"Wait for your answer," Lin Sinan said, sounding almost like he was proposing.
Lu Yan didn't need much thought; he chose the former.
The research institute was out of the question for him for a lifetime. The outside world was far too exciting to be confined to a lab. Besides, he wasn't a genuine healing-type Harbinger.
Putting on his down jacket and mask, Lu Yan descended the stairs.
Lin Sinan leaned against the car, smoking. As he saw Lu Yan, he hurriedly stubbed it out. The cigarette arced beautifully in mid-air, landing directly in the trash.
"Mr. Lu," Lin Sinan's demeanor was somewhat restrained.
"I've made up my mind. I still want to have more exposure to contamination cases," Lu Yan stated.
Lu Yan rarely had such mundane desires. Or perhaps, his emotional fluctuations were faint. He neither felt joy nor easily succumbed to sorrow.
He was acutely aware of his condition—detached and lacking empathy—thus, cloaked in a facade.
His diligent studies were due to societal norms urging everyone to strive. Whether it was studying or pursuing medicine, everything he did was deemed "appropriate." There wasn't much fondness, nor was there dislike.
But contamination cases were different, akin to a game with an uncertain ending, each opening bringing new surprises.
Lu Yan liked it—a tremor of... excitement.
Lin Sinan looked at him deeply. "I understand. I'll do everything I can to ensure your safety."
Even if that protection cost him his own life.
"It's not necessary," Lu Yan replied.
"That's an order from headquarters," Lin Sinan responded. "Compliance is a soldier's duty."
K City, Contamination Disease Prevention and Control Center.
An middle-aged man, escorted by several soldiers, arrived.
He was a researcher sent by headquarters from the Third Research Institute—Ji Wen. He had a scholarly appearance, exuding a casual elegance. The director of the contamination center approached, trying to strike up a conversation, but Ji Wen raised his hand, leaving the director awkwardly stepping back.
Now, he sat in front of the computer, watching precious footage captured by the intelligent surveillance.
The footage of Lu Yan healing contaminants.
Occasionally, Ji Wen would press the spacebar, pausing, lost in thought.
"Assimilation?" Ji Wen murmured to himself. "Subject Zero is highly susceptible to contamination and is confined within a life pod; The Bishop is reclusive, rarely leaving the research facility... Honestly, my understanding of healing-type abilities is limited."
However, he noticed the tiny fish-like scales on Lu Yan's arm.
"Rather than 'assimilation' as an ability, upon comparison, I'm inclined to think that he came into contact with a specific contaminant during the disaster and fused with a part of it. It's a dangerous move, but evidently, he succeeded."
"So, Lu Yan's talent is actually something else."
"He lied about his talent being 'assimilation' to conceal his true ability. Consequently, he knows something."
"But Lu Yan's entire life, both online and offline, has been under surveillance. I'm certain he never had any exposure to contamination-related information before this incident. So how did he know?"
"Therefore, I deduce that he actually possesses a talent related to information acquisition."
"On the list of talents compiled by Qiao Yu, there are six associated with this—Omniscience, Precognition, Information Cocoon, Telepathy, Soul Probe, and Clairvoyance. Among these, the most fitting is..."
Ji Wen suddenly fell silent, then scribbled some characters on the paper that only he understood.
When he was young, Ji Wen and a friend created a form of writing—a blend of oracle bone script and cuneiform—that only they knew. So, whenever he needed to record important information he didn't want others to decipher, Ji Wen would use this script.
He was forty-seven this year, starting contamination disease research at twenty under the tutelage of Qin Changsheng.
Qin Changsheng's mentor was Qiao Yu, the person who first discovered contamination disease in the previous century and specialized in its study.
In the early 22nd century, due to ideological differences in research, Qin Changsheng parted ways from the First Research Institute and established the Third Research Institute.
As Qin Changsheng's direct disciple, Ji Wen was no less competent.
While Lin Sinan and Bai Qiu couldn't grasp much, Ji Wen, just by watching surveillance, inferred the general truth.
This was also why the system was always cautious about the institutes. They harbored the brightest minds globally in understanding contamination diseases.
Ji Wen pushed up his glasses and put away the pen. "In principle, I should report this, but he's Subject 18's son."
He closed the playback software and, in the system's background, chose to delete the two video clips.
A warning popped up on the screen, asking for his authorization password.
This deletion wasn't merely sending items to the recycle bin; it made these two videos disappear completely from the world. No one would ever see them again.
"Consider this my return for dissecting 18's brain... Should I meet this child?"
Ji Wen waited for the computer to reach 100% progress and pulled out an assessment form.
["Lu Yan, male, 26 years old. Mental state: stable, degree of mutation: low. Education: master's degree."]
["Sensitively perceptive to the outside world, cautious and suspicious in nature. Not recommended for prolonged surveillance to prevent a loss of trust in the Disease Prevention and Control Center."]
["Preliminary confirmation as a healing-type Harbinger, talent 'assimilation,' capable of using mental entities to assimilate contaminants. Significant effects on low to mid-level mutated Harbingers."]
["Potential assistance in the treatment of the Tyrant: unknown. (Note: Due to low psychic thresholds, temporary contact with the Tyrant is not recommended, risking contamination)."]
["Level of danger: low."]
The friend who created the writing with Ji Wen was named Lu Cheng.
Lu Cheng graduated from Yanjing University in 2091, married in 2094, and had his only son the following year. In 2111, he was contaminated, becoming a Harbinger with the talent of Precognition. In 2113, Lu Cheng's mutation surpassed 100, turning into a contaminant. In 2117, he escaped from the institute and has been missing since.
"Better not meet. I held that child years ago. He has a remarkable memory; he would recognize me."
Ji Wen stopped writing, pondered, still feeling uneasy, and fed the paper with the scribbled characters along with the photo data into the shredder.
Lin Sinan brought Lu Yan to the Contamination Disease Prevention and Control Center to meet the researcher sent from headquarters.
However, upon arrival, he was stunned to hear that the researcher had already departed.
"Vice Director Ji was busy," the staff said helplessly. "He arrived at eight in the morning and left at nine. He mentioned having important experiments to conduct but completed the evaluation report."
The system and Lu Yan quipped: [Seems like the sent researcher has discovered my existence. Scratch the 'seems' if you're confident. Seems I've underestimated humans again.]
[At least
for now, he seems to be on your side.] ~End of Shared Document and Online Reading~
Countless events unfolded in the world every moment. Although the system was 'omniscient,' knowing too much at once would only lead the host's mind to explode, turning them feeble-minded.
It had a certain perception range, neither too broad nor too narrow. Aside from that, it indeed lived up to its 'omniscient' name.
"Mr. Lu, please follow me to collect your uniform and this month's allowance."
Lu Yan's details were registered, making him an official staff member with a dossier and position.
Codename 'Listen,' psychic threshold 440, F-level Harbinger, mutation degree 31.
Affiliation: Special Operations Department, First Group, Seventh Unit.
The staff opened the vault on the basement floor of the headquarters and retrieved a suitcase from the freezer, beginning the introduction.
"This is the latest 'Galactic Detector' from the research center, presented in a standard format. If it doesn't suit your preferences, you can apply to exchange it for something else, such as a necklace, a phone, and so forth."
"The detector monitors the degree of your own mutation in real-time, as well as the pollution levels of the surroundings. Additionally, it includes functions like navigation, positioning, Bluetooth calls, and more. Here's the user manual. You can also choose to deactivate the Beidou positioning system and opt-out of data transmission."
The detector took the form of a finely crafted, highly tech-oriented electronic watch.
Lu Yan didn't immediately put it on; instead, he stowed it away in his pocket.