Chapter 91

Chapter 91

Lu Yan made it home in the middle of the night.

The System was chattering in his ear.

[When the Prophet was younger, he joined a mysterious society called the Deep Sea Society… it’s been banned worldwide. Because he had the foresight talent, plus some coincidences, he managed to get seven embryonic King Fish. The one we need to find is in the Third Sector.]

In K City, Lu Yan had found three unhatched King Fish—the parasitic fish, Longnv Lake, and the mermaid club. One was his son; he’d eaten the other two, gaining Regeneration and Delirium.

And now the System was asking if he wanted to change his eyes.

The phrasing was… suggestive.

The System cackled. [What, you think you’re the chosen one? That you’ll just keep stumbling upon unhatched fish by accident?]

[Open your Apocalypse Forum. Go to the bounty board. Scroll down to the B-Class section. Page three, line six.]

Lu Yan did as instructed.

The post was titled [Cromer Manor], a B-Class pollution zone located on the distant Sunless Peninsula.

Description: Cromer Manor remained the private estate of an Earl for centuries. In recent decades, due to mismanagement, the Earl was forced to sell off assets, including the manor. Its new owners were a wealthy couple in the transoceanic shipping business.

Childless into their forties, the wife finally became pregnant at age forty-four. The husband hired the finest private physician and brought his wife to Cromer Manor for the delivery.

However, the doctor concealed that he had contracted the Pollution Disease. The wealthy family, including the unborn child, was slaughtered. The entire manor was swallowed by a black fog.

In the past year, the fog has begun to dissipate. Several disaster hunters have ventured inside. None returned. Some reported seeing Deep Sea Society seals at the estate’s perimeter.

[Additional Files] (Available upon accepting task)

Objective: Explore Cromer Manor and transmit intelligence.

Client: Disaster Hunters Guild

Total Bounty: 70,000 Contribution Points + equivalent value spiritual item/pollutant intel

Note: Detected pollution values within 10km of Cromer Manor range from 2100-2700. Estimated internal pollution value ~6700. Designated B-Class pollution zone.

Due to various historical complexities, other sectors weren’t like the First Sector with its single, unified headquarters. Besides the official Pollution Disease Prevention Centers, numerous civilian organizations had sprung up.

The most famous were the Disaster Hunters Guild and the Old Covenant Alliance.

The Guild didn’t just recruit Awakeners; it took in plenty of ordinary people too.

Lu Yan selected ‘Accept Task’. A prompt immediately flashed on his phone: Sorry, this task is restricted to B-Class Awakeners and above.

By the time he’d reached City A, Lu Yan’s spiritual power threshold had hit 4000.

After clearing the first floor of the Research Institute, devouring a box jellyfish, and having a taste of Tang Xun’an’s maple syrup, his threshold was now squarely at five thousand.

According to the System, leveling up by eating worked like this: consuming pollutants directly was like chewing raw herbs. Feeding on Awakeners or perfect evolution specimens was like taking refined pills—the impurities were filtered out, so it was less harmful and worked faster.

The cost was his aberration rate had climbed to 41. It had recovered a bit now, barely dipping to 39.5.

Normally, headquarters wouldn’t assign new tasks to an Awakener in this state. But if they chose to take one themselves, no one would stop them. Thirty-nine was still a long way from the danger zone of seventy.

To accept this task, Lu Yan needed to visit the Prevention Center to update his employee ID card.

He knotted his tie in the mirror, secured the short blade to his thigh holster, then shrugged on his long coat. Bending down, he adjusted the buckle on his boot before packing his travel bag.

Xiaotian was restless, first spilling water, then accidentally breaking a plate.

Lu Yan couldn’t stand the mess, sweeping it up each time.

After a few rounds, even Xiaotian felt too guilty to continue. He flopped down nearby, eyes wide and pleading. “Are you leaving, Little Lu?”

Tang Xun’an wasn’t back yet.

If he returned to find Lu Yan gone, he’d probably be upset for a while.

“Just heading to the Prevention Center,” Lu Yan replied.

Xiaotian’s tail started wagging. “Oh, the Center! Good, that’s fine. But why pack a suitcase? It’s the middle of the night.”

“Update my ID, accept a task, then go.”

“What task? Wait for Old Tang to get back! Go together!”

“He can’t always be with me.”

Xiaotian understood the unspoken meaning. He lay his head on his paws, voice small and dejected. “Then come back soon. I’ll walk myself properly while you’re gone.”

Lu Yan slung his bow over his shoulder and pulled the door open. “I will.”

*

The Prevention Center operated twenty-four hours a day.

City A, with its population of over ten million, lived up to its status. Even its Prevention Center was more imposing than K City’s.

Lu Yan swiped his card through the gate. A staff member was ready to receive him immediately.

If an Awakener consented, measuring their spiritual power threshold was simple. It just required sitting in a metal capsule for a moment.

The scanner displayed the precise result: 5011.4.

“Congratulations, Mr. Lu. You are now officially a B-Class Awakener.” The staffer’s eyes shone. “According to records, you are the fastest Awakener to advance from F-Class to B-Class in history. Just under nine months.”

The B-Class threshold ranged from 5000 to 8000—a wide bracket.

[Originally, B-Class was 6000 to 8000. Headquarters adjusted the numbers to mask the shortage of high-level combatants. The higher you go, the fewer there are.]

[There are over 80,000 Awakeners worldwide now, 20,000 of them emerging in the last five years. But senior titles—B, A, and S-Class—number only a little over three hundred combined.]

The path for an Awakener was blocked not just by hordes of pollutants, but by the relentless, personal march of aberration. Senior Awakeners represented the final 0.37% who survived the winnowing.

If you removed the 5000-6000 threshold bracket, that percentage might drop to 0.1.

“Thank you,” Lu Yan said. “I also need to report that I’ve accepted a task requiring travel abroad.”

Nationwide, unless an Awakener had a criminal record or failed a psyche eval, they weren’t actively monitored. But international travel required prior registration. A visa alone wouldn’t get you past the border. Not unless you chose to smuggle yourself out.

The staffer blinked. “Of course. One moment, I need to check with headquarters… May I ask which task you accepted?”

“Task code B306.”

The Apocalypse Forum updated in real-time. With his profile now refreshed, Lu Yan accepted the task.

A forum notification popped up: Another member, A-Class Awakener Michael, had also accepted this task, was recruiting teammates, and had added him as a forum friend. Private messaging was available.

It was night in the First Sector, but in Michael’s time zone, it was clearly working hours.

Messages from the user ‘Michael’ came quickly, automatically translated by the forum.

Michael: Hello. Your name is hard to pronounce.

Michael: oooo I remember you! You’re the one who suddenly topped the intermediate rankings! B-Class already? You took the Cromer Manor task? Can you open permissions, let me see your talents and threshold?

On the forum, all info was hidden from strangers. But for potential cooperation, you could grant access.

To show good faith, the other party sent their data first.

[Michael]

Talents: 30-Holy Light; 70-Bestowal; 129-Combat Expertise

Spiritual Power Threshold: 8368

Aberration Direction: Avianization

Mental State: Good (No apparent aggression; state becomes reckless/aggressive after talent overuse)

“What are ‘Bestowal’ and ‘Holy Light’?” Lu Yan asked the System.

Even with the talent sequence list bought from headquarters, it only had names. The details were guesswork.

[Michael. What I’d call a combat medic. Talent 70, Bestowal, can temporarily lend his talents to others. Talent 30, Holy Light. Where the holy light shines, it weakens pollutants, slows the rise of one’s own aberration rate, and boosts vitality. In other words, it stacks buffs.]

Lu Yan thought for a moment, then opened his own permissions.

He was mostly curious what his file said.

[Dì Tīng]

Talents: 501-Early Warning; 914-Cross-Species Communication.

Spiritual Power Threshold: 5011.4

Aberration Direction: Mermaid-ization

Mental State: Excellent (No apparent aggression; state becomes emotionally detached after talent overuse)

Michael: ????

Michael: Holy shit, our whole group was guessing what your talents were… and it’s this??

The shock was understandable. The new generation of Awakeners was strong. For Lu Yan to rank first among them and climb to B-Class at a record-breaking pace, his talents shouldn’t have seemed so… ordinary.

Perhaps sensing his tone was less than friendly, Michael quickly sent a follow-up.

Michael: Sorry, just really surprised. Didn’t mean anything by it.

Michael: Want to team up?

As a top-ranked A-Class Awakener, he was confident he could carry Lu Yan without a problem.

After all, Crow Manor was just a B-Class Pollution Disease case. If Michael hadn’t been investigating the Deep Sea Society recently, he wouldn’t have taken on this task on a whim.

Lu Yan didn’t refuse and simply replied with "Okay."

Michael: OK, contact me when you reach the Peninsula. My work number is ******. [Heart]

With that, Michael’s profile picture went dark.

The staff member in front of Lu Yan finally finished the registration process after a flurry of keystrokes.

She wore a sweet smile: "Hello, Mr. Lu. Your international travel permissions have been activated. We wish you a pleasant journey... Additionally, headquarters has a notification and would like to hear your opinion on a matter."

Lu Yan was somewhat surprised: "On what?"

The staff member didn’t have the authority to elaborate, so it was Lu Yan’s assigned liaison who called.

It was tough on Director Li, the liaison, having to get up for standby duty at three in the morning at his age.

"Lord Clairaudience," Director Li said, "As you recall, the First Research Institute was attacked by pollutants, and many of its research projects were suspended afterward."

"Many of the volunteers who became... experimental subjects are now undergoing psychological counseling at various Control Centers."

The weight of these secrets was evident in the old man’s tone.

"Among them is Volunteer No. 6—Experimental Subject 06. Assessments indicate a stable mental state. He has voluntarily joined the Special Operations Department and requested field assignments... Headquarters suggests the two of you partner up for this mission."

Lu Yan was genuinely surprised: "No. 6? What’s his name?"

"Yan Bei. Spiritual power threshold of 6,700. Mutation vector is plant-based. His temperament is noted as exceptionally docile... Pairing you with him serves two purposes. First, his spiritual power threshold is relatively high, providing a measure of security for joint operations. Second," the director continued, "headquarters hopes increased social interaction will be beneficial. He’s spent decades inside the Institute and is somewhat... disconnected from the outside world. Rest assured, Yan Bei has passed all psychological evaluations. There are no safety concerns."

A melancholic voice drifted into Lu Yan’s mind: Among experimental subjects 1 through 9, No. 6 is probably the only one who could recover this quickly... and likely the only one who’d feel lost because the research institute shut down.

Still holding the phone, Lu Yan instinctively asked, "Why?"

Due to a particular neurological condition, his perception of pain and pleasure is inverted... The common term is masochist.