Be careful of the violence in the content.
“Mom, I want to go home.”
On the subway, everyone who survived the ordeal looked extremely disheveled, and the little girl’s white dress had been dyed pink.
A woman was using tissues to wipe the dirt and tears off her face, gently coaxing, “Don’t cry, sweetie, we’ll be home soon, okay?”
“Yeah, I won’t cry,” the little girl said, trying hard to hold back her tears.
Suddenly, the woman’s hand holding the tissue stopped, staring at the little girl’s face, her expression filled with horror.
On the little girl’s snow-white cheek, there was suddenly a blood-red eye, looking eerily similar to the pig-faced boss from before.
The eyeball rolled around, but the little girl herself was completely unaware.
“Observer, sir! Observer, sir!” she urgently turned back, “Please come and see what’s wrong with my daughter!”
The glasses man walked over from the pile of mutilated limbs, his expression shocked when he saw the little girl’s condition.
“Moderate infection… Did she not take the infection prevention and treatment pills just now?”
“She did! She did!” The woman was so anxious she was about to cry, tremblingly taking out pills from her bag, pouring out a bunch to continue giving to the little girl.
The glasses man quickly stopped her and said, “In this situation, the pills won’t work anymore. We need to take suppressants immediately and perform timely surgical procedures on the affected areas.”
“But where can we find suppressants here?”
“That is a city-controlled drug. Only hospitals can prescribe them. We’ll have to wait for the rescue team from the City Defense Bureau to arrive, and the accompanying doctors will assist…”
Before he could finish his sentence, there were several screams nearby.
“Help! My hand! My hand turned into a pig’s trotter!”
“Ah—my nose! What’s going on…”
“Damn it, why do I have eyes on my butt?”
[Even though the boss’s infection ability isn’t high, close contact with the flesh and blood of the aliens inevitably leads to a rapid increase in the infection value for ordinary people. When the infection value exceeds 85, there will be obvious signs of mutation] the system said.
[This isn’t your fault. You’ve already steered them away from certain death. Now, whether they can hold on until the rescue team arrives depends on their own fate.]
Shen Jie nodded, holding his arm as he stood up and went to pick up the phone that had fallen to the corner during the recent battle.
The screen was already shattered, with spiderweb-like cracks spreading across it.
He shook it, and the screen lit up. It still worked.
But the phone still had no signal.
They were still in the mist.
In the chaos, someone shouted anxiously.
“Didn’t the boss die already? Why hasn’t the scenery around us changed?”
“We need to get out quickly and get suppressants! We can’t continue to be trapped here!”
“Where is the exit?”
“The boss is not the real mist’s host,” the glasses man made a solemn judgment, “We just guessed it wrong. The mist has not been truly dispelled. Quickly, let’s go to a clean place. We can’t have direct contact with the infected materials, especially those who have already shown signs of mutation. Find a place to sit quickly, keep your heart rate steady, and reduce the rate of infection.”
He quickly took off his coat and used one side of it to wipe the little girl clean, then carried her through the body parts and placed her in a clean spot. The others quickly followed, sitting in rows on the open ground.
A group of adults sat in a row, hugging their knees, trembling, looking pitiful and helpless.
The big brother with eyes on his buttocks couldn’t sit still, so he had to turn his back to the others and squat halfway, like a melancholic mushroom.
“Darn it, why haven’t the people from the City Defense Bureau arrived yet?” The glasses man furrowed his brow. “Even though the perception of time in the mist is slower than reality, it’s been over half an hour now. The low-level variant controlling the perception of time flow ratio generally doesn’t exceed 3:1. In reality, it should have been over ten minutes at least.”
One of the people sitting on the ground suddenly spoke up, “What if our perception of time is actually faster than reality?”
The man with glasses fell silent, his face pale as he said after a while, “How could that be? The efficiency of the City Defense Bureau is very high. It shouldn’t take more than half an hour to deal with this kind of low-level mist, unless…”
Unless something unexpected happened.
He didn’t voice this possibility, but the atmosphere among the people became tense and gloomy.
[Now the question arises: is the perception of time in the mist faster or slower than reality?] the system said, [Host, what do you think?]
Shen Jie didn’t answer the system’s question. Instead, he just turned off his phone, leaned against the corner wall, and glanced at the crowd.
As his gaze swept over the little girl sitting not far away, it paused briefly.
The girl’s mother was already crying her heart out, holding tissues, while the little girl, following her mother’s instructions, tried hard to hold back her tears, but two more eyes had appeared on her cheeks.
Three eyes rolled around in the wrong places, looking extremely eerie.
She wouldn’t survive long, Shen Jie thought.
The little girl is too young.
Younger people have weaker resistance. Or rather, their nervous systems haven’t been fully infiltrated by the “medicine,” making them more susceptible to contamination.
Looking at the young girl’s innocent face, Shen Jie suddenly remembered a long time ago.
//—-
He stood in the hospital room, watching a newborn baby lying in bed, a wrinkled, rosy little thing.
A gentle and kind voice of a woman sounded.
“Xiao Jie, this is your little sister.”
“From today on, you’ll be her big brother, so take good care of her, okay?”
The baby was sucking on her fingers, her big shiny eyes locking with his for a moment, and then she unexpectedly smiled at him.
Later, he stood by the bedside, looking at the girl with tubes all over her body.
She murmured something and then turned her face to him, smiling.
Pale and soft, like a wildflower bud about to wither before blooming.
He looked at her.
He said, “You won’t die. You will live on.”
“You will have a healthier body, far from all illnesses and sorrows.”
“Little sister.”
He reached out, covering the girl’s head.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
The girl’s gaze still looked up at him, obedient and trusting.
Vevvfcis, j ibev gfv jijgw rbecvfv lc atf tbrqlaji gbbw.
Ktfc mjwf atf rbecv bo mtjbalm obbarafqr. Ktf rbecv bo atf vbbg yflcu xcbmxfv bqfc. Ccv atf uifjw bo j yijvf mbwlcu abkjgvr tlw.
Vtf ibbxfv ja tlw.
—-//
“Dlu ygbatfg, ktja jgf sbe ublcu ab vb?”
Ktf ogjulif nblmf bo atf ilaaif ulgi gjcu bea, yilcxlcu tfg vfks fsfr ja tlw.
Shen Jie crouched halfway, saying to the little girl, “You’re injured.”
The little girl blinked her eyes again, and the three red eyes on her cheeks also rolled around, “How does big brother know I’m injured?”
“Don’t move, put your hand out.”
Shen Jie didn’t answer her question, but simply said,
Or perhaps it was because he looked very trustworthy to children, the little girl obediently stretched out her hand, revealing a large area of scraped skin.
Exposed wounds would accelerate infection.
Shen Jie took out the remaining “heal” bandage and helped her wrap it up, skillfully tying a pretty bow.
“Thank you, big brother,” the girl said. “The pain flew away in just a moment. Big brother is amazing.”
Shen Jie: “You’re welcome.”
But the little girl still looked at him earnestly, “If big brother hadn’t knocked down the big bad pig in time just now, I would have been smashed into little cookies. Thank you, big brother.”
“Mom just said that we must thank you very much after we get out.”
The woman beside her wiped her tears with a tissue and said, “Young man, thanks to you stepping forward just now, you saved all of us. I was planning to treat you to a meal after we get out, but now… now we don’t even know if we can get out. But my daughter and I want to thank you. Please accept our thanks.”
Shen Jie noticed that there was a slight bulge on her cheek covered with tissue.
She must have felt it herself, probably didn’t want the little girl to see it, so she covered it with a tissue.
He didn’t say anything more, just nodded, stood up, and surveyed the carriage.
Chen Shushu had been busy since earlier, because he had awakened his abilities, and his body was full of strength. He helped the people with mobility issues out more than ten times. Now he was squatting in a corner, wiping his sweat.
“Are we leaving?” Shen Jie walked over and asked.
Chen Shushu blinked, “Leaving? Where are we going?”
Shen Jie said, “To the back carriage.”
Chen Shushu was puzzled, “Why are we going to the back carriage?”
Shen Jie said calmly, “To deal with the mist’s host.”
[Huh?]
[Huh huh huh huh huh huh??]
The system was astonished.
[Host, weren’t you just a lazy person? How come you suddenly changed your mind and decided to take the initiative to deal with the mist’s host?]
“There’s a saying, ‘since we’re already here,'” Shen Jie said, taking out alcohol gel and rubbing his fingers.
[Since we’re already here, and then what?]
Shen Jie sighed lightly, “Since we’re already here, and we’ve killed the pig, then let’s just finish the job.”
Chen Shushu was somewhat surprised by his suggestion.
He thought for a moment, but hesitantly said, “I-I’m not very proficient in controlling my abilities yet. I’m afraid…”
When the boss pig jumped over just now, because its speed was too fast, he didn’t even have time to shout a single word.
If it weren’t for Shen Jie’s help, he would have been turned into minced meat by now.
Chen Shushu felt very guilty.
Clearly, so many people had expectations of him from the beginning.
Moreover, if he could have used his ability faster and stabbed the boss pig earlier, the boss pig wouldn’t have ended up transforming into that state, causing harm to everyone in the carriage.
“It’s okay,” Shen Jie said, “You’ve just awakened. Just practice more.”
He slightly bent down, looking at Chen Shushu, his tone calm and gentle, inexplicably trustworthy, “Besides, when you’re unsure, I can guide you. Don’t be afraid.”
Chen Shushu’s face blushed a little, “But…”
He was afraid of burdening Shen Jie.
The glasses man suddenly interjected, “I’ll go with you too. I’m an observer with experience. I can help you discern information about the host.”
“The City Defense Bureau hasn’t arrived yet. Now we can only rely on ourselves to deal with the mist’s host.”
“As long as we can get out as soon as possible, there’s still hope!”
Upon hearing this, others, like grasping at a life-saving straw, chimed in.
“Yes! Count me in too!”
“I’ll go too!”
“Me too!”
People eagerly volunteered.
Even the big brother with eyes on his buttocks silently raised his hand.
The glasses man twitched his mouth, “Don’t cause trouble. Those showing signs of infection should stay put. If they mutate, it’ll only cause trouble for everyone.”
In the end, four people decided to go to the back carriage.
Shen Jie, Chen Shushu, the glasses man, and the guy who looked like a panda with dark circles under his eyes as if he had stayed up all night.
Before leaving, the man with glasses handed his phone to the nurse, explaining in detail how to use the infection detection device, saying, “Check everyone with the detector every five minutes. If anyone’s infection level exceeds 95, restrain them with something. Please take care of it.”
The nurse took the phone, and also flexed her muscular arm, saying, “No problem, you guys go with peace of mind.”
Chen Shushu gripped his “不” (No) word longsword and volunteered bravely to Shen Jie, “I’ll lead the way later. I have a sword, so I can hold off danger for a while if we encounter any.”
Shen Jie nodded nonchalantly, staring at the sharp longsword, feeling a bit intrigued.
He thought for a moment and asked Chen Shushu, “Can I ask you a question?”
Chen Shushu was very enthusiastic, his eyes shining brightly, “Big brother, feel free to ask. You can ask anything.”
Shen Jie nodded, “Are you a 1?”
“I…” Chen Shushu was stunned.
Facing the questioning gaze of the handsome man, he suddenly straightened up, stuttering, “I’m not really sure. I haven’t been in a relationship before, I-I think I should be a Top…”
Shen Jie frowned slightly, seeming a bit disappointed.
Chen Shushu quickly changed his mind.
“I’m very 1, really 1!!!”
With his excited response, the numeral “1” materialized in the air and landed straight onto the ground.
Shen Jie pulled out the “1” and gave it a shake, quite satisfied with its sharpness and feel in his hand.
“Thanks,” he said to Chen Shushu, “This knife is pretty good.”
Chen Shushu: “Huh??”
[Host, this might hurt the heart of an innocent young man.]
Shen Jie remained calm, “Guiding abilities can’t be considered as hurting someone. Besides, I don’t go for such tender grass.”
[…Well, as long as you’re happy.]
“Let’s go,” Shen Jie said.
Chen Shushu hesitated for a moment but quickly caught up.
Several people armed themselves.
Chen Shushu led the way with a sword in each hand, the man with glasses wielded a badminton racket in the middle, the guy with dark circles under his eyes carried a baseball bat, and Shen Jie held a knife at the rear.
For easier cooperation, they exchanged names.
The man with glasses is named Chu Xiaoxuan (Translator’s note: After tiring writing ‘the glasses man,’ he finally has a name). The guy with dark circles under his eyes is called Ao Daye.
Chen Shushu cautiously passed through the transparent walls between the carriages.
The surroundings didn’t change much; it was still the interior of a mechanical factory.
However, there were no people in this carriage.
Only several pools of fresh red blood on the ground.
Seeing this, everyone’s hearts sank.
“Weren’t brother Luo and the others retreating towards this carriage just now? Why…” Ao Daye’s voice sounded muffled.
Chu Xiaoxuan said, “Maybe they went further ahead. Don’t overthink it. Dealing with the host is our priority.”
After passing through several more carriages, they still hadn’t seen anyone.
Chu Xiaoxuan remained silent, but his heart sank deeper and deeper.
He knew the capacity of the passenger trains in the inner and outer city metros. Even if the mist attacked, and everyone fled to the front carriages, the back carriages wouldn’t be this empty.
Moreover…
Before the inspector began their inspection, the two carriages ahead, packed with more people, didn’t have anyone running back.
With so few seats, yet so many people…
Just thinking about what would happen after the inspector passed by was enough to know.
The mortality rate of this low-level mist was too high.
The personnel from the City Defense Bureau, their rescue rate was also too slow.
Something didn’t seem right. Chu Xiaoxuan thought.
A gradually rising unease enveloped him, and the emerging fear made his steps heavier.
But at this moment, they couldn’t turn back.
After all, there were still over twenty infected individuals waiting for them to bring about a turning point.
Finally, when they reached the thirteenth carriage, they saw people.
It was Yuan Wei and the dozen or so people who had escaped from the previous carriage.
Yuan Wei had one arm broken, his face pale as he leaned against a seat, his body infected, with large patches of skin cracking and wrinkling like bark, showing signs of shallow breathing.
The dozen or so people beside him all had wounds and signs of infection to varying degrees.
“Is it you guys?”
“How come you’re in this carriage?”
The young woman in the carriage and Chu Xiaoxuan were surprised at the same time.
Chu Xiaoxuan pushed his glasses up and said, “We came over to see what’s going on. What’s the situation over here?”
The young woman immediately recounted tearfully what had happened just now: “When we came over just now, brother Luo told the people in the back carriage about the seating arrangements, asking them to sit down if there were seats available and to continue moving back if there were no seats… After that, we retreated all the way here.”
“When the inspector arrived, brother Luo sat at the very front, risking injury to find the correct posture. We followed suit, but still, some people had their limbs severed because their posture wasn’t quite right.”
“Afterwards, the boss came over, and we offered it a cigarette. It said our cigarettes were not bad, and we all thought we had passed the test. But unexpectedly, it turned around and ate Yuan Wei’s hand.”
“After that…” Suddenly, a fearful expression appeared on the young woman’s face.
The man next to her, his face turning pale, helped complete her story: “After that, suddenly something crawled over from the back carriage. It was… vines.”
“Densely packed vines!” The woman covered her face with her hands, and her hands were also covered in cracked bark. “It seemed like snakes or something else, I couldn’t tell…”
“Except for brother Luo, everyone in the carriage has been infected,” the man said, suddenly feeling itchy, scratching his arm where the bark was, and pulling off a piece of bloody flesh.
“What about brother Luo?” Ao Daye asked nervously.
The man pointed towards the back carriage and said, “Brother Luo just came up with an idea, used clothes to start a fire and punched to fend off those vines. But the vines kept coming, so brother Luo lit the fire to drive away the vines and rushed into the back carriage… Hurry up and help him!”
Chen Shushu led the way into the fourteenth carriage.
This was also the last carriage of Line 1 metro.
However, this time, what appeared before them was no longer a massive mechanical factory but an open-plan spacious office area.
At a glance, in the cubicles separated by blue plastic walls, employees were busy at work.
Some were making phone calls, others were typing on computers, and some were running in the aisles to send and receive documents.
This made the several individuals holding knives, swords, sticks, and badminton rackets look out of place.
However, no one looked up at them.
Every employee was focused on their work.
The pale light from computer screens shone on their even paler faces, making them look less like humans and more like a group of numb bodies working mechanically.
[Warning, the host has entered the domain space.] The system popped up with a reminder.
[Although I mentioned earlier that it’s difficult for a low-level mist to form its own complete domain space, this mist’s host seems to be somewhat special.]
[It seems that something has given it “assistance.”]
[Within the domain space, it can change its form and conceal its mutated features. Finding the target quickly will require some luck.]
The group exchanged glances.
They had come to find Luo Yunsen and the mist’s host, but they hadn’t expected the surroundings to change so drastically.
Suddenly trembling, Ao Daye said, “This… this place…”
Chu Xiaoxuan lowered his voice, “What’s wrong with this place?”
Ao Daye replied, “This is our company’s office building…”
“Your company’s office building??”
“Yes… where we clock in for work every day. I can’t be mistaken,” Ao Daye’s voice trembled. “Actually, I found it strange just now too. The last rule, ‘Work creates the future, strive to achieve in life,’ it’s exactly the same as our company’s slogan…”
Chu Xiaoxuan exclaimed, “Why didn’t you say so earlier?!”
Ao Daye felt embarrassed, “I thought slogans for companies in the inner city were all similar… I didn’t expect this…”
[Alright, case solved. There’s a more than 90% chance that the original body of the mist’s host is related to the company where Ao Daye works. Perhaps the host is currently hiding among these employees.]
[Host, you can ask Ao Daye for more detailed information; there might be some clues.]
“Do you know any of these people?” Shen Jie asked.
A cautious glance from Ao Daye, who replied, “I haven’t seen any of them before.”
Chu Xiaoxuan, with a good memory, squinted and tried to recognize them. Suddenly, he exclaimed softly, “Hmm, a few of them seem familiar.”
“Seem familiar?” Shen Jie inquired.
Chu Xiaoxuan thought for a moment and said, “I think I encountered them during the mist attack earlier, in the crowd fleeing to our front carriages.”
People who were originally in the front carriage are now in the last one?
Chen Shushu and Ao Daye felt a chill run down their spines.
“Double-check again, you’re sure you don’t recognize any of them from the company?” Shen Jie asked.
Ao Daye looked again carefully, shaking his head frantically. “Really no recognition.”
“So, let’s change the question,” Shen Jie tilted his head and thought for a moment, then said, “When you were on this subway trip, did you encounter any of your colleagues?”
“At the end of work hours, the station is too crowded. I, I didn’t pay attention,” Ao Daye stuttered, then after a moment’s thought, added, “But our company boss encourages employees to work overtime. It was just about the end of the work hours, and not many employees dared to leave, after all, it’s not easy to find a job in the inner city. I was planning to sneak back home for a rest after working overtime for several days, and I happened to meet Jiang Fan in the elevator.”
Shen Jie seized the key point, “Jiang Fan?”
Ao Daye replied, “He’s one of my colleagues.”
With a sigh, he continued, “Speaking of which, Jiang Fan is also a pitiful person. His wife fell seriously ill, and he has three children to send to school. Our meager salaries barely cover anything, so he has to borrow money everywhere, which makes us colleagues hesitant to approach him.”
“Recently, I heard that he finally accumulated enough points for his wife’s surgery staging, and he managed to schedule the operation for her. He even greeted me in the elevator with a cheerful mood.”
Shen Jie asked, “What happened after that?”
“After that?” Ao Daye pondered for a moment, “The subway station was crowded, and Jiang Fan and I weren’t very familiar, so we split up after queuing to enter the station… Oh, right, there was one thing.”
“I received a call from my supervisor as soon as I got on the subway, saying that there was a problem with my proposal, and the boss was very dissatisfied. He demanded that I return to the company immediately to make revisions. If I didn’t go back, I’d be packing my things and leaving tomorrow.”
“Ugh, I spent several nights revising that proposal over and over again before submitting it. Now I have to start all over again…”
As Ao Daye spoke, he scratched his head in frustration, accidentally pulling out a few sparse hairs.
It was truly heartbreaking to hear.
Even Shen Jie, an emotionally detached being, felt a hint of pity.
At that moment, the system suddenly spoke up.
[Jiang Fan, male, thirty-nine years old, urban resident ID 0106848792332, employed at Evergreen Technology Limited, residing at Block 9, Unit 1802, Mingde Garden in the outer city residential area. He has two sons and one daughter, the eldest son is nine years old, and the youngest daughter is three years old.]
[His partner, Xu Xiaolin, was diagnosed with an anomalous infection-related nephritis six months ago and urgently requires a kidney transplant. Due to the tense situation in the city, Jiang Fan spent a large sum of money to schedule the kidney transplant surgery at a municipal hospital, and the operation is scheduled for today.]
[To raise money, Jiang Fan had loan records at various banks, but the borrowed money was not even one-tenth of the surgery cost. A month ago, there were abnormal fund flows in his accounts. After an investigation by the Public Security Bureau, it was confirmed that Jiang Fan was involved in smuggling infection prevention and treatment pills out of the city, and the Public Security Bureau decided to immediately file a case and arrest him.]
[The case was filed at 6:12 PM today, just five minutes after you boarded the subway. The Public Security Bureau has set up a cordon at the residential area subway station. As soon as Jiang Fan gets off the train, he will be arrested immediately.]
Selling infection prevention and treatment pills privately was a serious crime. City residents could receive thirty pills for free each month, but this did not mean they could freely sell them. Once a resident was found to be involved in smuggling pills, all their property would be confiscated, their city resident status revoked, and they would be expelled from the city.
Shen Jie: “Where did you get this information from?”
The system smugly replied, [I’ve hacked into the city’s information management system. Ninety-nine percent of the city’s population data is now in my hands.]
“Oh. What about the remaining one percent?”
The system awkwardly responded, [Uh, that portion of people’s data is classified at a very high level and stored in a special network. I haven’t found a way to infiltrate it yet, and even if I did, there’s a risk of being discovered. Let’s not dwell on that for now.]
[I’ve just confirmed from the surveillance footage at the previous subway station before the mist that only two employees of Evergreen Technology Company are currently on Line 1 of the subway: Ao Daye and Jiang Fan. Based on the available data, Jiang Fan has a probability of being the mist’s host as high as 98.57%.]
[It’s safe to say that he is our target.]
Shen Jie: “Hmm.”
His right hand was still unable to move freely at this moment, so he held the knife with his left hand.
However, in reality, there was no difference between his left and right hands.
His knife wouldn’t be slow.
It would only be faster.
Because he really wanted to hurry home for dinner.
Shen Jie looked at Ao Daye and asked the final question.
“Tell me, where is Jiang Fan’s workstation?”
poor mc just want to cook dinner for his partner 😔
me just think about the sh!t that’s gonna happen soon and what a long day he will have until he’s able to chill and eat dinner with his husband: 😌😄🙃🤣🥲🤡🤡🤡💅💅💅✨✨✨👁👄👁
I thought 1 meant top???
You are right! I thought so too, but at the time I translated, in baidu someone said it meant straight. I will correct it
Wow Shen is such an OP existence! That “doesn’t matter which hand held the knife” was so OP!!!
So many died … 🥺😥
Our mc is so calm cool.