Though the house was already clean and the frog-man's bones neatly packed in a jar of pickles, Lu Yan, finding himself with nothing to do, began cleaning again.
The system sighed incessantly in his ear: "[Expletive]. Why. Why did you flush the mashed frog meat down the drain? Do you have any idea how hard it is to find fresh meat now? Wasteful fool."
It was clear that either frog meat was truly delicious, or the system desperately wanted Lu Yan to consume it, given its repetition.
Lu Yan sneered, "Ha."
While tidying near the TV cabinet, he accidentally knocked over the potted plant atop it.
Ever since the city lockdown, Lu Yan had uprooted the delicate flowers in the pot and replaced them with the inexpensive and tasty chives.
Now, after nearly half a month, the chives had just grown a new batch, and he had planned to cut them for lunch and fry some eggs. Unexpectedly, the pot seemed to have a mind of its own.
The clay pot shattered on the ground.
A fish egg buried in the soil rolled out, coming to a stop near Lu Yan's feet.
Golden and faintly revealing a glimpse of a white baby fish.
The kingfisher fish egg had been buried in the soil for over a dozen days and, due to lack of water, appeared somewhat shriveled.
It was fortunate that its quality was exceptional. If it were an ordinary fish egg, it would have perished the second day in the soil.
With utmost care, Lu Yan used tweezers to pick up the fish egg and placed it in a cup without water.
His expression turned somewhat blank.
"System, I recall you mentioning that hatching the kingfisher fish could devour the eggs of other parasitic fish."
"Using poison against poison, indeed, a method of curing."
"How do I do it?"
"Pollution is a form of evolution. One way for the Harbingers to ascend is by continuously assimilating pollutants."
"However, during the assimilation process, their own degree of pathological change will unavoidably increase. Moreover, not all pollutants can merge with the human body."
"Ha, speaking of which, the current pinnacle of human power is the result of technology and pollution diseases acting together. That person's degree of pathogenic change has reached ninety-five, yet he tirelessly rushes around like an oblivious mule, trying to extinguish fires everywhere. He knows he's dangerous, the authorities know he's dangerous. But what else can they do? Sometimes danger is the only solution to danger," the system's tone dripped with sarcasm.
"I can teach you how to merge the kingfisher fish egg. As your talent, what bad intentions could a little system like me have?"
"But I must warn you about the risks, to avoid complaints about deceitful practices. The process of merging pollutants is irreversible; even if you regret midway, it cannot be stopped. And it may not be a hundred percent successful. In any case, as long as you don't die, it's considered a success."
"You've told me many times already, this kind of disease, or rather, this method of evolution of these organisms, will erupt worldwide. K City is just the beginning, not the end."
"If most regions in the world become contaminated, I can't possibly escape unscathed. The physical values of pollutants far exceed those of normal humans; regular people don't stand a chance."
He needed strength. Otherwise, it was death waiting for him.
Moreover, if this contamination disease was considered evolution, the species eliminated would eventually vanish into history, becoming archaeological relics.
"Furthermore, I am a doctor. Saving lives and aiding the wounded is my duty."
Lu Yan had never spoken such lengthy words since birth.
Rather than analyzing, he seemed to be convincing himself.
"Speak, how do I do it?"
Lu Yan had held a surgical knife many times, but since he had no inclination towards self-harm, this was his first time using a blade on himself.
He vaguely remembered overhearing conversations between the chief psychiatrist and nurses while pretending to sleep at the mental hospital. They had mentioned that his primary personality was entirely normal, just unable to accept negative emotions. Those negative emotions would be absorbed by the split second personality.
Usually, when there was an excess of negative energy, it needed an outlet. Some directed it inwards, choosing self-harm; others directed it outwards, attacking the world. Unfortunately, Lu Yan's split personality was of the latter kind.
So, he was one of the few patients in the intensive care unit of the mental hospital who wouldn't harm himself.
According to the system, he needed to cut open his blood vessels and insert the fish egg to hatch it. The results would likely be known in one to three days.
As for why not orally ingest it... Lu Yan had already dissected someone who had swallowed a fish egg.
Considering ease of manipulation, observation, and ease of treatment, Lu Yan chose his arm as the incubation site.
Disinfection, local anesthesia, gripping the knife—time to act.
Lu Yan's incision wasn't on an artery, so the blood spilled out instead of splattering on the ceiling in a gruesome scene. Moreover, the depth was just right. Foreign objects entering the bloodstream can cause clots, potentially leading to paralysis. Given the diameter of this fish egg, blocking a major artery was no issue.
Lu Yan inserted the pale golden egg and then stitched up the wound. The entire process took less than 3 minutes. The small surgery concluded at 11 a.m.
Lunchtime was imminent, and Lu Yan began steaming rice. He also whipped up an egg stir-fry with chives and reheated yesterday's leftover corn stew with ribs. His culinary skills were always impressive. However, as he took the first bite today, Lu Yan couldn't hold back the urge to vomit.
"After 35 minutes post-surgery, a significant rise in body temperature occurred, accompanied by dizziness, palpitations, and intense nausea."
Excessive vomiting could damage the throat due to stomach acid, causing irreversible harm to the esophagus. Yet, Lu Yan felt an indescribable hunger. Consequently, he opted to administer glucose to himself.
A constant ebbing sound echoed in his ears. K City was close to the sea, and during hospital team-building events, Lu Yan had visited the seaside several times. Due to different latitudes, tidal forces varied across regions, resulting in distinct tides.
He could discern it—the sound of the waves from Qujiang Park's tidal currents.
Lu Yan noted in his notebook: "After 55 minutes post-surgery, tinnitus symptoms appeared."
"After 6 hours post-surgery, extremely high fever, 42 degrees Celsius. Considering the possibility of functional disorders or necrosis in cells."
"But I haven't fainted; it's probably the effect of evolution."
The system's tone was peculiar: "[Honestly, I think a normal person would choose to take a nap.]"
Lu Yan was completely holding on. Whenever he felt like passing out, he relentlessly pinched the skin between his thumb and forefinger. Unconsciousness itself was a protective mechanism, at least isolating most of the pain.
Weak sweat covered Lu Yan's body. He shook his head and replied, "If I know I might die, at least I want to die awake."
An awake death, or perhaps a rebirth.
...
...
Twenty-four hours post-surgery, fish scales appeared on Lu Yan's arm.
Thirty hours in, the scales disappeared.
On the third day, the fever subsided, and general discomfort lessened.
"Body temperature, normally constant, but it's too low—27 degrees Celsius."
Modern thermometers are electronic, and the likelihood of errors is minimal.
Lu Yan opened his eyes, looked down at his hand, and found no trace of the previous scars, just a row of neatly stitched lines. He could feel something moving in his veins, at times fast, at times slow, but undeniably active.
"It's the juvenile kingfisher, in a symbiotic state. Congratulations, you've been strengthened."
"Now, with Zhou Kaiwen's kind of toad, you can tear open three with just one hand."
It seemed it wasn't an illusion. Symbiosis and parasitism were two entirely different states.
"In fact, perhaps due to Lu Yan's continuous alertness throughout the fusion process, the results of his surgery surpassed the system's expectations.
Lu Yan's body and consciousness remained resistant. The intense pain, enough to make one pass out and wake up again, only elicited beads of sweat from him.
He felt the urge for a shower, but with the absence of recent rains depleting the water in the rain filters, he settled for a simple wash.
Subsequently, he conducted some basic experiments in the kitchen.
Lu Yan fetched a kitchen knife and, without a change in expression, slashed at his own arm.
With a loud 'Duang—' akin to a cleaver hitting bones, his arm caused the knife to crumple.
Lu Yan maintained a pensive look: 'No pain.'
However, his actions seemed to startle the juvenile fish within his body, causing a small bulge on his arm, a silent protest of sorts.
This intensity was limited to the arm where fish scales had grown. While there were enhancements in other parts of his body, they evidently weren't as terrifying.
Following this, Lu Yan fetched a basin of water and submerged his face deeply.
An hour passed. Apart from feeling discomfort due to the low oxygen content in the water, there were no signs of drowning or suffocation.
As for potential changes speculated, restricted by the space, there was currently no way to experiment.
Finally, Lu Yan voiced his most pressing concern: 'The Kingfisher has hatched. How do we treat the pollution disease in others?'
['I told you this on the first day.']
The system sounded deeply exasperated.
Lu Yan pondered for a moment, four words slipping out: 'Shark's evolution...?'
Then, he couldn't help but frown: 'But with the Kingfisher inside me, do I need to extract it every time it consumes?'
[System: 'Hmm, why don't you go out and find a mutated individual to test it on?']
Lu Yan glanced sideways, gazing at the dim skies outside.
It was 7 PM, yet the sky was pitch black.
Due to severe power shortages, three days ago, power cuts in City K commenced at 8 PM, only to resume at 8 AM the next day.
'Truly, staying home for so long, it's time for a trip out,' Lu Yan murmured to himself.
The power outage in City K wasn't solely due to supply issues.
According to recent discoveries, pollutants in City K's darkness displayed phototropism.
This explained why night anglers preferred strong flashlights.
In recent days, the central square of City K remained illuminated.
It was littered with the corpses of pollutants."
"Due to the lack of time for handling, some had already started to decay, emitting a pungent fishy odor. Mixed together, it resembled fermented canned fish that had been aging for fifty years.
Lin Sinan emptied another round of bullets. The monsters in the distance hadn't yet managed to approach before collapsing on the ground.
At his feet lay a pile of cigarette butts, or rather, military tranquilizers.
Lin Sinan hadn't closed his eyes for five days. For a Harbinger, sudden death wasn't an immediate concern, but it did leave him a bit mentally fatigued.
It was too much.
City K was originally a densely populated metropolis, and the spread of pollution was faster than imagined. The varieties that had evolved were incredibly diverse.
There were fish-human hybrids with weaker attacks, spewing fish eggs upon encountering people. At least two-thirds of the city's pollutants were infected by them.
Then there were frog-like creatures with stronger attacks, exceptionally sensitive to living beings. These pollutants possessed rudimentary intelligence, emitting noise to attract fish-humans, perpetuating the contamination. When the density of pollutants in the same space became too high, these frog-like beings opted for direct consumption.
And the least numerous were the algae creatures, rooted in place but continually growing and contaminating.
The most headache-inducing pollutant at the contamination center was an office drone, code-named 007.
This algae creature hailed from the internet industry, willingly putting in extra hours secretly at the company. Even after becoming an algae creature, he refused to fall behind, and now, lush green seaweed covered the windows, bursting out and spreading tens of meters along the glass of the tech building.
This seaweed sprouted from the creature's abdomen. Though green, it looked like segmented intestines. On the thick fronds, there were eyeballs used for observation and contamination.
In short, it was very disturbing. When the staff conducted circuit maintenance, they dared not lift their heads.
The most frightening part was that, according to observations from drones, this pollutant was oblivious to its contamination, still repetitively coding its last lines...
Due to it, headquarters hadn't dared to cut off the power in the tech park. Every now and then, they had to conduct network maintenance to prevent this brother from realizing the lack of internet, causing seaweed to run rampant throughout the city.
Its pollution value had skyrocketed to an astonishing 1200.
Headquarters decided to wait until the city's pollutants were under control before allowing Ah Bai to extract it.
The contamination disease generally followed an evolutionary principle, but often, it couldn't be explained by conventional science.
Through his earpiece came the voice of the liaison officer: 'Team Lin, according to the readings, your level of mutation has reached 52. We advise you to return to the containment center immediately for rest and treatment.'
'Not necessary,' Lin Sinan replied, deftly changing his magazine. 'We're almost at the final zone. Let's finish this sooner.'
Currently stationed in City K were a total of sixty-two Harbingers. Twelve of them were newly awakened combat-oriented rookies.
In previous years, these rookies would have undergone at least three years of training at headquarters before deployment. But in these special times of severe Harbinger shortage, they had to resort to a 'veterans mentoring rookies' approach.
Among them, Ah Bai was at the city's edge, responsible for isolating contamination with his talent. Lin Sinan and three others were in the central square, responsible for the annihilation of most pollutants. Seven Harbingers were stationed in the containment facility.
The remaining fifty were divided into twenty-five teams, clearing out hidden pollutants.
Thanks to the detectors provided by the research institute and the relatively short time for pollutant mutations, even at the peak of 200 in pollution value, there wasn't much danger—more like physical labor.
Presently, the entire City K had been cleansed, except for the Qujiang district, the epicenter of this contamination outbreak.
...
...
Qujiang District, Galaxy Estate.
Lu Yan dressed in black, equipped with a bow and a knife, stealthily opened the door.
"It seems like my night vision has improved," he murmured to himself as he gently closed the door. "Today, I'm going to... oh no, cure ten."