Chapter 21

At the end of the corridor, a man stood by the window, seemingly gazing at the distant scenery. His sharply defined face was shrouded in shadow, obscuring his expression.

Xiao Shengyun stepped forward to greet him, and asked with a hint of surprise, "Dean Zhou, it's been a long time. I didn't expect to see you here. Are you here to visit a patient?"

His footsteps had probably been heard by the man long ago, so his hasty departure seemed too deliberate.

But why would the other person be here? Even if it's work, the handover should be done in the outpatient building. Is he here to check on the patients in the building? Or is it because of a specific contaminated person?

Xiao Shengyun was thinking rapidly, but he realized something was wrong when he got closer.

Because the concentration of source matter in this person is astonishingly high, it can be detected by senses even without special investigation.

Why would a human have such a high concentration of contaminants? And during the lab test last time, the machine mentioned that Zhou Zhi's contamination level exceeded the normal range. Most importantly, why does he look like a normal human?

A series of questions arose in Xiao Shengyun's mind. He felt that the person in front of him was full of mystery, and he even doubted whether this person was one of his own kind.

"No, I'm here to recuperate; it's a work injury."

Zhou Zhi is exposed to pollutants year-round, and his pollution levels are much higher than normal. Once they exceed a certain threshold, he is forced to be hospitalized. He can only return to work when his levels drop back to normal.

After this back and forth, he had been with the hospital for seven years and was already a VVVIP customer. Dean Li even reserved a room for him at the end of the corridor.

There was a hint of humor in his words, but unfortunately, the person on the other end was oblivious and didn't catch it.

"What a coincidence, me too." Xiao Shengyun said, forcing himself to speak. He felt that Ye Ting's undercover plan was probably going to fall through.

Zhou Zhi clearly did not agree with this statement; it's hard to believe that someone who wouldn't be contaminated would be hospitalized here.

If it were an old hand like Ye Ting or Li Qianfang, they would probably have let it slide. But Zhou Zhi seemed to have been soaked in dish soap, his innocent eyes filled with questions as he quietly stared at Xiao Shengyun.

"We're here on a mission," Xiao Shengyun said somewhat awkwardly in a low voice.

His mission failed before he even got started; his undercover identity was exposed on his very first day.

"You've only been in the team for a short time, and Ye Ting is already letting you carry out missions alone?" Zhou Zhi didn't ask for details, but turned around and began to criticize Captain Ye. It was inevitable that he would be a little dissatisfied that his mortal enemy was making full use of the people he hadn't recruited.

"Captain Ye said it's just a routine investigation mission, and there's no danger in this hospital. However, I came in as a patient, so please don't tell the hospital director," Xiao Shengyun said.

"Okay, I understand." Zhou Zhi seemed a little impatient.

This impatience wasn't directed at him. Although Xiao Shengyun had only met Dean Zhou a few times, he had a general understanding of the man. He seemed aloof but was very responsible and meticulous. For example, every time he visited the lab, Dean Zhou would explain a lot of things, even though it wasn't his job. His impatience was probably because he finally had some time to relax, but then someone sent over a new person. He was too lazy to take care of him, but he couldn't just leave him unattended.

If it weren't for a sliver of trust in Captain Ye's conscience, Xiao Shengyun would have even come specifically during Dean Zhou's time at the hospital.

"What is your mission this time? You can't just leave it at that." Sure enough, Zhou Zhi hesitated for a minute before asking.

Then Xiao Shengyun briefly introduced the mission information. Ye Ting only said that the hospital should not know, but did not say that others should not know. With a powerful figure leading the way, it's impossible to leave it unused.

"If I have any leads, I'll tell you directly." Zhou Zhi nodded, showing no hesitation in offering help to the young man.

"Thank you very much, Dean Zhou." The young man replied with a smile, his eyes crinkling.

This mission is a sure thing.

Over the next few days, Xiao Shengyun quickly learned about the conditions of patients on the first to third floors, of which 30% were vegetative mutations.

The first stage of the patient's life is when green shoots grow on the skin; the second stage is when the limbs and torso turn into vines and green leaves appear on the body; the third stage is when the body becomes woody, like entering a lifeless tree.

These polluters have a similar mental state to ordinary people, and are even more mild-mannered.

The people on the lower three floors live and work like those in a regular hospital. The afternoons are free time, and the building is always empty at this time, which makes Xiao Shengyun a little puzzled.

Do you all enjoy exercising so much?

When he arrived at the lawn behind the hospital, he saw that the lawn was covered with people, all kneeling on the ground, bending over and crawling forward.

This pose seems to have only been seen in some health and wellness manual.

Xiao Shengyun paused for a moment, then walked up to one of the people who was munching on the grass in the lawn.

The sunlight was blocked, and the person paused for a moment, then looked up: "Are you a plant too?"

"I am not a plant."

"Then you're blocking the sun. I'm a plant, I need to bask in the sun."

Xiao Shengyun thought for a moment and replied, "But plants don't eat grass."

“Plants don’t eat grass, I think,” the man spat out the grass from his mouth. “Then I’m a plant, no, plants don’t eat grass, so I’m not a plant, I am, I am not…”

Plant mutations do not cause mental pollution, but they can significantly lower a person's IQ, Xiao Shengyun silently noted.

"Big brother, are you new here?" a little girl asked timidly.

An Tong, 8 years old, pollution direction: phytochemicals.

“Yes, I arrived yesterday afternoon.” Xiao Shengyun’s gaze was drawn to the flower on the little girl’s head; it appeared to be a chrysanthemum, its bright golden color quite striking.

In contrast, the girl's hair was dry and yellow, with even a few gray hairs mixed in.

"Do you really have a wooden house and dwarves outside, brother?" The girl unfolded the book in her hand. It was a fairy tale book with colorful illustrations.

An Tong has been here for a year. All her knowledge comes from books, which describe gardens, talking tree grandpas, golden birds, and princesses made of snow.

The big tree is Grandpa Liu, the little bird is Brother Huang Yu, and the Snow Princess is Uncle Dean—although he always tells us to call him Brother.

“Outside, uh, there are.” Xiao Shengyun had never heard of any wooden houses or dwarves, but as long as he went along with what the human children said, he would be fine.

He gave a simple, clumsy description of the cabin and the dwarfs, and the little girl stared wide-eyed with excitement.

"What are they doing here?" Xiao Shengyun asked.

“They are plants. Plants need sunshine and water, of course. Oh, today is Grandpa Tree’s time to drink water.” The girl put the book on the chair and then handed a pile of water bottles on the ground to everyone.

tons tons tons—

Just like plants, these plant-like beings drank the water in the kettle at an extremely fast pace, and after they finished drinking, their leaves seemed to stretch out a little.

The sun was shining brightly, but Xiao Shengyun shivered, as if he were surrounded by plants whose brains had been taken over, leaving only their withered trunks.

Sunshine, sunshine...

water!

I want to drink water!

After drinking their water, the people lay flat on the lawn, the leaves on their bodies spreading out comfortably, and satisfied smiles on their faces.

I wish I could turn into a plant and bask in the sun.

The thought suddenly popped into Xiao Shengyun's head: Why work? Lying here sunbathing is so comfortable...

When he realized what he was thinking, he was startled. He seemed to have been subjected to a kind of mental pollution, a power that makes people relax unconsciously and want to become a plant that only basks in the sun.

"Brother, would you like to come along? It's very comfortable."

The flower on An Tong's head stood up shakily, blooming towards the sun.

If I'm not mistaken, you should be a chrysanthemum, not a sunflower.

Xiao Shengyun looked at the flower and resisted the urge to pluck it.

He lay down as well, thinking that if he wanted to get useful information, he needed to get to know these people first.

"Are you a plant?" someone next to me asked.

"Yes, I am a plant."

Where are your leaves?

He plucked a blade of grass from the side and stuck it in his hair: "Here."

A gentle breeze caressed the plants, which lay in the sunlight, stretching out their leaves.