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Chapter 12

—-I’ll be waiting for your answer.

Lin Sinan’s words sounded like a marriage proposal.

Without needing much thought, Lu Yan chose the first option.

He would never choose to go to the Research Institute. With how wonderful the outside world was, going to the Research Institute was no different to being locked up in prison.

Moreover, he wasn’t really a healing type Enlightened.

Lu Yan put on his down jacket and mask, and headed downstairs.

Lin Sinan was leaning against his car smoking. When he saw him coming, he promptly put it out. The cigarette butt drew a beautiful arc in the air before landing in the bin.

“Mr. Lu.” Lin Sinan’s attitude was a little reserved.

Lu Yan said, “I’ve thought it over. I still hope to be directly involved with pollution disease cases.”

Lu Yan rarely had these kinds of desires. Another way to put it was that he didn’t experience much of a fluctuation in his emotions and was rarely happy or sad.

He was aware that something was wrong with him. He was indifferent and lacked empathy. As a result, he put on a disguise to hide it.

He studied hard because working to improve oneself was a universal approach that everyone adopted. Whether it was studying or becoming a doctor, everything he did was because it was ‘the right choice’. He neither liked it nor disliked it.

But the pollution disease was different. Like a game with an unknown ending, every time you turned it on, you would be presented with a surprise.

Lu Yan liked it a lot. He liked it so much….he trembled with excitement.

Lin Sinan gave him a profound look, “I understand. Then I will do everything in my power to ensure your safety.”

Even if it comes at the cost of his own life.

Lu Yan, “You don’t have to.”

“This is an order from the headquarters.” Lin Sinan replied, “It is a soldier’s duty to follow orders.”

*

K City, Pollution Disease Prevention and Control Centre.

A middle-aged man arrived under the protection of several military officers.

It was a researcher from the Third Research Institute who had been sent over by the headquarters. His name was Ji Wen.

He had the appearance of an intellectual and looked amiable and refined. The director of the Pollution Disease Centre approached him with the intention to establish a friendly relationship, but Ji Wen raised his hand so the director could only awkwardly retreat back.

At this moment, he was sitting in front of a computer, watching precious footage previously captured through smart surveillance.

“Rather than the ‘Devour’ ability, after comparison, I am more inclined to believe that he came into contact with some type of special Pollutant during the events that have unfolded, and have undergone a certain extent of integration with it. This is a very dangerous move but, very clearly, he succeeded.”

“He lied and said that his ability was ‘Devour’. The purpose of lying was to hide his real ability. It could be concluded that he actually knows something.”

“But Lu Yan’s life until now had always been monitored, including both online and offline activities. I am certain that he had not been in contact with any information related to the pollution disease before this incident, so how would he know?

“Therefore, I believe that he actually has an ability related to information acquisition.”

“Among the listed abilities, there are a total of six abilities like this; Omniscience, Precognition, Information Cocoon, Mind Reading, Soul Probe and Divine Eye. The only one that fits the description is…”

Ji Wen suddenly fell silent. He scribbled something on the paper that only he could understand.

When he was young, Ji Wen and his friends discovered an unusual script. It looked like a combination of Oracle Bone Script and Cuneiform. The origin was unknown and it was very rarely seen circulating around. As a result, whenever there was important information that he needed to record but didn’t want others to know, Ji Wen would use this script.

He was 47 years old this year and had been researching the pollution disease since the age of 20. His mentor was Qin Changsheng.

Qin Changsheng’s mentor was Qiao Yu, who was also the first person to discover the pollution disease and dedicate their research to it.

Twenty years ago, Qin Changsheng left the First Research Institute because of differences in opinions. Qin Changsheng left them and proceeded to establish the Third Research Institute.

As Qin Changsheng’s direct successor, Ji Wen naturally wasn’t that bad either.

Lin Sinan and Bai Qiushi weren’t able to discover anything but Ji Wen was able to deduce the general truth just from watching the surveillance footage.

This was also the reason why the system had always been so vigilant about the Research Institute. That place contained clever people with the most profound and in-depth knowledge of pollution diseases.

Ji Wen pushed up his glasses and put away his pen, “Generally speaking, I should be reporting this, but he is Experimental Subject 18’s son.”

Translated by KK Translates. If you’re reading it elsewhere, this translation was stolen. Don’t support epubs. Don’t support thieves

He closed the software and then moved to delete the two footages.

A warning box appeared on the screen, requesting for an authorisation password.

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This kind of deletion wasn’t as simple as dragging a file to the recycle bin. It would make those two videos disappear completely from the world. No one would be able to find them again.

“Consider this as my compensation for dissecting Subject 18’s brain…Should I go meet Lu Yan?”

Ji Wen waited for the progress bar on the computer to reach 100% before taking out an evaluation form.

[Lu Yan, male, 26 years old. Mental State: Stable. Mutation Degree: Low. Education: Master’s Degree.]

[Rather perceptive of the outside world, with a cautious and vigilant character. Not recommended to monitor him for too long so as to avoid losing his trust in the Pollution Disease Centre.]

[Preliminarily determined to be a healing type Enlightened with the ability ‘Devour’. Able to use his spiritual body to devour pollution sources. The effect is outstanding on those with low to medium levels of mutation degree.]

[Ability to assist with Tyrant’s treatment: Unknown. (Note: Because his spiritual power threshold is too low, contact with Tyrant is temporarily not advised due to risk of infection.)]

[Danger Level: Low.]

Back then, the friend who also used that script alongside Ji Wen was called Lu Cheng, who happened to be Lu Yan’s father.

Thirteen years ago, Lu Cheng was infected and became a Pollutant. It was speculated that his ability was ranked 66^th: Precognition.

The authorities brought him to the First Research Institute where he was given the name, Subject 18. The following year, Lu Cheng escaped from the institute and his current whereabouts is still unknown.

“It would be better not to see him. Many years ago, I even held him in my arms. That child has always had a good memory, he will recognise me.”

Ji Wen stopped writing and contemplated for a while. Still feeling uneasy, he threw the paper with the strange writing into the shredder along with the photos.

*

Lin Sinan brought Lu Yan to the Pollution Disease Prevention and Control Centre to meet with the researcher who had been sent over by the headquarters.

But when he arrived, he was surprised to hear that the researcher had already left.

“Deputy Director Ji is very busy.” The staff member expressed their helplessness, “He arrived at eight and left at nine, saying that there were still many important experiments waiting to be done. He has already completed the evaluation report.”

The system said to Lu Yan: [The researcher sent here this time seemed to have discovered my existence. If I were to be more audacious, I can take off the word ‘seemed’. Looks like I have once again underestimated you humans.]

[Fortunately, he is siding with you for the time being.]

Countless things happen in all parts of the world every moment. Although the system was ‘omniscient’, if it knew too many things at once, it would only result in the host’s brain blowing up or turning them mentally challenged.

It had a range that was neither too large nor too small. Other than that, it lived up to its title of ‘Omniscience’.

“Mr. Lu, please come with me to collect your uniform and this month’s allowance.”

Lu Yan’s information had already been registered and he was now an official employee.

Alias: ‘Curious Listener’. Spiritual power threshold 440. F-Class Enlightened. Mutation degree 3.1.

Affiliation: Special Operations Division Team 7, Squadron 1

The staff member opened a vault located on the basement floor of the headquarters. They then took out a suitcase from the freezer, and began to introduce it.

“This is the latest ‘Galactic Detector’ developed by the Research Institute. It uniformly comes in the form of a watch. You can apply to have it exchanged into something else that you prefer. This includes but is not limited to necklaces, phones and the likes.”

“The detector can monitor your real-time mutation degree as well as the pollution level of nearby Pollutants. In addition to that, it has functions such as navigation, location detection and Bluetooth calls. This is the instruction manual. You can choose to turn off the global positioning system (GPS) to stop it from sharing data.”

The detector took the form of a high-tech electronic watch with exquisite workmanship.

Lu Yan didn’t immediately put it on. Instead, he stored it in his pocket.

“This is one of the institute’s most valuable inventions, a special medication for pollution diseases. Because the raw materials come from Pollutants, it is very expensive. Please don’t sell it in exchange for cash.” Because there had been previous cases of this, the staff member emphasised, “If you are short on money, you can contact the headquarters directly. Your current cash withdrawal limit is five million.”

The medicine came in the form of capsules. There were only four of them,

“The standard monthly allocation for an F-Class Enlightened is two capsules per month. The other two are bonuses for your outstanding performance in the recent K City pollution incident.”

[This medicine is very special. It is different from the medicine given to Pollutants at the quarantine shelters. It is no different from life-saving medicine. Since your mutation degree isn’t very high right now, you should stock up on the pills.]

“Here is your work permit.”

The work permit was similar to an ID card. It had Lu Yan’s photo, fingerprint and DNA code on it.

“Every time you perform a mission and complete it, you will receive corresponding contribution points. Contribution points can be exchanged for items, used to issue a mission, treat pollution etc.”

“Finally, this is the weapon the headquarters have prepared for you based on the information they received from the researchers.”

It was a dagger that was exquisitely crafted. Lu Yan pulled it out of the scabbard. The blade of the dagger glowed a cold, blue light.

This dagger had a double-edged blade.

[This is made from bones of a D-Grade Pollutant tortoise. The market price is 500 contribution points. Any better than that would be wasted on you and it would easily be stolen by thieves. It suits you. Looks like the people above have put a lot of effort into this. Are you perhaps the illegitimate child of someone in charge?]

“Thank you.” Lu Yan waved it around a few times, “I like it.”

The staff member bowed deeply and said, “I’m glad to hear that. Thank you for your contribution to the future of mankind. I hope to serve you again next time.”

……

When Lu Yan came back out of the room, he couldn’t help but say, “It’s too formal.”

He hadn’t done anything yet.

[It’s just a formality. Who hasn’t had a time where they dreamed of being a hero? Some people fall for these kinds of things. You can simply consider it part of the benefits.]

This respect wasn’t only towards Lu Yan, but rather to all the Enlighteneds in the Special Operations Division.

The Research Institute was all about theory while the Special Operations Division was on the actual field, fighting. The Pollution Disease Centre, on the other hand, handled the logistics. The three parties supported each other in search of a better future.

Lin Sinan was waiting for him in his car with his arms resting on the steering wheel and eyes squinted lazily.

After taking the medication, the severity of his mutation degree had decreased significantly, from 53 to 39.

Exposure to pollution sources would increase a person’s mutation degree and, after a period of time away from it, the increase would slowly plateau to a stable value. The role of the medication was to reduce this value.

Lin Sinan’s current value was 31. It was exactly ten times that of Lu Yan’s.

As more and more medications are taken, the human body would develop a resistance…But nothing could be done about it.

Lin Sinan waved his hand, “Let’s go. I’ll take you to see your captain.”

Lin Sinan was a member of Special Operations Division Team 6.

The Special Operations Division teams were divided according to region. The entire western province in which K City was a part of as well as several surrounding areas were under Team 6’s protection.

It stood to reason that it would be best for Lu Yan to join his team but the people at the top probably felt that Lin Sinan’s spiritual power threshold wasn’t high enough. Considering the dangers associated with each mission, Lu Yan was specially assigned to another team.

Sure enough, the two sides were not the same.

Lu Yan hadn’t slept very well the past few days. The village he was going to was more than 200 kilometres away from K City and the roads leading there weren’t very good. As a result, it would take at least three or four hours. He leaned back against the seat and couldn’t help but sink into a state of drowsiness.

Lin Sinan noticed this and said gently, “There is a blanket at the back. You can cover yourself with it and sleep. I’ll wake you when we get there.”

Lu Yan let out a low hum and slowly fell asleep.

When he woke up again, the sky was already dark.

Lu Yan was a little confused. He wanted to ask ‘Why have we not arrived yet’ but he suddenly became alert.

He smelled blood.

It was too quiet. More importantly, Lin Sinan wasn’t in the driver’s seat.

[You’re finally awake. Damn this, why did it have to come here…]

[I don’t have much time left. You must remember what I tell you—-]

Translated by KK Translates. If you’re reading it elsewhere, this translation was stolen. Don’t support epubs. Don’t support thieves

[You have encountered an A-Grade Pollutant called Dream Eater. This is both a dream and reality. What you see may not be true but it may not be false either. In short, if you die, you would really die in reality and become the Dream Eater’s food. I wonder what your soul tastes like? Unfortunately, I cannot do much in this illusory space because you are not the owner of this dream.]

[If it was just the Dream Eater, it wouldn’t be the case, but I didn’t expect that damn wall to also appear here. With these two together, it becomes a nightmarishly difficult instance. I thought we were going to a novice village, but I didn’t expect us to stumble upon a hidden instance.]

[Rescue is already on its way. The key to leaving this place is: Wake up the owner of this nightmare.]

[The only thing to be thankful for is that you are not a nameless female classmate in this dream…Alright, I can’t say anything else, it is about to discover my existence.]

The system went completely silent.

Lu Yan laid quietly in the back of the car. He didn’t hear anything unusual. A moment later, he fumbled around and took out his phone.

Using his hand to block the light, he checked his phone. It still had 90% battery left but there was no reception.

In the inbox, there was a message from Lin Sinan.

“You haven’t woken up yet so I stepped out to take a look. Something doesn’t seem quite right outside. Wait for me to return. No matter what, do not go out. Be careful.”

When Lu Yan was still working as a doctor, he discovered that the first patients to be discharged from the hospital were those who followed the doctor’s instructions.

So he stayed in the back of the car until dawn. In the second half of the night, there were occasionally roars and calls for help but Lu Yan remained unmoved.

After dawn, Lu Yan finally found the source of the bloody smell.

Lin Sinan was nailed to the rear window.

The body had been there all night, staring through the cold glass window with bloodshot eyes at the person inside. Several oversized maggots crawled out from his ears, onto the car window.

Lu Yan’s phone fell to the ground.

After a long pause, he slowly spoke, “Pupils are dilated and very turbid. There is a faint stench belonging to a corpse. Estimated time of death….36 to 48 hours ago.”

…..

…..

In the suburbs of K City, the area bordering W City.

A long length of the highway was blocked off. Countless traffic and highway patrol officers were at the front of the blockage, hard at work.

Staff from the Pollution Disease Centre had hurried over to the scene and were already assisting researchers in conducting pollution source analysis for the past twenty hours.

Many reporters raised the microphones in their hands:

—- “May I ask what grade the new pollution source in K City is? Will it be a threat to the lives of nearby residents?”

—- “Have there been any survivors in the past 48 hours, since the appearance of the fog?”

Behind the traffic officers was a thick mass of fog.

The greyish black fog surged non-stop, like the ruthless mouth of a Leviathan, swallowing everything in its path.

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