Chapter 121-I Clean Up Garbage in a Wasteland World
Chapter 121 The Wristband
Rumble, rumble—
A freight train roared past, and the unfinished building sank back into silence.
Zhu Ning's posture hadn't changed from start to finish. She seemed like she'd really just come out for a stroll, then very calmly dropped a bombshell.
Xu Meng was the one caught in the blast.
Zhu Ning: "I'm a defective experimental product."
How could someone say something like that so casually? Xu Meng frowned. Her first instinct was that this was part of Zhu Ning's scheme—to confuse her or buy time.
Zhu Ning: "So far, I haven't figured out why they created me."
For pure research purposes? To find a way to purify the world through Zhu Ning? Or was this the ultimate goal of human evolution?
Zhu Ning: "I think Cheng Mofei's Employee Wristband contains data, so I have to see it."
Zhu Ning had stated her reason. She wouldn't budge an inch on this condition.
Xu Meng gripped her blade hilts tightly. It took her a long time to fully process this. "How can you prove it?"
Zhu Ning had no evidence. Xu Meng could just as easily claim she was an Eternal Pharma experiment too.
Zhu Ning thought for a moment, seeming to consider how to prove she was an experimental subject. She couldn't use her various items to show Xu Meng—using them would burn through her health.
Zhu Ning: "How about this?"
Xu Meng's pupils contracted sharply. The moment Zhu Ning finished speaking, black slime began spreading from the back of her neck. Zhu Ning was wearing a simple white sweater today, making the black slime extremely conspicuous against her body.
The black slime crept along Zhu Ning's skin, emerging from the cuffs of the white sweater, gradually enveloping the back of her hand.
When the stuff moved, it sent a chill through the air, as if the surrounding temperature had suddenly dropped several degrees.
Feline creatures have a certain premonition for danger. The instant Xu Meng saw the black slime, every alarm in her body went haywire—as if she were looking at something utterly inhuman.
This was absolutely no ordinary Ability User. This wasn't human at all.
She'd always assumed Zhu Ning was a metal-type Ability User, possibly with additional Abilities like teleportation.
Now it was clear that wasn't the case at all. Did she have a parasite? Was this thing part of Zhu Ning?
Zhu Ning tilted her head slightly. "This is my secret for killing the Mother Worm."
The black slime was still crawling across her body, wrapping her entire right arm from the neck down. She looked every bit a monster, yet Zhu Ning's expression was completely at ease—she even gave herself a sweet little smile.
This is my secret for killing the Mother Worm.
How was that any different from a threat?
If she could devour the Mother Worm, she might just as well devour Xu Meng.
This was Zhu Ning's real leverage in the negotiation. She'd shown her weapon. A so-called peaceful negotiation requires both sides to be equally matched.
Xu Meng gritted her teeth. "Why are you telling me this?"
Zhu Ning flexed her hand. The black slime seemed to hear its master's call, playfully writhing around her fingertips like a toy.
Zhu Ning looked up at her. "I believe sincerity is the baseline for negotiation. And who knows—maybe we can work together."
What was that saying again? Sincerity is the ultimate weapon.
And if sincerity doesn't work, then use the real ultimate weapon.
Zhu Ning: "Besides, you're the first person I've shared this secret with."
Zhu Ning had never told anyone. Song Zhizhang and Lin Xiaofeng didn't know the truth. Xu Meng was the first to know.
Zhu Ning's tone was like a best friend saying, I'm closest to you—you're the only one who knows this, okay?
The tone was eerily innocent in this context, yet eerily fitting.
What was she doing? Trying to be best friends?
Xu Meng said through clenched teeth, "And if we can't work together?"
Zhu Ning looked a little regretful. "Then I'll have to resort to force."
The worst-case scenario was Zhu Ning and Xu Meng fighting to the death, after which Zhu Ning would read Xu Meng's memories to get the password and leave.
But she didn't want it to come to that. It would hurt their relationship, and it would burn a lot of health.
Zhu Ning had always avoided fighting. First, because fighting burned too much health—she avoided it whenever possible.
Second, because she thought Xu Meng could be a collaborator.
Xu Meng stared at Zhu Ning with a gaze that could bore two holes through her. Zhu Ning let herself be examined without flinching.
Xu Meng: "Why are you so confident I won't betray you?"
If it were Xu Meng—if she were Eternal Pharma's experimental subject—she would never reveal that. For safety's sake, she'd keep it secret her entire life.
Once someone knew, it was like handing over your weakness on a silver platter. All Xu Meng had to do to betray Zhu Ning was contact Eternal Pharma.
She wouldn't even need to act herself. An entire organization might come after Zhu Ning.
Zhu Ning: "Because I think you're a good person?"
Xu Meng scoffed, as if she'd heard something funny. "How many people have you tricked with that line?"
Xu Meng wasn't some hot-blooded idealist. She was long past the age of falling for that.
Zhu Ning thought about it. Song Zhizhang totally bought into that kind of thing too. People like them could only be won over by stroking their fur the right way.
Zhu Ning: "Captain, that hurts. If it can be resolved with words, how is that trickery?"
She was genuinely here to propose a partnership.
Click. Xu Meng sheathed her twin blades.
Xu Meng: "Now I understand how you talked Huo Wenxi into it."
At the time, Xu Meng had wondered how to escape the Sanitation Center's grip. But Zhu Ning had simply talked to Huo Wenxi, and Huo Wenxi had directly filed the Desolate Village mission report.
Why wasn't Zhu Ning running scams? If she hadn't joined the Sanitation Center, she'd definitely be the head of a fraud ring.
Zhu Ning: "I think this is very efficient. We exchange information, and both sides win."
Xu Meng could get Zhu Ning's intel. Zhu Ning could get the leads Xu Meng had found.
Xu Meng said nothing. Zhu Ning took that as consent.
Xu Meng still wasn't speaking, so Zhu Ning took the initiative to share intelligence.
"I'll go first," Zhu Ning said generously. "After you hear me out, you can decide whether to cooperate."
She could tell Xu Meng was very guarded around her. Breaking through someone's defenses was a long process.
So far, Zhu Ning had only cracked open a tiny corner in Xu Meng's walls.
Zhu Ning thought about how to begin: "I was short on cash. I saw a job posting online for the District 103 Sanitation Center. The pay was high, so I gave it a shot."
A perfectly normal choice. Most people joined the Sanitation Center for the generous compensation.
Zhu Ning: "After I joined, Fang Ying told me Prometheus had selected me."
Zhu Ning seemed to be reviewing her own life.
Xu Meng: "That's normal. Everyone is selected by Prometheus."
Prometheus could pick suitable employees from the vast sea of people. Xu Meng had gone through the same process.
Zhu Ning: "Our Cleaner squad is a three-person team. Before I came, what happened to the other member?"
Xu Meng frowned at this. She'd never considered the question before, assuming Zhu Ning had been randomly assigned.
But ever since Zhu Ning joined their squad, she'd been incredibly high-profile, and Xu Meng had been dragged along for the ride.
Xu Meng: "The previous member was named Zhang Ruo. He suffered severe Psychic Contamination on a mission and retired. Our squad had a one-month gap—we didn't get any missions during that whole month."
There was nothing strange about this at the time. Xu Meng worked as a Cleaner to hide her identity. Not being able to go on missions due to an incomplete roster had actually seemed like a good thing to her.
Zhu Ning: "I suspect Prometheus deliberately assigned me to your squad."
Prometheus had absolutely given this team composition prior thought. Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that their own captain just happened to be investigating Eternal Pharma?
Besides Zhu Ning and Xu Meng, Li Nianchuan's personality was easy to read. He had no malice, wasn't extreme, and wore his heart on his sleeve.
Someone like that would take a very long time to notice anything unusual about Zhu Ning and Xu Meng.
Xu Meng: "If it weren't for you, our squad would never have attracted so much attention."
Xu Meng had become a Cleaner to hide in plain sight. She'd always kept a low profile, never doing anything beyond a Cleaner's capabilities.
When Zhu Ning and Li Nianchuan were trapped in the Fishman Contamination Zone, Xu Meng hadn't even considered going to help.
Zhu Ning: "I'll take that as a compliment. Trust the algorithm—we're a match made by data, the perfect teammates."
Xu Meng: "......"
Prometheus recommended they team up, so Zhu Ning called it a match made by data?
Zhu Ning: "My first mission had a Contamination Zone rating error, possibly related to Prometheus. Setting that aside—after I got home, I came across a dead post mission. On my second dead post mission, I entered Experimental Subject 777."
Experimental Subject 777. Zhu Ning had touched on the key point. This was the origin of everything.
The place where Cheng Mofei had died.
Zhu Ning: "I didn't know it was an experimental subject at the time. I stumbled in clueless and nearly got worn down to death by the haunted house. Because 777 was an artificially created Contaminant, there wasn't even a traditional Contamination Source inside. If I hadn't possessed the Metal Manipulation talent, I probably would have died in there."
This was also why Xu Meng had never made her move. Experimental Subject 777 didn't have particularly high contamination levels, but it was extremely bizarre—and it belonged to Chu Qing.
Making a move would mean exposing herself to the Sanitation Center.
No one besides Zhu Ning—guided by Prometheus into stumbling upon it—would willingly court death there.
And the reason Zhu Ning survived was entirely because Prometheus had predetermined that she possessed the absolute talent of Metal Manipulation.
Zhu Ning pulled Cheng Mofei's Employee Wristband from her pocket. The cold wristband gleamed with a metallic luster. She'd studied it so many times she'd practically polished it with her fingers.
Xu Meng froze at the sight of the wristband, visibly suppressing the urge to snatch it from Zhu Ning's hands.
Zhu Ning: "I got Cheng Mofei's Employee Wristband from Experimental Subject 777. I don't know the password, but he'd enabled Visitor Mode. I can watch one video."
Zhu Ning's fingers touched the edge of the wristband. A light flickered on, and the Employee Wristband activated.
"Hello," Cheng Mofei's voice sounded. "I don't know who you are. I hope you're someone from the Sanitation Center..."
Zhu Ning had opened the video without warning. Xu Meng's first reaction was to turn her head away. She didn't dare look.
The fist hanging at her side clenched so hard it seemed like she might snap her own fingers.
It had been so long since she'd heard Cheng Mofei's voice.
Neither Zhu Ning nor Xu Meng spoke. In the video, Cheng Mofei's abdomen was bloodied as he fled from his pursuers.
This was the voice of her teammate from nine years ago.
Zhu Ning had listened to every word of his final message over and over. Now the listener was Xu Meng, and Zhu Ning could see her trembling.
"...Please handle the relevant data at your own discretion, whoever finds this wristband. It's yours now. Good luck."
Cheng Mofei finished his last words. After a volley of gunshots—bang, bang, bang—the screen went dark. The video ended.
The shadow of death pressed down heavily. For a long time, no one spoke. It was as if they had relived Cheng Mofei's death.
"What happened to him in the end?" Xu Meng took a deep breath. Since Zhu Ning had started her story, this was the first time Xu Meng showed any personal emotion.
Zhu Ning was the last person to see Cheng Mofei.
Zhu Ning paused, then decided to tell the truth. "It wasn't good. He'd become a Snail-Human."
Zhu Ning still remembered what Cheng Mofei looked like. A snail shell strapped to his back, the crushing weight bending him over, his once well-proportioned face bloated like a waterlogged corpse, slick with a slimy sheen.
It was because Zhu Ning had later seen what Cheng Mofei looked like in person that she felt it was such a shame.
Zhu Ning only felt it was a shame. For Xu Meng, it must have been far more painful. Xu Meng was the one who'd actually spent time with Cheng Mofei.
They'd probably been on many missions together—risking their lives, knowing each other inside out, covering for each other's mistakes.
They might have had a personal connection too. The whole Cheetah Squad would go out for meals together. They were close off-duty as well, familiar with each other's personal lives.
If someone struck it rich, they'd treat everyone. If someone ran into trouble, the rest would pitch in.
The five members of Cheetah Squad had been close as siblings.
Cheetah Squad had been the Sanitation Center's elite team, perennial champions of the leaderboard. They'd ventured into A-Level and above Contamination Zones, set records for the Sanitation Center, and broken all kinds of conventions.
If Zhu Ning was a minor celebrity now, the Cheetah Squad of those days had been a star team.
Everyone knew them. Everyone knew Cheetah Squad's captain was named Xu Meng—a cutesy name, a ferocious fighter, an ice-cold personality.
It was Xu Meng's leadership that had kept them at the top of the leaderboard.
Xie Jiazu used to tease Xu Meng about her name. "Captain Meng-Meng."
"Get lost." Xu Meng found Xie Jiazu utterly insufferable.
Back then, Xu Meng hadn't been so low-key, though she'd never been much of a talker.
But within Cheetah Squad, Xu Meng was at ease. She'd show more of herself—completely different from now.
"Captain."
Xu Meng remembered Cheng Mofei standing before her. He was obviously tall and burly—over 190 centimeters—a big lug who was sharp and decisive on missions, yet hopelessly shy around Xu Meng.
Cheng Mofei lowered his head, ears burning red, and said softly: "Captain."
Xu Meng could picture those two syllables with her eyes closed.
He'd never said anything out of line. All he ever said was, "Captain."
"Why do you just keep calling her 'Captain'? If you've got something to say, spit it out!" Xie Jiazu had egged him on with obvious ill intent.
Cheng Mofei went speechless, unable to utter a single word.
Later, Cheetah Squad received a mission—to investigate a certain incident. For some reason, it hadn't been assigned to the investigation division but handed to Cheetah Squad instead.
This mission was extraordinary. The confidentiality level was extremely high. At first, the other members had no idea what the mission entailed. All they knew was it would last one month, but the rewards were exceptional—in addition to the personal reward, the entire squad's points would be multiplied tenfold regardless of success or failure.
They'd all thought that once the mission was complete, Cheng Mofei would either get rich overnight or be promoted to the leadership level.
Everyone on the squad had been looking forward to Cheng Mofei's career rising to new heights.
How naive they'd been nine years ago—knowing nothing, played like fools by those above them.
Before leaving, Cheng Mofei had told her: "Captain, wait for me to come back."
Xu Meng said okay. She'd already sensed something was off—her instincts were screaming.
She couldn't pinpoint what was wrong. She'd wanted to shout for Cheng Mofei to come back, but when she opened her mouth, not a single word came out—as if something had seized her by the throat.
In the end, Xu Meng could only watch helplessly as Cheng Mofei got into the vehicle.
That was the last time she ever saw Cheng Mofei.
Nine years. The Sanitation Center had undergone a complete overhaul. Nobody remembered Cheetah Squad anymore. The team Xu Meng had built from scratch didn't even have its name preserved.
Xu Meng lowered her head. Another freight train passed overhead, its rumbling swallowing the unfinished building.
Xu Meng's expression was hidden in shadow. Zhu Ning couldn't guess what she was thinking. All she saw was the golden pupils flickering, then slowly dimming—like a bright lamp being extinguished.
Xu Meng didn't cry. She just... extinguished the light in her own eyes.
Author's Note
I'll talk about bonus chapters when I have time~
Please don't put down or compare other books or authors in the comments! Positive recommendations are totally fine! But bashing and comparing are a no-no~
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