Chapter 32
Zuo Feiyang was dumbfounded. What on earth did “naturally loves running” mean?!
Did S-rank ability users have such peculiar hobbies?
Yu Zhi, seeing Zuo Feiyang’s disbelief, decided to double down and follow up on Lu Liming’s narrative. “A light run invigorates the spirit, a heavy run harms the body. Exercise is the source of life.”
Zuo Feiyang: “…”
But you two were driving earlier, not running!
Lu Liming patted Zuo Feiyang on the shoulder, his confidence unwavering. “Don’t worry. With Brother Yu here, we’ll handle this little side mission with ease.”
Zuo Feiyang looked at Yu Zhi again, studying his every detail.
Dressed in a simple black jacket, with a slim figure and a black backpack slung over one shoulder, Yu Zhi’s clean and pretty face was more reminiscent of an exemplary high school student than a one-in-a-billion S-rank ability user.
He couldn’t help but harbor doubts. Yu Zhi didn’t look like an S-rank ability user.
Noticing Zuo Feiyang’s scrutiny, Yu Zhi pondered for a moment and then said, “If you don’t believe me, you can ask the system.”
Zuo Feiyang wouldn’t dare ask such a question directly, not to someone’s face. While harboring private skepticism was one thing, questioning the system openly was another matter entirely.
He was about to assure Yu Zhi that he believed him, but Yu Zhi unexpectedly turned and addressed the air. “System, come out.”
Yu Zhi deliberately avoided any direct trigger words, asking ambiguously, “Tell him, didn’t you personally congratulate me on my physique a few days ago?”
After a brief pause, the system’s voice echoed faintly in the air: “…Yes.”
“Yes, I congratulated you for being E-rank—perfectly average among ordinary people.”
Satisfied with this response, Yu Zhi immediately waved it off. “Alright, you can go back to whatever you were doing.”
He didn’t give the system a chance to say anything else.
The system: “…”
Zuo Feiyang was utterly stunned, floored by Yu Zhi’s apparent ability to summon the system at will and by the system’s confirmation of his claims.
The system actually congratulated him! Was he truly an S-rank ability user?!
Before the system appeared, there had been only one S-rank ability user across all of China’s billion-plus population. Even after the system’s emergence led to an increase in the number and quality of ability users, S-rank individuals were still exceedingly rare.
A newly awakened, non-governmental S-rank ability user?
And he just so happened to run into him?
In a daze, Zuo Feiyang let Lu Liming drape an arm over his shoulder and lead him forward, musing to himself: if Yu Zhi wasn’t an S-rank ability user, why would he go out of his way to pretend to be one and seek out the pollution source, knowing it could be suicide?
It made no sense.
But if Yu Zhi were an S-rank ability user downplaying his abilities and showing disdain for the task of clearing a pollution source, that seemed entirely plausible.
Zuo Feiyang was now convinced that Yu Zhi was indeed an S-rank ability user.
His shifting expressions played out vividly on the livestream, and the comments section exploded in response:
[User “Pure Love Warrior” reminds you that he is an S-rank ability user.]
[User “Peace Lover” reminds you that his ability rank surpasses S.]
[User “Rose in Hand” marvels at your incredible luck.]
[User “Bronze Player” suggests that he might even be SS-rank.]
Faced with a screen full of S-rank and SS-rank comments, Zuo Feiyang recalled Yu Zhi’s earlier words and actions, reinterpreting them with newfound insight.
“‘If I can’t run, I’ll die.’” That must have been a confident declaration, spoken by a powerful person who scoffs at the fear of death.
“‘Naturally loves running.’” That was surely just a way to investigate the surroundings and map out the pollution zone!
Yu Zhi glanced at Zuo Feiyang, gauging his reaction, then casually unwrapped a sausage.
Zuo Feiyang snapped back to reality and hesitated before speaking, “I still don’t know your names.”
Yu Zhi replied nonchalantly, “Yu You. You can call me Brother Yu, just like Xiao Ming does.”
Zuo Feiyang looked at Yu Zhi’s youthful face and responded slowly, “I’m already thirty.”
Yu Zhi shrugged. “Doesn’t matter to me if you’re old.”
Zuo Feiyang: “…”
He turned to Lu Liming, who cheerfully added, “I’m Lu Liming. You can call me Brother Ming if you like.”
Zuo Feiyang: “…”
After a moment of silence, Zuo Feiyang hesitated again before asking, “Have you two done side missions before?”
Yu Zhi nodded.
Relieved, Zuo Feiyang’s tightly wound nerves relaxed slightly. “Then you must understand what the system’s announcement means: as long as the pollution source remains alive, pollution will continue to spread indefinitely.”
“Do you know the rules of this pollution zone?”
Yu Zhi swallowed the last of his sausage in two bites. “Not entirely.”
In the Guo Qiang mission, the people who were polluted turned into cockroaches, and cockroaches transformed back into human-like forms. The logic behind pollution could be… inconsistent.
Zuo Feiyang explained, “Pollution zones are centered on the pollution source and follow its thought patterns. Essentially, the pollution source establishes rules that govern the zone. Different sources have different pollution methods.
“Moreover, the polluted entities follow the rules of their pollution source.”
“For example, in this mission, during school hours, students are expected to be in their classrooms. Polluted student entities won’t randomly leave their classes.”
“Within the framework of these rules, polluted entities generally won’t attack us. In fact, they might even cooperate.”
Lu Liming asked eagerly, “How do we know if we’re following the rules?”
Zuo Feiyang explained, “It’s about behaving in a way that’s consistent with the zone’s logic—like the polluted entities. Act naturally within the setting. For instance, if we disguise ourselves as students, we could openly move around the school without issue.”
“That’s right,” Zuo Feiyang affirmed. “Some zones even assign identities directly. Each zone is unique.”
While the two talked, Yu Zhi listened intently, shining his flashlight into the darkened cafeteria.
The cafeteria was completely empty. The kitchen equipment was clean and orderly, the stoves were unused, and there was no sign of food in the serving windows.
Clearly, the aroma in the air wasn’t coming from anything being cooked here.
Yu Zhi turned to Zuo Feiyang and asked, “Did you find the source of the smell?”
Zuo Feiyang shook his head. “No.”
Yu Zhi’s gaze fell on the elongated shadow stretching across the ground, lost in thought.
Although he didn’t know the exact reason, one thing was certain: the polluted entities found him incredibly appetizing.
The lip monsters in the alley had only attacked and chased him after he denied being a student at Taijiang High School.
If not adhering to the zone’s rules led to that reaction, it meant that the polluted entities associated students at Taijiang High School with being “delicious.”
Could the meaty aroma in the air be the scent of the school’s students?
Yu Zhi’s eyes flicked upward, peering through the cafeteria’s glass windows.
Outside, the roads were deserted. In the distance, the faint silhouettes of student-polluted entities in blue and white uniforms were visible heading toward the dormitory area.
The dormitory zone had too many polluted entities. While it might not result in physical injuries, prolonged exposure would definitely lead to mental contamination.
Yu Zhi pocketed his phone and said, “Let’s check out the teaching buildings.”
Taijiang High School’s teaching buildings were arranged in two rows, forming a U-shape. The two buildings at the base of the U were closest to the cafeteria and connected at the bottom.
The three of them cautiously exited the cafeteria and made their way to the teaching buildings. The silence was almost oppressive, with not a single student in sight.
Zuo Feiyang spoke in a hushed voice, “I previously checked the left row. At the time, it was class hours, and almost every classroom was filled with polluted entities.”
“Should we go to the left or the right?”
Yu Zhi glanced at the two buildings again. From the outside, they appeared identical in structure and design.
He stepped forward but paused, recalling his recent streak of bad decisions. Turning to Lu Liming, he said, “Xiao Ming, you pick.”
Lu Liming hesitated for a moment before choosing the left.
Yu Zhi immediately headed that way.
Zuo Feiyang, puzzled, asked Lu Liming, “Why the left?”
Lu Liming replied candidly, “I picked randomly.”
Zuo Feiyang froze for a moment, incredulous. “You’re this casual about finding the pollution source?”
“Yep,” Lu Liming said breezily, shaking his head so his small braids swayed behind him. He exuded the air of a carefree young master. “Pollution sources can’t escape Brother Yu’s grasp anyway.”
Seeing Lu Liming’s calm confidence, Zuo Feiyang became even more convinced that Yu Zhi was an S-rank ability user.
The sky had dimmed, and the teaching building’s interior was unlit, shrouded in darkness.
Yu Zhi turned on his flashlight, its beam cutting through the gloom.
The floor tiles were covered in a thin, sticky film of moisture, giving a distinctly unpleasant sensation underfoot.
He moved quickly toward the staircase but came to an abrupt halt at the base of the stairs.
Pasted across the steps were striking red banners with bold white characters arranged in neat, chilling rows.
“No pain, no gain—high school is tasteless without hardship. No struggle, no life—life is wasted without effort.”
The same slogan was repeated over and over again, the bold, oversized font set against a glaring red background that hit like a visual sledgehammer.
Yu Zhi frowned slightly and took the stairs two at a time.
When he had studied at Taijiang High School, this slogan had been plastered across the back wall of his classroom, but it had never adorned the staircases.
On the second floor, the steps bore identical banners, with water droplets sliding along the letters.
The rigid characters seemed to writhe unnaturally, as though alive, exuding an oppressive, chilling aura that climbed up his spine like a slithering serpent.
“Mental contamination,” Yu Zhi warned in a low voice, switching off his flashlight immediately.
The words on the stairs vanished in the darkness, but with his vision limited, his other senses heightened.
The meaty aroma inside the teaching building was no stronger than it was outside, but in the darkness, his sense of smell became sharper. The scent pressed insistently into his nose, sliding down his throat as though it had substance, making its way into his stomach.
Layer upon layer of spiritual contamination wrapped around him. Yu Zhi licked his teeth unconsciously.
So hungry.
Even the metallic tang of Zuo Feiyang’s blood no longer felt nauseating—it smelled enticing. It complemented the meaty aroma in the air like star anise enhances braised pork: not appetizing on its own, but making the main dish irresistible.
Yu Zhi unwrapped another sausage, forcing himself to focus elsewhere. “Xiao Zuo, when you entered the school earlier, did you hear the polluted entities mention anyone named Tingting?”
“Tingting?” Zuo Feiyang repeated.
“Probably the daughter of that female voice we heard earlier,” Yu Zhi explained. “She’s likely a student here.”
Lu Liming nodded. “Right, we heard her calling out for Tingting at the gas station.”
Zuo Feiyang thought for a moment and shook his head. “No. Those students hardly spoke to each other at all.”
Yu Zhi blinked. The students hardly talked to each other?
Then there was no need to pretend to be a student.
He ascended to the third floor. Just as he stepped off the staircase, the door to the adjacent office suddenly swung open.
Out walked a lip monster wearing a polo shirt. The office lights illuminated it fully, exposing every grotesque detail.
It stood sideways to them, flaunting a beer belly and a long neck attached to an oval-shaped piece of flesh—a grotesque substitute for the back of a head. The skin was hairless but layered with rolls of fat from its obesity.
Yu Zhi barely had time to react before the beer-bellied creature turned toward them, sniffing the air like a bloodhound.
Above its neck was an oversized middle-aged man’s mouth, framed by plump lips. As it moved, it revealed blackened and yellowed teeth within.
“Who are you? Which class are you from?”
Yu Zhi’s expression didn’t flinch. Calmly, he replied, “We’re not students.”
“I’m Tingting’s dad. I have something to discuss with Tingting and her mom.”
Zuo Feiyang: “???”
That… that’s so straightforward!
Wait, does this polluted entity actually know who Tingting is?!
