ICUGW Chapter 9

Chapter 9 - S-level Spirit Value

An hour had passed since the contaminated spores were contained, and Zhu Ning's final purification value was 645. The subsequent "corpse collection" work was left to the second cleaning team.

Zhu Ning was notified by the center that she had to undergo data collection and input her information on the system database. 

She didn't mind. After all, she did behave strangely.

If she were a member of the center and someone suspicious suddenly acts up, she would also want to send them to the laboratory for research.

‘I wonder if they will find out about the system…’

"Don't worry," Xu Meng reassured Zhu Ning, "Data collection period are considered working hours. You'll still be paid regularly.”

Zhu Ning: “…”

She was feeling a little inconvenienced at first, but hearing that she would still be paid instantly lifted her mood. 

Two people came to pick her up. They took away her collected contaminated spores and also wanted to collect her helmet.

"Ms. Zhu, could you please give us the helmet? We need it for data collection."

The helmet has a video recording function and some basic data detection. They have already taken Li Nianchuan's helmet, and was only waiting for Zhu Ning's.

The helmet was originally the property of the cleaning center, so Zhu Ning handed the helmet to them. 

When Zhu Ning came back to the cleaning center, she was taken directly to the 66th floor.

Ding—

The elevator doors opened, and a doctor in a white coat came to greet her.

"Miss Zhu, this way please."

Zhu Ning followed him around a roundabout. They walked through a corridor, and saw a sign: Observation Room Side A. 

‘Is the observation room divided into Side A and Side B?’

The doctor pushed open a door, revealing the space inside.

Zhu Ning raised her eyebrows. She thought the observation room would be something like a "pure prison style", but she didn't expect that it would have a "home-y and comfortable" style instead.

The interior was almost entirely colored in warm light yellow. There was a self-service area on the side, as well as a leisure area.

The doctor’s assistant handed her a device and explained: "This is a data collector. One end will be attached to the temple, while the other end will be worn on the wrist."

Zhu Ning took the box and the assistant helped her put it on, explaining: "These monitor your physical data. It will sound an alarm when it detects something abnormal."

There were fine needles attached to the insides of the bracelet. When the bracelet was put on, the needles stabbed into Zhu Ning's wrist. She didn't feel anything at all, except for the initial stabbing sensation. 

Zhu Ning asked: "Can my data be collected this way?"

She thought she would need to enter some kind of machine where she would lie down and get a full-scale scan.

Assistant: "Yes. We use this equipment because it is the one with the lowest frequency. It would have the least interference when collecting data.”

People with high mental value were more sensitive. A device with high frequency might clash with a person's mental value, causing interference on the data collected.

"Is the data accurate?" Zhu Ning asked.

The assistant smiled and said, "Don't worry, it's very accurate. It collects various data on your body functions, as well as your mental state. It's also painless."

"You can take a nap or a short rest. The collection will be done in a short while."

Zhu Ning was a little worried that her abnormality would be detected, but the system painted a big picture for her, asking her to purify the polluted land and save the world. There must be a way to shield her information from any kinds of probing.

Zhu Ning stayed in the observation room of the cleaning center that night. The bedroom assigned to her was very large, larger than Zhu Ning's entire home. There are also all kinds of daily necessities in there.

Zhu Ning finally experienced being a salted fish who only lies in bed all day. Don't mention three days, she can lie there for three months!

Zhu Ning took a bath and lay on the bed thinking silently about her future.

The bed was incredibly soft, and the surrounding area was a soft cream-yellow color, which made people feel particularly relaxed.

Zhu Ning opened the system panel and began to look at it.

She exchanged 654 purification points, and the system notified her:

[Congratulations on exchanging 5 health points.

Current health points: 25

Remaining purification points: 154]

'At least my health points increased a bit...'

Suddenly, Zhu Ning opened her eyes.

Her system panel was in her mind. She had just been looking at it with her eyes closed, so if an outsider came to see at this time, it would be like Zhu Ning suddenly opened her eyes without any warning while sleeping.

'Something seems wrong.'

Zhu Ning frowned and looked back towards the door.

The door was pure white, there was nothing there. The whole room was decorated very warmly, making people relax their vigilance, but Zhu Ning could feel that someone was "looking" at her.

…

Countless eyes blinked in unison.

The entire observation room has a total of 9,635 eyes for immersive observation.

The contaminated spores cannot be eliminated and can only be contained. Half is contained, while the other half is sent to the Research & Development department, or the R&D Department in short.

The R&D department has invented many harmless "devices" using the characteristics of contaminants, such as the "Peeping Eye", which allows people to collect various data from observing.

Behind the observation room was the research room. Zhu Ning's face was on the big screen.

She glanced over there abruptly.

Fu Ming, a researcher, was analyzing Zhu Ning's helmet data when he was startled by her stare and asked, "Did she discover us?"

"It's possible," Qi Yun thought, "The higher the mental value, the higher the alertness to danger and abnormality."

This is almost directly proportional. The "Peeping Eyes" itself are a kind of contaminant. The fact that Zhu Ning can perceive it proves that her mental level is very high.

Fu Ming: "But isn't it too fast?"

Zhu Ning had only been lying down for a couple of minutes when she immediately became aware of the existence of the eyes.

Fang Ying stood behind them and asked, "How are the various data?"

She came here directly after the meeting, which changed the atmosphere on the whole laboratory and put a lot of pressure on them. Although she was just a secretary, everyone knew that Fang Ying had the authority of the center, so everyone respected her.

They heard that the company's bigshots held a meeting, but they don’t know what the outcome of the meeting was.

"Well, let's take a look." Qi Yun looked at Zhu Ning's data carefully and said, "The mental value data is very stable and definitely not contaminated."

Corresponding to this is Li Nianchuan's report. His data fluctuated greatly; sometimes low, sometimes high. Li Nianchuan was in another room, and the surveillance showed that he didn't sleep. After receiving treatment, he squatted in the corner like a mushroom.

Qi Yun thought: "She recovered immediately after the mission. That's quite unusual."

Normally, when people enter a contaminated area, their mental state will be damaged to varying degrees upon returning, especially for cleaners. This happens frequently, but Zhu Ning doesn't seem to have any problems with this.

Fang Ying asked: "What's her mental value?"

She came here specifically for this question.

Qi Yun was a professional researcher. She operated the touch handle in front of her and kept adjusting the angle. All of Zhu Ning's data was collected.

Qi Yun said as she operated: "Mental value is a very broad term. Generally speaking, it will fluctuate. The mental value is different in different situations. Our theory is to collect the highest peak rather than the average."

Qi Yun continued to explain her research theory to Fang Ying. "Many people think that the mental value is most accurate when collected in combat, but we think otherwise. Our research data shows that mental value is most accurate when collected within six hours after leaving the contaminated area."

"People have different reactions when in combat. Some people would be tense, while some people are very calm. After the mission is over, their brain begins to relax, and their vigilance also starts to lessen."

That is why employees have to be sent to the observation room immediately after the mission is completed. That is the time when the data is the most accurate. If this data was missed, the researchers would have no place to cry, and could only wait after the next mission.

Qi Yun stopped operating the handle, tapped it lightly, and said a number: "1,200. S-level."

"How much?" Fu Ming, who was standing next to her, was a little incredulous and came over to look, "She's a cleaner. 1,200 mental value ? Did you measure it wrong?"

Fang Ying is not a researcher, but it was common sense for them to know that the average person's mental level is around 100.

The mental value of a cleaner is around 300. An ordinary witcher would have around 800, and a top witcher would have around 1,000. Those above 1,000 will be rated as S-level, while anything above 1,400 are rated S+ and will be evaluated as important "talent assets" of the Federation. Currently, there are only three people in the entire Federation with a mental value of S+.

They have never seen many people in Area 103 with a mental value close to a thousand, let alone 1,200. Zhu Ning is the only one with an S-level mental value at present.

People with this mental value will never be sent to Area 103. They would immediately be sent to the military area as important "weapons".

"No," Qi Yun said calmly, "I never make mistakes."

Fu Ming choked.

Qi Yun: "What value came up on your helmet data analysis?"

Fu Ming looked back at his screen and said, "1,253..."

Qi Yun: "Generally speaking, the helmet data's value is within the error margin of the samples I have. Her mental value is definitely S-level."

"Is it accurate?" Fang Ying asked.

"I think it's accurate." Qi Yun glanced at Zhu Ning on the screen and said, "Her actual data may be a little higher than this, but the error margin would not be too big."

It can only be higher, not lower.

Qi Yun: "This must be the reason why she recovered so quickly. She's the only S-level in Area 103."

"This mental value can allow her to enter a Class A contaminated area without wearing any equipment, and recover smoothly after returning. She can even enter a Class S or higher contaminated area, and return without brain damage."

This means that Zhu Ning can walk around comfortably in contaminated areas below level A, and even if she enters an area at level S, she won’t become mentally polluted.

Qi Yun said to Fang Ying: "You may have found a treasure."

It was not picked up by Fang Ying, but selected by "it".

There was a camera in the laboratory, like a cold eye observing everyone. Fang Ying took a look and couldn't figure out "its" intention. She crossed her arms and tapped her upper arm lightly with her index finger. She was thinking about how to report this situation.

Should she report it truthfully? Once it was reported, it might cause a lot of trouble not only for Zhu Ning, but also for the cleaning center in Area 103.

Fang Ying asked: "What about her other physical data?"

Her request is just for formalities. Fang Ying is a cautious person and wants to know all the data, but people with high mental level are mostly in good health. Otherwise, it would be difficult for their body to support such high mental values if they weren't.

"Wait a moment." Fu Ming and Qi Yun started observing the data.

The collection of body function data is rather troublesome; it requires extreme detail.

About half an hour later, Fang Ying finally got the report she wanted.

Zhu Ning’s mental value is too high. If her physical data is equally high, with her qualifications, she cannot be kept in their Cleaning Center. She would be sent to the First Military Region. And even if her physical stats were average, she would still be able to beat half of the witcher squads.

Squeak, squeak—

A long list of report came out of the printer.

Qi Yun read it first. After she was finished, she went back to the start of the report and read it again. She thought she had read it wrong, so she read it over again.

Fu Ming beside her was also very anxious. When he received the report from Qi Yun, his reaction was even greater. "Is the data wrong?!"

Fu Ming did not give up. He measured again and printed the data. It was the same data.

Fu Ming collapsed in the chair, unable to figure out why.

'This was too strange. How could this happen?'

"What's wrong?" Fang Ying asked.

Qi Yun rubbed her brows and sighed, "I thought she was a good candidate...what a pity."

"She's a defective product. Without external intervention, it's hard to say whether she can even survive for a year."

In other words, Zhu Ning was a dying man.

Fang Ying frowned, and she subconsciously looked at Zhu Ning on the screen, only to see Zhu Ning studying the room. She probably have sensed the contaminant device, "Peeping Eyes."

But then she just turned on the TV and watched a boring series for a while, then yawned and fell asleep. Zhu Ning knew that someone was watching and analyzing her behind her back, but her danger premonition didn't warn her of anything, which meant that there was not much danger. So, Zhu Ning covered her head with a blanket and became a salted fish once again.

Her survival principle has always been: as long as she's not dead, nothing is more important than sleeping.

The three people in the research room: "..."

This person has such a big heart.

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The translator has something to say:

For anyone wondering why they called her a dying man, back in her system panel attributes, Zhu Ning's health was just around 20...a very low value!!

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