Chapter 5 I Clean Up Garbage in a Wasteland World

Chapter 5 Mental Pollution

After the subway doors were opened, some changes could be clearly felt in the surroundings, as if something gray was crawling inside.

Li Nianchuan subconsciously looked at Zhu Ning, only to see Zhu Ning holding her head, but since she was wearing a helmet, she could only touch the helmet.

Li Nianchuan is obviously the senior, but his instincts told him to rely on Zhu Ning. She was exuding an atmosphere that screams "I'm calm and capable." Li Nianchuan had only seen this kind of composure on witchers.

Besides, Zhu Ning hadn't made any mistakes so far; it was hard to imagine that this was her first time coming into contact with contaminants. She looked more like a mercenary than a garbage collector.

Li Nianchuan suspected that Zhu Ning was some big shot who had come to their cleaning team to experience life.

"What's wrong with you?" Li Nianchuan asked. He was still the senior in name, so he should at least show some care for his junior. "Are you having an headache? Is it mental pollution?"

Zhu Ning sighed, she was just feeling melancholic.

She had made up her mind to be a salted fish in this life. She even ignored the task that the system gave her when she first transmigrated in this world. But now, it came back to bite her ass.

'Purifying the wasteland? Whoever wants to play hero can go ahead and do this task!'

Who knew that even if Zhu Ning ignored it, the world would still force it upon her.

The last train of Line 1 disappeared, and the core of the pollution source may be related to it.

Zhu Ning asked: "What is the pollution concentration rate inside the train?"

The helmet has a feature that can test and calculate the pollution rate of an area, but Zhu Ning doesn’t know how to use it.

After hearing Zhu Ning's question, Li Nianchuan instinctively operated his helmet to calculate. He didn't know it yet, but he was already becoming Zhu Ning's little assistant.

"The pollution rate is around 71%."

Zhu Ning said nothing.

Li Nianchuan thought she was thinking of a solution, so he didn't disturb her.

Actually, Zhu Ning didn't say anything because as a rookie cleaner, she didn't understand what '71% pollution rate' means.

Li Nianchuan couldn't help but grumble. "This may be a Class D mission."

'Don't know how the technical department rated it as Class E when it clearly shows Class D...'

Obviously, the witchers didn't complete the task. The witcher's work rule requires that when witchers leaves the scene, all contaminants within one kilometer of the contaminated area must be dead.

Li Nianchuan muttered, "Those witchers couldn't even do their job right!"

Zhu Ning sorted out her thoughts and asked, "If contaminants interfere with channel signals, how do witchers communicate?"

A witcher squad has to kill contaminants, but as soon as they enter the area, communication channels would be disconnected. It would be hard to conduct missions without proper communication, but witchers don't seem to be having any problems with it just by looking at their success rate.

Li Nianchuan sighed when he heard this. "The channels they use are different from ours; their channel is specially made to guard against mental pollution."

Contaminated spores can contaminate machines and networks. Since witchers have to fight contaminants, naturally they'll have better resources.

"Why is ours different?" Zhu Ning asked.

Li Nianchuan was even more resentful. "There are not enough resources. The higher ups decided that witchers should be given priority on better equipment."

Zhu Ning: “…”

They were really the lowest in the food chain.... they have the worst resources, the worst weapons, and when trouble comes knocking, they'd be the first to be thrown away.

'It would be fine if their jobs were safe, but obviously it's not that safe!'

Zhu Ning looked at the open door in front of her and asked, "How long does it usually take for the rescue team to arrive?"

Li Nianchuan thought for a moment, "According to the regulations, it will take at least half an hour for them to come. Besides, once contaminated areas re-open, it would be immediately closed, so they may not be able to come in."

The technical department at the company must have been alerted that they were trapped down here, but it would take at least half an hour for the rescue team to arrive.

"So it's just us?" Zhu Ning asked once again.

Li Nianchuan nodded heavily: "It's really just us."

Salted Fish Zhu Ning has given up.

Li Nianchuan thought for a moment and asked, "By the way, how did you sense the contaminant sense? Do you have the ability to predict danger?"

He was a little curious. Zhu Ning's reaction was a full minute faster than a senior employee like him. How did she do that?

Zhu Ning was puzzled, "What danger prediction? There was a rustling sound earlier. You didn't hear it?"

Li Nianchuan: “I didn't.”

Zhu Ning: “…”

Zhu Ning doesn't have any foresight abilities, she was just more alert. If one really have to consider, then maybe it was a "skill" that Zhu Ning had in her previous life.

She had spent half her life fighting zombies in the apocalypse, and as the zombies evolved, she also evolved.

Her marksmanship, fighting skills, and vigilance far surpass those of ordinary people. These are precious "skills" that she has spent ten years honing.

On the other hand, Li Nianchuan grew up in a highly advanced technological world and was overly dependent on machines. As long as his detection equipment do not give warnings, he won't be able to sense any danger.

Zhu Ning couldn't help but look at Li Nianchuan like he was a delicate flower in a greenhouse.

Li Nianchuan could also sense the gap between him and Zhu Ning, and asked a little embarrassedly: "Then how did you know I wanted to be a witcher?"

Zhu Ning glanced at him and thought that Li Nianchuan was really naive.

'Wasn’t it written all over his face?'

Zhu Ning replied perfunctorily: “I guessed.”

Li Nianchuan: "You are so smart."

Zhu Ning: “…” I didn’t feel the compliment at all, thank you.

"Do you want to go in?" Li Nianchuan pointed at the open subway door.

Zhu Ning and Li Nianchuan had to survive for at least half an hour. During this half an hour, they had to ensure that they wouldn't be mentally polluted. Otherwise, by the time the rescue team arrived, they might have gone crazy.

"Do you want to go in?" Zhu Ning asked back.

Li Nianchuan: "Not really."

Article 3 of the Work Code: If you encounter living contaminants, remain still and wait for rescue.

Li Nianchuan has received professional training, and his instinctive reaction is to follow the cleaner's work code manual.

"I'm going in." Zhu Ning said.

She was not seeking death, she was just completing the task assigned to her by the system.

If the source of pollution was inside, eliminating it was the only way to survive.

Zhu Ning stepped into the subway without any hesitation.

There was a gray creature that crawled inside earlier. After Zhu Ning entered, its body was hidden in a pile of wriggling unknown substance.

Li Nianchuan looked back at the fish man who was still twitching on the ground, and then looked at the open subway door. He gritted his teeth and followed Zhu Ning's footsteps and walked in.

Rule 4 of the Work Code: Do not get separated from your teammates.

Li Nianchuan regretted it as soon as he got in.

There was some wriggling black substance on the ground of the train and in the air; visible but not touchable.

There were not many people in the last train of Line 1. Looking around, there were only a few office workers sitting far from each other. After seeing Li Nianchuan, the passengers in different seats suddenly turned their heads.

They were all contaminants.

Some have fins growing out of their ears, some have human faces covered with fish scales.

In the carriage that Li Nianchuan got on, there was a jumping fish in the middle of the open space.

Li Nianchuan had already been mildly mentally polluted earlier, but he could still feel his scalp tingling in fear. He looked around carefully and finally found Zhu Ning inside the carriage.

Zhu Ning sat on the left side of the train. Her black full-body suit with helmet on was extremely noticeable in an empty space with nothing but fish contaminants.

After Li Nianchuan came in, the door closed with a bang. He had no choice but to sit next to Zhu Ning.

The train started moving; their destination unknown.

Zhu Ning turned her head and looked out the window, counting silently. "I didn't see Xu Meng."

It was pitch black outside the window. The speed of the subway was much faster than the speed of people walking. They were in the sewer before and were only two kilometers away from the original scene.

Two kilometers have passed, yet Xu Meng was nowhere to be found.

Li Nianchuan's nose was bleeding earlier, and it was still hurting now. He also looked outside and said, "The contaminated area has an independent time and space. Take a look at the clock."

The clock inside Zhu Ning's helmet has stopped moving since they came in.

Zhu Ning asked: "How are people supposed to get into the contaminated area?"

Li Nianchuan: "Although the area is closed, the witchers still has a way to get in. Whether they can find an opening would depend on luck. But they don't necessarily have to come in to eliminate the pollution source. They can suppress it directly with heavy weapons."

If you are sure that there are no living people in the contaminated area, and the situation is turning difficult, you can choose to directly bomb the contaminated area.

'Sure enough, when technology advances to a certain level, people will never resort to finding solutions if they can solve the problem with weapons.'

Why use your brains when you can just use bombs?

The subway train was moving faster than any train she had ridden before. Zhu Ning was just admiring the train's speed when a station announcement sounded from the speakers of the subway.

[Dear passengers, we have arrived at Lily Garden Station.]

Zhu Ning felt a little nervous at the moment.

No passengers got off the bus.

Since Zhu Ning and Li Nianchuan got on, the passengers had been staring at them.

Zhu Ning looked at the train's door and put one hand on the gun. She didn't want to take it out unless it was necessary.

After the door opened, a passenger got on the train. Then the door closed and the subway started moving again.

Zhu Ning frowned immediately when she saw the passenger that got on. Li Nianchuan almost cursed out loud.

It was the fish man they killed!

The fish man was carrying a briefcase with its body was covered with holes. It was almost shot to pieces by Zhu Ning and Li Nianchuan. The fish man dragged its broken left leg and moved its body bit by bit.

Then, it grabbed the train handlebar with its still intact arm and stood in front of Zhu Ning and Li Nianchuan.

It just stood there.

Zhu Ning and Li Nianchuan didn't say anything. The first reaction of the rookie and the one acting like a rookie was to pick up their guns and point them at the fish man, fearing that it would suddenly attack.

The speed of the fish man was at least twice as fast as that of humans. As long as the fish man made any move, they would shoot immediately.

But after a few minutes, the fish man did not move at all. It just stood there like a statue.

Zhu Ning and the fish man stared at each other for a while. The fish man's body was like a sieve, and one could even see the other side of the train through the holes in its body.

Li Nianchuan asked quietly: "Why is it standing here with us? There are a lot of empty seats."

'The train was so empty, and it wasn't even rush hour. Why did it have to stand in front of them?'

Li Nianchuan's words did not attract the attention of the fish man. It seemed to be a real statue, just standing there.

"Is it here for revenge?" Li Nianchuan asked.

Zhu Ning: "I don't know. I wonder what would have happened to you if you had stayed on the platform at that time?"

Li Nianchuan's scalp tingled. He followed Zhu Ning onto the train because he couldn't stand being on the platform with the twitching fish man's corpse.

Li Nianchuan: "I would rather die."

Zhu Ning felt that this was very strange.

People who were caught in the contaminated area could choose to get on the train or wait on the platform.

Zhu Ning knew that getting on the train would mean getting looked at and possibly attacked by contaminants, but what would happen to those who chose to stay on the platform?

"We are about to arrive at a station again." said Zhu Ning.

This time Zhu Ning observed in advance. An orange-yellow light suddenly lit up inside the train, followed by a station announcement.

[Dear passengers, we have arrived at the Sunny Kindergarten station.]

Second stop.

There was still no one getting off the bus.

Thirty seconds later, another passenger got on.

Li Nianchuan's hair stood on end and his nose started bleeding again.

It was another fish man!

It was exactly the same as the previous fish man. The wound location is the same, the broken fish head is the same, the curled up fish scales are the same, and even the behavior pattern is the same.

Fish man No. 2 didn't even look at them. It just walked straight to Zhu Ning and Li Nianchuan, grabbed the train handlebar, and then stood still.

[Dear passengers, we have arrived at Green River Valley Station. ]

The third stop, the third fishman.

[Dear passengers, we have arrived at the Museum of Strange Things. ]

Fourth stop, fourth fish man.

[Dear passengers, we have arrived at the Mechanical University Station. 】

The fifth stop, the fifth fish man.

Every time the train stops at a station, a fish man would get on.

Now, there were ten fish men inside; all standing in front of Zhu Ning and Li Nianchuan.

Those who had handlebars in front grabbed them, and those who didn't, stood behind.

As more and more fish men arrived, the number had reached twenty-five.

Twenty-five broken headed fish men surrounded Zhu Ning and Li Nianchuan.

The smell of blood was so strong that even the helmet filter function could not filter it out.

The strange thing was that they didn't make any movements. They just lowered their heads, and stared at Zhu Ning and Li Nianchuan.

No expression, no words, just staring. Simple, pure staring.

Is this mental pollution?

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The translator has something to say:

I don't really like fish because of their fishy smell, so if I found myself suddenly surrounded by TWENTY FIVE fish men with blood and mangled bodies??

I think I would gag and vomit and lie down and wait for death.

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