Chapter 132

Translated by Wangmama

Chapter 132

7:19 AM. No hint of sunrise, only the blood-tinged glow of the red moon hanging in the pitch-black sky.

The streetlights were dim. Between the moonlight and the bloody haze, Lu Yan, shrouded in a black cloak, was nearly invisible.

Each step he took left a trail of blood droplets on the ground. His clothes were saturated, soaked through with the blood of pollutants, unable to hold any more. The freshly cleaned white rabbit strapped to him was dirty again.

Seeking advantage and avoiding harm was human nature, and pollutants were no different. As the stench of blood clinging to Lu Yan grew thicker, even pollutants began to give him a wide berth.

This added a minor complication to his hunt. His original plan was to eliminate the high-level targets on his list within seven hours. Now, some of the higher-grade butchers caught his scent and fled, creating unnecessary extra work.

[Your scent is too mixed now. One whiff and any predator knows it’s not from a single kill. The Slaughterhouse once had a bull butcher who went mad, developed prion disease from eating its own kind. That mad bull, just before its contamination value was about to break ten thousand, was slaughtered by Lu Zhi.]

Lu Zhi hired butchers, little knowing that in her eyes, most of them were just meat pigs.

[After that, the Slaughterhouse set a rule: no killing your own kind. But some bloodthirsty butchers still think killing meat pigs is boring.]

The prolonged use of his abilities had made Lu Yan’s aberrant features starkly apparent.

He figured if a Prevention Center agent recorded him now, he’d probably earn a codename like “Scissorhands” and get registered as a high-level pollutant.

Just as Lu Yan prepared to move and find Zong Yan, the System suddenly spoke up. [Your fishpond is on fire.]

[07 found 03, and using the Slaughterhouse flies for tracking, located 05 and 06 as well.]

[One’s a painter who wields a brush, the other an animal science grad student. Together, they’re no match for 07, whether he’s a pollutant or not. Defense majors at the military academy had to learn combat training too.]

[Even with Special Operations Department training, they were just released from the life pods. Their combat experience is minimal.]

Lu Yan’s expression darkened. “Where are they?”

A moment later, a small orange dot flared to life on the mental map in his mind.

Quite far.

……

07 slowly raised a hand. A plume of black flame ignited in his palm.

Yan Bei switched on his earpiece, speaking to Li Ping. “Get the others out. Head east, fourteen kilometers. Bai Qiushi and Zhou Qimeng are in the area.”

After emergency repairs by the staff, the short-range Bluetooth comms had regained some basic functionality.

Li Ping’s voice was frantic, edged with a sob. “What about you? Yan Bei, you’re in no condition to fight. Please… come with us.”

“He won’t let me leave.” With that, Yan Bei cut the call.

He tried to bargain with 07. “We’ll go with you. Just put Qin Guoyu down first, okay? Or let me carry him.”

07 tilted his head slightly, expression uncomprehending.

Yan Bei explained, “The Pope’s health is poor. Being too close to you, his lesion rate could easily break one hundred.”

Butterfly wings had already pierced through Qin Guoyu’s shoulder blades. The burns contorted the Pope’s face in pain even in unconsciousness.

07 considered for a moment, then replied, “It’s fine.”

Driving the lesion rates of the other experimental subjects past one hundred was precisely 01’s goal.

It didn’t matter if they couldn’t integrate into human society. Humanity itself might not exist for much longer.

They would build a new order, a new nation, upon the ruins.

Hearing this, even the previously silent Yuan Chen’s expression shifted slightly.

He studied animal science, entomology. It involved trips into rainforests, dealing with all sorts of small creatures.

Unfortunately, during one research expedition, they encountered a multi-legged larva that had become a pollutant.

His mentor was swallowed by the swarm, shoving him out of a deep pit with his last ounce of strength.

Yuan Chen escaped that rainforest by sheer luck, but because his wounds kept sprouting insect eggs, he was sent to the First Research Institute for emergency treatment.

At the funeral, Yuan Chen had sworn a vendetta against these pollutants. His teacher was watching from heaven.

Whatever their initial reasons for becoming volunteers, they undoubtedly shared the same hatred for pollutants.

If given a choice, what Yuan Chen truly wanted was to be an ordinary person. No great power, and thus no crushing responsibility. But fate never offered a choice.

Yuan Chen’s step toward 07 faltered.

He stiffly looked up. 07 was tall, and becoming a pollutant had added even more height, standing straight and still like a tree.

Yuan Chen finally realized what felt so off about Zong Yan.

The way the other looked at him was like a calm lake—no joy or excitement at their reunion, and certainly no warmth.

Instinctively, Yuan Chen took a step back.

Black fire erupted instantly, a conflagration shooting skyward. It offered searing heat, but no light.

A single golden feather drifted down from above, landing precisely on Qin Guoyu’s face.

The feather melted into his skin like butter in hot water, soon coating him in a faint, shimmering protective film.

[Talent 30 - Holy Light]

Michael’s Holy Sword reached the battlefield a heartbeat before he did. “Take people away? Did I agree to that?”

The sword, sheathed in holy light, pierced the dark sky like a spear of divine judgment descending from heaven.

07 didn’t look up. The black flames around him swirled, weaving into a barrage of lances that shot forth to meet the holy blade.

Nearby high-rises, unable to withstand the pressure, snapped like paper. Massive chunks of debris rained down. Panicked screams erupted from the survivors in the safe point.

In that moment, not just in the inner world, but in the surface world as well, visible cracks spiderwebbed across the buildings.

Bai Qiushi, hiding in the shadows, couldn’t hold back anymore. “Motherf—! Unmoving as a Mountain!”

The plan was for him to launch a sneak attack while 07 was busy with Michael. This was clearly not the optimal moment.

But Bai Qiushi couldn’t just watch ordinary people get crushed.

[Talent 392 - Heavy Pressure]. This time, however, the pressure wasn’t directed down, but up.

Giant slabs of rubble were lifted by an invisible hand, shifted aside, and slammed into the ground with tremendous force, cratering the street.

Flames clashed with flames. For a moment, the sky blazed with light.

But the two fires were not evenly matched.

The black conflagration devoured the golden radiance. Michael spat out a mouthful of blood, staggering.

Bai Qiushi drew his Cicada Wing Blade. The transparent cicada wings on his back vibrated, emitting a low, resonant hum.

He shot through layers of flame, launching what was essentially a suicidal charge.

In the blink of an eye, Bai Qiushi, wreathed in fire, materialized before Zong Yan.

07 still held Qin Guoyu with one arm, using the other to fend off Michael’s Holy Sword.

A wild grin split Bai Qiushi’s face. “Don’t tell me you actually thought Tang Xian’an was the only fighter in the entire First District!”

He swung his blade straight for the space between 07’s eyebrows.

Zong Yan didn’t dodge.

Or rather, he had no need to.

The Cicada Wing Blade pierced his forehead, but not a drop of blood flowed. It was like stabbing into empty air.

07’s current body was composed of flame. His true form was a small, crimson bird.

He lifted a leg and swept it toward Bai Qiushi’s abdomen. Michael’s Holy Sword was also swallowed by the advancing wall of fire.

An autumn cicada was nothing but a spent force, a crossbow fired past its time.

Bai Qiushi’s blade fell from his grip. Black flames erupted across his body.

07’s kick held no mercy. Bai Qiushi’s ribs punched out from his back. He tumbled across the ground, a ragged, broken thing.

Bai Qiushi fumbled a handful of special medication from his pocket and shoved it into his mouth. If he didn’t take it now, he wouldn’t be able to suppress his lesion rate much longer.

The flames ate at him. His expensive uniform melted, skin blistering with severe burns.

07 bent down, picked up the fallen blade, and strode forward.

Vines from Yan Bei coiled around 07’s ankle, but before they could constrict, the spreading black fire reduced them to ash.

Not only were flowers blooming in Yan Bei’s hair, but for the first time in his life, leaves began to sprout. A prelude to complete plantification.

Even Yuan Chen instinctively released his swarm. Soft-bodied worms with sharp teeth crawled up 07’s pant leg, only to be incinerated to cinders halfway by the karmic flames.

07 took another step forward. Bai Qiushi clutched his wound, his trembling lips forcing out four words. “For…ti…fied… Citadel.”

Walls of earth and concrete erupted from the ground, slanting inward as they rose. If the top sealed, it would form a massive cage, trapping both him and 07 inside.

In that split second, Michael understood Bai Qiushi’s intention—he meant to drag 07 to their deaths together.

Just like during the Divine Kingdom operation, when two A-Class Chosen had paid with their lives, transforming into sea fog to seal the entire Changjia Island.

Michael’s voice cracked slightly. “Old Zhou!”

Zhou Qimeng finally burst from the earth.

To get close to 07, he’d given himself the “Earth Escape” setting.

Zhou Qimeng had waited a long time for this moment, waiting until a giant, shimmering question mark materialized above Zong Yan’s head.

This meant he could finally use his Virtual World talent to alter 07's settings.

He'd never tried this ability on an S-Class pollutant before and had no idea if it would even work. Without the others wearing 07 down, Zhou Qimeng would have never gotten this close.

As he drew near, he instinctively glanced above the other's head. 07's title was actually [01's Dog].

It sounded like some kind of kinky roleplay that would get censored off the internet.

But the moment he opened the character interface, cold sweat broke out on Zhou Qimeng's brow.

07's settings were like a pirated book with missing pages—incomplete and fragmented.

[Setting 1: 01's Dog… A Burning Bird.]

[Setting 2: Contamination Value 12,813. Pollutant. Talents: Karmic Flame, Signal Interference.]

[Setting 3: …Patient.]

[Objective 1: Retrieve the other experimental subjects.]

[Objective 2: Kill all Chosen who are not experimental subjects.]

Zhou Qimeng tried to add a third objective, like "Abandon the mission" or "Leave the Slaughterhouse." A prompt immediately flashed: [CONFLICT WITH PRIMARY OBJECTIVES] – Execution Denied.

In the end, he only managed to successfully add one setting.

[Setting 4: Possesses a Physical Form.]

07 turned his gaze to Zhou Qimeng, and for the first time, an emotion flickered across his face.

Disgust. The kind reserved for a particularly annoying insect.

07 could vaguely sense what Zhou Qimeng was trying to do—to manipulate his thoughts. The instinctive revulsion was overwhelming.

So overwhelming that he abandoned his attempt to kill Bai Qiushi and even set the Pope down on the ground.

07 reached out, his hand shooting toward Zhou Qimeng. At the same moment, Michael and Bai Qiushi lunged at him.

Because he now possessed a physical form, contact this time would likely wound him.

In the next instant, under the disbelieving stares of everyone present, a pair of wings composed of flame erupted from 07's back. He shot into the sky in the blink of an eye.

The spot where he'd stood a moment before exploded with a deafening roar. Dust and thick, rolling smoke billowed into the air.

This was the scene of devastation Lu Yan arrived to.

The System couldn't help but shout in his mind. [Battle Qi materializes into wings! How terrifying!]

[Brave Yan-Yan, fear no hardship! Charge!]

Lu Yan drew the Dragonbone Bow from his back and took aim at Zong Yan.

Within a single minute, he emptied the entire quiver.

He knew full well these arrows couldn't deal any substantial damage to Zong Yan.

What he wanted was control of the sky.

Fifteen arrows streaked through the air like homing missiles, weaving a net of pursuit that harried 07 relentlessly, forcing him to descend.

And the moment 07's feet touched the ground was the moment Lu Yan had been waiting for.

The Rabbit Butcher grabbed Lu Yan's collar with its soft, plush arm and leaped.

No helping it—Lu Yan couldn't fly.

They shot through the sea of fire. Flames erupted across the plush rabbit's body.

Just as Delirium was more potent against humans than pollutants, Karmic Flame was far more lethal to pollutants than to Chosen.

The toy rabbit instantly teared up from the pain. "Daddy, it's so hot!"

But it still faithfully executed Lu Yan's command, delivering him right in front of 07.

07 had been about to strike, but the moment he saw Lu Yan's face, a flicker of confusion passed through his expression. "...Doctor?"

The instant the word left his mouth, 07 himself froze.

Who was the doctor? What doctor?

He felt they should know each other. He seemed to have seen Lu Yan somewhere before.

But his mind was an empty void, devoid of any related memories.

Yet the feeling of familiarity remained.

That sense of kinship softened 07's features, lending them a shadow of the past.

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