Chapter 12
For the first ten days, they did some routine work. Their main job was to maintain the normal operation of the workshop machines, and other tasks such as cleaning instruments were just miscellaneous jobs.
However, some unclear instructions appeared later.
"October 21, No. 101".
There are only 100 machines in the factory, and the product numbers are only 1-100. What is this 101?
Xiao Shengyun frowned as he flipped through the work log at the back. This log mainly recorded his work status so that the next shift wouldn't be confused.
"Number 101 is in Sector M. Go to the northernmost part of Sector L, enter the wooden door at the end, and it's behind the stairs."
However, on October 22, it was shown that Tao Zhe was on leave and Yu Wenliang became the person on duty.
In subsequent records, the number of times "M zone" appeared became more and more frequent, and Tao Zhe also took leave more and more often.
Xiao Shengyun had worked here for three years. The northwest area of the factory had been basically abandoned since he joined the company, and he had never known that such a place existed.
The source of that pollution is most likely hidden in area M.
He shared the same idea as the people in the action department, but in order not to alert them, Xiao Shengyun decided to investigate during his night shift.
The factory was very quiet at night; the machines lay silent in the darkness, and the flickering lights could be faintly seen in the distance.
At 20:00, a message appeared on the communicator: Number 101, Area M.
He called back via communicator: "Sister Wang, I don't recall there being any working machines there?"
The woman's voice on the other end sounded somewhat flustered, and also concealed a deep fear: "The machine over there is newly set up, and I haven't had time to tell you yet. Just go straight there. You can find the exact location on the map in your office."
Before he could say anything, the call was abruptly ended.
The light from the phone illuminated Xiao Shengyun's dark eyes. He looked like a lamb being led to the slaughter, having climbed onto the gallows himself.
"Let's go." He turned his head and silently moved his lips towards the empty office.
Section M is located in the third workshop; you need to go through a small path to get there from the office.
A row of streetlights cast long shadows on people.
"Aren't you scared? Who knows what monsters we'll encounter next? We're just here to take a look first. If we can't beat it, we'll run away and come back with more people to fight it again."
The shadow gradually shrank and twisted, becoming a long straight line that looked like swaying seaweed on the seabed.
Although Xiao Shengyun has a special physical condition, every case involving "pollution" must be treated with caution, so the Operations Department specially dispatched a specialist to accompany him.
His talent lies in blending himself into the shadows, perfectly evading the ubiquitous surveillance cameras and machine checks at every entrance of the factory.
Unfortunately, this commissioner was just as talkative as his deputy captain. Once they reached an area without surveillance, he was finally able to shut up.
"I can't run as fast as you, you're not going to leave me behind, are you?"
Xiao Shengyun said it casually.
"Of course not," Shadow chuckled. "If I left you behind, the captain would probably tear me apart. People's safety comes first; your life is more precious than ours."
Really? But I'm not human.
Xiao Shengyun remained silent for a few seconds, then strode forward, the dark shadow beneath his feet following closely like a swimming fish.
The heavy iron door was opened, and a musty smell wafted out; the inside was equally dark.
According to Tao Zhe's work log, walk forward to reach area L, and then to the end.
A strong sense of unease rose from the bottom of my heart, just like that day on the subway.
This feeling comes from biological instinct; humans also have this ability, but it is much weaker compared to pollutants.
After all, that otherworld belonging to monsters takes the "survival of the fittest" principle to the extreme, and only by evolving the ability to sense danger can one have a chance of survival.
The signal was transmitted from the detection device to the monitoring room of the operations department. Everyone stared at the screen, on which Xiao Shengyun stretched out his hand.
Open the door.
What's behind this?
Empty.
To everyone's surprise, there was no snarling monster behind the door, nor was there any blood and flesh scattered on the ground; there was only an empty water tank.
Behind the reservoir are many huge iron tanks, over ten meters high, standing silently.
A large amount of black liquid flowed in the reservoir, emitting a strange fragrance that only Xiao Shengyun could perceive.
Many people have died in this pool.
But everyone remained tense, knowing that "pollution" can attach itself to both people and objects, although cases of the latter are extremely rare.
Every Awakened One hears this typical case during their training: a scientific expedition once traveled to a certain sea area and discovered an unnamed island in the middle of the ocean. The expedition leader was extremely excited because human satellites can mark almost any location in the world, but there was no information about this unnamed island on them. This was undoubtedly a great discovery.
There were also some strange buildings on the island that did not belong to any civilization, but they soon turned what they considered to be cultural relics into monsters that devoured people.
In the video footage that was transmitted at the time, the drizzling rain fell, forming blood-red rivers. Thick, viscous blood vessels slowly grew on the tallest building, followed by a red and white membrane, from which huge veins gradually bulged. It looked, it looked like something alive.
The lives of those five people were exchanged for such a short clip, and even just watching it caused the pollution index of many low-level awakened individuals to rise rapidly.
Following the instructions on the communicator, Xiao Shengyun randomly picked up a small bottle, took some samples, and sent them to the operations department for testing.
Both of them simultaneously sensed that a large amount of source matter was slowly flowing into the liquid.
"We've got the stuff, let's leave as soon as possible."
The "shadow" remained hidden underground, unusually silent, the liquid in the reservoir giving him a strange sense of unease and fear.
Water flowed between the pool and the pipes, occasionally rippling across the surface, but he always felt that something else... was appearing inside.
"Let's go quickly."
The shadow kept urging him on, but Xiao Shengyun remained standing in place, holding the bottle and staring at the liquid without moving.
Source matter is the source of power for pollutants and the basic substance they need to survive. Facing this bottle of water is like setting out a Manchu Han Imperial Feast in front of a starving person.
Looking at the pool filled with source essence, Xiao Shengyun regretted not taking more bottles.
So hungry...
Just like the increased appetite during puberty in humans, from some unknown time, a strong sense of hunger welled up deep within his body. His internal organs were screaming for food, but human food could not satisfy his empty stomach.
He tightened the bottle cap, turned and left, his eyes inadvertently glancing at the sink.
It stopped abruptly.
The pool, which had been relatively calm just moments before, was now surging violently. Bubbles rose one after another from the surface, and it seemed as if there was a fire below, boiling the water in the pool.
"Leave now."
"Shadow" sensed something and shouted in a hoarse voice, but it was too late. A black, unidentified creature quickly emerged from the pool and pounced straight at him.
"What is this thing?!"
He screamed in agony, his body becoming one with the earth as he continued to run.
In the dim light, Xiao Shengyun could see clearly—it was a completely black fish-like creature covered in layers of scales, with bulging purple eyes.
Fortunately, this fish could not merge into the ground; it hopped around on the floor, like its kind stranded on the beach.
It soon realized it couldn't find food on the ground, so it turned its attention to its kind on the shore.
Generally, higher-order pollutants have an invisible deterrent effect on lower-order pollutants. However, this fish was out of the water and was about to die. The fear of death was enough to overwhelm the body's instincts.
Xiao Shengyun met the eyes of the dead fish for a moment, then ran towards the door.
He is now an ordinary person, and an ordinary person cannot crush pollutants with their bare hands.
The water in the reservoir continued to boil, the water level rose, and it gradually overflowed, covering the ground with dark brown liquid, along with countless jet-black fish.
The water was heavily polluted. A shadow leaped out of the ground, grabbed Xiao Shengyun, and ran towards the door.
At the same time, a piercing alarm sounded throughout the workshop.
"where you go?"
A shout came from behind, "Shadow." Instead of running to the exit, Xiao Shengyun made a sharp turn.
"Come up." There was no time to say more. Ahead was the staircase. He climbed up quickly to the top of those huge iron tanks.
The two were several meters above the ground, while the fish, no matter what they did, couldn't fly and could only wriggle on the floor.
About two or three minutes later, a group of people dressed in red burst through the door.
The Church of the Roses—
The Shadow felt a bitter taste in its mouth, its voice stuck in its throat. It had thought the pollution was naturally occurring, but it hadn't expected that they had intervened, and the leader was one of the cardinals in the church—the Viper.
Based on current information, the Church has three cardinals, codenamed "Raven," "Vine," and "Snake," whose status is second only to the Pope.
"Viper's" ability is corrosion; his power can annihilate anything he touches. If we only consider offensive capabilities, he is the most powerful of the three.
"Where is the person on duty here?" The venomous snake raised his hand, and the overflowing water seemed to be blocked by an invisible barrier. The fish in the water seemed to sense something and jumped violently.
Then white smoke rose from the ground, gradually consuming the fish and water until they disappeared.
The rest of the church lowered their heads even further, for at the slightest mistake, their bones and flesh would turn to white smoke and be blown away by the wind.
A piercing sound rang out from the skull, the scream of the pollutant before its death. The sound was so shrill and shrill that Xiao Shengyun had to kneel on the air corridor made of iron plates, his face contorted with pain.
The chains made a slight rattling sound, but fortunately, the people below were high enough that they didn't notice it.
The venomous snake walked to the edge of the pool and threw the object in its hand into it. It was like pouring a bowl of cold water on the surface of the water, which instantly became calm.
He looked up and around. Although he knew he couldn't see into this blind spot high in the sky, the two of them were still terrified.
"The intruder is still here. Search!"
At a command, church members began climbing the stairs. The place was only so big; they didn't even consider hiding there.
At this rate, their whereabouts will soon be exposed. Xiao Shengyun and Shadow exchanged a glance, both seeing hesitation in each other's eyes.
"Shadow's" talent doesn't lie in combat, and his mission this time is to protect the safety of this kind-hearted citizen. If an ordinary person who came to help the action department investigate dies unexpectedly, what face do they have to shout the slogan of "protecting the safety of the people"?
Are there any other exits?
Footsteps sounded from below; the group of people climbed up very quickly.
"It's right before our eyes."
Xiao Shengyun pointed to the large iron can beneath him. The can had an extremely narrow entrance, about one meter in diameter, and was more than ten meters deep underground. It was dark and bottomless, and just looking at it made one's heart tremble.
Is this guy an ordinary person or not?
"Shadow" stared wide-eyed as the other person cleanly and efficiently flipped over and climbed into the seemingly bottomless iron can. As the footsteps drew closer, he could only follow closely behind.
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