In the orphanage, there was a clear boundary between the director and Little One.

The front yard and classrooms were the director’s domain. He maintained the orphanage’s normalcy, protecting everyone’s sanity through the endless repetition of each day. The dormitory area and detention room were Little One’s territory, where it curled up in its private space, baring its fangs at the orphanage.

If it wasn’t in the detention room, then it had to be in the dormitory area.

The director couldn’t go any further. Perhaps the only reason he had made it this far was because Little One had deliberately allowed him in.

From here on, Shen Wang would have to proceed alone.

“Be careful,” the director finally reached out to touch Shen Wang’s hair. Because Shen Wang was now taller than him, the director had to stand on his tiptoes.

More than a decade had passed, and the child he remembered had grown into an adult who no longer needed his worry.

In his memory, Little Fifteen was still a child—black hair, black eyes, staring at him with a stubborn look in the detention room.

When no one played with him, he played by himself. When no one cared about him, he found ways to amuse himself. In his free time, he would go to the director’s office to listen to the old music tapes, humming along to the ancient, fading melodies. He had listened to every tape the director had saved.

He was like a big tree that could bloom, showing glimpses of the remarkable person he would become even as a child.

“Child, protect yourself, understand?”

Back then, he hadn’t just thrown Little Seven out the window. But in the end, apart from Little Seven, all the children he had thrown out came back crying. No one could escape the S-level pollution source. Little Seven had only managed to leave because he was an S-level mutant who could resist the pollution’s erosion.

So the director had picked up the children he had thrown out, one by one, each retrieval making him more heartbroken.

The director said, “I don’t want to see you in the orphanage.”

“I told you, it’s not that powerful,” Shen Wang replied softly. “I’ll leave here safely.”

The director nodded, smiling as he continued to watch Shen Wang, as if trying to etch Shen Wang’s image into his eyes.

“The director believes in you.”

He said, “You are the towering tree the director is proud of.”

A towering tree that grew strong without needing anyone’s support.

/

Shen Wang went alone to the orphanage’s dormitory area.

For Shen Wang, the dormitory area was far less familiar than the teaching area or the detention room. Compared to the dormitory, he preferred the director’s office, the director’s old, raspy radio, and the occasional appearance of Little Seven in the detention room.

He didn’t like the noisy children in the dormitory before bedtime.

Yes, even as a child, Shen Wang had hated noise.

Shen Wang was sensitive to sound and loved music. The director had once said, “If it weren’t for the apocalypse, Little Fifteen might have become a famous musician.”

Shen Wang sighed softly and entered the dormitory building. As soon as he stepped inside, faint sobbing reached his ears.

A child in uniform was crouched by the doorway, crying with his back to Shen Wang.

Shen Wang walked over and looked at the crying child.

Little Seven, still young, was crouched there, crying and pointing at the ground. Below was a sewage drain, covered by a steel plate with only a small gap. Shen Wang crouched beside him and looked down to see colorful candy wrappers floating in the filthy water.

The beautiful candies were scattered in the sewage, turned into garbage.

The black water completely buried the pretty candies, and the stench of the sewage seemed to mock something maliciously.

“Why are you crying?” Shen Wang said. “If the candy’s gone, you can save up more.”

“Even without candy, I wouldn’t be sad or hate you. The other child is happy because you’re crying.”

“He threw the candy away just to see you cry.”

But this wasn’t the real Little Seven. The thing was just maliciously replaying past events in front of Shen Wang.

So the little child kept crying, looking at the candy buried in the sewage, sad and helpless.

Shen Wang sighed and stood up. He didn’t pay any more attention to the crying child and turned to enter the dormitory area. Inside, the dormitory was empty, with over thirty small beds lined up in rows. Each bed had a child’s name on it, and the girls who loved pretty things had even drawn little flowers on theirs.

Shen Wang followed the numbers, looking for Little One’s bed. As he did, he noticed a trash can by the bed.

Inside the trash can was a broken umbrella.

Shen Wang’s steps halted. He stood still, silent, but a deep displeasure had already settled in his eyes.

This was the umbrella Little Fifteen had given to Little Seven.

On the bed, a doll suddenly appeared, its tattered form facing Shen Wang and the trash can.

“Why didn’t he notice?”

“I threw all his candy into the sewage, but the director gave him more, so throwing it away didn’t hurt him.”

“But I knew he loved this umbrella the most, so I found it and broke it, then threw it in the trash can by his bed. As soon as he came back, he would see it!”

“But why?! The director found it before he did. The director picked the broken umbrella out of the trash and hid it, then went out and bought a new one.”

“Why? Why?!”

The doll’s voice grew shrill. “He never treated me like that. He always liked the other children more!”

“I can’t stand seeing you all happy together!”

To this day, Zhou Xiangzhe didn’t know about this.

He cherished his memories of the orphanage, thinking of the umbrella Shen Wang had given him, believing it was still intact in the orphanage. He didn’t know that the umbrella had been broken by a jealous child and thrown into the trash, only for the director to find and hide it.

So Zhou Xiangzhe thought he still had the intact umbrella, not realizing that before he left the orphanage, all that remained were the broken umbrella ribs.

This was enough to make Shen Wang furious. He grabbed the doll. “You really disgust me.”

The doll let out a laugh, neither male nor female. “You’re angry, you’re angry! Hahaha! You’re finally angry!”

“I love seeing you sad and angry! Only then will you understand how much I’ve suffered!”

The doll shattered in Shen Wang’s hand, but immediately, a new doll rose from another bed.

“Do you know, Little Fifteen? I hate you the most. We were both outcasts, so why were you so popular?”

“Little Seven liked you. He would give you his candy. The director liked you. He would find all kinds of music tapes for you. Even the others liked you, though they were scared of your episodes. They even wanted to visit you in the hospital. Only me! Only I was the one who was abandoned!”

“And you! You abandoned me too!”

“Even though the director is also a monster, you only see me as the monster. Why?!”

Shen Wang shot the new doll, shattering it.

“Because there’s a standard for being a monster. Some people may look like monsters but still have human hearts. Not like you—you were a monster even when you were human.”

“Of course, you can’t compare to anyone.”

The doll screamed in rage, “I’m not a monster!”

The fragments disappeared into the ground, as if they had never existed. All the beds in the dormitory began to shake, creaking and groaning.

“It’s because of you all that I became a monster. But it’s fine. Becoming a monster gave me the power to take revenge.”

“I’ll make you all taste my despair and pain!”

Shen Wang laughed. His harmless appearance made the smile particularly striking, though it didn’t reach his eyes.

He was so unrestrained and free.

“You really think I can’t find where you are?”

“Of course you can’t,” the doll’s broken voice echoed in the air. “I’ve become eternal darkness. I’m talking to you, but I don’t exist. You’ll never find me.”

Shen Wang raised an eyebrow. “Eternal darkness?”

“Then I know exactly where you are.”

The bullet shattered the window and shot into the darkness outside. With a bang, something was hit.

Shen Wang had seen the surveillance footage from when the orphanage was swallowed. It had been a sudden surge of blackness, instantly burying the entire orphanage. So the darkness was everywhere, with only the orphanage brightly lit, as if the director was burning himself to keep the lights on.

Little One had been swallowed by the darkness in the detention room, so he had become the darkness.

Creak, creak.

A one-meter-tall doll clung to the window, staring at Shen Wang, a bullet embedded in its forehead. Unlike the previous dolls, this one was entirely black—black skin, black eyes, and black hair. It was like a monster of darkness, silently hiding in the shadows.

The doll’s black glass eyes were filled with hatred, but Shen Wang could still see the child’s face in its features.

It had always been there, lurking in the darkness outside the orphanage, resentfully watching Shen Wang grow up. It had followed him and the director to the detention room and then followed Shen Wang to the dormitory area.

Its gaze was what brought fear to everyone in the orphanage.

It had become the doll its mother had given it, just as it could never accept that its mother had abandoned it.

Pollutants were monsters of desire, of extreme emotions, of mental instability. The more pain they felt, the easier it was for them to be polluted.

“You found me, but so what?” the doll said, the bullet still lodged in its forehead. “Little Fifteen, you’ve grown up, but you’re still human. You can’t beat me.”

“I’ve waited over a decade, and now you’ve finally come back.”

“The orphanage isn’t complete. How can I let you all live peacefully outside?”

“Everyone, everyone must suffer with me.”

Shen Wang looked at it calmly. “You’re too arrogant.”

After the S-level pollution source erupted, the Pollution Control Center had immediately mobilized. They sent out everyone in the central city who could help to seal off the entire S-level pollution source, absolutely forbidding anything from entering or leaving. Even now, the second team of [Polaris] was stationed there to guard and control it.

So it had never left the orphanage, even though the pollution had now spread to the surrounding residential areas due to the expansion of the pollution source.

But it didn’t understand what an S-level mutant meant. It didn’t know that the current Little Seven could crush it like an ant.

“It hurts so much, I’m so lonely. Why are all of you so happy except me?” Black tears streamed down the doll’s face. “Everyone should suffer like me!”

Thud. The doll’s scream was cut off abruptly, its eyes wide with shock.

The bullet embedded in its forehead suddenly sprouted blood-red thorns. The thorns exploded outward, instantly piercing its plastic skull.

The little thorns curiously crawled all over the doll’s body.

‘Black?’

‘Wow! It’s charcoal!’

‘Is it tasty? Is it tasty? Should we eat it, master?’

‘That scary, sweet-smelling human isn’t here today?’

‘Bite it to death! Bite it to death now!’

“What is this?!” The black doll reached up to pull at the thorns on its forehead, but the little creatures were far smarter than it.

The thorns quickly scattered, spreading across the doll’s limbs. Sharp spikes pierced its body, riddling its plastic form with countless holes. The doll tore at the thorns, but they were buried too deep and too tight. Pulling at them only ripped off its skin.

Shen Wang walked over, gun in hand, his steps unhurried. He casually pushed open the half-shattered window and stepped onto the windowsill, looking down at the doll from above.

The doll looked up and met his eyes.

Little Fifteen’s black eyes were filled with mockery. He wasn’t smiling, but his expression was more scornful than any smile. It was like back in the orphanage, when he had been locked in the detention room, waiting for his episode to pass, yet still seeming to look down on everyone.

Why? A child who was inferior in every way, suffering from a terminal illness, yet still able to stand above others.

This shouldn’t be the case!

The black doll raised its hand, and a normal doll fell, shattering into pieces as it hit the ground.

“Why…” the doll glared at Shen Wang. “Why aren’t you affected?”

“Why don’t you think about why I’m still in a normal state even after coming here?” Shen Wang looked down at it. “Too bad. I can’t be polluted.”

“[The Dancing Doll] has mentally polluted thousands of people. That mental pollution is its weapon, but it’s useless against someone like me who can’t be polluted. Besides that, all you have left is your true form, hiding in the darkness.”

“You’re so weak, Little One,” Shen Wang said. “Even as a monster, you still can’t compare to me.”

“Shut up!” The doll screamed, struggling to break free from the thorns, only to be dragged back as soon as it managed to move.

The more it struggled, the tighter the thorns wrapped around it. Shen Wang’s black eyes began to glint with flecks of red.

Finally, he smiled. His voice was soft, but it carried an undeniable edge of mockery.

“Goodbye. I hope you don’t run into me in your next life.”

The doll let out a blood-curdling scream as the thorns wrapped around it, dragging it down. It finally realized the fear it should have felt from the beginning.

Pollutants had an instinctive awareness. They could sense other pollutants of a higher level and avoid confrontation with them. That’s why it had only fought with the director inside the orphanage, never daring to venture outside.

Because outside the orphanage were two terrifying A-level pollutants. Going out would be suicide.

But here, it felt a fear from Shen Wang that was no less than what it felt facing an A-level pollutant.

But why?! Wasn’t he human? Wasn’t he a worker from the Pollution Control Center?! Why did he inspire such intense fear?!

“No, please…” It finally panicked. “Little Fifteen, I was wrong. Please spare me!”

“Please! Aren’t we friends? Aren’t we family?”

“The director taught us to love each other! Little Fifteen! Let me go!”

“Shh.” Shen Wang made a ‘shh’ gesture with his finger.

His pupils finally filled with a deep crimson, and his hair strands turned white one by one, making him appear even more bizarre than the doll itself. An overwhelming aura of a high-level pollutant emanated from him.

“If you want to play the emotional card, go find Little Seven. It won’t work on me.”

The doll’s eyes widened in terror. “You’re a pollutant?!”

“Look at you, how could I be a pollutant? I’m a worker from the Pollution Control Center, not a monster like you.”

“L-Little Fifteen, please, spare me…”

Shen Wang smiled, but his eyes were cold. “The moment you broke the umbrella I gave to Little Seven, nothing you say matters anymore.”

“That was the umbrella I gave to Little Seven. Who gave you the right to break it?”

“Since you like breaking other people’s things so much, it must mean you enjoy being broken yourself. I’m just giving you what you want.”

“What the director didn’t have time to teach you, I’ll teach you now.”

The thorns tightly wrapped around the doll’s limbs, forcefully dragging it down. Beneath it, a blank sheet of paper appeared out of nowhere. The doll screamed, trying to escape, but it was forcibly pressed into the paper. The fragile body of the doll made a crushing sound as it was flattened.

The black doll was gone, leaving only a piece of paper on the ground.

The thorns rolled up the paper and handed it to Shen Wang. The obedient little things nuzzled against Shen Wang’s shoulder.

Shen Wang calmly looked at the paper in his hand.

“Remember in your next life: never touch other people’s things.”

The crimson in his eyes faded back into deep black, and his hair returned to its unremarkable dark color. Shen Wang casually tucked the thorns back into his sleeve.

He carelessly folded the paper and put it away, then jumped down from the windowsill. He pressed the communicator on his ear to make a routine report.

“B-level pollutant [The Dancing Doll] in Area 2 has been eliminated. Confirm as soon as possible whether the pollution spread has stopped.”

/

After finishing his report, Shen Wang let out a soft sigh. He left the dormitory area and headed back to the classroom area to find the director. He still believed Zhou Xiangzhe would come to the orphanage.

It was strange that Zhou Xiangzhe had arrived earlier but wasn’t in the orphanage. As Shen Wang had said, Zhou Xiangzhe was far more sentimental than he was.

Not to mention, Zhou Xiangzhe had come here intending to retrieve his umbrella.

Just then, Shen Wang paused and looked into the darkness. A colorful butterfly fluttered past his eyes.

The butterfly had large, beautiful wings that stood out vividly in the night. Shen Wang took out his phone and snapped a photo of the butterfly, only to realize that the photo showed nothing but darkness—there was no trace of the butterfly.

Shen Wang stood still, watching as the butterfly flew to the shattered glass he had broken earlier. It landed on a shard of glass, its wings fluttering faintly.

Just as Shen Wang was about to take a closer look, the butterfly suddenly melted. It turned into a puddle of water, dripping onto the glass shards. But in the next moment, a familiar creaking sound echoed.

The black doll slowly reformed in the darkness, twisting its body as it reached out toward Shen Wang.

“Come dance with me!”

Shen Wang took a step back, first confirming the presence of the painting in his hand. A strong pollutant aura emanated from it.

As someone highly sensitive to pollutants—to the point where they were his food—Shen Wang was certain that what he had captured was the pollutant’s true form.

So, if he had the pollutant in his hand, what was this in front of him?

The night gradually faded, revealing countless butterflies hidden in the darkness. The butterflies fluttered about, creating a mesmerizing scene under the dim light, but it was also deeply unsettling.

The S-level pollution source had erupted and swallowed all life. How could such a large number of butterflies still exist?

The doll began to spin, moving toward Shen Wang as it turned. Countless butterflies gathered together, forming the shape of a person. The butterflies flew up and down, and the figure began to spin and dance just like the doll.

They grew in number, flying in through the broken window and continuously forming more and more human shapes.

First children, then teachers, and finally the director…

The butterflies ran around the dormitory area like real people. Shen Wang frowned because he could hear voices.

The innocent laughter of children and the soft scolding of teachers.

“Stop playing around. It’s bedtime.”

“Everyone, go to sleep.”

“I don’t want to sleep! Little Fifteen, come play with me!”

“Teacher, I want some water.”

Shen Wang covered one ear with his hand, but the sounds didn’t diminish at all. It was as if the voices were echoing directly in his mind, so covering his ears had no effect.

The butterflies in front of him also began to blur, gradually transforming into familiar faces.

The orphanage children, dressed in their uniforms, reached out to him, smiling and inviting him.

“Hallucinations,” Shen Wang concluded. “The pollutant from Area 1 that caused thousands to die in their sleep.”

Shen Wang remained calm, waiting for these things to change. Since they had appeared before him, they wouldn’t just stand there doing nothing.

He watched as the black doll stepped closer, stopping less than a meter away from him. The doll’s outstretched hand was less than 20 centimeters away, its black nails coated with colorful powder.

It didn’t move any closer. Its glassy eyes reflected his figure.

Shen Wang slowly turned his head to the side. A hand gripped the doll’s arm, and the person it belonged to was someone Shen Wang knew all too well.

Lights flickered on one by one, illuminating the entire dormitory and all the butterflies. The bright light startled the butterflies, causing them to scatter, creating a flurry of butterfly rain.

The director stood under the light, looking up at the countless butterflies falling like rain.

The doll also melted under the director’s hand, the butterflies falling to the ground like autumn leaves.

“Director?”

The director turned to Shen Wang, his expression as gentle as ever.

“Little Fifteen, there’s something I forgot to tell you.”

“Actually, we didn’t let Little Seven in.”

“Little Seven stood at the orphanage gate for a long time. He wanted to come in and see, but we wouldn’t allow it. We drove him away. Because compared to Little Fifteen, who stayed in the hospital, we all knew that we were the ones who pushed Little Seven out of the orphanage in the end.”

“In the end, he left disappointed.”

Yes, how could Zhou Xiangzhe return here and not come to the orphanage? The only reason he wasn’t in the orphanage was because everyone had refused to let him in.

The director had thrown out several children, but only Little Seven had managed to escape.

They didn’t remember anything, but deep down, they stubbornly knew he couldn’t come back.

The director pointed in a direction. “If you want to find him, you’ll have to go that way.”

The lights on the ceiling flickered. With a crack, the innermost light tube burst, and countless butterflies landed on the shattered fixture, as if all staring at the director.

“Go quickly.”

“The director is very happy to see you again. There’s no moment happier than this.”

But more than longing, the director hoped they could live well.

Never return to this home that has already been swallowed by pollution.

---

me now