Yanjing, the headquarters of the Prevention and Control Center, was far from calm.
"The experimental subject number 7 has escaped," said Li Rongcheng, the current director of the First Research Institute, with a frown. "According to the location tracking, 07 was last seen near the botanical garden in City P, matching the time and place of the high-risk pollution detected by the City P Prevention and Control Center at night."
The researcher in charge of bringing back 07, leaning on a cane, began reporting to the higher-ups: "It was taken by pollutants. I'm sure it was the butcher from the slaughterhouse in City X. There were marks of the slaughterhouse on its apron. And he said, '07 is the pig for this time.'"
"What about the results of the on-site investigation?"
"No apparent signs of a struggle. No remnants of advanced pollutants found, but significant residual pollution levels."
"Why would the butcher take 07?"
"Why did 07 mutate into a pollutant?"
Li Rongcheng's gaze was intense. "07 has been obedient for decades, the most stable and gentle experimental subject within our institute. I suspect that during the treatment process in City X, 07 was subjected to some mental suggestion... pardon my bluntness, but the death of the researcher assigned to 07 was also very suspicious. Wei Lao never showed any signs of suicide while working in our institute."
"Now, talent detection is still too lax, relying entirely on the word of the Harbingers. In my opinion, we should forcibly test it at the institute."
Minister Wang from the Special Operations Department furrowed his brows. "You might as well directly report the ID of the one who listened. After all, it was your people who sought treatment. Now that 07 has escaped, shifting the blame onto the Special Operations Department's staff doesn't seem right. As for talent detection, the technology is not mature. I won't agree to apply it to the department members."
"Enough of the arguments. Isn't it time to unite when the situation is so critical?"
The director's gaze swept over everyone present. She was over fifty, yet her eyes remained firm and sharp. "Don't forget, there's another person."
"Who?"
"Gong Weibin," the director said in a low voice. "He stole 01, and there's no guarantee he doesn't want another 07."
Li Rongcheng immediately objected, "Impossible."
While others were unclear, Li Rongcheng knew well that 07's talent had been removed before going to the botanical garden. Gong Weibin wouldn't want a useless subject.
Deputy Director Ji Wen from the Third Research Institute suddenly spoke up, "It seems Director Li is quite confident that Gong Weibin wouldn't steal 07. Speaking of which, the self-check report from the First Research Institute hasn't been submitted. When can we visit the remaining experimental subjects, from 3 to 9?"
Ji Wen pushed up his glasses, the reflection hiding the depth of his eyes. "I also want to know if the 'God-Making Project,' approved forty years ago, has shown us miracles or farces."
Lu Yan continued to bleed from his nose even after getting off the plane.
He knew his blood was somewhat special, so he didn't dare to leave the airport, fearing the attraction of pollutants.
Lu Yan himself wasn't worried; it was mainly about the ordinary people around him facing trouble.
Sitting in the VIP lounge, he waited for his blood to clot.
Regenerating such a talent, even if his head were severed, it could be reattached. However, he couldn't control the aftereffects of overusing omniscience.
He looked up at the ceiling. "You lied to me."
System: [Hmm?]
"You said I was the only one in the world who could use talents anytime without worrying about aftereffects."
[Sexy A-System, 24 hours of free chat. But I am, after all, a talent. How could there be no cost for relying on me excessively?] ┆┆Thoughts┆┆on┆┆line┆┆reading┆┆
It had to be said that, as a central city, City A had good public security.
City K had sealed off due to an infectious pollution disease, and now the average pollution concentration in the air was 3. In City A, it was only 13.
In the VIP lounge, soothing music played, with a light and ethereal melody, featuring the voice of a young girl.
Lu Yan listened carefully for a moment; it sounded like Latin.
In the past, doctors in hospitals often used simplified Latin in handwritten medical records for convenience.
Out of curiosity, Lu Yan had studied a bit of Latin, limited to reading and writing, with a significant gap in speaking and listening.
In this song, the most frequent words were "tranquility" and "eternity."
[Host.]
The system's address for him was quite variable, such as "good boy," "good little one," "Yanyan." Lu Yan had become adept at ignoring them.
However, the term "host," a solemn address, was rarely heard from the system.
[By the way, do you like to eat roasted brain flowers?]
"What?" Lu Yan was taken aback, instinctively asking.
But the system did not answer.
It was 3 a.m., and the airport was quiet, with only a few scattered pedestrians around. Lu Yan opened his phone, looking at the last contact in his communication app.
Before coming, he had sent a message to Tang Xunan, stating his 11 p.m. flight and estimated arrival at around 3 a.m. Tang Xunan had assured him of picking him up at the airport. However, now, Lu Yan scanned the crowd but couldn't spot Tang Xunan.
It was late August, and the lounge's air conditioning was too cold for Lu Yan, who was dressed in summer clothes. He turned to the front desk, saying, "Could you please raise the temperature?"
The receptionist wore a perfectly calibrated smile, saying, "Of course, sir."
The smile seemed standard, as if it could be printed in a service manual. The temperature quickly adjusted to a comfortable level, and Lu Yan waited for his nosebleed to stop, feeling unexpectedly tired.
He really wanted to sleep.
Almost as soon as he realized this, Lu Yan snapped back to awareness. This shouldn't be happening. Even when he swallowed the kingfish on Mermaid Island, experiencing extreme discomfort due to rejection, he never felt the desire to sleep.
He stood up, addressing the front desk. "System."
No response.
Lu Yan's hand gripped the knife at his side. In the past, he didn't quite understand why Tang Xunan always carried his Tang Knife everywhere. But now, this knife provided him with a bit of reassurance.
Part of the reason Lu Yan came to City A this time was to get a new, better knife. After all, City K wasn't even a provincial capital, and the weapons inventory at the Prevention and Control Center was quite limited.
Lu Yan, holding the knife, felt a splitting headache. His vision darkened. Soon, he realized it wasn't blindness but a power outage at the airport.
In an instant, all sounds around him disappeared. Whether it was voices or footsteps, everything went silent, as if he were the only person left in the world.
Lu Yan had night vision; even in the dark, he could see with ease. This ability had saved him many times. However, now, he looked around and found that the tourists had seemingly evaporated, leaving no trace.
He heard his own rapid heartbeat. The overloaded heartbeat caused his body temperature to rise uncontrollably, and fish scales emerged from under his skin, covering him from the arms to the fingertips.
The airport's incandescent lights flickered twice. At the intersection of light and darkness, Lu Yan's pupils uncontrollably contracted.
In the brief seconds of restored light, all the smiling people in the airport, simultaneously, turned their heads, looking at him.
Even the receptionist in the VIP lounge rotated her head to the back, still wearing a gentle smile.
These people, with identical smiles, asked in unison, "Hello, how can we help you?"
They slowly approached Lu Yan. In the twinkling lights, their movements seemed stiff, like freeze-frame animation.
Smiling people gathered, forming a human wall, surrounding Lu Yan in the center.
Lu Yan finally remembered where he had seen such smiles. It was also in City A, at the headquarters training center, where the missionary from that divine country had the same smile.
The kingfish inside him became unusually restless. Lu Yan even heard it emit an anxious roar, like a dragon's cry.
Only today did Lu Yan realize that the kingfish could actually make sounds.
Lu Yan took a deep breath, lifted his suitcase, pushed through the shoulders of these people, and walked out.
The bystanders didn't physically stop him, their faces still smiling like sunflowers. One face closely followed Lu Yan, but the gaze gradually turned cold and damp.
Because Tang Xunan had promised to pick him up, Lu Yan had declined the special car sent by the City A Prevention and Control Center. Now, in the late night, Lu Yan walked out of the airport hall, not seeing a single taxi, let alone a shared bicycle.
He dialed the headquarters' emergency hotline on his phone.
After a dozen seconds of ringing, the call was answered.
However, after just one sentence, Lu Yan grimaced and hung up the phone.
The person on the other end asked in an unchanging tone, "Hello, how can we help you?" Lu Yan could even imagine the operator's smiling face without seeing it.
Lu Yan hung up the phone, staring at the phone screen. A few thick drops of red liquid landed on the screen.
Subconsciously, he wiped it away and found that he was nosebleeding again.
Lu Yan rarely felt lonely. Yet, at this moment, he felt abandoned by the world.
His temples throbbed, and the streetlights above him began to flicker. He turned to look at the entrance of the airport lounge. Many people of varying heights walked out slowly, all wearing the same smile on their faces.
The crowd surrounded him like a tide. They only smiled and didn't speak. Each time the streetlights went out and lit up again, they got a bit closer to Lu Yan.
It felt like a scene from a Japanese horror film.
Lu Yan could even see the person in the front, the spreading grin on their face.
The surroundings became distorted, and the starry sky above resembled a Van Gogh painting.
Lu Yan realized he couldn't look too closely; otherwise, he would feel nauseous. Or, if his mental resilience weren't far beyond others, he might have vomited by now.
He took a sedative from his coat pocket and put it in his mouth. The cool mint stimulated his throbbing brain. He barely regained some thinking ability.
Lu Yan looked at the person closest to him and asked, "God?" But the person just smiled, a smile tinged with a chilling coldness.
In that moment, Lu Yan even had a feeling that the person standing in front of him wasn't alive.
He licked the mint with his tongue. "Is this a dream? Or is it something I don't know? Do you want to kill me in a dream?"
The people around him got closer. Lu Yan felt a slight chill.
A crazy thought arose in his mind—to destroy everyone around him. Destroy them, so he couldn't see them.
"You're much stronger than me. Want to kill me but have to use this method. It must be because there are restrictions. You can't act directly, so you want to force me to act? What will happen if I act? Will I kill others in reality?"
Lu Yan slowly moved his hand away from the knife.
According to the detector, there were no spiritual fluctuations or contamination values around. Since they were ordinary people, there was nothing to fear.
Lu Yan closed his eyes, letting these smiling people engulf him. Gradually, a satisfied and morbid smile appeared on his face.
...
...
"Lu Yan, Lu Yan—?"
A familiar voice sounded in his ears.
Lu Yan suddenly opened his eyes, his back covered in cold sweat.
In front of him, Tang Xunan crouched, with a worried expression.
"Lu Yan," Tang Xunan took off his jacket and naturally draped it over him. "Why are you sleeping here?"
When he bent over, the proximity was too close, and Lu Yan could even smell the warm mint scent on him.
Lu Yan's gaze shifted to the surrounding scenery. This was still the VIP lounge at the airport.
The clock showed 3:30 a.m. The receptionist, too tired, had already fallen asleep on the table.
Lu Yan's gaze returned to Tang Xunan's face. The concern on his face didn't seem feigned.
He didn't reply immediately but inquired in his mind, "System?"
No response.
In that moment, Lu Yan fully understood what the system had said to him dozens of minutes ago— "Eyes can deceive you, memories can deceive you. But I never will."
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