Pollutant Disguise Plan (POLLUTANT)
Li Zhiyan possessed the most terrifying talent in the world.
His ability, [Mimicry Butterflies], appeared deceptively simple—mere visual illusions in the mental realm, like flowers reflected in a mirror or the moon cast upon water. In reality, it was a raging inferno that simultaneously ignited all Pollutants.
Neither a Healing-type Mutant who could cure contamination, nor a purifier who could eliminate it—he could only set all contamination ablaze.
His was the world's most horrifying destructive talent.
Worse still: this destructive ability couldn't distinguish friend from foe. Once unleashed, everyone within range would suffer.
Thus Li Zhiyan rarely deployed his contamination ability on a large scale.
In his early years when control eluded him, he'd accidentally incinerated many things—new weapons developed by the Academy of Sciences, contaminated flowers he'd cultivated in his yard for their beauty, or those Anti-contamination Control Center lunatics who'd picked fights with him.
Had their talent levels not been so low that the flames remained controllable, those fools would have been burned straight to heaven.
But Shen Ji was different.
"He could eat them before," Li Zhiyan murmured at the edge of the contamination rift. "He devoured so many little butterflies—they're the same as these flames."
"Why not this time?"
Chu Ye didn't know what Li Zhiyan was muttering to himself about.
The towering flames continued to surge upward—Li Zhiyan hadn't reached his limit yet, and the contamination from the rift kept pouring in endlessly, so the fire wouldn't die down anytime soon.
He could only frown and glance around.
"Li Zhiyan," Chu Ye asked, "where's Dr. Shen?"
"Why haven't I seen him?"
Li Zhiyan didn’t answer. Instead, he turned to meet Chu Ye’s gaze, his pale blue eyes filled with a helpless uncertainty, as if he didn’t know how to put it into words.
Chu Ye stared at Li Zhiyan’s expression and froze in place.
A few seconds later, Chu Ye followed Li Zhiyan’s line of sight toward the rift of contamination.
His voice trembled. "...In there?"
It was an all-too-common occurrence for workers at the Anti-Contamination Control Center to die in contamination zones.
When they chose this profession, they understood they might perish in some unknown corner at any moment—especially in the territory of a Level S Pollutant.
But this was Shen Ji!
A likely S-class Healing-type Mutant, a powerful and righteous man, the savior who had stepped forward during Q City’s contamination disaster.
Most importantly—he was the person Li Zhiyan liked.
Li Zhiyan was an abstract, solitary figure. Despite being the strongest S-class Mutant in the Anti-Contamination Control Center, he had almost no friends. Chu Ye had never seen him show interest in anyone.
Shen Ji was the exception.
To both the world and Li Zhiyan himself—Shen Ji was irreplaceable.
But now, Shen Ji was in the flames? In the very fire Li Zhiyan had unleashed to purge the contamination?
This was a catastrophe.
"Li Zhiyan, stay calm!" After the initial shock, Chu Ye quickly tried to soothe him.
"This isn’t your fault. Don’t let this trigger an emotional breakdown. Talk to me first—I’ll help you figure it out. And maybe you misread the situation! What if Dr. Shen never fell in?"
Emotions could influence contamination.
Extreme emotions could cause it to spread rapidly.
Even for Mutants, extreme emotions were poisonous.
Li Zhiyan was already an S-class Mutant. If this pushed him into an emotional breakdown, humanity wouldn’t just lose a potential S-class healer—they’d lose an S-class combat Mutant too.
"Li Zhiyan, don’t jump to conclusions so quickly!"
Li Zhiyan held Chu Ye’s gaze for a long moment before finally speaking. "Chu Ye, don’t worry. I’m calm."
He averted his eyes before looking back at the still-burning rift. "I really am calm."
Calm enough to start analyzing—why Shen Ji couldn’t evade the Gardener’s attack, why he was trapped in the flames, why he had turned into a black mass, and why that black mass… had burned to ashes.
But he had seen Shen Ji being dragged in with his own eyes. He had felt Shen Ji’s contamination dissolve into that black mass.
Li Zhiyan closed his eyes and sank into emotions he couldn’t control.
If Shen Ji was truly dead, then he had personally killed the person he cared about—even if it wasn’t his intention.
If Shen Ji wasn’t dead, and this was all just an act staged before his eyes, Li Zhiyan would still be driven mad with questions: Why did Shen Ji have to put on this performance, making himself die in front of him?
What had he done wrong to make Shen Ji so desperate to escape him?
Not far away, Shen Ji tumbled onto a small hill and was coughing as he stood up, his entire face twisted in discomfort.
"That was way too risky," Shen Ji muttered. "Faking my death in Li Zhiyan’s flames—one wrong move, and I really would’ve died."
[Isn't this exactly what we wanted? Plus, with the Undertaker's contamination, faking death is a piece of cake.] The system began summarizing: [Now, our progress perfectly matches the original story!]
[In the original, the protagonist discovers Pollutant 'Hui' and meets it, after which Hui dies in a bizarre way. In reality, after our identity was exposed, we fought alongside the protagonist, but due to a mistake, Pollutant Hui fell into the protagonist's flames that burned away contamination and died.]
[A perfect match!]
Shen Ji frowned slightly. "I didn’t actually want it to be this extreme."
[Alright, my bad.] The system quickly admitted its mistake.
"It's not your fault." Shen Ji stood atop the hill while gazing at the still-raging blue flames. "I also know that was indeed the best moment for a fake death. Your decision was the right one."
But, but...
Shen Ji could faintly see Li Zhiyan Zhian kneeling on one knee at the edge of the cliff.
Li Zhiyan faced the still-burning rift of contamination. Even though only a faint silhouette was visible, one could sense his sorrow.
Shen Ji didn’t know what Li Zhiyan was like in the original story.
But indeed, the pain Li Zhiyan felt now was because of him.
[The protagonist's contamination level is increasing.] The system suddenly spoke up, sounding puzzled. [Huh? Why?]
"Probably due to emotional turmoil."
[...Ah, right. Severe emotional fluctuations can indeed cause contamination levels to rise.]
Shen Ji tilted his head and sighed softly. Finally, he knelt on one knee before pressing his fingers into the dirt, uncaring that his pale skin was now smudged with soil.
Silver specks flowed from his eyes, trailing down his cheeks to his neck, then along his arms and into the earth. Guided by his will, they wandered from the hilltop and quietly took root in that scorching, terrifying place.
Li Zhiyan suddenly opened his eyes.
He saw a tiny flower blooming where he knelt.
The flower was crystal-clear white and smaller than an adult’s fingernail. It stretched comfortably, like a beauty lazily arching his back.
As if confirming that Li Zhiyan had seen it, the flower quietly dissipated into the air.
In that instant, Li Zhiyan felt all his suppressed emotions vanish without a trace.
He suddenly laughed.
Chu Ye was startled by his laughter and nearly jumped out of his skin.
"Li Zhiyan, don’t do anything stupid!"
"What are you talking about?" Li Zhiyan stood up before brushing off his clothes with disdain. "Let’s go. We need to find a way out, then come back to clean up."
"Huh?" Chu Ye was stunned by Li Zhiyan’s sudden optimism.
He watched as Li Zhiyan actually started searching for an exit, while he was growing increasingly nervous where he sat.
"This is bad, this is really bad. He’s actually lost it."
Chu Ye’s voice grew more panicked. "Should we find him a psychologist? Or maybe a Healing-type Mutant?"
"No, no, a Healing-type Mutant would definitely trigger his painful memories! Better stick with a psychologist."
"Li Zhiyan!" Chu Ye scrambled to his feet and chased after him. "When we get back, I’ll introduce you to a reliable doctor!"
[The protagonist’s contamination level has returned to normal.] The system sighed. [After all the effort to fake your death, you go and bloom a flower right in front of him. That’s just too pure-hearted.]
Shen Ji: ...
That counts as pure-hearted?
"More importantly, System, we're free now. Our actions are no longer bound by the original story!"
[You're right. Let me see where we should go next.]
[Should we still head to the Three Major Bureaus? The Containment Headquarters, Security Team, or Anti-Contamination Control Center?]
"Those places are too easy for the protagonist to find. We need somewhere with minimal connection to him."
[Where would be suitable?]
"How about the Contaminant Disposal Center?"
[...Sigh, you really want to avoid danger while still being afraid he won't find you.]
[Fine, fine. I'll look for a suitable place where we can take Little Mushroom and fly free!]
Shen Ji smiled before casting one last glance at the distant Li Zhiyan.
I hope when we meet again, I won't be this novel's villainous Pollutant "Hui," but simply Shen Ji. And you won't be this novel's protagonist, just Li Zhiyan, a member of the Security Team.
Then, we can start over.
My friend, I look forward to our reunion.
He turned and left, just as Li Zhiyan walked in the opposite direction.
Li Zhiyan had sensed a possible exit there—call it his intuition.
Though walking away back-to-back, it felt like an embrace.
……..
Chu Ye didn't dare leave the cleanup to Li Zhiyan, and naturally, the Anti-Contamination Control Center didn't dare assign it to Chu Ye either.
The Anti-Contamination Control Center packed Chu Ye off to the nearest F City Containment Facility before directly messaging Zhou Ye to handle the aftermath.
They didn't trust those with low contamination resistance, and using Control Center staff risked misunderstanding Li Zhiyan's thought process, so they simply handed it to Zhou Ye.
Zhou Ye had to abandon his half-done beauty salon appointment and tearfully take over the botanical garden cleanup.
The F City Containment Facility took Chu Ye very seriously, especially Director Bai Xuyue.
She personally oversaw Chu Ye's contamination treatment and carefully studied the incident's details before administering medication.
Just as Li Zhiyan prepared to leave, Bai Xuyue suddenly called out to him.
"Mr. Li," she asked gently, "Has Dr. Shen left F City for Q City? I haven't seen him."
Li Zhiyan studied Bai Xuyue before replying after a pause, "You're looking for him?"
"Yes, I've been hoping to see him again." Bai Xuyue smiled, her aged face crinkling with warmth. "I wanted to tell him his patient has made significant progress—they've woken up."
"Really?"
"I'd actually prepared for the worst. I'd already signed the paperwork to send the patient to the Contaminant Disposal Center. If Dr. Shen said he couldn't treat them, I would have transferred them immediately."
Tears welled in her smiling eyes. "But unexpectedly, Dr. Shen actually had a solution."
"He only visited twice, yet those two visits reduced the patient's contamination levels from critical to 52. Still high, but now manageable."
"The patient is actively continuing treatment after waking. I believe the levels can decrease further."
"So I wanted to thank him in person."
Li Zhian nodded. "Understood. I'll relay your message next time we meet."
Bai Xuyue understood his meaning.
"Next time" meant she wouldn't be seeing Shen Ji anytime soon.
Bai Xuyue had long been mentally prepared for this.
Shen Ji was such a powerful Healing-type Mutant that he should have been under the strict protection of the Anti-Contamination Control Center all along. The fact that he had remained at the Q City Containment Facility was only due to the joint concealment efforts of Director Wen and Li Zhiyan.
Now that he had returned to the protection of the Anti-Contamination Control Center, it was only natural.
"Thank you so much," Bai Xuyue bowed deeply to Li Zhiyan.
After parting ways with Bai Xuyue, Li Zhiyan turned and entered the Containment Facility's medical ward. Chu Ye was currently in Zone III.
However, his contamination levels were gradually decreasing. According to Bai Xuyue's predictions, he would likely drop to Stage II within a week and fully recover within a month, returning to a normal Mutant state. However, his contamination-based abilities had suffered some damage, and his rank might drop from B to B-.
For Chu Ye, all of this was incredibly good news. He had even prepared himself for the possibility of becoming an ordinary person in the future.
Never did he expect to still have a chance to remain a B-class Mutant.
"It must be because of the treatment Dr. Shen gave me earlier," Chu Ye said. "I owe him my life twice over."
Li Zhiyan nodded. "Indeed."
Chu Ye glanced at Li Zhiyan, taking in his completely indifferent expression. Hesitantly, he probed, "About Dr. Shen's situation... should we report it?"
Of course, he was referring to Shen Ji's sacrifice.
"I'll register him as missing later," Li Zhiyan said with a smile. "I'm holding a grudge against him—I refuse to declare him dead."
"I'll keep his status active until we find him."
Chu Ye: "..."
But... didn't he die?
Seeing Li Zhiyan's enthusiastic demeanor, Chu Ye couldn't bring himself to spell it out.
This was the first time Li Zhiyan had ever liked someone so much—so much that he couldn't accept the reality of his death and insisted on labeling him as missing, pretending he was still alive.
Even this abstract man was showing some human emotion now.
"No helping it," Chu Ye muttered under his breath. "I'll play along. We need to stabilize his emotions first."
"What did you say?"
"Nothing! I said I support you!" Chu Ye quickly replied. "So, you're planning to look for Dr. Shen? What reason are you going to use?"
"The two of you don't... really have much of a connection, do you?"
It wasn't like Li Zhiyan had successfully stolen Shen Ji—he hadn't managed to pull him away from anything. And while they could be called friends, Shen Ji had hardly collaborated with Li Zhiyan. In fact, they had only known each other for a few months.
Li Zhiyan really needed a plausible reason for this. Even though he knew Dr. Shen was dead and any search would be futile.
Surely he wouldn't use something as terrifying as "I must find my lost love", right?!
"His abandoned husband."
Li Zhiyan declared shamelessly, "Doesn't that sound imposing?"
Chu Ye: "......?"
Noticing Chu Ye's bewildered expression, Li Zhiyan amended his phrasing. "Then how about 'his abandoned widow'?"
Chu Ye: "......?!"
Have you no shame at all?!
"Anyway, I need to tie myself to him. From now on, I'm a devoted man longing for his lover," Li Zhiyan announced. "And my cold-hearted boyfriend? He cruelly abandoned me and vanished right before my eyes. I have to find him and make him reflect on his actions!"
Chu Ye closed his eyes in agony and buried his face in his arms.
I'm sorry, Dr. Shen! Even in death, you have to suffer this guy's harassment!
I'll make sure to burn plenty of joss paper for you!
"Otherwise, you can come down and take this guy with you."
………
[Your identity information has been updated.]
The system shared with Shen Ji, [Your identity wasn't revoked, nor were you registered as deceased—you're listed as missing! Missing!]
[So, did our fake death plan succeed or fail?]
"...Why do I feel like you're taking great delight in this?"
Shen Ji clicked his tongue, "And do you really think Li Zhiyan won't figure it out? Those little mushrooms have eaten so many of his butterflies—those butterflies were his contamination too. We might've fooled him when his mind was muddled, but once he comes to his senses, won't it be even worse?"
The system refused to dance around the issue with him—getting tangled in circles with someone like Shen Ji would only lead to its own downfall.
[All this beating around the bush just means you don't want to deceive him. Coming up with so many excuses is just to fool the system—me.]
Shen Ji: “…”
Just then, the door creaked open as someone entered.
It was a stern-looking middle-aged man clad in a hazmat suit with his face mostly obscured by the protective visor, leaving only his intensely piercing eyes visible.
"So you're here for the job?" The man sat across from Shen Ji. "First, I need to understand your basic qualifications—starting with your contamination talent."
Indeed, this was Shen Ji's job interview.
True to his word about faking his death, Shen Ji had set off with a bunch of plump little mushrooms (well-fed and round) in search of new territory. After careful consideration, both he and the system settled on the Contaminant Disposal Center.
Not just any branch office—they went straight for Headquarters.
The reason? Only the Headquarters could spawn the protagonist.
The original plot never featured this Headquarters, and the protagonist never set foot in it. Shen Ji wanted to see how long it would take for Li Zhiyan to find him here.
So he disguised himself (just changed his hairstyle, swapped glasses, and slightly altered his face using the Gardener's contamination) before applying for the job.
[Use the contamination talent we agreed on earlier.]
"My contamination talent is Sensory-type," Shen Ji said. "But I'm only D-class."
The stern man looked at him in surprise.
Outwardly unremarkable yet critically important contamination talents were rare. Besides healing abilities, sensory talents were the other prized category. Shen Ji had already posed as a healer before (albeit belatedly realizing it), so this time, he'd go with sensory—system-assisted contamination detection would handle the rest.
Keeping the rank low would prevent another high-profile exposure like last time, when treating heavily contaminated patients blew his cover.
"Sensory talent?" The man frowned. "Why not join the Security Team or Containment Facilities? They're desperate for Sensory-type Mutants there."
"I have social anxiety.”
The stern man: ...?
Shen Ji maintained a deadpan expression but with utterly sincere eyes as he repeated, "I have social anxiety."
"I only want to deal with corpses, not people."
The stern man: ...
[Flawless!]
The system marveled, [Your excuse is on par with the protagonist's—equally absurd yet impossible to refute.]
Shen Ji didn't care. 'As long as it works.'
"Oh... I see."
The man lowered his head in bewilderment. "I understand."
He absolutely did not understand!
The Contaminant Disposal Centers were chronically understaffed, so much so that they'd resorted to using incarcerated criminals for volunteer work. Logically, any job applicant should be hired immediately. But as mentioned earlier, very few Mutants were willing to work there, making this sudden job seeker somewhat unbelievable.
And then... social anxiety? Only wanting to deal with corpses?
The middle-aged man took Shen Ji's signed documents and files, told him to wait for a phone notification, and left utterly bewildered.
As he walked away, he wondered: Is the generation gap between me and today's youth really that big?
Shen Ji stepped out of the Contaminant Disposal Center, and as he walked, his phone rang.
Opening it, he found an anonymous text listing some guidelines for working at the center.
Seeing this, Shen Ji knew his employment was practically guaranteed.
[Of course, their "wait for notification" was just a polite formality. The Contaminant Disposal Centers were so desperate for workers that they’d hire even a ghost—as long as it wasn’t a Pollutant.]
[Oh wait, you are a Pollutant.]
Shen Ji: "..."
What a shame.
Just then, his phone buzzed again.
He glanced down at the screen—a new message from a familiar contact.
The sender: Troublesome Protagonist.
Yes, Shen Ji hadn’t deleted Li Zhiyan’s contact. But he also hadn’t expected Li Zhiyan to ever message him again.
[Troublesome Protagonist: Tonight I’m planning to have a mushroom hotpot to get revenge—]
Since he didn’t open it, the message only previewed the word "revenge," cutting off the rest.
The system asked curiously, [Why aren’t you opening it?]
"Because opening it would mark it as 'read', and that would confirm I’m still alive," Shen Ji said matter-of-factly.
[...]
What kind of logic was this? I know you know I’m not dead, but I still have to put on an act to avoid awkwardness?
If he opened it and marked the message as read, it would be unbearably awkward.
Closing his phone, Shen Ji turned and continued walking. "Ignore him. Let’s find a place to stay first. Does the Contaminant Disposal Center provide dormitories?"
Behind him, the mushrooms lined up in a neat row while rolling along like a group of obedient children.
New territory!
Heave-ho! Let’s conquer new territory!
No big butterflies, no little butterflies, boo-hoo!
Will there be tasty snacks in the new place?
Master, we’re hungry!
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