Chapter 6

After research, Xiao Shengyun discovered that apart from eating a lot, this little guy could easily become the top star in a pet store in every other aspect.

They're cuddly and easy to pet, with a bouncy texture, making them perfect for warming your feet or as a cushion.

This little guy seems to have made the trash can its home, jumping around inside it.

Xiao Shengyun mixed his own essence into the food. The black mass pushed open the lid of the trash can and peeked forward, seemingly to smell whether the food in front of it tasted good.

The owner seems to have a better appetite than the food.

Forgetting its earlier fear, the little creature stretched out its sharp teeth and stabbed at Xiao Shengyun's palm, only to be caught by the scruff of its neck in the next second.

"Be a good boy and listen to me."

A human's long, slender fingers reached out to his face. The black mass sensed something was wrong and twisted violently, trying to escape, but it couldn't escape being kneaded and squeezed.

"Awooo" Go away—

The tiny pollutant learned about the dangers of society for the first time.

To prevent the creature from running away, Xiao Shengyun turned the trash can into a simple cage. He had to work and couldn't possibly watch over the little guy every day.

With several police stops in the past few days, Xiao Shengyun's perfect attendance record was on the verge of collapse. So, he got up early the next day, casually touched his face, and half-closed his eyes as he put on his work clothes.

The person in the mirror is tall and handsome, except for some dark circles under his eyes.

As he stated during questioning, Xiao Shengyun was an engineer responsible for repairing machines. In those days, everything was produced entirely by mechanization, and those buzzing machines replaced the workers on the assembly lines of yesteryear.

So after graduating from school, Xiao Shengyun, with his average grades, easily entered the factory and became one of the countless migrant workers.

When Xiao Shengyun returned, he was warmly welcomed by his colleagues. Since there were only four people in the entire workshop, he had one less person to chat with, and the place felt much quieter.

"Why are you all so enthusiastic today? Don't you have any work to do?"

Even the worst machine can't break down every day, so these engineers spend most of their time slacking off, only occasionally being recruited for other positions.

Besides Xiao Shengyun, there were three other people in the workshop. One was Old Ding, who was sixty years old and a long-time employee; the others were all trained by him. Another was Yu Wenliang, probably in his thirties, with a wife and children, and the breadwinner of his family. The third was A Zhe, about the same age as Xiao Shengyun, a quick-witted and opportunistic person who often fawned over the various supervisors.

“Sigh,” Yu Wenliang sighed, “You don’t know, the day after you left, A Zhe also took sick leave. It’s just me and Lao Ding, with nearly a hundred people in total, staring at each other. It’s become quite deserted here.”

"What's wrong with A-Zhe?" Xiao Shengyun asked, puzzled. That guy was always lively and energetic, and when there was no work to do, he would go and help out at other posts.

"I don't know. Lao Ding and I are planning to go check after get off work today. Since you're back today, shall we go together?"

Xiao Shengyun nodded.

On the first day of resuming work, he thought nothing would happen, but then an order came from above, and these few idle people were assigned to sweep the streets.

It seems some important guests are coming to visit today. The factory's main roads are being swept spotless, with several people wielding brooms, raising dust several meters into the air.

"That car costs several million. If one day I could sit in the leather seats inside and drive around the city center, I would be willing to die for it." Yu Wenliang looked at the car at the end of the road with envy.

Several men in suits got out of the car, and the factory manager, all smiles, personally accompanied them; these appeared to be the VIPs.

“You’re already dreaming before nightfall,” Old Ding patted Yu Wenliang on the head. “Hurry up and sweep your floor, then you can leave work early.”

After get off work, a few of them discussed buying some things to visit A ​​Zhe's house. A Zhe lived not far from the company, only a few minutes' walk away.

This neighborhood is known as a pigeonhole, with hundreds of high-rise buildings rising from the ground and divided horizontally and vertically into small cubicles.

Xiao Shengyun lives in an older neighborhood, which is more spacious but also more expensive.

Ah Zhe warmly received the group. He had a rosy complexion and looked radiant, as if nothing was wrong.

He was wearing thick clothes, which made him look a bit bulky.

However, due to insufficient water pressure, the underfloor heating in the high-rise buildings often failed to work, but no one paid much attention to it.

The group placed the gifts they brought at the door, exchanged pleasantries, and then went home.

"That kid isn't faking illness, is he? He looks healthier than me." Yu Wenliang muttered to himself after leaving the house.

"Who knows? But it's good that everyone is alright. It's already dark, and if we keep playing, we'll miss the subway."

The group of friends often chatted together and had a very good relationship. Even when someone pretended to be sick, they would cover for each other.

Xiao Shengyun parted ways with the others and headed towards the subway station.

Just then, his phone rang.

Xiao Shengyun glanced at the message on his phone, turned around, and went back the way he came.

Of the three, he and A Zhe were the closest. Yu Wenliang was already married, and their conversations inevitably turned to trivial matters about his wife and children. Old Ding wasn't good at chatting and often huddled in a corner smoking tobacco; nowadays, e-cigarettes were all the rage, and no one knew where he got his hands on one. Only Xiao Shengyun and A Zhe were about the same age, and they quickly built a deep friendship through beer and games.

As soon as the others left, Ah Zhe sent a text message, probably saying something that was inconvenient to say in front of the other two.

When they arrived at A Zhe's house, the man stammered for a long time without uttering a single word, seemingly wanting to speak but holding back, yet still wanting to speak.

"Stop dawdling. I walked two kilometers away from your neighborhood and then came all the way back. What's the matter?"

Xiao Shengyun couldn't stand it.

call-

Ah Zhe took a deep breath, pulled open his clothes, and saw that his arm was covered with dense green buds. It didn't seem to be a human hand, but rather a branch of a tree.

pollute……

"I felt something growing on my hand a couple of days ago. I initially thought it was some kind of skin disease, but it turned into this not long after."

A Zhe grabbed Xiao Shengyun's sleeve, tears streaming down his face.

How long ago did you discover it?

Two months ago.

So long? The human body is so fragile, it's impossible for it to last that long.

"At first, I just felt that my arms were itchy and thought I had come into contact with something and had an allergic reaction. I bought some ointment from the pharmacy and applied it, but it didn't work very well. Later, small bumps started to appear on my hands. I searched online but couldn't find any information about this disease. However, during my investigation, I found a forum."

"forum?"

"Yes, there are many patients with intractable diseases in the store. Many of them have been cured by a special medicine. I thought it might be useful, so I bought some too."

Xiao Shengyun: "..."

Some people don't even have to wait until they're sixty to be tricked into buying health products; they can fall for it as early as their twenties.

He entered the URL that A Zhe had mentioned. It seemed to be an external website, and it took a long time to load before the page appeared.

The forum contains posts where the posters briefly describe their symptoms, including tentacles growing on their bodies and scales growing on their skin, and there are comments below.

Clearly, this is a forum made up of polluters.

"What medicine did you buy?"

"I don't know, it was sent in transparent packaging. I wanted to buy more after I finished it, but I couldn't contact that person."

Xiao Shengyun didn't know what expression to use to respond. How could someone be so stupid as to not go to the hospital when they were sick and instead take medicine of unknown origin?

But this person was quite lucky; the medicine he bought worked. He guessed it was similar to the antagonist issued by the Operations Department.

We'll talk about the forum later; right now, we need to get this person to the hospital.

"Aren't these pollution incidents happening too frequently lately? There have been two around here in just a few days," Xiao Shengyun pondered.

The action unit wasn't far from here. He was riding Ah Zhe's motorcycle with people on the back, the wind whistling past his ears.

"Do you think I'll die? I haven't even been in a relationship yet, my new game isn't even finished yet, and there are so many places I haven't been to..."

A building in the city center

A violent shaking came from beneath our feet, and everyone felt dizzy for a moment. The expensive gems on the ceiling chandelier collided with each other, making a clattering sound.

The building was filled with ordinary employees who knew nothing about the situation, and at that moment, chaos reigned.

"Earthquake!"

"Run!"

My phone—

The employees immediately jumped up from their chairs and swarmed to the elevator, but the building, which was dozens of stories high, only had six elevators, so people could only anxiously crowd at the entrance.

A mechanical female voice came from the radio. Usually, the content of the broadcasts was ignored, but at this moment it was the only lifeline.

"Please remain calm. This tremor was not caused by an earthquake. The underground construction team is currently opening up a new area. The abnormal tremor was caused by a ground collapse, but it is now under control. The construction team will begin repair work as soon as possible. There will be occasional slight tremors, which is normal. Please do not panic."

It was a false alarm. The employees calmed down and returned to their seats in twos and threes.

Dozens of floors underground, cold and dark, the heavy metal doors were tightly closed, but a viscous liquid slowly flowed out from the cracks, and even through the doors, one could hear the howling of the people inside.

Human life is the most precious thing, and also the most worthless thing.