Chapter 117-I Clean Up Garbage in a Wasteland World
Chapter 117 Countdown
Huo Wenxi narrowed her eyes. When she looked over, Zhu Ning felt as though an invisible scanner was sweeping across her body.
Huo Wenxi exhaled smoke. "But if your theory holds true, it does explain some of my questions."
Huo Wenxi: "I found Jiang Ping's photo. Judging by the look in his eyes, it's as if his soul has been replaced."
True to form for an intuition-type—even the smallest details could become leads.
Huo Wenxi smiled. "Jiang Ping's helmet footage is in the Garrison Troops' system. They're on a different network from us. I've filed a request for access but haven't gotten a response."
Before, it had been Zhu Ning talking while Huo Wenxi listened. Now the roles reversed. "So I can only look at what's registered in the Sanitation Center's records. Jiang Ping led two missions that went wrong. The first was January 2nd, two years ago. A boulder by the wall. Total squad wipeout."
Zhu Ning frowned. Huo Wenxi continued: "The video had some screen glitches and flickering, but the main outline of events was intact. They accidentally stepped on a vine. The mutated vine went berserk and killed everyone."
That sounded very familiar to Zhu Ning—wasn't that exactly how the Giant Yellow Flower killed?
Huo Wenxi was truly impressive as a team leader—her memory was astonishing. She didn't need to reference any documents. "The second time was March 16th last year. Total squad wipeout. We have no video at all—only a death notification."
"The death notification was remarkably brief. They accidentally encountered a crocodile-type Contaminant. Two Garrison Troops were leading the team across a river when the Cleaners died mid-crossing. Based on available records, it looks like nothing more than bad luck."
No wonder the worm had gotten away with this for so long. Its methods were truly clean.
It was as if it knew in advance where contamination lurked and led people into it.
Huo Wenxi studied Zhu Ning's reactions as she spoke. "The third time is yours. All helmet footage blank. If it really did parasitize different hosts, including Garrison Troops, it may genuinely have a way to deal with surveillance equipment."
Zhu Ning: "So you believe me now?"
"No," Huo Wenxi shook her head. "There's too little data. But I have a great idea. I could authorize a beyond-the-wall investigation team. As an S+-Level talent, you'd lead it. Retrace Jiang Ping's routes—connect the three incidents and maybe we'll get new intelligence."
Zhu Ning frowned. "Huh?"
Was this sending her to die? Surely it wasn't that extreme?
Zhu Ning: "...I don't think that's very efficient?"
Huo Wenxi gave a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "I'm joking. I wouldn't send a precious talent to her death."
Zhu Ning felt a chill down her spine. Why did she get the feeling Huo Wenxi was perfectly capable of doing exactly that?
In Huo Wenxi's mind, sending Zhu Ning beyond the wall would probably require clearing it with headquarters—she was, after all, a talent headquarters had its eye on.
Huo Wenxi: "What you've given me isn't enough. I'll give you one more chance to convince me."
Zhu Ning: "......"
She wanted to squeeze every last drop of intelligence from Zhu Ning. Her intuition told her Zhu Ning was holding something back.
Huo Wenxi's smile faded, turning serious. "Just so you know—this really is your last chance."
She definitely wasn't joking this time. Worthy of being the Sanitation Center's youngest team leader—truly hard to manipulate.
No wonder so many people wanted nothing to do with her. No wonder she'd been the one to handle the Xenomorph from The Ant Nest—and handled it flawlessly, preventing any Xenomorph from infiltrating the population.
Zhu Ning steeled herself: "What I'm about to say is speculation."
Huo Wenxi found this amusing—so what she'd said before wasn't speculation?
"This is pure conjecture, without a shred of evidence. That's why I hadn't planned on telling you." Zhu Ning: "The story I told you earlier wasn't entirely complete. The information I received was also incomplete."
"The Desolate Village originally had missing people. The missing were parasitized by the worm and then returned. Where was the worm first discovered?"
The worm's story had a missing piece. It had never revealed its origin.
Old Wu and the other missing villagers—where had they originally gone? Were they drawn to the worm? Was something calling to them?
Had the worm acquired human intelligence and memories only after entering Old Wu's body? Before that, had it been mindless?
It was dead now. Zhu Ning might never figure this out.
Zhu Ning: "The Contamination Zone we went to collect spores from—the one in the rear mountains—which Demon Hunter squad handled that?"
Huo Wenxi: "Maple Forest Squad. Five members. They couldn't figure out the rear mountain's logic, so they just brute-forced it."
Zhu Ning: "......"
Classic Demon Hunter approach.
Huo Wenxi: "The origin was a patrolling Garrison Troop hearing singing from the rear mountain area. The melody was extremely old—like some kind of ritual. They measured contamination density and identified an A-Level Contamination Zone inside. Then they contacted the Sanitation Center, and we dispatched the Demon Hunters and Cleaners."
Zhu Ning frowned. Singing?
She'd probably need to watch the Maple Forest Squad's mission footage when it became available.
Zhu Ning: "The rear mountains and the village are very close together. Two A-Level Contamination Zones stacked on top of each other. Plus a third one—that Giant Yellow Flower."
Huo Wenxi frowned. The Giant Yellow Flower had video evidence, but after hearing about the forsaken village, she'd overlooked it.
"Jiang Ping said something that stuck with me. I asked him why that flower couldn't be killed by humans. He said: how do you know which Contamination Zone it belongs to?"
By that point, Jiang Ping was already the worm. It seemed to know something.
"So that tiny area actually had three overlapping Contamination Zones. Two of the known ones are A-Level. A single flower that caused nine deaths—if it's just a subsidiary Contaminant of some Zone, the minimum level would be A, but it could realistically be S-Level or above. I'm no expert on this, but from what I understand, there's probably a very powerful undiscovered Contamination Source in that area."
This was entirely Zhu Ning's guesswork. She wasn't an investigator and knew almost nothing about the wilderness. But in her judgment, something unknown lurked near the forsaken village.
Contamination Sources could infect each other, amplifying and expanding their range.
Logically, Zhu Ning had only gone just beyond the first Protective Wall—a zone that should be relatively safe compared to the true wilderness. Otherwise, Fang Ying would have been far more worried when assigning the mission.
But that area turned out to be far more dangerous than expected. One trap after another—barely escaping the tiger's jaws only to step into quicksand.
Zhu Ning had been talking off the top of her head. After finishing, she waited for Huo Wenxi to pick it apart. She waited a long time and heard nothing.
Zhu Ning looked up. Huo Wenxi had already stubbed out her cigarette. "Your 'off-the-top-of-your-head' speculation is logically sound."
Zhu Ning's heart skipped. That one sentence was a verdict.
Huo Wenxi agreed with her?
She felt like someone who'd been constantly denied had suddenly been validated—and wasn't quite sure how to handle it.
Huo Wenxi: "Under normal circumstances, contamination levels beyond the first Protective Wall are B-Level or below. Finding an A-Level Zone in the rear mountains was what prompted the Sanitation Center call."
A-Level was the anomaly. Three A-Levels was outright alarming.
Zhu Ning organized her intelligence. The one thing she could confirm: contamination concentration just beyond the first Protective Wall was dangerously above normal.
And there might be an unknown Contamination Source.
If true—with this Contamination Zone sitting right outside the first Protective Wall, this close to a human city—once it activated, there wouldn't even be a buffer zone.
Unknown Non-Natural Humans inside the wall. An unknown, ever-growing Contamination Zone outside.
Caught between two fronts. District 103 couldn't hold out for long.
......
Zhu Ning and Huo Wenxi spoke privately for an hour.
Afterward, Zhu Ning was escorted back to her room. Huo Wenxi sat alone inside for a long while.
She hadn't deceived Zhu Ning. This truly was a private space—even Prometheus couldn't access it. Only Huo Wenxi knew what had been said.
If Zhu Ning's claims were true, Huo Wenxi, as one of the few people in the know, had an opportunity to change reality. She had the authority, the position, and the mind for it.
Did Zhu Ning want to form a united front with her?
She looked up at the tree in the room. It was an artificial species—"cyber-botanical." No watering or sunlight needed, yet indistinguishable from a real tree.
Technology had advanced to the point where humans no longer needed contact with nature to simulate it. The imitation was uncannily real.
Real plants were increasingly rare in human society. They'd been replaced by technology. Yet nature's actual plants, insects, and animals had walked into human society.
Non-Natural Humans invading.
What did they want after infiltrating? To contaminate the entire world?
If the contamination beyond the wall wasn't resolved, Huo Wenxi might even need to prepare for the worst—the day District 103 would have to evacuate entirely.
Zhu Ning had handed her a dilemma. Huo Wenxi had to make a choice.
Huo Wenxi stood up. Fang Ying had been waiting at the door for some time. "Team Leader Huo."
Huo Wenxi asked: "What is it?"
Fang Ying: "Yue Kaiyuan has submitted an application to you."
Yue Kaiyuan had applied for investigative access to Zhu Ning. He didn't have search authority—only interrogation capability. His intent was clear: grant him entry to Zhu Ning's home, and he'd find leads.
As long as Zhu Ning was alive, she'd leave traces. There had to be something unusual in her home. Once Yue Kaiyuan found it, he could unravel everything.
Huo Wenxi saw the registered home address in the file. The Hive.
The slums.
Zhu Ning was a fifth-class citizen from the slums. Huo Wenxi kept forgetting that.
Huo Wenxi: "Application denied. Terminate all investigations into Zhu Ning by other departments. Use my authority to place her under an independent classified protocol. All her files are to be locked, collected, and transferred to the Abnormal Incident Investigation Team. Her personal information is to be hidden from the system. All employees must obtain my permission before accessing her records."
"Also," Huo Wenxi added, "during the observation period, no one may converse with her for more than three sentences without my authorization."
"All other Cleaners from this mission are prohibited from filing mission reports, transmitting information, or using communication devices without my authorization. Draft a confidentiality agreement for this mission—I'll have Zhuang Lin send you the content later. Have them sign it as soon as they're conscious."
"Xu Meng and Li Nianchuan will await my further disposition."
Huo Wenxi spoke at rapid speed. Fang Ying, an exceedingly professional assistant, noted every detail.
Fang Ying had been at the Sanitation Center for years. The more she heard, the more unusual it seemed. Every one of Huo Wenxi's directives was severe.
Xuan Qing and Xie Jiazu were still asking about the investigation's progress. With access restrictions this tight, Huo Wenxi had shut out not only regular employees but the department heads as well.
Was she taking Zhu Ning directly under her own protection? What on earth had Zhu Ning told Huo Wenxi to warrant this "VIP treatment"?
Fang Ying: "And the mission report?"
Zhu Ning had given an hour-long debriefing. Where was the report?
This was what everyone was focused on. They were all curious.
Huo Wenxi: "I'll write this mission's report myself."
Fang Ying blinked. Huo Wenxi was personally writing the mission report? Whatever she wrote and submitted—that would be the truth.
It could only be the truth. No one could question it.
......
Zhu Ning returned to the pure white room.
She collapsed onto the bed. Talking with Huo Wenxi was exhausting—enormous amount of information. Yet Huo Wenxi had validated her speculation.
That left her feeling oddly adrift.
Her mental state was decent now, because the decision was in Huo Wenxi's hands. Having a powerhouse running interference took some weight off Zhu Ning's shoulders.
After returning, the staff handed her a sanity-related examination report. Her sanity had risen again—1,450 now, placing her in the high-tier talent category.
The way Zhu Ning experienced her sanity growth was peculiar. She never really felt different, yet the numbers kept climbing.
Strange. She thought carefully and did notice something: she hadn't had a headache in quite some time.
Her fusion with the System in her brain must be going exceptionally well. A particularly outstanding test subject?
But if it kept rising, wouldn't she be captured for study? This was drawing way too much attention.
Someone also informed her that both the First Military District and the Sanitation Center headquarters had received her examination report. Headquarters would send people for a comprehensive checkup and evaluation.
Checkup. Evaluation. Those words sounded like they were used for objects.
Sure enough—as Zhu Ning had suspected—people who stood out too much attracted trouble. They tended to die young.
Still, Zhu Ning had already made enough of a splash. This sanity level was, in a sense, a protective shell. Anyone wanting to do something to her would have to think twice.
So when Fang Ying asked if she was "willing" to give a debriefing, she'd genuinely had the right to refuse.
But rather than staying silent, she'd chosen to keep the initiative in her own hands.
Zhu Ning sorted her thoughts. All she needed to do was provide intelligence—there was nothing else she could contribute. Better to focus on her own mess.
She closed her eyes. This time she slept a long while. She was held for two days, and the only thing she did was sleep.
The next day, all her monitoring equipment was removed. No one spoke to her during the observation period.
It was also on the second day that she received her physical examination report. The result for her remaining lifespan: approximately one year.
The Sanitation Center had assessed her body's operational state. They'd discovered that Zhu Ning's daily energy consumption was abnormally high, placing immense strain on her body.
They hadn't found the cause, nor a corresponding treatment. The only option suitable for Zhu Ning was Consciousness Cloud Upload—completely abandoning her physical body.
Zhu Ning knew the System was truly devouring her body. A once-discarded experimental subject could never achieve a perfect state.
Every use of the items came at a cost.
Being a Defective meant she was unlikely to live long. But as Zhu Ning always said—in this world, who would perish first was anyone's guess.
The hands of the countdown clock had begun to turn. Both the countdown to the apocalypse and the countdown on Zhu Ning's life.
She could almost hear it—tick, tock, tick, tock.
On the third day, a staff member brought her regular clothes. The Sanitation Center's standard outfit: black pants, white hoodie.
A crack appeared in the pure white room. The outline of a door emerged. A staff member waited at the entrance.
"Thank you for your cooperation. Your observation period has concluded."
She was free? For now?
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