Chapter 17-I Clean Up Garbage in a Wasteland World
Chapter 17 The Man-Eating Hotpot Restaurant-6
Zhu Ning knelt on one knee. The person stood behind her, the muzzle of the gun pressed against the back of her head.
"Are you from the Sanitation Center?" It sounded like a young girl, her voice very pleasant. She probably recognized the uniform on Zhu Ning.
A living person. This might be her mission objective. This person was very smart, able to use the natural conditions of the room to project shadows behind the Therapeutic Pod while hiding in the dark herself.
As long as anyone entering suffered slight Mental Pollution, they would go crazy in the room on their own without any other stimulus needed.
Zhu Ning: "Yes."
The girl: "Are you here to save me?"
Zhu Ning: "Possibly."
She wasn't sure who this person was, nor if she was the survivor the system wanted her to save.
The gun-wielding girl was silent for a moment. The bell in the corridor kept echoing; she didn't have much time left and couldn't take more risks.
"How do you prove you're not a Contaminant?" The girl asked a critical question.
"Just by—" She was listening with bated breath when she heard Zhu Ning say two words. Suddenly, her wrist hurt. Zhu Ning backhandedly seized her hand, disarmed her cleanly, and kicked out at the same time.
The girl's abdomen felt like it had been smashed by a boulder. With a bang, she slammed into the shelves behind her. Medicine bottles crashed down all over her body. She swallowed a grunt of pain, stubbornly not letting out a single scream. She gritted her teeth and wanted to fight back. If it were anyone else, she might have been able to exchange a few moves, but she had encountered Zhu Ning. Before she could look up, Zhu Ning's gun was already pointing at the center of her brow.
Click—
Zhu Ning chambered a round. Her movement with the gun was almost etched into her bones; she could fire without hesitation.
"Misunderstanding! I'm a living person!" The girl immediately shouted loudly.
Zhu Ning didn't shoot, assessing the situation. The opponent was a young female, fully defended. She was wearing a pure white protective suit, the shoulder lines outlined with white light, customized with cute cat prints.
If Zhu Ning's outfit looked like a motorcycle-riding robber, this girl looked like an exquisite, elegant little white cat—harmless as a park mascot, making people less guarded.
Zhu Ning knew about this stuff. Some wealthy people, afraid of pollution, would buy protective suits to keep at home. Their protective suits were designed by famous designers, not only protecting against pollution but also accounting for fashion. This protective suit started at least at 10 million NewCred.
The gap between people is sometimes bigger than the gap between humans and dogs. In the world of the rich, protective suits can also be chosen from luxury brands, custom-made by high-end tailors, and swapped for a new model when out of season.
In short, this girl was rich and smart. Zhu Ning didn't know if she wore the kitten protective suit to lower people's guard.
When the girl was kicked away just now, she clearly wanted to counterattack; she must have received training.
"Who are you?" Zhu Ning pointed the gun at her.
"Liu Niannian
Liu Niannian? Never heard of her.
Zhu Ning didn't lower her hand. Those appearing in a Pollution Zone were very likely Contaminants. Liu Niannian suspected Zhu Ning just now, and now Zhu Ning was suspecting her.
Zhu Ning asked, "How long have you been here?"
Liu Niannian: "I don't know. It feels like several days have passed."
Zhu Ning changed the question: "When did you enter?"
Liu Niannian: "New Calendar Year 80, October 3rd, 11:45."
It connected, Zhu Ning thought.
The mission effective time is 6 hours. According to the latest data, the limit for a normal person to stay in a Pollution Zone is 6 hours; after 6 hours, they suffer brain death.
After Liu Niannian entered the Pollution Zone, she triggered some mechanism or was identified by big data. Thus, a gray "grave post" appeared in the Sanitation Center forum and was precisely pushed to Zhu Ning, who was browsing posts. It seems the System really wanted Zhu Ning to save this Liu Niannian. At least she found the right mission target.
Liu Niannian's Sanity must be quite high. She had been in here for an hour, yet her head still seemed very clear, her logic was normal—she should be more capable than Li Nianchuan.
But why did the System want Zhu Ning to save her?
Zhu Ning put away the gun. This gun used Air Rounds, which weren't easy for ordinary people to buy. Liu Niannian likely had money and power at home, or some gray connections. A daughter of a chaebol, Zhu Ning judged in her heart.
Zhu Ning tossed the gun back to Liu Niannian: "I came in an hour later than you."
"An hour?" Liu Niannian's face changed drastically. "I've been in here for an hour? Done for, done for, done for. My brain is no good anymore."
"Whatever I say later, don't believe it. I might harm you."
This person knew a lot about Contaminant knowledge, Zhu Ning thought. She knew she had to cover all her skin to enter a Pollution Zone, knew that staying too long would cause Mental Pollution, and knew that an hour was already dangerous.
Moreover, the fact that Liu Niannian could survive alone in a Pollution Zone proved she had exceptional qualities.
"Calm down," Zhu Ning reminded.
The more unstable the emotions, the easier it is to be polluted.
Liu Niannian took a deep breath. She really didn't have much time left. She checked her protective suit—thankfully no holes. If she were parasitic by Contamination Spores and became a Contaminant, she might as well just bang her head and die.
"Are you a Cleaner?" Liu Niannian asked. "Why did the Sanitation Center send a trash collector to save people?"
Zhu Ning: "..."
People still engage in occupational discrimination when saving lives these days?
Liu Niannian felt it was quite rude after saying it and asked, "Did you get separated from your teammates? Where is your Demon Hunter? When is he coming to save us?"
Zhu Ning: "..."
Whoever loves to save can save; how did she manage to step on her toes with every sentence?
Zhu Ning asked, "What are you doing in the Pollution Zone?"
"Uh..." Liu Niannian hesitated for a while, seeming to wonder if Zhu Ning was trustworthy. "Looking for my aunt."
"Aunt?" Zhu Ning asked. "How old are you?"
Liu Niannian: "Nineteen, in graduate school. How old are you?"
"..." Zhu Ning: "Same as you."
They were peers.
In the Wasteland, everything was force-ripened to maximize profit. A chicken could be served on the table six hours after birth. Human learning time was also continuously compressed; graduating from university at 18, then entering the workforce. If Zhu Ning's family had money, she should be in graduate school right now too.
Liu Niannian: "What's your name?"
"Zhu Ning." Zhu Ning didn't have time to chat idly with her. "Your aunt is missing, and you came here to look?"
There was a warning sign hanging at the intersection. How blind did one have to be to come in looking for a missing person? Besides, Liu Niannian looked like a sheltered young lady; her aunt should also be some wealthy lady. How could she come to eat at Hao Zailai Hotpot Restaurant?
Unless her family bought the entire hotpot restaurant.
Liu Niannian hesitated, seeming to organize her words. "I say aunt, but she was actually a gardener at one of my homes."
One of my homes. Zhu Ning caught the keyword. Rich lady, exactly how many homes do you have?
"When I was little, no one played with me, so I always went to find her. Before my aunt disappeared, she was very strange, acting mysterious every day. The adults in the family wouldn't let me have contact with her when I was little. I only found out when I grew up that she might have been mentally polluted decades ago."
"I looked through her diary and found she used to love coming to this hotpot restaurant. My aunt had scald scars on her arm—the entire arm plus the shoulder and neck, spreading all the way to the lower half of her face."
Liu Niannian gestured on herself to show how large the scald area was; it was close to disfigurement.
"Auntie said she got scalded eating hotpot before. She didn't get plastic surgery, thinking the scar was a gift. And when speaking of the hotpot restaurant, she didn't hate it at all; instead, she missed it terribly, saying this shop was so delicious, pity it didn't open anymore. So I wanted to come and see just how delicious it was."
Zhu Ning had read the employee's diary and listened to the recording. Now the puzzle piece of the diners was filled. The diners back then definitely got polluted after eating the meat. Where did the polluted diners go?
Now there seemed to be a clue.
After humans are mentally polluted, they look normal. They can do gardener work normally but will do some abnormal things. They blend into the lives of ordinary people, making people feel strange but unable to pinpoint what is wrong.
Or perhaps this is a method of Mental Pollution—not killing all guests, but releasing the surviving diners like bait, so they can continuously attract new guests into the Pollution Zone.
Liu Niannian's curiosity was really strong. Just because her gardener said this hotpot restaurant was delicious, she wanted to come and see. Liu Niannian probably hid some information on purpose; what she confessed was likely half-true and half-false. Probably even her name was fake, so as not to expose which family she belonged to.
Zhu Ning guessed that finding the aunt was secondary; coming for adventure was the truth. Liu Niannian really seemed like a rich second generation who was bored and loved adventure.
Zhu Ning: "Did you find her?"
Liu Niannian: "No, I looked around. Auntie isn't among the diners."
Zhu Ning: "How did you get in?"
"Employee application," Liu Niannian said. "Yang Tao asked me what I did, and I said I came to wash dishes. I saw this room marked 'No Unauthorized Entry' and thought it hid some secret, so I came in."
Zhu Ning: "Was this the first door you opened?"
Liu Niannian: "Yeah, I only opened one. After coming in, I haven't gone out yet. I saw Yang Tao killing people, and then I didn't dare to go out."
Zhu Ning: "..."
She didn't know whether to say Liu Niannian had good luck. This room was used by the boss to store drugs; perhaps Yang Tao rarely came here when he was alive.
Liu Niannian: "I lost track of time after coming in, but they ring a bell for a meeting every so often. Each time the bell rings, it lasts quite a while. Everyone in the shop goes into the basement. I found a hole in the room—don't know who dug it. They kneel and pray to the boss, then cut off the boss's meat, take it to the kitchen for processing, and then use it for hotpot."
"I thought it was disgusting at first, but later I didn't feel disgusted anymore, just wanted to run away. Them going into the basement is the best time to escape."
"I observed it a few times and it was always like this. I originally wanted to take the chance to run out, but then I heard your voice."
The commotion Zhu Ning made was too big. The sound of her gunshot shocked Liu Niannian. She thought at the time that a living person might have entered the Pollution Zone.
Liu Niannian thought Zhu Ning was rescue sent by the Sanitation Center, but on the other hand, suspected Zhu Ning was a Contaminant and dared not show herself rashly.
Since Liu Niannian confessed her information, Zhu Ning also briefly told her what she knew. Liu Niannian didn't need to read the diary or listen to the recording personally, but what Zhu Ning told her was still terrifying, like a collection of horror stories.
"So the thing lying on the bed down there is the Source of Contamination?" Liu Niannian asked.
Zhu Ning opened her mouth, just about to answer.
Buzz—
The bell suddenly stopped. The meat-cutting in the basement ended. The WiFi formation dispersed. They returned to the hotpot restaurant in an orderly manner. Rustling sounds came from the corridor; the guests and employees were coming up.
Zhu Ning heard the sound of the Pigman dragging his axe again. Yang Tao was still trying to find a way into the girls' dorm. He was more irritable than before, smashing room doors to bits with his axe. It wouldn't take long to search Zhu Ning's room.
Not only that, but the other diners in the shop didn't return to the main hall to eat hotpot; they were patrolling the corridor.
Find the anomaly. They wanted to find the anomaly.
Liu Niannian's face was pale. She whispered, "What do we do next?"
Zhu Ning sighed. She could use the Putrid Fish Head
Zhu Ning: "I'm going to kill the Source of Contamination."
"How to kill it?" Liu Niannian was in a dilemma.
There was a Pigman blocking the outside. The people in the hotpot restaurant were all in cahoots; the diners and other employees were equally dangerous. It was impossible for them to cross the corridor and enter the basement unscathed.
And she didn't trust Zhu Ning's ability much. It would be great if a Demon Hunter had come.
"Going through the corridor is too much trouble," Zhu Ning said.
Liu Niannian expressed agreement. Zhu Ning did have some skills.
"Find a shortcut," Zhu Ning said. "It should be hollow underneath here. Step back."
Liu Niannian: "Huh?"
Why didn't she understand?
Zhu Ning took a device out of her backpack, flipped her hand, and pressed it onto the ground. Bang!
Liu Niannian was dumbfounded. Zhu Ning blew up the floor!
...
1:30 AM.
Inside a certain mansion of the Lu family, lights were blazing. Patrol teams spread out, conducting a carpet search. They searched twice and found nothing.
"Didn't find the Young Miss." The captain of the patrol team was sweating cold sweat down his back.
The man in front of him wore a black suit, 1.85 meters tall, his features chiseled, but emitting a gloomy coldness. Upon hearing this, he frowned slightly. Wondering if it was the butler's illusion, for a split second, he saw hesitation on his face, as if weighing pros and cons, but that bit of hesitation disappeared quickly.
He had to meet the director of Eternal Pharma tonight. Who knew something would happen at this critical juncture? He didn't have time to deal with these trivial matters.
"Young Miss is very curious about Contaminants. Could she..." the butler said uncertainly, "have entered a Pollution Zone?"
A protective suit was missing from the house, and a gun was lost from the armory. She definitely went to look for Contaminants. They didn't know which district she went to, nor which Pollution Zone she entered. Pollution Zones are closed; messages cannot be sent out from the inside. They weren't sure where the Young Miss went. Searching blindly like this was definitely like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Every extra second in a Pollution Zone was dangerous. The Young Miss had been missing for over four hours now. The butler guessed she might already be dead, but the man seemed not to care at all.
The man said, "Tell Pei Shu
"Post a bounty. Don't reveal her identity. Whoever finds her gets a 1 million reward."
"Just one million?" Isn't that a bit too little?
They all said he didn't care much about the eldest young miss; sure enough, it was true.
"Idiot." He spat out one word. Unknown if he was talking about the eldest young miss or the butler. Thirty seconds later, a black flying car stopped, and the man got in. This was his entire reaction after hearing the news.
Only after the person left did the butler realize: they couldn't ask for too high a bounty. If people found out, they would be silenced.
Comments
Post a Comment