Contamination Prelude

Chapter 49

The protesters had all cleared out, leaving only the Anti-Pollution Center staff and Zhou Qing at the entrance.

They were in the middle of a conversation.

Zhou Xiangzhe pulled off his hood, revealing his long silver hair, and gestured for Shen Wang to follow. 'Let’s go.'

Whether the riot was over or not was no longer Polaris's mission. He was here this time mainly to deal with the expansion of the Level S Pollution Source. Now it seemed the expansion of the Contamination Source was definitely linked to the Level S Pollutant Youyu. But since the Anti-Pollution Center's decision was to avoid conflict, there was no need for Polaris to get involved any further.

As they reached the High Wall, before they could even show their IDs to get in, Zhou Qing spotted them.

'Hey! Zhou Xiangzhe! You, come here and judge this!'

Zhou Xiangzhe looked at Zhou Qing, confused. 'Hmm?'

'Forget it. You’re like a stone when trouble hits—expecting help from you is like expecting help from thin air. Shen-shizhu! You come judge this!'

Zhou Qing shouted at Shen Wang, 'What the hell is the Anti-Pollution Center and the Academy of Sciences trying to pull?!'

Shen Wang hadn’t intended to get involved, but he stopped when he heard the mention of the Academy of Sciences.

He remembered seeing Lan in the crowd earlier. He didn’t know why Lan was there, but he knew Lan had a deep-seated grudge against the Academy of Sciences. And now, they were actually involved?

Shen Wang let go of Zhou Xiangzhe’s hand and walked over. 'What’s going on?'

The guards didn’t recognize Shen Wang and looked at him with curiosity. Shen Wang pulled his hood down, fished the Polaris badge from his pocket, and pinned it on. Zhou Xiangzhe followed close behind.

'Polaris, Shen Wang,' Shen Wang introduced himself.

'Oh! The Mutant with Contamination Immunity!' The guard immediately remembered.

Zhou Xiangzhe didn’t need an introduction; his long white hair and those inhuman golden eyes were conspicuous enough.

Watching two Level S Mutants and a Mutant with the Contamination Immunity talent standing before them, the guards didn’t even dare to breathe.

'The three of you, this isn’t something a low-level staff member like me can decide.'

'I’m just asking what happened.'

The guard sighed helplessly. 'We just got word that the Academy of Sciences is coming here to conduct an experiment.'

'The Academy of Sciences?' Zhou Xiangzhe found that strange too.

'The Outer Wall is under my jurisdiction! Does the Academy of Sciences not know the rules?' Zhou Qing started cursing. 'They come here to run experiments without telling me or explaining what they’re doing? What, do they think they’re above the Anti-Pollution Center now? Or did the Center know and just not tell me?'

The guard shrank back like a frightened quail, terrified of being caught in the crossfire.

Shen Wang asked, 'Did the notice say what kind of experiment the Academy of Sciences is doing?'

'That’s a red-level file. We don’t have the authority to view it,' the guard whispered. 'Please, don’t make it hard for us. We’re just small fry; we don’t make the calls.'

So, Zhou Qing went back to ranting and raving.

He wasn’t wearing his monk’s robes, and his language was filthy. He didn’t care who was listening; he called the Anti-Pollution Center right there in front of everyone and started screaming at whoever picked up.

The person on the other end was so stunned by the verbal assault that they didn’t dare utter a single word of rebuttal.

Once Zhou Qing finished, the person on the other end finally started to explain.

'The Academy of Sciences’ experiment request was an emergency application approved by the highest authority, so there wasn’t time to notify you.'

'Huh?' Zhou Qing’s temper flared again. 'At least tell me what the Academy of Sciences is doing on my turf!'

'It’s a third-generation talent test.'

Third-generation?

The term made all three of them pause, and then they realized exactly what 'third-generation' meant.

'A third-generation test subject?!' Zhou Qing spoke first. 'No way, the Academy still hasn’t given up on that death-wish of an experiment? Isn’t one defector like Lan enough for them?!'

'The third generation learns from the lessons of the first two. The Academy has made multiple efforts to prevent defection. Plus, his talent is a Level S Perception type; he can locate any Contaminant through his talent.'

'So, once the Academy learned that a Level S Contaminant was distributing flyers at the Outer Wall, they applied to have the third generation locate the Contaminant’s whereabouts.'

Even Zhou Qing fell silent.

That talent was incredibly powerful—basically a high-end tracking device—but it was also weak. At the end of the day, it was just finding people. It lacked offensive power, falling short of Lan by a wide margin, like some kind of auxiliary accessory.

Zhou Xiangzhe thought for a moment before asking, 'What’s his codename?'

'The Hound.'

The Hound... he didn’t know if that codename was fitting or just ironic.

Shen Wang began to wonder if Lan’s appearance here had something to do with this third-generation test subject.

Just then, the gate beside them opened. Two people walked out wearing Anti-Pollution Center uniforms, but they didn’t carry the vibe of staff. It was obvious they were researchers from the Academy of Sciences trying to blend in.

They were pushing a crate about the height of a person, made of sturdy metal on all sides. At first glance, it looked like cargo.

Zhou Qing’s brow furrowed deep. 'Damn it, is there a person in there?'

No sooner had he said that than a voice came through the still-connected phone.

'Research on the third generation isn’t fully complete. His Contamination Level is unstable, and he goes crazy at irregular intervals when provoked, which is why he’s kept locked up.'

'He’s only released when his talent is needed.'

'The Academy of Sciences will continue to control his abnormalities.'

Listening to the person on the phone, Shen Wang glanced at him, then turned his gaze toward the metal crate, a flash of danger in his eyes.

People can’t truly empathize with one another. Shen Wang knew Lan was his brother, and that Lan had been taken by the Academy to become a second-generation test subject, but he couldn’t imagine what Lan had endured. Not until today, seeing the third generation and that metal crate, did he finally realize: to the Academy of Sciences, test subjects weren’t people—they were tools.

He couldn’t imagine if Lan had once been locked in a crate like this, mechanically completing one mission after another in the endless dark.

With every thought, his hatred for the Academy of Sciences grew.

People can love the house and its crow, but they can also hate the house and its crow.

Meanwhile, Lan was still directing Youyu to revise the flyer.

This time, he was going to scatter the flyers inside Central City! He was going to make the Anti-Pollution Center work themselves to death! He didn’t believe that if Central City was covered in them, Zhou Xiangzhe wouldn’t be forced into overtime!

If he let him stay idle and have time to date his cute little brother, it would be a total loss!

To that end, he promised Youyu: once the flyers were finished and distributed, he’d allow him to go take revenge on his former boss immediately.

The aggrieved Youyu thought: *You’re the former boss I want revenge on right now...*

Just then, the book in Lan’s arms suddenly broke free and flipped open in front of him. The white pages turned rapidly. Youyu stared at the book, sneaking one glance after another, but all he saw were blank pages. He had no idea how this freak could see words on it.

Lan’s black hair was blown back by the force of the turning pages. He frowned slightly and reached out to take the book.

He stared at the handwriting on the pages, the gloom and malice in his pupils deepening the more he read.

Finally, he slammed the book shut and took a deep breath. He turned to look at Youyu, who was already preparing to bolt. He was fast; in the blink of an eye, he could merge into water. At the very least, he shouldn’t have to suffer collateral damage right now.

Lan stared at him for several seconds before speaking. 'This version will do.'

'Huh?'

'Print it. Scatter it all over Central City.'

With that, Lan pulled up his hood and vanished right in front of Youyu.

Youyu looked around, and once he was sure Lan was gone, he let out a sigh of relief. He looked at the flyer he’d spent so long making on his mobile phone and felt numb.

'Finally, it’s over.'

At that moment, Lan had already pulled his hood tight and left the area. His silver-purple eyes held a sharp, gloomy edge. The Academy of Sciences could always easily provoke his hostility.

Dodging the various people inside the Outer Wall, Lan arrived at the destination for this operation.

This was a Contamination lockdown zone in the Outer Wall that had once suffered a Level C outbreak, resulting in the deaths of hundreds who had been living there. After the Anti-Pollution Center cleared it out, no one dared to live there anymore. Over time, all sorts of rumors emerged, leading to it being completely abandoned.

He hadn’t expected it to become a temporary base for the Academy of Sciences to hide from the public.

Lan stood inside, clutching his book, barely a few meters away from two Academy researchers. Even so, the researchers didn’t notice him at all; they were busy following protocol for their mission.

Of course, it wasn’t just the two of them; security personnel were distributed all around to prevent any problems.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t a single Mutant higher than Level A among them, so naturally, they couldn’t detect Lan standing right in their midst.

'Is this really going to work? The third generation is so easily provoked.'

'Provocation doesn’t matter; he has a control device on him. The main point is to test his talent.'

'This is a Level S Contaminant that you only see once every few years.'

'True.'

The two researchers in Anti-Pollution Center uniforms tapped the switch on the metal crate on their mobile phone. With a hiss, the crate slowly opened. White mist spilled out of the gap, and after it dissipated, a man could be seen sitting inside.

The man had ordinary black hair. He sat in the crate with his eyes closed, wearing only a gray protective suit—a one-piece that covered him from his feet to his neck. The lower half of his face was locked in a muzzle, and a long chain was wrapped around his neck, like a dog on a leash.

It wasn’t just his neck; his wrists and ankles were bound in heavy chains. These things collectively restricted his freedom.

The researcher knocked on the crate, and the man’s eyes snapped open. One deep blue eye was filled with ferocity.

He was a wolf that hadn’t lost its wildness, forced into a cage.

'The Hound,' the researcher called out. 'Time to work.'

He tossed three blue-background flyers inside. 'Find the Level S Contaminant who issued these.'

The Hound stared at the researcher. Only after a long while did he realize he didn’t seem to be in the Academy of Sciences’ research lab. He narrowed his eyes slightly and finally reached out to pick up the flyers. But before he could even use his perception, he looked outside the crate, his eyes fixed on a specific spot.

Lan met his gaze.

Oh? He’d been spotted.

The researcher noticed where he was looking and turned to check behind him, but he couldn’t see Lan at all.

'What are you looking at?' the researcher asked.

The Hound stared at Lan, then turned back to the researcher, his deep blue eyes cold.

He bared his teeth at the researcher.

'The Hound!' The researcher frowned, assuming it was simple disobedience. 'Do you want to be punished again?'

Lan stepped forward from behind the researcher, resting one hand on the side of the metal crate, his eyes fixed on this third generation.

'Want me to save you?'

The Hound didn’t speak.

'What? Can’t understand human speech, or just can’t talk?'

The Hound reached up and grabbed the muzzle locked over the lower half of his face. He struggled for a moment, realized he couldn’t get it off, and stopped.

'What do you want?'

He spoke, his voice raspy from disuse. He leaned forward, but the chains binding his entire body pulled him back. He struggled, unable to break free from the locks, so he sat back down in anger.

By now, the researchers finally realized that The Hound seemed to have found someone and was even talking to them.

'The Hound! What do you see?!' The researcher grew instantly tense.

'The Hound! Answer the question!'

The Hound let out a roar at the researcher. He possessed no sense of obedience, like a wild wolf that had been forcibly captured.

The researcher frowned.

'No good, his obedience is too low. Did he get provoked by something else?'

'Is there really someone here? But the instruments didn’t detect anything.'

'Damn it, what the hell is going on?'

Lan looked at the two researchers with cold eyes, but he held back from dealing with them. He had a follow-up plan and couldn’t move against them just yet.

If he took out these two small-time researchers here, wouldn’t he just be alerting the enemy and letting the Academy of Sciences prepare?

'You're a Perception-type Level S Mutant. Do you know where Sacrifice is?'

The Hound frowned slightly, and after a long moment, he nodded to indicate he did.

'Good. Act like you didn’t see me. Find a way to get back to the Academy of Sciences. I’ll come find you tonight, and then I’ll take you away.'

Lan snapped his fingers. 'I imagine the Academy of Sciences uses me as a cautionary tale to lecture you, so you should know who I am.'

'I hope to see you tonight.'

Lan turned and left, and in an instant, he was gone.

The Hound licked his teeth. He felt the metallic tang of blood on his sharp fangs—he didn’t know if he’d accidentally cut his own tongue. He began to think about what that man meant. What was he planning to do?

Was he really going to break into the Academy of Sciences at night?

'The Hound! Obey orders!'

The researcher’s voice broke his train of thought. The researcher in the Anti-Pollution Center uniform stepped into the crate and slammed a button on his device. Instantly, an electric current surged through the chains and into The Hound’s body. The sharp pain made him curl into a ball instinctively.

Amidst the electricity, he sized up the researcher in front of him. *Find a way to get back to the Academy of Sciences, right?*

He feigned struggle while measuring the length of the chains, even acting like a trembling quail to lower their guard.

The researcher, irritated by his disobedience, saw him retreat and took a step forward—a single step that brought him right into striking range.

'No! You’re too close!'

The researcher behind him tried to warn him, but it was too late.

The Hound lunged. His hand, restrained by the chain, grabbed the researcher. The lower half of his face was muzzled, but his hands weren’t wearing rubber gloves. He clamped his hand around the researcher’s throat, his fingernails digging deep into the fragile skin. In an instant, blood began to pour.

'He’s lost control!' the researcher outside yelled. 'The test subject is acting out under provocation! Terminate the experiment immediately!'

'Terminate the experiment immediately!'

The chains on The Hound’s wrists and ankles tightened, pinning him against the metal wall of the crate, but it was already too late.

The researcher’s blood soaked his uniform, dripping down to form a small, bright red puddle.

A wolf that hasn’t lost its wildness will always seize every opportunity to tear into the enemy that traps it.

......

After returning to Central City, Shen Wang was granted a long vacation. Aside from specific missions, he didn’t even have to go on the assignments dispatched to Polaris.

Zhou Xiangzhe said this was a privilege of his Contamination Immunity talent.

Because this talent meant he was often assigned to deal with high-level Contaminants, he was compensated with more pay and vacation time. Zhou Xiangzhe didn’t get that treatment; as the captain of Polaris, most missions required him to lead.

Although they hadn’t been together long, since they’d just returned, Shen Wang decided to part ways with Zhou Xiangzhe and go home to tidy up first.

Of course, it was also because Shen Wang thought Lan might be waiting for him at home.

Sure enough, when he pushed the door open, Shen Wang heard music again. Lan was playing his music as usual, leaning on the sofa and reading his wordless heavenly book.

'You’re back,' Lan turned to look at him. 'Aren’t you going to explain your love life to your brother, cute little brother?'

Shen Wang sighed. 'How long have I been an adult? Do I need to report my love life to you?'

'I’m still your guardian, regardless,' Lan said, unconvinced. He stood up. 'Anyway, I won’t interfere with your partner for now, but no cohabitation! Absolutely no cohabitation!'

Shen Wang: ...

Wait, how did he jump to the topic of cohabitation in one second?

Shen Wang chose to change the subject.

'Did you know the Academy of Sciences developed a third-generation test subject?'

'I know,' Lan said, looking slightly annoyed that Shen Wang had changed the subject, but he wasn’t truly upset. He leaned back on the sofa, holding his book up. 'A wolf in chains, given the title of ‘Hound,’ waiting pitifully for someone to appear and save him.'

Shen Wang went to the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water, poured one for Lan as well, and after setting it in front of him, sat down beside him.

'Were you at the Outer Wall because of him?'

'...Not exactly.'

Lan thought: *I was originally just trying to make things difficult for Zhou Xiangzhe.*

Although Lan’s talent was Precognition, it wasn’t all-knowing or omnipotent. The future he could see had limitations—it had to be relevant to the people he had met. To prevent Lan’s talent from interfering, the Academy of Sciences had deliberately hidden the third-generation test subject, leaving even Level S Mutants like Zhou Xiangzhe in the dark.

It wasn’t until the Level S Contaminant appeared that the Academy, unwilling to waste such good experimental data, released the third generation.

And because Shen Wang was now a member of Polaris, they had crossed paths with the third generation, which was how Lan discovered him.

'But he can do me a huge favor,' Lan said. 'It saves me a lot of trouble.'

He looked at Shen Wang. 'Have you asked Zhou Xiangzhe about the Divine Concealment Plan?'

Shen Wang: ...

Sorry, he’d forgotten.

Lan sighed, his tone aggrieved. 'I knew it.'

'Anyway, the Divine Concealment Plan uses the talent of a Level S Mutant, Xianji, to trade one Level S Mutant for one Level S Contaminant. Xianji was the Academy’s first-generation test subject. He didn’t succeed, which is why the Divine Concealment Plan is on the verge of failure. It’s also this plan that caused Mom and Dad to go missing.'

Shen Wang was surprised. 'One for one? Are they okay?'

'They’re just sealed away for now, but as long as Xianji is alive, we can’t find where Mom and Dad are,' Lan said. 'So I’m planning to find Xianji and take care of him.'

That was also why Lan had given Youyu fifteen days.

The Academy of Sciences hid Xianji very well. Even with his Precognition talent, Lan couldn’t boast that he could find him quickly.

But he hadn’t expected the Academy of Sciences to develop a third-generation test subject, and that his talent would be Perception.

A Perception-type Mutant who spent his life inside the Academy could find Xianji in an instant.

'Once we take care of Xianji, we can go find Mom,' Lan said.

Shen Wang tilted his head. He started to think, but he couldn’t conjure a single image in his mind.

For Shen Wang, his mother’s love was a void.

He could imagine what his father looked like — even though his father was a Level 3S Pollutant — because he had The Director as a template. But for Muqin, he couldn't find any template at all.

Seeing Shen Wang’s expression, Lan reached out and patted his shoulder.

'Mom is a very gentle and beautiful person.'

'But she’s also a very dangerous person.'

Shen Wang looked at Lan. 'Dangerous?'

'Otherwise, why do you think Mom ended up with Dad, and why would she be implicated in the Divine Concealment Plan?'

That was indeed something Shen Wang had always wondered about.

The Divine Concealment Plan was a one-for-one swap between Level S Mutants and Level S Pollutants. But Lan said their Muqin was a Level S Mutant, not a Contaminant. That's why he and Lan were the half-Contaminant Miracle. So why did she also disappear in the Divine Concealment Plan?

'Our Muqin was the most feared Mutant when the end times came, feared for her terrifying contamination ability, just like a Contaminant.'

'Codename: The Mermaid.'

Shen Wang didn’t search for the name, because he knew it would likely be a private file he couldn’t access, just like last time. Besides, if he searched for 'The Mermaid,' he’d probably just get fairy tales.

'Mom’s talent, The Mermaid, is like the legendary siren song that lures ships. Her voice makes everyone fall in love with her to the point of madness, regardless of gender. It once caused an entire city to descend into chaos as they pursued her, which is why she ended up on the Wanted List.'

'The Wanted List?' Shen Wang looked at Lan. 'I remember you’re second on the Wanted List? What about Mom?'

Lan nodded firmly. 'You guessed right.'

'Mom is NO. 1. The most dangerous Mutant on the Wanted List, bar none.'

Shen Wang: ...

Thinking about it, they really were an explosive family.