Chapter 144-I Clean Up Garbage in a Wasteland World
Chapter 144 Two-in-One
Hunting down Bao Ruiming required a lot of preparation.
Zhu Ning needed to get a port installed on herself. Song Zhizhang had mentioned before that her ability was well-suited for interfacing with various chips, but she'd never tried it.
The doctor Xu Meng recommended turned out to be at a legitimate hospital—not some underground clinic as Zhu Ning had expected.
It was Zhu Ning's first time visiting a civilian hospital in this world. The service was excellent and the medical standards were solid.
But the prices made her teeth ache. Now she understood how much Chu Ling spent maintaining all that hardware.
Just getting a chip slot installed cost two million. Song Zhizhang's advice had been right—if you got sick, whatever you did, don't go to a hospital.
Zhu Ning, that spendthrift, had donated ten million NewCred. Now she genuinely felt the money running out.
Xu Meng was waiting outside the hospital. She wore a denim jacket and sunglasses today—the whole look was effortlessly cool. As if, once she stopped deliberately disguising herself, this was who Xu Meng really was.
Xu Meng saw Zhu Ning come out and asked: "How does it feel?"
Zhu Ning couldn't stop touching the incision. The thing was right at the center of the back of her neck. It felt like a USB port. She was becoming more and more like a computer.
Having a hole opened in your body that could accept a chip—she really hadn't fully adjusted.
Zhu Ning was honest: "Feels like I've sprung a leak."
"......" Xu Meng knew she shouldn't have asked. She opened the car door: "Get in."
Zhu Ning climbed into Xu Meng's car. Xu Meng drove. In the back seat sat another woman—jet-black hair, clearly modified. A purple light traced a line across her forehead from left to right. Faint white-glowing patterns adorned the area near her ears. She looked intensely futuristic, like a game-rendered character stepped into reality.
"You must be Caracal?" She extended a hand to Zhu Ning. "Hi, I'm Big Orange."
Xu Meng said: "The fifth member of Cheetah Squad."
Zhu Ning: "......"
Why was everyone in Cheetah Squad named after cats?
Zhu Ning shook Big Orange's hand. The codename she'd casually tossed out to Lynx had actually stuck—she'd seamlessly joined the cat squad.
Xu Meng: "She's our squad's Android. Similar to Chu Ling, but while Chu Ling is a fighter, Big Orange is more of a behind-the-scenes operator. Think of her as a network specialist. She can remotely control non-sentient robots, and if an Android gives her authorization, she can pilot them too. We need her for this mission."
So as long as Chu Ling agreed, Big Orange could control her.
Big Orange was essentially a remote support unit.
She wasn't as useful inside Contamination Zones, but for real-world operations, she was invaluable.
Back in the day, Cheetah Squad didn't just tackle Contamination Zones—they also took jobs apprehending Ability User criminals. That's how Cheng Mofei had ended up investigating Eternal Pharma in the first place.
Five members in Cheetah Squad. Xu Meng was captain, with shadow-related abilities. Cheng Mofei had been strong enough to investigate Eternal Pharma—possibly with disguise-related abilities, since going undercover would be nearly impossible otherwise.
Xie Jiazu had climbed to head of the Cleanup Department, which spoke for itself. Lynx could solo S-Level Contamination Zones.
And Big Orange could remotely command robots—with the right equipment, she could mobilize a mechanical army.
Five members with zero skill overlap. No wonder Cheetah Squad was an all-star team. This lineup absolutely outclassed the Grey Eagle Squad Zhu Ning had worked with.
Zhu Ning eyed them enviously. She wanted her own team too.
"Wait—" Something clicked. "Huang Yaruo isn't with you guys, is she?"
Big Orange: "Smart girl."
Zhu Ning: "......"
Big Orange: "We'd been monitoring Experimental Subject 777 the whole time until you showed up. The day Huang Yaruo ran out, we immediately followed. Don't worry—she's mutated into a Sixth-Class Citizen. She's with me and she's safe."
This was the advantage of having a team. You didn't have to handle everything yourself—each member took care of their own role.
No wonder even Chu Qing hadn't found any leads.
Zhu Ning asked: "How's Huang Yaruo doing?"
She'd bought a house only to be scammed for a decade. An ordinary person's decade was precious beyond measure. Then she'd been coexisting with a Contaminant, and emerged to find the world had moved on without her.
Big Orange: "She had a hard time adjusting at first. Being away from the world for so long, reintegrating into society took a while. We asked her about Cheng Mofei, but she didn't know anything."
Zhu Ning understood. Huang Yaruo had been on the verge of a breakdown. Besides, Cheng Mofei's case was nine years old. To Huang Yaruo, he was probably just an unusual Snail-Human.
Both Big Orange and Xu Meng seemed to handle mentions of Cheng Mofei without issue—neither reacted.
Big Orange: "We set her up with a new identity. All she wants is a normal life."
Big Orange noticed Zhu Ning sighing and asked: "What's wrong?"
Zhu Ning: "Oh, nothing major. I just remembered that because I lost track of Huang Yaruo, I ended up being used as an experimental subject as punishment."
Big Orange gave a confused "huh," not following.
Xu Meng snorted a laugh. So Zhu Ning had been silently taking the fall for Cheetah Squad this entire time.
And it was a heavy fall. Zhu Ning had been hunted by Eternal Pharma.
Then Xuan Qing had suspected her, putting her through round after round of vetting. If Huo Wenxi hadn't pulled her out at the last second, she'd have been skinned alive.
Come to think of it, it was strange that Chu Qing—that creep—had truly vanished.
Big Orange hadn't followed any of that. She was here strictly for business. "You have a way to bypass Creation Technology's fortress?"
Big Orange had been trying to crack it for ages with zero progress. And Zhu Ning supposedly had a solution?
Zhu Ning: "Yes. I'll introduce you when the time comes."
Big Orange handed Zhu Ning a chip. "Deal. Here's your chip—you'll need it for the consciousness upload."
Zhu Ning took the chip. This felt surreal—she was really turning herself into a computer.
Was this going to be like Cyberpunk 2077 or Ghost in the Shell?
Wasn't this supposed to be a Wasteland? Why was it so cyberpunk?
What did Contaminants look like online?
Big Orange explained: "This isn't a true consciousness upload. A full upload—becoming an independent life form within the consciousness space—requires copying your entire brain, then discarding your human one."
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Uploading consciousness meant abandoning the flesh.
Bao Ruiming's type meant his brain was in the Cloud, remotely operating his Cybernetic Implants via chip.
Big Orange spoke in plain language: "You'll basically be stowaways. Your consciousness can reach the Cloud, with a maximum duration of six hours. Personally, I'd recommend coming out at around the three-hour mark—otherwise it gets messy."
Six hours again. The maximum time an ordinary person could spend in a Contamination Zone was also six hours.
Zhu Ning asked: "Messy how?"
Big Orange: "Spend too long and you won't be able to tell reality from the network anymore. Plus, your nerves sustain varying degrees of damage. I hear from the captain that your sanity is high, so you might endure longer than most—but I still have to warn you: there's a risk of brain damage. Some people's consciousness gets permanently stuck in the Cloud, becoming nothing more than digital debris."
In other words, this could fry your brain. Get out as early as possible.
The rules were basically the same as Contamination Zones—a time limit, and staying too long could drive you insane.
The more Zhu Ning thought about it, the more frightening it seemed. If she died in there, she'd really be dead—and it would be death at the consciousness level, the most fundamental kind.
Big Orange: "I'll send the instructions and guidelines to your Sub-Brain. You'll need a bathtub and ice."
Big Orange handed Zhu Ning a package. "Care package. Includes an eye mask and earplugs. Shutting down the five senses helps with the upload."
Zhu Ning: "So I can just do this at home?"
Big Orange: "I'll guide you remotely. Don't worry, I'll be there."
Big Orange spoke with the gentle warmth of a therapist—instantly putting you at ease.
Though this was their first meeting, Zhu Ning trusted Xu Meng, and by extension trusted Big Orange. "Counting on you."
Big Orange and Zhu Ning exchanged contact info on their Sub-Brains. "Oh, have you found a guardian yet?"
Zhu Ning: "Is a guardian really necessary?"
Big Orange assumed Xu Meng hadn't explained properly. She said gravely: "The guardian has to judge when to sever the connection. Sometimes a forced disconnect causes brain damage—you might wake up with severe cognitive impairment. But that's the price of cutting your losses. They need to make the right call at the right moment."
It was a choice between letting Zhu Ning die in the Cloud or ensuring she survived—possibly as a vegetable.
The guardian was under enormous pressure too. One wrong call, and they'd bear responsibility for Zhu Ning's death.
A good guardian could save your life. A bad one could leave you brain-dead—or truly dead.
Xu Meng had mentioned this before. Thinking about it gave Zhu Ning a headache.
Zhu Ning felt like a worker who'd fallen sick far from home. Minor ailments you always just toughed out—but when you needed someone to sign papers, you realized how many things you simply couldn't do alone.
Finding someone to be responsible for her life right now was about as difficult as finding someone to spend the rest of her life with.
Big Orange saw that Zhu Ning was taking it seriously and continued: "If you have any last words or things to settle, I'd suggest you go do that. The death rate for entering the Cloud is much higher than for Contamination Zones."
Zhu Ning: "......"
Big Orange brought this up like it was the most natural thing in the world. After all, Zhu Ning was about to hunt a VIP client of Creation Technology. Whether she'd make it off the Cloud was genuinely up in the air.
Even if Zhu Ning said she had someone who could bypass Creation Technology's fortress, the inside was unfathomable. No outsider could help once you were in.
Sincere advice: if there was anything you wanted to do, do it now. Anyone you wanted to see, go see them.
Zhu Ning asked: "When do we start?"
Big Orange was about to answer when Xu Meng cut in: "How long has it been since you rested?"
Zhu Ning: "I just rested."
Xu Meng knew that was a stretch. Zhu Ning had left her place and come straight back the next day. She'd probably been running around nonstop in between—zero rest.
"You need at least three more days of rest." Xu Meng: "You entered two Contamination Zones in five days—one A-Level, one S-Level. You need rest. I don't want to bring along a ticking time bomb that could collapse into a Contaminant at any second."
Zhu Ning opened her mouth. Xu Meng cut her off with two words: "Rest."
Zhu Ning shut her mouth. She'd been placed on mandatory leave.
......
Zhu Ning got three days off. During that time, she gave Liu Niannian's contact to Big Orange.
The technical side was beyond Zhu Ning. They handled the coordination themselves.
Xu Meng didn't even loop her in on updates—purely so Zhu Ning could actually rest. The first day, she chose sleep. She slept roughly sixteen hours.
By the second day, she figured any more sleep and she'd slip into a permanent coma. Big Orange had told her to settle any last words.
She thought about it and couldn't think of anyone to tell. She'd only been in this world for a short while—she barely knew anyone.
Besides, she wasn't necessarily going to die. Zhu Ning had always been an optimist.
Guided by the principle of happy relaxation, she got out of bed and went to find Lin Xiaofeng. It had been ages since they'd properly spent time together.
Lin Xiaofeng had been training with Song Zhizhang recently. Zhu Ning cancelled her lessons today. Lin Xiaofeng, diligent as always, didn't want to fall behind—but Zhu Ning dragged her away by force.
Zhu Ning felt like one of those irresponsible parents who took their kid out to cause trouble.
She took Lin Xiaofeng to a movie. The credits were rolling. A little red riding hood floated beside her.
Zhu Ning cleared her throat. "There's something I need to tell you."
She felt Lin Xiaofeng deserved to know, so she spoke to her as an equal. "Remember my promise? I'm going to kill Bao Ruiming."
Zhu Ning couldn't see Lin Xiaofeng's full form, but she could clearly sense the girl stiffen.
Zhu Ning had made a deal with Lin Xiaofeng: Zhu Ning would kill her enemy, and Lin Xiaofeng would become her squad member afterward.
Lin Xiaofeng didn't speak for a long time. Processing all this took a moment for a ten-year-old. Zhu Ning didn't rush her.
The credits finished rolling completely before Lin Xiaofeng finally asked: "Can't you take me with you?"
Zhu Ning smiled. This little girl was impressive—her first reaction was wanting to come along.
And her emotional control had improved dramatically. Hearing news like this, she'd stayed composed all the way through. The kid had real grit.
Zhu Ning: "You're a kid. You can't go."
Lin Xiaofeng grew anxious. "Why not? Because I'm too weak?"
Lin Xiaofeng was too fragile. She hadn't grown into her strength yet. Her rate of growth couldn't keep pace with what Zhu Ning needed.
Zhu Ning could be "force-fed" growth by the System and Prometheus. Lin Xiaofeng had to take it one step at a time.
Zhu Ning shook her head: "No. Because your neural pathways haven't fully developed."
Uploading a minor's consciousness came with severe side effects. This wasn't some hero complex—it wasn't that Zhu Ning insisted on shielding the girl. Killing an enemy was always best done by the person themselves.
But objectively, Lin Xiaofeng wasn't suited to go. Zhu Ning didn't want her taking this path.
The movie had ended. The screen faded to black.
"Zhu Ning," Lin Xiaofeng was quiet for a moment, then asked: "Will you die?"
If Zhu Ning died, Lin Xiaofeng would lose everything.
Zhu Ning had always respected Lin Xiaofeng's feelings. She was honest: "Maybe."
The Consciousness Cloud was completely uncharted territory. That space was too ethereal, too abstract.
Not wanting to burden her, Zhu Ning added: "I'm not doing this entirely for you. I just happen to be killing someone on the side. Don't overthink it—I still need you to grow up and work for me."
Zhu Ning tried to paint herself as a heartless exploitation machine, reducing everything to a transaction. But Lin Xiaofeng wasn't buying it.
Lin Xiaofeng hung her head in silence, clearly down. She couldn't do anything. She felt useless.
Zhu Ning thought about cracking a joke to lighten the mood, but anything she could think of felt insincere. So she stood before Lin Xiaofeng. "Come on. I bought you new clothes. I'm taking you out."
Lin Xiaofeng said glumly: "Out where?"
Why was Zhu Ning in the mood for fun at a time like this?
Zhu Ning: "Skiing."
Zhu Ning loved all kinds of sports. Since arriving in this world, she hadn't tried any of their recreational activities yet.
Xu Meng had told Zhu Ning to rest. For her, fun was rest.
If she really was going to die, she wanted to have a blast before she went.
Zhu Ning had bought Lin Xiaofeng a new outfit. The express delivery arrived that afternoon—it looked like a child-sized Protective Suit.
Lin Xiaofeng was transparent, but after Song Zhizhang's training, she could increasingly control the visibility of herself and objects she touched.
Wrapped in the suit, she looked like a little astronaut to anyone outside.
The ski resort was full of people bundled head to toe, so Lin Xiaofeng didn't stand out.
Song Zhizhang came along too. It was Lin Xiaofeng's first time going out in this form, and he was a bit worried.
This was an artificial ski course—more high-tech, with man-made scenery flanking the runs, and obstacle courses featuring engineered plants.
Instructors were available. Zhu Ning said that was completely unnecessary.
Zhu Ning's athletic ability was exceptional. She'd skied in her previous life. Not competition-level, but as an amateur enthusiast, she was well above average.
Plus, she had abilities in this life. What could possibly go wrong?
Zhu Ning, flush with cash, booked an entire ski run for themselves.
Zhu Ning taught Lin Xiaofeng some basics. Lin Xiaofeng's aptitude turned out to be surprisingly high—probably because she wasn't entirely human anymore. She picked it up fast and was soon having fun.
While Zhu Ning was playing with Lin Xiaofeng, Song Zhizhang quietly followed at a distance—not too close, not too far, never intruding, just keeping Lin Xiaofeng within his line of sight.
Zhu Ning was fearless. She took Lin Xiaofeng straight onto the long downhill run. Song Zhizhang heard Lin Xiaofeng let out a yelp—a thrilled, delighted shriek.
Song Zhizhang had been a little worried about safety. That yelp caught him off guard. Lin Xiaofeng had always been so well-behaved, never doing anything out of line.
It was as though she'd been deliberately suppressing her own feelings. This was the first time Song Zhizhang had heard Lin Xiaofeng express such genuine, uncontrolled emotion.
Sports were incredibly stress-relieving.
Lin Xiaofeng picked up speed—like a little bird breaking free of its cage. Since the Mechanical Oceanarium, this was the first time Lin Xiaofeng's mind had gone completely blank.
Zhu Ning was leading the way. The first section had no obstacles—just pure, cathartic speed.
Then came the second run, where trees and rocks appeared ahead.
For Zhu Ning, these obstacles were nothing. For a beginner ten-year-old, the difficulty was considerable—speed and direction were hard to control.
Swerving to dodge a boulder ahead, Lin Xiaofeng veered into a U-shaped ramp and was suddenly launched into the air.
She was twenty meters above the ground.
Lin Xiaofeng's defense was extremely low. Song Zhizhang hadn't resolved that problem yet. If she fell from this height, she'd end up like the Transparent People in the Mechanical Oceanarium.
Head cracked open. Jelly-like blood everywhere.
Zhu Ning frowned. She was about to activate Gravity Ignore to fly up and catch her—she was confident she could. But before she could act, a dark blur flashed past.
A black shadow appeared out of nowhere. Song Zhizhang caught Lin Xiaofeng's body midair. After landing, they tumbled rapidly across the snow, inertia carrying them uncontrollably toward a boulder ahead.
In that split second—as if time had been deliberately stretched—gray-black matter spread from the backs of Song Zhizhang's hands. In the blink of an eye, it formed a cocoon of concrete, encasing both Lin Xiaofeng and himself.
BANG!
Song Zhizhang's back slammed into the boulder with a heavy thud. He was fine—the boulder cracked apart.
Zhu Ning's heart was pounding. After all those Contamination Zones, she'd thought she was numb to danger. But this wasn't her own risk—she was responsible for a child.
She skied over quickly, ready to pull them out. What she saw made her pause. They were covered in snow, surrounded by shattered rock.
Song Zhizhang held Lin Xiaofeng. Every inch of exposed skin had transformed—his neck and the backs of his hands looked petrified, like gray bark or vine tendrils.
He'd formed a concrete wall, strong enough to shatter stone. Lin Xiaofeng was perfectly intact inside—not a single hair out of place.
This was the first time Zhu Ning had seen Song Zhizhang's ability. He was defense-type.
Song Zhizhang released his defense. Lin Xiaofeng stood up from his arms. The abnormalities on his body receded—his hands turned pale again, back to the Song Zhizhang she knew.
Song Zhizhang got to his feet. His first instinct was to check Lin Xiaofeng for damage. "What difficulty did you pick?"
Zhu Ning's voice dropped: "Uh... ultra-hard..."
Song Zhizhang: "......"
For Zhu Ning, sports were pointless if you didn't pick the hardest mode. Easy mode? Where's the fun? Go big or go home.
Song Zhizhang lowered his brow: "You can't put a minor on ultra-hard."
Nobody was as reckless as Zhu Ning. Lin Xiaofeng was only ten.
Zhu Ning coughed lightly. She'd been about to say she'd definitely have kept Lin Xiaofeng safe, and that she herself had spent her entire childhood running wild, adventuring everywhere, getting banged up all the time.
Adventure meant risk, after all.
But one look at Song Zhizhang's expression, and she quietly shut up.
Song Zhizhang: "She should be in the children's section, under an instructor's supervision."
Zhu Ning owned up immediately: "I was wrong."
Lin Xiaofeng crept behind Zhu Ning. "Actually, I picked this one myself."
When they'd been choosing, Zhu Ning had asked for her opinion. Lin Xiaofeng had chosen this difficulty herself.
Song Zhizhang: "Xiaofeng, you can't keep enabling her."
Lin Xiaofeng fell silent too.
Zhu Ning could tell Song Zhizhang was genuinely angry. She'd never seen him this upset before.
Song Zhizhang truly cared about Lin Xiaofeng. People only got angry over things they cared about. Before, Song Zhizhang could stay composed because there was nothing he cared about.
Now he did.
Zhu Ning thought about Song Zhizhang's ability—like a concrete wall forming a cocoon around Lin Xiaofeng.
No wonder Song Zhizhang had been willing to let Zhu Ning stay at the Dignified Queen shop. If she'd lost her mind and turned into a Contaminant, his ability could have formed a sealed space to contain her.
Zhu Ning thought back over the System items she'd received. Aside from the 3D Defense Space, she had basically nothing in the way of defense.
Defense-type abilities had to be rare. Song Zhizhang had been a Demon Hunter—an ability like that was valuable.
Song Zhizhang wanted to say more, then decided he had no standing to. He bit it back.
He shouldn't be such a buzzkill. They'd been having fun. He brushed the snow and rubble off Lin Xiaofeng. "Does anything hurt?"
Lin Xiaofeng shook her head. She was uninjured.
Zhu Ning didn't dare take Lin Xiaofeng on any more wild rides. She brought her to the children's beginner course nearby. Song Zhizhang walked ahead.
Lin Xiaofeng, afraid Song Zhizhang was still angry, reached up to hold his hand.
Zhu Ning, the one who'd messed up, trailed behind them.
"Song Zhizhang." Zhu Ning looked at his back and suddenly called out.
Song Zhizhang stopped and turned. Zhu Ning was in her ski gear, goggles over her face. She didn't exactly look like someone capable of responsible decisions.
Zhu Ning asked: "Can you do me a favor?"
Author's Note
This is the 70,000-character bonus chapter I owed! Paying it off today—it's a two-in-one!
Guess who Zhu Ning picked as her guardian~ The new dungeon starts soon!
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