Chapter 105: [End of Main Text]

Chapter 105 "End of Story"

Extreme negative emotions in humans can cause Pollution to spread rapidly, but a healthy psychological state and positive emotions can also curb Pollution.

After the apocalypse, families no longer pressure members to marry or have children, and there's no overwhelming work pressure. Who knows when Pollution might suddenly erupt? Staying alive is what matters most.

Thus, the month around the Spring Festival unexpectedly became the month with the fewest Pollution incidents.

Most of the Guard Team could get about a week off through shift rotations.

Except for Li Zhiyan and Shen Ji.

Yes, Li Zhiyan once again took unauthorized leave and approved a whole month of leave for himself, even approved leave for Shen Ji, using the excuse of a honeymoon.

The Pollution Prevention Center was at its wit's end looking at this leave form.

That rebellious Li Zhiyan was one thing, but how did he manage to corrupt their gentle, kind, reliable, and responsible Doctor Shen?!

They really wanted to temporarily send Li Zhiyan to the eighteenth level of hell, and only let him return once he'd learned his lesson.

To this, Gao Yuan said: Aren't you afraid Li Zhiyan would tear down the eighteenth level of hell, come back, and complain to Shen Ji? And then Doctor Shen, out of heartache for him, quit the Pollution Prevention Center out of sympathy?

Pollution Prevention Center: ...

Haha, that’s exactly something Li Zhiyan would do.

On the very second day these two went missing, Li Zhiyan sent e-invites to everyone he knew. The wedding date was set for the following spring, with no location specified, but he demanded that everyone send gifts. As if that wasn’t enough, he couldn't stop bragging in the invitation that the design was done by Shen Ji.

Look at his boyfriend!

Handsome! Kind! Skilled in healing and graphic design!

The higher-ups at the Pollution Prevention Center were so angry they felt chest pains and had to take two fast-acting heart relief pills.

Among the group of old men, only one bespectacled old man smilingly accepted the invitation and started preparing a hefty gift right away.

Meanwhile, Li Zhiyan and Shen Ji were hanging out deep within Abyss Zero. Before them flowed an endless river; the cold outside hadn’t affected Abyss Zero, which remained warm and full of blooming flowers inside.

All major primitive fissures were like this—external conditions hardly affected the interior, which was also why S-Class Pollutants were unwilling to leave their strongholds.

"Tsk tsk." Li Zhiyan clicked his tongue disdainfully.

"Several people have blocked me."

Shen Ji lay on a deck chair, not even bothering to look at Li Zhiyan. Hearing this, he said, "You didn’t even give out wedding candies and just demanded gifts. Of course they blocked you."

"This society runs on personal connections, understand?"

Li Zhiyan retorted, "I am the biggest personal connection! They should all be giving me gifts!"

Shen Ji glanced at him. "I really should report you for corruption and bribery and have you sent to jail."

"Before you turn me in, consider one thing: if I go to jail, the little tiger we'll have won’t be able to take the civil service exam!"

Li Zhiyan said with utmost seriousness, "For the sake of our child’s future eligibility for the civil service, neither of us can go to jail!"

Shen Ji: ...

Being with someone like Li Zhiyan was fun, sure, but when he got unreasonable, he was truly unreasonable.

Just then, the fishing rod next to Shen Ji moved. Shen Ji quickly got up to pull the rod, while Li Zhiyan leaned over to watch Shen Ji haul a fish out of the river.

"Wow! This fish isn’t small!" Li Zhiyan cheered.

Yes, they were fishing in Abyss Zero.

It all started when they fooled around for half the night, finally settling down to sleep in the early hours of the morning. But just two hours after lying down, Shen Ji woke up at 3 a.m.

He had dreamed of the fish he once caught in the Abyss Zero river.

Back then, he was still 'Filth', specifically seeking out Pollution to eat. That was how he made his way to Abyss Zero. The fish there were incredibly delicious, so he slapped Li Zhiyan awake and dragged him to Abyss Zero to go fishing.

This time, they weren’t eating it raw—they were having it grilled.

As an adventure survival blogger, Li Zhiyan was an expert at BBQ, and his grilled fish did not disappoint!

They tossed the fish into a bucket and continued fishing. Just then, a fish poked its head out of the water. Li Zhiyan thought it was a fish leading the way and wasn’t worried about any urban legends—he was just excited about getting a free fish. But then the fish spat a stream of water right into his face.

Li Zhiyan: ...

Shen Ji: ...

The fish flicked its tail, and a listless voice echoed in their minds.

"Who said you could come steal my fish?"

Wrath, currently cosplaying as a fish—Wrath.

A small mushroom popped up from Shen Ji’s shoulder, and they stared drooling at Wrath in the water.

Wow! So much Pollution, so fragrant!

Want to eat, want to eat!

Master, let’s eat this one!

Shen Ji: ...

As much as he wanted to eat it, it felt unnecessary. As fellow S-Class beings, it was better not to kill each other.

Li Zhiyan wiped the water off his face. "You have to give a gift too."

Wrath the fish was puzzled. "What gift?"

"Shen Ji and I are getting married. You have to give a gift."

How would a fish know humans give gifts at weddings? It didn’t, so it wouldn’t.

It just asked curiously, "Will you two have kids? Will they be mushrooms or butterflies?"

"They'll be little tigers!"

Wrath: ...

Is he insane?

Thinking this, Wrath said it out loud. So Shen Ji watched as Li Zhiyan released butterflies to attack Wrath the fish, and vowed to eat this fish today.

They continued like this until dark. Shen Ji caught four fish in total. Li Zhiyan took off his soaked jacket, threw it on the ground, and started grilling the fish. After finishing, he turned around to find Wrath, now cosplaying as a deer, coming to beg for food. The two watched as a deer gnawed on the grilled fish, finishing its own and eyeing another.

Li Zhiyan drove them off directly.

Shen Ji and Li Zhiyan each had a fish. Then Shen Ji looked toward the person crouching behind a rock in the darkness.

“Would you like to join us?”

The woman, who was crouching on the ground, watched them curiously. After a moment, she cautiously approached, took the fish, then ran back behind the rock to start eating.

It was He Linqiu.

After another minor earthquake in Zero Abyss, the security team found her on the outskirts.

She seemed to have lost all her human memories and was quite terrified of people. Whenever she saw anyone, she would run back into Zero Abyss, but as soon as no one was around, she would come out and start tending to the yellow chrysanthemums that were growing there.

As if fulfilling some mission, she made these chrysanthemums grow beautifully and vigorously.

The higher-ups of the Pollution Prevention Center appealed to Shen Ji, hoping he would go check on her no matter what. So, Shen Ji went to see her once.

He Linqiu was severely contaminated, having mutated into a pollutant, but she unusually retained a sliver of human rationality. This was likely related to her obsession, and coupled with the fact that Wrath had once possessed her, granting her resistance to pollution, she ended up in this state.

Although returning to her original self was impossible, her condition wouldn’t deteriorate further. Perhaps as her level increased, she would gradually regain her memories.

Wrath couldn’t care less about whether a new pollutant had appeared in Zero Abyss. For it, being able to cosplay everything was all that mattered!

Once it experienced all the species around, it would go explore outside.

He Linqiu’s parents were overjoyed, crying uncontrollably. He Linqiu was their only daughter; they had cherished her as she grew up. Previously, despite surviving countless dangers, she couldn’t escape this fate. Now, although the situation was bad, it couldn’t get worse.

Moreover, He Linqiu was a pollutant. Theoretically, all pollutants needed to be eliminated, but He Linqiu was deep inside Zero Abyss, where the security team couldn’t reach.

They had no choice but to turn a blind eye.

After finishing the grilled fish, Li Zhiyan habitually put out the bonfire, even using water to extinguish the last embers. Then he remembered this was Zero Abyss—even if it burned, it wouldn’t matter.

He leaned against Shen Ji, gazing at the starry sky and sighing, “It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this way.”

“Felt what way?”

“Being with friends in a place untouched by humans, fishing and having a barbecue, eating food we made in the wild, and watching the stars together at night.” Li Zhiyan’s eyes held a trace of nostalgia. “Shen Ji, don’t you think that once people become strong to a certain extent, they lose their sense of fun?”

“I can no longer find a mountain I can’t climb or a river so turbulent I can’t cross.”

Shen Ji laughed, “You’re a butterfly—just grow wings and fly over.”

“I’m an underdeveloped butterfly. It’s a pity I never grew wings,” Li Zhiyan went along with Shen Ji’s words.

“I’ll strive for a second growth phase. Once I grow wings, I’ll carry you and fly!”

“I look forward to it.”

Shen Ji understood what Li Zhiyan meant.

Although he never really understood those young people who were into extreme sports—after all, it all boiled down to seeking “thrills.” Nature is so magnificent, and tiny human individuals can’t contend with it, so challenging nature and pushing limits became their source of excitement.

Now, Li Zhiyan naturally couldn’t return to that state because he was already strong—so strong he could truly surpass nature.

“It’s okay,” Shen Ji said gently.

“In the future, wherever you want to go, I’ll go with you. It’s not just for thrills that you go to those places.”

“I know all that.”

Li Zhiyan held Shen Ji’s hand and smiled lightly. “Shen Ji, I wish I could have met you before the apocalypse.”

“I’ve already said it’s impossible, unless it was when I was reporting.”

“You mean assuming I died from extreme sports and you wrote a report criticizing reckless youth?”

“…Or just broke a leg.”

Li Zhiyan: …

He thought: I can see Shen Ji loves me.

Now he won’t even assume I die, only that I break a leg.

So he happily snuggled closer to Shen Ji.

Shen Ji super loves me!

/

On Chinese New Year’s Day, Shen Ji and Li Zhiyan didn’t return.

The three members of the Special Operations Team gathered for the New Year’s Eve dinner. As the system had once said, the apocalypse produced many orphans—all three present were orphans.

“When is the captain getting married?” Zhou Ye asked the other two. “The invitation only said ‘spring.’”

“Maybe he’s waiting for his flowers to bloom,” Qin Changye hit the nail on the head. “Given how our captain treasures those flowers, he’s probably waiting for them to bloom so he can make his favorite bouquet.”

Jiang Ying glanced at them. “The captain said they’d be back on New Year’s Eve.”

So the two shut up.

After waiting a while longer, still no one came.

Zhou Ye spoke again, “Don’t you think Doctor Shen spoils the boss too much? I thought under Doctor Shen’s discipline, the boss would become more reliable, but instead he’s getting more and more abstract.”

Jiang Ying looked up at this. “I think Doctor Shen is a bit abstract too.”

“He really loves telling bad jokes!”

“Last time I ran into Doctor Shen, I heard him deadpan tell a noisy patient to transfer to the psychiatry department—said the doctors there specialize in treating brain paralysis.”

“Once the brain paralysis is cured, then come back to treat the contamination illness.”

Zhou Ye and Qin Changye leaned back strategically. “Whoa!”

After their surprise, Qin Changye said, “Speaking of which, Doctor Shen asked me a question last time.”

The two looked at Qin Changye.

“He asked me if constantly fortune-telling would shorten my lifespan, and warned me to do less of it in the future because he isn’t very good at treating shortened lifespans.”

The two: …

“I thought the captain had whispered something to Doctor Shen, so he asked me that.”

Qin Changye said mournfully, “That sounds exactly like something the captain would say!”

“Because of that, I spent half a page drawing circles to curse the captain! I cursed the wrong person!”

They were starting to get an inkling that the kind, gentle, and reliable Doctor Shen seemed to have another side to him—one that he kept well-hidden, only letting glimpses of it show in the details.

However, it seemed that Li Zhiyan had noticed this side of Shen Ji from the very beginning.

In fact, it was very likely that it was precisely because he liked this side of Shen Ji that Li Zhiyan had pestered him relentlessly.

The three of them exchanged glances and finally exclaimed, "True love!"

No wonder these two ended up together—they were actually cut from the same cloth all along!

"But..." Jiang Ying smiled, "It kinda feels like Doctor Shen is more real now."

"That's true," Zhou Ye said, leaning on the table. "Do you think I could ask Doctor Shen to trim my tail hair? I heard from the lions at the zoo that trimming your tail hair makes you taller."

"Doctor Shen would probably just clip you bald, and then our captain would take embarrassing photos of you!" Qin Changye remarked.

Zhou Ye: ...

A bald lion—utterly hideous!

"A bald cat, you mean."

"Roar! I keep telling you, I'm not a cat!"

"Look, you're so mad you're meowing."

Jiang Ying shook her head helplessly. She opened her phone and took a picture of the two of them. Her photography skills were as bad as ever—the photo looked like a cold, grim crime scene, with Zhou Ye and Qin Changye appearing to be violently brawling.

Jiang Ying couldn’t be bothered to edit it and sent the original photo directly to Li Zhiyan.

"Jiang Ying: Boss, are you still coming back for dinner?"

A moment later, a message came back. Jiang Ying opened the photo and froze for a second.

The picture was filled with dense clusters of Moth Flowers, white Moth Flowers ablaze with blue flames.

The photographer’s skill was exceptional—the lighting and color grading were top-notch. Li Zhiyan sat among the sea of flowers, smiling at the camera, looking gentle and handsome. It was hard to imagine that this was the same utterly eccentric young man who would roll around on the ground.

Jiang Ying realized that this must be a photo Shen Ji sent. They were in Moth Valley, and this was the scenery inside.

This was also the first time Jiang Ying had seen the interior of Moth Valley.

"Li Zhiyan: We can’t make it back, we’re taking photos."

"Jiang Ying: Doctor Shen?"

"Li Zhiyan: No, it's me."

"Li Zhiyan: We’re taking wedding photos! After we finish, we’re getting married! I’ll bring the photos back and collect wedding gifts from everyone!"

Well, that last message was definitely from Li Zhiyan.

Wedding photos.

After the apocalypse, marriage no longer required a sense of ceremony. In a world where death had become commonplace, ceremony felt pointless. Wedding photos had become a rarity; at most, you'd just get a simple couple’s photo taken during registration.

"Jiang Ying: No problem."

Closing her phone, Jiang Ying thought: Li Zhiyan really looks happy.

The eccentric Li Zhiyan always had a sense of detachment. He seemed to treat everyone equally, but in reality, he kept everyone at a distance. He knew many people and was friends with many, whether it was their group or Chu Ye.

But he never shared his inner thoughts with anyone. Occasionally, Jiang Ying felt that he was carrying a lot of baggage inside.

Because he hid so much, when he wasn’t being eccentric, he gave off a weird, lonely vibe.

Until today, until now.

Now there was someone by his side, and his eyes were filled with happiness.

How wonderful.

Jiang Ying thought: This is the best future.

He was no longer lonely. He had finally found his direction. You could see how happy he was from a mile away. His world was no longer just him alone.

Blessings to Li Zhiyan, blessings to Shen Ji.

In the distant Moth Valley.

Li Zhiyan was going through the photos with Shen Ji.

Shen Ji’s photography skills were truly exceptional. Li Zhiyan wanted to keep every single one, poring over them again and again, unwilling to part with any. In the end, he couldn’t bring himself to delete a single one.

"This one," Shen Ji pointed to one of the photos, "this one is a bit overexposed."

"No! I like it!" Li Zhiyan quickly rescued the photo, preventing Shen Ji from deleting it. "How about I just keep all of them?"

Shen Ji sighed, "Many of them are taken in the same scene, with the same angles and lighting. What’s the point of keeping so many duplicates?"

But Li Zhiyan felt they were different.

In each photo, Shen Ji’s expression changed slightly—the spark in his eyes was different each time. He carefully examined every picture, even noticing differences in strands of hair. He couldn’t bear to delete a single frame of Shen Ji.

He wanted to preserve every part of Shen Ji, not willing to lose even a single detail.

But Shen Ji didn’t care about these things. As someone who worked in reporting, he understood the principle of selecting the best and discarding the rest. So he tried to delete the unsatisfactory photos on Li Zhiyan’s behalf.

Li Zhiyan quickly hid the phone in his arms.

"Let’s take some photos together!" Li Zhiyan changed the subject.

Shen Ji sighed, "Just to stop me from deleting photos?"

"After we finish taking all the photos, we’ll do a big cull then!" Li Zhiyan reached out and hugged Shen Ji. "So let’s take some photos together!"

Being both the photographer and the subject was quite challenging. Shen Ji wasn’t aiming for perfection. He set up the camera in one spot, set the timer, and hurried over to Li Zhiyan. In his rush, he almost didn’t make it in time and had to lunge forward. Li Zhiyan reached out to pull him and catch him at the same time.

In that moment of lunging and pulling, they embraced and tumbled to the ground, rolling a couple of times. As the shutter clicked away, Shen Ji sat up from on top of Li Zhiyan and helped him up from the ground.

The Moth Flowers beneath them were pitifully crushed but still trembled and lifted their heads.

The small mushroom wrapped around the Moth Flowers sighed: The owner and the big butterfly are fake-fighting again.

Laughing to death—they can’t actually hurt each other!

Shen Ji and Li Zhiyan finally brushed themselves off. They looked at each other and couldn’t help but burst into laughter together.

In the end, most of the dozens of photos taken were a disaster, with only one turning out perfectly.

They sat facing each other, gazing into each other's eyes, their reflections visible in each other's pupils, their eyes radiating love too deep to hide.

They were both smiling, as if their joy was overflowing.

Li Zhiyan decided: this would be their wedding photo cover.

That way, anyone who saw it would know.

He loves Shen Ji, and Shen Ji loves him just the same.

Author's Note:

And so, the main story comes to an end! I really love ending stories with everyday moments—compared to thrilling plots, ordinary days feel more stable and cozy, and happiness is something this simple and effortless.

Thank you, dear readers, for your continuous support and for following along. Deng loves you! [Heart][Heart][Heart]

Starting tomorrow, we'll begin updating the if-unpolluted extra chapters, which won't affect the subscription rate of the main story. Buy them if you're interested.

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