Chapter 77-I Clean Up Garbage in a Wasteland World

Chapter 77 Black Dental Clinic-8

1:15 AM, outside The Ant Nest.

A black flying car was parked at the entrance of the slums. This was the first time Liu Niannian had ever been to such a place in her life.

This neighborhood... looked quite unique. Liu Niannian looked at The Ant Nest through the car window and could feel the oppressive atmosphere hitting her face—an aura of death and decay.

Liu Niannian got out of the car. She was still wearing the white cat protective suit from last time. "Why did you follow me here anyway?"

Pei Shu leaned against the car. He was wearing equipment today—his protective suit looked similar to a Demon Hunter's work uniform, but upon closer inspection, it was slightly different. Pei Shu wasn't wearing a helmet. He yawned and said lazily, "I'm afraid you'll die."

Liu Niannian: "..."

Liu Niannian hadn't seen Zhu Ning's message right away, and it took time to get here. When she replied again, there was no response from Zhu Ning's end. Her car's system butler had replied to her—though the system's name was too straightforward: Luxury Car.

Zhu Ning's message was for her to wait outside the dental clinic. Only after Zhu Ning's mission was complete could she go in to collect the loot.

Pei Shu was unusually serious. "I don't know what your relationship is with that lady, but the places she's taking you to are getting stranger and stranger."

Ever since Liu Niannian entered the hotpot restaurant last time, she had been in contact with someone. Pei Shu hadn't pried into who this person was, but every mission Liu Niannian took had to be approved by him.

This mission's location was in The Ant Nest. Everyone in their line of work knew about this place. Following certain "codes of honor," they normally wouldn't come here to cause trouble unless necessary. Pei Shu couldn't let Liu Niannian come alone. If the young lady wanted to take risks, as her employee, he had to take risks with her.

Liu Niannian asked, "Why?"

The Contamination Zone hadn't been purified yet. Liu Niannian only needed to wait outside. Pei Shu lit a cigarette. "This place used to belong to Eternal Pharma."

Eternal Pharma? Liu Niannian paused. She remembered the hotpot restaurant from before was also connected to Eternal Pharma, and Zhu Ning had asked her for information afterward.

Liu Niannian had provided the information but hadn't asked about the follow-up. Had Zhu Ning already found another Contamination Zone related to Eternal Pharma so quickly? Was she really planning to take down such a huge corporation single-handedly?

Pei Shu exhaled a puff of smoke. "Your friend really knows how to court death."

There were so many unpurified Contamination Zones in District 103, yet Zhu Ning seemed fixated on Eternal Pharma, entering related Contamination Zones twice. Based on Pei Shu's understanding of those people, Liu Niannian's boss had definitely already been marked by Eternal Pharma.

Being marked and not keeping a low profile, but instead investigating Eternal Pharma's old wounds—that was suicidal behavior.

Pei Shu asked, "What does she want? Revenge?"

Liu Niannian: "..."

Pei Shu was more perceptive than Liu Niannian. He didn't want the young lady getting involved in conflicts. Their family's relationship with Eternal Pharma was quite complicated.

Liu Niannian fell silent. She didn't mention that she had once given Zhu Ning some information. Honestly, Zhu Ning only knew about the Optimum Body Plan because she had pointed her in that direction. But Liu Niannian really didn't know what Zhu Ning was trying to do. Did Zhu Ning really have a grudge against Eternal Pharma?

She didn't sell out Zhu Ning. Instead, she asked, "Is this an Eternal Pharma experimental base?"

Liu Niannian glanced at The Ant Nest's structure. In the darkness, she could only see the thin, tall buildings. The connecting sky bridges in between weren't very visible. Looking at it this way, the place seemed like a chessboard.

Since Liu Niannian didn't say anything, Pei Shu didn't press further. He squinted at The Ant Nest and asked, "Don't you think this place looks like an experimental field?"

Liu Niannian was startled. Now that Pei Shu mentioned it, it really did look like one.

Liu Niannian had spent a lot of time in laboratories during her studies. Though she was a rich second-generation, basic education was still highly valued. She was very familiar with this kind of thing. Each small room was like a small experimental data point, easily located by coordinates to find the corresponding test subject. This was practically a perfect experimental field.

Liu Niannian thought of the hotpot restaurant owner. She could imagine with her eyes closed what had happened here. Since it was an experimental field, experiments might have been conducted inside.

Liu Niannian: "Inside there..."

Liu Niannian stopped mid-sentence. This place had once been a large pharmaceutical company's experimental field. After being abandoned, it became a residence for the poor. The residents knew about it but still moved in because they had no other choice.

Pei Shu knew what Liu Niannian was thinking. "Contaminated metal is meant to infect people."

Just like how residents downstream from polluting factories would get sick, these large corporations couldn't properly dispose of their waste and would indiscriminately infect unlucky people. Those living near contaminated metal were more likely to become Contaminants.

The cost of treating Psychic Contamination was exorbitantly expensive. The poor had no choice but to become Contaminants.

The laboratory might have closed, but the invisible infection had never stopped.

Liu Niannian might never have to deal with these bottom-tier people in her entire life. She would never fall into such circumstances. But Pei Shu felt it was necessary to let the young lady see the real world.

In Pei Shu's estimation, this young lady would find it difficult to maintain her simple happiness. She would either be consumed by her family or eventually take a path opposite to her family's.

Liu Niannian was silent for a moment, then asked, "There aren't still people from Eternal Pharma inside, are there?"

If someone was still watching, Zhu Ning would have a hard time getting out unscathed if she ran into them.

Pei Shu: "It was abandoned long ago. Everyone evacuated. Otherwise, it wouldn't have become a slum."

Liu Niannian had just breathed a sigh of relief when Pei Shu added, "But this place is a natural breeding ground. Eternal Pharma's people left, but something even more terrifying moved in."

Liu Niannian: "..."

How did Zhu Ning manage to court death even more than she did?

Liu Niannian: "What's inside?"

Pei Shu asked, "Do you think contamination sources have good and evil?"

Huh? Liu Niannian had never considered this question. Could Wang Ming from the hotpot restaurant last time be called evil?

Many ordinary people, when pushed to the extreme, would only close themselves off. Their Contamination Zones were sealed. Some people's mentality was: don't cause trouble for others while alive, don't cause trouble for others after death.

For example, the hotpot restaurant was extremely self-contained and never opened to the outside. Except for people like Liu Niannian who courted death, it rarely caused any harm to the surroundings.

But there was one type of contamination source—people who weren't good people when alive and wouldn't rest in peace after death.

Pei Shu was essentially Liu Niannian's teacher. His job was to enlighten the young lady. "Think carefully—what would happen if a serial killer became a contamination source?"

Liu Niannian frowned. If someone was a serial killer, becoming a contamination source wasn't a punishment but a reward. They would even gain abilities that ordinary humans couldn't possess, making it easier to fulfill their ambitions.

They were meticulous, emotionally detached, with some strange twisted interests. They would torture you to death.

"If contamination sources have good and evil, and Contamination Zones have good and bad, your friend unfortunately stepped into a bad one." Pei Shu knew more about Contamination Zones. He might have learned about The Ant Nest's existence through other channels.

Pei Shu stubbed out his cigarette. "I estimate in twenty minutes, you can go in and collect her body."

Cleaners were essentially body collectors. This was only Liu Niannian's third mission as a Cleaner. Was this time going to be collecting Zhu Ning's body?

...

Zhu Ning needed to go back.

She had no choice but to go back. Xu Mei was clearly interested in the teeth on her neck. If touched, her neck might be bitten off.

The remaining dentists and assistant doctors, the front desk nurse, and that little girl—there should be about sixteen people in total.

Adding Gao Zijian, Zhu Ning would need to deal with seventeen Contaminants. She could already imagine Contaminants lying in wait for her after she entered.

And these were only the ones who had shown themselves. Whether there were other Contaminants inside was uncertain. Firearms were useless; only System items could be used.

This meant if Zhu Ning went back, she had to be prepared to consume her health and sanity. Her health wasn't enough. Either she would drain herself dry and die in the Contamination Zone, or she would fight to the death. The question was—how should she fight?

She calculated the talents and items she could use. She couldn't violently crush things like she did with Experiment Subject 777. First, crushing the dental clinic would consume a massive amount of sanity. She might really go insane.

Second, even if she crushed the dental clinic, it wouldn't be very useful because this Contamination Zone was very large. Zhu Ning's ability couldn't crush the entire Ant Nest. The Ant Nest was connected in all directions. As long as Gao Zijian had a moment to breathe, he could easily escape from the dental clinic to somewhere else.

Third, even if she crushed it, Gao Zijian might emerge unscathed. As a cold antisocial personality, Zhu Ning knew very little about him. Up until now, Gao Zijian hadn't even revealed his abilities.

Blow it up?

Zhu Ning had bombs that could destroy a thirty-story building. The explosives wouldn't harm her. It seemed most suitable for this Contamination Zone, but could Gao Zijian be destroyed by explosives?

Moreover, Prometheus had led her here, meaning the dental clinic might have some information. The System also said the dental clinic had clues about Zhu Ning's death. What kind of clues?

The System insisted she resolve the dentist's inner conflict. In her view, this dentist was so self-consistently twisted that Zhu Ning was about to develop her own inner conflict facing him.

This kind of person definitely didn't need a therapist. Zhu Ning didn't even want to know what had happened in his past to make him this way.

Just blow it up. These three words filled Zhu Ning's mind.

Before going in, Zhu Ning took inventory of her equipment again and checked her stats. Health was at 98. Spending health like water—consumption wasn't scary as long as she could earn it back.

Zhu Ning had no choice now. She had to win and earn Purity Points as a reward. She hoped Prometheus hadn't tricked her.

If she went in and found nothing inside, Zhu Ning would definitely go blow up Prometheus's mainframe.

Zhu Ning took a deep breath and pushed open the emergency stairwell door. Before her was an entirely dark corridor.

This was the third time walking this corridor. The first time, she was so terrified she lost 10% sanity. The second time, she fled from the dental clinic in panic. The third time, she was knowingly walking into the tiger's den. Her mindset was completely different each time.

She pushed open the dental clinic's main door. Inside was pitch black. All the lights in the dental clinic had been turned off. Under the helmet's night vision, the entire dental clinic appeared green.

Zhu Ning didn't need time to adapt because everything happened very fast.

Someone burst out from the break room on the right. Zhu Ning couldn't see clearly—she only saw a shadow flash before her eyes.

They've gotten faster. Zhu Ning immediately realized. Charging at her was a dental assistant, his hands covered in blood, his white coat soaked more than halfway through. His mouth was split open, all the way to his ears, with crooked teeth growing along with it to his ears, like a monster with its mouth wide open.

Zhu Ning had no doubt this thing could bite off half her head in an instant. The dental assistant was incredibly fast, like a cheetah pouncing from the darkness. He was only half a meter away from Zhu Ning.

Squelch—

A piece of scrap metal filled his mouth. The sharp end instantly pierced through his skull. The scrap metal rose into the air—Zhu Ning hadn't even touched the other end.

The dental assistant lowered his head and saw what had filled his mouth. It was a crumpled sign—the signboard of Little White Rabbit Dental.

Zhu Ning hadn't come in empty-handed. She had brought metal objects with her.

The assistant seemed enraged by Zhu Ning's move. A piece of scrap metal couldn't kill him. He roared and tried to lunge at Zhu Ning again, but he found he couldn't.

The irregularly shaped scrap metal had pierced his throat, firmly wedged between his hyoid bone and spine. He had merged with this piece of scrap metal, and under a brute force, he couldn't get within two meters of Zhu Ning.

Zhu Ning tilted her head. Squelch— The dental assistant rose into the air and was forcibly pinned to the opposite wall.

Monsters couldn't be killed, but they could be trapped. As long as metal objects were embedded in their bodies, they merged with the metal and fell within Zhu Ning's control range. Zhu Ning had found the correct way to use Metal Manipulation.

The dental assistant roared and struggled, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't move an inch. Zhu Ning had absolute power over metal objects within two meters.

Zhu Ning's protective suit had really been upgraded. The visor detected that Zhu Ning had entered combat mode, and the Interface automatically identified Contaminants. Four red dots appeared, then outlined their bodies.

Zhu Ning looked up. That short dentist was on the fifth floor, leaning on the railing and watching her like it was a show.

With the new helmet's assistance, Zhu Ning's strategy was very effective. The dental clinic didn't lack metal objects—the metal lockers in the break room, metal chairs, staircase railings, including the doctors' electric drills and dental medical instruments.

One dentist had just tried to struggle to his feet when a chair came crashing down on his head the next moment. The chair instantly transformed into armor, trapping his entire body.

A bullet shot into a dentist's mouth. Under the Metal Manipulation talent, the bullet was taking effect, wriggling through the dentist's body like a nimble little snake.

The bullet would accelerate its movement, passing through every blood vessel and organ. Even Contaminants would feel pain. The dentist couldn't even scream from the agony.

Zhu Ning was controlling that bullet and didn't notice behind her. Suddenly, she was violently tackled. The force was so great her back felt like it was being crushed. Her head slammed hard into the ground.

The attacker's limbs pressed down hard on her like a mountain, pinning her in place. She couldn't even lift her head. But with the helmet's rear-view function, Zhu Ning saw who was behind her—Xu Mei.

Xu Mei's degree of mutation was different. Her neck had become a new mouth. Zhu Ning had tried to pierce her with metal objects, but Xu Mei's body was completely undamaged.

Her body seemed to have been specially reinforced. Her entire being was like a walking steel plate. That approach didn't work on her.

Xu Mei opened her mouth wide, extending a brand-new tongue from her neck. The long tongue hung down, landing hot and wet on the back of Zhu Ning's neck.

Xu Mei's fingers curled into claws and dug hard into Zhu Ning's back. If it had been the previous protective suit, it might have been torn to shreds by now. But after the upgrade, Xu Mei only managed to tear off two metal pieces.

[Warning! Protective suit about to be damaged!]

The protective suit's internal system was broadcasting. Crackling electricity flashed across the helmet.

Zhu Ning felt a sharp pain in her back. If this continued, she might be torn apart by Xu Mei. She took a deep breath and opened the System Interface.

[Use item: Pigman's Guillotine?]

Zhu Ning: "Use."

Xu Mei's teeth had already bitten onto Zhu Ning's helmet. Crackling electricity came from inside the helmet, sparks flying everywhere. Her hard teeth could even penetrate the protective suit's helmet.

Unfortunately, Xu Mei didn't see what was behind her. A guillotine came out of nowhere and violently chopped off half her body.

Even though Zhu Ning and Xu Mei were so close, the Pigman's Guillotine only passed through Xu Mei. Not a single cut appeared on Zhu Ning.

The guillotine cut her in half at the waist. Xu Mei's lower body fell like a lifeless doll with a thud, while her upper body remained hard. Even like this, she didn't relax the force of her bite. Zhu Ning had to struggle hard to pry open Xu Mei's teeth.

The Pigman's Guillotine was a C-rank contaminated item. It was said to hit every time, but not guaranteed to kill.

Xu Mei wasn't dead yet. As long as the contamination source didn't die, she might still revive.

Xu Mei's body had been cut in two, scattered in different directions. Her head was still moving. Even so, the smile on her face was welded on like a mask.

She had found a job she had dreamed of, so even now she wore a happy, satisfied smile.

She needed to become a permanent employee, so her gaze was very greedy and excited. She would do anything to become permanent.

Work.

The Wasteland world assumed everyone had a job. They had to work to survive. People without jobs were seen as outcasts.

Xu Mei desperately wanted to fit in. She struggled hard to survive. Even living in the slums, she hadn't given up on herself.

She had found a strange job and was willing to work herself to death for it. She thought that once she earned money, she could move out of this hellhole.

She clearly hadn't given up on life. She had tried everything to save her life. But the more she tried to save herself, the deeper she fell into the trap.

This little nurse just wanted a legitimate job.

Gao Zijian had exploited this. He was a B-rank contamination source. He had the ability to use Psychic Contamination on Xu Mei. Even now, Xu Mei had to work for Gao Zijian.

She couldn't show a tired smile. Her muscles had formed a memory. She had to smile until death.

Even as an assimilated Contaminant, abilities were related to resentment. Xu Mei's obsession far exceeded others, so she was stronger than other Contaminants.

The first floor where Zhu Ning stood was a bloody mess, blood everywhere. The black dental clinic had now become a blood-red dental clinic.

Perhaps receiving orders from their master, these Contaminants didn't rush at her again. Instead, they stood at a distance, quietly observing her, like wolves surrounding their prey.

Zhu Ning looked at him coldly. There were four floors between her and Gao Zijian. She was on the first floor; Gao Zijian was on the fifth.

The Pigman's Guillotine had entered cooldown and couldn't be used again today. Its effect wasn't great either, and there were still many Contaminants ahead.

Zhu Ning's helmet must have a hole in it. All she could hear was static, crackling sounds in her ears.

Gao Zijian leaned against the railing, looking down at her from above, saying with some regret, "As expected, she's not very useful."

Only now did Zhu Ning have a chance to observe Gao Zijian. For a man in the Wasteland world, Gao Zijian was too short.

Humans in the Wasteland world had long broken free from genetic constraints. Most people now were at least around 1.7 meters tall. Gao Zijian was only 1.6 meters.

Wearing a white coat, he looked like he had stolen his father's work clothes. He appeared very thin and small, making his head seem large. He looked somewhat comical, yet wore an old-fashioned expression.

He was the owner of the dead post. When he posted, his tone was very calm, like a pervert lurking online. When he actually appeared before her, Zhu Ning found he was far more unsettling than he appeared online.

Gao Zijian said to Xu Mei, "Hey, I gave you a job. Can't you try harder?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Mei flopped around twice. Even cut up like this, she was still trying to struggle to her feet.

Zhu Ning frowned. Honestly, perverts like Gao Zijian were rare. Gao Zijian was like a creature similar to humans but completely inhuman, wearing human skin and pretending to be human.

Gao Zijian sighed. "Don't come to work in the slums next time, okay? Besides, The Ant Nest has metal contamination. Even if you hadn't met me, you would have become a Contaminant."

Gao Zijian spoke in a gentle tone, as if he cared about Xu Mei. The lower the class, the higher the crime rate. His advice to Xu Mei in this state was actually not to work here.

Gao Zijian added, "It's dangerous for a girl to be alone. It's easy to run into perverts."

His expression was serious, and he didn't seem to be joking. Did he really think deep down that he was a good person?

Xu Mei smiled in response, nodding excitedly, as if receiving praise from her boss was the happiest thing for her as an employee.

"So stupid," Gao Zijian shook his head. "Moving in without knowing what kind of place this is."

Zhu Ning asked, "What's wrong with this place?"

Gao Zijian rarely heard Zhu Ning speak. He thought her voice sounded nice.

"You don't know?" Gao Zijian rarely found someone willing to listen to him. "This used to be an experimental base."

It really did look like one. Zhu Ning understood now. The chessboard-like layout would certainly be convenient for experiments.

Zhu Ning didn't need to ask to know who this place used to belong to. So this was what Prometheus wanted to tell her. What had Eternal Pharma been doing here?

Gao Zijian expected Zhu Ning to keep asking, but she didn't ask anymore, as if she wasn't interested in him at all.

Zhu Ning's reaction made him feel somewhat frustrated. Why didn't she keep asking? Didn't she want to know what had happened to him?

Gao Zijian looked at Zhu Ning with some confusion. This person was wearing a black Cleaner's work uniform. Her helmet seemed damaged, but she hadn't said much from start to finish. Even after he had provoked her like this, Zhu Ning wasn't angry.

She had been frightened, so her sanity should have been constantly damaged. But she hadn't lost her mind or hallucinated. Too strange.

Gao Zijian desperately wanted someone to talk to. He decided to ignore Zhu Ning's expression and really wanted to share his thoughts.

"Do you think she's pitiful?" Gao Zijian put on a pitiful expression. "I'm pitiful too."

He was pitiful too. No one listened to him. The most pitiful thing about a person was that no one thought they were pitiful.

He had been in The Ant Nest since birth.

"My father used to be a researcher," Gao Zijian said.

His father had previously worked for Eternal Pharma. When the research reached its final stage, the project was forced to terminate. All researchers and equipment were relocated. After Eternal Pharma withdrew, the place was taken over by real estate developers, quickly renovated, and re-rented.

Capital pursued maximum profit. Maximum profit meant not giving up any opportunity to squeeze out value. For a while, The Ant Nest was even marketed as a trendy neighborhood, very popular online. People had to queue up to move in.

But his father, out of some sense of conscience, initially tried to shut down The Ant Nest.

"It's all metal contamination. People can't live here."

"You'll be contaminated!"

"You can't live here!"

But no one would listen to him. It was very cheap here—rent was one-twentieth of outside.

One person's power seemed so insignificant against The Ant Nest. No one cared.

Later, his father left Eternal Pharma. He gave up his prestigious researcher job and, as if atoning, opened a clinic inside the neighborhood specifically to serve Defectives.

The clinic charged very little, basically losing money doing charity. Gao Zijian remembered his family being very poor when he was young.

Because they were poor, he couldn't afford good clothes. His clothes were all torn.

Because they were poor, he couldn't go to better schools outside. He had to study at home.

Because they were poor, he couldn't integrate with the outside world. Everyone around him was a Defective.

To his father, his own needs were always placed behind the patients. He was full of resentment toward his father. If only his father had stayed at Eternal Pharma as a researcher, he could have had a better life.

But his family was dragged down by this clinic. Living in a metal-contaminated area, Gao Zijian couldn't grow tall. No one injected him with GeneBoost during his critical growth period. His father died early.

His father hoped his son would inherit his legacy, so he left the clinic to Gao Zijian.

His father had a noble goal—to treat Defectives. Everyone had abandoned Defectives, but he wouldn't. Any refusal from Gao Zijian made him look like a petty person.

Be a gentle and kind doctor—his father always said this. He said it so much that Gao Zijian believed it, so he couldn't refuse.

The cost of being a good person far exceeded Gao Zijian's imagination.

The general practice clinic was too stressful. After Gao Zijian took over, he turned it into a dental clinic.

Because even Defectives had to see a dentist. Sure enough, his judgment was correct. He had some business sense. After Black Dream became rampant, his business was good.

Every day on his way to work, he would pass by Defectives. They lay in corners using Black Dream, using it until their teeth rotted away, until they had osteoporosis, until death.

He couldn't understand what was the point of saving these people. He couldn't understand what was the point of being a good person. His father's ending wasn't good.

He also couldn't understand the meaning of his work. His father taught him to be a kind and responsible doctor. He had done it. He was pleasant to every patient. He never looked down on his patients.

But unexpectedly, one day, he heard a cry for help from inside a tooth. "Doctor, my tooth hurts."

"Doctor, my tooth hurts so much!" The person inside the tooth kept repeating, annoying him. He had to save this patient.

Gao Zijian saved the person inside the tooth. Watching an electric drill descend from above, he became a contamination source.

"I always couldn't understand," Gao Zijian said. "Why did he know there was metal contamination here, yet still chose to live here, and made me live here too?"

"I figured it out later. He was just atoning for his sins. He used my life to atone for his sins."

One person atoning wasn't enough. He had to make his son atone with him. How hypocritical.

Gao Zijian: "I'm just a victim."

Zhu Ning: "Oh."

"Oh?" Gao Zijian was somewhat annoyed. He had said so much, and Zhu Ning only said one word.

Oh? She definitely wasn't a qualified listener. Gao Zijian momentarily regretted talking to Zhu Ning.

This was also the first time Zhu Ning had encountered a contamination source with such a strong desire to talk. She seemed to have figured out the pattern and found the key point. "You can't leave here, can you?"

It had nothing to do with his father's legacy. A legacy wasn't a binding spell. Gao Zijian had hands and feet. He could leave easily if he wanted to.

But he hadn't moved. Instead, he did a job he looked down on day after day. Why?

All perverts attributed the cause to their unhappy childhood, saying they harmed people because they had no choice. They couldn't find fault in themselves. They would resent their parents and the world, but they never resented themselves.

A contamination source must have resentment, otherwise they couldn't form a Contamination Zone. What was Gao Zijian's resentment?

Gao Zijian's expression suddenly became very ugly. Zhu Ning had touched on his innermost secret.

Seeing Gao Zijian's expression, Zhu Ning smiled slightly. "You're trapped here?"

He had trapped himself and couldn't leave The Ant Nest at all. Here, he was still a respected doctor. Once he left, he would be instantly swallowed up by the crowd.

No one would care about him, no one would respect him, no one would listen to him.

He was short, ugly, and strange. Once he stepped out of The Ant Nest, he would hear people around him whispering, as if every passerby was mocking him wildly.

He had tried to escape once, then came back. He had found the place most suited for him. As long as he was in the slums, he was a god who controlled others' fates.

He would hear cries for help. "Doctor, my tooth hurts."

"Doctor, my tooth hurts."

That was proof that they needed him. They desperately wanted him to save them. He was needed like a true angel in white.

The motive for selling Black Dream wasn't money—it was that he couldn't leave. It wasn't the patients who couldn't leave him; it was he who couldn't leave the patients.

He wanted patients to need him forever. For this, he didn't hesitate to become a drug dealer.

This still-operating dental clinic was the best proof. Even after becoming a Contamination Zone, he had never stopped providing service.

Was it Xu Mei who needed this job more? No—it was Gao Zijian who needed to play the role of fulfilling Xu Mei's wish more.

The smile on Gao Zijian's face froze. He finally seemed to show a hint of his true expression. His eyes were very cold.

Zhu Ning had provoked his anger. Black lines emerged from Gao Zijian's back. Black shadows writhed wildly behind him, like a hedgehog raising its sharp spines.

He seemed to be on the verge of rage. His voice sounded low and cold. "What exactly did you come here for?"

Zhu Ning made a sound of acknowledgment. She flung out two metal rods and said very seriously, "I'm here to resolve your inner conflict."

The System said to have Zhu Ning resolve the dentist's inner conflict.

Gao Zijian paused. If Zhu Ning had said she came to kill him, or spouted some nonsense about purification, Gao Zijian might have believed it.

But she said... she came to resolve his inner conflict?

---

Author's Note

Today's chapter is very long. Consider it a bonus for 8,000 nutrient solution!

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