Chapter 138-I Clean Up Garbage in a Wasteland World
Chapter 138 The Plan
Late at night, the Technology Department of the District 103 Sanitation Center received a report.
Someone said there had been an explosion at Hengsheng Mechanical Park. The Technology Department dispatched a reconnaissance drone—Building No. 3 and Building No. 2 had completely collapsed, and Building No. 1 was mostly gone.
The entire Mechanical Park was shrouded in dust.
Contamination Spores were floating at the scene. Blood-red spores seeped out through cracks in the rubble, drifting slowly.
Cleaners had already moved in. A total of seven squads were on-site. By the time the drone arrived, the Cleaner teams were already methodically containing the Contamination Spores.
They had activated Temporary Shielding Devices. The company's location was quite remote, so there was no immediate risk of spore overflow expanding the contamination.
The Sanitation Center didn't need to send additional support—the Technology Department only needed to monitor.
A technician asked: "The Dead Post crowd?"
"Probably. No idea who purified it, though."
"An S-Level Contamination Zone—must've been a Demon Hunter squad that went in. Maybe even two."
Another person said: "This company was already registered and queued up. It was about to be assigned."
He went to check the mission pool. Sure enough, Hengsheng Mechanical Company had been removed from the queue, immediately replaced by the next Contamination Zone.
"Who cares," the technician said. "Less pressure on us."
They were more than happy to have Dead Post people doing the work. The Sanitation Center was run ragged every day. With a mandatory seven-day cooldown after each mission, many operatives couldn't go out, tanking their efficiency.
The existence of the Dead Post had, to some extent, helped ease the burden.
The technician: "What do we do next? File a report?"
The other person checked the data. Hengsheng Mechanical Company's contamination levels were steadily declining, now down to A-Level. "Nah, let's just write up a routine report."
Prometheus hadn't flagged any danger either. This matter should be fully resolved by tonight.
The technician acknowledged. He stayed on duty until dawn, waiting for the wild Cleaners from the Dead Post to finish containing the Contamination Spores. Professional inspectors then tested the soil inside the company grounds.
Contamination levels had dropped to 20%—essentially harmless to humans. In a few months, it would likely purify naturally.
The technician wrote in his report: Hengsheng Mechanical Company has been fully purified. Purifier: unregistered Demon Hunter squad.
The report was utterly unremarkable, and was quickly buried under piles of other mission reports.
......
Zhu Ning opened her eyes.
She was lying on a clean bed in an ordinary room—a woman's bedroom, by the looks of it. A bouquet of sunflowers sat on the nightstand.
Zhu Ning had come back with Xu Meng the night before. This had to be Xu Meng's place. After that, Zhu Ning's head had lolled to the side and she'd fallen asleep without a care.
Half her body was sunk into the mattress, so comfortable she didn't want to get up at all.
Her Protective Suit was gone, and there was no blood either. Xu Meng must have cleaned her up and changed her into an ivory-white loungewear set.
No one was in the room. Faint rustling sounds came from the living room—probably Xu Meng or Lynx moving about.
Zhu Ning was exhausted and too lazy to move, so she curled up under the covers and thought.
It was her first time tackling an S-Level Contamination Zone. She figured there must have been loads of Contamination Spores, yet she hadn't gotten a single one.
No Contamination Spores meant she couldn't trade them for money at Song Zhizhang's. No health, no money—she'd gone through all that trouble just to eat a Contaminant.
Earlier, Zhu Ning had joked about seeing what was for dinner tonight. She hadn't expected to literally eat a Contamination Source.
Was she going to have to keep eating these from now on?
She carefully felt her body. Consuming the Contaminant hadn't caused much of a reaction in her—the Xenomorph must have absorbed it.
Her bones had been healed by the Xenomorph. That wretched creature would feed back to Zhu Ning after eating its fill.
It had probably overeaten this time. The Black Slime felt sluggish and lazy. Zhu Ning closed her eyes to sense it—it stretched its tendrils in the gaps between her bones.
Pretty well-behaved, actually.
She probably wouldn't need to worry about feeding it for a while.
Xu Meng had injected her with MegaHeal. Bandages wrapped much of her body, and the wound on her abdomen hadn't fully healed yet.
Beneath the bandages was a wound punched through by a tentacle. Based on past experience, it should be mostly healed by tomorrow.
Knock knock knock—
A sudden rapping came from the doorway, a bit startling. Zhu Ning looked up at the bedroom door.
Xu Meng: "You awake?"
Zhu Ning: "Yeah."
The door creaked open as Xu Meng pushed her way in, bringing with her the aroma of food.
Zhu Ning was burrowed entirely under the covers with only her eyes peeking out, her hair a messy tangle. Honestly, looking at this scene alone, you'd never imagine she was the one who'd single-handedly purified an S-Level Contamination Zone.
Xu Meng leaned against the doorframe and asked: "What are you doing?"
Zhu Ning: "Being a couch potato."
Xu Meng: "......"
Temperatures had dropped recently in District 103. The blanket was toasty warm. Zhu Ning was feeling just as lazy as the Black Slime inside her—in plain terms, she wanted to stay in bed.
Xu Meng: "Want to eat?"
Zhu Ning shot upright. "Coming!"
Xu Meng rummaged through the closet and pulled out two pieces of clothing for her—things she'd bought when she was younger. Some still had their tags on. They were just the right fit for someone Zhu Ning's age.
Zhu Ning looked down at the black crow printed on her hoodie, complete with two fierce streaks of blood. Very gothic. Had Xu Meng been into rock and heavy metal when she was young?
She was about to ask, but Xu Meng was watching her. She silently swallowed the question—she had a feeling asking would earn her a beating.
Zhu Ning asked while brushing her teeth: "Is this your place?"
Xu Meng: "One of my places."
Zhu Ning: "......"
But Demon Hunters were all well off. Owning multiple properties was perfectly normal. Besides, Xu Meng had later gone undercover at the Sanitation Center—someone that cautious would definitely have multiple safe houses.
Xu Meng explained: "I didn't know where you live. I couldn't exactly dump you on the street."
Zhu Ning clicked her tongue. Why was this woman so tsundere?
But Xu Meng had reminded Zhu Ning of something—she needed to let Song Zhizhang know, so he and Lin Xiaofeng wouldn't worry.
Zhu Ning still had her Sub-Brain on her. After freshening up, she messaged Song Zhizhang: "Safe. Don't worry."
Four words felt too cold, so she added: "Coming back later."
Song Zhizhang didn't reply. Zhu Ning closed her Sub-Brain and followed Xu Meng to the living room. The apartment was small—two bedrooms, one living room. In the center of the living room sat a civilian Medical Pod for treating injuries.
There was another room with the door open. It looked like a man's room.
Xu Meng: "Lynx has been staying here the past few days."
Zhu Ning gave an "oh." The aroma of cooking wafted from the kitchen. She spotted a tall man standing at the stove—he was so tall that the narrow kitchen seemed cramped around him.
Lynx wasn't wearing his metal mask, revealing his full face. He looked like a Greek sculpture. He had the kind of intensely striking features where a single furrowed brow made him look like a leopard coiled to strike.
Probably not bothered by the cold, he wore just a T-shirt. With Zhu Ning's years of athletic experience, she was sure Lynx's Adonis belt had to be impressive.
Zhu Ning: "He's younger than I expected."
She'd assumed Lynx was one of Xu Meng's squad members, which meant he should be around the same age as Xie Jiazu and the others—at least in their thirties or forties. Lynx looked barely past twenty.
Xu Meng: "He was part of a batch of Synthetics back then. They entered service early. He joined the Sanitation Center as a Demon Hunter at ten. The youngest in our squad. Cheng Mofei treated him like a son. Similar style to Cheng Mofei—doesn't like to talk much either."
Mentioning Cheng Mofei didn't seem to stir anything in Xu Meng anymore, as if she were bringing up an ordinary colleague.
Cheng Mofei had died when Lynx was only 12. He was 21 now. Since then, Xu Meng had looked after him—though Lynx didn't really need looking after.
But everyone in Cheetah Squad was family. They'd long since considered each other kin.
Zhu Ning changed the subject, steering away from Cheng Mofei. "Child prodigy?"
Xu Meng ushered Zhu Ning to the dining table. "Hardly a prodigy. He was engineered at the genetic level to be stronger than everyone else."
Not a prodigy—more like a Synthetic prodigy.
Zhu Ning mulled it over. Experimental subjects were technically a type of Synthetic too—just less stable than Lynx's kind.
Xu Meng sat across from her. "I haven't figured out the file password yet."
Zhu Ning thought that was perfectly normal—Xu Meng had only had the wristband for a short while. But the fact that Xu Meng was voluntarily keeping her in the loop was noteworthy. "Take your time."
Xu Meng could tell Zhu Ning must have found some clue inside the company, but she didn't ask. Leads that endangered your own safety were seldom shared willingly.
But Zhu Ning said it like it was nothing: "I found a component."
Zhu Ning patted herself down, only to realize her clothes had been changed. The Blank Card wasn't on her. Xu Meng noticed she was looking for something and got up to bring over a box.
Xu Meng: "Your other things are all in here."
Xu Meng had left only the Sub-Brain and Employee Wristband on Zhu Ning's person, temporarily storing everything else.
Zhu Ning didn't have many belongings. The one odd item was a playing card. Xu Meng had heard the rumors—people at the Sanitation Center said Zhu Ning carried two cards around, supposedly because she liked card games and was superstitious.
Right in front of Xu Meng, Zhu Ning pulled out a Joker card. To Xu Meng, it looked like a magic trick—one moment there was a card, and the next it vanished, replaced by a mechanical component.
Xu Meng raised an eyebrow. She thought back to how Zhu Ning had passed inspection that day. "Did you smuggle something out of the Mechanical Oceanarium?"
Zhu Ning grinned: "Captain, whatever do you mean?"
Xu Meng: "Cut the act. I'm not buying it."
Zhu Ning kept up the act: "I'll introduce you two sometime."
Zhu Ning handed the mechanical component to Xu Meng.
Xu Meng had no choice but to focus on what was in Zhu Ning's hand. The component was oddly shaped—it looked like a gear, but its edges were caked in blood. The gear was incredibly precise, etched with patterns no one could decipher.
But on the back was a symbol: α0057
Zhu Ning: "I suspect this Alpha is the mark of an experimental project. Maybe I've got one in my brain too."
Xu Meng raised an eyebrow. Zhu Ning was outrageously bold—she'd barely gotten this lead at the risk of her life, and now she was openly laying it out on the dinner table.
Prometheus had sent her in alone. The clues were presumably meant for her eyes only.
Xu Meng: "Hey—do you trust me too much?"
Zhu Ning: "Aren't we teammates?"
Xu Meng: "Aren't you afraid I'll sell you out?"
Xu Meng had asked this before, but felt compelled to ask again. She'd seen people with a hundred hidden agendas, but never anyone like Zhu Ning. Hard to say whether it was the wisdom of a fool or just plain foolishness.
Zhu Ning didn't care. It was obvious she couldn't handle this situation alone. Yesterday, she'd experienced what it felt like to have a reliable teammate and solid backup—and it was incredible.
That feeling of always having someone behind you was far more suited to Zhu Ning than fighting alone.
Besides, what she was doing was called turning her own problem into everyone's problem.
She'd thought it through carefully before deciding to share intel with Xu Meng. Zhu Ning also told her everything that had happened at Hengsheng Mechanical Company.
Xu Meng's expression darkened as Zhu Ning spoke. This world was rotten to its very core, dressed up in high technology—but that couldn't change the truth.
Xu Meng was silent for a long time before asking: "So you experimental subjects might eventually turn into Contamination Sources?"
Zhu Ning: "I think so."
Xu Meng's gaze toward Zhu Ning became much more serious. She was trying her best to see Zhu Ning as an ordinary person, but that was actually quite hard.
Xu Meng: "Is it possible Cheng Mofei was investigating this very thing?"
"Maybe?" Zhu Ning's answer was cautious.
Xu Meng sighed. This was getting more and more complicated. Non-Natural Humans—and Zhu Ning's batch of experimental subjects—were starting to look like pieces of the same puzzle.
Xu Meng asked: "What's your plan going forward?"
Zhu Ning put the mechanical component away, transforming it back into a card. Her finger rested on the face of the Joker.
Zhu Ning: "I think there's one person who can answer that question. He can also explain what happened at the Eternal Pharma Foundation that day."
Xu Meng immediately followed: "Bao Ruiming?"
Zhu Ning nodded. Xu Meng was as sharp as expected. "His consciousness was uploaded to the Cloud."
Xu Meng had investigated Bao Ruiming before. She'd considered this avenue, but quickly hit a dead end. "I've tried. There's no getting around Creation Technology."
Bao Ruiming's consciousness had been uploaded to the Cloud. Even as a shadow, Xu Meng couldn't infiltrate their servers.
Zhu Ning: "I might be able to find someone to handle it."
If anyone else had said that, Xu Meng would've dismissed it as big talk. Creation Technology was a colossal enterprise—this was their core business. How could you possibly find someone to deal with it?
But coming from Zhu Ning's mouth, Xu Meng actually believed she might have a solution.
This couldn't be rushed. It would take days of planning before they could act with certainty. Over the meal, Xu Meng and Zhu Ning hashed out a plan in just a few exchanges. With someone to lean on this time, Zhu Ning felt much more at ease.
Trying to find someone inside the Consciousness Cloud wasn't something a clueless greenhorn like Zhu Ning could pull off alone.
But with Xu Meng, every question had an answer.
They talked for about fifteen minutes. Xu Meng: "Get some rest. We'll talk again in seven days."
Zhu Ning's sanity was high, but if she mentally collapsed and became a Contamination Source, Xu Meng and Lynx would have a hell of a time cleaning up after her.
Zhu Ning: "Good thing Huo Wenxi gave me time off."
Otherwise she'd be juggling this mess while dealing with Huo Wenxi's pressure—the thought alone made her want to die.
A thought struck Zhu Ning. "Is this the kind of life you've been living all along?"
Xu Meng: "What else?"
Being a Cleaner while investigating the truth—that was the workload.
Zhu Ning had something she wanted to say. After thinking for a while, she just gave Xu Meng a thumbs-up. Grind queen. A role model for us all.
In this world, there was always someone grinding harder. Going forward, the pressure would fall on Xu Meng. Zhu Ning didn't have much to worry about—she just needed to go see Liu Niannian, then rest.
Once Xu Meng and Zhu Ning finished talking, Lynx finally brought the food to the table. His personality was exactly as Xu Meng had described—extremely reserved.
Lynx had undoubtedly heard everything Zhu Ning said, but didn't utter a word—never interjecting, never offering an opinion.
He served the food in silence. Zhu Ning had been planning to make small talk, only to realize there was no need. Earlier, Lynx had been silently cooking; now he was silently eating. He radiated a peculiar aura.
It was as if disturbing someone like him was the real offense. He simply existed, quiet as a mountain.
Zhu Ning asked: "Can I ask your real name?"
Lynx said quietly: "Xia Shan."
Zhu Ning gave an "oh," feeling the name suited him perfectly. For some reason, she thought of when she'd first entered the Dignified Queen shop, and that salesman had described a certain type of man as "the honest, quiet, just-gets-it-done type."
She'd never met one before. Today, she might have.
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