Chapter 63-I Clean Up Garbage in a Wasteland World

Chapter 63: Foreign Object

The last item was the Medical Department.

Zhu Ning originally wanted to find Fang Ying first to ask about the aftermath of the Mechanical Oceanarium, but they had scheduled a medical checkup for her. The materials Xuan Qing requested included Zhu Ning's medical examination report; she could only move freely after completing this item.

However, perhaps because she had passed everything before, this item wasn't given much importance. Fang Ying didn't even come to supervise.

Zhu Ning had injected a MegaHeal into her right hand. It looked like her right arm had healed. Although she felt no pain, this hand felt different from before.

Was the hand she used to hold a gun ruined? Would she have to say goodbye to her shooting career?

"It won't be," Dr. Fu glanced at her scan. "The Medical Department has a very high standard of care. We never have cases where employees are damaged. Rest assured, one injection and your arm will be as good as new."

As expected of the Wasteland world. As long as limbs weren't severed, everything could be restored. If her original world had this kind of technology, there wouldn't be so many athletes retiring due to injuries.

Dr. Fu: "Do you want to inject the GeneBoost in advance? You can recover faster."

She was originally only a week away from her scheduled time for the GeneBoost. Zhu Ning: "Sure."

Injecting the GeneBoost also didn't hurt much. There were obvious changes the first time, but not the second time. Her five senses wouldn't evolve further; the subsequent GeneBoosts were all to stabilize her condition.

Crack—

The gaps in the broken bones were healing at an accelerated rate, and then the human body was pieced back together like a toy.

After getting off the Medical Pod, Zhu Ning moved her right hand. It felt better this time, like it was her original hand. It seemed completely uninjured. Moreover, perhaps because the Medical Pod was working, her brain didn't hurt anymore. That kind of piercing pain from mental pollution had disappeared.

Zhu Ning still couldn't feel the pain of injecting the GeneBoost and asked, "Don't they all say it hurts?"

Dr. Fu was still looking at the scan without raising his head. "Some people don't feel it either. It depends on genes."

Zhu Ning: "..."

This really was an era that depended on genes; everything depended on genes.

Dr. Fu was looking at Zhu Ning's brain scan. The Medical Department had taken a new scan. He looked at a page and clicked his tongue. The most fearful thing when seeing a doctor was the doctor making a strange expression. Was this a terminal illness?

Zhu Ning asked, "What's wrong?"

Dr. Fu: "Your brain looks really beautiful. What a standard head."

Zhu Ning: "..."

She looked up at the tightly closed door. Was it illegal to hit a doctor? And it didn't sound like a compliment. Her brain looked beautiful—was Dr. Fu the Hannibal of the Wasteland world?

Dr. Fu put down the scan. "I can't tell. This shows everything is normal. Can you describe in detail how it hurts? Like needles pricking? Pricking from the inside out, or from the outside in?"

Zhu Ning recalled carefully. "From the inside out, I guess."

Before this mission, Zhu Ning might not have been able to describe it accurately. At first, Zhu Ning thought it was pricking from the outside, but after being invaded by Prometheus, she discovered the subtle difference between the two. That kind of pain was diffusing, as if there was a center in her brain radiating outwards.

Dr. Fu put down the scan. "I preliminarily suspect there might be a foreign object in your brain."

Zhu Ning: "Foreign object? Can't the scan see it?"

The sophisticated instruments in the Observation Room couldn't detect it either? She really was a defective product, full of problems. Did she have a tumor in her brain?

Dr. Fu: "It depends on what the foreign object is. For example, some known steel-like objects that can be detected can certainly be seen on the scan. But if it's some foreign object that our existing equipment cannot accurately identify, the machine will show it as normal."

"..." Zhu Ning: "A Contaminant?"

Dr. Fu: "That's not impossible either. Some Contaminants can also pass the machine check after their pollution is reduced, like those devices in the research lab. But personally, I think it's very difficult for the host to survive if a Contaminant is placed in a human brain."

Zhu Ning: "Why?"

Dr. Fu: "You've been to contaminated areas. Contaminants are basically very active. Whether they are people or objects, they have their own subjective consciousness or demands, right?"

Zhu Ning: "Yes."

Dr. Fu: "Although every school of thought has a different view, if I describe a Contaminant as an individual, do you acknowledge that?"

Zhu Ning pondered for a moment. "I acknowledge it."

A Contaminant was an individual with vitality.

Dr. Fu took out a piece of paper and began to explain to Zhu Ning. "Have you ever felt that Contaminants seem to possess resentment?"

Zhu Ning nodded. She had this feeling the first time she entered a contaminated area.

"That's why Demon Hunters are called Demon Hunters. Initially, when the understanding of Contaminants wasn't deep, the folk thought Contaminants were demons."

Dr. Fu wrote down the word "resentment" on the paper, and then wrote "Sanity Value" next to it. "Have you ever felt that the resentment you think of is actually the same concept as our Sanity Value?"

Zhu Ning frowned. This understanding was logical. Why did people in this world look like objects, and objects look like people? Because the concepts of people and objects began to blur.

Objects possessed "consciousness," and conscious objects would imitate human actions, becoming more and more like humans.

And humans themselves began to develop in the direction of objectification. They were willing to discard individual consciousness and treat themselves as objects.

Dr. Fu: "If there is a Contaminant in your brain, what do you think it lives on?"

Zhu Ning hesitated not at all: "My Sanity Value."

Dr. Fu: "Correct. If it parasitizes you, it will definitely devour you. But your Sanity Value is very high; there are few in the entire Federation higher than you. If you were constantly being devoured by it, you couldn't have lived this long. You would be very weak until you died of illness."

"Moreover, I've seen your latest data collection. Your Sanity Value is still increasing. This doesn't follow logic."

So the possibility of a Contaminant in her brain was preliminarily ruled out. If the foreign object in her brain was the system, the system not only didn't devour her but also kept giving her equipment and talents. Was the system something of another higher dimension?

Did the original owner's death have anything to do with this thing? What if it was because of a system malfunction, like a computer shutting down, so the original owner died?

Dr. Fu: "Of course, there is a possibility that there is nothing in your brain, just an aftereffect of mental pollution. If speaking from a conspiracy theory perspective—I'm just suspecting, you just listen casually, otherwise it's bad for my rigorous image as a doctor."

Zhu Ning: "..."

You still have a rigorous image?

Dr. Fu: "Hypothetically, I'm saying hypothetically, such a thing is a device, some kind of higher-level experimental device. It can also evade everyone's checks. Someone installed it in your brain?"

Dr. Fu was a bit uncertain as he spoke. It was impossible for a person not to know if a device was installed in their brain. If Zhu Ning knew nothing about this, the only explanation was that it was implanted in her brain since birth.

Zhu Ning didn't speak. That proved that Zhu Ning herself might be an experimental subject like Experimental Subject 777. Experimental subjects were created for a reason. Then why did Zhu Ning exist? To realize that pie in the sky of purifying the homeland?

Dr. Fu immediately added, "Of course I can't prove it because I can't see it."

Zhu Ning: "Is there any way I can know exactly what it is?"

"Yes," Dr. Fu's eyes suddenly lit up. "I'll help you open your brain and take a look."

Zhu Ning: "..."

Even if she died of pain, she wouldn't dare to open her brain for this perverted doctor to study.

Dr. Fu was visibly excited. "We don't need to open it completely. Just drill a hole and puncture in."

Zhu Ning: "No, thanks."

It didn't sound like a good situation either, and what if she died during the surgery?

Dr. Fu was a bit disappointed. "Then observe it some more. I'll prescribe you some Potent Sanity Healer. You can tell me if there's any situation. If you are a rare case, I might get rich."

Zhu Ning: "..."

Why were they all good words, but sounded so strange coming from your mouth?

Zhu Ning didn't move, staring fixedly at Dr. Fu. "How do you plan to write my medical record?"

If she understood correctly, this medical record would eventually be handed to Xuan Qing for review. If any suspicious points arose again, Zhu Ning would be arrested for interrogation again.

Dr. Fu spoke without much reliability, and Zhu Ning had always been joking with him. The two unreliable people just happened to meet, and the conversation atmosphere was relaxed. They rarely spoke in a serious tone.

Dr. Fu looked up and saw Zhu Ning looking at him expressionlessly. He suddenly felt a pressure. "Shall I write that you produced aftereffects under the influence of mild mental pollution?"

Zhu Ning said with satisfaction, "Good."

Dr. Fu breathed a sigh of relief. Actually, he didn't dare to write too much. All medical diagnoses required evidence; he couldn't guess blindly based on his unconstrained imagination.

Writing that she had aftereffects from mental pollution was good for both him and Zhu Ning. He had a premonition that if he reported his guess just now, he would die sooner than Zhu Ning.

Zhu Ning still had research value. Dr. Fu didn't have that kind of value, and it wasn't conducive to secrecy.

Zhu Ning paid for the GeneBoost. The medical fees and Sanity Healer were free. She took the paper bag; inside was her dosage for a week.

Dr. Fu: "To prevent employees from reselling the Sanitation Center's medical resources, we can now only prescribe a maximum of one week's dosage. This situation happened before. Someone came to the Medical Department to mooch resources and then took the medicine out to sell."

Dr. Fu gritted his teeth as he spoke. Zhu Ning thought to herself that she knew someone like that: Song Zhizhang.

Zhu Ning: "How are the others?"

Dr. Fu: "Chu Ling from the Grey Eagle Squad is fine; she's still replacing her mechanical prosthetic limbs. Two were heavily injured and are still being treated. One of them showed signs of pollution. You remember him, called Yang Shu."

Zhu Ning: "What will happen to him?"

Dr. Fu: "It's hard to say. It depends on whether it can be controlled. He will either mutate into a Class 6 Citizen or turn into a Contaminant and be shot."

The style of the Sanitation Center was indeed cruel with a hint of care. If one turned into a Contaminant, they were controlled immediately.

Dr. Fu: "But they belong to the Anti-Pollution Department. It's not the same department as mine, so I'm not clear."

Anti-Pollution Department. Another new department Zhu Ning hadn't come into contact with.

Zhu Ning: "What about Xu Meng and Li Nianchuan?"

Dr. Fu: "Xu Meng has been discharged. She should be the earliest one discharged among you."

So fast? However, Xu Meng looked like she hadn't suffered any injuries at all. In this Mechanical Oceanarium mission, Xu Meng seemed to have avoided all dangers and came out neatly.

Dr. Fu: "Li Nianchuan has already had the chip removed and is currently being treated in the Inpatient Department."

Zhu Ning: "Can I see him?"

Dr. Fu: "No, you don't have the authority to enter the Inpatient Department, but you can talk to him."

Dr. Fu operated on the panel. "I have a video of his behavior here."

The place where Li Nianchuan was located was a very warm ward. He was curled up on the bed, his hair slightly naturally curly, covering half of his face. He looked very quiet.

Zhu Ning thought of the burning wings he wanted last time and asked, "Did he do anything very strange?"

Dr. Fu: "No, he's quite quiet, sleeping all the time. He suffered severe mental pollution this time, but there were no major abnormal manifestations. When he wakes up, he spaces out, and when he has nothing to do, he sleeps. Moreover, he seems to be consciously controlling himself."

Zhu Ning: "Consciously controlling?"

Dr. Fu: "Sanity Value is like muscle; it can be exercised. For example, if you can only run one thousand meters this time, next time you grit your teeth and run one thousand two, constantly breaking through this limit. The training method for Sanity Value is to consciously control oneself, thereby keeping oneself rational. We guess his Sanity Value has increased again."

After entering a contaminated area, Sanity Value would increase to varying degrees. It was uncommon for Zhu Ning to increase, but very common for people with low Sanity Value to increase.

Li Nianchuan was growing. Although his growth was very unworthy of mention in the eyes of Demon Hunters, he was still growing bit by bit. No one knew where his perseverance came from.

Dr. Fu sighed a bit. "If he hadn't met you, he should have sacrificed in this mission."

If the Invisible Man hadn't appeared in the aquarium, Li Nianchuan would normally have waited for the large troops behind to come and receive them after containing a contaminated area.

But at that time, the A-Level Program was activated, and the complexity of the matter far exceeded their presuppositions.

Everyone thought that Li Nianchuan, as the weakest among them, would definitely be the first to die if someone really had to be sacrificed.

And even if Li Nianchuan died inside, he wouldn't be awarded any high-level medal. As a consumable, his death wouldn't even be noticed by anyone.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Ning actually fished him back and let him play the correct role in the correct position.

Dr. Fu had seen their video. Seeing Zhu Ning's sentence: "I won't let anyone get close to you," he wanted to stand up and call her 'Sister'.

Dr. Fu: "You're not going to talk to him?"

Zhu Ning: "No need, wait for him to be discharged."

She didn't have time to worry about Li Nianchuan now. Fang Ying sent her a message saying she was waiting for her at the entrance of the Medical Department.

Fang Ying had something to say to her.

Author's Note:

I've been working overtime like that unlucky Fishman who missed the last bus; it's so miserable! But I've reached 4,000 bookmarks! Thank you so much, everyone!

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