Chapter 81
“Ah-choo—”
Yu Zhi suddenly sneezed for no reason. His brows furrowed, and he instinctively looked at Fu Suxi.
—Was that mad dog cursing him in his head?
Sensing his gaze, Fu Suxi glanced over. As if reading his thoughts, he tugged at the corner of his lips. A black baseball cap appeared out of thin air in his right hand.
He gave the cap a light wave in the air, as if brushing away viruses, then leaned his head back and dropped it over his face.
Yu Zhi’s mouth twitched. He reached over, pulled the cap off Fu Suxi’s face, and asked bluntly, “Why wasn’t Xiao Hei contaminated? How could he move freely inside the pollution zone?”
“And why was that zone’s rule related to the ocean?”
Fu Suxi closed his eyes, took the cap back, and placed it over his face again. “Not certain yet. We’ll wait for the investigation results.”
Yu Zhi was curious. “The company building collapsed like that. Can you still find anything?”
Fu Suxi replied casually, “The company’s gone. Other places still have clues.”
“Now that certain people are dead or on the run, whatever the Bureau wants to investigate won’t face obstacles.”
“If we still can’t find anything, then we’re just a bunch of useless trash.”
Shang Yu’s eyelid twitched. She had a faint suspicion that was directed at her.
She cleared her throat, unwilling to be labeled “useless” by leadership. “Brother Yu, what was that pollution zone like? What happened after you went in?”
“Tell me about it. I’ll help you fill out the pollution report later.”
Yu Zhi glanced at Fu Suxi, who was resting with his eyes closed. Seeing no objection, he began calmly, “Yu Yi brought me in.”
“After entering, we hadn’t even reached the second floor when a dungeon triggered. Then I…”
He recounted everything from start to finish, simplifying the black-robed man’s “r*pe game” into just a “game,” and polishing up the parts where he tricked Fu Suxi.
Shang Yu was an excellent listener—gasping at the right moments, praising him, occasionally cursing along with him for emphasis.
As they talked, the off-road vehicle reached the city wall.
Yu Zhi saw several cars parked by the roadside. Over a dozen people were lined up outside a testing station.
He instinctively looked at Fu Suxi. Fu Suxi tilted his head slightly, glanced at the crowd in the distance, then withdrew his gaze and continued resting.
He didn’t intervene.
Yu Zhi looked toward the group by the testing station. They had noticed the approaching off-road vehicle.
When it drove straight toward the gate without stopping, someone in line couldn’t help asking, “Why doesn’t that car have to stop?”
“Don’t the people inside need testing?”
“Didn’t you say everyone entering must be tested?”
The inspector explained, “That’s the Special Operations Bureau’s ability users. They don’t test here.”
A man in line pressed further, “Why don’t Bureau members need testing?”
“What if they’re contaminated?”
The crowd began murmuring.
“Privileges, obviously.”
“I heard the entire S City is under the Bureau. All ability users.”
“So ability users get special treatment?”
“What’s strange about that? You think this is still the old era of equality?”
“We’re lucky just to be alive…”
The off-road vehicle passed through two layers of wall. Yu Zhi noticed even more vendors at the inner wall.
Probably because it was Fu Suxi’s off-road vehicle rather than an armored Bureau car, several bold vendors approached the window, hawking their goods.
“Instant noodles? Want some?”
“One pack thirty universal coins, two for fifty-five!”
“Apples! Fresh apples from before the apocalypse!”
“Handsome guy, rice? Northeastern rice, Thai fragrant rice—buy as much as you want!”
But when they noticed Shang Yu’s Bureau uniform, their cheerful expressions instantly turned into panic. Hugging their goods, they ran.
Shang Yu clicked her tongue. “The Bureau shooting parasitic pollutants outside the wall spread across the safe zone overnight.”
“Now some people run as soon as they see us. Makes me want to drag them in for testing. If you’re not contaminated, what are you afraid of…”
Yu Zhi gave a vague response and looked quietly out the window.
Some people strolled leisurely down the street. Certain shops had reopened, posting goods and universal coin prices on their doors.
The city within the walls had regained a bit of vitality. On the surface, the uncontaminated safe zone didn’t look too different from before the apocalypse—peaceful and orderly.
Human adaptability was strong. They had quickly adapted to this entirely new world.
A world with systems. With livestreams. With pollutants.
……
Both Yu Zhi and Fu Suxi had varying degrees of mental contamination. Upon returning to the Bureau, they headed straight to the research building.
The observation rooms and purification labs were all underground.
After what happened at Meteorite Biotech, Yu Zhi felt uncomfortable looking at underground labs. “Why are research labs always underground?” he asked.
Shang Yu blinked. “I’m not sure. When I joined the Bureau, they were already underground.”
“Maybe for confidentiality? Underground is safer?”
She glanced at Fu Suxi.
Fu Suxi’s expression remained blank. When the elevator doors opened, he stepped out without participating in the discussion.
Seeing Shang Yu didn’t know either, Yu Zhi dropped the subject and followed.
The wide corridor was lined with silver-white observation rooms and laboratories. Aside from differing door numbers, Yu Zhi couldn’t tell them apart.
They entered one.
The door opened to reveal Lu Liming, wearing a white lab coat and a messy bun.
He held a Bureau-logo thermos, looking haggard and exhausted—like someone severely overworked.
Hearing the door, he looked over. When he recognized them, his eyes lit up.
“Brother Yu!”
“Did you come to see me?”
Yu Zhi shook his head. “Just got back from outside the wall.”
Lu Liming glanced at him, then at Fu Suxi beside him. His eyes brightened further. “You went to eliminate a pollution source?”
Yu Zhi nodded.
In the next second, Lu Liming’s gaze toward him became meaningful.
Only then did Yu Zhi recall their conversation from yesterday. When Lu Liming found out about his “incestuous romance” with the new Minister of the Combat Department, he hadn’t believed it was real—he’d assumed it was a new identity, a new act.
Now…
Yu Zhi fell silent.
If he denied it, it would look even more suspicious.
The room fell into silence.
Yu Zhi and Lu Liming locked eyes without speaking. Fu Suxi’s gaze drifted lazily between them. Shang Yu didn’t dare speak either, her eyes darting among the three of them, lips twitching between rising and suppressing a grin.
After a while, Yu Zhi broke the silence. “Who’s drawing our blood?”
Lu Liming pointed at himself hesitantly. “M-me?”
Yu Zhi eyed him skeptically. “You sure you can?”
Lu Liming had never mentioned any medical background before. If he didn’t say he could, that meant he probably couldn’t.
“What have you been doing these past two days?” Yu Zhi asked.
Lu Liming thought for a moment, then brightened. “Brother Yu, we don’t necessarily have to draw blood.”
“I could just cut you with a knife and collect it.”
Yu Zhi: “……”
He pointed at Fu Suxi. “Cut Yu Yi first. His contamination is worse.”
Fu Suxi: “……”
Shang Yu hurriedly said, “I’ll go get someone.”
“No need,” Fu Suxi stopped her and walked further inside. “I’ll do it.”
Yu Zhi gave him a suspicious look.
He knew Fu Suxi had a doctor identity—if he was a chief surgeon, drawing blood would be trivial.
But was he that kind?
Yu Zhi moved over slowly.
Fu Suxi glanced at his small movements and said to Shang Yu, “Help him fill out the forms.”
Yu Zhi looked puzzled. “What forms?”
Shang Yu explained, “Different pollution sources cause different contamination. Purification plans differ too. For follow-up treatment and research, we archive everything.”
“No network now, so it’s saved locally.”
She opened the document. “Name: Yu You. Gender: male. Age—”
She paused. “Brother Yu, how old are you?”
Yu Zhi didn’t forget he was playing the “older brother” role. “Is age important?”
Shang Yu thought about it. “Probably not.”
“Then keep it confidential.”
She hesitated but, noticing Fu Suxi’s gaze sweep over, obediently typed in “Confidential.”
“Next… ability.”
She looked at Yu Zhi curiously.
Before he could speak, Fu Suxi’s lazy voice sounded from behind.
“Precognition.”
Yu Zhi: “?”
Fu Suxi spoke evenly. “His ability is precognition.”
Shang Yu: “???”
Lu Liming: “!!!”
Lu Liming stared in disbelief. “Brother Yu… you have a precognition ability?”
Shang Yu sucked in a breath. “Holy—”
The livestream barrage exploded.
Yu Zhi stared at the scrolling comments, dragging from the corner of his memory the lie he once told.
He had claimed to have a passive ability—precognition.
“I awakened a passive ability after the apocalypse—precognition.”
“The prophecy is that you will live until the end of the apocalypse.”
Yu Zhi: “……”
Fu Suxi was definitely trying to screw him over.
Before he could think further, Shang Yu rushed in front of him. “Brother Yu, does your precognition have restrictions?”
“Can you predict tonight’s main mission? Or anything related to tasks or dungeons?”
Yu Zhi glanced at Fu Suxi lounging in the chair, legs crossed, watching like he was enjoying a show.
He looked away. “Everyone’s abilities have restrictions, right?”
Shang Yu nodded quickly. “Yes! Some have cooldown periods, some need mediums, some have side effects…”
Yu Zhi nodded thoughtfully. “Mine has a big restriction.”
“It’s passive.”
Shang Yu blinked. “P-passive?”
“It means I can’t actively use it.”
She stared blankly. “I’ve never heard of a passive ability…”
Yu Zhi patted her shoulder calmly. “From today onward, you have.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Shang Yu: “……”
She persisted. “Then does it have any trigger condition?”
“No pattern so far,” Yu Zhi said solemnly. “Probably depends on timing, location, and fate.”
“Really no way to control it?”
He shook his head.
Her hope shattered. She sighed. “What kind of situation is this…”
After standing stunned for a long time, Lu Liming suddenly slapped his thigh, eyes blazing.
“I get it!”
“This is called being chosen by heaven!”
Fu Suxi, who had been quietly watching: “?”
