Pollutant Disguise Plan (POLLUTANT)
"My cyber curse list got leaked."
Li Zhiyan replied with surprise and admiration, "Congratulations?"
Qin Changye: ...
"So, boss, you didn't receive my cyber curse list, did you?"
Li Zhiyan extracted the key point, "So I’m on your list too?"
Qin Changye: ...
This was his real bloody disaster, wasn’t it?!
"Send me your cyber curse list by the end of today. I want to see how many times you’ve cursed me."
Qin Changye coughed awkwardly, "Boss, let’s talk about He Linqiu’s issue instead."
He Linqiu—the woman who had visited his fortune-telling stall and the reason he had broken the protocol to rush to the Contaminant Disposal Headquarters. As a member of the Special Task Force Team, his attempt to negotiate with the Contaminant Disposal Center to temporarily delay He Linqiu’s case had backfired when the Center’s Director reported him.
One phone call later, Li Zhiyan was urged to discipline his subordinate.
And so, Li Zhiyan’s call came through.
Though Li Zhiyan generally adopted a hands-off approach with his team—letting them do as they pleased outside of special operations—this was the first time he’d been called in like this.
"I gave that woman a reading and warned her against joining the security force. But she went anyway, and now her fate is playing out exactly as predicted—she’s really going to die as foretold."
"Still, I want to try. To defy destiny and change her fate."
Qin Changye spent his days pretending to be a genuine Taoist, but in truth, he didn’t believe in fate.
This made him a walking contradiction.
He told fortunes for a living and was revered for his accuracy—because he really was that accurate—yet he longed for someone to shatter the destinies he predicted. He even periodically disguised himself to tell fortunes under bridges, all in search of someone who could break free from their ordained path.
Call it his obsession with defying the heavens.
Li Zhiyan pondered, "You think she fits your criteria?"
"Yes, boss!" Qin Changye said. "At first, everything unfolded exactly as I predicted—she couldn’t escape the darkness, and the truth would vanish with her death."
"But a few days ago, I noticed something: her fate had twisted unexpectedly."
"It’s like something forcibly punched a hole through her destiny. I’ve never seen anything like it! So I want to try saving her, at least buy her some time!"
Li Zhiyan leaned back in his chair, silent.
Yeah… he didn’t understand a word of that.
Whenever this guy got serious, he’d spout a bunch of cryptic nonsense.
With that thought, Li Zhiyan muted Qin Changye and opened his chat with Shen Ji. Though all his messages had gone unread for days, he’d grown used to occasionally sending a text or two.
[Li Zhiyan: Why did I recruit a riddle-spewing teammate?]
"Boss? Captain?" Qin Changye sensed something amiss and called out.
But there was no response—only the occasional sound of typing.
Resentfully, Qin Changye hung up and sent a message instead.
[Qin Changye: Boss, you muted me again!]
Li Zhiyan idly clicked into the chat and replied.
[Li Zhiyan: .]
[Li Zhiyan: If the Headquarters calls me again, I’m docking your pay for a month.]
[Qin Changye: ?!]
[Qin Changye: Captain, are you saying just one month's salary is enough for you to protect me?! Boss, you're truly the best boss in the world!]
"Though a bit of a riddle-speaker, still smarter than Zhou Ye."
Li Zhiyan sighed, "Speaking of intelligence..."
Indeed, Dr. Shen was still the smartest. He really, really wanted to recruit him into the team.
His team was sorely lacking an all-rounder—someone intelligent, serious, prestigious, and capable!
…….
Receiving a text from the protagonist right before leaving for work was hardly a good omen, but Shen Ji still read the message expressionlessly.
This time, the message was short, so he finally managed to read one in its entirety.
"Is this about Qin Changye?"
[The description does sound like him,] the system replied. [In the original story, Li Zhiyan often called Qin Changye a riddle-speaker and regretted countless times recruiting such a person.]
[But Li Zhiyan loved sending Qin Changye to deal with the higher-ups at the Anti-Contamination Control Center. Qin Changye had a knack for making cryptic predictions that left them utterly bewildered—some even had their underwear colors exposed on the spot, leading to instant social death. So, no one dared to cross him.]
How tragic, not even able to keep their underwear colors private.
Better steer clear of him.
After properly putting on his Corpse Disposal Unit uniform and a face mask, Shen Ji headed out to wait for the shuttle bus.
There were quite a few people on the same shift. Most weren’t wearing masks, and many were yawning incessantly, soon spreading the contagion until the entire bus was yawning.
Even the little mushroom seemed infected, tilting off Shen Ji’s shoulder with a soft roll.
Shen Ji caught it in his hand and placed it back on his shoulder once it regained its bearings.
A young man, after a series of exaggerated yawns, turned to his colleague and whispered some gossip, his voice so low it was nearly inaudible to others.
Unfortunately, the little mushroom was right beside them and was stealthily leaning in to listen with keen interest.
It was all ears.
"Did you hear? The Anti-Contamination Control Center sent someone over yesterday after we clocked out."
"Another contamination incident needing us to make space for bodies?"
"No, this time it was someone pretty famous—Qin Changye, that legendary fortune-teller. He came to our center and asked us to delay the processing of a contaminated patient, to postpone her cremation."
The colleague hissed, "That’s against regulations."
"But it’s Qin Changye, and he’s under Li Zhiyan, an S-class Mutant. There might be special circumstances behind his request."
"What did our boss say?"
"Seems like it’s been postponed temporarily, but not for long. If there’s no resolution by tomorrow, she’ll go through the standard disposal process."
They sighed, then resumed yawning and groaning about not wanting to work—a painfully relatable sentiment.
But fate had other plans.
Soon, the shuttle arrived at the Processing Center, and Shen Ji shuffled off with the others.
After queuing up for facial recognition, everyone handed over their shifts to the next crew. Shen Ji made his way to his temporary workstation.
The Contaminated Corpse Processing Control Room.
This was the area where the initial processing of contaminated corpses took place.
He needed to assess the contamination level of each specimen before conducting the first round of incineration. Of course, there would be second and third rounds of burning until the remains were reduced to ashes and completely devoid of contamination, which would then be collectively disposed of in a designated degradation area.
The handover process was simple. Shen Ji had always maintained his socially awkward persona, and it seemed the interviewer had briefed his coworkers about his social anxiety beforehand, so hardly anyone spoke to him.
And so, Shen Ji sat at his workstation while wearing a mask with an expressionless face, ready to begin the day's assembly-line work.
Oh, this one’s a D-class—use Grade IV flames. This is an E-class—Grade V flames. Oh, this one’s impressive, a C-class—Grade III flames.
The incineration process took time. While waiting for the flames to do their work, Shen Ji casually picked up a book to read.
Only after flipping it open did he realize it was the Contaminant Disposal Center Self-Rescue Manual.
Inside, it meticulously detailed every possible danger one might encounter in the Center, complete with practical examples: what to do if a contaminated patient still retained consciousness; who to contact if a contaminated patient underwent severe mutation into a full-fledged Pollutant; whether to keep burning a contaminated corpse if it suddenly revived.
Shen Ji: "..."
This could easily spawn three sequels to The Genius in the Left, the Madman in the Right.
A coworker on the same shift noticed him reading the manual and remarked with a sigh, "Haven’t had any cases of revived contaminated lately, right?"
Another nodded. "Yeah, it’s been a while since we’ve seen one."
But sometimes, certain things just shouldn’t be spoken aloud—because the moment you do, they happen.
Shen Ji lifted his head, his gaze shifting to the monitor displaying the incinerator. Through the mycelium’s perception, he sensed the Level C Pollutant corpse twitch—just a slight flex of its fingers.
Unfazed, he lowered his head and continued reading, treating the self-rescue guide like a novel.
Just as he was engrossed in the book, his coworker suddenly let out a horrified scream.
Clearly, they had finally noticed that one of the contaminated corpses was moving within the flames.
"Shit! This one’s not fully dead!"
"Report it to Security immediately!"
"I’m calling them now!”
Shen Ji closed the manual and followed his colleagues out of the office while keeping his head down and trailing at the back to maintain his socially anxious facade.
He looked particularly pitiful—small, weak, and utterly helpless.
However, the moment the revived contaminated individual attempted to lash out, the mycelium swiftly entangled it. Even Li Zhiyan’s flames couldn’t completely destroy them, let alone these small-scale flames derived from mothflower research.
The mycelium rolled gleefully in the fire, taking the rare opportunity to nibble on a still-living Level C Pollutant.
Mmm~ The new territory is big and nice, but all the contamination here is so… dead.
Dead contamination is still edible, but fresh, living contamination is so much better.
The mycelium quickly devoured the living Level C Pollutant before darting away.
By the time the security team rushed in with their weapons, all they found was a charred Pollutant corpse.
They stood there dumbfounded for a long moment before running multiple scans on the surroundings and the corpse itself. The results confirmed that the body was unquestionably dead—deader than dead—and had burned faster than the lower-grade Pollutant beside it.
"What the hell?" They scratched their heads in confusion. "The surveillance clearly showed it moving."
Of course, no trouble is better than any trouble at all.
For them, a false alarm was the best possible outcome.
Shen Ji returned to work in the office with his colleagues while still maintaining his quiet, socially awkward persona. When asked if he had been scared, he simply gave a small shake of his head.
He looked utterly helpless.
[...It's a shame your acting skills aren't being used as an actor.]
‘Actors aren’t exactly in high demand these days. Even the TV industry is struggling—how much money could acting possibly make?’
Shen Ji declared with brutal pragmatism: ‘Only in dangerous places like this can I earn serious cash!’
[Yeah, yeah.] The system couldn’t resist adding salt to the wound, [And yet all those fat bonuses you earned at the Containment Facility are still locked in your bank account, untouched.]
Shen Ji: "..."
One of these days, he was going to install a mute function on this damn system and ban its snarky mouth.
Meanwhile, the little mushrooms that had just sneakily devoured a Level C Pollutant were happily patrolling their territory.
They were part of Shen Ji, extensions of his being, so they instinctively knew what was fair game and what wasn’t—no explicit instructions needed.
Resurrected Pollutants? Free snacks.
Dead Mutant corpses? A few nibbles wouldn’t hurt.
Everything else? Proceed with extreme caution.
The little mushrooms were obedient, expert connoisseurs of their menu!
And so, they slithered into the final layer—the snack room.
But the snack room didn’t just contain treats. There was also a human in a hazmat suit.
The mushrooms found him vaguely familiar, so they coiled along the ceiling, observing.
“Mr. Qin, let me make this clear—we can only keep her until tomorrow. Any further delays are out of the question.”
“I don’t know what the Anti-Contamination Control Center’s agenda is, but a Stage IV contaminated patient left untreated will mutate into a full-blown Pollutant at an alarming rate. Are you gambling with the lives of our center staff?”
“Let me reiterate: Tomorrow, she undergoes disposal procedures.”
His tone was firm, unyielding.
This was the Contaminant Disposal Center—not some ordinary facility. It was far more ruthless than the Containment Facilities.
At least the facility didn’t require their staff to personally euthanize incurable patients. Here, the process was straightforward: kill first, then dispose.
This was their protocol.
Cold-blooded on the surface, but for the greater good of humanity.
After hanging up, the man cast one last glance at the woman lying in the sealed isolation chamber, sighed softly, and turned to leave.
If Qin Changye had gone out of his way to plead for her, there must have been something special about her. But rules were rules.
If a miracle was going to happen, it had to be today.
Tomorrow would be too late.
The fungal tendrils watched as the man exited the room. Curious, they dangled down from the ceiling, with some even slipping through the gaps and into the transparent chamber.
Contamination! So fragrant.
Ugh… Master said no eating.
But it smells so good!
Meanwhile, Shen Ji was still half-heartedly bantering with the system.
[Speaking of which, are you going to do anything about Qin Changye’s situation?]
‘You mean that woman scheduled for disposal?’
[Yes. This seems like it could be important plot-wise. It’d be best if she doesn’t die.]
Shen Ji deliberately spoke in cryptic tones, ‘If fate decrees she lives, she’ll survive.’
[...Wow, so profound.]
[But seriously, you’re not even a little curious? You don’t seem that averse to trouble, and this woman might be tied to future events.]
Shen Ji hesitated. After a moment’s thought, he shrugged. ‘I don’t even know where she is. Even if I wanted to help, I couldn’t. Might as well forget it.’
No sooner had these words been spoken than, in a moment Shen Ji was unaware of, the fungal filaments surged forward.
They lifted the transparent isolation cover shielding He Linqiu before their tendrils pierced into her body. Just like in the Containment Facility, they began tearing apart the contamination invading her system—without harming the patient's body.
The filaments nibbled away while chattering excitedly among themselves.
The master agreed!
Let’s go report the good news to the master after we finish eating!
Eep! The master will definitely praise us!
…….
Qin Changye hung up the call with Cheng Feng, the Director of the Contaminant Disposal Center, with his mood growing increasingly foul.
"Ever since yesterday's bloody disaster, my luck has hit rock bottom." He placed the copper coin on his tortoise shell. "Who the hell leaked my cyber curse list?"
Truth be told, Qin Changye was indeed a fake Taoist priest. He had no real understanding of Taoist divination methods—he just made wild guesses, only to find his predictions eerily accurate.
Back then, he hadn’t realized he was actually an awakened Mutant. Instead, he thought he’d unlocked some immortal cultivation physique, so he grabbed a piece of cloth and ran off to make a living as a fortune-teller.
But before he could earn much, he was reported as a Pollutant and subsequently rescued from prison by Li Zhiyan, who dragged him into the security team.
Ah, just thinking about it brings tears to his eyes.
"Endless bloody disaster… endless? Seriously? I didn’t even meet anyone—I just sat in that spot, and now I’m stuck with an endless bloody disaster?"
"After darkness comes dawn—what does that mean? Despite the bloody disaster, my other fortunes will improve?”
"Karmic cycle… under the influence of the bloody disaster, the things I hope for will have a good outcome…"
Qin Changye froze.
He opened his eyes, stunned for a few seconds, then quickly switched to another divination method—this time not for himself, but for He Linqiu, whose fate hung in the balance.
Unlike the last time, where faint glimmers of light flickered within the inky strands of destiny, this time he clearly saw fate seizing that glimmer.
The person who had been walking in darkness finally grasped the light and stepped toward brightness.
She—she!
Qin Changye bolted up, and did not even bother to put on his Taoist robes before sprinting out of the Anti-Contamination Control Center.
As he ran, he called Cheng Feng again.
"Mr. Cheng! I’m heading to your Processing Center right now!"
"Yes, I’ll try to get there in half an hour! I’m absolutely not coming to argue with you in person! I just did a divination and saw a turning point in fate!"
"I need to witness this turning point with my own eyes!"
"Don’t understand? Doesn’t matter! I’ll explain when I see you!"
Qin Changye arrived at the Contaminant Disposal Center in record time, where Cheng Feng had been waiting at the entrance for a while.
"Mr. Cheng, we meet again!" Qin Changye immediately grabbed Cheng Feng’s hand. "So sorry to trouble you again today.”
Cheng Feng frowned at him. "Mr. Qin, I believe I’ve made myself clear over the phone. We talked at length yesterday—we can’t make exceptions for this. If we started releasing patients on the verge of mutation, what would be the point of running this Processing Center?"
"I completely understand!" Qin Changye hurriedly said. "But I’ve divined a turning point. We can wait for it together."
"No turning point is going to cure her."
"But my fortune-telling has never been wrong. For example, I can tell you right now what color your underwear is."
Cheng Feng: "..."
Qin Changye: "..."
Damn it.
He'd forgotten this trick was meant for high-ranking officials at the Anti-Contamination Control Center—it had just slipped out.
"No, I misspoke. Please don't take offense."
Cheng Feng looked at Qin Changye with an odd expression before finally speaking after a long pause, "Mr. Qin... have you calculated other people's underwear colors before?"
Qin Changye: "..."
Li Zhiyan! This is all your fault! My reputation is ruined!
I'm going to cyber-curse you ten times when I get back!
No one spoke another word after that.
The atmosphere was palpably awkward as they entered the Contaminant Disposal Center and made their way in silence to the temporary holding area for contaminated patients.
"She's here," Cheng Feng said. "Protocol dictates she should've been processed yesterday, but we've delayed it until tomorrow at the latest."
"This is already an exception!"
Qin Changye kept alternating between gratitude and apologies.
As he looked at the woman lying inside, he considered taking out his tortoise shell for another divination—only to remember he'd come in such a hurry that he'd forgotten both the shell and the coins.
Just as he was lamenting this, his gaze fell on the nearby contamination detector.
He froze.
"Um..." Qin Changye asked, "Mr. Cheng, is it possible your center's contamination detector might be malfunctioning?"
"Malfunction? Impossible!" Cheng Feng replied sternly. "Our detectors are from the same batch as those in the Containment Facility. They're high-end equipment from the Academy of Sciences and inspected daily by specialists. There's no way they'd malfunction."
Qin Changye pointed at the display. "But it's showing 73."
"Don't joke about this, Mr. Qin," Cheng Feng said dismissively. "Every contaminated patient sent here has levels above 90—that's the threshold where the Containment Facility gives up treatment."
"Moreover, our center conducts thorough secondary examinations to prevent mistakes. It's absolutely impossible for it to be 73."
"But it really says 73."
Frowning, Cheng Feng looked over—and to his shock, Qin Changye wasn't wrong.
The high-precision contamination detector clearly displayed the patient's contamination level: 73.
Before Cheng Feng could voice his confusion, the detector emitted a soft beep. Both men watched as the number dropped by another point to 72.
They stood frozen for several seconds before locking eyes.
What the hell?!?!
Meanwhile, Shen Ji was still incinerating bodies on the assembly line while reading his manual.
The system suddenly spoke up.
[Ah...]
Shen Ji looked up. 'What? Why the long sigh?'
[Qin Changye is here. Tsk...]
[There's something I need to tell you that might make you angry.]
[Your mycelium thought you wanted to save He Linqiu, so they... ate some of her contamination. That dropped her levels to 72. And since Qin Changye happened to arrive right then, he and the Director of the Contaminant Disposal Center noticed it together. Now they're trying to transfer He Linqiu out.]
Shen Ji: "..."
He looked down at the little mushrooms playing with his pant leg under the desk.
The mushrooms that had just been about to share good news finally realized they'd done something wrong. They quickly let go of Shen Ji's pant leg before burrowing completely into the cracks, not even daring to glance at him.
They must have taken things out of context! Rationalizing their desire to consume contamination like it was justified!
The little troublemakers only grew more infuriating as they got older!
But what was done was done. Shen Ji closed the manual and stared at the incinerated remains of the contaminated corpse before him.
‘…Qin Changye wouldn’t have predicted this, right?’
[…Even if he did, there’s nothing to be done. Just say you’re a lucky charm, a money tree. As long as Li Zhiyan doesn’t show up, your cover should hold.]
‘…Are you sure Li Zhiyan won’t come?’
[If this wraps up quickly, then Li Zhiyan has no reason to come. Actually, isn’t this a good thing? Now that He Linqiu’s gone, Qin Changye has no reason to return. And if Qin Changye doesn’t come, Li Zhiyan naturally won’t either. We’re finally free of the protagonists!]
Shen Ji clicked his tongue. ‘You’re seriously underestimating the way Li Zhiyan’s brain works.’
‘I’m afraid he’ll show up to give our Director a gift.’
[Why?] The system was curious. [So far, the protagonist has only ever given gifts to you. Why would he give one to Director Cheng?]
[Wait, I get it—you just don’t want him giving gifts to anyone else, do you?]
Shen Ji: "…"
Was there really no way to install a mute function and shut this thing up?
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