Chapter 36

This was supposed to be an ordinary day.

After washing up in the morning, Xiao Shengyun examined the patients one by one according to their room numbers.

He entered patient A's room, which was filled with the salty, fishy smell of the ocean. He could smell it even through his protective mask, and it felt like his mouth was stuffed with fish scales.

The thin scales slid between my lips and teeth, and the fishy taste mixed with the saltiness of the seawater rose on my tongue.

The patient was lying in bed, the hospital blanket was a bit small, and most of his long tail was sticking out, with a little bit hanging down to the ground.

Unlike the vibrant mermaid tails depicted in movies and TV shows, this fish tail was grayish-white, with several areas lacking scales, revealing bare, silver skin adorned with black lines.

He has lost most of his human characteristics. His lower body has been completely mutated. Scales have grown from his neck to his back, and fish gills have grown on his face, which twitch in the sunlight.

Will this person suffer from oxygen deprivation like a fish?

This question suddenly popped into Xiao Shengyun's mind.

After he finished examining the patient, the results were as expected: the contamination had spread completely, like cancer cells, and there was no cure.

He put away the detector and was about to leave when a cold hand grabbed his arm.

It doesn't resemble a human hand; transparent membranes have grown between the fingers, like the webbed feet of a frog, giving it a soft feel.

A chill ran down Xiao Shengyun's spine as the patient stared intently at him, his dark eyes devoid of any emotion, and a hoarse voice uttered, "Doctor, am I going to die?"

Xiao Shengyun did not answer; the answer to this question was obvious.

"I don't want to die."

The patient made a "hoarse" sound in his throat, like a phlegm stuck inside. He opened his mouth wide and suddenly lunged at Xiao Shengyun.

"I don't want to die." He repeated these words again. Just as the patient lunged at him, Xiao Shengyun grabbed him by the neck and pinned him to the bed.

He suddenly realized that this person had been dead for a long time. Human brains can also be polluted, and consciousness can disappear little by little. Sometimes, the speed at which consciousness disappears can be much faster than the speed at which the body is alienated.

That phrase, "I don't want to die," wasn't the lament of a dying person, but rather the unwavering conviction of the departed.

Xiao Shengyun applied a little force, and the patient's neck bones creaked; with just a little more force, he could crush them.

But this is useless, because this thing is no longer human, and even if its neck is broken, it may not necessarily die.

The wet, scale-stripped fish tail wrapped around his body, and through his clothes, he could feel the curve of the protruding scales.

At the same time, many tiny tentacles emerged from the twitching gills on the patient's face, dancing towards Xiao Shengyun's body. Thick liquid gushed from the base, soaking the white sheets.

This isn't a foreign species, but a contaminant?

Xiao Shengyun suddenly realized this: how did this thing sneak into the ward?

People, animals, plants, and monsters associated with pollution have always been lumped together, but in reality, pollutants, as invasive species, are far more powerful than the polluted native organisms.

The fishy smell in the room grew stronger, the air seemed to become damp, and the humidity in the room rose rapidly.

Xiao Shengyun noticed an itch in his arm, and the moisture in the air soaked his clothes. He ripped open his sleeve, revealing white scales with black stripes growing from his skin on his forearm.

The moisture is slowly eroding his body!

To finish the battle quickly, some black threads appeared at his fingertips, and just before the attack, the entire building seemed to suddenly tremble.

what happened?

The sky outside turned a deep gray, and an ominous premonition rose from the bottom of his heart. The pollutants in the patient's body emitted a silent wail, a sound outside the range of human hearing, yet Xiao Shengyun could hear it.

Like the roar of a tiger echoing through the forest, the sound reverberated through the mountains and forests, causing the animals in the forest to tremble.

It wasn't just the pollutants; a series of knocks echoed throughout the building, affecting every patient in the hospital.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the black thread, like a knife, precisely entered the gills that had been lifted on the patient's cheek, entangled the pollutants inside, and then pulled them out directly.

Perhaps they used too much force, because when the contaminants were pulled out, they created a large opening in the already dead body, along with some salty, fishy liquid. It was as if fish gills had been ripped open, revealing the blood-red flesh inside the human face and the black tissue that had grown due to parasites.

The contaminant was an octopus, its tentacles curled up as if trying to retract into its shell, if it had one.

Xiao Shengyun sliced ​​the octopus directly into octopus slices. Since the pollutants do not have vital organs such as the brain and heart, their weaknesses are difficult to find. Slicing and burning are the easiest ways to completely remove the pollutants.

Then, sensing the aura emanating from the rooftop, Xiao Shengyun swayed and instantly merged into the wall, like a black shadow moving against the current inside.

The closer he got, the more powerful that force became to him.

If we could absorb this power...

He swallowed hard, then chuckled inwardly at his own overestimation of his abilities. Without the source core, the contaminants were like a stomach that had been removed; he needed to devour the source matter, but it was difficult to digest.

At this moment, no one dared to enter the huge and empty room. Li Qianfang set up a protective barrier outside the door, and the doctors and the people from the inspection department crowded together, staring wide-eyed at the situation inside.

The powerful energy caused the instruments in the room to shatter, including the monitors, and the displays quickly turned black.

When Xiao Shengyun entered the room, he was met with this mess. The room was filled with darkness, and only a "Sleeping Beauty" was lying on the bed in the center.

Zhou Zhi's face was deathly pale, devoid of any color, but his lips were unusually red. His sharp eyes were tightly closed, and he appeared quiet and gentle. Due to the respirator on his face, his features were somewhat blurred.

Xiao Shengyun could see Zhou Zhi's somewhat sunken cheeks from the side. He raised an eyebrow, stepped forward, and looked on with curiosity.

Why would a human body contain such a powerful amount of pollution?

This is so strange for pollutants.

Xiao Shengyun tried to extend some black threads, and the source particles in the air immediately flew over. He subconsciously dodged, but the particles chased after him relentlessly, like flying insects attracted by something.

Warm and familiar.

Although it was a bit strange, that was how Xiao Shengyun felt when he entered the room.

It was warm inside, and the source particles surrounded him, swirling and dancing around him, which he could freely pick.

Each pollutant has a different source of substances within its body. These substances can only be absorbed when the pollutant dies. Forcibly consuming them will only result in "indigestion".

But in this room, these source substances showed no signs of rejection.

Within this energy field, there was also a slightly unsettling aura.

Xiao Shengyun approached the "source of pollution" in the room. Despite being infected, this human showed no change whatsoever, a realization that pleased him somewhat.

Thump—

There was a noise coming from outside the door, and it seemed that someone would break down the door soon.

He stopped hesitating and a large amount of silk threads poured out of his body, wrapping the person on the hospital bed in layers.

Those threads were Xiao Shengyun's extended sensory organs. With the help of those threads, he could clearly "see" the shape of every blood vessel and every organ of the person in front of him. This feeling was somewhat strange.

very beautiful.

Although it may seem strange to refer to a human body in this way, to pollutants, this body is quite beautiful.

The silk thread travels forward, towards the heart.

For some reason, Xiao Shengyun always had a special fondness for the sound of a heartbeat. Xu Qing said that when he was a child, he would only stop crying when he was held in someone's arms.

The sound of his beating heart reassured him.

He wanted to see the shape of this person's heart.

But when the silk thread passed through the many obstacles and reached his chest cavity, Xiao Shengyun froze, his mind went blank, like a pile of rusty gears that had stopped turning.

How could this be? How could this happen?

No words could express the shock he felt at that moment—there was no heart in his chest.

Instead, there was a black crystal, beautiful and shimmering like obsidian; if it were in a museum, it would be an amazing treasure.

But now, this crystal is in a person's chest cavity, wrapped with red blood vessels and flesh, and it has taken over the function of the heart.

This is his source core!

At this moment, many questions were answered: Why did this human have a familiar aura? Why could the human body tolerate so much pollution?

Xiao Shengyun didn't know what he should do.

At the same time, another kind of energy rushed towards him, and the image traveled to his mind along the end of the black line.

He saw another source of energy—a gigantic tree that exuded a terrifying aura.

Is this the source of pollution that causes those vine-like people?

The enormous tree had blood-red branches and leaves, and its trunk and branches were extremely soft. Its lush foliage allowed the seeds on it to fall into the hearts of countless lives, where they would take root and sprout.

Was Zhou Zhi also corrupted by this tree? When?

Xiao Shengyun quickly dismissed the idea. Perhaps it wasn't an infection; the existence of the source core was enough to help him absorb most of the pollution. This madman must have done something else, such as trying to devour fragments of the mother tree's tissue.

A faint sound came from outside the door, drawing his attention to the conversation.

Due to the excessively high concentration of contamination, the ward has been temporarily sealed off. Further action will only be taken once the Bureau of Supernatural Abilities issues its orders.

"They abandoned you."

Xiao Shengyun looked at Zhou Zhi, whose gentle smile now revealed a chilling indifference. He had lived in human society for twenty years, yet he still couldn't understand this species.

They possess both heart-wrenching kindness and piercing evil.

Unlike pollutants, it possesses the purest form of appetite.

How pitiful.

After doing so much, I was finally thrown into this cold, lifeless hospital room.

Xiao Shengyun finally realized that this person was not particularly gifted. It was only because of the existence of the source core that the pollution in his body would not erupt. However, as a flesh and blood body, coexisting with pollution meant that he was destined to experience unimaginable torment.

Looking at the man's somewhat pale face, Xiao Shengyun felt a strange feeling rising in his heart, a feeling that humans call pity.

Zhou Zhi must have saved many people. At least all the antagonists used by awakened people and patients now come from his hands. He can save those who have been contaminated, but he can't save himself who has been contaminated.

In his final moments, it seemed that only a pollutant was by his side.

Xiao Shengyun stretched out his hand, and the black threads devoured all the energy in his body, whether it came from the mother tree or from the source core itself. His movements were very light, ensuring that these threads would not damage any body tissues.

Instead of retrieving the source core, he helped the other person remove all the contamination from their body.

Because Zhou Zhi is a good person.

Because he was a good person, he ate his fill and also gave himself a "good person" card.

As for the source core, this human probably won't live much longer due to the pollution and erosion, so it won't be too late to retrieve it then.

A few minutes after Xiao Shengyun left, the person on the bed trembled slightly and opened their eyes.