Pollutant Disguise Plan (POLLUTANT)
Chu Ye stood on the brink of complete assimilation with the central crystal tree.
The seed's roots had spread throughout his body and the sapling was already taking form. His contamination levels had risen so high that he was virtually indistinguishable from a full-fledged Pollutant.
By the standards of either the Anti-Contamination Control Center or the Containment Headquarters, he belonged in the Contaminant Disposal Center.
Euphemistically called "euthanasia," or more bluntly: you'll die whether you want to or not.
"Dr. Shen... I—" Chu Ye gasped as the pain made it hard to breathe.
He couldn't focus at all.
The excessive assimilation with the crystal tree blurred the line between human and plant. He could sense countless crystal trees scattered everywhere and his consciousness fragmented into countless shards, all crammed violently into his skull.
He wanted to ask Shen Ji about the current situation—where was Li Zhiyan?
But the restless whispers of the wind would immediately divert his attention, making it impossible to think like a human being.
Where was he? What was he?
...Was he a tree now?
[His consciousness is fading.] The system reported on Chu Ye's condition. [Contamination levels rising—94, 105, 179!]
[The parasitic seed in his chest must be removed immediately to halt the assimilation!]
"I know." Shen Ji laid Chu Ye gently on the ground with his hand resting lightly on his chest.
"Chu Ye, relax."
Mycelium threads explored Chu Ye's body, navigating through his veins—already packed tight with tree roots. To advance, they had to fight and gnaw through the invasive roots.
Every clash, every bite of contamination sent searing pain through Chu Ye like a blade slicing into him.
"I'll do everything I can, but whether you live depends on you."
Shen Ji exhaled. "Hold on. No matter what."
Chu Ye's wavering consciousness steadied at Shen Ji's words. He looked up at him.
Without his glasses, Chu Ye could see Shen Ji's eyes clearly.
The doctor rarely smiled, so his gaze always carried a chilling detachment—an ineffable coldness that clashed with his outward demeanor, exuding an almost oppressive aura.
Despite sensing no contamination from him, Chu Ye couldn't shake the feeling that Shen Ji seemed more dangerous now than even the Level S Pollutant, the Gardener.
Chu Ye slowed his breathing as he forced himself to relax.
The Gardener's contamination was indeed overwhelming, especially since this was the seed of the central crystal tree—the Gardener's most prized possession. But no matter how potent the contamination, it posed no challenge to Shen Ji.
His mycelium could devour all contamination in this world, whether from Level S Pollutants or S-class Mutants.
The mycelium obediently followed the seed's roots, paying no attention to the ongoing fight between Li Zhiyan and the Gardener nearby.
They were Shen Ji's contamination—whatever Shen Ji wanted, they wanted too.
Only when Shen Ji wasn't doing anything serious would they throw tantrums, rolling around and demanding food from him.
And so, they worked diligently as they kept gnawing through nearly all the roots, severing the connections embedded in Chu Ye's internal organs.
Shen Ji pressed a hand against Chu Ye's chest.
"Are you ready?"
Chu Ye looked bewildered.
Ready for what?!
Shen Ji didn’t explain. Instead, he began to pull. With a sickening tearing sound, the sapling was yanked straight out of his chest.
Blood splattered onto Shen Ji's soaked white shirt, blooming into pale red stains.
The pain sent stars bursting across Chu Ye’s vision. His ears rang, his heart stuttered as if it had stopped—but it was still beating. His blood still flowed. All his parts were intact, nothing missing.
Shen Ji exhaled in relief and tossed the uprooted sapling aside.
The surrounding mycelium pounced on it like a pack of ravenous puppies, devouring the entire contaminated sapling in moments.
"How do you feel?" Shen Ji asked.
He flicked the blood from his hands, then retrieved the glasses hanging from his shirt pocket and put them on.
As he adjusted them, smears of blood from his arm streaked across his face, staining the corners of his eyes red. The crimson intensified his cold demeanor, but the dampness clinging to him lent an odd, unsettling allure.
Unfortunately, Chu Ye’s vision was too blurred to see Shen Ji clearly—let alone answer him.
With great effort, he weakly pointed in a direction, his lips barely moving before he collapsed into unconsciousness.
"That way?" Shen Ji glanced over. "System, what’s there?"
[I read his lips. It wasn’t clear, but I think Chu Ye said: The botanical garden is there.]
"Isn’t this already the Gardener’s botanical garden?"
[It’s likely not the true one.] The system analyzed. [Every Pollutant has strong territorial instincts. When the Gardener’s contaminated seeds invaded, your first instinct was to plow through his plantation—an uncontrollable impulse. Yet, you and the protagonist have been here this long, and the Gardener hasn’t expelled you immediately.]
[That’s strange.]
[But if this isn’t the core of his territory, it makes sense.]
"You mean—the little mushrooms treat all of Q City as their domain, but their real territory is the Containment Facility. Invading Q City alone wouldn’t make them act too irrationally. Their priority is still the facility."
[Exactly. You really get it—as expected of Level S Pollutant Hui!]
"Don’t call me that." Shen Ji stood.
The mycelium moved with his will. An army of one surge toward the direction Chu Ye had indicated.
Their master had ordered them to scout ahead! To fight!
Heh! Time to show you the might of us little mushrooms!
Seize the entire plantation! Devour all the contamination!
Outside the Crystal Forest, Li Zhiyan was fending off the Gardener's attack. Half of the Gardener's hair had been singed and charred branches tangled in the strands, emitting a burnt odor.
"Human," the Gardener glared at Li Zhiyan. "Why are you working with Journalist?"
A butterfly perched atop Li Zhiyan's head as he asked curiously, "Why do you call him a Journalist?"
Gardener frowned. "Because he's Journalist, so I call him Journalist!"
Li Zhiyan: "..."
"Just like I'm called Gardener, and he's called Journalist," Gardener explained again. "They're names humans gave us."
Li Zhiyan shook his head. "Your name was given by humans, but his wasn’t. He has his own name—he isn’t called ‘Journalist’.”
Gardener: "..."
"He lied to me!" Gardener seethed. "He doesn’t even go by ‘Journalist’, yet he tricked me into thinking that was his name!"
In his fury, Gardener even forgot to question why Shen Ji, a Level S Pollutant, was mingling with a human Mutant.
Just then, both the Gardener and Li Zhiyan turned their heads simultaneously.
They saw nothing, but they could sense an eerie wave of contamination approaching. That massive surge of contamination veered past them as it rushed frantically in one direction. Before Li Zhiyan could react, the Gardener’s expression twisted first.
It no longer cared about its crystal tree seeds being destroyed—instead, it vanished right before Li Zhiyan’s eyes.
Li Zhiyan tilted his head in confusion, the little butterfly still perched atop him as he watched the overwhelming contamination retreat.
"What did they find?"
He muttered to himself, "I wonder how Chu Ye is doing."
"Let’s head back first."
With the butterfly still on his head, Li Zhiyan returned to where Chu Ye was. There, he saw Shen Ji kneeling on the ground and pressing down on Chu Ye’s chest.
The dark blue work jacket draped over Chu Ye had turned deep purple as it was soaked in blood that gave off a warm, metallic scent. Nearby lay the uprooted sapling of the crystal tree, now withered with its vibrant petals scattered across the ground.
It seemed the treatment had been successful.
Li Zhiyan approached. "How is he?"
"Still alive." Shen Ji withdrew his hand and sighed softly. "Tough luck."
Exhausted, Shen Ji slumped onto the ground, no longer caring whether the earth was muddy from the recent rain. Both he and Li Zhiyan had been drenched, and now, after saving a life here, they were splattered with blood—hardly presentable.
He’d probably never been this filthy in his life.
Li Zhiyan sat down beside him. "Thanks."
"No need to thank me. I’m medical staff from the Containment Facility..."
"Your facility’s dedication to saving lives is no less than our security team’s," Li Zhiyan cut in. "I understand. Dr. Shen has always been like this."
Though interrupted, Shen Ji didn’t feel annoyed. He simply exhaled quietly.
Then, he smiled faintly at Li Zhiyan.
Drenched from the rain and his black hair clung together in wet strands. His white shirt was splattered with blood while his dark blue work pants completed the disheveled look. The only orderly thing about him was how meticulously his shirt was buttoned up to the top.
Yet, it was this very Shen Ji who smiled softly at Li Zhiyan.
For a second, Li Zhiyan was stunned. Only when Shen Ji’s smile faded did he reluctantly look away.
"You should smile more, Dr. Shen. It suits you."
"Of course I'll laugh when it's appropriate. Mr. Li, don't force what's difficult."
"It's really fortunate I brought you along. Even in such a situation, you managed to save someone."
Li Zhiyan looked at the unconscious Chu Ye.
He appeared haggard as his face was deathly pale and the gaping hole in his chest still unhealed, merely covered by a damp coat Shen Ji had draped over him.
But Li Zhiyan could clearly sense that the contamination aura around Chu Ye had significantly diminished—from a near-pollutant level down to that of a Stage III contamination patient.
With continued treatment, he would eventually recover and return to a human state.
Li Zhiyan had always been indifferent to labels. He didn’t adhere to the Anti-Contamination Control Center’s standards, nor did he define things rigidly.
He could be a little mushroom or a small-time journalist—he could be anyone.
All Li Zhiyan knew was this: he had saved Chu Ye, and he had saved many others.
Shen Ji, Shen Ji… he still wanted to have him.
"I saved him because I wanted to," Shen Ji spoke up at that moment.
Unlike his usual tone, there was no exaggeration, no embellishment—just a simple, straightforward conversation, as if confiding in a friend.
"I’m someone who follows through. He’s my patient, and I won’t let him die from contamination again. That’s my principle."
"Besides, I did it for myself too."
In the original story, far too many people had died—Chu Ye, Chen Guo, even the medical staff working tirelessly in the facility. They all perished before the Level S Pollutant, Hui. Once they were gone, it would be his turn. The clock ticked mercilessly toward the final villain’s demise.
Shen Ji thought: Save Chu Ye.
Save all those who died in the original story. If he could do that, he’d have a better chance of surviving beyond the plot.
Li Zhiyan waited for an explanation, but Shen Ji didn’t elaborate.
After a moment, Shen Ji stood up. "I’ll go find some firewood. We should warm up later. The two of us will be fine, but Chu Ye’s wounds might get infected if we don’t."
"Stay here with him."
Li Zhiyan nodded as he watched as Shen Ji rose from the ground and walked away. Just as Shen Ji was about to disappear from sight, Li Zhiyan called out.
"Shen Ji."
He turned back. "I won’t get lost."
"I know." Li Zhiyan nodded before murmuring softly, "I’m just worried you might not come back."
But he wouldn’t stop him.
People were born free.
They had the right to choose adventure.
Shen Ji was a free bird, a flower in the rain—standing there as if ready to dissolve into the wind.
Someone so free naturally had the choice to leave.
"Dr. Shen," Li Zhiyan finally asked the question.
"Are you really unwilling to join the security team?"
Shen Ji fell silent for a few seconds before shaking his head. As if following some strange protocol, he turned and left, vanishing from Li Zhiyan’s sight.
Li Zhiyan stared until he could no longer see him, then lowered his head and began idly playing with the pebbles on the ground.
A small blue butterfly landed on a stone, fluttering its wings.
So Li Zhiyan stopped fiddling with the stones and instead glanced at the unconscious Chu Ye.
"Actually, I really wanted to chase after them," Li Zhiyan said. "But I couldn't just leave you alone here. What if a bear suddenly appeared and mistook you for winter fat reserves?"
"This is all your fault."
Showing where his priorities lay, Li Zhiyan added, "Chu Ye, I'll remember this grudge."
"You'll have to cover my shifts for three years before I forgive you."
…….
[Our disguises are practically nonexistent now. Looks like we'll have to fake our deaths for real.]
[Sigh, where should we go after we leave?]
Shen Ji was puzzled. "How did our covers get blown so suddenly? Are you sure?"
[Didn't you check with your little mushroom contact?] The system sighed. [I heard Li Zhiyan ask the gardener: 'Why do they call you Journalist?']
[The protagonist already knows the codename you gave yourself is Journalist.]
Shen Ji: "..."
When? When exactly did his cover get blown?
Wait, what?
Looking at the firewood he'd been trying to gather, Shen Ji remained silent for three seconds before deciding to leave it be.
Let Li Zhiyan command the butterflies to move it themselves!
"But Li Zhiyan hasn't asked me about it," Shen Ji said. "He hasn't said anything or acted any differently."
[That's just how the protagonist is. He might not care at all whether you're a Pollutant or not. But we can't rely on or speculate about the protagonist's trust.]
The system was even more conflicted than Shen Ji.
It had come here with Shen Ji, watched him establish himself at the containment facility and seen him befriend Li Zhiyan. Their interactions were such that even an AI like the system could tell... they were remarkably compatible.
Whether it was their personalities or their ways of doing things.
As friends, they'd be the ultimate frenemies.
As a family, they'd be each other's support.
As lovers, they'd be the people who understood each other best in the world.
But unfortunately, they were the protagonist and antagonist.
In the original story, the protagonist killed the antagonist.
[Before the rushed death scene plays out, it's best to leave the protagonist temporarily. Ideally, we should execute our plan to make him think we're dead.]
[This aligns better with the original plot and helps us avoid the storyline.]
[In the original, Level S Pollutant Hui died in a bizarre manner, ending the story. Actually, Hui didn't die—it just faked its death and went elsewhere. This keeps the plot continuity intact.]
[For freedom!]
After a few seconds of thought, Shen Ji nodded calmly. "Alright, no problem."
[...]
Shen Ji's ready compliance took the system by surprise.
It had expected more resistance, an unwillingness to leave.
As if reading the system's thoughts, Shen Ji sighed softly, but his tone was unexpectedly resolute.
"System, you know what? When survival is on the line, everything else becomes trivial."
"I need to ensure I stay alive first, before I can guarantee anything else."
Shen Ji was a journalist who always stood on the side of truth. He had witnessed the fickleness of human nature and the unpredictability of life far too often.
He was sober and clear-headed—now was not the time for emotions.
He knew full well that his cover would eventually be blown.
This "death escape" had always been inevitable. His identity being exposed was a scenario he and the System had already anticipated, so it wasn’t outside the plan. All he had to do was follow the script.
[Understood.]
The System replied: [I’ll handle the next steps. Since we’re out, there’s no going back. You probably won’t let the Gardener off, so let’s go eat him first!]
Shen Ji raised an eyebrow slightly. "I thought you’d tell me to run for it now."
[We’re already here.] The System was even more shameless than Shen Ji. [The mask’s coming off sooner or later anyway. Might as well let our little mushroom fill its belly first!]
Shen Ji nodded and turned in the direction Chu Ye had pointed.
The little mushroom had already reached its position and kept emitting a strange "wow!" sounds at him nonstop.
Hiding while marveling, they were so awestruck they barely ate any of the contamination and instead kept chattering endlessly in his mind about everything they saw
Green! So deep!
The contamination looks delicious but so dangerous!
Shen Ji tried to assess the situation through shared senses but found that even that couldn’t fully clarify the scene ahead.
For just an instant, he caught a glimpse of the Gardener’s twisted face.
Better go regroup with the little mushrooms first.
Meanwhile, Li Zhiyan sat on the ground and staring up at the sky.
His waterlogged phone wouldn’t turn on, and bored out of his mind, he summoned two little butterflies to flutter in front of him.
But as they drifted, the two butterflies inexplicably started fighting with their wings flailing wildly
Li Zhiyan: "……"
Well, maybe the chaos in his own thoughts was making the butterflies brawl too.
But that wasn’t his fault—it was Shen Ji’s.
Li Zhiyan had too much work to do, so much that he just wanted to slack off.
He couldn’t leave Chu Ye lying here alone. He had to deal with the Gardener, and he needed to find a way to help Shen Ji a little—make his identity harder to uncover.
Shen Ji’s stealth skills were just terrible.
The little mushrooms running around was one thing, but hiding in the Containment Facility while treating contamination disease, insisting he wasn’t a doctor, and even seeming oblivious to his own "Healer-type Mutant” identity—it all made him seem like he didn’t quite understand this era.
So much work… I don’t wanna.
Just as Li Zhiyan was sinking deeper into procrastination, Chu Ye groaned in pain from the ground and slowly opened his eyes.
Blood loss and overwhelming agony left his mind still ringing.
He felt a coat draped over him and turned to look for the person nearby, spotting the white-haired man sitting beside him the next moment.
"Li—" Chu Ye called out. "Li Zhiyan."
Li Zhiyan turned. "You’re awake?"
"Why are you here?" Chu Ye stared at him in shock. "Why didn’t you go after the Gardener? Where’s Dr. Shen?"
"Dr. Shen left." Li Zhiyan didn’t hide it. After a three-second pause, he added, "Probably to find the Gardener."
"What?! You let a Healer-type Mutant go after the Gardener?!"
Chu Ye was dumbfounded. "No—shouldn’t you be the one going, with Dr. Shen staying behind?"
Chu Ye struggled to sit up.
As a Mutant and now affected by contamination, the wound on his chest had improved somewhat and no longer throbbed with intense pain.
Pressing his temples, he began recalling what had happened earlier.
He remembered being saved by Shen Ji, who had pulled out the small sapling embedded in his chest and stopped the bleeding...
And before that... Had he seen something?
"There was something in Dr. Shen's eyes," Chu Ye suddenly said.
Li Zhian looked at him in surprise. "You saw it?"
"When he came to save me, I think I saw something strange," Chu Ye murmured, his voice still dazed. "His eyes were silver, and there were these weird round... branches? In his hair?"
"Could Dr. Shen has been contaminated?"
"Wait, no—if he were contaminated, he wouldn’t have been able to save me." Chu Ye knocked his own head in frustration.
Deciding to drop the matter, he pushed Li Zhiyan away with a hand while pointing in a direction. "Forget about me. Go that way—the Gardener’s central greenhouse is there. You need to hurry!"
Li Zhiyan sighed softly and stood up.
"Got it. But about Dr. Shen... don’t mention this to anyone else."
"Huh? Why?" Chu Ye blinked in confusion. "Isn’t it just contamination symptoms from overusing abilities? Like your hair?"
Li Zhiyan: "..."
Great. This guy hadn’t noticed a thing.
After giving Chu Ye a few final reminders, Li Zhiyan set off toward the Gardener’s central greenhouse.
As he walked, he paused.
He really wanted to text Shen Ji right now, but his phone had been waterlogged and wouldn’t turn on—so he couldn’t even send a message.
"So unfair," Li Zhian muttered under his breath while pouting. "Chu Ye got to see, but not me."
"I wanna see too."
"Little mushrooms on his head—so pretty and tasty."
"I'm jealous."
Translator:
Ohh!! He already knows!
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