Chapter 125

Chapter 125

November. City X was already cold, the temperature plunging towards zero.

Lu Yan wasn’t bothered by the chill, but for the sake of fitting in, he’d changed into the Special Operations Department’s autumn uniform anyway.

Standing on the street corner with his small leather suitcase, he looked like an ornamental plant from the south, a splash of unexpected color against the drab, utilitarian sidewalk.

The contract signing ceremony was scheduled for two days later, on November 11th. It happened to be Lu Yan’s 27th birthday.

Headquarters had dispatched four negotiators and ten Awakened.

Most of the negotiators were lawyers and diplomats, mentally prepared to be sacrificed during the contract talks. Pollutants didn’t exactly care about laws and regulations when they decided to get violent.

All personnel were booked into the City X Pollution Disease Prevention and Control Center.

Lu Yan led Tang Xian’an into the lobby. Before they could even reach the front desk, a voice, bright with surprise, cut through the hum of the place.

“Lu Yan!”

Zhou Qimeng, sporting sunglasses and a garish floral shirt, was practically gliding across the polished marble floor. “I’ve missed you to death!”

He threw his arms wide for a hug.

Lu Yan sidestepped the oncoming embrace with practiced ease. “It’s been a while.”

“Fate brought us together again,” Zhou Qimeng declared, his expression one of profound sincerity. “I didn’t want to take this mission. Looks dangerous. Might’ve made me miss the XX Game Expo. But when I saw your name on the team list, I had an epiphany. This must be a mission from heaven itself. Don’t worry, Doctor Lu, I’ll protect you. Speaking of which…”

His eyes drifted unconsciously towards the top of Lu Yan’s head.

[Heretic Cult Terminator (Ultimate)]

[Abyssal Visitor]

[Kitty Yan]

He’d meant to ask how Lu Yan had shot up to A-Class so fast, but the sight of those titles made the words die in his throat.

After advancing from B to A-Class, Zhou Qimeng could see an extra line of titles above people’s heads. Not everyone had three, though. He’d figured out the pattern: the first was an honorific, earned for specific deeds; the second was a personal title, the virtual world’s evaluation of that NPC; the third… its acquisition logic was baffling. It seemed to denote some kind of relationship.

When he’d seen old Li at the company front desk sporting a green [The Neighbor, Old Wang], Zhou Qimeng had understood exactly what that third title was hinting at.

But… [Kitty Yan]? What in the world did that mean?

As Zhou Qimeng stood there, dumbfounded, a hand settled casually on Lu Yan’s shoulder.

“Speaking of which, what?”

Tang Xian’an was tall. Combined with features that were a little too sharp, his downward gaze carried immense pressure.

Zhou Qimeng saw his titles too.

[Hellgod Hunter] (Inactive)

[World-Ending Black Dragon] (Inactive)

[Puppy Dragon]

In all his life, Zhou Qimeng had never seen greyed-out, inactive titles before.

But those two lines flickered and vanished. The text above Tang Xian’an’s head changed.

[Hell-Demon Hunter]

[Dragon in Mating Season]

[Puppy Dragon]

Both [Puppy Dragon] and [Kitty Yan] were the same, sickeningly sweet shade of pink.

Zhou Qimeng stared, his voice flat. “Speaking of which… should I get my eyes checked? Pulled an all-nighter with Chen Shisi ranking again. Must be seeing things.”

While they’d been talking, the front desk clerk had finished the check-in and slid two keycards across the counter.

“Gentlemen, your rooms, as requested. Same floor. Please keep your keycards safe.”

The Prevention Center had no ‘couples suites,’ only single rooms. Due to pollution sources and spiritual power thresholds, higher-level Awakened unconsciously exerted pressure on lower-level ones. Many Awakened also disliked being too close to their own kind. For comfort’s sake, each floor typically had only two rooms.

An unwritten rule had gradually formed within the Centers: unless they were on very good terms, don’t assign two Awakened to the same floor if other space is available.

Lu Yan pocketed the keycard and gave Zhou Qimeng a slight nod. “I’ll head up first. See you at the meeting.”

There was a brief meeting scheduled for 2 PM.

Zhou Qimeng watched their retreating backs, then, not quite willing to give up, fished a small mirror from his pocket and looked at his own reflection.

[Game Developer]

[Heartbroken Fish]

***

At 2 PM, in the conference room of the City X Pollution Disease Prevention and Control Center, a pre-mission briefing for the contract signing ceremony two days later commenced.

Lu Yan didn’t speak. Instead, he took the opportunity to scrutinize the Awakened present.

Everyone here was a colleague. They’d all interacted before, more or less. Only Lu Yan, who’d rocketed up the ranks this year and was notoriously quiet, had an almost negligible presence. Many were only learning today what the famed ‘Clairaudient’ actually looked like.

Bai Qiushi, sitting beside him, sighed with feeling. “Your spiritual power threshold is rising way too fast. How? It’s not fair.”

As he spoke, his four pupils darted around independently.

[With so many pupils, Bai Qiushi’s world is like a constantly switching camera lens. Try simulating it with rapid eye movements. A normal person would crack in a day or two. Impressive he’s endured for decades.]

Lu Yan’s gaze shifted to the man opposite him.

[Odin. The Ice Crow. Talents #47-Frost, #119-Plague. The crow on his shoulder is a chunk of flesh that fell from his body. It spreads plagues harmful to pollutants. Current spiritual power threshold: 9,900. Headquarters is eagerly waiting for him to break ten thousand.]

“Can he give birth too?” Lu Yan asked silently.

[…Not that kind of flesh.]

Another person who seemed somewhat apart from the others was Yuan Chen. He kept his head down, staring at his own feet. The fingers peeking from his sleeves were an unnaturally pale white. Yan Bei sat beside him, doodling on a piece of paper.

Headquarters’ strategic planning was, in fact, quite thorough. Who was responsible for clearing the battlefield, who would restrain Lu Zhi and Subject 01, who protected the hostages—all laid out clearly. There were also contingency plans B, C, and D.

After multiple simulations by the supercomputer, the predicted success rate was over 67%.

The system’s evaluation of this plan was two words: [Useless.]

“Why?”

[You’ll know tonight. Midnight.]

So, Lu Yan sat quietly, listening to the strategic officer’s important speech. He even took meeting notes, though his mind was entirely occupied with what to eat for dinner—like a high school student enduring the last class of the day, just waiting for the bell to ring.

Headquarters never skimped on employee welfare regarding food, clothing, or shelter.

Dinner was à la carte, and it was delicious, especially the salmon sashimi. Rumor had it, it came from a pollutant mutated deep under the sea—much larger than normal salmon, with two heads. After processing, the fish flesh was beautifully marbled, so fatty and tender oil practically seeped out. His ‘good son’ would have loved it.

Lu Yan polished off half a fish by himself. After the meal, he declined any team-building activities and returned to his room to lie down.

Midnight was still four hours away. He could get today’s sleep out of the way.

He tucked his knife and bow close to his body. Before closing his eyes, he exchanged a few words with his little boyfriend, saying he was a bit tired and wanted to sleep early.

Midnight.

Even though his phone alarm hadn’t gone off, Lu Yan’s eyes snapped open. A piercing, bone-deep cold had suddenly permeated the air.

One moment, he was in his hotel room. The next, he was sitting on an empty stretch of road.

Deep night. Not a single car in sight. The sky was tinged with a faint, pervasive red, like a filter had been applied.

The system chuckled softly. [Know why Headquarters can only follow the trail to Pork Alley, but never find the actual Slaughterhouse? Welcome to the Otherside.]

The cloying scent of blood filled Lu Yan’s nostrils. He scanned his surroundings cautiously. On the street, dried blood was splashed across the asphalt like grotesque paint.

On the trees lining the sidewalk, long-dead people hung like sides of mutton in a butcher’s shop, tethered to the branches with rope. Their flesh had been meticulously stripped away, leaving only relatively intact heads staring fixedly at the ground. On their skeletal frames, flies with red heads rubbed their forelegs, buzzing as they feasted on the last scraps of red meat.

The system prompted: [You’d better find a black garment to cover yourself. Even with your Slaughterhouse work permit, it’s not safe. There should be clothes in the alley if you take the next left. Hope you won’t let fastidiousness get you killed, my treasure.]

Lu Yan soon understood the system’s meaning.

In a corner of the alley lay a corpse, clad in black robes. The body had already begun to rot, pus oozing from its mouth. The stench of decay hung in the air.

A normal person. The fatal wound was a bite mark on the neck. It looked like something with fangs had torn out his throat.

[City X’s most famous urban legend: anyone still wandering the streets after midnight might randomly enter another world.]

[According to the legend, survive until dawn, and you return to reality. This guy was a paranormal enthusiast. Wanted to prove the legend false.]

[Now you know why City X has so many missing persons.]

Lu Yan stripped the outer robe from the corpse and pulled it on. The fabric reeked, but it would mask his own, all-too-human scent.

On the narrow wall of the alley, a recruitment notice was painted in red.

BUTCHER. A HIGH-PAYING PROFESSION. BUTCHER. NEVER UNEMPLOYED.

—Are you tormented by your own aimlessness?

—Are you frustrated by the difficulty of finding suitable meat-pigs?

Good Taste Slaughterhouse is hiring butchers! A renowned, conscientious processor in the industry. Meals and lodging provided! Just 80 hours of work per week!

Join us today! Interview location: 17 Mutton Road.

[The slaughterhouse recruited many new butchers to deal with the Awakened this time—cannon fodder, essentially. Today just happens to be their first day on the job.]

"How did this place come to be?" Lu Yan couldn't help but ask.

[This is the Otherside, constructed by the City Lord's Talent #4: World.]

[Talent #4: World, governs space. It's far more than just dividing the surface world into zones. The Otherside is where this talent's true horror lies. All the buildings are identical to reality, yet they exist within a spatial interlayer, accessible only by special means.]

[The entirety of City X is the slaughterhouse's Otherside. A pity the City Lord is too lazy. With his pollution index, he's only managed to create this single Otherside so far, and he sold it to Lu Zhi.]

[Twenty-seven years ago, on the Prophet's advice, Lu Zhi found the City Lord. They signed a long-term contract: Lu Zhi would provide the City Lord with food at regular intervals, and the City Lord would forge an Otherside for Lu Zhi.]

[Within the Otherside, the City Lord can establish rules according to a certain logic.]

[The current rules are: 1. Every night at midnight, the world's entrance opens. Within the bounds of City X, all Awakened, along with random humans, will enter the Otherside until it closes.]

[2. In the Otherside, ordinary humans emit no light. Awakened emit white light. Butchers emit black or red light. Butchers can sense the location of Awakened.]

[3. Butchers can see the Awakened clearly. Awakened cannot see the butchers' features, only a standard humanoid silhouette, like the black shadows in that anime Detective Conan. This setting primarily prevents Awakened from judging a pollutant's strength by appearance. Forces them to go all-out every time, to stay vigilant... After all, even pollutants understand that Awakened are a luxury consumable, don't they?]

[All the above rules take effect starting November 11th. So right now, your team is the only one in the Otherside.]

[Do you like this birthday gift?]

Lu Yan raised an eyebrow. "Just me?"

[Yes. You have a butcher's permit. That's why you could enter the Otherside at midnight. Lu Zhi is summoning you to the slaughterhouse Center for a brief meeting. Of course, you don't have to listen. Thank the recent hiring spree; even if you smell unfamiliar, no pollutant will suspect you.]

[But, treasure. When you turn around in a moment, I hope you won't be too startled.]

Lu Yan stood before a dead-end alley. On the wall ahead, the red moonlight cast a long, stretched shadow sporting goat horns, looking powerfully built.

It held a massive axe.

Lu Yan turned. The way he had come was blocked by a hulking goat.

It had a physique of corded muscle, glossy as if oiled. A goat's head, a human body. The axe in its hand dripped blood. A length of slick intestine was coiled around its arm.

The goat sniffed, then sneezed. "Baaah. You one of the new butchers?"

Lu Yan kept his voice low. "Yes."

He was seriously calculating the odds of killing this goat. The hand behind his back shifted subtly, bones subtly extending as a fourth knuckle began to form.

"Baaah," the Goat Butcher said. "What're you standing around for? The meat-pigs back there have been dead for days. Not fresh. If you can't find any, you can have what I just killed. I like the offal. The meat's wasted anyway."

Lu Yan replied, "I ate half a fish tonight. I'm quite full."

The goat sniffed again. "You do smell fishy. From the ocean? No wonder you like fish. Anyway, Boss Lu is holding a meeting today. Don't be late. She doesn't like tardy employees."

Lu Yan hesitated a moment. "I'm new. I can't find the way."

The Goat Butcher let out a hearty laugh. "Then follow me."

The goat before him had a pollution index of only 4,000. Killing it would be easy.

But Lu Yan worried that doing so might alert the enemy.

Besides, he was rather curious. What was the difference between a pollutant meeting and an Awakened one?

So, Lu Yan gave a slight nod. "I'd appreciate that."

The Goat Butcher stood two meters thirty. At one-eighty-one, Lu Yan looked particularly slender and slight following behind its massive form.

The two arrived at the conference center.

The slaughterhouse's conference center happened to be the exact same place Lu Yan had attended the briefing that afternoon. Even the furnishings and decor were identical.

Only much, much filthier.

A layer of greasy grime coated the tables. Strange slogans were scrawled on the walls.

Brave Butcher, Fear No Toil.

Good Taste Slaughterhouse: Producing Only High-Quality Meat-Pigs!

The number of butchers in the slaughterhouse was greater than Lu Yan had imagined.

The hall, capable of seating five hundred, was packed with pollutants. Some of the more massive specimens occupied two or three seats, but the total was still staggering.

Not all pollutants were enormous. To Lu Yan's right sat a cute little rabbit, clutching a pair of carrot-shaped scissors. Its eyes glowed red.

[C-Class pollutant, Doll Rabbit. It only made it to senior kindergarten. While at an amusement park with its mother, it was captured by the B-Class pollutant Doll Bear and sewn into a rabbit plushie.]

[During a performance, the Doll Rabbit couldn't bear it anymore and sneaked out. It wanted to find its mother, but was lured to the slaughterhouse by a passing butcher. Child labor is cheap.]

[You've met its mother. She's Yan Bei's contact.]

Since Lu Zhi hadn't arrived yet, the hall was noisy.

Lu Yan listened carefully. Most complaints were about rising meat prices, shrinking wages, and picky customers on delivery platforms demanding more and more, making it hard to find suitable meat-pigs.

Only the little rabbit, too young to join the conversation, just hugged its carrot, repeating over and over, "Mama. Mama. Save money. Travel fare. Find Mama. Mama... fare... Mama."

The Goat Butcher remarked, "You new hires got it good, joining now. Walk right into a team-building event from Boss Lu. Meeting's at half past midnight. Should be here any minute."

Lu Yan asked in his mind, "These pollutants aren't perfect evolutionaries, but they seem to have intelligence?"

[Lu Zhi can restore partial consciousness to pollutants through soul contracts. These butchers are basically all human, though their way of thinking is permanently altered.]

[For example, 'meat-pigs' are literally meat-pigs in their eyes. Even if they retain some memories from their human lives.]

As the system spoke, the lights in the hall cut out entirely, leaving only a single spotlight illuminating the very center of the conference room.

The system murmured, [She's here. Lu Zhi remembers your face. Don't let her see you. Be careful.]