P City lies on the Yanjing Plain, an ancient land steeped in imperial history. After a week of intense training, Lu Yan's feet touched this soil once again. The vegetation here seemed unusually lush, possibly due to the contamination disease. Flowers bloomed generously along the streets.
The person receiving them at the Prevention and Control Center was unexpectedly familiar to Lu Yan—the female cadre from his previous emergency landing in P City. She looked even more worn out this time, with dark circles under her eyes.
"Thank you to the Special Operations Division for choosing P City as the final assessment point. Our two A-class Harbingers here have agreed to assist in invigilating. If there's any anomaly, they'll enter the test site for rescue," she explained.
"Truth be told, P City has seen too much activity in the past half month. The botanical garden area is entirely sealed off, yet the number of mutated beings in the city continues to rise steadily. Although more Harbingers have awakened, the casualties among ordinary people are devastating."
As they distributed the materials, the person in charge actually dozed off against the wall during the briefing. "Sorry, the workload has been overwhelming," they apologized. "The outer periphery of the botanical garden mainly carries diffused spore viruses. Infection is possible upon contact. However, after repeated tests, because the spores are more dispersed and the concentration is too low, this parasitism is ineffective against Harbingers with a psi threshold exceeding 100."
"Besides, among the infected mutated beings sent over, apart from the mushroom people and tree creatures, there are more small birds and insects," the official said gravely. "The mushroom cluster spans about 120 hectares. Beyond that lies the orange contamination zone, the Luochuan Botanical Garden. Staff marked its boundaries with orange fluorescent markers."
"This time at Luochuan, we're relying on all of you," the official concluded, bowing deeply. A small white flower adorned her collar.
It was said that her father, husband, and daughter had all awakened as Harbingers. Yet, they had all perished while combating the contamination disease in P City.
Each trainee was clad in specialized protective suits from the research center, carrying pesticide canisters weighing 20 kilograms, making them look more like gardeners. Sixty trainees were divided into 20 teams, typically consisting of two combat specialists and one from another discipline. Lu Yan's team comprised familiar faces.
His teammates were Iron Fist and Chen Anzhi. Iron Fist, formerly known as Zhou Zheng, was an underground martial artist before awakening.
Chen Anzhi smiled, "Lu Yan, who would've thought we'd be teammates this time?"
Iron Fist was enthusiastic, "I bet the area I spray with pesticide will be wider than yours!"
Lu Yan wasn't in the mood for conversation. The June weather was already hot, compounded by the stifling isolation suits—they felt like they were in a sauna.
Although the instructors emphasized that the final exercise wasn't about the outcome, they equipped the trainees with a scoring device. Each pollutant killed earned corresponding points, aiming to boost the students' enthusiasm.
Perhaps due to Luochuan's botanical garden, the pollution zone was incredibly overgrown. Branches sprouted from abandoned buildings, cracked roads, and crevices in underground sewers, flourishing endlessly in tangled patterns.
Because of the strength of Lu Yan's team, they were assigned a relatively deep-spraying area. It was like stepping into a dense forest.
As Lu Yan's team of three descended from the helicopter, they stepped right onto a cluster of mushrooms on the ground.
"Today, we'll identify some internet-famous pollutants in the botanical garden," the system announced. "The white mushroom you just stepped on is called the White Toxic Umbrella. It proliferates easily after rain, with a contamination value of 5. Before being contaminated, it used to be edible, but now it's essentially a part of some other pollutant."
"Of course, because so many people tread on it daily, it's not waking up anytime soon."
"To be honest, I took a quick look. I highly recommend you resign from the Special Operations Division now if you can. There's more than one perfect evolution form here," the system cautioned, "and I smell something unpleasant. It's supposed to be trapped in that island country, it shouldn't be able to get out."
Lu Yan was skilled at picking up subtle clues. It reminded him of the S-class contamination case "Shinkoku" he'd read about when he joined the Special Operations Division.
Information on S-class pollutants was always scarce. But due to the widespread impact of "Shinkoku" and the survivors scattered worldwide, it had more details than some A-class cases.
"Shinkoku," an S-class pollutant born of the "True Master." As the contamination disease originated from the sea, it was particularly severe in certain island nations.
For the common folk, it was a nightmare. Some relinquished atheism and began believing in "Pure Landism." Its followers believed the "True Master" governed the Pure Land and eternal life—the entire world was but the True Master's dream.
The more people believed, the stronger it became. Evolving from a low-level pollutant, by the time that island nation sought help, the True Master had become the sole belief on the island.
Countless perished in their dreams, becoming nourishment for the True Master. This pollutant killed invisibly, able to descend upon believers at any moment. Whether the believer was a Harbinger or an ordinary person, they would instantly gain part of the True Master's true power.
To this day, no one had seen the True Master's true form.
Some said it was a chaotic entity hidden deep within the dream.
In the end, the joint departments had no choice but to abandon that island nation.
Of the island's million inhabitants, fewer than ten thousand survived.
...
...
Lu Yan felt a slight dampness on his face. Touching it, he found his hand covered in blood.
Bleeding from his seven apertures, though not a severe injury, the faint smell of blood still permeated through the botanical garden.
Many slumbering animals and plants slowly opened their eyes.
In the silent depths of the forest, the sound of insects flapping wings echoed.
"Ah... no one can pry into the divine without paying a price, not Participant 66, not even Number 6," the system's voice, infuriated, remarked, "Damn it. If only your psychic threshold were a few thousand higher, I wouldn't have been hurt by this trash."
His anomaly caught Chen Anzhi's attention.
Chen Anzhi, in the midst of spraying pesticides, turned back, concerned: "Lu Yan, why are you bleeding?"
"Warning from my talent," Lu Yan replied solemnly, "It alerts me to imminent danger."
Iron Fist sprayed pesticide for a while but didn't spot any pollutants. He sneered, "Stop playing tricks. What danger could there be in this?"
Lu Yan couldn't be bothered; he was used to triggering the 'Hell Difficulty Buff' whenever he stepped out.
He felt it might be due to becoming a 'Lucky E' sister in that initial instance, causing his luck to now be terribly bad.
Setting down the pesticide sprayer, he raised a bow.
Though not the Dream Eater worth 30,000 contribution points, it was one of the higher-attribute D-level psychic weapons in the training field.
It was lent to Lu Yan by headquarters; he'd have to return it later.
The arrow ignited a flame, piercing deeply into the thick foliage. A mantis, about half the size of a person, fell from the tree, felled by the arrow.
This mantis almost blended with the surroundings, its scythe-like edge pitch black and razor-sharp.
In that moment, points flickered on Lu Yan's scorecard, rewarding him with 02 points. It was an E-grade pollutant.
Lu Yan's brow furrowed with coldness, "Do you really think spraying pesticide casually will get you through the exercise? Has evolution turned your brain into scrap metal?"
Perhaps Lu Yan didn't even realize he'd fallen into an abnormal state after excessive use of his talent.
He lowered the bow, his fingers trembling lightly.
Zhou Qiming was weak. Tang Xunan was furious. Lin Sinan was overwhelmed with self-blame.
System: "[I suggest the host controls their emotions. I know when faced with negative emotions like fear or pain, you always seek 'him' out, like a child instinctively looking to their mother after falling. But you're not the same person you used to be, are you?]"
Lu Yan took a deep breath, asking the system, "I haven't seen the chief instructor since we landed. Where is he?"
"The Tyrant, huh..." the system said, "[He's sharpening his tools, getting ready to enter the botanical garden to deal with that big banyan tree.]"
Tang Xunan wiped off the yellow dust, quiet. When he lowered his head, a few strands of hair fell, giving him a softer look, making him seem considerably younger.
The trainees had entered the contaminated zone. In the sky, hundreds of pollution detectors were active and recording. These detectors were coated with special substances, making pollutants perceive them as allies.
Tang Xunan was waiting for the teammates arranged by headquarters.
Ever since the accident 13 years ago, Tang Xunan had gotten used to working alone on missions. But this time, headquarters said the pollutant was of colossal size, so they specially transferred Experimental Subject 07 from the First Research Institute.
07, psychic threshold 7900. Talent 42 - Flame. Mutation level 73.
This flame-type talent was especially effective against plant-based pollutants.
At exactly 12 noon, an armored vehicle arrived. This was reminiscent of a prison transport.
Several staff members escorted an exceptionally pale teenager out of the vehicle.
He wore a snow-white prisoner's uniform, half of his face horribly burnt, while the edges of the scars resembled molten lava.
The teenager's wrists were encased in peculiar handcuffs with an unusually long chain that didn't impede his movement. Moreover, his arm bore a conspicuous black tattoo with the label 07.
"Captain Tang, hello, I'm Ren Xuan, a senior engineer at the First Research Institute," a middle-aged man in a white lab coat approached with 07, "07 is an exceptionally precious experimental subject for our institute, and I am in charge of him. Please ensure his safe return."
As he spoke, 07 remained expressionless, his gaze vacant, almost like a product being traded.
Tang Xunan frowned uneasily.
He knew where this discomfort stemmed from.
The way this researcher looked at 07 was no different from how Tang Xunan perceived him—not as one of their kind but as a perfectly crafted tool.
"Are his handcuffs not to be removed?" Tang Xunan inquired.
The researcher replied stoically, "Just as your bark collar never leaves your face, 07's handcuffs serve a similar function. His mutation level is already high; unlocking them poses a constant danger."
"Oh, the director also mentioned that if the big banyan tree is resolved, he hopes you'll bring back the special materials it sheds. It's crucial for our next experiment," the researcher added.
Tang Xunan half-listened, nodding absentmindedly; it went in one ear and out the other.
If solving the pollutant is a difficulty level of 9, extracting special items from it is a level 10 task. It's far more challenging to strip it off the body while both avoiding contamination and keeping the organism alive than simply eliminating it.
It's not like they'd get lucky every time and encounter a perfect evolved being like the Dragon Maiden.
After rambling for a while, the researcher reluctantly left the scene, heading to the Pollution Disease Prevention and Control Center in City P.
Tang Xunan's gaze fell upon 07's face, "What's your name?"
"07."
"I didn't ask for your number."
07 tilted his head, pondered for a while, and slowly replied, "I'm sorry, I forgot."
He pointed to his head, "The dads, they cut a little piece."
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