Chapter 83

Chapter 83

Lu Yan stared at the three crimson letters smeared across the windowpane.

Qin Guoyu hadn’t had time to write the full word for ‘run’ or ‘escape’. Just three letters. A warning painted in blood.

“What’s inside?” Lu Yan asked the system silently.

[It’s a jellyfish. Transparent. Aquatic. Electric. Toxic. Pollution Index: 6114.]

[Abilities: Neurotoxin, Electrolysis]

[Aberration Direction: Extreme Toxicity, Anthropomorphism]

Lu Yan weighed the numbers. A Pollution Index of 6114 wasn’t insurmountable. Not for their squad’s current strength. They could handle it.

The problem was the environment. The thing was aquatic, and the place was flooded. Its transparency in the murky water would be a severe tactical disadvantage.

Zhou Qimeng eyed the pulsing red health bar superimposed over the operating room door. He tested it, prying at the seam with his knife. The bar instantly dropped by a third.

A gush of pale pink water surged from the gap.

“It’s charged!” Zhou Qimeng yanked his hand back, the air filling with the scent of scorched flesh. “Fall back!”

His movements were practiced, instinctive—the kind developed from tanking one too many raid bosses in online games. The brief opening had granted him a glimpse of the target data.

[Box Jellyfish - High-Level Aberrant]

Pollution Index: 6100

The rest of the information was a wall of question marks.

“A pollutant with a six-thousand index?!” Zhou Qimeng’s face paled.

Lu Yan swiftly flipped through the digital files headquarters had transmitted, finding the entry for ‘Box Jellyfish’.

The image showed a semi-transparent creature, its tentacles lined with rows of fine, hair-like filaments. Deadly toxic. Its bell was studded with 24 eyes. Though translucent, each eye possessed a distinct pupil, staring out from the photograph with a gaze that felt like a pressure from the abyss. Oceanic aberrations were rarely aesthetically pleasing.

The documented Pollution Index was 3100.

The system’s tone dripped with scorn. [‘Six thousand, minus three thousand’? What kind of discount is that? Is the First Research Institute running a double-eleven sale?]

“Maybe… an external pollutant intrusion caused a secondary aberration…” The detective frowned, sounding unconvinced by his own theory.

“Headquarters regulations,” Lu Yan stated flatly. “For non-infectious experimental subjects, the Pollution Index ceiling is 4500 to prevent accidents. For infectious types, it’s 1700.”

Chen Shisi tightened his grip on his staff. “We deal with the jellyfish first. Find a researcher and ask questions later.”

Zhou Qimeng rolled up his sleeves, flexing a bicep with exaggerated nonchalance in Lu Yan’s direction. “Stand aside. I’ll handle this.”

He layered three buffs over himself—[Toxin Resistance], [Shock Resistance], [Damage Mitigation]—took a deep breath, and kicked the door in.

A torrent of pink, toxic water poured out like a breached dam, drenching him from head to toe. His eyes burned, but duty overrode pain. He forced them open, peering into the darkness, relying on the glowing title tag only his ability could see to locate the jellyfish.

It matched the photo, but was several meters long. Within its transparent gastric cavity, half-digested human remains floated. Zhou Qimeng couldn’t see in the dark; he was navigating by a gamer’s HUD superimposed on reality.

He stabbed into the water. His blade met a resistant, gelatinous mass. A powerful current of electricity shot up his arm, filling the air with the savory-sick scent of cooked meat. His resistance buff mitigated the damage, but his body couldn’t fully negate the voltage.

Chen Shisi raised his staff, ready to charge in and start smashing. The moment his foot touched the electrified water, he let out a yelp, his body convulsing violently. For a split second, Lu Yan swore he could see the man’s skeleton flashing like an X-ray. His bone structure was unusual—simian, but tailless.

[He was snatched by a bereaved mother monkey, also a pollutant, during his training at Shaolin. Came back like this. No one knows why it didn’t eat him…]

[Forum codename: ‘Monk’. Wanted ‘Sun Wukong’ or ‘Victorious Fighting Buddha’, but they were already taken.]

Seeing this, the detective instantly abandoned any thought of helping. He shrank behind Lu Yan, his voice a whisper. “We’re the support types. Better stay back. Besides, my spiritual power threshold is only two or three thousand…” His lack of spine was perfectly in character for a corporate spy.

Zhou Qimeng’s assault wasn’t futile. The jellyfish’s health bar plummeted. Ignoring his own injuries, he pressed forward, landing several more strikes. But the strain of maintaining his abilities was too much. His connection to that augmented reality ‘game’ snapped.

His vision returned to normal. The glowing title vanished. All he could detect was a faint coppery scent in the water.

The evolved jellyfish possessed rudimentary intelligence. It knew it was outmatched. Its transparency and the dim light were its only advantages. It began to slip away, a gelatinous phantom melting into the water.

Then, something seized one of its tentacles.

Lu Yan’s hand was sheathed in golden fish scales. His palm split open, and Wang Yu’s maw emerged, clamping down with vicious force.

The jellyfish thrashed wildly in the water, panic surging through its simple nervous system. This was a primal fear, unrelated to strength—a terror of lineage, of origin.

Beneath the scales on Lu Yan’s arm, thin white filaments erupted. They ensnared the jellyfish, drawing it inexorably toward him.

The entire struggle occurred in silent, watery darkness.

“This jellyfish…” Lu Yan murmured to himself.

Orange flavor. Texture like jelly. Not greasy like other pollutants. Sweet. Delicious.

“What’s wrong, Doctor Lu?” Zhou Qimeng asked, alert.

Lu Yan pulled his glove back on, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Nothing. Just considering if letting it escape into the water could cause problems…”

Zhou Qimeng scratched his head. “Doubt it. It’s critically wounded. We have to trust our teammates.”

Lu Yan smiled. “Right.”

The operating room was pitch black. Chen Shisi lifted a flashlight, its beam cutting through the gloom.

A figure knelt on the floor. Qin Guoyu.

Behind him, butterfly-like lepidopteran wings lay draped. They were silver-white, tipped with black, reflecting the faint light like polished mother-of-pearl. The wing pattern closely resembled that of a Morpho helena.

The system let out a low whistle. [Interesting. Big brother’s belly is full of bugs, little brother’s aberration goes straight to butterfly.]

An electronic collar circled Qin Guoyu’s neck, monitoring his vitals. His frame was painfully thin, the outline of bones visible beneath his thin clothing—the hallmark of a long-term patient.

He brushed aside the hair near his ear and coughed, a deep, rattling sound from within his chest.

He’d never been healthy. Years ago, doctors said he wouldn’t live to adulthood. During his worst crisis, burning with fever and delirious, his weeping mother had placed a butterfly on his forehead.

That butterfly had a sharp proboscis. Its fangs sank deep into his scalp…

He thought he would die. He didn’t.

Butterfly wings sprouted from his back. He survived the nearly fatal fever, as if reborn.

Most ordinary people who Awaken find their illnesses cured. Not Qin Guoyu. He remained suspended in this half-life.

Because he was a healing-type Awakener—a dangerous commodity—his mother, with tears in her eyes, had sent him to the research institute. That was many years ago now.

His gaze found Lu Yan, confusion flickering in his eyes. “…Number 18? You’ve come back?”

Lu Cheng’s old identification number within the institute had been 18.

*

Almost the same time. Sub-level 8.**

The fierce battle had collapsed at least half of the floor. Blue blood smeared the walls and pooled on the ground, mixed with twitching lumps of flesh. Occasional small octopus tentacles, severed but not yet dead, flopped weakly.

Among the octopus remains lay the corpses of other pollutants—wolves, bears, snakes… and humans.

The elevators had been destroyed from the 7th level up. The only way was to climb.

The special operations team members who had arrived first had long lost count of the pollutants they’d eliminated. This place was a menagerie, a prison for monsters.

If the Prophet’s feeding sequence had been completed, if Shen Qingyang had consumed the other King Fish… the outcome of today’s battle would be far less certain.

The octopus had three hearts, one central brain, and a subsidiary brain in each arm capable of independent thought.

Tang Xian’an had already severed seven of those subsidiary brains and destroyed two hearts.

Yet the colossal octopus clung to life with terrifying tenacity.

Shen Qingyang knew his chances in a direct confrontation with Tang Xian’an were slim. Even underwater. He was stalling for time.

In the pitch-black depths, Tang Xian’an’s golden eyes burned like twin suns. He thought for a moment, then retrieved a cigarette from his uniform pocket.

A nearby team member tensed visibly. “Team Leader Tang! Stay calm!”

Tang Xian’an paused. He had no lighter. Instead, he breathed out gently—a whisper of dragonfire that ignited the tip.

The cigarette butt fell into the water. Ripples spread across the surface, but the flame did not go out. Instead, it erupted, spreading like wildfire across the oil-slicked expanse.

The inky black tentacles began to melt like fat, then rapidly retreated in a single direction.

Tang Xian’an lifted his blade and gave chase.

A wall of fire erupted before him.

The flames wove together, coalescing into the form of 07.

His eyes held more life, more awareness, than they had during their last meeting at the Luo River Botanical Garden.

Tang Xian’an tightened his grip on the weapon. "So you did defect."

07 didn't answer the accusation. He didn't actually dislike Tang Xian’an.

Sometimes, he even felt a pang of pity for the man.

"Long time no see. I have no physical form now. My existence isn't bound by time. Makes me… troublesome to deal with," he said with a faint smile. "Care to talk?"

"Just ten minutes. After that, I won't stand in your way. Killing me would take longer than that anyway, wouldn't it?"

07 locked eyes with Tang Xian’an, his smile widening. "Number 10."

……

……

Sub-level 9.

Chaos. A constant undercurrent of screams.

Cold sweat beaded on the Prophet's forehead. His skin folded over itself in thick, rubbery layers, like some deep-dwelling creature dragged into the light.

Many experiment pods stood open, their slumbering occupants roused. None were what the Prophet needed.

In a fit of rage, he snatched a nearby researcher by the throat. The furious faces crowding his back snarled in unison. "What's going on? Where is 01? Where are the Hounds?!"

A deputy director's ID card hung from the man's lab coat.

This was his first time facing a high-level pollutant without protective gear. Blood began to seep from his eyes, nose, and ears as if he were suffering acute radiation poisoning. "The… the Director… he took 01 and… ran."

"Ran?! Why would he run?!" the Prophet roared.

"H-headquarters… didn't support his… research… so he… ran…"

"Useless waste!"

Fine, needle-like teeth sprouted from the eyelid of the Prophet's primary face.

He bit down, severing the researcher's head with a wet crunch.

*

The edge of City A. A few steps back, and you'd be in the old northeastern provinces.

01 stood atop the Great Wall, gazing into the distance—toward the Qinglong Reservoir.

A product of forced evolution and crude technology, much of his body had been replaced with metal.

He held a leash. A dog was tethered to it.

One month ago, Gong Weibin had injected him with another canine gene sequence.

He'd been conducting these genetic modification experiments for years, using both Awakeners and pollutants as subjects.

After the canine injections, these "dogs" displayed fanatical loyalty to their master. The subjects' aberration would gradually shift toward canine traits. The experiment was a resounding success, the process stabilized.

01 now had a dog's tail. It even wagged slightly with his mood.

Using the fruits of this research, Gong Weibin had secretly established a "Hound Base" in his remote hometown, a facility for breeding and controlling pollutants.

01 was, without question, the most injected dog of them all.

Gong Weibin had been a researcher long enough to know two things: pollution was irreversible, and so was evolution.

He never truly believed humanity had a future. His outwardly hardline, anti-pollutant stance was merely a cover for his radical experiments.

He knew Headquarters had plans for survivor bases. When those were established, the balance of power within humanity would shift. In the near future, controlling powerful pollutants would be equivalent to possessing nuclear weapons.

He would build an army of them.

Gong Weibin had fled to his hometown with 01, ecstatic. He opened the life-support pod.

This time, he wouldn't just inject more canine genes. He would push 01 over the edge, force a complete descent into a pollutant.

He succeeded.

But the experiment failed.

After decades of humiliation, 01 was tired of being a dog.

"I've always been curious," 01 said, his voice a processed, mechanical rasp—his vocal cords damaged beyond repair decades ago. "What would happen if you transplanted human genes into a dog."

"Seems you like it, don't you?"

The dog 01 held on the leash had the head of a man and the body of a small canine.

The head belonged to his former researcher.

Gong Weibin's lower body had been manually—through utterly unscientific means—crushed into a fleshy ball and stuffed into the dog's torso. Only his head remained outside.

His face was a mask of terror, but he seemed beaten into submission. He lowered his head, wagging the stub of a tail, and let out a pathetic whine.

"Woof! Woof!"