After merging with the kingfisher fish's eggs, Lu Yan had been out of touch with the outside world for a while. The moment he stepped out, he sensed something amiss.
On the metallic security door, there were deep handprints, as if someone had forcefully struck the door. Lu Yan glanced at them. They didn't resemble human hands but appeared more like an enlarged frog's.
The pungent smell of blood lingered stubbornly at the tip of his nose due to the power outage, casting the hallway into utter darkness.
Lu Yan's hand found the interface of his phone.
"There's something I should caution you about," the system suddenly spoke, "Though there are no pollutants within your visual range for now, these mutated beings are phototropic. If you don't want to be surrounded, I don't recommend using any light sources. You already have night vision; learn to accept the ways you differ from humans."
The night's light was minimal, and the night vision principle involved reflecting infrared light off a liquid crystal film surface to convert it into visible light, allowing one to perceive the world. Lu Yan's eyes now emitted a red glow like those of a feline, turning everything around him green within his vision.
The neighbor's door stood wide open, displaying terrifying claw marks on the inner side of the metal door, evidence of a desperate struggle before death.
Sticky liquid stained the corridor floor. Lu Yan lightly brushed it with his foot, dried blood that felt like syrup underfoot. These bloodstains were evidently dragged, pausing briefly when passing his own door before vanishing around the hallway corner.
Due to his profession, Lu Yan's return home times often differed from those of his neighbors, but he remembered a family of four living next door—parents, a child, and an elderly person.
He observed the bloodstains in silence for a moment, gripping the knife in his hand, and stepped inside.
"Apologies for the intrusion."
The stench of blood inside the room was much stronger than outside. Judging by the volume of blood, there had been more than one victim.
Following the blood trail, Lu Yan accidentally stepped on a severed hand of an adult female, evident bite marks around the wound. Besides that, there were no apparent human remains. It seemed pollutants didn't leave much behind after feasting on flesh.
While the living room served as the crime scene, the trail of blood originated from the children's room deep within the corridor. The room was cozily decorated, Lego toys piled in the corner, indicating a beloved child in the house.
Even though the pollutants had left, the room still reeked of the damp, fishy odor. Chairs lay overturned, and broken strands of hemp rope lay on the floor.
"Clearly, it was the child in this household who mutated. But the parents didn't want to send them to a shelter, choosing instead to confine and wait for a vaccine. Initially, the mutated child followed their parents' instructions, but eventually, they became nothing more than a monster craving human flesh. Finally, one day, the creature broke free from its restraints."
A tragedy, indeed.
"Also... would you care to look up? Seems like it crawled along the ceiling in the hallway."
A drop of foul-smelling saliva fell near Lu Yan's feet.
As it turned out, the strong fishy smell in the room wasn't due to a long-locked mutated person but because the pollutant was right beside him.
Lu Yan raised his head. A young boy, clinging to the wall like a gecko, hung from the ceiling. Its hands and head were nearly the same size, the sticky webbed feet firmly attached to the ceiling. Perhaps due to overeating, its belly swelled, resembling that of a pregnant woman after ten months.
The pollutant's face twisted into a sinister grin, mouth gaping to reveal two rows of sharp teeth. Its long tongue shot out like a hunting spear, the lumps on its tongue's surface rising, resembling sharp barbs.
Having dissected a frog-like humanoid before, Lu Yan gained confidence and some understanding of these kinds of pollutants.
Though agile and powerful, frog-like creatures had a limited attack pattern—either pounce or lick. They could spew corrosive stomach acid, but it wasn't abundant.
Suppressing the nauseating urge, considering his current physical condition, dealing with it wasn't difficult.
After a moment's contemplation, Lu Yan didn't evade but reached out and grabbed the creature's tongue.
Ignoring the spines covering it, the tongue felt slippery, akin to a tender piece of pork liver.
The pollutant's face displayed clear astonishment, but its eyes were naturally bulging enough that the difference wasn't noticeable.
With a firm tug, Lu Yan pulled it down from the ceiling.
The pollutant crashed to the ground, emitting a loud noise—quite disturbing.
Seeking advantage and avoiding harm were instincts of any creature.
It attempted to flee, but Lu Yan's strength was astonishing, rendering it immobilized.
The pollutant shrank against the wall, emitting a desperate whimper, visibly alarmed as Lu Yan grasped its tongue with one hand and wielded a surgical blade in the other, approaching with a smile on his face.
"Though I'm not a pediatrician," Lu Yan said, "this is an urgent situation. Please forgive me. After all, I have a legitimate physician qualification."
The blade cut through the frog-like humanoid's abdomen. It struggled in its dying moments, eventually slumping to the ground, motionless.
From its belly, Lu Yan extracted some partially digested human body parts and heads.
"Pollutants like this, having completed their mutation, no longer possess the potential to revert to human form. As for resolving the pollution, I suppose I need not say much; you'll see soon enough..."
A patch on Lu Yan's arm bulged, revealing the juvenile kingfisher undergoing revival.
What used to be smooth skin on his arm now sported patches of scales, resembling armor, covering the surface.
Then, these scales began to protrude. Thin white threads emerged from the gaps in the scales, connecting to the frog-like being on the ground. And then, they began to feed.
Much like drawing blood, the white filaments slowly turned red. Lu Yan reached out to touch these threads, causing a shudder, not from his hand but from the threads themselves, as if someone had touched a nerve in his brain barehanded.
No wonder the kingfisher hadn't emerged earlier. If the frog-being hadn't died completely and had struggled a bit, it would have been enough to cause Lu Yan excruciating pain.
Perhaps due to a symbiotic relationship, as the kingfisher fed, Lu Yan felt a sensation akin to having a meal, a warm comfort in his stomach. He squinted, an abnormal blush appearing on his fair face, resembling a hangover.
The system's eerie silence followed: "I thought witnessing such a scene would cause at least some mental breakdown in a normal person."
It had prepared itself to be a guide for the psyche, but Lu Yan, unexpectedly, didn't falter.
Lu Yan replied expressionlessly, "In your eyes, are humans too fragile? Although according to your theory, we're still undeveloped, primitive beings, in the millions of years from apes to humans, humans have never given up on self-preservation."
This feeding session lasted half a minute.
"Spiritual power threshold 10. Congratulations, you've been strengthened," the system announced.
With a derisive chuckle, the system murmured, "That street psychic wasn't entirely wrong. If the kingfisher's host is a pollutant and devours all of K City's pollutants, it could indeed surpass that boundary... Unfortunately, it encountered me."
Its voice was too low, and coupled with the intermittent sounds of tidal waves in Lu Yan's ears, he didn't catch it entirely.
The pristine white tendrils retreated into Lu Yan's body as if they had never appeared.
Perhaps because the neighborhood had been cleaned previously, Lu Yan didn't encounter another pollutant until he left the area.
The blockade at the entrance of the neighborhood remained, but the guards were nowhere to be seen. Only the blood-stained security booth vaguely hinted at something amiss.
The city was unnervingly quiet at night.
Only when passing certain alleys could Lu Yan hear heavy panting, mixed with chewing sounds.
During these moments, Lu Yan would follow the sounds into the alley.
He wasn't here to dismantle them; he was here to join them.
...
...
Lu Yan rubbed his stomach, a staunch follower of the 'eat until 80% full' principle. It had been a while since he'd felt this uncomfortably full.
Tonight alone, his psychic threshold increased by 70 points. Added to the 100 gifted by merging with the Kingfisher, he now stood at a threshold of 170, a Level 1 Harbinger by the Institute's standards—a modest figure, really.
Yet, in City K, he held sway thanks to bloodline suppression, near invincible in this domain. Besides, a Harbinger's prowess wasn't solely dictated by the threshold.
"Full. Time to head home. Tomorrow's another day," he muttered, his desire to encounter partially mutated pollutants still lingering. According to the system's theory, he might offer some remedy. But such encounters couldn't be forced. He couldn't possibly go door to door with a megaphone.
Strolling the streets, a cold eastern wind brushed against him, and his phone buzzed faintly in his pocket.
An unexpected FaceTime request from an unknown sender popped up: "[Bro, why are you out there? Several security guards in our complex are infected, and nobody's come to contain it. Aren't you courting trouble?]"
An overly concerned stranger.
The phone buzzed again: "[Block the light, those pollutants are sensitive to it! Don't you follow the news? How did you even step out?]"
"Damn! They're here! Run!"
The message came in, and the 13th floor of the building behind Lu Yan lit up. A petite girl by the window tapped nervously, emitting a shrill noise, then dashed away like smoke.
Moments later, a new message arrived: "[This building's all mine. I'll hide in another unit. This is as far as I can assist you.]"
The system chimed in, "I've no affinity for humans—weak, selfish, pitiful creatures. Yet, I must admit, there are moments you lot do things that bewilder me, and in those moments, you're quite endearing."
At the end of the street, a tremor shook the ground.
A humanoid fish, almost three meters tall, leaped in their direction. It retained a human body but sported an immense fish head, resembling a catfish. Its lips flapped, four whiskers moved without a breeze.
"Wow, congratulations! You've encountered the first mini-boss of this unique experience, a Fishman with a pollution value of 400. This Fishman was a glutton in its previous life and got even hungrier after mutation. Ate sixty in three days, growing this fat. Not only feasts on humans but its own kind. More aggressive than regular Fishmen."
"Good news, though: its fish roe, while gross, won't contaminate you. Also, that massive head isn't just for show. You humans have a saying, 'Deep affection leads to swift retribution.' This Fishman deeply feels... its weak spot is the gills. Be cautious."
The Fishman, not the brightest, had initially moved toward Lu Yan but diverted upon noticing the light atop the building, swiftly heading toward the residential complex.
Lu Yan had dissected frogs but never a Fishman of this size. Yet, he believed his odds of survival against pollutants were slightly higher. He switched on his phone's front flashlight.
The Fishman abruptly turned. Sensing provocation, it charged at Lu Yan with incredible speed.
A night of enhanced eating had significantly boosted Lu Yan's physical abilities. Almost instantaneously, he reacted, swiftly evading the Fishman's assault.
But the Fishman was just too massive.
Its whiskers, seemingly frail, proved sharper than any blade, grazing Lu Yan's arm. His clothes tore, blood seeping through.
The Fishman suddenly froze, motionless.
System: "[Oh no! Your blood, your blood—I should've known! Damn!]"
The system, usually cryptic, panicked for the first time in Lu Yan's experience.
"Stop fighting. Now, quickly! Run straight to the Disease Prevention and Control Center. If you don't want to get surrounded, run!"
...
...
Qujiang Park.
The Qujiang district was indeed the source of pollution-related diseases in City K. Though their numbers weren’t particularly high, the danger and pollution levels here far exceeded other areas.
One after another, these peculiar pollutants, looking bizarre, streamed in like moths to a flame, converging here.
The waters of Qujiang were on the brink of being stained red with blood.
Lin Sinan felt a bead of sweat form on his forehead. Sixteen Harbingers stayed back in the park this time to handle these pollutants—more than usual.
Yet, he couldn’t shake off the sense of inadequacy; some of the pollutants here seemed to have evolved a modicum of intelligence.
However, at two in the morning, as if halted by an invisible conductor, these pollutants abruptly froze in their tracks, motionless.
Though unsure why, Lin Sinan clearly saw an opportunity.
But just as he began to clear the area, the pollutants in front of him awoke as if from a slumber, all turning their heads in unison toward a single direction.
On their faces emerged varying degrees of fervor.
Like starving hyenas catching the scent of rotting flesh after days of hunger.
The first croak of a frog sounded, its origin unknown.
The next moment, no pollutant spared another glance at the brightly lit Qujiang Park; they surged together like a tide, heading in the same direction!
"What’s happening?" The nearby inspector was aghast.
Lin Sinan was momentarily stunned, a grim realization settling in.
"I’ve only heard of this happening once..." he muttered, his complexion suddenly grim.
"The First Research Institute, Subject 0, awakened. A rare healing talent, said to be the top-ranked 'Harbinger' in the talent sequence. That day, the Institute was also surrounded by pollutants."
"To protect Subject 0, they had to confine them in a life pod."
Though an Harbinger himself, the inspector was of the auxiliary class, with moderate psychic thresholds, always stationed in City K. This was the first he’d heard of such an event, his expression baffled. "A healing talent? How come I’ve never heard of it?"
That wasn’t surprising. There were only three in the world right now.
One locked away in a life pod, another kept under guard at headquarters like an ancestor. The last one was overseas.
Lin Sinan holstered his gun, activated his earpiece. Bloodshot eyes ablaze, he shouted, "Ah Bai, stop spectating from the sidelines! Someone in City K seems to have awakened a healing talent, damn it! We’re late to the party—prepare for the aftermath!"