Chapter 44
As dawn breaks, birds soar across the sky, a vast expanse of blue stretching behind them. Sunlight pierces through the white clouds, illuminating the ruins of the war, the swirling dust taking on a hazy, dreamlike quality.
Xiao Shengyun moved his fingers a couple of times, opened his dry eyes, and tried to get up, but his waist and elbows were in excruciating pain, as if every bone was making a "crackling" sound.
He seemed to have some kind of instrument strapped to his hand, and with this movement, he rolled off the bedside with a crisp sound, waking up the nurse who was leaning against the door.
The latter shuddered, opened his eyes, and ran quickly to the door to shout before Xiao Shengyun could speak.
"The patient in bed 78 has woken up!"
Suddenly, a large group of doctors and nurses came over, and Xiao Shengyun was restrained by his hands and feet, forced to undergo all sorts of examinations.
He was full of questions, but then he learned from a doctor that the action team could barely withstand the attack of the Mother Tree that day. The barrier formed by several Awakened Ones was shattered by the powerful impact, and the power of the pollutants crossed the last line of defense and quickly reached the residential area.
Suddenly the earth trembled, and the vines of the mother tree turned into pieces. Then Xiao Shengyun and Zhou Zhi suddenly appeared from the air and were caught in time. The two were then sent to a temporary hospital for treatment.
"Fortunately, you are Awakened Ones, otherwise such severe injuries would probably have left you paralyzed. You should rest well. If you need anything, just press the button by the bedside."
"Wait, where's the person who was with me?"
"You are right next to me, and you have a few broken bones. He is more seriously injured. It seems that his internal organs have been under tremendous pressure. Even with a strong ability to recover, it will take him a year and a half to recover."
A year and a half...
Xiao Shengyun recalled that at the moment the source core shattered, the immense energy caused the space to reopen, and he was held tightly in Zhou Zhi's arms, his familiar aura completely enveloping him.
Even though he knew that someone like Zhou Zhi might make the same choice even if he encountered someone else, his heart still tightened.
This feeling of being unconditionally protected is strange. Everyone has selfish desires, and pollutants follow the law of the jungle. Xiao Shengyun has almost never seen such pure kindness.
After lying in bed for two days, his injuries healed considerably, and he was finally able to get out of bed and walk, although he still limped.
The incident affected too many people, and the security department converted the abandoned building into a temporary hospital within two days. The environment was very dilapidated, and you could feel the creaking of the hospital beds the moment you got up.
The two beds were separated only by a curtain.
Zhou Zhi lay quietly on the bed. Due to the numerous wounds inflicted by the leaked energy, almost every inch of his skin was bound with thick bandages to prevent excessive bleeding, and fresh red blood seeped through them.
He always seemed to play the role of protector, whether it was protecting that little girl or burying himself in research in the laboratory day after day. It seemed that as long as he was there, there was almost nothing that couldn't be accomplished.
This person is now lying here like a corpse.
It's not as novel as it used to be.
Xiao Shengyun squatted down, and the scent lingering around his nose was no longer the familiar fragrance, but a pungent and bitter medicinal smell mixed with a trace of blood.
His fingertips traced the wound on the side of his neck. The wound was very small, only about three centimeters long, so it wasn't bandaged and had a thin layer of scab on it.
Seemingly feeling the sting, Zhou Zhi shifted slightly, and the wound brushed against Xiao Shengyun's finger, causing a few drops of blood to seep out from the scab.
He caught it and put it in his mouth; just as he had imagined, it was very sweet.
He tasted the food he had always dreamed of, in a different way. You see, no matter how much you disguise yourself, you can't be exactly the same as a human.
The devil rejoiced inwardly, knowing that with just a small trigger, his instincts would be unleashed, turning him into a crazed, bloodthirsty monster.
The heart was not made of flesh and blood like a human's, but was his source core. At this moment, due to the close proximity, Xiao Shengyun could feel every tremor of the source core. Its power filled this body and attracted its original owner.
Kill him.
The devil's whispers echoed in my mind; it was the missing piece.
Without the source core, you're not much stronger than humans, just like this time, you have no power to resist your own kind.
That thought only flashed through my mind for a moment.
Filled with murderous intent, he ended up only tidying up the messy blankets for the person on the bed.
Xiao Shengyun only stayed here for ten days because of the shortage of beds and the large number of patients waiting in line.
"Recently, the Institute of Life Sciences has entered various pollutants into its database and successfully developed special antagonists for some of them. This is the fourth generation of antagonists, and the drug has entered the clinical trial stage. It is believed that soon, humans will be able to eradicate pollution..."
"Regarding the pollutant attack in S City, the Operations Department has confirmed that it was carried out by a cult organization, and the organization's leader has been successfully apprehended..."
With the mother tree completely dead, all the seeds it planted naturally became ineffective. In addition, the culprit was arrested, so the public was successfully calmed down.
At least humans are not powerless in the face of pollution.
To appease the public, the authorities relocated some of the Awakened from the capital to various regions. When Xiao Shengyun returned to the operations department, he found many new faces.
However, after joining the Operations Division, he was always on missions, so he didn't get to know all the original personnel.
The operations department has good facilities; they've rented a building in the city center, with offices for about four or five people each. The space is spacious and the facilities are complete.
When Xiao Shengyun returned, he found someone already sitting at his desk.
He was a young man of eighteen or nineteen, with black hair dyed green at the ends, several piercings in his earlobes, and a string of jingling silver ornaments with a few sparkling gems hanging from them. His collar was wide open, unbuttoned, revealing a black short-sleeved shirt underneath. His normally formal uniform was worn like an underground idol's stage outfit.
"This is your table? But I'm sorry, it's mine now." The delinquent boy crossed his legs, raised his eyebrows, and had an extremely arrogant expression, showing no sign of remorse whatsoever.
Xiao Shengyun had hardly ever come here, but he wasn't the type to be easily manipulated. Just as he was about to speak, he saw Huang Yu make a gesture behind him.
"Who is this person?" The two found a lounge downstairs to make sure they wouldn't be disturbed.
"The new guy is called Chen Buyan. His grandfather is a big shot in the Supernatural Abilities Bureau, and he's just here to get some experience." Because they solved the S-level pollutant, the Operations Division was immediately thrust into the spotlight, and many rewards were approved from above. Many Awakened Ones wanted to get a piece of the pie.
"However, this young master seems quite capable. He's killed several Class A pollutants. His talent is called something like 'light,' which has a powerful destructive effect on pollutants. The captain privately told us that he probably won't stay long before heading back."
"Understood," Xiao Shengyun nodded.
"Oh, speaking of which, the captain wants you to go over there. I guess it's to distribute bonuses. You better treat me to dinner tonight."
"Will you come to dinner? No."
"Do you know that when you two fell from the sky, if I hadn't caught you, you wouldn't have just been bedridden for ten days, I would have lost a lot of my hair," Huang Yu said confidently.
"Understood." When Xiao Shengyun went to find Ye Ting, the latter was writing a report, a thick stack of documents that looked like it was going to bury him.
"Captain." He knocked twice before Ye Ting looked up.
"Xiao Xiao, you're here. I mainly wanted to ask you if you remember the details of that day. We need to submit a detailed account of the battle. This was written by Zhou Zhi; please see if you can add anything."
Ye Ting touched his hair and felt that it was even thinner than it had been a couple of days ago. Even though he was still a few months away from turning thirty, Captain Ye looked like he was a generation older.
Zhou Zhi's writing is largely accurate, except that he omitted some details about the inner world.
"No."
"Alright, you two did a great job this time. The bonus will be deposited into your account later. By the way, I heard about what happened today from Huang Yu. Use the other table. That kid has always had this temper, don't take it to heart. He left not long after."
When Ye Ting heard about what happened today, he knew that with Chen Buyan's temper, any punishment would cause a huge uproar. Everyone here was too busy to deal with such things lately.
However, he still felt a little guilty: "Do you have any other problems, whether they are related to your life or work? If I can help you, I will do my best to solve them."
"Captain, what's the best way to stay with someone forever?"
Xiao Shengyun thought about it for a few days. Although he couldn't obtain the source core now, he could still get some energy by being with Zhou Zhi.
But the premise is that we're together.
"You're not thinking about dating, are you?" Ye Ting's expression was strange. He wasn't against it, but this line of work was special, and injuries or deaths could happen at any time, so members rarely settled down and started families.
Looking at Xiao Shengyun's handsome features, he couldn't help but shake his head inwardly.
You're still too young.
"That's up to you. If you want to pursue a girl, buy her more things and spend more time with her. She shouldn't be too busy this month. If you really like her, then protect her." Ye Ting himself didn't have much experience in relationships, only a few years of vague crushes. Before he could figure out his own feelings, that person had already left.
"That's not a girl, and he doesn't really need my protection..."
"Could it be someone from the Operations Department?" Ye Ting's expression became even stranger. Could this kid be targeting his colleagues?
"No." Xiao Shengyun shook his head firmly.
Although no definite method was found, Ye Ting's words gave Xiao Shengyun some inspiration. He left in high spirits, looking much more relaxed than when he arrived.
Ye Ting felt a pang of jealousy watching his teammate fall in love, took a sip of coffee, and then buried himself in processing documents.
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