Chapter 39

It seemed absurd to negotiate with the opponent before the fighting even started, but the opponent's ability to rise from the dead was too astonishing. Lu Chenzhou dared not act rashly and reported what he had seen and heard truthfully.

Liu Xin, the director of the Supernatural Abilities Bureau, is over fifty years old. His body has been enhanced by the source energy, which makes him still very energetic at this age. His full head of black hair is only mixed with a few white strands.

When Liu Xin was young, he served as the captain of the action department. Not long after, he was transferred to headquarters and later became the director.

He was a survivor of the "Great Cataclysm," and the experiences of those years filled him with a chilling aura. Even in his old age, he maintained a dignified demeanor.

During his years in office, no major troubles occurred in the districts under his jurisdiction. Many people privately muttered that this bureau chief was lucky, as this position was usually filled every year during turbulent times, but he had been able to sit in his position steadily for many years.

When he received Lu Chenzhou's report, there was another person sitting opposite him.

Director of the Supervision Department—He Jingming.

When faced with this person, the old man, who was usually expressionless, was now filled with resentment.

"Jingming, do you know how long the higher-ups hesitated when the ruling was issued back then, and what the consequences were? Over the years, so many people have followed one after another, just to prevent the situation from repeating itself. What are you trying to do by bringing this up now?"

The ruling, which sounded like a decree from the Superpowers Bureau, was almost too sensitive to utter.

Twenty years ago, pollution struck suddenly and spread rapidly throughout the country. The number of people contaminated and the amount of pollutants increased exponentially. In contrast, the number of people who became aware of the pollution was extremely small. At that time, antagonists had only just been developed, and could only reduce pollution levels to some extent, treating the symptoms but not the root cause. Once the effects of the drugs wore off, the pollution levels would rise again.

Fortunately, there is one comforting aspect: the thermal weapons developed in the past can harm the vast majority of pollutants, leaving only a small portion for the Awakened to deal with.

The real problem lies with the contaminated humans; they are like containers for hatching monsters, and if you delay even a second, what's inside will burst forth.

There was no cure, no imprisonment; in the end, there was only one way—to kill.

Everyone understood, but no one spoke up, because if they did, they would become sinners against all humanity.

The first person to submit the ruling was Qiao Yan, the head of the Operations Department in the Beijing area at the time. The Operations Department was located on the front line of the battlefield, and no one knew better than him how serious the situation was.

While the soldiers risked their lives on the front lines, the old guys in the Special Abilities Bureau were inside a safe house, giving orders and dictating the situation.

He was determined to tear away this mask of morality and carve out a future for humanity.

The ruling clearly states that any human with a contamination level exceeding two thousand should be executed, and their remains sealed in the research institute as research material.

Qiao Yan is Liu Xin's mentor. Every member of the action team will have a senior mentor when they first join.

He called him captain, but in his heart, he replaced "captain" with "master".

He looked up at him as if he were looking up at a high mountain.

He could hardly imagine what Qiao Yan's feelings were when she was the first bullet fired in the silence.

Some people in this world never make mistakes because they do nothing, keep quiet, and remain aloof.

After the ruling was issued, it was passed by the top brass of the Superpowers Bureau with a vote of 19 to 1.

The only one who objected was Wang Hanwen, the director of the Life Research Institute at the time. Back then, the Life Research Institute had not yet become independent and was still under the control of the Supernatural Abilities Bureau.

She couldn't bear to see so many lives taken away, and her reason for opposing it was that the second generation of antagonists would be developed within six months, at which point the human body would be able to overcome pollution.

But under those circumstances, this flame of resistance was so faint.

Subsequently, an "Adjudication Office" was established to handle this work, but it was abolished after two years.

That was the predecessor of the Inspection Department.

"Of course I know that I was one of the law enforcement officers back then. But the situation now is so similar to that time. Pollution incidents have occurred frequently in the past two years, and the population of the island nation has exploded. The antagonist has been iterated twice, but it still cannot completely remove the pollution from the human body. If new technologies are not developed to improve the yield, the raw materials for the antagonist can only last for three years at most."

"A man who does not plan for the future will have trouble in the present. The polluters in the South China Sea have launched several riots, and the ringleaders fled from the island nation three years ago. The local operations department has killed many people in the process of suppressing them. As far as I know, some polluters have also secretly formed organizations and want to establish a separate government. These people are not human; they have become like animals after being stained with the blood of beasts. If we do not deal with these people, are we going to wait until the enemy is at our gates before making any plans?"

When humanity stands at a crossroads, every turn of the steering wheel leads to an unknowable future, and no one can remain calm.

He Jingming has a bit of a mystical air about him.

When the "Great Cataclysm" struck, he was among the first to be affected by the contaminants. At that time, he had just graduated, hadn't gone to university, and had simply found a job near his home.

He was the only one who survived the entire factory, and he awakened his talent—"Heavenly Eye".

It can directly observe pollutants without side effects, regardless of their level, and has a deterrent effect on pollutants.

The following year, the adjudication office was established, and since it was a perfect fit for his major, he became a squad leader as soon as he joined.

That year, he was still dreaming of saving the world.

The boss painted a rosy picture, but once inside, it turned out to be completely different from what I had imagined.

The first people he executed were a couple who appeared to be infected by mycelium. The girl's limbs had completely turned into white mycelium, which was tightly intertwined with the boy's. When they died, their heads were close together.

The second person executed was a mother who handed her cell phone to He Jingming so that he could see his child one last time.

He Jingming thought that people who were contaminated would turn into mindless monsters. But if that were really the case, how could monsters have such bright eyes? How could monsters have such hot tears?

He broke down after killing only a few people. He Jingming was not yet twenty years old at the time. This job was completely different from what he had imagined. He did not become a hero, but an executioner.

He couldn't hold on any longer after killing three people.

He wanted to question the world: why has it inflicted so much suffering on humanity? At this moment, humanity's kindness and compassion have become the ropes that prevent them from surviving.

Because of compassion for my fellow countrymen, and because I know the weight of every life, I hesitated greatly even when facing those polluters.

Until he met that person.

The third person He Jingming executed was a recent graduate who had worked at the research institute and was infected shortly after joining. He was found still conducting experiments; the contamination occurred due to damaged equipment and contact between the contaminated corpse and his skin.

The researcher was highly educated and outstanding, but what impressed He Jingming most were his calm eyes.

No, it should be one eye, because the researcher's other eye is covered in moss due to pollution.

Before each execution, He Jingming would chat with the person for a few minutes. If the person had any wishes, he would try his best to fulfill them, hoping to minimize their regrets before they went on their way.

“I don’t have anything I want to do,” the researcher said.

"No?"

"No, really."

The man looked at He Jingming, making the executioner uneasy. The latter curled his fingers, holding a gun in his hand.

That's because He Jingming had a thorn in his side when he decided to punish someone the first two times, which made him hesitate to take action.

The two stared at each other for a long time before the researcher seemed to understand: "Little friend, you're not afraid to make a move, are you?"

He Jingming: "..." Maybe I should just shoot this guy dead.

"I can't do it, why don't you do it yourself?" Perhaps the man's expression was a bit arrogant, as he squeezed out these words through gritted teeth.

"I've already suffered enough, and now you want me to commit suicide?" The researcher seemed to have opened up. "I've studied hard for years, finally managed to get a job at the research institute, and before I could even accomplish anything, I got contaminated. Who can I complain to? God is so unfair!"

Perhaps sensing He Jingming's bad mood, the researcher complained that the man's quiet demeanor just now seemed to be an illusion.

He himself may not have been very upset, but the audience remained silent.

That's really tragic.

Why aren't you saying anything?

He Jingming: "..."

He was about to offer a few dry words of comfort when he realized that the person didn't seem to need much comforting.

"I really have no regrets. My parents are both dead, and now I'm all alone. I'm just a lonely ghost after death. The only pity is that all my knowledge has been wasted. I spent three months as a researcher and did only one thing: extracting the pollutants' pheromones. You have no idea how disgusting they are."

"Do you have any psychological trauma from doing this kind of work? But I think you're doing it to save people, so we're essentially doing the same thing."

"We are all the sand that builds the wall. In the fight against pollution, all efforts are meaningful and all sacrifices are worthwhile."

"So for the final victory, let's take action, after all, the mission to save the world rests in your hands."

He Jingming couldn't quite recall how he felt when he fired the gun. Was it for the final victory...?

Later, when the waves of pollution receded, humans established island nations. This required a great deal of manpower and resources, but ultimately, they built a home for their somewhat different kind of compatriots in this world.

But now, the wall built of kindness has become a blade piercing humanity.

Those damned polluters began to despise and hate ordinary people. They considered themselves a superior species and wanted to become the masters of this world.

This makes humanity's struggle back then seem like a joke.

He Jingming showed no mercy this time; he was determined to rebuild the guillotine and annihilate these monsters.

Liu Xin sighed as he looked at his expression. Either decision would lead to death.

He looked at the communication device; there was a new message.

It was sent from Chenzhou.