Chapter 62

Chapter 62

After Despot left, it wasn't just Zhou Xiangzhe on the other side who was shaken to the core—Eagle Hound Sect, crouching nearby, was also struggling to catch his breath.

"Who the hell was that?" Eagle Hound Sect propped himself up against the railing. "I don't remember a Pollutant like that existing in this world."

Lan shot the Eagle Hound Sect a glance before speaking. 'SSS-Class Contaminant [Despot].'

"...Oh." He had absolutely no idea.

Eagle Hound Sect was the Academy's attempt to salvage its reputation. All his offensive capabilities were stripped, his sensory abilities amplified to the extreme. The Academy even crammed every trace of Pollutant aura they could find into his head. In other words, Eagle Hound Sect was probably more of a walking encyclopedia than the Pollution Control Center's own database.

But he'd never felt a Contamination like that before.

"It's normal you don't know him. He's the first Pollutant ever born in this world, the only SSS-Class, the primary target of the Shinin Project."

"I get it." Eagle Hound Sect leaned on the railing, his voice laced with sarcasm. "Neither the Academy nor the Pollution Control Center could get their hands on anything carrying his Contamination, so he wasn't in my database."

"Exactly."

Shen Wang stood to the side. "They just… left?"

He remembered he'd come with Lan to find Mother. Instead of seeing her, Dad had suddenly appeared and just… taken her away.

That last look they'd shared—they'd just glanced over, and that was it? Shouldn't it have been like a family reunion show, with tears and hugs?

Though Shen Wang didn't think he or Lan were the crying type.

"They don't like clashing with humans. Or rather, they have no desire to kill." Lan explained to Shen Wang. "But even without that intent, Contamination kills. Their mere presence among humans is a walking disaster. So, after retrieving her, they left together first."

"I'll go find them in a bit, then come back for you."

With that, Lan closed his book. "You head back first."

Shen Wang was taken aback. He straightened up. "Is that okay?"

"Of course it's okay." Lan smiled, the gloom lifting from him.

Apart from his innate melancholic air, Lan was actually quite handsome. Of course, as the child of Despot and Siren, he couldn't possibly be unattractive. It was just that after years in the Academy, filled with hatred, his smiles had vanished, obscuring his naturally fine features.

The moment he smiled, it was instantly striking.

"It's not just you and me who don't know how to face them. They're the same." Lan said. "In the blink of an eye, their babbling toddler became an adult. The lost time can't be recovered. They don't know what kind of person their child grew into, or if he'd accept them."

"How could parents not be nervous?"

"So you go back first. We'll contact you to meet up later."

Shen Wang checked multiple times, but Lan wouldn't let him accompany him. In the end, Shen Wang could only nod.

He fished out the Invitation he'd gotten in the Maze City from his pocket, then found a pen. On the back of the Invitation, he wrote two lines.

"Then help me give this to Mother." Shen Wang said. "Or to Dad is fine too."

Lan watched Shen Wang, took the Invitation, and nodded. His silver-purple eyes held a gentle warmth.

Watching Shen Wang leave, Lan was moved beyond words.

"My didi is just too good. How could anyone not like him? Damn Academy, making me miss out on such a perfect didi for all these years!"

Eagle Hound Sect sighed. "So you can smile too."

"Appearances really are deceiving. You look pretty good when you smile."

Lan's smile vanished in a second. He looked at Eagle Hound Sect. "Find a place to hide."

"Huh?" Eagle Hound Sect looked at him strangely. "Why?"

"Because your talent is too sensitive. Meeting him would do you no good. Find a place to lay low alone until I handle this family matter, then I'll come back for you."

Eagle Hound Sect raised an eyebrow, a subtle glint in his half-deep-blue pupil.

Oh? Find a place to hide, and wait for him to return?

"Resolving the Shinin Project incident and taking revenge on the Academy are two separate things." Lan said calmly. "Our main mission isn't finished yet."

Hearing this, Eagle Hound Sect finally smiled. He nodded. "Alright, alright, alright."

"Then I'll wait right here for your triumphant return, Lan, the Academy's runaway."

Leaving the Maze City, Lan pulled up his hood. Flipping through the book in his hand, he walked forward, determining the direction they'd left.

After walking just a short while, Lan heard laughter.

"Whose child is this? Where are you going?"

Lan looked up. A beautiful woman sat on a tree branch looking down at him. Her moon-white dress billowed in the wind, looking utterly elegant.

Lan pushed back his hood. He gazed at the woman. "The little tadpole is looking for its mother. Are you my mother?"

Compared to Shen Wang, who'd been too young then, Lan still had memories of his parents. He remembered Mother telling him bedtime stories, telling him the tale of the little tadpole looking for its mother.

In the end, the little tadpoles looking for their mother finally found her.

The woman looked at him. She suddenly covered her eyes. "I can't. I feel like crying."

"How did you grow up so fast?"

"Because a very, very long time has passed. Not just me, didi has grown up too."

The woman's eyes were red. She jumped down from the tree, her high heels landing lightly on the ground with a soft click. She reached out and pinched Lan's cheeks, her voice trembling with unsuppressed tears.

"Mother missed seeing you and your didi grow up."

Lan reached out and embraced his crying Mother. Looking up, he saw Father standing behind them. Father watched them, and the moment his eyes met Lan's, he gave a very slight nod.

Perhaps he, like Mother, couldn't quite adjust either.

Sealed away, they might have felt they'd only just woken from a nap—but in that single Awakening, more than twenty years had slipped by. Their children had grown into adults, standing beside them now no shorter than they were.

Even so, their love for their children remained unchanged.

"What about didi?" Mother asked tearfully. "Didn't didi come?"

"I sent him back. We'll go find him together later." Lan took the Invitation Shen Wang had given him from his pocket. "He grew up among humans. He might need time to adjust."

The woman took the Invitation. She pulled Father, who was standing behind her, over. Father didn't speak, but he'd clearly been looking this way the whole time—obviously very concerned.

They opened the Invitation together.

Two lines were written on it.

"My name is Shen Wang now. I'm used to it, but if you want, you can tell me what my original name was."

"Also, I really want to meet you."

……

Elsewhere, Shen Wang descended from the High Wall. By the time he arrived, Zhou Xiangzhe had just finished his call with the Pollution Control Center. He was looking at his wrist, his golden eyes showing no particular tension.

Footsteps caught his attention. The moment Zhou Xiangzhe looked over, Shen Wang knew he wasn't as calm as he appeared.

The look he turned on them was sharp and dangerous, cold as if steeped in winter lake water. He must have been on edge—after Despot passed through, this place had become a living hell. Ahead lay the corpses of the Distorted Human victims, behind lay the horrifically contaminated staff of the Pollution Control Center.

But the moment he saw Shen Wang, the chill in his eyes melted away instantly.

"Shen Wang?"

After saying that, Zhou Xiangzhe didn't continue. As if just calling his name was enough, and nothing more needed to be asked.

Right. Zhou Xiangzhe had always asked for very little.

Shen Wang walked over. He reached out and grabbed Zhou Xiangzhe's sleeve. "You got so dirty."

"Yeah." Zhou Xiangzhe sighed. "These clothes have to go."

Not just go—they had to be incinerated. Treated with special equipment and then burned.

Because the black liquid on the clothes wasn't water. It was high-concentration Contamination.

The invisible, intangible Contamination around Despot had condensed into visible black rain. If Zhou Xiangzhe hadn't ordered the entire Pollution Control Center staff to evacuate before sensing something was wrong, making them all avoid this black rain, their fate would have been even worse.

Everyone would have mutated into Polluted Beings on the spot from the high-concentration Contamination.

The ground drenched by the black rain carried a faint earthy smell. It looked no different, but Zhou Xiangzhe knew this place had become a forbidden zone—any human who stepped in would mutate.

Yes, SSS-Class Contaminant [Despot] had been born in the Zero Pollution Zone, but the Contamination he carried was enough to turn any place into a new Pollution Source.

"What now?" Shen Wang looked at his clothes.

Zhou Xiangzhe pointed to his ear. "I've already contacted the Pollution Control Center. Reinforcements will be here soon. Help me go meet them, then bring me some water. I need to wash off this black rain before I can leave, or this stuff will contaminate a lot of people."

Shen Wang was a bit surprised. "That serious?"

"Mm." Zhou Xiangzhe nodded. "It's Despot's Contamination, after all. I can maintain this state only because I'm a Class S Mutant. A Class A would get contaminated just touching it."

Shen Wang thought of something. He let go of Zhou Xiangzhe's sleeve, then grabbed his wrist and pushed the sleeve up.

Zhou Xiangzhe was startled but didn't resist.

The black gloves were stuck to his fingers. Rolling up the sleeve revealed his exposed skin. The various small trinkets scattered over Zhou Xiangzhe's body had all turned black, some even half-corroded. None had any Inhibitor effect left.

Despot's Contamination was terrifyingly potent. These Pollution Inhibitors couldn't withstand it at all.

"I'm fine." Zhou Xiangzhe spoke again, his golden eyes gentle. He even softened his tone, as if comforting a skittish little creature.

"The Contamination Level isn't that severe yet."

Shen Wang sighed. "You're headed for S-Zone again."

"This time it really isn't my fault." Zhou Xiangzhe even had the mood to joke. "So don't blame me, okay?"

"Stop overthinking it."

Shen Wang let go of his hand, turned, and walked out of the area to wait for backup from the Pollution Control Center.

Zhou Xiangzhe stood where he was. He felt the warmth on his wrist dissipate bit by bit. Only when it was completely gone did he let out a soft sigh. Then he dialed the Pollution Control Center again.

"This is Zhou Xiangzhe." His voice was calm and cold. "When are you planning to deal with the Academy?"

There was silence on the other end for a few seconds. "This isn't something we can decide on short notice."

"I suggest you get a result today." Zhou Xiangzhe said. "Otherwise, it won't be you making decisions anymore—it'll be you trying to figure out how to distance yourselves from the Academy."

The other side paused. "What do you mean?"

"It's a warning for you."

Besides losing the public's trust, the Academy had only truly pissed off two people: the Second-Generation Experiment Lan and the Third-Generation Test Subject Eagle Hound Sect. Now that Lan and Eagle Hound Sect had formed an alliance, they would definitely keep targeting the Academy. If it were just the two of them, it wouldn't matter—it was the Academy's own mess to clean up.

But now, Zhou Xiangzhe had a personal conviction that Lan was connected to the Despot and the Siren.

They'd just broken out of their seals and weren't familiar with the world yet. Once they learned what Lan had been through, it would be a catastrophe for humanity.

No one could boast that they weren't afraid of retaliation from an SSS-Class Contaminant.

So it was best to deal with the Academy before they got angry. Even if it reeked of damage control, it was better than doing nothing.

The other side remained silent, not saying a word before hanging up.

Right then, Zhou Xiangzhe heard the sound of a helicopter. He looked up and saw the aircraft in the sky.

Clean water poured down from the helicopter, washing the black rain off Zhou Xiangzhe. He felt the contamination on him fall to the ground bit by bit. He let out a soft sigh of relief and turned to see Shen Wang watching him from the side.

The helicopter didn't stay long. The area was completely covered in contamination; even the air wasn't safe. They could only stay a moment, and all they could do was dump the water.

Watching the helicopter leave, Shen Wang walked up to Zhou Xiangzhe.

Zhou Xiangzhe was soaked through, his silver hair plastered to his clothes, still dripping.

Seeing Shen Wang, Zhou Xiangzhe lifted his gaze. Water droplets fell from his lashes like tears.

"The staff are trying to get in for rescue now," Shen Wang said. "You're clean again."

Hearing that, Zhou Xiangzhe smiled faintly. "Yeah."

"That's really good."

Shen Wang's dark eyes held a smile. He pulled a ring from his pocket.

"I asked, but they didn't have your special custom Inhibitor Device. After searching, this was the only style they could find." Shen Wang took Zhou Xiangzhe's hand and slid the ring onto his ring finger through the wetness.

"Make do with this for now."

Zhou Xiangzhe looked at the ring on his finger. His golden eyes lit up, and Shen Wang could feel his happiness instantly.

No matter how many times, Shen Wang had to think: so easy to please.

"Thank you." Zhou Xiangzhe couldn't stop looking at the ring. "I really like it."

"I really do."

But…

Shen Wang, my love, how do I keep you?

/

Zhou Xiangzhe had given a solid evacuation order. At the very least, no one got caught in the black rain, and the victims' location hadn't turned into a forbidden zone. As for the Distorted Humans and the victims who hadn't reached the safe zone, the Pollution Control Center really had no recourse—it could only leave them where they were.

All rescued victims were sent to the Mental Pollution Center, but no one was optimistic.

None of them could make a sound. They didn't resist anything, just trembled endlessly, drowned in fear that left no room for thought—they didn't even dare to die. The Pollution Control Center called Zhou Qing, hoping he could sever their fear.

After Zhou Qing's refusal failed, he performed the 'surgery' to cut emotions on one victim. But the victim didn't recover; they turned into a complete puppet.

Zhou Qing immediately cursed out the person who'd made him use his talent.

These people had lost all their emotions except for a thread of fear. Severing that fear just left an empty shell.

Of course, that wasn't Zhou Xiangzhe's problem anymore. After washing the black rain off, he went to shower and change. The clothes were sent for special treatment and incineration. Because things were urgent, he came out with his hair still wet to handle the aftermath, his silver locks dripping.

The only survivors in the area were Zhou Xiangzhe and Shen Wang, so while Zhou Xiangzhe dealt with the contamination on him, Shen Wang had to handle the handover.

Shen Wang was currently looking over the documents the Pollution Control Center had given him.

Zhou Xiangzhe walked over. "How is it?"

"Not great." Shen Wang handed him the file. "The contamination concentration is high. Technicians are testing it now. Looks like this place is about to become a Class A Pollution Source, maybe even Class S."

"This is inside the High Wall, even if it's not the exact center of Chenmo West City." Zhou Xiangzhe frowned slightly at the data. "Build another High Wall like Central City?"

Shen Wang shook his head, indicating it was too soon to decide.

After handing over the Chenmo West City situation, Shen Wang and Zhou Xiangzhe prepared to return to Central City. Chenmo West City had its problems, but some places were even worse.

On the way, Zhou Xiangzhe kept answering calls.

Only after Zhou Xiangzhe finished all his calls and boarded the plane did Shen Wang ask.

"That bad?"

"It's okay." Zhou Xiangzhe wasn't particularly tense. "One Class S Pollutant puts the whole world on alert. Two Class S Pollutants throw the whole world into panic. But three Class S Pollutants make everyone lose the will to fight—they stop panicking."

Zhou Xiangzhe said this absurdity calmly. "That's about the state we're in now."

Shen Wang: …

"Team Two contacted me. The Zero Pollution Zone is showing anomalies. According to them: 'The originally dead contamination zone seems to have come alive.'"

"Team One also contacted me. Zone 3 Contamination Area has started expanding. The ghost city is clearly visible to everyone now, not hidden in mist. Luckily, there's no population for miles around Zone 3 Contamination Area. They've already evacuated the scattered civilians. No victims yet."

"Add Chenmo West City's Maze City to that, and that makes exactly three."

Shen Wang thought for a moment. "But aren't there three Class S Mutants at this stage too?"

"Yes and no." Zhou Xiangzhe shook his head. "Of the three Class S Mutants, Zhou Qing is support—he's practically a field medic. Handling contamination requires other mutants with him. The other one can work normally."

"But I can't go to the field."

Because his Pollution Inhibitor was damaged, Zhou Xiangzhe's Contamination Level had skyrocketed. The Pollution Control Center didn't even dare let him stay to handle Chenmo West City; they told him to get on a plane back to Central City immediately.

Then head straight into S-Zone for urgent treatment.

Humanity couldn't lose Zhou Xiangzhe, and they absolutely couldn't let his Contamination Level erupt during work and turn him into a Class S Pollutant.

In the end, three fires were burning, but there was only one firefighter left.

"I don't think we need to rush so much. Compared to the Zero Pollution Zone and here, pay more attention to Zone 3 Contamination Area." Shen Wang said.

Because Shen Wang knew Tianlai City held his Mother, and the Zero Pollution Zone held his Dad. Lan had said neither of them wanted to kill. If that was their nature, they wouldn't expand. Right now, they were probably just venting their anger—and how could you blame them?

In the beginning, it was the Pollution Control Center and the Academy that had decided on the Shinin Project and sealed them away.

They deserved this little bit of payback.

So the only one likely to cause real trouble was the one in Zone 3 Contamination Area.

Zhou Xiangzhe looked at Shen Wang for a few seconds before speaking. "I think so too."

"So I sent the only one who can work, with Zhou Qing, to the vicinity of Zone 3 Contamination Area."

"After this, I'll have Ming Guang take over Polaris. I won't be able to leave S-Zone for at least a week." Zhou Xiangzhe said. "It'll be busy. Ming Guang will assign you work too. Be careful. Stay safe."

Shen Wang sighed. "I'm a Class B Mutant, at least. No need to fuss so much."

Zhou Xiangzhe smiled. "Maybe you're Class A by now."

"If you have time, go take another Talent Threshold Test. Of course, the Pollution Control Center is probably swamped right now and might not have time for Talent Threshold Tests."

Shen Wang thought: It doesn't matter.

According to Lan, they were both Class S dual-talent mutants. One talent was inherited from their father's 'Plunder,' so they could both steal talents from Pollutants for their own use. But the other talent was their own.

Lan's talent was Premonition. Shen Wang, meanwhile, had never gone through Awakening at all.

Because of the urgency, the plane flew fast, arriving in Central City half an hour earlier than usual.

Doctors from S-Zone were already waiting outside the airport. As soon as Zhou Xiangzhe got off the plane, they rushed him to S-Zone for examination. After all, he'd not only had all his Pollution Inhibitors destroyed, he'd also faced the Despot's contamination directly. The situation was too dangerous; they couldn't let him walk around freely.

After disembarking, a doctor stopped Shen Wang, not letting him follow.

"Zhou Xiangzhe." Shen Wang called his name.

Hearing Shen Wang's voice, Zhou Xiangzhe stopped. He turned back to look at Shen Wang, his golden eyes reflecting Shen Wang's figure.

"Come back safe."

Zhou Xiangzhe gazed at him, his expression neither excited nor emotional. He just watched Shen Wang quietly.

After a long moment, he spoke.

"Shen Wang."

"Let's get married."

Shen Wang froze.

Huh? What? Married?

Shen Wang didn't answer. Zhou Xiangzhe didn't seem to care about his reply either. After saying it, Zhou Xiangzhe was led away by the medical staff, quickly disappearing from sight.

Only Shen Wang remained standing there, thinking over what had just been said.

He said… get married?