Chapter 79
A corner of the ruins
Above a broken wall, a bald head reflected the sunlight—bright and gleaming.
Lin Xiangyuan was half-squatting on the ground, staring blankly at Yu Zhi and Fu Suxi in the distance.
Though they were too far away to hear what the two were saying, he could clearly see their actions.
At first it had been a chase.
Then it escalated into one self-harming while the other remained expressionless.
And in the end… they somehow reconciled like nothing had happened.
Lin Xiangyuan couldn’t understand it—but he was deeply shaken.
He glanced at Shang Yu, who was also squatting beside him watching the drama unfold, and whispered, “Didn’t expect Minister Yu to be this ruthless. His brother’s even worse.”
“I almost called Old Qi over just now. But Brother Yu just stood there watching Minister Yu like that and didn’t react at all.”
“And now the two of them are suddenly acting like nothing happened.”
Shang Yu snorted twice and said mysteriously, “See? That’s the flavor of forced love.”
“You need one who’s ruthless with their hands, and one who’s ruthless in their heart.”
“One handles the outside, one handles the inside. A match made in heaven.”
Lin Xiangyuan blinked. “What forced love? What outside and inside?”
Shang Yu sighed, wearing the expression of someone patiently educating a fool. “I’ve already explained it so plainly and you still don’t get it.”
“Just think of it as a couple bickering.”
That part he understood.
“Ohhh—so it’s their kink.”
“…Kind of perverted.”
Shang Yu shot back, “Bullshit. That’s premium quality.”
At least one-fifth of the Special Operations Department’s ability users had beautifully unstable mental states.
After all, every mission meant facing different pollution sources and pollutants, sometimes even handling people. Between mental contamination and psychological pressure, developing some strange quirks or kinks wasn’t unusual.
Even though Lin Xiangyuan still thought it was perverted, he chose to respect the ministers’… preferences.
He muttered, “Come to think of it, they’re not wrong.”
“Fighting and flirting while clearing pollution sources and cleaning up pollutants.”
As his words fell, a shadow loomed over their heads.
A faint scent of cigarette smoke mixed with blood drifted to their noses.
Shang Yu and Lin Xiangyuan slowly turned—
—and met a pair of dark eyes staring down at them from above. Smoke curled around Fu Suxi’s face. Not a trace of a smile.
Shit. We got caught gossiping about leadership.
Minister Yu had a good temper, but—
Before their hearts could settle, another head popped out from behind Fu Suxi’s shoulder. A clear, pleasant voice rang out.
“Xiao Shang, how many pollutants did I kill just now?”
Shang Yu immediately glanced at Fu Suxi. Seeing no sign he was about to explode, she answered quickly, “I know.”
Yu Zhi blinked. “You’re the one keeping count?”
He looked at Lin Xiangyuan, still squatting. “You’re in charge of that?”
Lin Xiangyuan shook his head. “Not me. The system counts it for us.”
“The system?” Yu Zhi froze. He’d imagined props or manual counting—never the system.
“Why does the system count that?”
Shang Yu explained, “The system helps the bureau handle miscellaneous tasks. Like tallying dead pollutants, issuing universal coins, things like that.”
Yu Zhi grew more surprised.
It didn’t just count pollutants—it assisted with other matters too?
Was this even the same system he knew?
“Why would it do that?” he asked hesitantly.
“Uh…” Shang Yu was stumped.
She’d never really thought about it. The pollution zones turning into dungeons was already enough chaos. The headquarters gave orders; the S City branch executed them. No one dug deeper.
After thinking for a moment, she guessed, “Didn’t the system say something about defending Earth? Maybe it’s helping the bureau defend Earth better.”
Lin Xiangyuan nodded. “Yeah. When it gives those weird tasks, it’s actually not that bad. And it doesn’t restrict us from telling civilians how to complete them.”
“Way better than those scammy ghost bullet comments.”
Yu Zhi’s brow twitched slightly. He turned to glance at Fu Suxi.
Fu Suxi shot him a meaningful look, finished his cigarette, crushed the butt underfoot, and didn’t join the system discussion. Instead, he said to Lin Xiangyuan:
“After clearing the pollutants, send people to search the company thoroughly.”
“Bring back any materials you find.”
Shang Yu nodded.
As they spoke, a figure in a white coat approached—Doctor Qi.
Doctor Qi looked at Yu Zhi and Fu Suxi. Seeing no obvious major injuries, only minor cuts, he hesitated. “Need treatment?”
Yu Zhi’s mind flashed back to Fu Suxi slicing off his scales and flesh.
His left arm began to ache faintly.
He did need treatment.
And local anesthesia.
“It’s fine. I’ll deal with it back at headquarters.” He looked behind Doctor Qi. “Did Xiao Ming come?”
Doctor Qi shook his head. “No. He stayed behind.”
“He’s still not familiar with using his healing ability. Didn’t dare let him join the mission.”
He smiled. “Honestly, I didn’t need to come either. But Old Shang rushed over and insisted on bringing a healer just in case, so she dragged me here.”
Shang Yu snorted. “You should come out more. You barely step outside all year. If something happens, you won’t even know where to run.”
Doctor Qi protested, “I’ll follow the main group if anything happens. I just haven’t left the city—not that I never leave the house.”
Fu Suxi watched their familiar banter, then pulled a dark green off-road vehicle out of his spatial storage.
Bang.
It dropped heavily onto the ground.
Shang Yu and Doctor Qi fell silent immediately.
Fu Suxi strode toward the passenger seat and opened the door.
The next second, a slender figure stepped up onto the side board, clearly about to get in.
Fu Suxi grabbed Yu Zhi’s wrist.
Yu Zhi pondered for a moment, then cautiously offered, “Thanks?”
Fu Suxi laughed in exasperation. “You think I’m driving you?”
Yu Zhi glanced at the trio by the broken wall and said matter-of-factly, “You’re my current boyfriend. And my brother from another father and mother.”
He smiled sweetly. “Unless you want to carry me in?”
“……”
Fu Suxi remembered his persona.
But his injuries and polluted areas weren’t fully healed—he didn’t want to drive.
He stared into Yu Zhi’s eyes coolly. “You’re my boyfriend. My brother from another father and mother?”
“……”
“You drive.”
“I can drive,” Yu Zhi paused. “If you don’t mind, I can try.”
Before the apocalypse, he’d never had money to buy a car, nor chances to drive. No driving school either.
Time to practice properly.
Shang Yu suddenly volunteered, “I’ll drive! Clearing pollutants is no big deal—I don’t need to stay.”
She vaulted over the broken wall and hurried to the driver’s seat, even thoughtfully opening the rear door.
Yu Zhi saw Fu Suxi still blocking the passenger seat and simply went to the back.
As soon as he sat down, Shang Yu’s spirited voice rang out, “Minister Yu, over here!”
Fu Suxi glanced at him, shut the passenger door, and moved to the back instead.
“Let’s go.”
Shang Yu floored the accelerator.
The vehicle shot forward, speeding out of the industrial park.
The road was littered with debris. The car jolted constantly. Pollutants occasionally wandered into blind spots. Shang Yu drove aggressively, swerving sharply.
Even with a seatbelt, Yu Zhi swayed involuntarily.
Suddenly, Fu Suxi said from his left, “Your scales are rubbing against me.”
Yu Zhi turned.
The back seat was wide enough for three, but Fu Suxi sprawled casually, occupying space for two, his arm stretched out arrogantly.
Yu Zhi smiled thinly. “They’re probably paying respects to the thickness of your skin.”
“……”
Then Yu Zhi felt a burning gaze on him.
He looked up—met Shang Yu’s blazing eyes in the rearview mirror.
Her gaze bounced between him and Fu Suxi.
Her lips were trembling with suppressed excitement.
At the same time, bullet comments scrolled wildly:
[User “World’s Cutest Girl” hopes you and your temporary lover livestream rubbing scales together. +20 coins.]
[User “Pure and Abstinent” hopes you rub more special parts. +10 coins.]
[User “Pure Love Warrior” reminds you not to limit yourselves to external friction—focus on internal friction. +10 coins.]
Yu Zhi: “……”
He glanced at Fu Suxi, trying to see if his bullet comments were similar.
Fu Suxi wasn’t looking at the screen.
Nor at him.
His gaze was fixed out the window.
Yu Zhi followed it—only saw a stretch of reef coastline.
Fu Suxi spoke suddenly, “Who was the pollution source this time?”
Serious matter.
Yu Zhi answered honestly. “Jiang Shengnan. Employee at Meteorite Biotech. She was their experiment subject.”
“They exploited employees at work, drove them insane under the guise of free treatment, then performed surgery to turn them into pollution sources.”
Fu Suxi wasn’t surprised by the exploitation.
But at the word surgery, he turned slightly. “What surgery?”
“Don’t know.”
“You went to the surgery floor?”
Yu Zhi nodded.
“What was inside?”
“A glass wall overlooking the deep sea. Water. Pollutants. Fish. Several surgical knives. I didn’t recognize the rest of the equipment.”
Fu Suxi frowned. “Nothing useful?”
Yu Zhi countered, “When you investigated alone, did you find anything useful?”
Silence.
Yu Zhi smirked. “I thought you brought only me there on purpose, let Xiao Hei cling to me, to dig up information.”
“……”
Fu Suxi finally understood why Yu Zhi had lured the black-robed man and pollutants toward him underground.
He’d guessed.
“I had something more important,” Fu Suxi said stiffly.
“More important than my life?” Yu Zhi arched a brow. “For humanity’s future?”
“…………”
That line sounded familiar.
He really held grudges.
After a moment, Fu Suxi added, “You wouldn’t die.”
Yu Zhi was slightly startled.
He’d assumed Fu Suxi had been purely using him—throwing him out as bait.
But those words meant Fu Suxi had considered his killing-intent-clearing ability.
He’d believed Yu Zhi could survive Xiao Hei.
He hadn’t been sure about the pollution source—so he’d cut open floors to make him an escape route.
And he’d never mentioned that.
Like it hadn’t happened.
This mad dog was… strange.
Did good deeds without leaving a name?
Yu Zhi studied his sharp profile thoughtfully.
When Fu Suxi glanced over, Yu Zhi withdrew his gaze and said quietly,
“Maybe I wouldn’t die.”
“But I’d become poor.”
“That’s worse than death.”
“………”
Hearing the implication, Fu Suxi said flatly to Shang Yu, “Apply for compensation for him from headquarters.”
Shang Yu, who’d been eavesdropping, answered instantly, “Yes!”
Yu Zhi was moderately satisfied.
“One more thing,” he added. “Xiao Hei said Jiang Shengnan was a failure.”
“The surgery likely failed.”
He stared at Fu Suxi’s face, searching for clues.
Fu Suxi lowered his eyes slightly. No reaction.
“You want to know?” Fu Suxi asked.
“Yes.”
“Fifty thousand.”
Yu Zhi: “……”
Exactly what he’d earned from him.
He turned away, refusing to ask further.
He’d figure it out himself.
Wind rushed in through the window.
Leaving the danger zone, tension finally drained from his mind.
He sorted through his thoughts.
Meteorite Biotech was indeed using humans to create pollution sources—Chen Tingting and Jiang Shengnan proved that.
Rule Six on the employee badge—The ocean is our hometown—was part of the brainwashing.
Preparations had been perfect.
So the issue lay in the surgery result.
Yu Zhi opened his ability panel.
[My Abilities]
[My Items]
[My Trash]
He focused on the last category.
Renaming failed.
He opened it.
[My Trash]
3 entries. (Max 5 in current version.)
Jiang Shengnan appeared.
[Name: Jiang Shengnan]
[Function: A half-dead pollution source.]
[Description: You only saw me working miserably every day, forced to sleep late and wake early, brainwashed and twisted.]
You never saw me eating, drinking, playing, enjoying life, chasing dreams, living freely.
You didn’t see it—because I never did.
If people work hard, they become playthings of capitalists.
If people work even harder, they still become playthings of evil capitalists.
This surgery was very successful.
My hopeless life has ended.
