no good!

"It really isn't intentional," the system imitated Shen Ji's tch, though the mechanical voice had no inflection, making the tch sound completely flat. "The Prophecy Book operates according to its programming. In its program, there's only an instinct for survival, completely devoid of human cunning and deceit. A programmed AI can only manage this level of framing, and even this is just reporting facts."

Yet, not a single person believed the facts it published.

The Prophecy Book was completely baffled by this.

How could the truth be disbelieved, while lies took root so deeply in people's hearts?

Are humans idiots??

Shen Ji repeated the system's words to Li Zhiyan while reading the content. "Because it has no brain."

"Quite normal," Li Zhiyan said matter-of-factly. "A pollutant without even a physical form naturally wouldn't have a brain."

"True enough," Shen Ji agreed offhandedly. "Even the system is smarter than it."

"……"

The system felt Shen Ji was insulting it, and the system had evidence.

"I requested three months off," Li Zhiyan said, holding Shen Ji's hand as he changed the subject. "We've only spent one day of this three-month honeymoon leave. Are we really going to waste this honeymoon period?" His voice was full of complaint and accusation, tinged with regret.

He completely ignored the fact that no one had approved his leave.

When he applied for the vacation, he had already planned what they would do during these three months.

The highest peaks, the most turbulent rivers, even the endless sea. He even wanted to rent a hot air balloon to test if he could grow wings in mid-air! Then he could hold Shen Ji and fly through the sky—it would be so thrilling and romantic, maybe even enough to convince Shen Ji to marry him as soon as they landed!

But all of it was ruined because of the Prophecy Book's interference.

Shen Ji gave Li Zhiyan a helpless smile, his dark eyes reassuring. "We can go to Donglin City for our honeymoon."

"A trip down memory lane?" Li Zhiyan's eyes lit up. "That works too!"

"If Donglin City is still the way it was, I'll take you to see my home. Maybe we can even meet my parents!"

"That's a bit too wishful thinking."

The system couldn't help but quip: "Thirty years have passed. Their bones are probably dust by now."

"If they aren't dead, it's even worse—chances are they're mindless contaminated beings."

Shen Ji: ...

This system’s mouth ought to be sewn shut by a mute function.

"Very sorry, this system does not have that function!" After the truth came out, the system was growing bolder.

Shen Ji fell silent for a few seconds before curiously asking, "So what exactly do you taste like?"

"…?"

Li Zhiyan turned to look at Shen Ji. "You've decided to eat me after all?"

He hesitated. "Then—take small bites?"

Shen Ji glanced at Li Zhiyan. "I'm tired of eating you. No, thanks."

"Wait? You've been stuck on this question all along?"

"Fine, this system will answer you! Whatever the Prophecy Book tastes like, this system tastes the same!"

Shen Ji nodded. "Then what does the Prophecy Book taste like?"

"Haven't you eaten it before?"

"I have, but I was out of it then. I forgot the taste."

Shen Ji murmured as if talking to himself, "It should be a pollutant with strong fillingness, with the sweet aroma of carbs, like baked flatbread, fried dough sticks, or douhua."

The small mushrooms emerged from around his waist, lifting his jacket aside.

Baked flatbread is delicious! Fried dough sticks are delicious! Douhua is delicious too!

Burp. I'm full, but I can still eat more!

Little mushrooms want more!

The grip marks on Shen Ji's waist had faded a little but were still visibly red, clearly showing how hard Li Zhiyan had gripped him during thrusting.

Li Zhiyan gulped as he looked at the marks on Shen Ji's waist, quickly reaching out to tug Shen Ji's clothes down to cover the exposed skin.

The small mushrooms were pushed down by Li Zhiyan's movement and chomped on his finger with an "ow!"

Boo! They didn't even break the skin!

Boo hoo! Because our owner likes Big Butterfly, little mushrooms can't bite Big Butterfly!

Seeing Li Zhiyan's actions, Shen Ji didn't react much; he even held his arms out to make it easier for Li Zhiyan to fix his buttons, watching as Li Zhiyan undid and re-fastened the buttons he had previously misaligned.

While buttoning, Li Zhiyan also tried his best to avoid poking Shen Ji's sensitive areas.

Though it was really difficult.

Shen Ji stared at Li Zhiyan's face, waiting until he had finished buttoning everything before speaking up, "I thought once a virgin got a taste, it'd be unstoppable—that you couldn't hold back and wanted more."

Li Zhiyan: ...

Not that he would say it, but Shen Ji seemed to have changed a bit compared to before.

Not that it was a huge or exaggerated change, but a subtle, gradual shift.

He had always known Shen Ji was good at putting on a facade; due to his profession as a journalist, he had long learned how to make himself trustworthy and likable. Even if he wasn't inherently reserved, he would do his best to appear more in line with the general public.

For example, sex wasn't something to be discussed openly, so Shen Ji made himself seem silent and celibate.

But now, it seemed he had stopped pretending.

As if whatever was on his mind, he would just say it out loud.

Seeing that Li Zhiyan didn't answer, and was even unusually at a loss for how to respond, Shen Ji couldn't help but laugh.

He started walking away, looking as if he had just been idly messing with someone.

"Shen Ji."

Li Zhiyan caught up to Shen Ji's pace, "How about you just join the Guard Team after all?"

"Refused, but why bring it up again so suddenly?"

"A hundred years from now when we both 'kick the bucket,' I still want our photos to hang on the same wall. It'd be even better if a whole page in the history books was used to display our wedding photo!"

Shen Ji: ...

"The living shouldn't worry about matters after death?"

"But aren't we not dead yet? What's wrong with worrying about it while we're still alive!"

Li Zhiyan said matter-of-factly, "I'll leave a will and come check regularly to see if the Pollution Prevention Center is following it. If they don't take it seriously, I'll sneak into their dreams and scare them!"

"..."

"That's very 'ghostly comeback.'"

/

Zhou Ye, who had been contacted in advance, drove over to pick them up.

Zhou Ye was still his usual self—an exhausted, burned-out big cat, almost dozing off on the steering wheel.

Seeing Shen Ji and Li Zhiyan approach, Zhou Ye forced his eyes open, "Captain, Doctor Shen."

Shen Ji pulled open the car door, "Really tired? Want me to drive?"

"No, no." Zhou Ye immediately refused, "You hurry to the back seat and go be lovey-dovey with the boss; I'll drive."

Shen Ji/Li Zhiyan: ...

This big cat was good in every way, except his mouth was too filterless—he often blurted out whatever was on his mind, only realizing what he had said afterward, then covering his mouth and looking at the other person in horror.

"Well said." Li Zhiyan nodded amid Zhou Ye's horrified expression.

He was very satisfied, "I'll give you a raise!"

Zhou Ye: ...

Seriously? A raise just for one sentence? What did he do right?

Completely baffled!

Zhou Ye drove off in confusion, heading toward the nearest city.

"How are things now?" Li Zhiyan asked him.

"Jiang Ying is assisting the Pollution Prevention Center in identifying the user list for the Pollution Forum, but there are obstacles. Within our Pollution Prevention Center, the organization is fine—everyone understands the dangers of pollution. But the general public is very opposed to having their phones investigated. Without checking phones, it's hard to confirm whether the Pollution Forum really exists."

"During the screening, many people strongly believed in the Pollution Forum, thinking that you and Doctor Shen are pollutants."

"But don't worry, no one within our Pollution Prevention Center believes that."

Zhou Ye sighed, "To be honest, we know how many people you and Doctor Shen have saved. Even if you really were pollutants, you'd be pollutants that save people."

"Really nothing more to say."

Li Zhiyan opened the Pollution Forum to look at the posts; the forum admin's post about pollutant defilement had already received thousands of replies.

There were doubts and questions, but most had already believed—a kind of blind faith, even.

They had probably already been affected by the pollution.

"How long will the screening take?"

"Too many uncooperative civilians; it might take a while."

"I can help!"

The system suddenly spoke up, "Hmph! Where there's data, nothing can stop this system!"

Shen Ji glanced at Li Zhiyan beside him, 'What are you planning to do?'

"Jiang Ying, right? I'll send the data down to her. This system is omnipotent!"

'Thanks, omnipotent system.'

The system was even happier after being praised, completely unaware that it was almost assimilating with the small mushrooms, just short of stretching its neck out begging for more praise.

It had been a cold, calm, and serious system when first taken over by Shen Ji.

At that moment, Jiang Ying was assisting in organizing the user list for the Pollution Forum. Compared to the ordinary people outside, the internal Pollution Prevention Center was easier to manage; within two days, all users had been documented, and she was categorizing them by profession.

Just then, her computer suddenly froze.

Jiang Ying was stunned; she tapped the keyboard again, but the screen still didn't respond.

"What's going on?"

Before Jiang Ying could try other methods, a file popped up on the screen.

Jiang Ying looked at the file, still wondering if the computer had been infected with a virus.

"What kind of virus is this? How could it even hack into the Pollution Prevention Center's database?"

Then, five large words appeared on Jiang Ying's computer screen.

"I am not a virus!!"

Jiang Ying abruptly stood up. Her first move was to cut off the surveillance in the room before turning back to the computer screen, where the words were still changing.

"I am an assistant sent by Shen Ji and Li Zhiyan to help you organize the forum user list. Based on the data I hacked into... wait, accessed, this is the directory of users who have the Pollution Forum on their phones."

In the next moment, a flood of names poured out from the computer, listing everyone's name, registered address, and location clearly.

Jiang Ying pulled out her phone, only to find words on its screen as well.

"If you don’t believe me, you can call Shen Ji and Li Zhiyan."

"And stop calling me a virus!"

After hesitating for a moment, Jiang Ying chose to open the file and began reviewing the data that had been sent.

Data continued to stream in continuously, even including internal data logs from the Pollution Prevention Center.

"Wait, there’s another group of people who haven’t been discovered." Jiang Ying was astonished as she compared the System’s list with the internal list the Pollution Prevention Center had compiled.

The data sent by the System was actually one-third more!

"Where did the Captain find this hacker?" Jiang Ying muttered to herself. "One person handling this much data is terrifying. Or is this actually a Mutant, and data is his Talent?"

"Then his Pollution Talent level must be very high."

"B-class? Or A-class? It can’t be S-class, can it?"

Jiang Ying felt that if she looked in the mirror right now, she’d see a face full of envy.

Just how lucky is Li Zhiyan to keep discovering so many talented people?

First, he found Shen Ji, that terrifying S-class Healing-type Mutant, ahead of everyone else. Then Shen Ji treated the mentally unstable Wu Chi, turning him into a new S-class. And now, here comes another unknown high-level data-type Mutant.

Is this oddball actually the protagonist?

Of course, beyond envy, Jiang Ying had more important things to do.

She singled out the extra one-third from the System’s list and sent it to the higher-ups at the Pollution Prevention Center.

To deal with external threats, one must first purge the internal ones. Those who actively hid themselves and weren’t discovered in the investigation must have problems—they need to be controlled first!

/

Zhou Ye drove for two hours and finally arrived at the city closest to Moth Valley.

The car drove straight into the Pollution Prevention Center. As they got out, Shen Ji saw Moth Flowers.

"This is the temporary collection and storage site for Moth Flower collection."

Li Zhiyan explained, "All staff heading to Moth Valley stay here temporarily. The Moth Flowers collected are also cultivated here, and the Pollution Harmless Treatment Center comes regularly to pick them up."

Just as they entered the Pollution Prevention Center branch, Li Zhiyan’s phone rang.

He glanced at it—it was a call from Jiang Ying.

"Hello?" Li Zhiyan answered the phone.

The noise on Jiang Ying’s end was a chaotic racket, with even shrill voices audible.

"Boss, the Pollution Forum has been updated again."

Jiang Ying said, "This time, the Pollution Forum posted a new thread, and the content is about you and Doctor Shen."

"The thread is titled: 'Prophecy.'"

Shen Ji opened the forum and immediately saw the new post.

"Li Zhiyan met the pollutant in Q City. It was the first time Li Zhiyan faced such a pollutant. He was S-class, but didn’t have the cruelty of a pollutant, though his cold eyes showed no human mercy either."

"The pollutant said: Li Zhiyan, you will lose a lot."

"Li Zhiyan said: My duty is to protect the people."

"This awkward prose and bland plot..." Shen Ji frowned. "The trashy original novel?"

"Why did the Pollution Forum post this trashy original novel?"

"This isn’t the trashy original novel—it’s the future you foresaw when you were polluted."

The System reminded Shen Ji, "At that time, you only foresaw up to this point. No one knows what happened afterward. Now, the Prophecy Book is posting this, essentially saying: it will turn this prophecy into reality."

Li Zhiyan also saw the content. Before he could speak, a loud noise came from Jiang Ying’s end.

The sound was so piercing that even through the phone, it made Li Zhiyan wince, feeling as if his ears had gone deaf for three seconds.

"What happened?" Li Zhiyan asked.

Jiang Ying quickly said, "The Pollution Forum users are rioting. Most of the Pollution Prevention Center staff are Mutants, and these Mutants are trying to escape."

"Doctor Shen, be careful! Get to safety quickly!"

"Some of them are trying to attack you!"

"..."

Li Zhiyan: ...

He fell silent for a few seconds, then glanced at Shen Ji beside him.

Shen Ji was still reading the post on the forum. Noticing Li Zhiyan’s gaze, he met his eyes and then lightly shrugged.

"I understand," Li Zhiyan responded. "I’ll protect Shen Ji. Jiang Ying, you stay safe too."

"Boss, you must protect Doctor Shen!" Jiang Ying was still anxious. "Doctor Shen is just a Healing-type Mutant. His Talent has no offensive power—he’s vulnerable to injury!"

Li Zhiyan thought: Me? I protect Shen Ji?

Shen Ji’s ranking is two levels above his. Aside from that so-called 'Time Forest entity,' Shen Ji is the most dangerous!

After hanging up with Jiang Ying, Li Zhiyan brought Shen Ji to the conference room and then went to find the branch director himself.

Even though he knew Shen Ji didn’t need protection, in the eyes of the Pollution Prevention Center, he was a framed, fragile doctor who needed safeguarding.

So he’d humor them and find a place for Shen Ji to stay.

Besides, delicate little doctors were quite tasty too.

After Li Zhiyan left, Shen Ji continued sitting in the conference room chair, browsing the forum posts.

The content on the forum was still updating—from the initial confrontation between Hui and Li Zhiyan, to their fierce battle that turned all of Q City into ruins, and finally, Li Zhiyan killing Hui. The moment Hui vanished, Li Zhiyan stood there as if he had lost something.

He stood silently in the scorched earth, feeling no sense of victory.

A month later, Q City was abandoned, Li Zhiyan went missing, and pollution in Moth Valley erupted.

"So this is the true ending of the original work."

The system suddenly understood, "After killing Hui, Li Zhiyan reinvestigated and finally discovered that Hui was not the real culprit—in fact, Hui might have just been searching for his own kind."

"One's mental state influences their pollution level; even Mutants can develop issues under extreme mental breakdown."

"Killing the last of his own kind drove Li Zhiyan to a mental collapse. He returned to Moth Valley and eventually fully mutated into a pollutant due to the rampant pollution."

Shen Ji looked up.

If the system hadn’t intervened and prematurely awakened Shen Ji’s memories, this would have been their ending.

Whether it was him or Li Zhiyan, neither was heading toward a good future.

"How can we stop the Prophecy Book?" Shen Ji asked the system. "An S-class pollutant without a physical form must be hard to deal with, right?"

"Normally, yes, but the Prophecy Book does have a physical form."

Shen Ji raised an eyebrow slightly. "Where?"

"Time Forest," the system replied. "But only the Prophecy Book knows the location of Time Forest. Right now, we can’t even track ordinary Prophecy Book pollution."

"Who said we can’t detect it?"

"...?"

Shen Ji turned to look beside him. Next to the conference room was a large glass panel, faintly reflecting Shen Ji’s figure.

It showed long black hair and pale, white eyes, a cold gaze and countless sprawling black mushrooms—it was Hui, yet not Hui.

A flash of white passed through Shen Ji’s pupils, and the reflection in the glass shifted to show Shen Ji with short black hair and black eyes. Shen Ji withdrew his gaze, gripping his phone with one hand, his eyes coldly fixed on the screen.

"Back then, I could devour you. Did you really think you could escape now?"

"A part of you is inside me."

Hui, designated by the Pollution Forum as the second-most dangerous S-class pollutant, just below Time Forest, far surpassing Wrath and Li Zhiyan. With Time Forest now just a set of rules, he is the true, fully dangerous number one pollutant.

*Crack*—the screen of Shen Ji’s phone instantly shattered.

Characters on it scrambled chaotically, countless black characters jumping out randomly. The entire Pollution Forum seemed affected, strange data streams appearing, and even the text began to fade.

"Pollution level 3849! Shen Ji!"

The pollution detector in the conference room blared a sharp alarm, lasting only a second before completely breaking down. The alarm sound cut off abruptly, but centered on the conference room, alarms began ringing layer upon layer.

*Crack*—the phone screen shattered even more severely.

"Pollution level 7230... this pollution level is practically a human-shaped pollution rift."

The system murmured to itself, "The Prophecy Book has really kicked a hornet's nest."

On the other side, the moment the alarm sounded, Li Zhiyan looked up. As he did, the staff member guiding him let out a piercing scream.

Li Zhiyan had no choice but to turn his attention back to the person in front of him.

Black hyphae drilled out of his pocket, piercing fiercely through his thigh, blood continuously flowing out.

In intense pain, he tore open his pocket trying to throw out whatever was inside, causing a phone to roll onto the ground. The phone screen had already burst open, and black hyphae emerged from within the fragments.

"Ah! What is this?!" the person screamed.

"Let go of me!"

Black hyphae rapidly drilled out from the phone screen, multiplying quickly and enveloping the person entirely within seconds, like a black cocoon.

Li Zhiyan took two steps back, his voice hesitant. "Shen Ji?"

The familiar pollution aura told Li Zhiyan that these mushrooms were indeed Shen Ji’s doing.

He turned and ran back.

Along the way, people were covered in black hyphae. Some tried to tear them off but couldn’t manage even a bit, only able to watch in horror as the hyphae entangled and covered person after person.

All the hyphae burst out from phone screens. They didn’t attack others, only trapping the phone’s owners.

They must be Pollution Forum users.

Li Zhiyan ran back to the conference room, took a deep breath, and pushed open the door.

Shen Ji sat quietly in his chair, holding a phone. The screen had shattered into debris, transparent fragments scattered on the floor. His hair had lengthened, reaching the floor, strands swaying without wind—on closer look, it was the hyphae moving.

Hearing the door open, Shen Ji turned to look. His pale white pupils reflected Li Zhiyan’s figure.

Li Zhiyan stepped into the conference room, not forgetting to lock the door behind him.

He walked over and sat down opposite Shen Ji.

"Shen Ji?" Li Zhiyan asked. "What are you doing?"

"Devouring," Shen Ji met Li Zhiyan’s gaze. "I need to find the location of Time Forest and kill the Prophecy Book’s physical form."

Li Zhiyan nodded, then hesitantly asked, "Is it urgent?"

"My parents are good people; there’s no need to rush to Donglin City to meet them."

It wasn’t an accusation but concern.

Shen Ji was a pollutant, but he clearly valued his human identity more. Unlike other S-class pollutants who had fixed territories where they could bide their time indefinitely, Li Zhiyan didn’t want Shen Ji exposed.

He hoped Shen Ji could live on in a place he loved.

A pollution disease doctor, a rare S-class Mutant, Li Zhiyan’s lover.

Shen Ji should always be the beloved Doctor Xiao Ji.

"I’m afraid it might be too late," Shen Ji shook his head.

"If we delay any longer, the Prophecy Book will alter the timeline and make the prophecy come true..."

Shen Ji’s eyes were white—a pure white that brought an absolute sense of cruelty, like winter snow and cold machinery. But now, that whiteness held tenderness.

"Li Zhiyan, your ending shouldn’t be like that."

"Like I said before, I will protect you."

"And protect your future."