Pollutant Disguise Plan (POLLUTANT)
Though Undertaker and the Death Messenger Bird shared the same origin, they never appeared together.
According to the Anti-Contamination Control Center’s experience, the Undertaker appearing near victims were mostly projections, while the true body remained deeply hidden. In such cases, the only option was to first capture the Death Messenger Bird, which would inevitably draw out the Undertaker to rescue it.
Li Zhiyan waited for reports from the security teams in each district.
He needed to locate the area with the highest contamination level—the most likely place for the Death Messenger Bird to appear.
"District One contamination level: 22. Doesn’t match the predicted central value."
"District Three contamination level: 56. Close to the predicted central value."
"District Four contamination level: 41. Doesn’t match the predicted central value."
With his eyes closed, Li Zhiyan listened to the team’s reports while exuding an air of calm laziness, as if he were merely taking a nap. He looked nothing like the renowned S-class Mutant of the Anti-Contamination Control Center.
So, the tiny mushroom slowly lowered itself from a branch, as if stealthily observing this eerily quiet protagonist.
Li Zhiyan seemed unaware of the brief surveillance. He remained motionless—until suddenly, the mushroom trembled violently before recoiling like a startled animal.
At that exact moment, Li Zhiyan opened his eyes.
Those blue irises, translucent as stained glass, reflected the image of the little mushroom. A slender hand seized it before it could escape.
"Hmm?" Li Zhian examined his catch. "A mushroom?"
[Oh no, we’ve been caught.]
Shen Ji immediately severed the connection between the mushroom and his consciousness.
Pressing a hand to his temple, he muttered in a strange tone, "Why did it end up near the protagonist?"
Just like Li Zhiyan, Shen Ji had been searching for the most contaminated area.
The Undertaker and the Death Messenger Bird were notoriously hard to find, but the system had hinted: Between the two, the Death Messenger Bird is more likely to appear.
It was a well-established fact that higher contamination levels attracted the Death Messenger Bird. So the fungal tendrils had carried Shen Ji’s consciousness straight to what they believed was the most contaminated zone—
Right next to the protagonist.
Shen Ji, who had approached with hope only to be met with the terrifying protagonist: …
Dear little mushroom, we’re trying to survive here, not commit suicide.
[Ah, well… it might be because the protagonist is an S-class Mutant. Like Pollutants, higher-ranked Mutants can control stronger contamination. An S-class Mutant is on par with an S-class Pollutant.]
[The fungal tendrils couldn’t tell the difference between Mutants and Pollutants.]
[No worries! Let’s just ignore this contaminated zone. There can’t possibly be a second S-class Mutant around.]
Shen Ji ignored the system.
Eyes closed, he continued waiting with every mushroom in the area standing vigilant.
The victims whose names were announced by the Death Messenger Bird were dying one by one. After the Undertaker killed the first round of victims, the Death Messenger Bird would appear to announce the names of those who would die in the second round.
This opportunity had to be seized.
With the death of the last victim named by the Death Messenger Bird, the security team announced the news over the broadcast.
Shen Ji abruptly opened his eyes, his silver pupils gleaming coldly.
"It's here."
He turned to the left, "It's actually nearby—has it targeted the school because of the large crowd?"
At the same time, Li Zhiyan obtained the data he wanted.
"District Seven's contamination level has surged to 79! Matches the central contamination prediction! Matches the central contamination prediction!"
"District Seven contains a large integrated school! Security teams and containment personnel are mobilizing for rescue near the school! There are a significant number of children present! Requesting backup!"
"Requesting backup! The Death Messenger Bird has appeared!”
A massive black bird, as tall as a person, flapped its wings in the schoolyard.
It let out an eerie cry, as if heralding the names Death would write next.
All security team members originally dispatched for rescue were immediately ordered to converge on the Death Messenger Bird's location. The facility's doctors could withdraw immediately, but most followed, including Shen Ji.
Everyone was running, even though those present were only low-level mutants—the highest-ranking rescue captain was merely C-class.
[Hui released five types of Pollutant during the leak incident, and the Undertaker was just one of them.]
[The driver delivering fruits and vegetables to the containment facility carried contamination back to Q City. He began suffering from sleepless nights and being haunted by nightmares of vengeful spirits even when he did sleep. He grew terrified of his own shadow and convinced that something monstrous lurked within it. His condition deteriorated rapidly, stripping him of the awareness to report to the Anti-Contamination Control Center, allowing the contamination to spread.]
[The Undertaker caused the most casualties among the Pollutants. Security team casualties exceeded triple digits, with countless victims. Q City never recovered from the blow—until the protagonist discovered traces of the final antagonist and unmasked the enemy hiding in the shadows.]
"Black Rat, Withered Wood, Decaying Organism, Undertaker… what else?"
[No idea. The novel wrapped up abruptly without elaborating further.]
The security team members fired contamination-suppression rounds at the black bird, but the bullets ricocheted off its feathers. The Death Messenger Bird was a Pollutant linked to the Undertaker—C-class Pollutants were beyond what ordinary equipment could handle.
"Contamination-suppression rounds ineffective!"
"Report! Environmental contamination levels are rising! The contamination level has breached 80!"
"Nearby residents and school staff can't evacuate in time!"
The team leader gritted his teeth and raised his gun. "Keep firing! The Death Messenger Bird triggers a new wave of widespread contamination when announcing the next victims! Buy time! Captain Li is on his way!"
Shen Ji stood not far behind them with the wind whipping his white coat. His transparent pupils seemed to ripple with silver threads as he watched the black bird flap its wings.
[Use their attacks as cover to weave the mycelium onto it.]
The mycelium crept along the security team members then infiltrated their guns and coiled around the bullets through the bullet holes. With a bang, the bullet fired along with the mycelium piercing through the Death Messenger Bird's wing.
The Death Messenger Bird let out a shrill, agonized cry.
The security team members widened their eyes in shock. Most instinctively checked their firearms and ammunition, completely baffled as to why bullets that had been utterly ineffective moments ago were now piercing through the Death Messenger Bird's wings.
"Don't stop!" the leader barked urgently. "Keep firing!"
There was no time to question why the bullets had suddenly become effective—they had to empty their magazines and prevent the Death Messenger Bird from unleashing another wave of contamination. This unexpected turn was nothing short of a miracle!
The Death Messenger Bird shrieked in fury, and Shen Ji understood its rage.
The fungal filaments carried by the bullets had already infiltrated its flesh through the wounds. It flapped its wings desperately, but the mycelium clung stubbornly inside and was impossible to shake off. It tried to take flight, only for the fungal threads on the ground to coil around its feet.
"Kreeee!" The Death Messenger Bird's cries grew increasingly shrill.
"Contamination levels are still rising! It's skyrocketing too fast!"
Nearby observers watched in horror as the numbers on their monitors surged. "93… 109… 137… 184…"
[Restrain it. Pump the contamination into it. Don’t worry about its body—we’ll dispose of it once we’re done.]
[The protagonist is almost here. We must finish before he arrives.]
Shen Ji frowned slightly.
He wasn’t having an easy time either—he was currently negotiating with the fungal filaments that had invaded the Death Messenger Bird’s body.
These mycelial threads possessed the most primal instinct of contamination: consumption. Like insatiable gluttons, they endlessly devoured contamination before feeding it back to Hui. This was Hui’s most distinctive trait, and right now, it was also Shen Ji’s biggest headache.
Because these little things only knew how to swallow, but never spitting. Getting them to release contamination for outsiders was more agonizing than killing them.
"Spit it out," Shen Ji commanded. "You can eat it back later—even more than before. I’m not lying, I’m not siding with outsiders, and I’m not abandoning you."
As an unmarried man, Shen Ji was experiencing the exasperation of dealing with a tantrum-throwing child.
[Hurry!] The system urged him. [The protagonist has been detected! He’s coming!]
Shen Ji exhaled sharply and raised his head until his gaze locked onto the Death Messenger Bird before him.
"Now."
Bound tightly in place, the Death Messenger Bird let out a bloodcurdling scream!
It began weeping blood—thick crimson streams pouring from its beak. Countless fungal threads burrowed into its eyes, writhing through its body and seizing control of every muscle.
This was the scene Li Zhiyan walked into upon arrival.
The blood-weeping Death Messenger Bird spread its wings with an overwhelming wave of contamination crashing against his face. A flicker of surprise flashed through Li Zhiyan’s pale blue eyes.
"...An A-Class?"
"What?!" Zhou Ye, who had joined him midway, nearly jumped out of his skin. "A—A-class?! Wasn’t this supposed to be just a C-class?!"
Li Zhiyan undid the buttons of his uniform then shrugged off his coat. His silver-white hair fluttered in the wind as he appeared instantly at the forefront of the security team. The moment he arrived, the tension among the guards visibly eased and without needing orders, they swiftly retreated.
A faint blue butterfly materialized on Li Zhian’s wrist, ethereal and dreamlike, its beauty impossible to look away from.
It didn’t seem like a creature of this world. Shimmering with otherworldly hues as it fluttered delicately with his movements—fragile, as if it would shutter at the slightest touch.
Yet this fragile beauty radiated an extremely terrifying aura of contamination.
Shen Ji nearly lost control over the Death Messenger Bird's instinct to flee, so he pinned the creature firmly to the ground with fungal tendrils.
"Ah—!!" Torn between its survival instinct and the forced restraint, the Death Messenger Bird's neck twisted unnaturally as its head craned toward the sky as blood streamed from its eyes and beak.
[Devour it now! If the protagonist gets to it first, he’ll discover you!]
The Death Messenger Bird contorted its neck before emitting a grating, shrill cry.
"Death's herald—!" Each word it spat out was accompanied by a splatter of blood. Its downy feathers were already soaked crimson, its horrible shrieks echoing across the field.
"Death's herald…"
Before it could utter the names, the Death Messenger Bird collapsed as if drained of life before withering into a desiccated corpse within three seconds of hitting the ground. Its black feathers loosened and scattered into the wind, fluttering through the air like ash.
Even Li Zhiyan was caught off guard by the sudden turn of events. It took him a few seconds to react before retracting the butterfly coiled around his wrist.
He approached the lifeless bird before crouching to examine its remains. The A-class Death Messenger Bird was undeniably dead—its body shriveled and devoid of even a trace of contamination, as if completely drained.
"Captain?" Zhou Ye called from a distance. "What happened?"
Li Zhiyan shook his head, offering no explanation.
A few seconds later, he stood. "Upgrade the disaster rating to B. Effective immediately and lock down the entire Eastern District."
Zhou Ye stiffened. "That serious?"
"Undertakers of A-class don’t possess strong offensive abilities, but they have a troublesome contamination trait," Li Zhiyan explained. "Undertaker and Death Messenger Birds share a life—though not a death. As long as one survives, the other can revive even after dying. I don’t know why this one perished, but it could awaken at any moment."
Zhou Ye sucked in a sharp breath before swiftly notifying the Anti-Contamination Control Center to escalate the disaster level. He then mobilized his team to hunt down the still-unseen Undertaker.
This was no laughing matter!
They called in specialists to handle the corpse of the bird, ideally summoning people from the Academy of Sciences for a thorough examination.
Li Zhiyan stood silently in place for a while.
A few seconds later, he turned to look at the rescue personnel and facility staff who were preparing to evacuate.
Those individuals were organizing their equipment while trying to evacuate the residents as quickly as possible.
As he watched, someone noticed his gaze. That person turned around and locked eyes with Li Zhiyan.
The man had a handsome appearance, not in the modern aesthetic sense of being effeminate, but rather more on the dashing side that was quite distinctive. His dark eyes, framed by black glasses, gazed at him quietly. He exuded an innate scholarly demeanor, yet his cold expression gave him a rational air, especially as he stood in a deserted area wearing a white lab coat.
Li Zhiyan noticed a work badge pinned to his chest, which bore the facility's assistance emblem.
“Doctor, we need to evacuate!” someone called out to him.
The man nodded, gave Li Zhiyan one last look, and then turned to leave without a hint of reluctance.
Li Zhiyan felt his heart skip a beat.
Hmm, he looks a bit familiar. Have I seen him somewhere?
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