Pollutant Disguise Plan (POLLUTANT)
The tomato broth bubbled merrily as steam condensing on the ceiling in a hazy ring. The warmth filled the air, so the entire room was thick with the scent of tomatoes.
Yet this cozy scene sent chills down one’s spine.
Because simmering in that delicious tomato broth was a pot full of vividly colored, unmistakably lethal poisonous mushrooms.
Li Zhiyan held chopsticks in one hand and his phone in the other, frozen in that pose for three whole minutes.
Zhou Ye cautiously poked at the toxic mushrooms in the pot, gritting his teeth as he weighed the odds of flipping the entire thing onto Li Zhiyan without getting killed in retaliation.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Definitely not about flipping the pot!" Zhou Ye blurted out in panic.
Li Zhiyan: …
Zhou Ye: …
Zhou Ye forced a laugh while setting down his chopsticks and shrinking into his seat like an oversized, well-behaved cat.
Ignoring Zhou Ye’s little mental crisis, Li Zhiyan put his phone down and spoke in an unusually serious tone. "I’ve got my eye on a new recruit."
"Huh? Who?" Zhou Ye glanced around. "I don’t see anyone.”
"He looks very proper and reliable, perfect for taking him out to boost our image," Li Zhiyan said with utmost seriousness. "I'm certain he's exactly the kind of prestige figure I want."
Zhou Ye fell silent, squeezing his eyes shut in disbelief. So Li Zhiyan's constant talk about recruiting a proper person was actually serious?!
Did he genuinely believe no one in their entire team was proper—including himself?!
What sins had himself committed in his past life to end up with such a Captain?!
"Welcome aboard," Zhou Ye said with his lips twitching. "Should we hold a welcome ceremony?"
"Not yet, it's too early." Li Zhiyan raised his phone again. "Although I've taken a liking to him, he doesn't seem to feel the same. In fact, I think he might even dislike me. I have a strong feeling he'll 100% reject my invitation, so I'm taking it slow—trying to win him over with our team's laid-back daily life."
Zhou Ye struggled to control the twitching at the corner of his mouth but failed.
Most of the time, he couldn't comprehend his Captain's logic, and this was no exception.
Was it funnier that the person Li Zhiyan had his eye on didn't reciprocate, or that he was attempting to use their "team's laid-back daily life" as a recruitment tactic? Did their team even have such a thing?!
"S-so, Captain, how exactly are you planning to win him over with this 'laid-back daily life'?"
"I sent him a photo of a hotpot," Li Zhiyan nodded. "But all he replied with was an emoji."
Zhou leaned over to look. Under the contact labeled 【Prestige Figure No.1】 were three yellow-faced emojis.
【Smile/Smile/Smile】
Wasn't this the exact opposite of winning someone over?!
………
Completely unaware that Li Zhiyan had approached him because of his "proper" demeanor, Shen Ji—after all, he was a former journalist. Though not as polished as a TV host, reporters also had certain standards for demeanor and presence.
Naturally, he appeared more refined than most ordinary people.
"I'm stuffed," Zhang Qingli leaned back in his chair. "Ate too much."
Shen Ji glanced down at the unfinished food in his bowl. Despite feeling no sense of fullness, he had already eaten quite a bit.
【’Quite a bit’ is an understatement—it's never enough. Pollutants are beings without satiety and only consuming endlessly. Though by human standards, you've eaten a fair amount. Best to stop after finishing this bowl.】
So, Shen Ji leisurely finished the remaining food in his bowl, then set down his chopsticks, pretending he was also full.
Normally, gatherings like this would involve alcohol, but as containment facility staff, they needed to maintain mental and emotional stability. Anything that could impair judgment, like alcohol, was best avoided.
Just then, the private room door opened, and the restaurant owner walked in
"How was the meal, everyone?" he asked with a smile.
"Fantastic! Song, your skills haven't faded a bit—still as delicious as ever!" Dr. Cheng chuckled while patting him on the shoulder.
【Song Yuanchang, former doctor of Zone III. Lost an eye during an occupational exposure incident. The facility tried relocating him to a safer position, but he refused the arrangement and opened this restaurant instead. The facility compensated him generously, and staff frequently dine here.】
Shen Ji looked at the boss, noticing an indistinct peculiar odor emanating from him. This wasn't a physical smell detectable by the nose, but rather a sensation.
It was as if the man was entirely steeped in this strange aura.
Shen Ji frowned slightly and covered his nose, though of course this gesture couldn't block out something that wasn't an actual odor.
[Detected contamination level: 13%. The contaminated exhibit special sensitivity to contamination. You are gradually acclimating to the contaminated body.]
'So getting used to smelling the odors of others can't count as acclimation?'
[Affirmative.]
Shen Ji: "..."
Meanwhile, Old Song was pulled aside by Dr. Cheng.
After congratulating the doctor on his safe return, he finally revealed his purpose for coming.
"Actually, I came to seek your help with something."
Dr. Cheng looked puzzled. "Our help? Something related to contamination? Wouldn't the security team be better suited for that?"
"I know I shouldn't be bothering you with this," Old Song sighed wearily, "but if this continues, I fear I might develop serious mental issues."
Hearing this, Dr. Cheng's expression turned grave.
As a doctor, he understood exactly what Old Song meant—especially since Old Song himself was a retired doctor. For him to make such a statement suggested he genuinely believed he might be experiencing secondary contamination.
"What happened?!"
"It started about a week ago, right when Q City announced the lockdown," Old Song began recounting slowly. "Everything happened so suddenly—I hadn't stocked up on supplies. Though I grow some vegetables myself, it's nowhere near enough. The security team contacted me about delivering provisions, so that night I was tallying what I needed when... I suddenly heard singing."
At this point, Old Song couldn't suppress a shudder. His brows knitting tightly together and eyes brimming with unconcealable terror.
Hearing unexpected singing late at night was unsettling enough, but this had been a woman's voice—mournful and plaintive.
The singing sounded broken and intermittent humming punctuated by muffled coughs.
Old Song followed the sound outside until he reached a sewer drain.
Kneeling beside it, he confirmed the voice was coming from below. When he shone his flashlight inside, he saw nothing.
He immediately reported it to the Anti-Contamination Control Center. The security team came to investigate and even gave Old Song a full examination.
All tests showed normal contamination levels—both for him and the area.
Old Song had nearly convinced himself it was just his imagination—until the singing returned the next night.
"I contacted security again. They conducted another thorough search but found nothing, even waiting with me until midnight," Old Song sighed heavily. "Yet the moment they left, the singing started again—right from that same sewer."
"Now that melody won't leave my mind. Yesterday I was sitting dazed by my shop entrance when I suddenly snapped awake... to realize I was humming that damned song myself."
Old Song's hands trembled violently.
As a former doctor, his mental fortitude far surpassed most people's. Yet now he seemed completely buried under fear—his current psychological state barely distinguishable from contaminated patients in the containment facility, save for his lingering rationality.
[No records of this Pollutant found in original texts or known archives.]
[But given the original work's rushed ending and the current divergence from its plotline, it's possible for different types of Pollutant to emerge... Wait no, this particular Pollutant should have appeared in the original story.]
‘Then why didn’t you find any records of it?’
[Because Chen Guo mutated into a Class A Pollutant—yes, that must be the reason!]
[When Chen Guo became a Class A Pollutant and destroyed most of the containment facility along with the surrounding area, she must have also consumed other hidden Pollutant. That’s why Zhang Qingli’s name was never mentioned in the original work—because they all died, reduced to nothing more than a string of death statistics in the story.]
Shen Ji froze for a moment before instinctively glancing at Zhang Qingli but he quickly averted his gaze before Zhang Qingli noticed and lowered his head, recalling the death toll he had seen in the original work.
[15,291—including the contaminated patients in the facility. Most of the people around you now are just numbers in that tally.]
Sometimes, a string of numbers doesn’t evoke any reaction. Only when you recognize some of the people behind those numbers do you realize how chilling they are—and how vivid the lives they represent once were.
[Chen Guo has recovered now. She’s no longer a Class A Pollutant, so the chain reactions have disappeared. The Pollutants that weren’t supposed to appear in the original work have managed to survive until now.] The system continued analyzing. [I suggest you intervene and handle this before it attracts the protagonist.]
‘What a hassle…’
[Just think of it as finding some snacks for the little mushrooms! Look at them—they’re practically starving!]
Shen Ji glanced to the side and saw several tiny mushrooms sprouting from the back of his chair and stretching toward the table as if desperately trying to reach it and devour everything in sight.
Their hunger had become almost tangible.
‘If I remember correctly, they just devoured the Undertaker completely...’
[Don’t use such suggestive wording. The little mushrooms are so innocent—all they do is eat. Otherwise, why call them Pig Mushrooms!]
"I’ll stay and take a look," Zhang Qingli suddenly raised his hand and said. "My ability has leveled up, but I’m not sure to what extent. This is a good opportunity to test it."
Dr. Cheng’s eyes lit up. "Leveled up? Did you reach C-class?!"
"Yes. I checked the ability threshold—it’s already broken through C-class, but it’s still unstable for now."
"Excellent!" Dr. Cheng laughed heartily before shaking Old Song’s hand. "Old Song, I’m leaving Xiao Zhang here. He’s a role model among the younger generation—you better take good care of him!"
"Of course, of course!" Old Song understood the importance of a C-class Mutant and nodded repeatedly.
At this point, Shen Ji spoke up. "I’ll stay with him. It’s too dangerous for one person alone—I won’t feel at ease."
Zhang Qingli looked at Shen Ji in surprise.
Meeting Shen Ji’s sincere gaze, he turned away, visibly moved.
[…Stop exuding your fake charm everywhere. Look, you’ve moved this young man again.]
‘Isn’t this the best excuse? What other reason could I use to stay? Besides, actions speak louder than intentions—see how I’m accompanying him.’
[Oh, what a gentleman you are!]
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