Chapter 131

Chapter 131

Tang Xian’an said he believed him.

The system wept. My treasure, he really does love you. Daddy can rest easy entrusting you to him now.

It actually made a few choked sobbing sounds in Lu Yan’s mind.

Lu Yan didn’t really feel like acknowledging it.

He was actually quite used to being injured, but the look of distress on Tang Xian’an’s face was something new.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Tang Xian’an’s gaze fell on the other pollutant tucked in Lu Yan’s pocket. “What’s this?”

If he’d heard correctly earlier, this little pollutant had called Lu Yan ‘Dad’.

The small rabbit quietly retracted its head, an inexplicable chill running down its spine.

“Found it,” Lu Yan said, lifting the rabbit plushie and giving it a little shake in front of Tang Xian’an. “It’s kind of cute, isn’t it?”

From Tang Xian’an’s current perspective, he could only see a dark silhouette—a larger black shape holding a smaller black shape.

But picturing Lu Yan’s expression, he couldn’t help a soft laugh. “Yeah. Very cute.”

It took Lu Yan a second to realize why he was laughing.

He pressed his lips together, a faint, awkward warmth blooming in his chest.

The system’s tone was ice-cold. Could you two homosexuals please not flirt during such a tense situation? This world that persecutes single systems everywhere is truly unbearable.

Lu Yan changed the subject. “The S-Class pollutants in this slaughterhouse aren’t just Lu Zhi and 01. Zong Yan is here too.”

“Zong Yan,” Tang Xian’an sat down beside him. “He’s reached S-Class too?”

For both pollutants and Awakened, a contamination value of 10,000 was a major threshold.

The Research Institute had long held a theory: S-Class organisms and those of other classes might as well be considered entirely different species.

An S-Class being was infinitely closer to the complete evolutionary form of its type. Killing one raised the difficulty by several orders of magnitude.

Lu Yan gave a quiet “Mm.” “Heard it during the slaughterhouse meeting yesterday.”

Tang Xian’an propped his head on his hand, turning to look at him. “What else?”

01 wants to capture you to use as leverage against the dog-dragon. Zong Yan is currently en route, searching for the other test subjects.

“Zong Yan was modified by 01 with canine genes,” Lu Yan relayed. “He’s lost most of his memories. Currently searching for the other test subjects. 01 wants to capture me to threaten you. But don’t worry about me. I’m the Butcher now. Not so easy to spot.”

A flash of violent intent crossed Tang Xian’an’s features before he lowered his eyes. “Alright.”

He didn’t stay long. Once satisfied Lu Yan’s wound had stopped bleeding, he stood. “I should go. Remember to find somewhere else to rest.”

The system chimed in. He’s going to pick a fight with 01. What’s the saying? A dragon has its reverse scales. 01 has tried to target you repeatedly. He could tolerate the child not being his own, but he won’t tolerate this.

Lu Yan caught the hem of Tang Xian’an’s coat. “Wait.”

Tang Xian’an paused, turning back. “What’s wrong?”

Lu Yan pulled him down, pressing his lips to Tang Xian’an’s cheek. “You be careful too.”

Tang Xian’an’s face flushed crimson. Unfortunately, staring at a featureless dark face, Lu Yan couldn’t quite tell where to aim. When Tang Xian’an leaned in to return the kiss, his lips brushed Lu Yan’s nose.

It tickled.

After Tang Xian’an left, Lu Yan also stood.

The Rabbit Butcher tucked in his pocket, he walked slowly back onto the street.

He pondered for a long while. “Why didn’t my heart race when I kissed him?”

You’re asking me this… My treasure, you seem like the type who’d fake it in bed.

“That one’s hard to fake,” Lu Yan replied flatly. “But I did enjoy watching him blush.”

The system fell silent. I really don’t understand you homosexuals.

The little rabbit piped up curiously. “Daddy, where are we going?”

In the few short hours since the slaughterhouse opened, including those he’d dealt with in passing, Lu Yan had eliminated thirteen pollutants.

The remains of most had ended up in the Rabbit Butcher’s mouth.

Lu Yan had sampled a few himself, but mainly just to replenish his strength.

The rabbit’s little belly was now round and taut, its contamination value having shot up. Its whole body even radiated a living warmth.

To most ordinary people, it had become genuinely dangerous.

Lu Yan hadn’t decided what to do with the rabbit yet, but if it showed any sign of aberration, he wouldn’t mind adding rabbit hotpot to the menu.

He glanced down at the new pink flesh knitting his wound together, his expression blank. “Continue as planned.”

The original plan: find a way to kill 01.

……

……

Yan Bei sat atop the high watchtower.

His hair hung over the edge like that of a princess trapped in a tower.

Dawn was roughly two hours away. Behind him lay a makeshift triage area set up in a vast square.

He looked back. Thousands huddled together in the open space. Perhaps afraid of attracting pollutants, no one slept. Mothers who had lost children and children who had lost mothers held each other in heavy silence.

Some brought here were already gravely wounded.

A citizen who was a doctor by trade had volunteered for emergency care, but with no medication, he could only watch patients bleed out.

The doctor pressed his hands against a wound, blood seeping through his fingers, his glasses fogged with hot tears. Even after the patient’s breathing stopped, he stubbornly refused to let go.

Yan Bei checked his own pockets. The medication and nutrient solutions issued by the Prevention Center were gone. Most hadn’t been for him, but given to the survivors.

A Center worker spoke through a megaphone, trying to soothe the crowd. “It’s alright! This Pollution Disease outbreak will definitely be contained, don’t worry! Everything will be better at dawn!”

Yan Bei’s mood was foul.

Because he had no idea if things would actually be better come daylight.

He remained on the watchtower because he’d overused his ability dealing with too many pollutants tonight.

A wood-grain pattern spread across Yan Bei’s skin. His legs, like tree roots, were firmly anchored to the floorboards.

Yuan Chen vaulted into the watchtower, blade in hand.

The pollutant blood on him hadn’t yet dried.

A few worms wriggled from his ears, trailing transparent mucus.

Yuan Chen didn’t seem to care.

According to the First Research Institute scientists, he possessed Talent #168—Proliferation. An unformed “Black Goat,” a “Mother Worm.”

The superior form of Proliferation was Talent #8—Fission. It was a pity Ning Huai wasn’t a volunteer, a fact the researcher responsible for modifying Yuan Chen deeply regretted.

“Cleared the nearby pollutants,” Yuan Chen spoke slowly, his words slightly disjointed. “Didn’t dare go far. Didn’t find the Pope. Met Bai Qiushi and Zhou Qimeng. They haven’t seen him either.”

“Bai Qiushi said they’ve sent many searchers. They’re looking too. No news. The slaughterhouse is too vast. Everyone appeared in different places.”

The Pope, the precious contract-signing Awakened with healing abilities, possessed an immortality trait. But it had conditions—like requiring a relatively intact corpse.

The Butchers here didn’t seem like the vegetarian type.

Yan Bei hugged his knees, his expression sickly.

His long confinement had severely degraded Yuan Chen’s speech, so his attempt at comfort came out stiff. “Qin Guoyu will be fine. We survived the Institute. What’s a slaughterhouse?”

Yan Bei suddenly looked up, puzzled. “Yuan Chen. Do you feel… hotter?”

His aberration trend was plant-based, and now, in a state of high distortion, he was especially sensitive to temperature.

His hair, like leaves scorched under a three-day sun, was beginning to yellow from the roots.

It wasn’t his imagination.

From their high perch, the source of the abnormal heat soon became clear.

Zong Yan walked into view from around a distant street corner.

Yuan Chen leaned halfway out, squinting at the figure burning within the flames. Excitement lit his face. “It’s Zong Yan! Yan Bei, he’s got Qin Guoyu with him!”

He made to rush forward, but Yan Bei’s hair shot out, coiling around his ankle. “Calm down!”

Having joined the Special Operations Department right after leaving the Institute, Yan Bei had been on several more missions than Yuan Chen.

He knew, clearly, that pollutants and humans were not the same.

“That’s Zong Yan,” Yuan Chen’s tone turned agitated. “Yan Bei, let go!”

Back in the First Institute, he and Zong Yan, close in age and interests, had been the best of friends.

But Yan Bei held firm, tightening the vine-like hair, pinning Yuan Chen in place.

Number 07 moved fast. Where he passed, black flames erupted—no visible light, just terrifying, blistering heat.

He carried someone in his arms. The face was obscured, but the person wore a Special Operations uniform. The arm dangling free was thin as a bamboo pole.

It did look like Qin Guoyu.

Yan Bei stood, his grip on the railing turning white-knuckled. He shouted down, voice straining. “Zong Yan! Stop!”

Just ahead lay the safe zone.

07 now had a contamination value exceeding ten thousand. That meant even standing still, doing nothing, he was a walking disaster for ordinary humans.

Countless people would melt from the heat radiating off him.

Hearing Yan Bei's shout, 07 did pause. He slowly lifted his head, his crimson eyes fixed on the figure atop the watchtower, betraying no emotion.

Yan Bei took a deep breath. "Zong Yan. Put Qin Guoyu down first. He's not well. You're too close to him."

In his arms, Qin Guoyu was already unconscious. The Pope's skin was pale, making the raw, blistering burns all the more stark.

This time, however, Zong Yan didn't listen.

His voice was flat, devoid of inflection. A simple, calm statement. "Come down. I'm taking you home."

Yan Bei was momentarily stunned. "Home to where?"

"The Hound Base."

"That base is a polluted zone," Yan Bei shouted back. "Even for Awakened, prolonged exposure to high-level pollutants will push our aberration rates out of control—and besides... nobody there likes my paintings."

It was his choice. A silent refusal.

07's brow furrowed slightly, as if he hadn't anticipated 06's rejection.

But his orders were clear: bring the other test subjects home.

"I don't want to fight," he repeated, the words devoid of warmth. "Be good."

Black flames erupted skyward. Hellfire roared, the temperature around him spiking so high the very air began to warp and shimmer. Yet a chill colder than ice shot through Yan Bei's core.

This wasn't Zong Yan.