The containment center was 13 kilometers away from the Disease Prevention and Control Center. Shen Qingyang was confined inside, restricted in movement, passing time with a vocabulary book. If it weren't for this sudden outbreak of contamination, he would have been preparing for the English Level 4 exam. He wondered if the registration fee would be refunded.
Nighttime at the containment center was restless. While meals were provided, they weren't what the mutants desired. The special medication slowed the progression of the disease but couldn't ease their hunger.
Every night, mutants went missing, unreported and unattended. Shen Qingyang's new neighbor was a fish-human in the late stages of the second phase of mutation, likely to be cremated in a few days.
The neighbor lightly tapped the tin wall, resembling thin paper, "Stop studying words. I know you're hungry and can't sleep."
Shen Qingyang closed the book, softly acknowledging, "Hmm."
"Though they cover expenses for this disease, I don't think any of us will survive. Do you know about the patient in Building 2? Early next morning, during rounds, there was just blood on the sheets, flesh stuck to the ceiling. They claimed it was due to the illness, but it was devoured in the dead of night."
"But that human-eating mutant was taken away the next day," Shen Qingyang's voice was gentle, "Justice might be delayed, but it's always present."
"Don't act like you're not one of us just because you're that mutant. It's better to cling to life. Who wants to die?" The neighbor sounded annoyed. "I've just been transferred from Building 3. This feels like an intensive care unit. How long have you been here?"
Shen Qingyang pondered briefly, "Most in the late stages of the second phase of mutation end up here. But I haven't been here long, maybe just a week?"
"Hah, who'd have thought there's some order here. Building 123 goes crazy at night, even the caretakers can't handle it... Hey, buddy, I'm a bit hungry."
Shen Qingyang whispered, "There are apples and instant noodles in the room. Every day."
The neighbor clicked his tongue and after a while, chewing sounds came from the adjacent room.
Shen Qingyang's fingers remained on the cover of the English book; he felt tonight might not be peaceful.
Clearly, the new neighbor was a troublemaker, placed next to him by the caretakers for a reason.
As expected, in the latter half of the night, there were scraping sounds on the thin tin walls. Sharp nails pierced through, creating a loud noise.
Normally, heightened senses of mutants kept everyone awake even with a buzzing mosquito. Yet, faced with such noise, no one stirred.
The mutants in Building 4 chuckled at night, turned over, covering their heads with blankets, disinterested.
The tin wall tore open; the neighbor ripped it, muttering, "I'm sorry, I know this is wrong, but I'm just too hungry. Whether I eat you or get incinerated, it's death anyway. Better to die in my belly; I'll thank you for the rest of my life..."
Mid-speech, the bald neighbor felt like he stepped on something. He looked down; it seemed to be a long tentacle covered in nodules, eyes on each nodule, some pitiful, some mocking.
"Is that so?" Shen Qingyang sat at the desk, gently inquiring.
Stiffly, the neighbor lifted his head and gazed at the person in front of him.
Shen Qingyang's face remained unchanged, yet from his waist down, his legs vanished, replaced by tentacles resembling an octopus's limbs.
These tentacles crowded the cramped room, entwining the walls like plant roots.
Building 4 wasn't without its anomalies.
They began on the first night. The caretakers awoke to find every mutated person in Building 4 dead, save for Shen Qingyang.
He claimed it was self-defense, and the surveillance footage corroborated his claim.
Despite being mutated, Shen Qingyang never initiated attacks. He even assisted in maintaining order, and his mutation hadn't reached the third stage. This inconsistency led to varied opinions about him from above.
However, by the third day, the caretakers had a different concern.
They concluded that, collectively, they wouldn't stand a chance against Shen Qingyang...
His presence, which should have made Building 4 chaotic, ironically turned one ward in the containment facility into the most orderly.
Tentacles entangled neighboring bodies, offering no chance for struggle.
Shen Qingyang still wore a gentle smile: "If you understand that staying alive is better than a swift death, why seek demise?"
...
...
Within the confined room, moist sounds filled the air. Shen Qingyang consumed without using his mouth, relying on those tentacles.
They snaked into the mutated person's mind, swiftly reducing the nearly two-meter-tall mutated person into a desiccated corpse, leaving only a skeletal frame.
The caretaker's hand trembled as he switched on the lights and unlocked the door.
Upon pushing it open, a room of about fifteen square meters exuded a scent of blood.
Initially, Shen Qingyang only had 27 square meters to move, but as his tentacles extended, the caretakers had to open nearby rooms to accommodate him.
Pointing at the dried corpse on the floor, Shen Qingyang explained, "He attacked me first."
The caretaker nodded vigorously, "I understand, I do."
They couldn't overpower him anymore. Being obstinate would make life in the containment facility perilous.
Caretaker: "Actually, the reason for visiting you tonight is because we received a directive from higher-ups..."
Shen Qingyang looked surprised, then calmly said, "I understand. Can I have two minutes to write a farewell?"
"No, it's not for incineration." Sweat beaded on the caretaker's back. "It's like this, the Disease Prevention and Control Center requested two mutated individuals in different stages for testing a new drug. We thought of sending you... Although the new drug carries risks, the current specialized medicine in the facility is no longer effective for you... It might be worth trying. Of course, it depends on your consent."
Shen Qingyang remained silent for a moment, "I have no objections."
The caretaker hurriedly took out a testing device, "Alright, let me create a file for you, then we'll take a vehicle to the Disease Prevention and Control Center."
According to international standards, once the degree of mutation surpassed 100, it no longer fell within the human category but completed an evolution.
Shen Qingyang rose, standing for the first time from the chair.
His head brushed against the ceiling, while his jet-black tentacles surged, gathering into a mass below his waist.
As the device scanned the person in front, an alarm sounded, accompanied by a red light.
Shen Qingyang. Degree of Mutation: 999.
Lu Yan sat in front of the examination table. Ah Bai on the left, Lin Sinan on the right.
"After all, he was about to confront the mutated beings directly here, where any moment of carelessness might lead to the demise of the fragile, non-combative healing-type Harbinger. Hence, there was a definite need for some robust protection.
Lin Sinan handed over a circular piece of iron sheet, 'Place this on your skin; it helps measure and observe the degree of mutation using a device.'
According to Lin Sinan, frequent contact with pollutants and excessive use of talents would escalate the degree of mutation. This process was typically irreversible. For instance, Bai Qiu's four additional eyeballs couldn't be removed once they had grown.
Physician, heal thyself. Healing-type Harbingers were quite cautious in utilizing their own talents.
"Can I still eat?" Lu Yan asked the system.
Though he felt he had digested some on the way, Lu Yan still found his stomach uncomfortably bloated.
[No worries. When you reach your limit, it's a breakthrough. They'll clean up and bring it to you; isn't that better than going door-to-door for stray fish?]
Lu Yan found some sense in what was said.
The first to be brought in was a stage-one mutated being.
This person seemed freshly contaminated, not very dangerous, with only minor facial deformities and incomplete webbing on the limbs.
The mutated being was tied securely to a chair, with a terrified expression, akin to a lamb awaiting slaughter.
Lu Yan rose and approached slowly, extending his hand.
Thin, semi-transparent fish scales appeared, delicate white threads emerging, rooting into the mutated being's scalp.
It was a somewhat eerie scene.
However, both present were Harbingers who had battled pollutants for years, accustomed to peculiar sights.
Fish eggs were extracted, and even Wang Yu's juvenile fish seemed to sense the danger, hiding within Lu Yan's body, remaining still as if in hibernation.
On the monitor, the degree of mutation in the being showed a significant decrease. Plummeting steadily from 57, it eventually reached 0. Though the being's body would take a few more days to fully recover, its consciousness had notably sharpened.
"Ah-bah-ah-bah... Thank you, Doctor," the mutated being uttered.
Lu Yan's degree of mutation, however, showed minimal change, increasing by 007.
The precision of this instrument far exceeded standard electronic measuring devices.
Seeing the results, Lin Sinan couldn't help but display a pleased expression.
It indicated that Lu Yan indeed could treat pollution-induced diseases and maintained stable personal data.
Bai Qiu filled out forms, recording and transmitting the relevant data back to headquarters.
Lin Sinan asked, 'Doctor Lu, would you like to take a break?'
Lu Yan was about to agree, but the system unexpectedly chimed in: [I suggest you take a look; after all, once it's late, it's too dark to see.]
"Look at what?"
[From human to pollutant, it's termed 'evolution,' but evolution has success and failures. What you've seen earlier, whether mutated beings or pollutants, they're failed mutations. But the upcoming case belongs to the perfected evolutionary strain.]
"Perfected evolutionary strain... How does it differ from failed mutations?"
[If I must explain, it's akin to the difference between a phoenix and a chicken.]
Lu Yan admitted the system's tactics indeed intrigued him.
He smiled, "I'm fine; no need to resolve it all at once."
Subsequently, Lin Sinan spoke a few words into the intercom.
After a moment, four robust military officers entered, carrying an iron cage."
The iron cage arrived urgently from the zoo, its surface covered in a fishnet-like electric mesh to prevent the prey inside from escaping.
Now, within the iron cage, was... an octopus?
Dark tentacles filled the three-meter-high cage completely, their surface eyes darting around curiously, tinged with a hint of mischief.
Bai Qiu's four pupils darted within his eye sockets like a compass needle gone astray. He frowned, "This is hardly distinguishable from pollutants. Who brought this here?"
As the words fell, the tentacles parted, revealing Shen Qingyang nestled within.
Gripping the railing, Shen Qingyang's expression lit up in surprise, "Dr. Lu, I never expected to see you here."
Lu Yan stared at his face, somewhat taken aback, "Neither did I."
He had expected the property maintenance guy to turn into a frogman.
"It's a relief to see you're unharmed. I've been worried about you these days," Shen Qingyang said. "Why is Dr. Lu here?"
Lu Yan replied succinctly, "Treating illness."
Shen Qingyang chuckled, her eyes and brows softening, "So, it seems I've become your patient again."
Despite Shen Qingyang's gentle demeanor, Bai Qiu's gaze remained cautious.
Lu Yan edged a bit closer to the iron cage, then halted, extending his hand.
The thin white lines spread out again, hesitating slightly as they approached Shen Qingyang.
Shen Qingyang's expression was encouraging; he even extended a portion of his tentacle, touching Lu Yan's white thread.
However, his hand received an unexpected shock.
Yet, Shen Qingyang's smile hardly wavered, suggesting that the electric mesh was no more than a facade to him.
The thin lines entwined the tentacles. Sensing no resistance from the other side, the Parasitic Kingfisher grew notably excited.
It began extracting pollutants from Shen Qingyang's body.
The system provided detailed information:
"[Shen Qingyang, Perfect Evolution Species, Pollutant. Pollution value: 6100—see, both undergoing mutation, yet he's far stronger than you.]"
"[Mutations: Mimicry, Life Absorption.]"
"[Mutation Direction: Gigantism, Tentacles.]"
Lu Yan was deeply shocked, "He's already turned into a pollutant?"
"Yes, mimicry taught him the art of disguise."
"But he still seems to retain cognitive processes and social behavior."
"That's why he's termed a Perfect Evolution Species."
...
...
"The degree of mutation has decreased," Lin Sinan stared at the instrument, his expression tense and serious. "But the speed is rather slow."
A full half-hour passed, yet Shen Qingyang's mutation rate had only dropped to 90. In contrast, Lu Yan's mutation level had increased by 2. His psychic power threshold had surged by two hundred and seven. Currently at a total of 440, he was soon to surpass the lowest standard.
"Cease the experiment," Bai Qiu decisively intervened. "This aberrant individual doesn't need to be returned to containment. Keep them in the contamination center for now."
Lin Sinan and Bai Qiu were contemporaries in their residency training, having once shared a dormitory. This was why Lin Sinan never regarded Bai Qiu with much deference.
He understood Bai Qiu very well.
Lin Sinan was aware that Bai Qiu had murderous intent, although he wasn't clear on the reason behind it.
Shen Qingyang didn't seem particularly upset. "Thank you, Mr. Lu. Knowing you're safe, I'm truly relieved."
In traditional Chinese medicine, there's a term, 'unable to benefit from tonics.'
Lu Yan felt that this term described his current state perfectly.
He felt utterly fatigued, lethargic, just wanting to sleep.
Lu Yan nodded. "Alright, see you tomorrow."
Since the patient was himself, treatment was naturally necessary. Even if it meant dealing with contaminants.
Shen Qingyang paused, a faint smile appearing on her face, yet she didn't agree.
He, along with the cage, was then locked in a sealed, pitch-black room within the Disease Prevention and Control Center.
The room's walls were constructed from a special material, capable of significantly affecting the state of contaminants.
The smile on Shen Qingyang's face gradually faded away.
The tentacles inside the cage continued to surge, finally converging into a bundle.
Two legs returned to his body.
He looked more human now, but if someone were to use a detector, they'd realize that Shen Qingyang's mutation level had already surpassed the dangerous mark of 100.
By the second day in containment, he was no longer human.
Shen Qingyang opened the electric grid. The high voltage made his hair stand on end, a faintly tingling sensation that was rather comforting.
He arrived at the room's door.
The door required a triple password, something an ordinary person couldn't breach.
So, Shen Qingyang didn't use ordinary means either.
A tentacle emerged from behind his waist, fiercely striking the wall in front, causing a resounding collapse.
The wall made of special alloy crumbled like tofu, creating a large hole.
The alarm blared, but Shen Qingyang paid it no mind. He even had the leisure to go to the mirror near the bathroom door, tidying up his attire.
At the end of the corridor, Bai Qiu entered an obvious state of alert, his gaze wary.
An invisible wall of energy enveloped the area, blocking all of Shen Qingyang's escape routes.
Shen Qingyang sighed. "While I don't mind having a bout with you, I'd rather not have Dr. Lu see me in my current state. Moreover, Dr. Lu doesn't sleep well, and loud noises might disturb him."
He turned on the faucet, then instantly transformed into fleshy masses, slithering into it.