“Cheng Jianning?” Song Nanxing called out to him softly, a little worried.
Cheng Jianning squatted down with his head in his arms, his sobs impossible to hide. “This was my first job after graduation. I was planning to use my first paycheck to rent a better place in the Nei Cheng District, where things are more convenient and safer. Maybe I could even bring along the cats and dogs Grandma always feeds, so she wouldn’t be lonely when I’m not home…”
His shoulders shook uncontrollably. The data cables that had been wrapped around his limbs unraveled, forming a spherical shield around him. The cables continuously contracted and squirmed, and tiny glowing specks of light drifted out from the cable connectors.
The fine green lights flickered in the darkness of the room, like swarms of fireflies, quickly filling the entire space.
The Puppet stashed in Song Nanxing’s backpack suddenly crawled out. Its pitch-black eyes reflected the scattered lights. The whole Puppet clung to Song Nanxing’s back, its icy wooden head burrowing into the crook of Song Nanxing’s neck, nudging like a puppy.
The cold sent a shiver down Song Nanxing’s spine. He frowned and tried to pull the Puppet off, but its hands tightened around his arm, refusing to let go, even trying to snuggle into his arms. Its behavior was highly abnormal.
The lights in the room grew denser and denser. Looking at the obviously out-of-sorts Puppet, Song Nanxing sensed danger.
He didn’t have the mind to worry about the Puppet anymore, so he simply pressed it against his chest to keep it still. With his right hand, he quietly slipped his phone out of his pocket and dialed Han Zhi’s number.
After putting the phone back in his pocket, Song Nanxing held down the increasingly restless Puppet, glancing at the still-crying Cheng Jianning, and tentatively called out to him again.
This time, Cheng Jianning did not respond. In the dim green light, the outline of his body began to blur. At first glance, he looked like a mass of flowing, human-shaped liquid. Song Nanxing’s heart sank. He stepped back two paces, groped for the switch, and suddenly turned on the light—
A harsh white glare instantly illuminated the room. Song Nanxing reflexively squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them, he was stung by the sight of black-red bloodstains everywhere.
The room was covered with congealed, dried black-red blood clots—on the sofa, the coffee table, the floor… even the ceiling had not been spared.
Amid the dried blood, there were scattered, broken bits of flesh, looking like organs.
And at the center of the blood-splattered area, there was a black coffin.
The lid had been violently smashed, broken into pieces scattered around the coffin. The coffin itself was wide open, revealing a corpse inside—gutted, stomach and chest split open, the body grotesque and horrifying. From the white hair, it was clear the deceased was an old person.
Song Nanxing looked at the familiar, deflated corpse and remembered Li Shuangren and Ji Jiajia, who had been drained by Cheng Jianning. Their bodies had also been left like this, collapsed and empty, nothing but skin left.
The moment Cheng Jianning saw the coffin, he let out a devastated scream. He squatted on the ground with his head in his hands, his body growing more and more unstable. His drooping head nearly sank into his chest, his arms and face melting together like dissolving fat, slowly merging into a shapeless mass.
Song Nanxing could barely tell where his head was. All he could hear was the dazed voice repeating over and over: “I killed Grandma, I killed Grandma…”
Song Nanxing hugged the Puppet tightly, exhaled a shaky breath to steady himself, and tried to communicate. “Cheng Jianning, Grandma’s death wasn’t your fault.”
There was a coffin at home, Cheng Grandma was wearing burial clothes, and the coffin had been violently opened, her body left mutilated. Putting it all together, it wasn’t hard to guess what had happened—most likely, something happened to Cheng Grandma, she passed away, and Cheng Jianning couldn’t accept it and lost control.
Perhaps moved by these words, Cheng Jianning lifted his head from his chest, his nearly melted facial features turning toward Song Nanxing. The data cables protecting him waved like tentacles, still spraying out glowing specks.
Under the lamp, the glow of these specks was much weaker, but there were so many that the room was still shrouded in a greenish light.
Song Nanxing’s heart was pounding. He forced himself to stay calm and gently guided Cheng Jianning to remember. “Do you remember what happened to Grandma? How did she pass away?”
“Got home, Grandma was gone, went to look for her…” Cheng Jianning answered blankly, slapping his head as if struggling to recall.
Song Nanxing continued guiding him, “And then? Did you find Grandma?”
Cheng Jianning clutched his head in pain, shaking it nonstop. “Found her… no, didn’t find her… had to go to work…”
He seemed stuck in a loop, the data cables around him flailing wildly, each word squeezed out with difficulty.
Song Nanxing felt his heart sink.
There were traces of Good Dream here too.
At that moment, his phone vibrated gently in his pocket, and a strange man’s voice echoed in his mind: “Song Nanxing, do your best to keep him stable.”
*****
Outside the apartment building, people from the Special Operations Bureau and the Containment Center arrived at the same time.
The Special Operations Bureau team was led by Han Zhi. He looked at the woman across from him, dressed in a black protective suit, with sharp features and a commanding presence, and raised his brow. “What wind brought Captain Chu here?”
Chu Yan shot him a glance, her expression not pleasant. “The system detected a sudden spike in pollution levels in this area. What about you? Why are you here?”
Han Zhi held up his umbrella and waved his phone, which was still on the call. “Got a report.”
As they spoke, Han Zhi’s phone suddenly played Song Nanxing’s voice: “Cheng Jianning, Grandma’s death wasn’t your fault.”
Han Zhi immediately stopped chatting and told the technician, “Pull up Cheng Jianning’s personal info. Drones on standby.”
The operator launched the drone, and the technician quickly accessed Cheng Jianning’s personal records with his clearance. When Han Zhi saw the name of Cheng Jianning’s employer, his expression changed slightly. He turned to Chu Yan, “Looks like we’ll have to work together on this one.”
“Drone, scan Apartment 501 on the fifth floor,” Han Zhi ordered.
In the pouring rain, several drones circled the building, their scanners sweeping the entire structure and pinpointing 501.
The thermal imaging feed was transmitted in real time to their screens. Inside 501, they could see two figures—one crouched in a human shape, the other… already hard to call human.
All they could see on screen was a flowing mass, with many slender, tentacle-like appendages extending from it.
Chu Yan and Han Zhi crowded under a large umbrella, watching the screen with grave faces. “It looks like this is the source of the pollution spike,” Chu Yan said. She turned to her team. “Li Hao, check the pollution level and do a risk assessment.”
Li Hao had already set up the detection equipment. On command, he pressed the activation button.
The instrument’s readings synced to their screens, and as the numbers climbed, Li Hao’s face paled. “Captain Chu, this is bad. Air pollution levels are rising three percentage points per minute, spreading at a rate of one cubic meter per minute. Risk level: A—no, at least A! Judging by the trend, it could very well be S!”
“How can it be rising so fast?” Chu Yan frowned and went to check the numbers herself.
Just then, the drone operator noticed a cluster of flickering lights around the drone. He looked up at the sky. “Look! What’s that?”
Everyone looked up. In the black curtain of rain, countless firefly-like specks of light drifted out from the fifth floor windows, spreading in all directions.
Chu Yan’s face grew even more severe. “Capture the lights and analyze the data.”
She looked back at the thermal imaging, pointing at the crouched humanoid figure. “Is that the person you’re talking to? Who is he? No ordinary person could stay sane and rational in such a high-pollution environment.”
Han Zhi glanced at his phone. “You know him too. That’s Song Nanxing.”
Chu Yan was stunned. “It’s him?”
At that moment, Li Hao finished capturing and analyzing the specks. Looking at the results, he exclaimed, “Captain Chu, we must evacuate the nearby residents and lock down the area immediately! These specks are structured like spores; they can self-replicate and multiply, and a single spore already has a pollution index over 50!”
Chu Yan, who had been fairly composed, changed expression instantly. She turned to Han Zhi and said, without room for argument, “This case is now under Containment Center jurisdiction. Your people will immediately assist in evacuating the residents.”
Han Zhi realized the gravity of the situation and ordered his team to put on protective gear and go door to door to notify residents to evacuate. He also contacted headquarters for backup. Then he crouched by the computer, staring at Cheng Jianning’s info, and said in a low voice, “Chu Yan, your Containment Center folks are strong, but we’re not pushovers either. Who on your team can do a mental link? I need to talk to Song Nanxing.”
*****
The unfamiliar voice in Song Nanxing’s mind made him pause. The voice continued, “I’m Qiu Han from the Containment Center’s operations team. I’m speaking on behalf of Han Zhi. Please stay calm and listen to me.
“Cheng Jianning’s grandmother died in a car accident. The perpetrator fled, and after reviewing surveillance footage, the police suspect it was intentional. But since they couldn’t reach Cheng Jianning, the case was shelved.
“Cheng Jianning’s ability is very dangerous. If he completely collapses, he could cause widespread mental pollution in the area. Before we finish sealing off the area, please do everything you can to keep him stable.”
Looking at the nearly unrecognizable Cheng Jianning before him, Song Nanxing licked his dry lips and said softly, “Cheng Jianning, have you forgotten? Your grandmother died in a car accident. The culprit hasn’t been found yet. Don’t you want to find out who killed her?”
“The one who killed Grandma…” The humanoid figure lifted its face to look at Song Nanxing, the blurred features gradually coalescing back into Cheng Jianning’s face, though his expression was still blank. “It was me who killed Grandma.”
“It wasn’t you.” Song Nanxing cautiously stepped closer, staring into his eyes. “It wasn’t you. How could it be your fault? Grandma died in a car accident. You weren’t even home at the time… Think carefully. Isn’t that right?”
Cheng Jianning looked at him, his eyes slowly regaining focus. “Yes, yes, I remember now. I came home and found Grandma missing, searched everywhere, found her in the hospital…”
Watching his expression become more human, Song Nanxing slowly exhaled and continued, “The police said the perpetrator might have intended to kill, but since they couldn’t reach you, the case couldn’t continue and was shelved…”
Outside, Han Zhi’s team had quietly and efficiently evacuated the entire building.
Residents, woken in the middle of the night by knocking, donned the issued protective gear, gathered in the rain in confusion and fear, and boarded vehicles to be transferred to the nearest safehouse.
Once the building was confirmed empty, Chu Yan walked up to the iron gate, placing both hands on it. Her wheat-colored skin was quickly covered by a layer of green mossy plants. The moss grew rapidly, spreading over the iron gate and along the wet ground, climbing up the building’s exterior.
Behind her, her team braved the rain, methodically moving equipment and setting up a secondary barrier.
If this had been a low-risk contamination event, their equipment would have sufficed. But with the risk level so high, Chu Yan had no choice but to use her ability.
Chu Yan’s power was special—moss grown from her skin could effectively isolate and purify pollution, blocking its spread. In just ten minutes, the green moss had covered the entire building’s outer walls. Chu Yan trembled slightly, sweat dripping from her brow.
Han Zhi stood beside her, holding the umbrella. His back teeth clenched so tightly they creaked.
“You’ve been using your ability too much. This is dangerous.”
Chu Yan gave a bitter smile, her voice weak. “What else can I do? You know we’re short-handed, and group contamination events are only getting worse…”
Han Zhi turned away, not answering, and irritably pulled out a cigarette, biting it between his teeth. He handed the umbrella to Li Hao, who came to take over, then crouched back down beside Qiu Han to listen to the conversation between Song Nanxing and Cheng Jianning.
Cheng Jianning muttered, “I don’t know…”
Song Nanxing said, “We need to report it to the police and find the culprit. Only then can Grandma rest in peace.”
“Right…” Cheng Jianning’s shifting form finally stabilized and returned to normal. He wiped his tear-streaked face with his sleeve, still choking up. “I want to report it to the police.”
Song Nanxing noticed that his data cables were still out and reminded him, “The police are outside. Pull yourself together, and I’ll go with you to report it.”
Cheng Jianning belatedly realized how strange he looked, and the cables instantly retracted, wrapping back around his limbs and hiding under his jacket.
As the cables withdrew, the specks of light that had been floating out uncontrollably also stopped.
Song Nanxing looked him over, put the now-quiet Puppet back in his backpack, and walked to the door, glancing back. “Let’s go downstairs.”
Cheng Jianning hung his head in dejection and followed behind. Seeing the two come down, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, grateful things hadn’t spiraled out of control.
Chu Yan lowered her hands, her sharp gaze sweeping over Song Nanxing first before settling on Cheng Jianning. “Cheng Jianning, right? I’m Chu Yan from the Containment Center’s operations team. Please come with me.”
Cheng Jianning, his tears not yet dry, shrank behind Song Nanxing in confusion. “Where are we going? I want to report the accident to the police.”
Song Nanxing pointed at Han Zhi. “That’s the police. He knows all about your grandma’s case.” He turned to Cheng Jianning, speaking calmly. “You should know your own situation by now. It’s too dangerous for you to be out in public like this.”
Cheng Jianning fell silent for a long time before murmuring, “Will they take me away for neutralization? Can I at least find the person who killed Grandma first…?”
Chu Yan’s eyelid twitched at this. “What neutralization? Where did you even hear such rumors?”
Cheng Jianning mumbled, “That’s what everyone says.”
Rumor had it that if someone was so polluted that even the mental health center couldn’t help, they’d be taken away by the Containment Center for neutralization.
Put nicely, it was called “neutralization.” To put it bluntly, it meant being disposed of somewhere remote, with not even a whole corpse left behind—just vanishing without a trace. That’s why many people, if they discovered they were contaminated, didn’t dare go to the mental health center for treatment.
Chu Yan almost laughed in exasperation. “The Containment Center isn’t a slaughterhouse. Don’t spread or believe rumors.”
She snapped a wristband onto Cheng Jianning’s arm. “Relax. As long as you don’t completely collapse and lose all reason, the Containment Center won’t dispose of you lightly. We’re short-handed as it is—do you think people like us grow on trees?”
Cheng Jianning was embarrassed, but also curious, glancing at the metal band. “People like us?”
“It’s a tracker bracelet with a tranquilizer injector to prevent another emotional breakdown. Until you learn to control yourself, you have to wear it. Don’t even think about taking it off—it’s specially made and can’t be removed easily.”
Sure hope the evidence won’t go poof