The old swing creaked and groaned, its sound broken and unpleasant, but the child still happily swung himself higher and higher.

Shen Wang stood in place, watching the little boy on the swing, trying to recall who this child was.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have Zhou Xiangzhe’s memory. Over a decade had passed, and he had long forgotten the faces of the children from back then.

The boy on the swing noticed him and stopped, looking at Shen Wang curiously.

“Who are you?” the boy asked.

“It’s so dark here. Why are you alone?” Shen Wang countered. “Where’s your teacher? I need to ask them how they’re watching over you.”

“Ah! Don’t tell on me, don’t tell on me!” The boy immediately rushed over and grabbed Shen Wang’s sleeve, showing no sense of caution. “I’m sorry! I’ll never sneak out to play alone again!”

The child rambled on, his words jumbled and incoherent.

He said he had sneaked out while the teachers were preparing dinner. Since everyone was busy with dinner, no one was lining up for the swing, so he could play on it for a long time. Then he planned to sneak back in during dinner so the teachers wouldn’t notice. He thought he was being very clever.

Hearing this, Shen Wang finally remembered who he was.

Little Twenty-One, the most mischievous child in the orphanage.

When the swing was first installed, he had loved it and wanted to play on it all the time. But the teachers at the orphanage kept a close eye on him and wouldn’t let him monopolize it. So he would sneak out during mealtime, play on the swing alone for the entire duration, and then sneak back in to eat.

The director had caught him several times and even made him apologize and read a self-criticism in front of all the teachers, but it never changed his behavior.

“Since you’ve said that, I believe you,” Shen Wang said, looking at him. “But it’s dangerous for you to be here alone. I need to take you home.”

Little Twenty-One clutched Shen Wang’s sleeve, looking at him with gratitude. “Big brother, you’re so nice!”

Shen Wang thought: Now you think I’m nice.

Back then, you were terrified of me. A little tyrant like you would run away at the sight of me, too scared to even say a word.

Come to think of it, all the children in the orphanage except Little Seven were afraid of him. When he had his episodes, he was terrifying, and the children even secretly believed he was possessed by a monster. Only Little Seven had stayed by his side for no reason, never leaving even during his episodes.

Of course, Little Twenty-One couldn’t sense Shen Wang’s thoughts now. Children’s emotions shifted quickly—sad one moment, happy the next. In an instant, he was bouncing around cheerfully, holding Shen Wang’s hand as they walked forward.

The path ahead was dark, but Little Twenty-One navigated it smoothly. After about three minutes, Shen Wang saw a familiar gate.

The orphanage looked exactly as he remembered it, though time had left its mark, making it appear more worn and dilapidated. Every brick and tile bore the traces of the years, and even one of the lights at the entrance was broken. This was to be expected—even though it had been swallowed by the pollution source, the orphanage had still endured over a decade.

At this moment, Shen Wang finally confirmed: he had entered the S-level pollution source. The river had flowed all the way from within the pollution source.

Shen Wang pressed his communicator, not caring whether the message could still get through.

“The river in Area 3 is connected to the S-level pollution source. I have entered the S-level pollution source. No physical abnormalities, mental state stable.”

“What an unusual trip down memory lane.”

Little Twenty-One let go of his hand and rushed forward.

“Teacher!”

In the darkness, a faint light glowed like a firefly. Two female teachers stood at the entrance, anxiously waiting.

When Little Twenty-One rushed over, they quickly picked him up.

“Where did you run off to? The teachers were so worried!”

“I went to play on the swing,” Little Twenty-One said timidly, knowing he was in the wrong. “That big brother brought me back.”

The teachers then looked at Shen Wang standing at the gate and thanked him profusely.

Both Little Twenty-One and the teachers had been swallowed by the pollution source over a decade ago, yet they remained exactly as they were, their thoughts unchanged. It was truly a miraculous phenomenon.

In truth, Shen Wang had been prepared to see a group of grotesquely mutated monsters.

“No need to thank me,” Shen Wang said. “Can I come in and take a look?”

The teachers hesitated, exchanging glances before replying, “Sir, I’m sorry, but visits to the orphanage require prior approval. You can’t just come in.”

“Can’t you make an exception? I used to live here as a child. Seeing it again feels so familiar.”

The teachers shook their heads, looking at Shen Wang as if he were a misbehaving child.

“Sir, I’m sorry, but you really shouldn’t be here. Please leave.”

Shen Wang said earnestly, “Please reconsider. I really feel a deep connection to this place. I truly want to see it again.”

The two teachers, holding Little Twenty-One, looked at Shen Wang. After a few seconds of silence, one of them sighed and said, “I’ll go ask the director. Please wait here, sir.”

With that, she carried Little Twenty-One into the orphanage, leaving the other teacher at the gate.

The remaining teacher stood at the entrance, her expression gentle as always. She was still young, her clothes neat and clean. She kept her eyes on Shen Wang, her dark eyes reflecting his image.

Shen Wang met her gaze.

“Why are you staring at me?”

“I’m sorry,” the teacher said, lowering her head. “It’s just that you remind me of someone I used to know. I couldn’t help but look.”

“But sir, you should really go back. This isn’t a good place.”

“Leave. Since you’ve already left, don’t come back.”

At that moment, the teacher who had left earlier poked her head out and called the other teacher inside, saying she needed to discuss something.

After the two teachers left, Shen Wang felt a small force bump into him.

He looked down and crouched to see Little Twenty-One clinging to him, his lips pursed.

“Did you get scolded?”

“Yeah!” Little Twenty-One nodded vigorously. “I just wanted to play on the swing because I never get a turn!”

“When you grow up, you can build your own swing,” Shen Wang said.

Little Twenty-One looked at Shen Wang for a moment, then lowered his head, pouting at the ground. After a while, he spoke.

“You should go.”

“Huh?”

“Go that way,” Little Twenty-One pointed in a direction. “The teacher said there’s a way out over there. If you go that way, you can go home.”

“Don’t come back here. Go, just go!”

He started crying. “You can’t come in. Go, go!”

Shen Wang sighed. He picked up Little Twenty-One. The boy had always been smaller than him, and now he seemed even tinier, almost weightless in Shen Wang’s arms.

“If I could leave, do you think I’d still be here?”

“Kid, I’m trapped here.”

Little Twenty-One continued to cry until someone took him from Shen Wang’s arms.

“Don’t cry,” a man’s voice comforted him. “The teacher scolded you because she was worried about your safety. It’s dangerous outside.”

Little Twenty-One buried his face in the man’s chest.

The man gently patted his back, then looked up at Shen Wang. “Are you the gentleman who wanted to visit the orphanage? Hello, I’m the director of this orphanage.”

When Shen Wang was a child, the director had seemed like a towering mountain—an insurmountable figure who often locked him in the detention room. Now, looking at him, Shen Wang realized the man wasn’t as tall as he remembered. In fact, he was shorter than Shen Wang now. A man in his thirties, wearing a pair of old, worn-out glasses and clothes that had been washed to the point of fading.

He carried Little Twenty-One and led Shen Wang into the orphanage. Along the way, Little Twenty-One continued to sniffle and cry, but the director wasn’t in a hurry. He softly comforted the child while introducing the orphanage to Shen Wang.

“Galaxy Orphanage was one of the first orphanages established after Central City built its high walls. It’s been five years now. We’ve taken in 38 children and have four teachers, plus me, making five staff members.”

“Five years?”

“Yes, five years.”

Shen Wang looked around at the surroundings. “Why does it feel like the damage here suggests it’s been longer than five years?”

The director glanced at Shen Wang, his dark eyes filled with a hint of helplessness.

“Sir, I feel like we’ve met before.”

“If you’ll trust me, don’t stay here any longer. Go home as soon as possible. This place might be dangerous.”

Shen Wang looked at him curiously. “Why do you all keep telling me to go home? You’re all living here just fine, aren’t you?”

The director fell silent again. He continued to comfort the child in his arms, and after a long pause, he spoke.

“We don’t know either. It’s just a feeling that this place isn’t a safe home anymore,” the director said with a sigh. “I don’t know when this thought started, or why it came to be. Maybe it was when we realized Little Seven and Little Fifteen had disappeared from the orphanage.”

“After they went missing, we all felt a deep sense of unease. Both the teachers and the children were terrified. We searched for a long time but couldn’t find them.”

“Sir, you should go home. I remember the way out is over there.”

“Go back.”

They didn’t know why, but Shen Wang did.

When a high-level pollution source consumes humans, aside from turning them into pollutants or mutants, it can also create a specific phenomenon known as the [Ghost Phenomenon] by the Pollution Control Center.

They linger like ghosts in the place where they died, maintaining the appearance they had at the time of their death, forgetting that they have already passed away. They retain only the memories of their final day, going about their daily routines while spreading pollution, triggering more intense ghostly phenomena.

The most severe [Ghost Phenomenon] occurred in the Third Pollution Site, where mutants who entered observed a massive ghostly city.

The people in the orphanage were the same—they had forgotten they were already dead, endlessly repeating that day, yet subconsciously sensing something was wrong. They wanted to send Shen Wang, who had wandered in, back to safety, unaware that Shen Wang’s ability to enter this place meant he couldn’t leave so easily anymore.

Shen Wang sighed softly and pressed the communicator on his ear to continue reporting.

“Observed [Ghost Phenomenon]. Location: Galaxy Orphanage.”

The director heard the sound and looked at Shen Wang.

He set Little Twenty-One down and told him to go eat dinner. Little Twenty-One wiped the tears from his face and ran off.

Now, only the director and Shen Wang remained.

When the surroundings fell completely silent, the director asked, “The Pollution Control Center?”

“Is that the uniform of the Pollution Control Center you’re wearing?”

“Yes. Hello, I’m Shen Wang from the dispatch team [Polaris],” Shen Wang introduced himself. “I’m here to investigate the pollution incident.”

“[Polaris]?” The director pondered for a few seconds before saying, “I think someone claiming to be from [Polaris] came here before, but I can’t remember who it was.”

“That might have been my captain. He arrived before me,” Shen Wang replied calmly. “So, Director, aside from everyone in the orphanage feeling an inexplicable sense of fear, have there been any other abnormalities?”

The director of the orphanage had also once been part of the Pollution Control Center. Back then, all personnel working in centralized facilities had to have experience in the Pollution Control Center. The world was still very dangerous at the time, and those in charge had to be well-versed in all pollution prevention measures and hold professional certifications from the Pollution Control Center.

Therefore, the director immediately understood that there might be a pollution incident within the orphanage, and he hadn’t noticed it.

But more than that, he wanted to ask something else. “Do the children in the orphanage need to be evacuated? Two children from the orphanage have gone missing. Can you help find them? Could it be related to this incident?”

Shen Wang shook his head. “The orphanage doesn’t need to be evacuated. Just tell me if there’s anything strange happening.”

The director and Shen Wang locked eyes for a few seconds before the director looked away.

“There shouldn’t be anything strange, or maybe I just haven’t noticed. The children are all the same as before, but the phone lines are down, and the lady who usually delivers groceries didn’t come today.”

“If she doesn’t come soon, the children won’t have any vegetables to eat tomorrow.”

Shen Wang nodded. “I understand. I’ll report this to the Pollution Control Center now. Goodbye.”

As Shen Wang turned to leave, the director, for some reason, suddenly called out to him.

“Sir,” the director said, taking off his glasses and looking at Shen Wang. “I really feel like I’ve met you before. This feeling keeps bothering me. Have we met at the Pollution Control Center?”

Shen Wang stopped in his tracks and turned to face the director.

“Feel like you’ve met me before?”

“Do you think… I might resemble someone you once locked in a detention room?”

The director was stunned.

The director was genuinely stunned. He stared at Shen Wang, his dark eyes filled with confusion. But within seconds, his eyes reddened.

He had taken off his glasses, so there was nothing left to shield his emotions. The dim light of the orphanage illuminated his reddened eyes and the intense emotions swirling within them. He might not have realized it himself, but tears began to fall almost instantly.

However, after a moment, the lights in the orphanage flickered. The director, his eyes still red, suddenly turned to look behind him.

It was as if he had sensed something. He shouted at Shen Wang, “Get out of here! Now!”

“Hurry!”

“It’s coming!”

“It?”

The director quickly pulled open a nearby window and forcefully pushed Shen Wang out. “Go!”

Shen Wang stumbled out of the window, landing outside the orphanage. He stood there, looking back through the window. Behind the director, a strange light flickered, like the fluttering wings of some bizarre creature. Shen Wang vaguely felt that it resembled the firefly-sized light at the orphanage’s entrance.

“What?”

“Don’t come back,” Shen Wang saw the director mouth the words. “Little Fifteen.”

Ding-dong.

A strange bell tolled in the distance. Shen Wang turned to look into the darkness and saw a massive tower standing behind the orphanage. The tower was adorned with decorations that resembled both butterflies and moths. At the top hung a clock, which now showed 9 PM.

Dong, dong, dong. The clock chimed three times.

The lights in the orphanage instantly went out, and darkness quickly swallowed everyone inside, leaving only an empty building behind.

The world fell into a deathly silence.

Shen Wang stepped away from the orphanage and looked at the distant lighthouse.

Everything around him was dark, except for the lighthouse, which shone brightly, as if guiding those lost in the darkness.

Before coming here, Shen Wang had accessed a lot of information about this S-level pollution source, including some classified files that even ordinary mutants wouldn’t know about.

Back when the S-level pollution source first erupted, there had been signs. The orphanage director had observed a strange lighthouse at night, which became particularly noticeable after the orphanage’s lights went out. He had reported this to the Pollution Control Center, but before they could investigate, the pollution source had erupted.

Afterward, the Pollution Control Center conducted observations and investigations from outside the pollution source and confirmed the existence of a lighthouse within it.

Since then, the [Lighthouse] had become the symbol of this S-level pollution source.

“Where did Zhou Xiangzhe go?” Shen Wang muttered as he stared at the lighthouse. “If he came in, he would definitely have gone to the orphanage first.”

“The director also said someone from [Polaris] had come, but he’s not here.”

“Did he go to the lighthouse?”

Before Shen Wang could head toward the lighthouse, a strange laughter reached his ears.

Shen Wang turned to look through the orphanage window.

Inside, a doll was dancing, separated from him by a pane of glass. It spun around, laughing, its mouth stretching wider and wider, its glass eyes fixed on Shen Wang.

“Hehe, big brother, come dance with me.”

Unlike the one he had encountered on the stone bridge, this one spoke in a child’s voice, filled with static, like an old radio.

Shen Wang narrowed his eyes.

“Big brother, I’m so lonely. Come play with me,” the doll said in a mechanical voice as it spun. “It’s so dark and cold here. There’s nothing. Come keep me company.”

“You’re my only friend.”

“Mom abandoned me. Everyone abandoned me. You’re all I have left.”

“It’s so fun here. Come play with me.”

The pollution in Area 2 had been temporarily named [The Dancing Doll]. 

The second team had a considerable understanding of this S-level pollution source. They had previously compiled a list of victims, so when the pollution began to expand this time, they immediately tried to locate the source of the pollution in these three areas.

In Qiang Li’an’s view, the doll had characteristics unique to children’s toys and was accompanied by intense mental pollution, manifesting as extreme despair and pain.

Therefore, the pollutant in Area 2 was likely a parent or a child.

Given that the S-level pollutant had swallowed an orphanage, they leaned toward the idea that it was a child—a child who had been abandoned by the orphanage.

Shen Wang couldn’t guess who it might be. The orphanage had all kinds of children, and in the early days of the apocalypse, anything could have happened. Moreover, the director of Galaxy Orphanage had a policy of not disclosing information about the children to outsiders, to prevent any psychological impact on them.

The window was locked from the inside, but such a simple lock couldn’t stop Shen Wang.

Shen Wang broke the window latch, climbed into the orphanage, and shot the doll.

The shattered doll continued to laugh as it disappeared from Shen Wang’s sight. At the end of the hallway, an intact doll began to dance again.

It spun around, emitting a high-pitched, grating voice that was neither male nor female.

“Mom said she’d come get me if I waited here.”

“Mom didn’t lie to me! Mom wouldn’t lie to me!”

“Mom would never abandon me!”

Shen Wang released the safety on his gun and walked forward, step by step.

“Don’t say I’m bullying a child,” Shen Wang said expressionlessly. “If we’re talking actual age, I’m probably about the same as you.”

“We used to live in the same home. Don’t make this hard for me.”

Shen Wang wasn’t like Zhou Xiangzhe. He didn’t have that much attachment to Galaxy Orphanage. At most, he thought about Little Seven. All his feelings for the orphanage were tied to Little Seven. Maybe the director counted for a little, but it was nothing compared to Little Seven.

So he had no problem pointing a gun at the doll, without thinking about who the doll might really be or why it had mutated into a pollutant.

The spinning doll continued to laugh, disappearing and reappearing in different spots. Shen Wang aimed several times but realized the thing was too elusive to hit.

A vine sprouted from his wrist, and at that moment, the doll jumped into a doorway. Light spilled through the doorframe.

Shen Wang kicked the door open, and the light flooded over him. He instinctively closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he saw an entire bookshelf. Someone stepped out from behind it, having heard the door open.

“What’s going on?” the person asked, looking toward the door.

Shen Wang immediately raised his gun, startling the person, who quickly raised their hands.

He wore round glasses and a faded shirt, looking at Shen Wang’s gun with a mix of fear and confusion, as if he couldn’t believe a young man with a gun had appeared in his office.

The director?

Shen Wang turned to look at the clock on the office wall. It clearly showed 8 AM.

“Who… who are you?!” the director demanded. “How did you get into the orphanage?!”

“What do you want?!”

Before Shen Wang could explain, the door behind him, which had somehow closed, was suddenly pushed open. A teacher rushed in, panting.

“Director, it’s terrible! Little Seven and Little Fifteen are missing!”

“What?!” The director’s fear was replaced by urgency. He lowered his hands and asked, “Did you check the swing? What about the small lawn behind the building? They love playing there.”

“We’ve checked everywhere! They’re not there!”

“How could they just disappear?!” The director started to leave, but another teacher burst in.

“Director, it’s terrible!”

The director took a sharp breath. “What now?!”

“The window in the hallway is broken! The latch and glass are shattered everywhere! And there are bullet casings!”

The director froze, then seemed to remember something. He turned to look at Shen Wang, then at the gun in his hand, and finally understood.

“Call the police!” The director stepped in front of the two teachers, shielding them from Shen Wang. 

“You two, get out of here! Take the children and run! There’s a child trafficker with a dangerous weapon here!”

Shen Wang: “…”

Damn it!

The facts prove it: when someone is unlucky enough, they can even end up trafficking themselves!

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I noticed yesterday that there are inconsistencies between names and some terms in earlier chapters and they will be edited in these days, for example