Pollutant Disguise Plan (POLLUTANT)
The area had been taken over by a higher-level security team, and the rescue teams needed to evacuate to another zone.
Shen Ji found a seat and sat down then let out a long sigh.
Finally resolved.
[We have absorbed the contamination from the Death Messenger Bird, but merely having the bird is not enough to fully utilize our abilities. After all, this is a dual-natured Pollutant; we need to find the Undertaker.]
Shen Ji looked at his wrist.
Since becoming a Pollutant, he had observed his entire body. Aside from developing mushrooms in highly contaminated areas—which he had already overcome and no longer sprouted randomly—he discovered that his veins were not blue but silver-white.
Those silver-white veins coursed with transparent blood that was reminiscent of mushroom juice, which was quite fragrant when he thought about it.
[...Fragrant? Are you still human?]
Ignoring the system's sarcasm, Shen Ji continued to examine his wrist. After devouring the Death Messenger Bird, he felt a sharp pain in his wrist. Now, he dared to take a quiet look, and sure enough, he found a tiny mushroom at that part. The upper half of the mushroom cap was a rich black, clearly inedible.
What a quintessential two-dimensional mushroom.
[Pollutants can consume each other's abilities, but not all Pollutants will absorb their powers. It's akin to game skills; continuously consuming other Pollutant abilities is equivalent to possessing several LV.1 skills, but leveling up can upgrade one's own skills to LV.5 or even LV.10.]
[Thus, Lower-level Pollutants tend to consume each other's abilities, while Higher-level Pollutants upgrade their unique abilities.]
[Hui is an exception as its ability is consumption. It can directly digest the skills of other pollutants and inherit their abilities levels, which is practically a bug.]
“Ugh!”
A violent retching sound erupted in the vehicle. Shen Ji turned to look back and saw a familiar figure leaning against the seat while continuously dry heaving.
Zhang Qingli.
[Sigh—] the system sighed, [Poor Zhang Qingli. Due to his ability, the higher the contamination, the more severe his reaction. He is now trembling and vomiting due to extreme anxiety, and since it’s not an illness, he cannot alleviate it with medication.]
“I remember he wasn't this bad when he faced me?”
[That was just a joke. He’s merely a D-class Mutant. With your hidden ability, he wouldn’t have noticed, and his talent wouldn’t have reacted.]
Shen Ji pondered, “So the current environmental contamination level is strong enough to trigger his vomiting reaction?”
[Exactly.]
As soon as the system finished speaking, the vehicle suddenly slammed to a stop. With a bang, everyone not wearing a seatbelt was thrown forward, including Zhang Qingli, who had just been dry heaving.
“Damn it, driver, what are you doing?!”
“You would kill me!”
“What happened? Aren’t you supposed to drive steadily?”
The driver did not respond. His face was pale, and his eyes were filled with terror as he stared out the window.
A few seconds later, someone grabbed him by the collar, and upon seeing the driver’s expression, that person also released their grip. The fear in his eyes... something must have happened.
“Sir, are you okay?”
Zhang Qingli, who had gotten up from the ground, was still retching. The vehicle was enveloped in a deathly silence, punctuated only by his vomiting.
The driver trembled and pointed outside. “I... I just saw a pitch-black figure standing there. It was two meters tall and blocked the road like a shadow. I instinctively slammed on the brakes, and then it just disappeared. Is it... the Undertaker?”
No one dared to draw conclusions, but everyone’s faces turned extremely grim.
They were merely medical personnel sent by the facility to assist with the rescue, and now they had encountered the Undertaker?!
“Everyone, stay calm! We are on the front lines and understand that such things can happen. We are all people who dared to sign the petition.” Finally, an older doctor with some authority in the shelter stood up and spoke. “We are medical personnel, but most of us are Mutants, and the probability of being contaminated is very low!”
[Not true; most people here are C-class or lower Mutants.] The system countered, [High-level Pollutants can still contaminate lower-level Mutants.]
Shen Ji got up from his seat and went over to help Zhang Qingli, who was struggling to rise due to his vomiting.
Zhang Qingli grabbed Shen Ji’s sleeve, but a flicker of fear crossed his eyes as he looked behind Shen Ji.
“B-behind!”
Everyone turned to look at the rear window of the vehicle, and in the next moment, they all gasped in horror.
A massive black shadow was pressed tightly against the back window, with its dark, hollow eyes staring at everyone inside the vehicle. It slowly opened its mouth, and a blood-red tongue stuck to the glass, creating an exaggeratedly terrifying effect.
[Note that this is not the true form of the Undertaker, but a contaminated fragment. Even if you use mycelium to grab it, it won’t work.]
Thus, the mycelium regretfully retreated.
Shen Ji thought for a moment and then covered Zhang Qingli’s mouth, who was on the verge of retching again.
“Be quiet.” Shen Ji spoke calmly. “Contamination is linked to emotions. Everyone here is emotionally stable; do not be afraid.”
Just as that doctor said: the people from the facility had been through many battles. Each person who signed knew what they would face; they had seen all kinds of contaminated patients in the Zones, so they wouldn’t be overly frightened upon seeing the true form of a Pollutant.
After sticking to the rear window for a while but yielded no results, the black shadow slowly peeled its face away from the glass and disappeared a few seconds later.
The people in the vehicle waited for a full ten minutes, ensuring that the thing did not return before anyone let out a heavy sigh of relief.
“I... I’m fine now.” Zhang Qingli pushed Shen Ji’s hand away. After the Undertaker left, his vomiting reaction had lessened.
But the driver trembled as he spoke, “The car won’t start; nothing works!”
“Actually, I can’t reach the control center or the facility either.” Another doctor responsible for coordinating with the security team added, “Since just now, the security team’s channel has been cut off. I’ve tried for a long time and still can’t get back in touch.”
The first doctor to speak stood up and looked out the window.
“Are we... trapped?”
“By the Undertaker...”
………
The vehicle was inexplicably unable to start, and all communications were cut off. They were trapped in an unknown area of the East District.
Sitting idly was not an option, but as night fell, venturing out at this hour was tantamount to seeking death. Thus, the people in the vehicle decided to split into several small teams to take shifts at different times and wait until the next day to search for a way out or to bring back some food to sustain them until the control center discovered their disappearance and found them.
Shen Ji was unfortunately assigned to the third shift, at one in the morning.
Joining him on this shift were the now non-vomiting Zhang Qingli and a stranger, Doctor Liu Chuanyang.
Sitting and trying to sleep was torturous. But since Pollutants didn’t need sleep, Shen Ji didn’t force himself to rest like the others to maintain his mental state and stayed awake until the shift changed at dawn.
In fact, few people could sleep that night; most merely closed their eyes and dozed off.
This sudden situation left everyone on edge.
“It’s so cold.” Liu Chuanyang, wrapped in a coat by the car door, spoke softly, his voice slightly stuttering as his teeth chattering from the cold.
“It’s only early autumn; why is it so cold already?”
Zhang Qingli turned his head and muttered a few words softly. Shen Ji didn’t quite catch what he said, but he saw Zhang Qingli take off his coat and throw it over him.
Liu Chuanyang looked at Zhang Qingli with gratitude before hurriedly putting on the coat and letting out a long sigh of satisfaction.
Is it really that cold? Shen Ji thought absently.
He, of course, was not afraid of the cold, being a Pollutant and not fearing the harshness of winter. But seeing how easily Zhang Qingli took off his coat, it seemed he wasn’t cold either.
[Humans exhibit different reactions to contamination after being contaminated. These reactions, like diseases, first affect human perception abilities, including temperature, senses, and mental state. If a person exhibits extreme abnormal perceptions, it’s something to be cautious about.]
Shen Ji glanced at Zhang Qingli beside him, noticing that he was scratching his ears and frowning, but his gaze was also fixed on Liu Chuanyang.
Contaminated patients never realize their abnormal states, and Liu Chuanyang was no exception.
Even with an extra coat, he was still shivering. It seemed he thought distracting himself was a good strategy, so he asked.
“Why did you sign? Look, it’s dangerous here; we’ve encountered such a terrifying situation.”
Liu Chuanyang rubbed his hands and asked them, “I signed because my mother is a doctor stationed in the East District. I was worried about her, so I signed up afterward.”
“Fortunately, we managed to meet up, but now we’re stuck here together.”
Zhang Qingli sneezed, his frown deepening.
“I want to dissect a Pollutant. I propose this every year, but it always gets shot down.” After sneezing, Zhang Qingli spoke, “This time, I plan to negotiate with the security team on the battlefield.”
[I must say, I’m growing to appreciate him more and more. This is what a good doctor should be like.]
As the two turned their attention to Shen Ji, he adjusted his glasses and pretended to answer the question seriously.
“I want to gain experience.”
“Experience in such a dangerous place?”
“Although I’ve awakened as a Mutant, I haven’t yet demonstrated my talent. The tester said it might be because I haven’t encountered an event strong enough to stimulate me.” Shen Ji gently tugged at the corner of his mouth, looking somewhat forlorn. “I really want to know if my talent is useful.”
[Perfect reason.]
Liu Chuanyang could no longer hold on. He said he was going to find a blanket and then got up from the door, leaving only Shen Ji and Zhang Qingli behind.
Zhang Qingli, lingering in place, slowly covered his mouth and nose. A few seconds later, he finally spoke.
“Liu Chuanyang’s mother isn’t here.”
Shen Ji feigned confusion. “What do you mean?”
“His mother is stationed in the East District, but she was called back to the facility for assistance before the Contamination outbreak. This signing was likely his mother wanting to return, and after he stopped her, he signed up in her place.”
“His memory is confused.”
By now, Zhang Qingli was already more than half convinced that Liu Chuanyang had been contaminated, but he didn’t know what to do in this situation.
Before Zhang Qingli could think it through, a sudden, piercing scream erupted from the back of the vehicle, waking everyone inside.
"What's wrong?"
"What happened?! Who's screaming?!"
Liu Chuanyang kept shrieking as he threw his coat to the ground and trampled the blanket underfoot. He ignored everything else as he frantically searched the car in terror.
He clutched his hair and screamed, "Where's my mother?!"
"How did she disappear?! She was just here! Mom! Where's my mom?!"
"My mother is missing! Was she taken by the Undertaker?!"
Zhang Qingli coughed violently, and the colleagues present recalled Liu Chuanyang's mother.
"Liu Chuanyang! Your mother isn't here! She’s still at the facility!"
"No, she was just here! She came!" Liu Chuanyang pointed at an empty seat in front of him. "She vanished right in front of me! My mom is missing!"
"Are you all contaminated or something?! How can you say a living person doesn’t exist?!"
The moment the word "contaminated" left his mouth, everyone's expressions darkened.
They all understood—who better than them to recognize the signs of contamination?
The one contaminated was Liu Chuanyang.
Taking advantage of Liu Chuanyang's frenzied state, Shen Ji stood up and moved behind him. With a swift chop to the back of Liu Chuanyang’s neck, Liu Chuanyang shuddered before collapsing limply.
Shen Ji caught him before he hit the ground.
So damn noisy.
[Host, that was spot-on.]
Only after laying Liu Chuanyang down did Shen Ji notice the eerie silence in the car. He looked up to find everyone staring at him with a mix of awe and shock.
Shen Ji lowered his head slightly, the light reflecting off his glasses in a mysterious white glare.
"This will stop him from spiraling further. If left unchecked, his contamination levels would go out of control," Shen Ji said. "For now, administer a contamination suppressant."
"Right, right! We have suppressants here—quick, give him one!"
"Damn, that was smooth! So decisive, so cool!"
"Which district are you from? Can we exchange contacts after this?"
Shen Ji: "...”
He had to admit, the people from the Containment Facility had nerves of steel—still thinking about exchanging numbers in the middle of this.
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