Chapter 117

117

Lu Yan dreamed a long, long dream.

In it, he was a giant, his entire body pitch black, limbless, lying in a pool of viscous golden liquid. An endless expanse of emerald green grassland stretched around him.

Some of the liquid seeped into his body, bringing a burning pain. But most of it was evaporated by the blazing sun, rising as steam.

Tiny white figures skittered across his form, like chicks clustering around a mother hen.

The one closest to him crouched by his ear and spoke. "Lu Yan, I heard you've become a director at a top-tier Hospital? Congratulations! Much faster than I managed back in the day."

Lu Yan couldn't speak. He couldn't even turn his head.

"Let's see… Your tongue shows some lesions, but that cross-stitch is holding, almost healed. Your heart's a bit small for your frame. Vocal cords in the throat are strained. Couldn't find the ears. Of your features, only the eyes are intact. You're so young. How did you let yourself get into such a state?"

Its words left Lu Yan slightly bewildered.

"...System?"

This time, the system didn't answer.

The white figure continued. "Emergency department doctors are basically generalists, but your case is a tough one. Thankfully, nothing's immediately fatal. I've stitched up the wound on your brain. You won't have headaches anymore."

Lu Yan: "...?"

Headaches were an ailment from his childhood. He hadn't had one since his mother died.

So much so that he'd often forgotten they were ever a part of his life.

"We have to go now, Xiao Lu," the white figure said. "Take care of yourself. This is all the help this director can give you."

With that, points of light began leaping from his body. Like bubbles, they floated into the sky and vanished into the clouds.

---

Lu Yan woke on the furry back of a tiger.

A piece of black cloth covered his face, likely to block the light. He pushed it aside and sat up. The sticky fluids from yesterday had dried in the sun, leaving his skin tight and uncomfortable.

"How long was I out?" he asked the system.

[24 hours.]

The surroundings were clearly no longer the Divine Court.

Lu Yan blinked, his eyes still gritty. "The Holy God is dead. What about Director Hu?"

[They were dead to begin with. With the Holy God gone, the Sacred Pool has nothing to sustain it. The white souls have naturally dissipated. Why do you ask?]

Lu Yan turned his head. A makeshift cart, assembled from scrap, rolled along behind them. Ning Huai lay on it, covered by a white sheet. Beside him were the bodies of White Wolf and Azure Bird.

The tiger carried one and pulled three, moving with powerful strides—the very picture of unpaid manual labor.

Lu Yan rubbed his temples. "...The vehicle?"

Ning Huai's voice came from the cart. "The fighting zone was too wide. Anything parked near the entrance was wrecked."

It was October. Changjia's latitude was low, and the temperature today had to be pushing thirty degrees Celsius.

"At this temperature, with yesterday's rain increasing humidity, corpses begin to decompose within twenty-four hours," Lu Yan stated, his tone clinical. "The pressure differential causes bodily fluids to purge. Greenish discoloration and blisters form on the skin. Postmortem vomiting and defecation are also possible."

As if on cue, the cart hit a rock and jolted violently.

A gush of foul, dark fluid erupted from White Wolf's mouth, splattering across Ning Huai's sheet.

Speaking with professional detachment, Lu Yan advised, "No offense, but you just gave birth. We have no sutures here. I'd rather not see your wound start to maggot."

Ning Huai cut him off. "What do you take me for? Only ordinary people get maggots in their wounds."

He'd been injured many times before, with medical conditions ranging from primitive to nonexistent. He'd always healed on his own. Not a single bone had ever set wrong.

The tiger groaned. "Could you two stop? I'm pulling this heavy load in the heat, already feeling heatstroke, and now I'm getting nauseous."

Though the three didn't reach a consensus on corpse disposal, when they passed a derelict supermarket, Lu Yan called for a halt. He scavenged through the rubble, finding usable shampoo, body wash, and a pack of disposable underwear.

After washing up in a pond, Lu Yan felt significantly better.

The journey back to the base yielded no serviceable vehicles. They relied entirely on the tiger's hauling power. White Wolf, Azure Bird, and Ning Huai together weighed at least a metric ton. The tiger panted, its eyes rolling back with exhaustion.

Most cars by the roadside had sat idle for over forty years, their engines seized solid.

Lu Yan glanced at the bodies on the cart. "Bloat stage is approaching. High probability of rupture upon disturbance. Cremation is advised."

This time, Ning Huai didn't object.

They gathered relatively dry grass and built two mounds over Azure Bird and White Wolf. White Wolf's aberration had made him massive, like a small hill, requiring a correspondingly large pile.

The tiger lit a lighter, its nose twitching. "I'm starting the fire."

Ning Huai remained silent for a long time, giving no answer.

Finally, the flame took hold.

In the pitch-black night, the fire roared skyward. Flames danced like spirits, illuminating the road home.

This primitive method mixed bone ash with the ash of the grass. Only a few charred bone fragments could be sifted out afterward.

Lu Yan found two small boxes. Scales covered his hand. Once the flames died down, he reached directly into the still-hot embers to retrieve the bones. His skin emerged red and angry.

Ning Huai muttered a thanks. He held the bone boxes, staring at the ash-gray sky for half the night before finally asking, his voice hoarse, "Isn't the Azure Bird a type of phoenix? Why couldn't it be reborn?"

"And White Wolf… if he hadn't… could he have been saved?"

But the world held no room for 'what ifs.'

---

On the afternoon of the fourth day, Lu Yan's group successfully returned to the Vault base.

It had to be said, without the system's navigation, the return journey might have stretched to half a month. Ning Huai and the tiger had frequently come to blows over whether they were on the right path.

Lu Yan's explanation was simply a good memory for the route.

They arrived at dusk. Li Dongcheng was miserably hoeing a field near the village entrance. Spotting figures, he threw down his hoe in excitement and shouted to the sky, "Ning Huai's back!!"

For concealment, most structures here were semi-subterranean.

At Li Dongcheng's cry, figures emerged from countless small earthen mounds. Some even wept with joy.

After decades living here, Ning Huai represented more than a leader to these people. He was a belief, a symbol of hope and the future.

Ning Huai waved a hand. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Good news. The Divine Kingdom operation was a success."

A stunned silence followed his words.

Li Dongcheng asked, voice trembling, "Really?"

He didn't wait for an answer before tears began streaming down his face.

When Changjia was sealed, he'd been very young. Under the Holy God's directive, the god-kin had slaughtered city districts wholesale, leaving only willing traitors to handle chores and maintain order.

Two factions had emerged within Changjia then: the Resisters and the Surrenderists. The Surrenderists believed the Holy God was their eternal deity, that submission was acceptable, especially since the god-kin's power was irresistible. The Resisters, briefly shaken from their faith-induced stupor and aided by external Awakened, preached about the horrors of the pollutants, hoping to break the populace's brainwashing.

His parents had been staunch Resisters. So they died.

Ning Huai had dug Li Dongcheng out of the ruins, one leg half-crippled. It only healed properly after his own awakening.

After the Divine Kingdom completed its initial consolidation, even those among the Surrenderists who knelt imperfectly were branded heretics.

Later, some Surrenderists received the Holy God's favor and became "god-kin."

Later still, the newly born favored ones forgot their history as humans.

But Li Dongcheng remembered. He remembered how firmly his father had gripped his hand as he died, telling him, Don't be afraid, child. Death is inevitable. But at least we can choose how to die.

His father had been a believer. After death, his white soul was large and bright. But it didn't enter the Divine Kingdom. Instead, it ran resolutely toward the sea, dissipating halfway there.

Ning Huai's answer was simple. "Yes."

Shortly after, the base's broadcast station announced the news.

That night, the Vault base slaughtered four pigs, two cows, and three chickens.

Ning Huai retrieved two treasured bottles of erguotou liquor from his private stash and poured a cup for Lu Yan.

"Here, Lu Yan. A toast to you."

It was clear that despite his youthful appearance, Ning Huai had reached middle age before becoming Awakened. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so practiced in the rituals of the drinking table.

Lu Yan took the cup, took a small sip, and said, "Better save the alcohol for disinfection. After all, you just gave b—"

His words were cut off as Ning Huai clamped a hand over his mouth.

Beside them, the tiger looked bewildered. "Steel cable? What steel cable?"

Ning Huai said smoothly, "...He said the base is short of a sturdy steel cable."

The tiger scratched its furry head. "Why would a steel cable need disinfecting?"

Ning Huai accidentally crushed the cup in his hand. He smiled, then shoved a freshly grilled skewer of meat into the tiger's mouth. "Eat."

The next day, leaders from the other bases arrived at the Vault.

After receiving the message from Ning Huai, some of the faster-moving leaders went ahead to check the location of the central Divine Court. The Sacred Pool had dried up, the Holy God was nowhere to be seen, and the ground was crisscrossed with fissures from the battle. It was clear a fierce fight had taken place.

The very fact they could enter the Divine Court now was proof enough.

The shadow that had hung over Changjia Island for decades was gone.

What remained was the monumental task of deprogramming the brainwashed god-kin. While their numbers were vast, they were far easier to handle than actual pollutants.

If it took a year, then a year. If five, then five. If ten, then ten. Eventually, they would learn how normal people were meant to live.

[Don't celebrate too soon,] the system chimed in. [While the Holy God is dealt with, the sea fog hasn't lifted. The people here are still trapped.]

[You're the exception. You can pass through unaffected. You could even swim out with Ning Huai if he agreed.]

More than that would be difficult.

The fog surrounding Changjia was a manifestation created when two A-Class Awakened had exceeded 100% corruption and became pollutants.

The sea fog itself was a pollutant, much like the tree Lu Yan had seen in the central Divine Court—a thing of immense power but little conscious thought.

"The First Research Institute must have proposed a solution back then. There should be a method to disperse the fog."

[There was. But the Awakened required for that solution… is currently in the hands of the Hound.]

[Experimental Subject No. 9. Talent #37, 'Devour.' He was a deep-sea diver infected by a passing marine pollutant. His corruption trend is towards cetacean adaptation. He can ingest the sea fog, a process similar to pollutant fusion. If he doesn't become a pollutant himself from the fusion, he might even gain a new talent.]

Lu Yan: "..."

The Hound = 01 = the most powerful terrestrial pollutant in existence today.

Snatching someone from 01 sounded like another Divine Kingdom-level operation.

[01 is currently… non-communicative. You could try contacting 07 instead.]

"I'll deal with it after I'm out," Lu Yan said flatly. "This isn't my problem to solve."

The brief celebration ended, and the major survivor bases plunged into post-war operations.

In other words: deprogramming.

Many of the newly-born god-kin refused to believe it was real, convinced it was all a heretical conspiracy. Awakened sent to re-educate them often faced suicidal attacks.

The work was daunting, long-term, but Lu Yan was already preparing to leave.

Over half a month had passed. Changjia's cuisine, lacking in seasonings, was bland at best. He was in a hurry to get home for a proper meal.

He asked Ning Huai, "Are you coming with me?"

After the surgery, Ning Huai's corruption level had dropped to 61.4%. His spiritual power threshold had also fallen by nearly a thousand points, but that was a negligible cost.

Ning Huai took a long drag from his cigarette. "The god-kin here are acting like fanatics now. I'll stay. I don't feel right leaving them. Besides, you said headquarters would find a way to clear the Changjia sea fog. Waiting a few more years is fine."

Lu Yan nodded, understanding.

Ning Huai wrote a lengthy mission report and handed it to Lu Yan. This was mainly to formally recognize Lu Yan's contributions on Changjia Island. Without proof, claiming the 20-million-credit bonus would be troublesome.

At the end, he stamped it with his official seal, followed by the seals of the other surviving Awakened.

Ning Huai, despite being unable to breathe underwater, possessed a high spiritual power threshold and formidable combat strength—he wouldn't be dead weight on a deep dive. The others, however, were a different story. In the end, Lu Yan chose to set out alone.

Before leaving, Lu Yan visited the school one last time and used Talent #14 again.

This time, he imprinted knowledge about human society—everything up to the college entrance exam level—directly into the minds of the former Sea God cultists.

They would become Changjia Island's first true teachers.

Interestingly, after receiving this knowledge, several of the cultists spontaneously renounced their faith, becoming atheists.

Lu Yan chose a calm, clear day for his departure. Ning Huai found him a small boat. It was mostly for show—he'd still have to transform and enter the sea as a merman—but it provided a dignified exit. At least he wouldn't have to jump off a pier in front of everyone.

Ning Huai said, "I hope we can work together again someday, outside of Changjia."

Lu Yan replied with a simple, "Okay."

Sitting in the little boat, he looked back. The shore was lined with a dense crowd of people, waving farewell.

A few of the most zealous former cultists even looked ready to leap into the water and follow him.

Especially Song Jingchen. The boy was an excellent swimmer. He paddled furiously and actually managed to catch up to Lu Yan's boat.

The water here was already deep. Lu Yan said, "Go back."

Song Jingchen's eyes were red-rimmed. "Teacher… I'll miss you."

He swallowed hard. "Thank you for letting me know the world outside… is real. It wasn't just heresy made up by heretics."

……

……

Lu Yan broke the surface of the sea. After swimming for several days, he had finally passed beyond the range of the fog.

The white mist still hung over the ocean, but it no longer carried that same sense of dread and oppression.

He retrieved his phone from the waterproof pouch inside his trench coat and powered it on. Three percent battery remained.

Changjia's power grid was completely defunct. Charging anything required jerry-rigging a DC current. The base had homemade generators, but none had a charging cable for his phone model. After over forty years, even with technological progress slowed by the Pollution Disease, some things had still changed.

So when the battery had gotten critically low, Lu Yan had simply switched it off.

It was worth the 200 contribution points the tech department had charged for the modifications. That phone had survived the truck explosion in the Divine Court, water immersion, and who knows how many impacts. It still worked.

He rested half his body on a piece of driftwood and dialed Tang Xian'an's number.

The call connected almost instantly. Tang Xian'an's voice came through. "Lu Yan?"

Lu Yan looked up at the glittering stars scattered across the night sky. "It's me. Phone's about to die. Come get me."

"I'm on my way," Tang Xian'an said, without a moment's hesitation. "Wait for me."

After completing the mission assigned by headquarters, he had cashed in all the annual leave he'd accrued over eighty-two years of service.

And he'd been waiting here, near the edge of the Divine Kingdom's influence.

Waiting for his little merman.