At that moment, his mind throbbed violently. He seemed to witness a deep sea, something opening its eyes, fixating its eerie and cold gaze on him.
A surge of waves echoed in his ears, yet this time, it wasn't the tides of Quhai.
[Oh, originally it was optional. But it seems now you have no choice. You've killed the Dragon Maiden's child. She'll come for you.]
Lu Yan turned unusually pale. When he snapped out of it, the monster before him had ceased breathing.
"Doctor Lu, are you alright?" Chen Shier asked softly. "You seemed like you were about to faint just now."
Lu Yan's head continued to throb unbearably. "I'm fine."
The tail of the monster quickly withered. Upon cutting it open, Lu Yan found it hollow, with a row of teeth along its inner wall, more like a straw than a tail.
Lu Yan began searching for what the system mentioned—the placenta. The uterus nurturing the ghostly fetus resembled a mass of flesh, with the placenta deep within resembling a fresh brain.
When he retrieved the placenta, Zhou Qiming, numbed by pain, bit down hard on the wooden stick in his mouth. His eyes bulged, veins popping near his temples, presenting a grotesque sight.
The texture of this thing was slimy and repulsive.
Lu Yan removed his gloves, revealing a gash on his palm. The teeth on the inside of his palm had become extremely sharp. With almost no chewing, he swallowed the source of pollution in just a few bites.
The taste was rich, reminiscent of pan-fried goose liver but without the greasiness.
Lu Yan squinted slightly, an abnormal flush appearing on his face, akin to someone famished who had suddenly feasted. It was a satisfied expression even he hadn't noticed.
Chen Shier, watching from the side, was dumbfounded, feeling Lu Yan resembled a pollutant more than the pollutant itself.
...
...
The Harbinger's body recovered remarkably well. By the second day after the surgery, Zhou Qiming was already out of bed, full of energy.
Ignoring the pain, he personally came to thank Lu Yan, carrying a bunch of carnations.
Lu Yan happened to be cooking when he arrived and, out of politeness, asked, "Would you like to join me for a meal?"
The result was both of them staring at each other across the dining table.
"I can feel my body gradually recovering," Zhou Qiming broke the silence, grabbing Lu Yan's hand and shaking it incessantly. "That Dragon Maiden Lake is truly bizarre. Despite the pollutant's low level, the contamination nearly defies resolution. I was prepared to volunteer for dissection by the research institute."
"Anyway, thank you, Doctor. Your cooking reminded me of my mother's taste."
Lu Yan had received gratitude from many patients, so he remained composed. "It's nothing. You don't have to finish that sentence."
"It's true. Due to the increased mutation, I've lost my appetite for food. I only eat when reminded, but your cooking, Doctor, makes it enjoyable."
Without lifting an eyelid, Lu Yan replied, "Thank you. Actions speak louder."
Zhou Qiming suddenly turned serious. "Doctor, you might be the only Harbinger with a healing talent seen outside the research institute."
"Since I know your true identity, others surely do too. Treating contamination through healing talents often involves personal mutation growth. Healing talents are extremely rare, and when cornered, not everyone will be reasonable."
"I'll be careful," Lu Yan assured.
"I've transferred contribution points to you on the forum." Zhou Qiming took out his phone, "Doctor, what's your user ID?"
Lu Yan recited a string of numbers.
Soon, a notification arrived from the Harbinger forum, reminding him of a friend request from "1."
Zhou Qiming coughed awkwardly, "Young and clueless back then, just randomly chose a name."
Lu Yan checked the user's profile and noticed the registration date was 25 years ago.
"I'm actually 43 this year," Zhou Qiming smiled, "Maybe it's an outcome of evolution; we age slowly. It's unavoidable. Who knows how long we'll live? Doctor, try to make more Harbinger friends. Watching loved ones leave one by one is too painful."
He transferred his contribution points, totaling six thousand two, and casually added, "Feel free to contact me anytime. Though I'm not in the Special Operations Department, I've been in this industry for a long time. No one dares touch my people."
"Really?" Lu Yan's interest was piqued.
"Absolutely."
His main point was in the latter half, but Lu Yan seemed to have only noticed the former sentence.
Setting down his chopsticks, Lu Yan said earnestly, "I want to go to Dragon Maiden Lake."
Special Operations Department Headquarters.
An exceptionally unusual meeting was underway in the central conference hall.
Thirteen attendees—all managers of the Special Operations Department—were present. It was well-known that Harbingers were mentally unstable, with high mortality rates, making them unsuitable for managerial roles.
The Minister sat at the top, masking suppressed anger. "Who leaked the information about Diti?"
The initial plan of the Special Operations Department was to facilitate Lu Yan's rapid growth through gradual missions to assist in treating the "Tyrant."
As the only Harbinger with a psychic threshold exceeding four digits, globally, only Tang Xunan could counterbalance those S-class pollutants.
However, Tang Xunan's mutation level was too high, resembling an overloaded device, constantly teetering toward collapse.
Whether as a return for his years of dedication or a necessity to combat pollutants, the Tyrant must remain safe.
"Chasing this matter now is futile," sighed the head of the Contamination Disease Prevention and Control Center, a woman with silver hair. "We need to focus on controlling the situation. Finding the spy is crucial, but the priority is ensuring Diti's safety."
The Director of the First Research Institute sneered, "We should have brought him to the institute in the first place."
"Those who accessed Diti's data have already been investigated by 'True Knowledge,'" the Deputy Minister rubbed his temples. "No one lied. Either their memories were erased, or the data was inadvertently leaked."
"I have a proposal. Since the Tyrant has returned to the country... why not let them spend time together? There's nowhere safer than by Tang Xunan's side. Despite the past events, the Tyrant prefers solo actions due to his high mutation level, yet he can't act alone completely. Diti has a low psychic threshold now, but the mutation level isn't high. Maybe we can try? If it's too risky, we'll stop the contact?"
As this suggestion hung in the air, the room fell into a brief silence.
"Would the Tyrant agree?"
"Is Diti willing?"
"Let's vote," finally, the Minister said, "If it passes, we'll ask and won't lose anything."
7:6.
It passed.
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