It is not uncommon for patients to escape from the Pollution Control Center.
But it was a rare thing that the pollutant who escaped was actually dealt with by a survivor from a nearby isolation room. This was quite an extraordinary occurrence.
In any case, after this incident, almost all doctors in the Containment Center believed that Shen Wang was a mutant. Only a mutated person would be able to handle a highly polluted creature so easily.
“So what talent did he awaken?” Zhou Xiangzhe asked.
A white-haired old man was accompanying Zhou Xiangzhe. After hearing his questions, the old man played a surveillance video for him.
“We carefully studied the surveillance footage of the incident. When we slowed down the video, we found that the pollutant had a clear pause when facing Shen Wang, and also here.”
The old man pointed at the pollutant in the picture and said, “Rather than an attack, this is more like a defense. From this, we can tell that Shen Wang must have awakened the ability B-031 [Fear Intimidation].”
“This is a very interesting ability. After awakening, people who are hostile to the user will mistakenly think that the other party is what they fear the most.”
“Enemies affected by the ability will have a 50% chance to hesitate, a 30% chance to flee, and a 20% chance to fight back.”
“Apparently the pollutant is in the hesitant category.”
Zhou Xiangzhe raised his eyebrows slightly, “In other words: his awakened ability has nothing to do with him strangling the pollutant to death?”
“Yes.” The old man nodded seriously. “This only shows that he is very brave and strong. The moment the pollutant hesitated, he grabbed the snakeโs vital spot and literally strangled it to death. A normal person wouldnโt have the courage to do that.”
They walked to the Shelter, where a woman in a blue protective suit was recording data.
“Sun Ying.” The old man called her.
“Teacher!” Sun Ying responded quickly.
“Mr. Shen’s pollution level has returned to 51%, and is showing a downward trend.” Sun Ying looked at the data and replied, “We generally believe that his high pollution level is due to his talent. Using his talent will increase his pollution level for a short period of time. As long as he stops using his ability, the pollution level will slowly return to normal levels.”
“It seems that the reason he was able to survive is that he continued to use his abilities in a highly polluted area, causing pollutants to be afraid to approach him. It was also for this reason that when he was first isolated the pollution level was as high as 88%. In isolation, he no longer needed to use his abilities, and the pollution level returned to its original state.” The old man concluded.
This is a good thing.
Because there are too few mutated individuals who can fight against pollutants.
Thinking of this, the old man silently sighed in his heart.
Thirty years ago, a bloody-red fog covered the entire world. It lasted for three days and three nights. When the fog dissipated, the world looked completely different.
Inexplicable pollution sources, pollutants produced by pollution sources, humans killed by pollutants… It can be said that 70% of human beings died at the beginning of the end of the world.
Mutated individuals, also known as “gifted ones,” are a group of people who, despite being contaminated, did not mutate into pollutants. Instead, they awakened special abilities. Their numbers are extremely small, and they are on the front lines fighting against the pollutants.
But mutated individuals are not omnipotent. They have a higher pollution level than normal humans, and whenever they use their innate abilities, their pollution level will increase. Once their pollution level exceeds 100%, the mutated individual will immediately turn into a pollutant, with almost no exceptions.
This is exactly like the relationship between the magical girl and the witch in Puella Magi Madoka Magica1, but in this era, they have no choice but to fight.
Because if they don’t fight, the remaining humans will die even faster.
“What do you plan to do with him?” Zhou Xiangzhe asked.
“Since it’s already confirmed that there’s no problem, of course, of course we will let him leave the shelter according to the regulations.”
The old man answered with a smiling face, “Because he’s a mutated individual, the Pollution Control Center will arrange accommodation for him. According to the regulations of Central City, all mutated individuals living in Central City must join the Pollution Control Center. After a three-day adjustment period, he will report to the center.”
“Captain Zhou, are you interested in him?2“
Zhou Xiangzhe paused for a moment, neither denying nor admitting it.
He recalled Shen Wang’s smile and said in a somewhat subtle tone: “I just feel like he is not a good-tempered person.”
“That’s normal.” The old man said nonchalantly. “There aren’t many โnormalโ people among mutated individuals. More than half of them are mental issues. The psychological counseling rooms are all occupied by mutated individuals.”
Zhou Xiangzhe thought: This is different.
Those mutated individuals with mental problems had their pollution levels so high that it affected their mental state, which was why they had to go mad and were forced to visit the counseling rooms to stabilize their mental abnormalities.
But Shen Wang was different. It wasn’t like the high pollution had caused problems with his brain, so he didn’t just strangle a pollutant to death. It was more like he had a bad temper to begin with, so he strangled a pollutant to death like a child strangling an ant.
His purpose wasnโt to vent his emotions at all.
……
After a moment, Shen Wang, who had been deemed to have a problematic personality, was finally released from the small containment room after seven days.
The Pollution Control Center gave him a key, told him that it was for his assigned accommodation, and then left in a hurry. It was said that this was because the Special Operations Team had returned from their mission, bringing back a large number of survivors and distorted individuals who still had self-awareness, which made their already busy work even busier.
Shen Wang didn’t like to ask too many questions, so he took the key and left the Containment Center.
Life in the containment room was incredibly boring. All he could see were ugly distorted people. Some of them still had human-like thinking, while others had been completely polluted. Shen Wang was extremely unlucky, as there were no people with normal thinking around him.
Fortunately, Shen Wang had been a patient before, so he had long been accustomed to the boring days in the ward. Thatโs why he managed to endure the seven days.
Walking out of the containment centerโs gate, Shen Wang felt the wind blowing on his body, carrying a cold scent. It was spring, and the temperature was still a bit low, but plants had already begun to slowly break through the soil, emerging with a hint of tender green. Shen Wang stretched lazily, trying to hail a taxi.
Of course, he couldn’t catch one. This is the Containment Centerโhow could a taxi dare to come here?
Does he have to walk to a place where he could get a taxi?
Just as Shen Wang was checking the map to determine how long it would take to walk, a voice suddenly sounded in his ears.
“Where are you going?”
Shen Wang turned his head and happened to make eye contact with the person who had just walked out of the Containment Center.
The man was dressed in a pitch-black combat uniform, with a stern face and a murderous aura3 that had not yet subsided. He looked cold and aloof, but the most eye-catching thing was not his aura, but his appearance. He had long silver hair, casually draped over his shoulders, and his eyes were a non-human golden color.
A normal person wouldn’t have such a strange appearance, his appearance resembled more that of a pollutant.
This is also the reason why Shen Wang was willing to talk to Zhou Xiangzhe when he was in the Containment Center.
He’s a human but his appearance is not human. He’s not a monster with deformity, but he has white hair, golden eyes, delicate like a fairy โ It’s just weird in the way that it’s likable.
People are always more forgiving towards beautiful individuals, and Shen Wang is no exception.
So Shen Wang shook the key and said, “I’m going to the assigned accommodation.”
Unlike when he was in the containment room, he now seemed casual and comfortable. The deliberate sense of harmlessness and the resulting weirdness were all gone, making him look extremely refreshing, in stark contrast to when he strangled the pollutant.
Even Zhou Xiangzhe looked at him with some surprise.
They stared at each other for two seconds, and Zhou Xiangzhe was the first to look away. He said, “Get in the car. I’ll take you there.”
Shen Wang raised his eyebrows in surprise.
Today, the Special Operations Team against pollutants returned and sent a group of survivors to the Center. Judging from his clothes and his attitude towards the Center, it is not difficult to guess that he should be a member of the Special Operations Team, and it is even very likely that he is the team leader Zhou Xiangzhe.
A rare S-class mutant, the guardian of Central City, and the uncrowned king who has killed countless S-class pollutants.
He actually went out of his way to send an unrelated person like me to the accommodation?
Are you so free?
“Captain Zhou, won’t this waste your time?” Shen Wang did not refuse but did not agree either, so asked back.
“Since you know you’re going to waste my time, don’t waste it with me. You can’t get a taxi here. If you walk to a place where you can get a taxi, it will take at least three hours.”
Zhou Xiangzhe’s voice was rather cold, even when he was speaking normally there was a hint of chill in it, as if he really cared about every wasted second.
Compared to walking for three hours, it is certainly more comfortable to sit in the car for half an hour. Shen Wang no longer hesitated and followed Zhou Xiangzhe into the car.
It was a very ordinary-looking car, all black, and it was completely inconspicuous in the traffic.
After getting in the car, Shen Wang discovered that there was another person in the driver’s seat. That person was wearing a combat uniform like Zhou Xiangzhe, with a silver badge hanging on his chest. On the badge was the special operations team’s logo [Polaris]4. When Shen Wang saw this logo, he became completely sure of their identities.
“Who is this?” The man looked at Shen Wang curiously, “Are you recruiting a new member?”
“No.” Zhou Xiangzhe denied, “Go to Jiujiang Community, D Street, South City.”
The man raised his eyebrows in confusion, but in the end he said nothing. He started the car and drove towards the place Zhou Xiangzhe mentioned.
Shen Wang looked at Zhou Xiangzhe, “How did Captain Zhou know my address?”
“Your attending physician gave it to me.” Zhou Xiangzhe replied, “He seemed to think that I would recruit you, so he gave me the address directly to make it easier to find you.”
Shen Wang: ?
What an unethical doctor who doesn’t respect the privacy of his patients.
“Are you suffering from a genetic disease?” Zhou Xiangzhe suddenly asked.
Shen Wang looked at Zhou Xiangzhe in surprise, and then asked, “The Containment Center can even find out this?”
After the end of the world, not only did the world’s population drop by 70%, but it also brought a strange new genetic disease. Unlike pollution diseases, this new genetic disease only exists in children born in the doomsday era. Even if the parents are normal people, they have the probability of giving birth to a child with a new genetic disease.
Shen Wang was a child who suffered from a rare congenital genetic disease. The place he is most familiar with since childhood is the hospital ward.
“Iโm a former genetic disease patient. I’m cured now.”
Zhou Xiangzhe nodded, “Congratulations.”
The ‘congratulations’ sounded surprisingly sincere in his cold tone.
Shen Wang nodded strangely, “Thank you.”
The young man driving the car quietly pricked up his ears in the driver’s seat, trying to listen to some gossip while driving.
Zhou Xiangzhe is a person with a strong sense of security and is a bit of a germaphobe in private. He has never seen Zhou Xiangzhe bring a stranger into this car. There must be some relationship between these two people, right?
Unfortunately, Zhou Xiangzhe didn’t say another word to Shen Wang until the car arrived at the designated location and Shen Wang got out.
Looking at Shen Wang’s leaving back, the young man asked curiously, “I say, who is he?”
“No one.” Zhou Xiangzhe watched Shen Wang walk into the gate of the community, and only withdrew his gaze when he could no longer see his figure. “You will have a week off starting today. Remember to collect your bonus.”
The young man uttered a sigh.
What’s wrong with listening to some gossip? Why are you changing the subject?
โฆ…
At night, the Pollution Control Center is still brightly lit. This is the department that fights against pollutants, so there are people on duty 24 hours a day.
Zhou Xiangzhe also has a week’s vacation, but as the Guardian of Central City, he may not be able to rest even if he has the vacation, because there are too many problems that only he can deal with.
The dormitory was too clean. There was no obstructing clutter at first glance. It was cold and tidy.
Zhou Xiangzhe sat on the chair. He was silent for a while, then opened the drawer on the left and took out two newspapers from the drawer.
The newspaper had turned yellow and the edges were a little damaged. The traces of time were engraved on the paper, forming a sharp contrast with the tidy room.
Zhou Xiangzhe carefully placed his hand on the blurred picture in the center of the first newspaper. It was a group photo. There were several adults and dozens of children lined up in the photo. The children and adults in the picture were smiling, and the people who saw it felt warm in their hearts.
But unlike the warmth of the picture, the title of the newspaper was more terrifying than imagined.
“S-level pollution source broke out in Galaxy Orphanage, all teachers and students were trapped and missing, the number of survivors is 2! “
After the outbreak of the doomsday, the number and survival of orphans became a problem, so orphanages were built in various regions, and Galaxy Orphanage was one of them.
But Galaxy Orphanage was unfortunate because it was built on an undiscovered S-level pollution source. The sudden outbreak of the pollution source transformed the entire orphanage into a forbidden area, and there were only two survivors in this sudden incident.
The first was a boy thrown out of the window by the director of the orphanage, now called: Zhou Xiangzhe.
The other was a child with a congenital genetic disease. When the incident broke out, he happened to be in the hospital for treatment. After being adopted, he was renamed: Shen Wang.
After reading this newspaper, Zhou Xiangzhe read another newspaper. The newspaper was about another accident. Compared with the long-ago orphanage incident, this accident happened three years ago.
The newspaper was accompanied by a picture of a burning ruin.
“Yidu Central Hospital Encountered a High-Level Pollutant Attack!”
This was the hospital where Shen Wang had been treated, which Zhou Xiangzhe later found out. Unfortunately, when he found out, the hospital was already damaged by a high-level pollutant attack, and countless patients and medical staff were killed and injured. Shen Wang also disappeared in this incident, and Zhou Xiangzhe could only think that he was dead.
I didn’t expect to meet him hereโฆ
Zhou Xiangzhe recognized Shen Wang the first time he saw him.
“He didn’t recognize me.” Zhou Xiangzhe whispered softly. He stared at the photo in the newspaper, with a little regret in his golden eyes.
“But that’s normal.” Zhou Xiangzhe lowered his eyes, “My appearance has changed too much now, I don’t look like a human anymore.”
“…It’s normal that he can’t recognize me.”
- Puella Magi Madoka Magica: I haven’t watched the anime but it shows that the life of a magical girl is a tragic cycle. They start as hopeful girls with powers, but as they fight witches and suffer emotional pain, they eventually become witches themselves. โฉ๏ธ
- ็ไธญ (kร n zhรฒng): “Interested in” or “Set one’s sights on” โฉ๏ธ
- ๅจ่บซๅธฆ็่ฟๆชๅนณๆฏ็็ ๆฐ (zhลu shฤn dร i zhe hรกi wรจi pรญng xฤซ de shร qรฌ): surrounded by unresolved killing intent โฉ๏ธ
- Polaris = North Star โฉ๏ธ
Translator: is it better Mutants or Mutated individuals? I put the latter beacuse it sounds more human, when i read mutants i always end up thinking of ninja turtles lol (in chinese it’s ๅผๅ่ yรฌ biร n zhฤ)
Leave a Reply