Chapter 22

"Hey, who are you? Stay away from my sister."

Xiao Shengyun opened his eyes and saw a boy watching him warily from a short distance away.

The sign in front of him had his name on it—An Nan, who seemed to be An Tong's older brother.

“I just checked into this hospital. An Tong is your sister, a very cute girl.” Xiao Shengyun pointed to the name tag on his body.

"An Tong, get up, it's time to go back." The boy, still somewhat doubtful, pulled An Tong up from the lawn beside him, who was yawning.

"Goodbye, big brother." An Tong waved goodbye as she left.

"goodbye."

The brother and sister walked towards the brightly lit high-rise building in the distance, while Xiao Shengyun watched their backs thoughtfully.

Over the next few days, Xiao Shengyun spent time with these people sunbathing on the lawn. He needed to soften their attitudes before gathering information.

At the same time, his intuition told him that the breakthrough was with Yue Ning. For some reason, even though Yue Ning had lost control last time, she still lived on the second floor and her behavior was not restricted.

Xiao Shengyun decided to go to the second floor to investigate first.

The second and third floors have the same layout. The patients here are all mildly contaminated and usually stay in their wards, making this floor extremely quiet.

As he passed a hospital room, he suddenly noticed a pile of golden things in front of the door.

This looks like... a feather?

He picked up the feather, which was about the length of his palm. It had a delicate and soft texture that he could not match the quality of the fakes.

But Xiao Shengyun couldn't recall any bird with such feathers. Otherwise, just based on the color and feel, these golden feathers would be sold for exorbitant prices by luxury brands.

"Hey, don't touch other people's fur, give it to me." A crisp voice came from the side.

There was another person locked up in this cell. Xiao Shengyun looked at the blond punk with his face plastered on the iron bars and waved the thing in his hand, "Is this hair yours? I'll give it back to you."

He was just joking, but the young man blushed and said, "I didn't drop it, I bought it, give it to me!"

"What are you going to do with this?" A pile of scattered feathers seemed useless.

"Can't I make a feather duster?" the young man said fiercely. The shedding season was already annoying enough, and the fallen feathers could easily be blown away by the wind if you weren't careful.

"Alright." Xiao Shengyun shrugged and stuffed a handful of feathers into the doorway.

The activity room was sunny and not crowded.

Xiao Shengyun saw Yue Ning painting through the glass window. Her expression was so focused that he felt embarrassed to come in and disturb her.

The canvas is filled with flowers, green leaves and vines. The line drawing has been completed, and the next step is to add color.

After Yue Ning put down her paintbrush, Xiao Shengyun walked in. He was about to say something, but he fell silent the moment he saw the canvas.

The center of the rose was purplish-black, but for some reason, a touch of white was added to the center of each bloom. Enveloped by layers of petals, it seemed as if a bright, darting eye had appeared in the middle.

Rose petals, small in size, are intertwined and pressed together, with red and black colors interwoven, and eyes scattered among them.

The colors above are too complex, and in the center is a snake with glossy brown patterns, coiled around this bunch of roses.

In a daze, the vines in the painting seemed to combine to form the face of an unknown species, its features hidden beneath layers of petals.

Xiao Shengyun looked away from the "eyes" on the canvas and exclaimed, "This painting is so beautiful! The roses on it look just like real ones!"

"Thank you for the compliment." Yue Ning's voice was low and husky, her long hair was loose, and there were small scars on her hands that held the paintbrush.

She possessed a calm and convincing aura, a feeling Xiao Shengyun had once experienced with Ye Ting, the seemingly unreliable but frontline captain who commanded others instinctively when they were near him.

What has Yue Ning experienced in the past? Where did her contamination come from? Why didn't the hospital strictly detain her even when she was out of control?

These questions swirled in Xiao Shengyun's mind.

Yue Ning was still coloring the painting. Once she finished, she tore the painting off and held it in her arms.

This was a very insecure posture, like a newborn baby clutching a bottle. The paper was crumpled and wrinkled in her scarred hands, and a look of fear appeared on Yue Ning's face.

This scene feels somewhat out of place.

As she hugged her arms, Xiao Shengyun suddenly realized where the incongruity came from—her arms had obvious muscle lines.

Generally speaking, women find it more difficult to build muscle than men due to their physical constitution. However, Yue Ning's arms are remarkably defined, clearly visible even under clothing. This muscle wasn't developed through workouts or protein powder, but rather honed through countless battles.

It's no wonder that there's a sense of incongruity in a soldier who has participated in battle, yet his face shows fear and despair.

Yue Ning held the paper tightly in his hand; unless the two of them fought, he wouldn't be able to get it out.

Xiao Shengyun's gaze swept over the easel. There was another piece of paper on it. The paper must have been bought by the medical staff. The material wasn't very good. It was probably two pieces of paper stuck together and placed on it. So when one was removed, there was another one underneath, with red stains on it.

Roses, what is the meaning of roses?

Xiao Shengyun picked up a paintbrush and drew a few more strokes on the outline, and a rose bloomed on it.

"Look this way."

His voice attracted Yue Ning's attention, but the moment Yue Ning looked over, Xiao Shengyun quickly crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it to the other end of the conference room.

Yue Ning screamed, the sound was extremely piercing. She ran quickly toward the ball of paper, grabbed it, and tears began to stream down her face.

"Sister, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."

Does Yue Ning have a younger sister? Xiao Shengyun pondered. He helped Yue Ning up and called over the medical staff.

Meanwhile, Zhou Zhi was comfortably lounging on the sofa in Li Qianfang's office, drinking tea.

"I'm in a real mess right now, and you're still sitting there so calmly?"

Li Qianfang sat in front of the computer, his expensively trimmed hair now a mess, and there were several cigarette butts in the cigarette pack on the table.

"It's your butt that's burning, not mine, so how can I not sit still?" Zhou Zhi took another sip of tea.

"Can you bear to watch your senior brother get worn out by this pile of documents? My hair cost a fortune to get done, and now it's almost all falling out." Li Qianfang lay on the table, the two hairs that usually stood up on his head drooping down because he hadn't used any hairspray.

Zhou Zhi: "Maybe it's because I dye my hair so often that my hair is falling out."

In terms of seniority, Li Qianfang is indeed his senior brother. Zhou Zhi's teacher, Chen Jiang, is Wang Hanwen's junior brother. The two once worked at the research institute. Fourteen years ago, Wang Hanwen disappeared, and Li Qianfang also entered "Japan" that year. Chen Jiang later became the dean of the research institute and then took Zhou Zhi as his disciple.

However, the two met before Zhou Zhi became Chen Jiang's student. When he was eighteen, he was forced to enter the "island country" because of an incident. He stayed there for a year and gradually became familiar with Li Qianfang.

However, perhaps distance makes the heart grow fonder. At least when they first met, Li Qianfang seemed calm and reliable to Zhou Zhi, but later his true nature was gradually revealed.

Clothes have to be the most expensive, hair needs frequent touch-ups, and work reports are always submitted just before the deadline…

After being lectured for two hours by Li Qianfang about the brands and effects of hair oil, Zhou Zhi finally began to rebel.

With some people, the more you tolerate them, the more they will take advantage of you.

"Tell me, what do you want me to do?" Zhou Zhi sighed. He was on vacation at the hospital, so why did he have so many things to do?

"I knew you wouldn't ignore this," Li Qianfang said, his eyes brimming with tears. Unfortunately, no one bought his act of being a man in his thirties. However, he quickly put away his pitiful look and his expression became serious. "I suspect that a rat has infiltrated the hospital. I hope you can help me find that person. The other person's talent should be related to stealth. I only noticed him the moment he entered the hospital, and I couldn't find any trace of him afterward."

This person had been lurking in the hospital for several days, but seemed to have done nothing, and Li Qianfang couldn't find any evidence against him. Many of the doctors in the hospital were also awakened individuals, but their talents were mostly healing-related, making them unable to conduct investigative work.

Moreover, they have recently been busy with another important matter: the inspection by the supervisory department, which takes place every three months.

The island nation's main task is to treat and imprison polluters. Polluters are not criminals; they are more innocent and more dangerous. They are victims and may also be the source of the disaster.

When you put a wild animal in a cage, you must be prepared for it to break out.

Island nations are the first line of defense.

The inspection department is the second line of defense.

They would inspect the various branches in the island nation every three months to check on the condition of the polluters. Once they found that someone's pollution level exceeded the kill line, they would "deal with" them.

They had done nothing wrong, yet they lost their freedom and even their lives for no reason.

The only thing Li Qianfang could do was to treat as many people as possible and keep their contamination levels below the kill threshold.

He didn't have time to ponder the meaning of life, but he knew one thing: only by living could there be hope.

What if one day a drug to eliminate pollution is developed? What if one day the pollution suddenly disappears?

He wanted to ensure more people could survive; this was the vow Li Qianfang made on his first day in the island nation.

“I’ll try my best to keep an eye out, but I’m not sure I can find the person,” Zhou Zhi replied.

These two things weren't the only headaches for Li Qianfang; at this moment, he was checking the messages on the SkyNet.

"On June 12, a Chinese research vessel encountered trouble in the Arctic Circle, resulting in the deaths of thirteen crew members. According to footage transmitted from inside the vessel, it was not affected by any external force. The crew members suddenly exhibited a series of abnormal behaviors while the vessel was navigating normally, which ultimately led to the vessel losing control, colliding with an iceberg, and sinking."

"On June 20, a worker at a factory suddenly suffered a mental breakdown and died en route to the hospital. An autopsy revealed that his bones had transformed into the woody structure of a tree, his blood into plant sap, and his internal organs were gradually degenerating."

"On July 5, a large amount of gray fog suddenly appeared on a mountain north of L City. Local police and special operations unit conducted a joint investigation, but the investigation team went missing. Since then, the distortion rate in the surrounding area has risen rapidly."

The increasing number of polluters, the restless forces at play, and the unusual events happening in various places all foreshadow the arrival of a new wave.