Chapter 3 I Clean Up Garbage in a Wasteland World

Chapter 3 - Fish Men

The helmet is very high tech and has a built-in locking function. There were sixteen contaminants highlighted and circled in the dark sewer. Their bodies were mangled with forms that couldn't be described.

The helmet also had an air filter function, so Zhu Ning couldn't smell the stench, but she could clearly feel that the place must be stinking. Pieces of rotten flesh were scattered on the ground, but there was nothing scary about them. Zhu Ning was already used to seeing the corpses.

What's scary is what's on the corpse.

Drops of blood condensed from the corpse and then floated in the air. The blood drops had different shapes; some remained shaped like water drops, while some had mutated and looked like ferocious bacteria.

The blood drops were still slowly floating upwards, hovering like a jellyfish, flashing bouts of red lights.

Zhu Ning thought she had stepped into some ancient mysterious cave. Looking at it from an artistic point of view, the scene had a very strange beauty.

Zhu Ning carefully recalled what was said in the teaching video. Once the contaminants are killed and the vital signs disappear, the contaminated spores will not die. They will want to find a new host.

The hosts could be humans, plants, animals, and some contaminated spores can even attach to inanimate objects, such as walls, tiles, and robots.

Fang Ying said that robots would short-circuit because the contamination spores can contaminate the machine and invade the network. It seems that these blood drops were the contaminated spores.

Contaminated spores cannot be eliminated, they can only be contained.

This is why cleaners are needed.

In the teaching video, there was only one contaminated spore, but now there are whole space of them. Zhu Ning was very shocked.

With rustling sounds from behind, Xu Meng and Li Nianchuan reached Zhu Ning.

Xu Meng: "You didn't vomit."

A normal person's first reaction when seeing this scene is physical nausea. This is the first time that Xu Meng partnered with a newcomer who didn't vomit in their first cleaning mission.

Zhu Ning: “…”

‘Do I have to perform a vomiting scene first? Sure I didn't vomit, but this blood drop thing is really disgusting.’

"Tsk," Li Nianchuan frowned as soon as he came down, "Contaminants near water bodies are troublesome to deal with."

"What's wrong with being near water?" Zhu Ning asked.

Xu Meng: "When the water content of the surrounding is too high, the contaminated spores will become more active."

Now that it was mentioned, she really did notice some differences. The blood drops that Zhu Ning saw were floating faster than the speed in the teaching video.

With a loud bang, the hole above was blocked by an iron plate, and all light sources were lost in an instant. Those above had blocked the entrance.

"Don't be afraid," Xu Meng said, "It's just standard procedure. We're afraid of contaminated spores spreading so we enclose the area. They'll open it again after we finish our work."

‘So that's how it is. But being trapped in a closed sewer still feels quite uncomfortable.‘

Zhu Ning moved her neck.

Xu Meng said: "This Class E mission is not that difficult to complete. The pollution concentration is also not high. We should be able to finish it soon."

The floating speed of contaminated spores is limited, and the contaminants that they inhabited had just recently died, so the spores can only spread slowly.

The contaminated area given by Li Nianchuan just now was 2,500 cubic meters, which is the size of a standard swimming pool. But given data are usually not that accurate, so the actual polluted area could be much larger than what was stated. In other words, the area that they would need to clean could be the size of one, two, or more swimming pools.

Zhu Ning finds this job very interesting. She had only fought monsters before and had never been involved in such detailed logistical work.

"Be careful," Xu Meng said, "Don't let the spores contaminate you."

It is easy for spores to parasitize a host; as long as they get into contact with the skin, they can immediately contaminate the host. So their "work clothes" were designed to tightly cover their whole bodies. 

Zhu Ning concentrated. She is a rookie employee, and if she doesn't do a good job on the first day of cleaning duties, her future in the workplace might not be too peaceful.

Xu Meng gave a demonstration. He took out a straw-like thing from the cleaning bag and carefully touched the "blood drop" floating in the air with the tip of the straw.

With a slight vacuum sound, the blood drop was sucked into the transparent straw.

The back end of the straw is connected to a transparent box. After the blood drops fell inside, they lied on the bottom of the box. It would automatically gather together every ten blood drops that falls and organize them into a cube the size of a mung bean. The whole process is extremely comfortable for people with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Xu Meng had to move with careful precision. His movements were very slow.

‘The job feels a lot like… picking cotton.’

An inappropriate metaphor popped up in Zhu Ning's mind. They were like a three-person cotton picking team.

The work process is to contain the contaminated spores first, then clean up the bodies, the soil, water sources, stones, etc. that have been touched by the blood. Next was sanitizing the contaminated area to ensure that no contaminated spores are missed.

‘It's really like sweeping garbage.’

Zhu Ning joined the cotton picking team and touched the contaminated spores with a straw. After the contaminated spores were contained, she suddenly heard a buzzing sound in her head.

System:

[Primary contaminant, purification value +1]

‘Purification value? What purification value?’

Zhu Ning tried again. Every time she collected a spore, the voice in her head would sound again.

Zhu Ning's hands moved faster and faster. 

Li Nianchuan beside her looked at her in confusion. Usually, he would see newcomers’ enthusiasm fade away after a few minutes of working, then they would start to slack off. But this was the first time he saw such an active rookie.

‘So diligent?’

Zhu Ning's arms were a little numb after working for a while. She now had accumulated 45 purification values. 

Zhu Ning asked, "How long do you think it would take to contain these spores?"

Li Nianchuan: "About an hour."

Sweeping garbage is a physical job, neither exciting nor thrilling; it relies purely on endurance. But, Zhu Ning feels that this job is quite relaxing.

Xu Meng: "If you can't bear it, you can ask for a break."

Zhu Ning: "Can't bear it mentally?"

Xu Meng: "Our work clothes cannot completely isolate pollution. It can only ensure that you will not be parasitized by contaminated spores. It can't really defend against the spores’ mental pollution."

Zhu Ning's hands trembled as she contained the contaminated spores. She was beginning to feel a little nervous.

Zhu Ning: "How would you know if you're mentally polluted by the spores?”

Xu Meng: "Generally, you would experience vomiting, nightmares, and fatigue. Then, it would escalate to mental disorders and hallucinations. We had a colleague who got mentally polluted and thought he was a two-headed pink lotus."

Zhu Ning: “……?”

‘Is working that great? Why suffer like this?’

Xu Meng: "In more serious cases, they might harm or kill others, some might commit suicide, while others would be so deeply affected that they would worship evil gods and monsters. There are too many cases and too many examples."

Simply said, mental pollution doesn't have the same effects of parasitism, but it would disrupt your brain and make you behave abnormally.

Xu Meng asked: "Do you think you're experiencing any symptoms right now?"

When they bring in new employees, their biggest concern is whether the new employees would either adapt or succumb to mental pollution.

Zhu Ning examined her mind carefully and said cautiously: "I don't feel anything."

She really didn't feel anything. 

Xu Meng turned her head and glanced at her. Zhu Ning was quite unusual.

"I can't do it anymore." Li Nianchuan was already sweating excessively. "I need to go take a breather."

‘He sounded like he was uncomfortable.’ 

Zhu Ning asked, "Why are you gasping for breath?"

Li Nianchuan: "Just some mild symptoms. If you're feeling some symptoms, remember not to get too close to the spores. The closer you are, the more your mind will get polluted. For general contaminants, you won't feel the pollution if you're over one thousand meters away from them."

‘That makes some sense.’

The pollution is limited by distance, otherwise it would be hard to contain the spores. If the mental pollution is continuous and has no distance limit, wouldn't it be able to pollute the entire world?

Xu Meng: "Zhu Ning, you should go with Nianchuan."

Zhu Ning wanted to say that she was fine, but Xu Meng gave her a gesture. Was he asking her to keep an eye on Li Nianchuan?

There are not many spores left, so Xu Meng should be able to handle it alone.

Zhu Ning put down her tools and followed Li Nianchuan. 

Area 103 is a garbage dump. All the garbage from the entire Federation is transported to Area 103. Currently, they are in the sewers of this area.

Li Nianchuan led Zhu Ning deeper into the sewers. 

Without any additional lighting, they relied solely on the night vision features of their helmets to see.

Li Nianchuan walked deeper and deeper. 

Those who's not in the know would think that this man wanted to lure her away and kill her to silence her. 

Perhaps out of caution, Li Nianchuan didn't stop until he was two kilometers away.

Li Nianchuan took off his helmet and inhaled deeply, "That was suffocating."

Li Nianchuan's face was pale, and his forehead was covered with sweat. He looked like he was sick. 

Zhu Ning was not affected by the contaminated spores, so she did not take off her helmet. "Are you okay?"

Li Nianchuan cursed, "My head’s aching."

Zhu Ning knew that Li Nianchuan doesn't have the best temper when she first saw him, but right now he was clearly very irritated.

‘Is it because of mental pollution?’

Zhu Ning looked at Li Nianchuan cautiously and asked, "How about putting the helmet back on?"

The work code emphasized the importance of avoiding skin exposure, and the instructional video also states that the helmet should not be removed unless necessary. 

Li Nianchuan is doing something that even she, a new employee, wouldn't do.

Li Nianchuan: "I can't breathe while wearing it."

It wasn't just shortness of breath, he clearly felt like he was suffocating. 

Why was it that the more air he took in, the more breathless he became?

It seemed that his blood pressure was very high; his eyes were turning bloodshot, and the capillaries within were appearing visibly in his eyes, looking like scarlet worms squirming. 

But Li Nianchuan only seemed to feel that his eyes were itchy. He rubbed them desperately as if it would help in relieving the itch. 

Zhu Ning took a half step back and calmly reached for the gun on her waist.

She had no way of telling whether Li Nianchuan was infected.

"Should I report to the captain?" Zhu Ning thought of what was written in the work manual. 

Once someone is suspected to be experiencing contamination symptoms, she should report to her superiors and halt the mission immediately.

Li Nianchuan: "No, I just need a break. I still have work to do later."

Although he sounded like his mind was still normal, Zhu Ning did not remove her hand from the gun. 

She discovered that the one source of danger in this job was her teammates.

Work Code Rule 2: Always pay attention to your teammates.

‘It turns out that the seniors' experience is true.’

Zhu Ning stared at Li Nianchuan while wondering whether to report it.

Rustle

Zhu Ning frowned. 

‘What's that sound?’

Rustle

‘From Li Nianchuan?’ 

No, Li Nianchuan is rubbing his eyes. The sound was further away.

Rustle

Rustle

Rustle

Something seemed to be moving in the distance.

"Did you hear that?" Zhu Ning asked.

"What?" Li Nianchuan kept rubbing his eyes and looked at her with a confused gaze.

Zhu Ning reacted decisively. She pulled out her gun and pointed it into the darkness.

Li Nianchuan was originally in a dazed state, but when he saw Zhu Ning suddenly taking out a gun, he became alert.

"What are you doing?" Li Nianchuan was frightened. "Put down the gun! I'm not contaminated!"

Li Nianchuan wondered if Zhu Ning thought that he was contaminated and wanted to get rid of him.

The cleaners must be cautious and prevent their teammates from going crazy because of pollution. 

Zhu Ning is being cautious to prevent Li Nianchuan from going crazy, and Li Nianchuan is also being cautious to prevent Zhu Ning from going crazy. 

He now suspects that Zhu Ning has been contaminated.

"Don't be impulsive," Li Nianchuan said, "We don't have the authority to use guns."

In order to prevent the cleaners from killing each other, all guns were set with permissions. No one could fire unless they received instructions from their superiors.

‘Wait.’

Li Nianchuan frowned suddenly. 

Zhu Ning's gun holding posture was very standard and very steady.

‘Zhu Ning knows how to use a gun? Why would a 19-year-old girl like her know how to use a gun? Where did she get the experience?’

Li Nianchuan was thinking rationally. He's not contaminated.

"There's something behind you." Zhu Ning said.

Li Nianchuan was stunned before he realized that Zhu Ning was not pointing at him, but behind him.

Li Nianchuan turned around. 

Behind him was a pitch-black sewer. 

Without any other lights, the night vision range of the helmet was limited.

"What?" Li Nianchuan was more afraid of Zhu Ning than whatever was behind him. 

He only glanced back and turned around again to face Zhu Ning. He didn't dare to leave his back to her.

"Can you put the gun down and talk?"

Zhu Ning stared into the darkness and connected to the public channel: [Captain Xu Meng, Team Member Zhu Ning requesting permission to open fire.]

There was no reply on Xu Meng’s end. It was unknown whether he really did not hear it, or was just weighing the options. 

Of course, Li Nianchuan also heard it. How could this little girl be so reckless? There was no other person in the sewer except the two of them.

Li Nianchuan didn't want her to get into trouble on her first day at work. "Can you first calm down?"

Zhu Ning stared ahead, ignoring Li Nianchuan. She repeated: [Requesting permission to open fire.]

Zhu Ning looked into the darkness with determination and turned on the flashlight on her wrist. With a swish, the flashlight instantly illuminated a hundred meters away.

Rustle

Rustle

Rustle

The rustling sound came from far away, but it was getting closer. 

There was something.

Li Nianchuan's body stiffened. Now, even he could see it.

It was a man wearing a suit with a red tie and leather shoes. He was carrying a briefcase; his white shirt was a little dirty, and his trousers were covered in dirt.

Judging from his clothes, the man looked like an office worker who had just gotten off work. 

Zhu Ning moved the flashlight upwards, lighting up the man’ face.

There was no head above the neck. 

No, to be more precise, there is a head, but it wasn't a human head.

The original human head was replaced by a huge fish head.

‘A fish man wearing a suit and carrying a briefcase?’

The fish man's lips were at the top of his head, it was moving like it was gasping for air. A dead fish eye as big as a fist stared at Zhu Ning. Although he had no face, people couldn't help but feel that this fish was exhausted.

"E x c u s e m e . . ." The fish man spoke in a very strange bubbling voice, "I s t h e l a s t t r a i n o f L i n e 1 h e r e ?"

"Contaminant!" Li Nianchuan's face changed drastically and he immediately put on his helmet.

Li Nianchuan pressed the emergency button, [Report! There is a living contaminant here. Requesting to be pulled out—F*ck!]

Before Li Nianchuan finished speaking, he saw the fish man in the distance suddenly waving his arms and running towards them at high speed.

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The author has something to say:

Work Code Rule 2: Always pay attention to your teammates.

The translator has something to say:

Smiling evilly.jpeg

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