Lu Yan placed an order with the butcher at the slaughterhouse. Subsequently, the butcher would deliver the requested goods to him and collect the payment.
Dead ones at the original price, living ones double. Additional fees for precision processing. Of course, not all orders are accepted by the butchers. For example, if a common guy wants a beautiful female pig, but he has nothing valuable enough to match the worth of the beautiful female pig, the butchers won't take on such a loss-making deal.
The next day, Lu Yan arrived at the Central Hospital in the Tenglong district of X City, starting his part-time career. Normally, a doctor from out of town, not invited by the hospital for any special surgery, would find it challenging to arrange work. However, when Lu Yan entered the hospital, everyone warmly addressed him as "Director Lu," as if the 26-year-old Lu Yan had 20 years of medical experience.
But not everyone was willing to pay attention to the notices from above, and Lu Yan still felt like some second-generation rich kid experiencing life.
However, Lu Yan's high-intensity surgical frequency and exquisite surgical skills quickly left others in awe. Today marks the sixth day since Lu Yan started working at the hospital. During this time, he had to perform surgeries for 16 hours every day. Since the emergency department had many sudden surgeries, he could even pull in a few patients from the surgery department.
So much so that his assistant doctor, who used to greet him with smiles, now turned pale at the sight of him. From 6 in the morning until 2 in the morning, the medical soldiers assigned to him by the hospital were already exhausted.
Feeling somewhat unfulfilled, Lu Yan walked out of the operating room. Behind him, a nurse, remembering her responsibility, rubbed her eyes and followed, saying, "Dr. Lu, where are you going now? Are you going home? The director said if you're going home, let me arrange a driver for you."
The director she mentioned was Director Ma from the X City Contamination Prevention Center. Due to safety considerations, Lu Yan had a dedicated car for commuting now.
Lu Yan: "I'm doing rounds. You go rest; you don't need to worry about me."
The tired nurse nodded slightly: "Alright, Dr. Lu."
Lu Yan began doing rounds alone. Although 2 am was somewhat late, as a doctor, patients awakened by him mostly dared not express their anger. Moreover, Lu Yan had previously set a precedent for doing rounds at 4 in the morning, so the difference between 2 am and 4 am wasn't significant. Some patients who liked staying up late even preferred not to be disturbed just after waking up.
He examined the patients while writing case notes. Although most records were electronic nowadays, Lu Yan still retained the habit of handwritten notes.
The nurse had once picked up his notes and felt that even with less than 20 years of medical experience, he couldn't write such free and easy Chinese characters.
By the time Lu Yan finished the rounds, it was almost 3 am. Exiting the hospital, a wave of heat hit him. Flies in X City were still buzzing around. Lu Yan, wearing a mask and gloves, casually stuffed the diagnostic sheet he held into a green mailbox at the roadside.
The words written on it were sloppy and straightforward: "I want a live pig. He's at the X City Contamination Prevention Center, named Zong Yan."
However, what Lu Yan didn't expect was that even though he had put the paper in, it was forcibly spit out of the mailbox a few minutes later, as if encountering some irresistible force.
After being spit out, a red receipt with printed words was added: "Rejected."
Lu Yan asked the system: "What's going on?"
Could it be that he didn't have enough on him to pay for Zong Yan's reward?
The system said: [There are many butchers in the slaughterhouse, the lowest level being the human face butcher, followed by the snake-tail butcher and pig-head butcher. Above them is the owner of the slaughterhouse. That woman... evolved to look much like the legendary Orochi. Each mailbox corresponds to a different butcher, and it seems the butcher behind this mailbox isn't skilled.]
Lu Yan asked: "How many butchers are there in total?"
[Butchers have relatively high mobility. In the whole world, there are around a hundred.]
Lu Yan suddenly felt that compared to the butchers in the slaughterhouse, these contaminants were more like assassins from some secret organization.
He gave up on delivering the order for today and got into the specialized car sent by the Contamination Prevention Center to pick him up.
At 3 am, Director Ma, rubbing his sleepy eyes, hurried over and granted him permission. Finding 07 in X City was a matter best known to as few people as possible. It was a significant issue, and Director Ma didn't dare let other staff handle it casually, so he took the trouble himself.
Lu Yan said: "Actually, you can grant me the permission."
Director Ma's head shook like a tambourine: "No, Mr. Lu. You must have me present when you contact 07. It's a rule... I'm not saying you have any bad intentions, or I have any opinions about you, it's just the way things are."
Lu Yan inexplicably felt a bit tragic.
He suddenly understood why some Harbingers would post in the watercooler section of the forums, saying, "We will always be outsiders."
Ordinary people feared them, even guarded against them; contaminants wouldn't consider this group as their own kind.
07 had merely moved from the research institute to the Contamination Prevention Center, just changing to a more comfortable cage.
But why make life difficult for fellow working folks?
Lu Yan nodded and fell silent.
When he arrived, Zong Yan was sitting on the floor, watching TV, with a giant plush bear in his arms.
On the television, a children's cartoon that used to be very popular was playing, suitable for kids aged 3-7. Lu Yan didn't know if 07 liked it or not, but he wasn't interested in watching it.
People from the research institute probably considered 07 to be intellectually challenged. After two consecutive researchers died from jumping off the building, many researchers felt uneasy. Although they firmly believed that talk of ghosts and gods didn't exist, there was still a sense of eeriness.
So much so that now, 07 was referred to as the "Cursed Number 7." The third researcher took on the task but avoided direct contact with 07, only waiting for the treatment to finish to take 07 back to the research institute, behaving quite obediently.
Upon seeing Lu Yan enter, 07 tilted his head and, for the first time, proactively greeted, "Doctor."
It must be said that 07's intact half-face looked quite good, exuding a fragmented and fragile beauty.
The system's tone was mocking: [He's trying to seduce you.]
[He knows how you saved Tang Xunan, preparing to replicate it, following the old path of being a loyal dog dragon. He probably thinks you're someone overflowing with sympathy. It's a pity; if it weren't for lacking a tail and wings, his little tricks might have succeeded.]
Lu Yan felt it wasn't that extreme. Because he saw himself in the mirror every day, he had a higher aesthetic standard, and ordinary tails wouldn't bother him.
Expressionless, Lu Yan gestured for 07 to extend his hand. Golden scales appeared once again on his arm. The fish scales curled up, and white lines emerged from the gaps between the scales.
Lu Yan asked, "What are these white lines exactly?"
When he first saw these lines, Lu Yan had asked the system, but it didn't answer, claiming Lu Yan's spiritual power threshold wasn't enough, fearing he would become mentally challenged.
Now, the system provided an answer: [Blood vessels.]
Fish blood vessels, or "divine" blood vessels.
The routine treatment process was always dull. Ten minutes later, Lu Yan withdrew the fine lines. After two treatment sessions, Zong Yan's degree of mutation had dropped to around 93.
Lu Yan estimated that reducing 07's mutation level to 85 would be the limit of his abilities. Due to these treatments, his own mutation level had slowly risen to 237, fortunately only due to excessive use of talents, and it would decrease somewhat after some time.
This meant that with one or two more treatments, Zong Yan would be taken back to the laboratory.
As Lu Yan was about to leave, Zong Yan, sitting on the floor, grabbed the hem of his clothes.
"Doctor, you'll cure me, won't you?"
Lu Yan knew there was more to his words, so he was particularly puzzled. "Why are you so confident that I can cure you?"
Zong Yan raised his hand and lightly snapped his fingers.
[Talent 519 - Signal Interference.]
This talent was almost useless against bio-pollutants, but in special situations, it proved exceptionally useful.
"Doctor Lu, in the Luochuan Botanical Garden, in that illusion created by mushrooms, we met." His gaze was soft and gentle.
Zong Yan slowly continued, "I'm still there, meeting many old acquaintances... At that time, 01 was the best sniper, 02 was still alive, and 03 hadn't awakened the healing talent. The atmosphere at the institute was good. Volunteers numbered from 1 to 9, filled with hope and anticipation for the future. I'm grateful that the illusion reminded me of how normal humans should live."
His voice was slow, as 07's thoughts were always intermittent due to the missing part of his brain.
"We pondered for a long time about how to... destroy the research institute."
In Zong Yan's remaining eye, there was an unprecedented determination. "I'm praying for your help. I'll repay you with more benefits than risks. Please trust me."
Lu Yan was actually quite curious about how 07, with this kind of illness, could repay him. However, even without the conversation in the ward, Lu Yan had originally intended to help him.
He chose a weekend to come to the city center of X City, an old urban area. It was close to the post office, and there were many mailboxes nearby.
Guided by the system, Lu Yan chose a red mailbox.
Because it had been left for many years, the mailbox was rusted. It was raining today, and the already secluded small road was even more deserted.
The system said: [It's not too late to change your mind now. Getting involved with the slaughterhouse is troublesome. I'm not gender-discriminating, but that crazy woman is really annoying.]
"How will 07 fare back at the First Research Institute?"
[Rubbish that's no longer useful will naturally be disposed of. Headquarters thinks he still has the flame of potential, so they want to save him again. But the higher-ups at the First Research Institute are well aware... if outsiders discover that 07's talent has been taken away, they won't be able to stay in the institute.]
[But even if he dies, it's none of your business, right? The one who killed him was never you.]
"System," Lu Yan held an umbrella, his expression cold and distant, "I'm different from you. You're a spectator of this era, and I am here in this reality."
The system let out a light laugh. Not exactly mocking, but also not necessarily sincere.
Like a spectator finding an interesting story.
[Alright, I understand. Regardless of which path you choose, I'll always be by your side.]
Lu Yan dropped the order into the mailbox, and this time, the paper wasn't spit out.
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