Chapter 9
"This is all I can do for you. You should know the consequences of conducting experiments on ordinary people in private. Once you are discovered, no one can protect you."
Ye Ting felt extremely worried. Zhou Zhi was willing to sacrifice a small number of people for the sake of the greater good, and he was completely capable of using an innocent passerby as a guinea pig.
Since the successful development of the third-generation antagonist four years ago, his experiments have stalled. The latest antagonist can significantly reduce the contamination in patients, but it is difficult to eradicate and can only be stabilized through long-term medication.
In order to obtain live contaminants for experimental purposes, he participated in front-line battles with the Operations Unit several times, and the cruelty of his methods made his teammates feel a little scared.
"Don't worry, I understand." Zhou Zhi took the small bottle of blood. His experiment had been stuck for too long, but he had finally found a breakthrough.
"You don't know anything." Ye Ting's head ached just looking at his face. "But that kid is a good prospect. If he can awaken his talent, I'll definitely bring him into the team."
...
"This is the nineteenth case. In the past two months, a total of nineteen people have been exposed to the same pollutant, and the symptoms of contamination are the same. These people's abdomens are swollen, like a woman who is five or six months pregnant. These monsters not only absorb nutrients from the mother, but also gradually devour her internal organs. On the day the monster is born, the mother is left with only bones and skin. The crime scene is extremely bloody and gruesome, and the energy fluctuations have reached level A or above. At the same time, a large number of substances of unknown composition were found at the scene, which should also have fallen from the pollutant, just like human genitalia and hair."
In the conference room, the deputy team leader listed out the information currently available, while information on all pollution incidents was also displayed on the screen.
"You just need to state the case summary; don't say the last sentence, it's a bit disgusting."
The specialists who investigated the first eighteen cases felt their stomachs churning. The scene of human skin and limbs flying off, and blood and mucus all over the ground was too disgusting. Fortunately, no pictures of the scene were shown on the big screen, otherwise they would have vomited up their dinner from the night before.
"I'm just trying to make it more vivid and so you can understand it better."
"We understand perfectly! Let's continue!"
"The victims all share the common characteristics of being female, aged between 20 and 40..."
Yang interrupted. "Since the victims in the past were all women, why is the most recent case a man, and why is he the only one to survive out of the nineteen people?"
"Uh, maybe the pollutants have changed their taste?" one team member joked.
"I'm not joking anymore. This case is different; there's someone manipulating things behind the scenes."
The atmosphere was somewhat heavy. The operations unit's previous duties were only to deal with pollutants, and this was the first time they had taken on a case-like task.
Since the first pollution incident occurred 300 years ago, it has been as if a sword of Damocles has been hanging over the heads of mankind, causing all those who know about it to lose sleep and appetite day and night.
"Pollution" has been included in the national top-level secret plan.
The government issued a decree to summon a large number of military personnel and scientific researchers, and allocated half of the country's funds to enhance military strength and research.
All nations must unite to build a "sky net".
Over the years, pollutants have remained within manageable limits.
As the initial fear faded, people began to see them as tigers and lions, nothing more than a group of low-intelligence beasts.
Even in this case, the shadow of humanity was also present behind more than a dozen incidents of pollutants attacking humans.
How do these people control pollutants? What is their purpose?
The General Administration had successfully infiltrated the Awakened into the Rose Church, but one of them was severely contaminated and has been sent to the hospital for treatment, while the rest have disappeared without a trace.
Meanwhile, one person has become the focal point of these recent cases—"Xiao Shengyun".
"This kid has already passed the test, and we've already pulled up all his past experiences, so there's no need for this anymore."
"But the system seems to only contain his experiences after he turned five."
"What? You think a child under five years old would be involved in these crimes? Are you kidding me?"
The executives were discussing it amongst themselves.
"Alright, just to be on the safe side, we can't rule out any suspects. All these leads have gone cold so far. We'll split into two groups: one will search along the route the pollutants escaped from, and the other will investigate the pollution incident. As for that person, I'll send someone to continue monitoring him."
"Achoo! Who's been talking about this again?" Xiao Shengyun took off his clothes, patted them twice, and hung them deep inside the cabinet by the entrance.
This is a good spot; it's perfectly positioned in the blind spot of the collar monitoring device.
"This kid ran around naked as soon as he walked into the house. He's a pervert. I specifically put the surveillance camera on the clothes he was wearing underneath."
One person complained in front of the monitor screen.
"You put a surveillance camera in someone's clothes the very first time you met them. I don't even know who the pervert is."
His companion was speechless. This guy next to him was known as "Ghost Hands" and could take or put anything away from a distance. If he had been born a thousand years earlier, he would probably have been named a "God of Thieves" or something similar.
This guy has a knack for getting his hands dirty; with such abilities, he has to show them off. His friends who were victimized by him had been harboring resentment for a long time, until one day they devised a plan to have him steal a big shot's underwear, and from then on, the action department finally regained peace.
"The order was given by the captain. If you're so capable, say it to his face."
When Xiao Shengyun returned home, the place was in complete disarray; the trapped pollutants had somehow escaped.
Opening the refrigerator, sure enough, everything inside had been swept away. The pothos on the balcony had been half-eaten, and the culprit was still huddled in the storage basket next to the sofa.
Xiao Shengyun picked up the little guy, somewhat speechless. He could eat so much; he wasn't even sure he could afford to feed him.
Furthermore, does this guy have any awareness of the pollution he's causing? He's just lazy and good-for-nothing all day long.
"Awoo!" The little guy rolled over, the laundry basket shook a few times, and then fell to the ground with a "thud".
What was that sound?
The screen was completely black, and the two could only glean some useful information from the sounds.
"Pets like kittens."
Thinking back to his experience when he went out to buy groceries last time, Xiao Shengyun could only take out his most treasured possession—instant noodles.
Logically, energy bars or nutritional drinks are easier to store and cheaper, but dogs won't eat them. They might only take a bite when they're on the verge of starvation.
"Tuanzi, come here."
This pollutant, which isn't very intelligent, is similar to animals in nature; whoever feeds it is its father. At this moment, the black ball of fluff quickly jumped onto the dining table and lay down next to a bowl.
Then its beloved owner put some fragrant...nutrient solution into the bowl.
Tuanzi looked at the bowl in front of her, then at the bowl in front of her owner. Why did it look a little different?
"This is more nutritious and tastes better than the one in my bowl. You should try it first."
I bought these nutrient solutions a few months ago. I didn't want to drink them, but I couldn't bear to throw them away. Now I've finally found a suitable place for them.
The dumpling sniffed, licked twice, and then slapped off the table.
So pollutants are picky eaters!
As it turns out, offending your pet will have consequences.
Xiao Shengyun lifted his face from the bowl, exhaled a long breath of hot air, and as soon as his bottom touched the sofa, he looked up and saw Tuanzi on the cabinet.
That wardrobe!
It seemed that two buttons on his vest had been undone.
"He's just an ordinary person, but he's got a real talent for mukbang. Listening to him slurp noodles makes me want two bowls myself. Damn, the more I talk about it, the hungrier I get. I definitely need a bowl of hot dry noodles from the cafeteria later, topped with piping hot sesame sauce and chili oil with minced meat... um..."
"Shut up. He does mukbang, but I think you have the talent to be a food blogger too." His companion took a deep breath and gulped down the nutrient solution in his hand.
"Dumplings".
The loud shout not only startled the pollutants but also made the two people on the other side of the screen tremble.
In an instant, Xiao Shengyun had gone from the kitchen to the doorway, taking off the clothes with one hand and grabbing Tuanzi with the other, muttering, "You can run around like that, but how come you shed so much fur? I just bought these clothes a couple of days ago."
"Awooo"
Don't talk nonsense, I don't have a single hair on my body.
Tuanzi looked at the human in confusion as he shouted and yelled, waving his arms and slapping the clothes, before throwing them directly into the washing machine.
Water and detergent were poured in at the same time, and the washing machine started spinning rapidly, making a "buzzing" sound.
The listening device was waterproof, and the sound traveled through radio waves to the other side. "Ghost Hand" ripped off the headphones and put them on the table. He had been hungry for most of the day and hadn't gotten anything out of it. He had only heard this kid playing with cats and dogs and eating and drinking.
Three days later, the two reports were delivered to Ye Ting.
Whether in blood tests or daily life, Xiao Shengyun showed no abnormalities; he was an ordinary person through and through.
“We discovered new clues. When we went to investigate the factory where Tao Zhe works, we detected traces of pollution at the edge of the factory. And the concentration was above 1,000.”
Zhongyuan Group is a long-established company that mainly produces instruments for geological exploration. The company's usual turnover isn't very high, but recently, a company called Shengming purchased a large batch of instruments, offering a price far exceeding the usual selling price.
"If there's a church involved, going directly would definitely alert them, but we can't find suitable people to conduct an in-depth investigation." The team members looked at the report, at a loss.
“A suitable candidate…” Ye Ting stroked his chin. “You go and investigate Shengming’s company. As for the factory, I think I have a suitable candidate.”
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