Chapter 37-I Clean Up Garbage in a Wasteland World
Chapter 37: The House That Hunts People-10
An hour had passed since containing the contamination spores. Once she was certain that no spores had leaked out, Zhu Ning proceeded to contain all the putrid meat and contaminated bricks.
"What about the house?" Liu Niannian asked.
Zhu Ning replied, "My guess is they'll tell the public it was an accident caused by a gas leak."
Zhu Ning had already thought of an excuse for Prometheus.
"What about the bodies?" Liu Niannian nodded and asked, "Do we really have to take them with us?"
Zhu Ning said, "I'll contact a professional."
Zhu Ning reached out to Song Zhizhang. Since he ran a professional Containment Department, he should be able to handle the corpses.
Song Zhizhang was like a customer service representative waiting for orders online. It was possible Prometheus had already assigned him the task; he only listened briefly to Zhu Ning's summary of what happened before quickly offering a solution.
"If it's convenient, bring the bodies yourself. If you want me to handle the pickup, the fee is one hundred thousand per body."
"I've already sent people for the subsequent cleanup," Song Zhizhang said over the phone. "I suggest you get out of that area as soon as possible."
Liu Niannian looked curious. This was her first formal participation in a task assigned by Zhu Ning, and it was already this bizarre. Did Zhu Ning really have a mysterious organization behind her?
Zhu Ning was very cold when speaking to the other party, saying only two sentences in total. The first was, "I understand."
The second was, "Can I bring an outsider over?"
Liu Niannian couldn't hear the response from the other side before Zhu Ning hung up the phone.
"Come here and help," Zhu Ning called out to Liu Niannian.
Liu Niannian had a natural trust in Zhu Ning, likely because the other woman had once saved her life.
"They can't help?" Liu Niannian asked.
"They can," Zhu Ning said, "but it's expensive."
Liu Niannian: "...?"
Do I look like I'm short on money? For the first time, Liu Niannian clearly felt like cheap labor. But Zhu Ning was her boss, and the boss's word was law.
Besides... collecting corpses was a very novel experience for Liu Niannian.
Zhu Ning and Liu Niannian moved the bodies together. Mysteriously, they had developed the kind of bond that only comes from burying bodies together.
Liu Niannian drove a luxury car she considered low-key. Zhu Ning couldn't recognize the brand, but in her world, it would have been at least a stretch Lincoln. Now, it was loaded with five corpses.
The two women took the five assassins' bodies onto the Sky Highway. Prometheus had controlled the cameras, so no one would come to check. Looking through the rearview mirror, one could clearly feel a car following them.
Liu Niannian said, "Don't worry about it. It's my family."
Liu Niannian couldn't shake off Pei Shu. If another incident occurred, she would be grounded for the rest of her life. This was her hard-won freedom.
Zhu Ning was highly vigilant and didn't even take off her helmet in the car. Between the two times Liu Niannian and Zhu Ning had met, they both wore helmets. In reality, they had never seen each other's true appearance.
Driving was boring, so Liu Niannian kept observing her through the rearview mirror and asked, "Aren't you going to take off your helmet?"
She could sense that Zhu Ning seemed to be injured. A normal person would have taken off their helmet by now to clean the wound.
Zhu Ning said, "I think it's better if we don't see each other's faces."
Zhu Ning actually regretted giving her real name the first time. If she had known it would lead to such big trouble, she would have given a fake name. Zhu Ning glanced at the rearview mirror, seemingly pondering whether this heiress was trustworthy.
Liu Niannian guessed what Zhu Ning was thinking and said quickly, "I haven't looked you up."
Liu Niannian thought Zhu Ning was afraid she wasn't trustworthy and might want to silence her. She spoke very fast, fearing she might be killed if she spoke too slowly. "Besides, the internal list of the Sanitation Center isn't that easy to get. I couldn't do it alone."
As a pampered heiress who lacked academic ambition, it was very difficult for Liu Niannian to get information on an employee of the Sanitation Center.
Liu Niannian only knew Zhu Ning's name and that she came from the Sanitation Center wearing a Cleaner's uniform. She couldn't tell if Zhu Ning was truly a Cleaner or a Demon Hunter disguised to hide her identity.
Zhu Ning gave a hum of acknowledgement. Liu Niannian breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Aren't you going to ask about my identity?"
Zhu Ning seemed to have never asked which family Liu Niannian belonged to.
"No need," Zhu Ning said.
As long as Liu Niannian was useful, it didn't matter to Zhu Ning which family's young lady she was. The more she knew, the more she would be involved. Deep ties with Liu Niannian's family might just invite another kind of trouble.
Instead, Liu Niannian felt relieved. Sometimes she was afraid Zhu Ning would change her attitude after learning her identity. Whether it was distance or increased closeness, it would make Liu Niannian instinctively uncomfortable. Zhu Ning's current reaction was just right.
Zhu Ning asked, "Why on earth are you doing this?"
Liu Niannian said, not even sure herself, "Because you'll give me money?"
Zhu Ning: "..."
What a simple and unadorned wish.
Liu Niannian continued, "I've been interested in contaminants since I was a child, but my family doesn't really let me get in contact with them."
As a corporate heiress, she couldn't actually become a Demon Hunter. However, her family would tolerate some of her minor "hobbies." Going on adventures with Zhu Ning perfectly aligned with Liu Niannian's interests.
Zhu Ning fell silent. She really didn't understand the ways wealthy heirs sought excitement.
But looking at it this way, her cooperation with Liu Niannian was going smoothly and their coordination was high. Perhaps they really could have a long-term partnership in the future.
She was too tired to think about the aftermath anymore.
The brilliant lights of the Sky Highway reflected in the car window. Zhu Ning leaned against the window, lost in thought. From this perspective, she could overlook part of District 103. The Rome City residential area was already behind them. The people of this city were completely unaware of what had just happened.
When Zhu Ning first joined, she had asked Fang Ying if her job was a body disposal squad. For the first time, she felt it really was like a body disposal squad.
The address Zhu Ning gave was for the Dignified Queen shop. There was a Containment Department near the Rome City residential area, which would have been closer and more convenient, but Zhu Ning preferred dealing with acquaintances. The fewer people who knew, the safer it was.
When Liu Niannian parked the car in front of the Dignified Queen shop, she fell silent. The pink neon sign in front of her was still flashing.
Liu Niannian was clearly shocked. It took her a long while to speak. "You usually come to this kind of place?"
Zhu Ning: "..."
Let me explain.
Song Zhizhang had received Zhu Ning's message long ago and was waiting at the shop's entrance.
After rolling down the window, Liu Niannian saw a man leaning against the railing. Wearing a purple turtleneck sweater, he waved at Zhu Ning. "Darling, you're here?"
Zhu Ning still wasn't used to his joking style. She stiffly raised her hand to greet Song Zhizhang and said rigidly, "I'm here."
Liu Niannian glanced at her.
Zhu Ning: "..."
Fine, she couldn't explain it.
Although the Dignified Queen shop looked a bit scandalous, its location was excellent. There were few people here, with only three scattered shops on the entire street.
Because the foot traffic was low and the location remote, it was perfect for some grey-area operations. Song Zhizhang was a professional containment specialist. He called his colleagues to handle the bodies in the back of the car.
Liu Niannian dropped Zhu Ning off at the entrance of Dignified Queen and watched curiously as Song Zhizhang led people to move the bodies.
Song Zhizhang leaned against the car window to greet Liu Niannian. "Hi~"
Liu Niannian: "...Hi?"
Song Zhizhang smiled at Liu Niannian. "Are you her friend?"
Liu Niannian was silent for a moment, not quite daring to say. "Sort of?"
Song Zhizhang asked, "Do you have time to sit in the shop for a bit?"
In his line of work, he could tell at a glance who was a genuine "rich lady." Looking at the car Liu Niannian drove, she wasn't just a rich lady in the ordinary sense; she was a super-rich lady.
Liu Niannian was stunned. To be honest, she had been a bit of a rebel since she was a child, but she truly had never been to a Host Club. She didn't need to; if she liked handsome guys, she could just hire a celebrity.
"Don't harass her. She's not your customer," Zhu Ning suddenly spoke up.
Song Zhizhang wasn't disappointed. "Keep this place a secret, okay?"
Of all the things Song Zhizhang had said to Liu Niannian, this sentence was the most serious, without a hint of joking. Liu Niannian nodded blankly.
Zhu Ning trusted her enough to bring her to Dignified Queen. It wouldn't be good if she went around blabbering about it. Liu Niannian checked the time. She had been out too long. She had to get back before her family realized she was gone.
Liu Niannian glanced at the time. "I'm going home now. I'll contact you later."
Zhu Ning looked exceptionally tired. She only nodded and watched as Liu Niannian drove out of the street where Dignified Queen was located.
Pei Shu was waiting for his young lady at the corner of the street. He opened the passenger door and got into Liu Niannian's car. Pei Shu's orders were to protect Liu Niannian's safety personally; he had already been away from her side too long, violating protocol.
After Pei Shu got in, Liu Niannian drove, quickly leaving the Dignified Queen shop behind. They got onto the Sky Highway; it would take forty minutes to get back to the Lu family home.
Pei Shu said, "I was wondering who saved you last time. It turns out there was an expert."
This place was too close to the hotpot restaurant where Liu Niannian's accident occurred. It was easy to associate it with the incident at Hao Zailai Hotpot Restaurant. Liu Niannian didn't explain. She had no need to explain anything to him.
Pei Shu paused, seemingly hesitating over whether he should say this, but his ultimate goal was to protect Liu Niannian. Every possible danger had to be considered. "However, I suggest you stay away from that shop."
Liu Niannian asked, "You know about it?"
How did Pei Shu know about a Host Club?
Pei Shu looked out the window and said nonchalantly, "That shop's owner isn't a good person. The Lu family doesn't care what you do, but don't get yourself dragged into something."
Before joining the Lu family, Pei Shu had been an Outside-the-Wall Investigator. Because Liu Niannian had clamored to be a Demon Hunter when she was little, her family had hired Pei Shu at a high salary to be her teacher. He was more experienced and could avoid risks in advance.
From Pei Shu's tone, he knew Song Zhizhang. It seemed that the shop owner was quite famous, just not a good person?
Did Zhu Ning know?
...
Zhu Ning entered Song Zhizhang's office.
She didn't need to worry about the messy aftermath anymore. Song Zhizhang would find people to settle it. Zhu Ning was very cautious. She only took off her helmet after entering the office. The lower half of her face was covered in blood.
With half her face soaked in blood, she looked like a female Shura.
Song Zhizhang frowned after seeing Zhu Ning take off her helmet. He threw her a towel and said, like her mother would, "Go to the bathroom and wipe your face. It's covered in blood."
Zhu Ning held the towel with great disdain, as if she thought the thing was dirty.
Song Zhizhang saw what she was thinking and said irritably, "It's clean, I don't have any diseases! We hosts in this club are all disposable. Rich ladies don't like using second-hand goods."
Zhu Ning: "..."
There was no need to explain in such detail. And how exactly are hosts disposable? Zhu Ning gave an "oh" and went to the bathroom to wash her face.
After staying in that eerie house for a night, she could only wash her helmet. Now, being able to wash her actual face felt like happiness.
Zhu Ning's nose was still bleeding. She washed it several times but couldn't stop it, so she eventually stuffed two clumps of cotton into her nostrils.
Song Zhizhang leaned against the door and watched. After Zhu Ning came out, he frowned and handed her a bottle of Sanity Healer. "Go lie on the sofa for a while."
Whether it was a wasteland or a world full of zombies, the folk remedy for treating a nosebleed was actually the same.
With two clumps of cotton stuffed under her nose, Zhu Ning bit onto a bottle of Sanity Healer and lay on the sofa like a corpse.
Song Zhizhang was nearby, tallying Zhu Ning's contamination spores. Although the two of them had only met twice, Zhu Ning was already treating this place like her own home. Perhaps it was because Song Zhizhang really didn't seem threatening.
Zhu Ning asked in a muffled voice, "You were actually willing to let me bring an outsider over?"
Song Zhizhang replied, "Darling, I run a business here. Everyone in this line of work knows what this shop actually does."
It wasn't some airtight institution. Anyone who came into contact with contaminants knew what Dignified Queen's side business was.
Besides Demon Hunters and Cleaners, many civilians also participated in purifying contaminated areas. After they contained contamination spores, they would also bring them to Song Zhizhang to exchange for money. Song Zhizhang had always welcomed guests from all over.
Zhu Ning asked, "Where will they be sent?"
She was asking about the bodies.
Song Zhizhang didn't even look back. "Sent for an autopsy."
It turned out to be a professional team, even including an autopsy phase.
Zhu Ning asked, "Can their identities be found?"
Song Zhizhang held a small calculator, clicking away as he calculated the accounts. "I think it's unlikely. Their line of work is too hard to investigate. I advise you not to get your hopes up."
Zhu Ning gave another "oh." She hadn't had much hope to begin with. Then she asked, "Do you know about Eternal Pharma?"
Click—
The sound of Song Zhizhang calculating accounts stopped abruptly. He suddenly froze. Zhu Ning tilted her head and saw Song Zhizhang over there with his head lowered. she couldn't see his expression.
After a while, Song Zhizhang said nonchalantly, "Hard to say."
Zhu Ning: "..."
Hard to say? When they first met, Song Zhizhang asked Zhu Ning what she was doing at the hotpot restaurant, and Zhu Ning had also answered that it was hard to say. How was he using her own medicine against her?
Song Zhizhang clearly didn't want to elaborate, so Zhu Ning stopped asking.
Zhu Ning said, "You take your time with the accounts. I'm going to sleep here."
She curled up her body. Only now did she completely relax, her whole person becoming groggy.
She was showing symptoms similar to Li Nianchuan. The more one relaxed, the more the effects of damaged sanity began to manifest.
Although the sanity on Zhu Ning's system interface had restored to 100, the influence of overusing her ability seemed to remain. It was like a computer that had been running at an overload, nearly burning out the CPU; now the entire casing was still hot.
Her brain wasn't functioning well right now. She desperately needed rest. Her eyelids were drooping.
Song Zhizhang said, "Don't sleep here. If you want to sleep, go back and sleep."
Zhu Ning had already closed her eyes. "I'll just sleep for one night."
Song Zhizhang: "This is a Host Club after all. Can you show me some respect?"
What would it look like for a woman to sleep in a Host Club?
Zhu Ning buried her head in the inner side of the sofa. "Am I not your darling anymore?"
Song Zhizhang: "..."
For the first time, he paid the price for his own joke.
Zhu Ning stopped making any sound after she finished speaking. Was she really asleep? So trusting?
Song Zhizhang stopped his accounting process and got up to walk to Zhu Ning's side. Song Zhizhang was a stranger after all, yet Zhu Ning wasn't afraid in the slightest. Why was she so trusting of him? Zhu Ning was curled up in the sofa. Likely due to her sanity being damaged, she was frowning while sleeping. Having completely dropped her guard, she looked more like an ordinary person.
Song Zhizhang's shadow fell completely over Zhu Ning, pressing down heavily. Song Zhizhang had somewhat feminine features and usually smiled as warmly as a spring breeze. When he had no expression, he looked a bit cold and indifferent.
But he was usually all smiles. Very few people in the Dignified Queen shop had seen him with such a cold expression.
Song Zhizhang reached out his hand toward her. He was almost touching Zhu Ning's face, yet she didn't show any reaction.
Zhu Ning is going to be plotted against sooner or later, Song Zhizhang thought. He covered Zhu Ning with a blanket and conveniently turned off the light.
"Goodnight," Song Zhizhang said softly, "Darling."
Author's Note: Treating a nosebleed like that doesn't work~ Tomorrow the story will be featured on the Jiazi, so tomorrow's update time is changed to 11:00 PM. If you don't want to wait, you can just read it the day after tomorrow. From the day after tomorrow, updates will resume at 12:00 PM.
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