Chapter 31
The school bell rang out abruptly, its shrill tone echoing across the sky.
The lip-faced creatures gathered around the wall seemed to receive some kind of signal. Their gaping mouths slowly closed, and they bent their “heads” downward in a gesture resembling a human bowing. They began adjusting their clothing and the askew lids of their lunch boxes.
Yu Zhi snapped out of his daze just in time to watch the creatures turn around one by one, lunch boxes in hand, and head toward the school’s back gate.
At the gate, a lip-faced creature dressed as a security guard opened the iron door, offering cheerful instructions. “Don’t push, don’t push. Some classes might still be in session.”
Another lip-faced creature, passing by with quick steps, responded, “We’re doing this for the kids. A little effort is worth it.”
The majority of these creatures had feminine bodies, with a few sporting male physiques. Each held a distinctively styled insulated lunch box, hurrying inside with purpose.
Their long, slender necks supported disproportionately large mouths that dripped saliva as they moved. It didn’t look like they were delivering meals—it looked like they were heading inside to feast on something.
Yu Zhi tore his gaze away and glanced at the detector.
[Pollution Level: 70%]
He jumped down from the wall, found an open space nearby, and retrieved the SUV from [My Items].
The pollution level inside the school grounds was significantly higher. The air was thick with a meaty aroma that overwhelmed his senses, enveloping him completely.
The intense smell of meat was almost intoxicating, and Yu Zhi’s stomach twisted painfully in hunger. He tore open a packet of biscuits, eating as he packed a full bag of supplies—food, a tranquilizer gun, a knife he’d taken from Xiao Ming’s house in J City, and anything else he thought might be useful.
By the time he finished, Lu Liming had recovered somewhat. His face was pale as he approached. “Brother Yu, what’s going on with your ability?”
“It’s nothing.” Yu Zhi handed him a bottle of water. “Pollutants don’t want to kill us, so my newly awakened ability doesn’t work on them.”
“…What?” Lu Liming unscrewed the bottle cap, disbelief coloring his voice. “If they don’t want to kill us, why were they chasing us with their giant mouths?”
Yu Zhi walked along the wall, his tone casual. “Probably just wanted to eat us.”
Lu Liming finally understood why Yu Zhi had questioned the system earlier, and his jaw dropped. “Your ability is so precise that it can even distinguish between eating and killing?”
Yu Zhi was puzzled too. Why was the ability so specific? What criteria did Null Intent use to differentiate?
Unfortunately, the only one who might have answers—the system—seemed just as clueless.
When Lu Liming had awakened his healing ability, the system had given him instructions. Yet it had never offered Yu Zhi any guidance on Null Intent, repeatedly telling him to “explore further.”
It was clear the system didn’t understand Yu Zhi’s ability any better than he did.
He could only hope that once he found A’Zheng, there might be some explanations.
“So, what happens if you can’t use this super-precise ability?” Lu Liming asked, a trace of worry creeping into his voice.
Yu Zhi remained calm. “Then we just won’t use it.”
Lu Liming thought this over and concluded: Brother Yu must have an even more powerful ability in reserve.
The next moment, Yu Zhi added matter-of-factly, “Using it might just get us killed anyway.”
“…Oh,” Lu Liming muttered, deflating slightly. So that’s what he meant by ‘no problem.’
Yu Zhi resumed walking. “Let’s check out the school first.”
Though he was certain the pollution source was tied to the school, Taijiang High was enormous, and there were too many unanswered questions.
Why did the pollutants in the alley think they were students of Taijiang High?
Were the lip-faced “parents” truly delivering lunch?
Was the disembodied female voice at the beginning the pollution source?
Was Zuo Feiyang’s team of ability users still alive?
Yu Zhi continued forward, munching on biscuits as he walked.
Beyond the small forest was the school cafeteria and campus convenience store. At lunchtime, these areas should have been bustling with students, but they were eerily empty.
There were no students, no pollutants—only a distant procession of lip-faced creatures heading en masse toward the dormitory area.
Yu Zhi waited cautiously behind a tree for two minutes. Once he was certain they weren’t coming his way, he moved quickly toward the cafeteria’s back door.
Pollutants seemed to avoid the cafeteria. Yu Zhi entered, intending to cross through to the academic building.
The moment he stepped inside, a soft click reached his ears.
It was the sound of a gun being cocked.
Immediately after, a heavy scent of blood hit him like a wave.
“Who are you?” a hoarse voice demanded from the darkness.
Yu Zhi thought for a moment, then replied nonchalantly, “Just a selfless good person who only charged you a hundred universal coins for emotional damage.”
“…”
The next second, a figure emerged faintly from the shadows.
“It’s you,” Zuo Feiyang said, his voice now weak and raspier than before. “What are you doing at the school?”
“Couldn’t get out. The pollution zone keeps expanding,” Yu Zhi answered honestly.
He turned on his phone’s flashlight, and the beam illuminated Zuo Feiyang’s sorry state.
Sitting on the steps, the man leaned feebly against the wall. His glasses were gone, replaced by shallow cuts around his eyes.
The most serious injury was to his right arm—his shoulder was torn halfway from its socket, blood flowing freely. His entire side was drenched in red, a stark contrast to the composed, bookish figure he’d been earlier.
Lu Liming jumped when he saw Zuo Feiyang’s injuries and rushed over to heal him.
The wounds stopped bleeding almost instantly.
Zuo Feiyang turned sharply to look at Lu Liming. “You’re an ability user too?”
“Yes.” Lu Liming nodded, his dreadlocks swaying. “Don’t move. Let me finish healing you.”
Yu Zhi casually asked, “Are ability users that rare?”
Zuo Feiyang nodded, then shook his head. “There are more than before, but they’re still quite uncommon.”
He quickly followed up with a question of his own. “Did you encounter anyone else on the way here?”
Yu Zhi asked back, “Do you mean pollutants or ordinary people?”
“Normal people,” Zuo Feiyang clarified. “Each nearby town has a team of ability users tasked with clearing pollutants. Every team captain has experience dealing with pollution sources.”
Yu Zhi shook his head. “Didn’t run into anyone.”
Zuo Feiyang’s face darkened. “This pollution zone is extremely dangerous. The three of us alone can’t handle it.”
Yu Zhi caught the key point. “The three of us? What about your teammates?”
Zuo Feiyang gave a bitter laugh and recounted everything that had happened since they parted ways: the disembodied female voice disappearing, losing contact with his vice-captain and the other team members, being attacked by a teammate suffering from mental contamination, and finally being left alone after his retaliation.
When Zuo Feiyang finished, Yu Zhi summarized bluntly, “So your team’s basically wiped out, and you haven’t uncovered any useful information?”
Wiping his face, Zuo Feiyang admitted, “That’s on me. I thought we could investigate while waiting for reinforcements. I didn’t anticipate the pollution intensity would spike so suddenly after the mission was issued.”
Testing his arm’s mobility, Zuo Feiyang thanked Lu Liming. “Thanks. I think the wound’s closed now.”
“Do you have any other injuries?” Lu Liming asked.
“Just minor ones. No need to waste your ability.” Zuo Feiyang hesitated, then apologized again. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have blocked your path earlier.”
“We should leave the school immediately,” he added as he steadied himself against the wall. His face was as pale as a ghost, with a faint bluish tint from excessive blood loss.
Yu Zhi frowned, supporting him. “Can you contact anyone?”
Zuo Feiyang shook his head. “No. Communication ability users are rare, and the few in S City are tied up with higher-priority matters at headquarters.”
Yu Zhi’s brow twitched. “Headquarters?”
“Special Operations Bureau, S City Branch. Or you could call it the Bureau for Ability User Management,” Zuo Feiyang explained.
Yu Zhi wasn’t surprised by the Special Operations Bureau’s existence. He’d already deduced it from Fu Suxi’s earlier phone call.
Lowering his gaze, his eyes landed on the wheat-and-eye logo on Zuo Feiyang’s uniform. “You’re a government agency?”
Hearing this, Lu Liming’s eyes darted to Zuo Feiyang’s face in disbelief. A Special Operations Bureau? Like in novels or movies? That actually exists?
He instinctively glanced at Yu Zhi. Seeing Yu Zhi’s composed expression, he thought, Brother Yu, as a hidden government-level figure yourself, surely you already know whether or not they’re part of the government, right?
The realization dawned on him. Ah, Brother Yu must’ve asked for my sake!
Of course!
Lu Liming felt deeply moved. Yu Zhi was subtly using Zuo Feiyang to educate him about the bureau.
Looking at Zuo Feiyang, Lu Liming echoed Yu Zhi’s question. “Are you part of the government?”
Zuo Feiyang hesitated. While the Special Operations Bureau had recently stepped into the public eye, its exact role was still ambiguous.
After a moment’s thought, he gave a concise answer. “The Special Operations Bureau began as a non-governmental third-party organization. After the system and missions appeared, S City fell into chaos, so the bureau took over administration here.”
Yu Zhi nodded, understanding.
The bureau clearly existed before the apocalypse, dealing with abilities and pollution. Once the system threw the world into turmoil, their experience made them pivotal in managing the crisis.
Though not a government agency in the strictest sense, the bureau was on a trajectory to becoming the central authority in this new era.
Which meant Fu Suxi worked for them.
Team Leader Fu…
Yu Zhi thought to himself, If I get out of this dungeon, I’ll have to find out what rank the “team leader” holds in the bureau.
Zuo Feiyang spoke again. “We should leave the school.”
The air carried a thickening scent of blood, breaking Yu Zhi’s train of thought.
He glanced at Zuo Feiyang’s pallid, bluish face, then at Lu Liming, who was similarly pale.
The meat aroma and mental contamination were pervasive, both inside and outside the school. Yu Zhi doubted the two of them could hold out much longer.
If there were any other ability users alive in nearby towns, finding them wasn’t guaranteed. Even if they did, they’d still have to return here to deal with the pollution source—by which time it might have grown even stronger.
Leaving the school was a waste of time.
It would be better to focus on locating the pollution source immediately.
Yu Zhi stopped Zuo Feiyang. “We’re already here.”
Zuo Feiyang: “?”
Yu Zhi: “We might as well find the pollution source while we’re at it.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Liming immediately chimed in, “Yeah, since we’re here, let’s just casually clear out the pollution source.”
Zuo Feiyang thought his hearing must be failing. He looked at Yu Zhi’s calm and composed demeanor, then at Lu Liming’s confident, nonchalant expression as if pollution sources were no big deal.
Was this the same duo who, just a few hours ago, were ready to flee, and when escape wasn’t an option, prepared to die?
He reiterated firmly, “This pollution zone is incredibly dangerous. The three of us aren’t enough to deal with it.
“It’s my fault you were dragged into this mess. I can’t let you risk your lives further. The captains in nearby towns are all A-rank ability users. If we wait for their reinforcements, we might still have a chance.”
Yu Zhi tilted his head slightly, cutting him off. “Captain Zuo, can you tell what rank I am?”
Zuo Feiyang froze for a moment before answering honestly, “Ability ranks are determined by instruments. You can’t tell just by looking.”
“Good,” Yu Zhi said, a faint, enigmatic smile tugging at his lips. “Actually, my rank is so high the system personally congratulated me.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the livestream comments scrolled at lightning speed.
[User “Velvet Latte” is curious about your ability rank.]
[User “Pure Love Warrior” informs user “Velvet Latte” that your rank is E, utterly without potential.]
[User “Light Bulb” is puzzled why the system would personally congratulate you.]
[User “Peace Lover” informs user “Light Bulb” that the system’s congratulations were a reward for your hidden mission.]
[User “Arrogant Rich Kid” appreciates your nonsense and has tipped you 0.1 universal coins.]
Zuo Feiyang stood frozen, staring at Yu Zhi in bewilderment.
The system congratulates people?
What kind of rank would merit that?
As an A-rank ability user himself, with friends at the same level, he knew for sure the system didn’t congratulate A-rank users.
A flash of realization struck him like lightning, and his pupils contracted in shock.
Could it be… an S-rank ability user?
One of the extremely rare S-rank users nationwide?
Zuo Feiyang took a deep breath, sensing something was off. “Then why were you trying to run earlier?”
Lu Liming answered matter-of-factly, “Brother Yu just naturally loves running.”
Zuo Feiyang: “???”
Yu Zhi: “…”
