Chapter 84

Chapter 84

Research Institute, Underground Level 1, Experiment Zone.

The lighting here remained dim.

Zhou Qimeng’s suspicious gaze shifted between the two men. "You know each other?"

Lu Yan was not, of course, Number 18.

Eighteen was the man listed as his father on the household register.

According to the system, Lu Cheng was not his biological father.

Fortunately, Lu Yan’s annual prayer during the hospital’s temple team-building trips was for Lu Cheng to meet a swift and violent end; therefore, whether he was a real father or not made little difference.

"We’re meeting for the first time," Lu Yan stated.

Qin Guoyu stared at him, tilting his head slightly. "True. Number 18 isn't as… aesthetically pleasing as you."

A year ago, Lu Cheng and Lu Yan shared about a seventy percent resemblance. Now, it was forty percent at most.

Lu Cheng’s face could never grow this kind of aura.

Qin Guoyu’s eyes were like two milky-white glass marbles, devoid of pupils.

The system provided Qin Guoyu’s profile.

[Qin Guoyu. First Research Institute experimental subject, Number 03, codename 'Pope.' Spiritual Power Threshold: 8,800.]

[As a Seer who awakened in the early days of the Cataclysm, his SPT is unsurprisingly high. For decades, he has consumed many pollutants to elevate it.]

[It must be said, many pollutants are incredibly unpalatable, even after processing. Not everyone has a 'good son' to help with digestion like you do.]

[His researcher belonged to the Primordial Sect. They advocate raw consumption, believing untreated pollutants better assist Seer advancement. There's some logic to it, but it inevitably increases the Seer’s Lesion Rate, potentially causing death from the backlash.]

[His official file lists his talent as #12, 'Revival.' In truth, he possesses two: an incomplete 'Life and Death,' and 'Revival.']

['Death' resides with the Gu Master. 'Life' is with him. They are twins, two halves of a whole, sharing a life. The Gu Master died once, years ago, but was resurrected by the Pope. This led the Gu Master to misunderstand his own talent… He believes his existence will kill his younger brother.]

[In other words, both must be killed simultaneously. Otherwise, the other will keep reviving. In fact, Qin Guoyu has died many times, from backlash after consuming pollutants. This has left his physical state exceptionally fragile.]

[The only reason his Lesion Rate hasn't exceeded 100 despite consuming so many pollutants is because the Gu Master bears the burden for him.]

As the system reached this point, a thought suddenly struck Lu Yan.

He thought of his own brother.

[If you had the clearance to review Subject 03's medical records, you'd find the Pope periodically enters a 'false death' state—no heartbeat, no consciousness. This is actually him reviving.]

[Lesion Direction: Insectification, Psychosis.]

Qin Guoyu was dripping wet, his arms covered in small, lacerated wounds. The scaly wings on his back were temporarily irretractable, hanging behind him like two long streamers that nearly reached his ankles. They didn't resemble butterfly wings, but more like those of a long-tailed silk moth.

With practiced ease, Qin Guoyu found a hemostatic bandage and began tending to his wounds.

Ever since awakening his healing-type talent, people had constantly admonished him to mind his injuries.

Especially when bleeding.

"Pollutants are attracted to the scent of my blood," Qin Guoyu explained.

After finishing, he tried to stand, bracing against the wall, but quickly slid back down, strengthless.

"I can't walk," he said, a note of resignation in his voice. "It's been this way since I was very young. Becoming a Seer didn't fix it."

Normally, he relied on his scaly wings to fly.

But now his wings were injured.

"You. Come here," he said to Zhou Qimeng.

Zhou Qimeng took a step forward. Qin Guoyu reached out with his bandaged hand and grasped Zhou Qimeng's charred arm.

This was the first time in his life Zhou Qimeng had been this close to a beautiful man. He was intensely nervous. "W-what are you doing? In broad daylight…"

Qin Guoyu closed his eyes.

Zhou Qimeng's arm had gone numb, but now he felt a wave of coolness.

On his arm, the carbonized skin from the electric shock rapidly scabbed over, flaked away, and was replaced by fresh, pink tissue.

Soon, the arm was restored.

Zhou Qimeng was astonished. "So healing talents cover physical injuries too? I thought they only treated Pollution Disease."

"Both. Treating Pollution Disease is just more troublesome."

Using a talent increased one's Lesion Rate slightly.

The system remarked: [See? That's a real support class.]

The cleanup mission had barely begun, and now the team had acquired a survivor—a key figure on the list, no less—who couldn't walk. It was nothing but trouble.

Zhou Qimeng thought for a moment. "We should get the Pope to safety first."

After all, this was a precious, hard-raised healing-type for the Institute. If anything happened to him, there'd be hell to pay.

When Zhou Qimeng saw Lu Yan's name on the team roster, he'd been surprised.

In his experience, Seers with such talents were usually delicate, coddled creatures to be kept in gilded cages.

Like Subject 03 here.

Lu Yan spoke up. "I'll do it. You two continue the cleanup. I'll catch up after I deliver him."

He had the second-highest Spiritual Power Threshold on the team, and the route back hadn't seemed dangerous. He was the logical choice.

Zhou Qimeng didn't refuse. "Then we'll trouble you, Doctor Lu."

Qin Guoyu seemed to want to say something but ultimately remained silent.

He put on the diving helmet Lu Yan handed him and connected his own oxygen tank.

Lu Yan lifted Qin Guoyu, one arm under his knees, the other supporting his back. The man, nearly six feet tall, was light as a sheet of paper.

Qin Guoyu took the helmet off and held it in his lap, his voice soft. "Your surname is Lu too?"

"Yes."

"Number 18's surname was also Lu."

Lu Yan said, "He is my father."

Qin Guoyu hesitated for a long moment before speaking slowly. "This incident at the Institute… is it because Number 18 has returned?"

Lu Yan didn't answer immediately.

He weighed his words carefully. "The First Research Institute has strayed from its founding purpose. You shouldn't be treated this way."

The corridor in the experiment zone was long, silent save for the sound of his own footsteps.

Qin Guoyu seemed to take Lu Yan as one of their own, resting his head on Lu Yan's shoulder. "Number 18 was an Institute subject's designation. I am Number 3."

"Many of the surgeries were very painful. When we couldn't bear it, Number 18 would tell us stories of the outside world. By then, we'd already been in the research facility for over ninety years. We had no idea what the world outside had become."

"My mother passed away. I couldn't attend her funeral because the Institute said it was unsafe outside. Her ashes were delivered to me in a small urn."

"To help Number 18 escape, Number 02 died. Number 01 was heartbroken. I feigned illness at the time, distracting many of the staff. My researcher was furious. He threw away my mother's ashes."

"Number 18 said he would definitely come back to save us, that he would build a new home for us outside. We waited so long, year after year, almost losing hope. And then today came."

Qin Guoyu's expression was sorrowful. "But we are neither human nor pollutant. Where can we possibly go?"

Lu Yan's expression remained impassive, his narration calm. "He lied to you. He said that just so you'd help him escape. You know Number 07 also escaped the Institute. If not for Number 07, you could have waited until you died, and no one would have come to save you."

"The ones who want to save you are Number 07, and your brother."

Qin Guoyu looked dazed. "Isn't he… already dead?"

When the S-Class Pollution Disease case 'Natural Disaster' was resolved, Qin Guoyu had run a high fever for a long time.

When he woke, he was notified that his brother had become a pollutant and had been eradicated.

That had been his last living relative in the world.

The system suddenly spoke up: [If you want to send him away, Number 07 is currently on underground level seven. Number 01 is here. He's around the corner of the corridor ahead. My apologies for the late warning; he has a teleportation talent. He was at the Great Wall's edge over a hundred kilometers away just a moment ago.]

[If you want to live, I strongly advise you to act… benevolent. Seriously.]

So, Lu Yan looked down and asked, "Do you want to leave? Number 07 should still be on level seven. There's still time."

Qin Guoyu whispered, "I don't want to go with Number 01 and the others. I've been a burden since I was small. I attract other pollutants. Taking me along would be nothing but trouble."

Lu Yan's expression didn't change, but he felt a creeping coldness begin to spread across his back.

He reached the corner. The hallway ahead was empty.

A hand covered his eyes.

It was cold. The texture felt like metal.

If a pollutant's own contamination value was high enough, even if it wasn't inherently contagious, it could become a potent pollution source.

The fish scales on Lu Yan's body emerged uncontrollably.

In his arms, Qin Guoyu's face showed shock. "Brother Gu Zheng…?! What are you doing?"

Although Subject 01's level of aberration wasn't high—he still looked mostly human—the aura radiating from him clearly no longer belonged to the human race.

The detector on Lu Yan's wrist emitted a shrill alarm. Gu Zheng reached out and crushed the device with his fingers.

Gu Zheng's eyes were a deep, vivid crimson.

His hand slowly closed around Lu Yan's throat.

Even though Gu Zheng wasn't applying force, Lu Yan felt the suffocating illusion of pressure.

[Gu Zheng. Experimental Subject Number 01. Codename 'Hound.' Once the Special Operations Department's most outstanding sniper. Although Tang Xun'an doesn't use firearms, he did learn marksmanship from him.]

After a long series of experiments, his goodwill toward humanity had long since eroded into a negative number. Becoming a pollutant had triggered an irreversible shift in his thought process. For instance, he now considered modern humans a fundamentally inferior species… one that needed to be purged.

The system had said purged, not evolved. That single word choice spoke volumes about Subject 01’s current state of mind.

[Lesion Direction: Beastification, Bloodthirst.]

[Pollution Value: 16,200.]

This was the highest numerical value Lu Yan had ever encountered in a pollutant.

By headquarters’ standards, a Pollution Value exceeding 10,000 qualified as S-Class. Anything beyond that was beyond humanity's capacity to handle.

Every S-Class pollutant was like dropping modern artillery onto an ancient battlefield of swords and spears. The destructive power was absolute, overwhelming. Dealing with one always came at a catastrophic price.

Lu Yan tightened his arm around Qin Guoyu’s waist, his other hand lifting slowly in a gesture of surrender, a silent claim of harmlessness.

The Hound’s voice was a low, measured growl. "My researcher mentioned that Number 10 is quite fond of you."

"I’d prefer not to fight him. Trading you for the other experimental subjects seems simpler. Do you think Tang Xun’an would agree to that?"

Behind him, his canine tail gave a slow, deliberate twitch.