Pollutant Disguise Plan (POLLUTANT)
The moment Li Zhiyan appeared, Shen Ji began reasoning with the mycelium.
No! They absolutely must not rush out impulsively just because they're tempted!
If they wanted to keep eating, they had to hide from the giant butterfly right now!
To his surprise, the mycelium obediently concealed themselves within his clothes while nodding repeatedly at Shen Ji's instructions—so docile it astonished him.
Then Shen Ji heard their inner voices.
When the snipe and clam grapple, the fisherman profits!
Ying! Let's wait a little longer! We'll get two big bites!
Fight! Fight already! Giant butterfly, go beat it up!
Shen Ji: "...”
For the sake of food, they’d even learned idioms.
[After all, their master is you. If the master isn’t a good person, how can the little mushrooms be good fungi?]
The system couldn’t resist snarking. [Maybe when you stop deceiving people with double-faced schemes, your little mushrooms will turn pure and kind.]
That’s not true.
Shen Ji silently thought: His little mushrooms were the purest of all.
All they cared about was eating—how simple was that?
[...]
[And you still claim you don’t spoil them?]
The butterflies swarmed toward the Gardener in midair.
There were simply too many of them, and in the end, the Gardener failed to evade, taking the full brunt of the collision.
With a sharp crack, a rift split open across the Gardener’s body, running from its waist all the way to its shoulder—like fine porcelain struck at the corner.
"Not your true form?" Li Zhiyan observed the Gardener coldly. "How utterly discourteous."
"Not even bothering to greet your guests in person."
Perched atop a tree, the Gardener sneered at Li Zhiyan. "Uninvited guests—who’s the rude one here?"
"Your botanical garden didn’t lock its doors, nor did it post 'No Entry' signs. Naturally, I can enter as I please." Li Zhiyan was utterly unreasonable. "Even if we’re uninvited, it’s still your fault."
[What impeccable bandit logic...]
"Dr. Shen, am I right?"
Shen Ji remained silent for two seconds before nodding earnestly. "Mr. Li is correct. I believe Mr. Gardener still owes us compensation for emotional distress."
"We were just passing by, yet you forced us into your garden and refused to let us leave. That’s outright coercion!”
"Mr. Li and I will definitely sue you."
Li Zhian blinked in surprise before glancing at Shen Ji. Seeing the firmness in Shen Ji’s eyes, his own gaze hardened as well.
So he nodded. "We’ll sue you!"
[I can’t take this anymore, you two are shameless idiots.] The system groaned. [How can you even say something like demanding emotional distress compensation from a Pollutant?]
The Gardener wanted to argue as it kept opening and closing its mouth several times, but it couldn’t figure out how to refute them.
It only knew they were wrong—but couldn’t pinpoint why.
A Pollutant’s brain simply hadn’t evolved to that level yet.
In the end, the Gardener could only snarl, "Get out of my plantation!"
"No outsiders are allowed in my plantation!"
"We’re already inside, so we’re not outsiders—we’re insiders now," Shen Ji said flatly.
"If you insist on being unwelcoming, then return the person who came in with us. That way, we can leave the same way we entered."
The Gardener: "..."
It… it absolutely didn’t want to give him back.
Chu Ye was its long-lost central sapling!
"No!" the Gardener roared before vanishing from sight.
Only Li Zhiyan’s butterflies remained in the air.
Once he confirmed the Gardener’s contamination aura had completely dissipated, Li Zhiyan snapped his fingers, and the blue butterflies disappeared.
With a sigh, Li Zhiyan turned to Shen Ji. "Are you alright, Dr. Shen?"
"I’m fine. You arrived just in time." Shen Ji’s tone was sincere and his eyes brimming with gratitude. "If you hadn’t come when you did, I wouldn’t have known what to do."
‘As if.’
While outwardly thankful, Shen Ji was already grumbling internally. ‘His timing was impeccable. Good thing I stashed the little mushrooms beforehand.’
[No helping it. This kind of illusionary forest is nothing to Li Zhiyan—‘Mimicry Butterflies’ are natural counters to illusions.]
[More importantly, why didn’t he go looking for the missing Chu Ye first and came straight for you instead?]
Shen Ji met Li Zhiyan’s gaze, a trace of concern in his dark eyes. "Should we go look for Mr. Chu?"
"From what the Gardener said, it seems he’s with it."
"No need to rush. Chu Ye isn’t in immediate danger." Li Zhiyan studied Shen Ji. "Honestly, Dr. Shen, you’re the one who surprises me more."
Shen Ji frowned. "Why?"
"Facing a Level S Pollutant alone without a shred of fear, so composed that your expression didn’t even flicker—and not a single trace of contamination on you." Li Zhiyan scrutinized him. "Your contamination aptitude… could it be S-class?"
"If true, that would be monumental. The Anti-Contamination Control Center hasn’t seen a new S-class Mutant in who knows how many years."
Shen Ji paused for two seconds before replying, "If I really were S-class, I’d be overjoyed. That way, I could save and protect even more people."
"That would be wonderful."
Li Zhiyan smiled—restrained, for some reason.
Certainly not because of Shen Ji’s ‘noble ideals.’
"Let's set aside serving the people for now—I'll get you out of this forest first," Li Zhiyan said. "Follow me."
Li Zhiyan took a step forward, and in that instant, Shen Ji lost sight of him.
He vanished instantly, as if he'd turned invisible.
Shen Ji: "..."
[That's how the Phantom Grove works. Everyone loses their way here—a single step makes people disappear. Everyone except Li Zhiyan gets lost here, but it's fine, the protagonist knows the way.]
Sure enough, a few seconds later, realizing Shen Ji hadn't followed, Li Zhiyan stepped back. He looked at Shen Ji, who was still standing there watching him, and finally understood the issue.
"You can't see me when I walk ahead?"
Shen Ji nodded earnestly, his tone gentle. "Mr. Li, maybe slow down a little? Then I might be able to keep you in sight."
"Slowing down won't help." Li Zhiyan thought for a moment. "Got it!"
He took off his dark blue work jacket, revealing the white shirt underneath, and handed one of the sleeves to Shen Ji. "Hold on tight. I'll pull you along."
Shen Ji: "..."
He took the sleeve reluctantly, mildly disgusted.
"Don’t you have a rope or something?"
"If I did, would I be giving you this?" Li Zhiyan considered. "Or we could use my hair? It's pretty long."
"...Let’s stick with the jacket. Wouldn’t want to waste a single strand of Mr. Li’s hair."
Li Zhiyan sighed regretfully, looking genuinely eager to try the hair idea.
This guy... Does he even realize how much this resembles a "binding of hair in marriage"?
Binding hair in marriage carries symbolic meaning across cultures, primarily representing lasting union, fidelity, and spiritual connection. The practice often involves intertwining strands of hair from the bride and groom, signifying a bond that endures even after death.
Even if social boundaries are loose, there should be limits.
And so, Shen Ji held onto the sleeve as Li Zhiyan pulled him forward.
The endless crystal trees meant nothing to Li Zhiyan—he casually turned in bizarre directions, sometimes making what seemed to Shen Ji like a left turn followed immediately by a right.
Tiny fungal tendrils quietly slipped out from Shen Ji’s sleeve, creeping along the jacket sleeve toward the other end, trying to snatch away a butterfly or two.
Shen Ji shot them a glance, silently ordering them back.
Whimpering, the tendrils retreated into his sleeve with not a single butterfly caught.
"Once we find Chu Ye, I’ll leave his treatment to you, Dr. Shen," Li Zhiyan suddenly said.
Shen Ji looked up at him. "Is Mr. Chu contaminated?"
"Honestly, I didn’t want Chu Ye to come in the first place. He’s only a B-class Mutant—facing a Level S Pollutant is too much for him. And before this, he was once contaminated by the Gardener." Li Zhiyan sighed. "But this has been his obsession for years. If I hadn’t let him come, he’d never have agreed."
Shen Ji frowned. "So you let him come despite the danger, just because of his obsession?"
"Coming here is dangerous, but if I’d stopped him, that obsession might have driven him to ruin." Li Zhiyan exhaled. "In this era, when someone’s obsession runs too deep, they can turn into a Pollutant—even a B-class Mutant like him. Better to take the risk than let him become one."
Shen Ji studied Li Zhiyan for a few seconds before lowering his gaze. "Mr. Li, don’t you think you’re too accommodating of others’ wishes? If they want to go, you let them, no matter how reckless."
"People are free. Even if it’s dangerous, you can’t take away someone’s right to take risks just for the sake of safety."
Li Zhiyan said this.
He turned back and smiled at Shen Ji, "I will also respect Dr. Shen's wishes, because Dr. Shen is free too."
"But if you're planning to do something big, remember to tell me. Maybe I can help."
Shen Ji shook his head, "I won’t do anything big enough to require Mr. Li’s help."
"Doesn’t matter, I’ll just make the offer first." Li Zhiyan turned back to look ahead, "After all, I still owe you one condition."
It took Shen Ji a moment to realize what Li Zhiyan meant.
Back when they were treating Chu Ye, Li Zhiyan had promised to fulfill one condition for him, as long as it didn’t cross his bottom line. At the time, Shen Ji had asked what his bottom line was, only to be left speechless by his abstract answer.
So, with his memories sealed, he had completely forgotten that Li Zhiyan still owed him a condition.
"Saving patients is my duty."
"Even beyond duty, a little reward is necessary. Work doesn’t come with so much voluntary sacrifice." Li Zhiyan didn’t seem to care much. "We’re almost out."
Shen Ji looked up ahead.
In his eyes, the view was still filled with crystal trees, with no visible exit.
But Li Zhiyan pulled him forward, and in the next moment, Shen Ji saw light.
After the blinding glare, what greeted him was no longer the dense forest of crystal trees, but countless green plants under the evening sky.
This was the real botanical garden.
"We really made it out."
"Of course. Did you doubt me?" Li Zhiyan’s tone carried a hint of displeasure, as if Shen Ji saying "I didn’t believe you" would be a grave sin.
Shen Ji shook his head, "If I didn’t trust Mr. Li, I wouldn’t have followed you in the first place."
Li Zhiyan chuckled.
He watched as Shen Ji turned to look back at the crystal forest while still gripping the sleeve of his coat. In that instant, Li Zhiyan caught a glimpse of something translucent, like glass, flickering at Shen Ji’s wrist before disappearing into his sleeve.
It seemed alive as it slowly burrowing deeper into Shen Ji’s sleeve.
Li Zhiyan’s gaze turned subtle.
A small blue butterfly landed on the coat they were both holding.
The butterfly inched toward Shen Ji’s side with its wings fluttering lightly, as if completely unaware.
The shiny thing in Shen Ji’s sleeve seemed tempted to come out, but Shen Ji, as if sensing something, turned his head and noticed the butterfly.
The little thing immediately retreated.
"A butterfly?" Shen Ji looked at it.
"Yes. I was worried that you might get trapped in the illusion again, so I called it out to guide you." Li Zhiyan smiled. "If you get stuck, just follow it out."
"Thank you."
"No need for thanks between us, Dr. Shen."
Li Zhiyan thought silently: It’d be even better if you let me take a look at that shiny little thing in your sleeve.
…….
Leaving the crystal forest wasn’t the end.
Their purpose in coming to the botanical garden was to deal with the Gardener. Now, they had an additional goal: find Chu Ye.
At the moment, Chu Ye’s whereabouts were unknown, but from the Gardener’s words, they knew he was likely safe for now.
So, their only option was to handle the Gardener first, then search for Chu Ye.
"The Gardener won’t just let us stay here." Li Zhiyan sounded curious. "How do you think it’ll try to stop us?”
"You mean with its plants?"
"Of course," Li Zhiyan nodded. "According to all current eyewitness reports, it has never appeared in its true form. It always manifests by spreading contaminated seeds and then inhabiting them."
Realization dawned on Li Zhiyan as he spoke, "It's planting seeds of contamination—could it be creating substitutes for itself?"
[Very likely.]
The system replied: [Different high-level Pollutants have their own methods of contamination. The Gardener recorded in the original work only ever spread seeds of contamination, and the fact that it has never truly manifested in person is suspicious. Of course, it could also be that it disdains revealing its true form. But now, both you and the protagonist are here.]
[An S-class Mutant + a Level S Pollutant—I refuse to believe the Gardener still wouldn’t deign to appear.]
[There must be a reason it can’t manifest its true form.]
Shen Ji nodded. "In that case, wouldn’t it be even more crucial for us to find its true body?"
"Exactly." Li Zhiyan pointed in a direction. "Let’s go that way."
Shen Ji nodded again, only to pause and glance at Li Zhiyan in confusion. "Mr. Li, have you already located the Gardener?"
"Of course not." Li Zhiyan spread his hands, utterly unapologetic. "Ever heard of a sixth sense?"
"My gut tells me the Gardener is in that direction."
Shen Ji: "..."
As expected, he really shouldn’t have had any hopes for Li Zhiyan.
Given the man’s abysmal luck in the original story—wandering for days without finding his way—Shen Ji immediately turned and walked in the opposite direction.
Li Zhiyan: "..."
"Is it really that bad?" Li Zhiyan trailed after him. "Am I really that untrustworthy?"
"Of course not." Shen Ji’s tone was gentle. "I’m just increasing our odds. There’s a 50% chance Mr. Li will find the Gardener. If I go the opposite way, that makes it 100%. That way, we’re guaranteed to locate it."
"I’m not the Gardener—you can’t sweet-talk me like this."
Shen Ji looked wounded. "I just wanted to help Mr. Li."
"Fine, I’ll take your 50% then." Li Zhiyan shrugged.
Shen Ji: "..."
No, why did Li Zhiyan keep saying things that made people suspicious?
It made Shen Ji constantly question himself: Was he just projecting his own tendencies, making the protagonist seem the same way?
[So, you’re gay?] the system asked curiously.
‘Reporters don’t have fixed orientations. Mine is fluid,’ Shen Ji replied seriously. ‘I can be straight, or I can be gay.’
[Oh, so you’re bi.] The system understood.
"Bi" in gender refers to bigender, a non-binary gender identity where an individual experiences two distinct genders simultaneously or at different times.
‘I said fluid—’
[Bi with a gay lean.] The system concluded.
Shen Ji: "..."
Shen Ji stormed ahead, while Li Zhiyan, completely oblivious to why he’d suddenly sped up, tilted his head in confusion before following.
Soon, they came across another small grove.
But this one wasn’t the familiar crystal trees—it looked like ordinary vegetation.
The trees were gaunt and withered, as if on the verge of death. Their trunks entwined with thorny vines that dug deep into the bark, leaving long, jagged scars.
"Dodder?" Shen Ji wondered aloud.
Li Zhiyan stood beside him, studying the scene before shaking his head. "Not dodder. It’s a doppelgänger."
Shen Ji turned to him. "You mean like the horror story doppelgänger?"
"Not a horror story. A real documented contamination incident."
Li Zhiyan walked over as butterflies fluttered from his fingertips that eventually landed on the vines.
The thorns couldn't harm them in the slightest, so the vines twisted and writhed until they slowly transformed into an enormous blue butterfly—tall as a person—clinging to the tree trunk and continuously flapping its wings.
A butterfly the size of a fingernail would be beautiful. Even a slightly larger one would be fine.
But not one as big as a human!
Only the mycelium strands wriggled excitedly out from Shen Ji’s neck.
Wow! Such a huge butterfly! How many days would this last as a meal?!
Shen Ji quickly pressed his hand against his neck, shoving them back down.
Li Zhiyan glanced at him. "Did you twist your neck?"
"I thought I felt a mosquito. Probably just my imagination." Shen Ji lowered his hand. "Go on."
Li Zhiyan gave him a strange look but didn’t press further as he continued his explanation instead.
"Three years ago, a bizarre contamination incident occurred in S City. Some people reported seeing another version of themselves—identical in every way and possessing all their memories, even interacting with their friends and family without raising suspicion."
"More and more people reported it, and the cases piled up."
"The Anti-Contamination Control Center took it seriously. They sent patrols and even apprehended a few doppelgängers, but whether it was memories or anything else, they were exact copies. Eventually, they couldn’t even tell who the original was."
Shen Ji nodded. "So how did they figure it out in the end?"
"The doppelgängers had a strange vine mark on the back of their necks." Li Zhiyan pointed at his own neck, then at the vines coiled around the tree. "Exactly like these."
Then, his eyes lit up as he leaned closer to Shen Ji.
"Want to check the back of my neck? Maybe I’m the fake one."
Shen Ji: "..."
He sighed softly. "Would a doppelgänger even be capable of replicating Mr. Li’s personality?"
"...Was that a compliment or an insult?"
Li Zhiyan shook his head in resignation. "Anyway, it seems that the unsolved contamination incident was also caused by the Gardener’s seeds of contamination."
Shen Ji nodded, his tone flat and unreadable. "How terrifying."
Where exactly in that tone was there any terror?
"Still, we should probably check each other periodically," Li Zhiyan insisted.
Shen Ji frowned. "Why?"
Li Zhiyan pointed toward a spot in the distance.
Deep within the "Doppelgänger Forest," the vines were twisting again. Behind the enormous butterfly, they were slowly forming two humanoid shapes. Though still incomplete, their heights made it clear—these figures taking shape were likely the two of them.
Watching ‘yourself’ form is… unsettling.
"Even though we haven’t been apart, we should stay cautious. This is, after all, the contaminated territory of a Level S Pollutant." Li Zhiyan undid the top button of his collar. "Just call me when you want to check. Doppelgängers refuse to let others see the back of their necks—they react violently."
Shen Ji nodded.
They skirted around the Doppelgänger Forest before deciding to press forward. But after walking for a while, they spotted another identical giant butterfly.
It clung to a tree trunk with its wings fluttering, while not far away, the two humanoid figures had developed discernible arms and legs—like lumps of clay crudely molded into human forms.
"Are we back?" Shen Ji looked at Li Zhiyan. "Another illusion?"
"If it were an illusion, I wouldn't have gotten lost. So it must be a maze," Li Zhiyan surveyed their surroundings. "A layout similar to a ghost wall—not an illusion."
"Seems your 50% choice was correct."
Shen Ji frowned at Li Zhiyan. "We're trapped inside, and you're saying my choice was right?"
"Of course. Only the correct path would make the Gardener go through such lengths to stop us. Who would set traps at an exit?" Li Zhiyan nodded seriously. "Looks like we'll still need Dr. Shen to choose our path. Your luck really is slightly better than mine."
Shen Ji: "..."
He'd simply chosen the opposite of whatever Li Zhiyan picked. Who knew Li Zhiyan could be this unlucky?
Weren't protagonists supposed to be blessed by fortune?
To verify whether this was truly a maze, they walked the path twice more.
Each time, they circled back to the same spot. With every return, they could clearly see the two forming 'people' becoming more complete.
First return: they grew arms and legs.
Second return: their faces developed features.
Third return: they were encased in white cocoons with human shapes clearly visible within.
Their birth was approaching rapidly.
"Not going to deal with them?"
"The doppelgänger legend says killing your double means your own death."
After some thought, Li Zhiyan asked Shen Ji, "Should we test it?"
Test what? Whether they'd die?
Mycelium crept down Shen Ji's pants leg, it avoided Li Zhiyan as it burrowed into the soil.
It then climbed the trees toward the white cocoons before silently piercing through. The cocoons rapidly shriveled, dropping like rotten fruit before splitting open with a wet splat—revealing only pus inside.
Shen Ji turned away. "Seems not just anyone can create doppelgängers. Let's go."
Li Zhiyan stared at the dead cocoon, then at Shen Ji's retreating back.
A faint smile tugged at his lips—he'd have whistled if it wouldn't be heard.
Skilled fighter? Check.
Diplomatic tongue? Check.
Presentable enough for PR? Check.
Can cure contamination disease? Check.
Likely an S-class? Check.
Casually eliminates doppelgängers without consequences? Check.
The itch to recruit Shen Ji grew unbearable.
Objections?
His secrets?
Those suspiciously adorable mushrooms?
His questionable identity and possible connection to the Gardener?
That 'Journalist' title?
Wait—
Aren't these all selling points?
Translator:
Oh oh…our dear Protagonist is now having so many clues.
•───────•°•❀•°•───────•
Advanced chapters are now available up to chapter 105 (End of Main Text) on my Ko-fi page!
If you appreciate what I do, please consider supporting me on kofi. Thank you!
•───────•°•❀•°•───────•