When Lu Yan returned home, Tang Xunan was not around.
Xiaotian explained, "Old Tang went to headquarters for a meeting. Due to the Blood Moon phenomenon, the Prevention and Control Center has been holding several meetings recently and decided to organize the Harbingers to address pollution cases in various provinces and cities. It's to prevent pollutants from causing chaos during the Blood Moon, affecting social order."
"Advanced pollution cases can be temporarily set aside. We aim to swiftly handle cases below D rank. Currently, only the first region in the world has the audacity to make such a stern statement."
No wonder the property value of Lu Yan's school district house in City S kept rising; last time Lu Yan checked, the resale price had already exceeded 350,000 per square meter.
Lu Yan planned to return to City S tomorrow, as it's close to the sea, making it convenient to find a boat. He entered the bedroom, started packing, but with so few items, there wasn't much to pack. So, he headed to the kitchen to cook.
Xiaotian took out a specially customized dog phone and frantically sent messages to Tang Xunan's private account.
"Old Tang, come home quickly. Dr. Lu is cooking."
"If he doesn't return after cooking, I'll lose respect for you."
So, during the special operations department meeting, Tang Xunan began frequently checking the time on his watch.
Minister Wang, understanding the situation, calmly suggested, "The groups are about done... how about we conclude today?"
A chorus of agreement echoed from below.
When Tang Xunan arrived home, Lu Yan had just finished preparing three dishes and a soup.
After awakening, most humans gradually lost their appetite as their pollution levels increased. This was due to the distortion, causing everything they ate to taste like boiled chicken breast. Combined with the reduced need for regular food, many laboratories worldwide were working on making pollutants edible.
However, Lu Yan's cooking unexpectedly tasted good. Tang Xunan didn't know the reason, but he enjoyed it.
Feeling the atmosphere was right, Lu Yan said, "I received a mission."
"I know," Tang Xunan lowered his gaze and replied, "During the backstage grouping today, I wanted to include you in my team, but the system mentioned you already have a mission."
Lu Yan calmly said, "Yes, I accepted the 'Divine Realm Operation.'"
Tang Xunan: "…"
He took a deep breath, opened the special operations staff version app, selected and accepted the mission on the first page of the task list. The next second, a dialog box popped up on his phone.
[System Reminder: Apologies, you are prohibited from accepting this mission.]
Less than half a minute after he clicked confirm, contact officer Xiao Wang called, "Captain Tang!! The backstage reminded me that you tried to accept the S-level mission Divine Realm Operation, you can't do that!!"
"Other S-level missions are fine, but this one is absolutely not!"
Xiao Wang, over fifty years old, yelled desperately on the phone.
"Your pollution level has finally dropped. Even if not for yourself, think about Dr. Lu! Lu Yan still has one month to reach 28!! Are you willing to let him be widowed?!"
Tang Xunan felt it wasn't about Lu Yan being widowed but about him having to be widowed.
He hung up the phone, looked at Lu Yan, and said, "I'll go with you."
Tang Xunan's expression was serious, clearly not just empty words.
Lu Yan handed him the analysis report he wrote in the afternoon, explaining why Tang Xunan shouldn't be included. Lu Yan had spent some time typing a 500-word mini-paper on the computer.
In summary: Tang Xunan had a low pollution level, stable mental state, and a psychic power threshold of over 7,000 after the airport incident, proving some immunity to mental attacks. Tang Xunan was not suitable.
Tang Xunan put the report on the table, saying, "Lu Yan, I participated in the previous Divine Realm Operation."
The subtle influence of the Blissful Sect spread quietly; many didn't even know it was a church founded by pollutants. On the day of the outbreak, numerous believers around the world died in their sleep, reaching the so-called "Pure Land of Bliss."
Over a hundred thousand people died daily due to this, and the more deaths, the stronger the true god became.
At that time, almost all Harbingers worldwide acted together, dealt a heavy blow to the true god's main body, and managed to strangle this terrifying nightmare in its cradle.
The headquarters had researched how to kill the true god, but due to the unique "Divine Descent" characteristic, as long as one believer remained worldwide, it wouldn't die. In the end, the headquarters had to seal off the Divine Realm.
Tang Xunan finished introducing this S-level pollution zone, and the restaurant fell into silence.
Lu Yan couldn't help but sigh to the system, "It sounds very dangerous."
[System: Be more confident, you can remove the 'sounds.']
Lu Yan said, "I plan to go to City S tomorrow, then take a boat to the vicinity of the Divine Realm, passing through the sea fog."
Tang Xunan asked, "Do you have to go?"
Lu Yan replied, "I am a Harbinger, and the true god is a pollutant. I have a chance to resolve it soon. After this period, there might not be another opportunity."
Tang Xunan understood; Lu Yan was notifying him. Even if it felt like a thorn in his throat, he had to accept it. Even parents and lovers didn't have the right to force their choices onto others.
Tang Xunan's hand rested on the table, unable to speak for a long time. His golden eyes were fixed on Lu Yan, silently pleading.
The system coolly commented, "[Don't take him, let him hide under the blanket and cry secretly.]"
The tense atmosphere lingered for a moment. Xiaotian listened in the corner, hesitating several times before closing his dog mouth shyly.
Tang Xunan said, "I..."
At that moment, Lu Yan suddenly stood up.
He walked to Tang Xunan and soothingly kissed his lips.
Lu Yan wasn't sure how to act at the moment, so he chose the most straightforward way to silence him.
Although straightforward, it proved effective.
Tang Xunan couldn't speak for a moment. After a while, almost retaliating, he grabbed Lu Yan's waist, pressing him against the table.
Xiaotian walked away, covering his eyes.
The system forcefully disconnected.
Tang Xunan, in front of Lu Yan, was always reserved and silent, rarely expressing his aggressive side.
Lu Yan remembered their first meeting in the cycle of the Nightmare Wall. Tang Xunan had the appearance of an eighteen or nineteen-year-old youth and could still smile at that time.
The system said it was Tang Xunan's appearance when he was young.
He carried too many responsibilities and knew when he might die. Even in his sober moments, he dared not easily say the word 'love.'
His love was a burden.
Lu Yan was kissed breathless; in the midst of contemplation, he thought that next time the system said Tang Xunan couldn't, he could probably directly refute it.
He patted Tang Xunan's back, trying to make him let go
, but Tang Xunan kissed, nibbled, and licked like a dog that had just tasted meat.
Unable to endure, Lu Yan clamped his waist with his legs, used his elbows to support Tang Xunan's neck, and forcefully pressed him to the ground.
It was the grappling technique he learned during training.
Knowing Tang Xunan had a strong body, he exerted force without mercy. If it were someone else, they might have had their cervical vertebrae broken.
Thanks to Tang Xunan's endurance, the two didn't turn from kissing to close combat.
Lu Yan said, "Trust me."
Tang Xunan replied, "Okay, but wait one more day before leaving."
Lu Yan quickly understood why Tang Xunan wanted him to wait one more day.
In the shopping mall, he had seen the Hellfire, a very expensive dagger set to be auctioned next week, flown in from abroad.
Tang Xunan handed him the dagger, scabbard attached to the knife, "Originally, I intended to give it to you as a birthday present, but you seem in a hurry to leave."
It was already October, very close to Lu Yan's 28th birthday.
Tang Xunan said, "One month. This month, I will assist in handling domestic pollution cases. If you haven't returned after a month, I'll go to the Divine Realm to find you."
Seeing people alive or dead.
*
Changjia Country.
The people here have become accustomed to the white mist swirling over the sea.
The gods say that beyond the white mist lies a world full of dangers, and the mist is the benevolent protection given to them by the kind deities.
Song Jingchen is 18 years old this year, residing in a collective dormitory.
The collective dormitory is like a small anthill, with a 0.9-meter single bed, a door, and that's the entirety of "home."
People here have no parents. From birth, infants are separated from their parents and sent to various schools for uniform care and education.
And every October 10th, all children who turn 18 gather in the central square, waiting for the selection by the adults.
Today is October 7th.
They are the dependents living at the bottom of society. As the name suggests, they rely on the grace and favor of the gods for their livelihood.
At the age of 18, lucky dependents will be chosen by the gods to enter the "divine realm" in the sky, serving the adult deities. More dependents, however, will be sent to different places, much like worker ants, to perform labor.
Song Jingchen arrives at the communal cafeteria, where everyone's expressions are profoundly silent.
The clock's hands reach eight o'clock in the evening.
Instantly, the entire nation echoes with fervent shouts: "Praise the true Lord, eternal bliss and life."
They express gratitude, sincerely praising the eternal deities, and then enjoy their dinner.
Dinner is a lump of deep red nutritional paste of unknown origin.
They have one meal at 10 a.m. and another at 8 p.m. One day, two meals, the same food, which Song Jingchen has been eating for over a decade.
On the podium in the center of the cafeteria, the 30-something inspector clears his throat: "Recently, the forces of the heretics have become more rampant! These ungrateful traitors, who blaspheme the deities and insult the divine race for their own gain, spreading hatred. I do not want our school students to associate with heretics! If found, their enrollment will be expelled!"
The inspector's eagle-like gaze sweeps over the faces of the crowd, sternly stating, "Understood?"
A resounding echo fills the cafeteria: "Understood."
Song Jingchen also joins in the chant.
After finishing dinner, there's an hour of labor. The students here wash dishes and clean the school premises.
At 9:30, there's a unified bed check. Students not in their dorms will have credits deducted, affecting their assessment in adulthood.
Song Jingchen cleans his own bowl, then, when others aren't paying attention, carefully slips through the gap in the school fence.
He has a secret little haven, a rocky area by the coast.
Although Song Jingchen appears physically weak at school, he runs like the wind.
[Talent 679 - Swift Movement], though he doesn't know what it is.
He lights the lamp in the cave on the rocks, eagerly flipping through a book titled "Middle School Geography (People's Education Edition)."
Many years ago, a heretic had intruded into their school, nursing injuries in a small warehouse.
He was an old man with gray hair and a weathered face.
He claimed to be a harbinger, with a broken leg.
Because he had been in the school, Song Jingchen had not seen an elderly person before.
Despite discovering him, Song Jingchen, naturally rebellious, did not report him.
The heretic gave him this book.
Unfortunately, on the third day, the scent of blood still attracted the school inspector.
That was also the first time Song Jingchen saw the adult deities.
They had different appearances, one resembling a snail with eyes arranged all over its face, moving with its bristles against its abdomen.
The adult deities dragged the heretic to the school's playground and publicly executed him in front of the statue of the true Lord.
It was a prolonged execution.
The heretic seemed oblivious to pain, just laughing uproariously: "Before I die, I can kill a few pollutants. I don't regret it!"
The heretic struggled and bit the ankle of one deity.
He died a natural but gruesome death.
That was ten years ago. For some reason, Song Jingchen never forgot this incident, even recalling every wrinkle on the heretic's old face.
The inspector mentioned that, except for the listed books, all others were forbidden.
However, this book had somehow escaped their scrutiny.
In the book, a vast world was introduced.
Earth was round, and beyond the white mist, there was an even larger sky. Places covered entirely in sand were called deserts; places covered in glaciers were called ice caps...
Song Jingchen was deeply moved by the description of the world in the book numerous times. He wanted to know more, but unfortunately, he never encountered another heretic again.
In a few days, he would come of age and leave school.
The geography book in his hand was almost tattered, and Song Jingchen looked at the last page of the book. On it was a line of black handwriting - "Never give up hope, never succumb to the darkness. Humanity will never be enslaved. Let's encourage each other!"
The words were powerful and resolute.
Song Jingchen didn't understand the meaning of this sentence, nor did he quite grasp what "humanity" meant.
However, every time he saw it, his eyes couldn't help but redden.
Judging by the moon's angle shift, bed check should be in half an hour.
Song Jingchen wrapped the book in cloth, pressed it at the bottom of the rock.
As he prepared to leave, a shadow suddenly appeared on the horizon of the sea, making him hold his breath.
It was a... mermaid?
Song Jingchen widened his eyes, covered his mouth, hid behind the rocks, cautiously peeking out.
In the undulating waves, a person with a golden fish tail appeared at the edge of the coast.
The deep blue water brushed over the scales on his lower body, revealing a breathtaking beauty.
However, Song Jingchen soon noticed that the fish tail had disappeared into the sea.
In the gently rolling waves, a man with perfectly proportioned features emerged, rising from the water.
Song Jingchen felt that this was the most handsome person he had ever seen. His heart also inexplicably accelerated.
Lu Yan took out his pants from the bag, expressionless, putting them on himself.
System: [Congratulations, host, for successfully reaching the S-level pollution zone, the divine realm, by passing through the white mist and the West Ling Strait.]
Lu Yan looked somewhat disheveled, with a few strands of seaweed on his head.
At the edge of the white mist, ordinary boats couldn't go in, so he had to reluctantly transform into a mermaid and swim in from the sea bottom.
Along the way, Lu Yan encountered several pollution sea snakes. They were genuinely ugly, much more dangerous than the pollutants on land.
Fortunately, with his current abilities, dealing with them was not difficult. Lu Yan swam for two days, surviving on snake meat.
The king fish turned into a fool; now, it had to rely on itself to digest. Fortunately, with the body condition of a mermaid, eating wasn't too burdensome.
Lu Yan twisted his wet clothes, took out the phone with no signal, and performed a simple pollution value check.
"210, not high."
[Yes, because this is the bottom layer of the divine realm. Have you seen the Tower of Babel in the sky? Above the clouds is the central divine court where the true Lord resides.]
Saying that, Lu Yan walked forward.
Song Jingchen was startled, instantly holding his breath, and quietly withdrew his head. He felt that, in this darkness and distance, that person shouldn't be able to see him.
However, the next second, a particularly unfamiliar voice rang over Song Jingchen's head.
"Am I handsome, little one?"
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