Lu Yan finished his bath and tucked the clean bunny into his pocket.
According to the system, carrying pollutants at all times would weaken his "human" aura even further.
The bunny butcher peeked out from the pocket and whispered, "Mom, when are we going home?"
Lu Yan replied expressionlessly, "Call me big brother. Uncle works too."
The bunny persisted, "Mom."
After several failed corrections, Lu Yan gave up on the futile attempt. He attempted to use Talent 14, Mental Reshaping, on the bunny butcher. Unfortunately, after exchanging baffled glances for a while, Lu Yan couldn't access the familiar interface.
"[Give it up. This little pollutant doesn't have a brain.]"
"[It has some thinking ability, but what's kept it going this far is nothing but an unyielding obsession.]"
With a sigh, Lu Yan tucked the bunny back into his pocket.
The bunny butcher hugged Lu Yan through the fabric of his clothes.
At four in the morning, a bright fire lit up the pitch-black sky.
Lu Yan opened the balcony window and watched a burning bird soar across the sky, leaving a trail akin to the dawn.
In this world shrouded in a faint red hue, the brilliance remained dazzling and intense, showcasing the owner's formidable strength.
The red bird flew like a shooting star, only to vanish like one too.
"07 and 01 have arrived. 07 doesn't actually need to emit light; this is 01's demonstration. After all, this is Lu Zhi's territory. It's a warning to Lu Zhi not to get any ideas." The system whispered, "Stay away from the Western District. That's the affluent area. Lu Zhi is hosting 01 and 07. 01 is a real dog, but his nose is even keener than a dog's. Don't let him catch a whiff of you."
Lu Yan asked, "How's Zong Yan?"
"What kind of 'good' are you referring to? If it's strength, he's probably the strongest he's ever been since becoming a pollutant. If it's about personality and will..." The system paused, "He no longer remembers he's called Zong Yan."
Lu Yan furrowed his brows slowly, "Can we go out now?"
Although Lu Yan had sent a message to Tang Xunan before leaving, saying he was a bit tired and hoped not to be disturbed, it would be strange if he didn't show up all day.
The system replied, "[You hold a slaughterhouse work permit, so theoretically, you can freely enter and exit the underworld. However, I have to remind you, in order to prevent the butcher from taking private orders and not handing over thirty-five percent of the service fee, if you want to leave the slaughterhouse, you need to be inspected by other slaughterhouse staff. Starting from 11 o'clock this morning, the slaughterhouse will be temporarily closed, with only entry allowed, no exit.]"
Lu Yan might smell like a pollutant, but he was nothing like "Zhu Tu" on his practice certificate.
"During this time, if you're free, you can wander around the slaughterhouse." So, Lu Yan fell silent.
He lowered his gaze, silently wiping his weapon repeatedly with a dining cloth.
The room remained unlit, and Lu Yan's crimson pupils resembled a blood moon.
*
City X, Contamination Disease Prevention and Control Center.
Perhaps because the big battle was imminent, the atmosphere throughout the base was oppressive.
Some peripheral staff, unaware of what was happening, instinctively lowered their voices and slowed their pace to avoid drawing attention.
The location where the contract was signed this time was in the suburbs of City X, and nearby residents had already evacuated. Employees from the Fifth Research Institute had set up a barrier a week in advance. Although the barrier would be of little help if a real fight broke out, it was better than nothing.
What needed to be said had been discussed at yesterday's meeting; Headquarters didn't want to add pressure to these already mentally unstable Harbingers. Therefore, no meeting was convened, allowing everyone to move freely.
Each harbinger had their own way of relaxing before a mission. As long as it was within the legal limits, Headquarters wouldn't intervene.
Tang Xunan woke up around four in the morning.
His sleep quality had always been poor, but this time he woke up in response to something external.
To describe it, Tang Xunan felt a very conspicuous "energy entity" passing through, as if demonstrating something.
Except for S-rank Pollutants, this energy entity didn't pay much attention to others.
After sensing it for a moment, Tang Xunan thought it must be 07.
The current classification standards had been set many years ago. However, with the pollution levels rising on the enemy side, there were significant differences even between S-ranks.
At least, the energy entity he just felt would easily make it into the top five in Tang Xunan's impression.
As pollution worsened and pollutants thrived, both pollutants and Harbingers were gaining momentum.
Even Tang Xunan's spiritual threshold, which had remained unchanged for a long time, had skyrocketed from 11,000 to 13,000 in a short time.
But for humans, this was not a cause for celebration.
Tang Xunan couldn't fall back asleep and found himself missing his boyfriend. However, knocking on someone's door in the middle of the night seemed inappropriate. So, Tang Xunan waited until dawn before sending a message to Lu Yan: Are you awake?
No response.
Lu Yan's life was always disciplined. Unless severely injured and needing self-healing, he rarely stayed in bed and never overslept.
At nine in the morning, Tang Xunan knocked on the door, but there was no response.
Tomorrow was Lu Yan's birthday, but it seemed there wouldn't be time to celebrate due to contract signing.
Tang Xunan had initially planned to move it to today.
It would have been their first birthday celebration together, perhaps the only one.
After a moment of contemplation, he asked at the front desk, "Has Mr. Diteng left today?"
The receptionist shook her head. "Mr. Diteng hasn't been seen leaving today."
They were on duty 24 hours. If Lu Yan had left through normal channels, someone would have noticed.
Tang Xunan returned to the 11th floor.
His hand rested on the door of the staff dormitory. After a moment, the lock lost its protective ability due to aging.
The room alarm sounded as Tang Xunan pushed the door open and silenced it.
He called the front desk, "No need to send anyone over, I lost control of my Talent."
When the spiritual threshold rises too quickly, occasionally, Harbingers may experience spiritual leakage.
This phenomenon is particularly prominent in combat-oriented Harbingers.
After closing the door, Tang Xunan surveyed the room.
Sure enough, Lu Yan wasn't there. There were no signs of a struggle, and the bed was neatly made.
Even if Subject 01 had come, Tang Xunan believed that given Lu Yan's state, there would have been some reaction, even if Subject 01 had abducted him.
If nothing unexpected had happened, Lu Yan probably left on his own.
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