Pollutant Disguise Plan (POLLUTANT)
[The Undertaker was mentioned in Chapter 7 of the final arc of the story, with the following plot point: "Contamination mutates humans, mutation breeds panic, and human panic is the Undertaker’s finest nourishment."]
["It appeared in the Eastern District of Q City. By the time the security forces and the containment team arrived, all they found were rows of corpses with despair etched on their faces. Beside the bodies, a humanoid harbinger bird sang the final requiem."]
"So the Undertaker and the Death Messenger Bird are no good—using people and then devouring them is downright satisfying."
Shen Ji flipped through the book in his hands while sparing a moment to reply to the system.
This wasn’t exactly a book, but rather a compendium of documented contamination cases—a collection of all the contamination illnesses treated by the facility since its establishment, including symptoms and treatment methods.
As a journalist, Shen Ji had a habit of voracious reading, especially when it came to detailed records like this. He firmly believed that the truth lay in the details.
Because of this, Shen Ji discovered an entirely new world within this compendium—one never touched upon in the original story.
Unlike the protagonist’s power-driven, fast-paced leveling-up thrill, the atmosphere in the containment Facility was something entirely different.
The suffering of patients, the helplessness of doctors, the origins of contamination…
Many contaminations were tied to human emotions and mental states, yet these very things reflected the essence of a person’s life. To Shen Ji, it was like reading a series of horror stories about human existence.
Shen Ji thought: This would make for an incredible exposure!
Too bad journalism no longer existed in this world.
[This book really is quite good—it fills in a lot of gaps in knowledge.] The system said proudly. [I’ve already recorded all its contents. Next time, you can just ask me.]
"Oh?" Shen Ji absentmindedly turned another page. "Shouldn’t you, as a system, have had this information pre-loaded?"
[I’m a system, not a god. Like you, I only know what’s in the original story. Everything else has to be learned over time.]
Sounded like AI training and expansion. Well, at least it was an eager learner—not entirely useless.
Just then, footsteps approached.
Shen Ji lifted his gaze from the book and saw a white-coated doctor standing before him. He recognized the man—Dr. Wang Anle, who had spoken to him earlier.
"Dr. Wang?" Shen Ji didn’t stand and remained seated as he met the doctor’s eyes. "Can I help you?"
"Xiao Ji—may I call you that?"
Shen Ji didn’t object.
Though his surname was Shen, and people should logically call him "Xiao Shen," for some reason, everyone who knew him defaulted to "Xiao Ji." He was used to it by now.
"Could you come with me? My assistant called in sick today, and I can’t find anyone to fill in. You don’t seem busy right now."
Shen Ji held his gaze for a few seconds before nodding. He stood up smoothly, decisive. "Of course, no problem."
Dr. Wang looked at the young man with appreciation.
From the moment Shen Ji was identified as an anomaly and kept at the containment facility, this young man had caught his eye.
He never judged people by appearances, but by their spirit and energy. Shen Ji possessed a rare, composed demeanor and carried himself with impeccable neatness. Just by standing there, he exuded a sense of reassurance.
Now, knowing he might be a doctor trained by a secret department made him even more favorable in his eyes. Truly worthy of being a special doctor—only someone who had weathered major events could remain so calm.
Of course, Dr. Wang was aware he shouldn’t approach Shen Ji at this time. If their suspicions were correct, even the slightest misstep could drive this special doctor away. But he couldn’t wait any longer. His wife couldn’t wait either. He had to make sure Shen Ji remembered his face.
His informed colleagues turned a blind eye—they all wanted to help him too.
With a mix of anxiety and hope, Dr. Wang led Shen Ji down several floors.
Shen Ji noticed the elevator markings. Beyond Zone III, these areas were off-limits to temporary personnel like him. And they weren’t heading to Zone IV, but to a floor marked with a strange symbol.
A red cross that slashed through by a black diagonal line.
"That’s the Containment Facility’s special designation," Dr. Wang explained upon noticing Shen Ji’s gaze. "Inside are medical personnel contaminated through occupational exposure."
[The containment facility’s contamination leak led to a large number of medical staff being contaminated due to occupational exposure. Due to the aggressive nature of the contamination, by the story’s conclusion, fewer than one in ten victims survived. The Q City containment facility was severely crippled, forcing them to transfer doctors from other cities to fill the gaps.]
[The severe shortage of medical personnel was also one of the reasons why Q City fell so quickly. The rapid spread of contamination and the collapse of the healthcare system worsened the crisis.]
After exiting the elevator, Shen Ji followed Dr. Wang deeper inside.
He could see countless isolated victims.
Unlike Zone I, the patients here appeared far worse. Most had been brought in still wearing their protective suits or white coats, that were now stained of some brownish-red from the pus of rotting limbs. They lay barely alive with their bodies covered in festering sores and a fine layer of white fuzz. One had lost all their hands and feet entirely.
"The Anti-Contamination Control Center has named the Pollutant responsible for this occupational exposure ‘Rotting Organism’. Dr. Wang said, his eyes pained as he looked at his former colleagues in the isolation units. "There’s something alive inside their decaying limbs—but we can’t capture it."
"It causes human bodies to rot and deform, altering their forms. And we can’t stop the process."
The system voiced its confusion. [Is this the corruption of Hui?]
‘Why phrase it as a question?’
[While fungi thrive in decaying areas—especially rotting leaves and wood—Hui’s corruption doesn’t cause decay. It drains all nutrients in an instant. Once it gets serious, people don’t even have time to react before being desiccated.]
[And your mushrooms right now… They just eat, sleep, and repeat. No aggressive tendencies, or desire to rot people.]
Shen Ji: …
‘Are they mushrooms or pigs?’
[Porkshrooms.]
In no mood for the system's cold jokes, Shen Ji observed the patients.
His outward demeanor had always been scholarly and earnest, and staring at something for more than three seconds made it seem like he was pondering something important.
To Dr. Wang, this appeared as though he was contemplating on how to treat these patients. Dr. Wang didn't dare breathe too loudly, afraid that a single word might disrupt Shen Ji's train of thought.
However, before he could speak, the alarm in his arms went off first.
Shen Ji and Dr. Wang simultaneously turned toward the source of the sound.
"Warning: Contamination level increased by 10!"
"Second warning: Contaminant I-27 shows abnormal elevation. Current contamination level: 18!"
"Warning: Contamination level increased by another 3!"
"I-27?!" Dr. Wang's eyes widened. "Isn't that Lin Yujuan and Chen Guo's isolation room?!"
Could something have gone wrong?!
Dr. Wang immediately sprinted toward the elevator, with Shen Ji following close behind.
'The contamination level rebounded?' Shen Ji asked the system.
[Logically, it shouldn’t have.] The system was also puzzled. [Your contamination can completely suppress 'Araki,' but Chen Guo is a Perfect Pollutant. It’s not entirely impossible for anomalies to occur, though I don’t believe this is a resurgence of contamination.]
'Then what could it be?'
[Actually, it’s a bit like… the awakening refractory period during a Mutant's awakening.]
"What did you say?" Shen Ji suddenly halted in his tracks.
Dr. Wang paused, turning to look at him. "Xiao Ji, what’s wrong?"
"Nothing." Shen Ji shook his head at Dr. Wang, quickly composing himself to appear calm. He even softened his tone to reassure him, "Don’t worry. It’s probably just a special circumstance—it doesn’t seem like a contamination relapse. There might even be a pleasant surprise."
[...One second, you’re startled enough to question me, and the next, you’re soothing others so kindly. Are you sure you’re not a shapeshifting eel?]
'That’s because I have to maintain a serious and reliable persona. And what did you just say? She’s in the awakening refractory period? Chen Guo is becoming a mutant?'
[It’s just a possibility.]
The two arrived at Zone I, where other doctors who had received the alert had already gathered.
This was the first time Shen Ji had seen so many of the Facility’s attending doctors in one place.
Frowning, they watched Chen Guo’s skyrocketing contamination levels and engaged in heated discussions, their voices laced with disbelief.
They muttered things like, "How is this possible?!" "What’s going on?!" "Did we misjudge the situation?"
While debating, they also kept sneaking glances at him.
Shen Ji: "…"
Were they really trying to pin the blame on him, a temporary worker?
Amid their discussions, Chen Guo’s contamination levels continued to surge, and the alarm blared incessantly as the readings approached 50.
"This can’t go on! Get her to Zone III immediately!" one of the doctors shouted. "Call for backup now! If she isn’t moved to a more secure containment unit, the contamination leaking from her could affect the entire Zone!"
"Seems like her previous drop in contamination was just a ruse—a special trait of her contamination!"
"Hurry, get people here!"
Just as the doctors pulled out their phones to summon help, Dr. Wang suddenly interjected, "Wait!"
"Let’s observe a little longer!"
Chen Guo's skyrocketing pollution levels gripped his heart with fear. He worried he might be wrong—that Shen Ji wasn't any special doctor after all. Yet a sliver of hope remained. Before coming, Shen Ji had told him, "There might be a pleasant surprise." Call him foolish, call him ignorant—he didn't care.
For once, he didn’t want to trust the data. Instead, he chose to believe in that elusive glimmer of hope.
"Old Wang, have you lost your mind?" The squint-eyed doctor grabbed Dr. Wang by the collar. "Do you realize what will happen if we keep someone with such a high contamination level in Zone I?"
"Every other patient will be affected!"
"Just give me a little more time to observe, I promise—just a little. It won’t affect the others," Dr. Wang pleaded, his voice desperate.
Hearing the despair in Dr. Wang’s tone, the squint-eyed doctor finally sighed in resignation.
Ignoring Dr. Wang’s protests, he immediately called for professionals to transfer Chen Guo to Zone III. Dr. Wang opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, he lowered his head and stayed silent.
Not far away, Shen Ji watched the argument unfold in silence. Amid the chaos, the system maintained its mechanical tone as it reported directly into Shen Ji’s mind.
[Wang Anle, active doctor at Q City Containment Facility. Has worked there since its establishment and participated in numerous pollution incident responses. His wife, Tang You, is both his life partner and professional collaborator. A week ago, she was admitted due to occupational exposure to pollution. Her contamination level is Stage III, nearing critical levels.]
[He is someone who wants Chen Guo to recover more than we do—not just for the patient’s sake, but for his wife’s as well.]
[Fortunately, he truly did witness a miracle.]
The moment the system finished speaking, alarms blared once more.
"Alert: Contamination level decreased by 10."
"Alert: Contamination level decreased by 12."
"Alert: Contamination level dropping significantly!"
The alarms made all the doctors turn in shock toward the isolation room.
The contamination readings fluctuated wildly before plummeting at a terrifying speed. Within seconds, the contamination level dropped to single digits before finally stabilizing at 6.
The bark-like texture on the little girl’s face flaked away, revealing her soft, fair cheeks. She rubbed her eyes sleepily, as if just waking from a nap.
Soon, she seemed to realize this wasn’t her home. Timidly, she began searching for her mother.
"Mommy?" she called out. "Where’s Mommy?"
At the same time, the detection system issued its final alert.
"Test results—Contamination level of the isolation room: 0. Contamination level of the patient: 8. No signs of contamination spread detected. No physical contamination traits observed. Clear human cognition present. No signs of mental instability."
"Warning: A natural human has entered the containment facility. Nearby medical personnel, respond immediately!"
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