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Chapter 009: Perfect evolution.
This chapter is edited by Pierce.
The shelter and the PDC were 13 kilometers apart.
Shen Qingyang was locked in and had to pass the time by reading word books since he was restricted from moving around.
Had it not been for this sudden pollution disease, he would have planned to take CET-4.1 He didn’t know whether the registration fee was refundable or not.
The shelter was restless at night.
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Even though the food was provided here, it wasn’t the kind of food the distorted people wanted to eat. The drugs could slow down the symptoms and signs of the disease, but it didn’t relieve the hunger in their stomachs.
Every night, there were distorted people disappearing. Only, no one was reporting them. Naturally, no one really cared.
Shen Qingyang’s new neighbor was an Anura, nearly at the end of the second stage of distortion. Not surprisingly, he would be dragged out for cremation in a few days.
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Tkp dlktbcsa psqvzu vyrrle vbl ryrla-vbkd xlvyz oyzz, “Fvsr xlxsakgkdt osaep. R jdso usw’al vss bwdtau vs pzllr.”
Fbld Ckdtuydt rwv esod bkp cssj yde zlv swv y psqv “ld.”
“Gzvbswtb ol’zz cl tkhld nsxrldpyvksd, R esd’v vbkdj ol nyd pwahkhl. Ps usw jdso vbl ryvkldv kd Jzet. 2? Mbl dlmv xsadkdt, ewakdt vbl xsadkdt assx nblnj, sdzu vbl clepbllvp nshlale kd czsse yde casjld qzlpb pvwnj vs vbl nlkzkdt olal qswde. Rv oyp awxsale vblu ekle sq yd kzzdlpp, cwv kd alyzkvu, psxlsdl poyzzsole vblx kd vbl xkeezl sq vbl dktbv.”
“Jwv vbyv xyd-lyvkdt Vszzwvydv oyp rwzzle swv vbl dlmv eyu yde ekprsple sq.” Fbld Ckdtuydt’p hsknl oyp psqv, “Kwpvknl xyu cl zyvl, cwv kv okzz dlhla cl ycpldv.”
“Ebyv es usw xlyd vbyv Vszzwvydv? Nkjl usw’al dsv y Vszzwvydv uswaplzq. Rv’p clvvla vs byhl y cye zkql vbyd y tsse elyvb. Ebs es usw vbkdj oydvp vs ekl?” Tkp dlktbcsa’p vsdl oyp y ckv yddsule, “R fwpv vaydpqlaale qasx Jzet. 3. Rd vbkp jkde sq kdvldpkhl nyal wdkv, bso zsdt byhl usw clld blal?”
Fbld Ckdtuydt rsdelale y zkvvzl, “R’x yzxspv yv vbl lde sq vbl plnsde pvytl sq ekpvsavksd. Jwv R byhld’v pvyule blal qsa y zsdt vkxl, xyucl fwpv y ollj?”
“Ty, R eked’v lmrlnv vbyv vbl pkvwyvksd blal oswze cl vbkp tsse. Jwkzekdt 123 oyp nbysvkn yv dktbv, lhld vbl xydytlxldv nswzed’v nsdvasz vblx… Ju vbl oyu, casvbla, R’x y zkvvzl bwdtau.”
Fbld Ckdtuydt alrzkle psqvzu, “Mblal yal yrrzlp yde kdpvydv dssezlp kd vbl assx tkhld lhlau eyu.”
His neighbor gave a heavy “tsk”, and after a while, a chewing sound came from the small room next door.
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Shen Qingyang’s fingers were still on the cover of his English book. He felt that tonight might not be going to be peaceful.
Apparently, his new neighbor was a prick, or he wouldn’t have been placed next door to him by the management.
Sure enough, in the middle of the night, there was the sound of nails scratching on the thin metal wall.
Sharp fingers pierced the metal sheet and made a loud noise.
It was reasonable to say that the five senses of the distorted people have been enhanced. A mosquito buzzing in the middle of the night could keep the whole building awake, yet everyone was unmoved in the face of such loud noise.
The distorted people in Building 4 smiled in dissatisfaction into the night and turned around, clearly apathetic, as they covered their heads with their quilts.
The wallpaper of the metal sheet was cut open. As the neighbor tore the metal sheet, he said to Shen Qingyang, “I’m sorry. I know this is not good, but I’m too hungry to bear it. It’s death to be eaten by me. It’s death to be sent to the crematorium. It’s better to die in my stomach and I’ll spend the rest of my life thanking you…”
As he spoke, the bald neighbor felt as if he had stepped on something.
He looked down at what appeared to be a long tentacle. The tentacle was strewn with flesh tumors, and each sarcoma had an embedded eye on it. Some with pity, others with mockery.
“Really?” Shen Qingyang asked gently while sitting at his desk.
The neighbor raised his neck stiffly and looked at the man in front of him.
Shen Qingyang’s face still maintained its original appearance, but from the waist down, his legs were gone, replaced by octopus tentacles.
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These tentacles filled the narrow and cramped room, climbing the walls like plant rhizomes.2
Building 4 was also abnormally different.
On the first night, when the management staff woke up, all the distorted people in Building 4 were dead with only Shen Qingyang left.
Shen Qianyang said he was only defending himself. From the surveillance, it did look that way.
Although he was a distorted person, Shen Qingyang never attacked people actively and would help maintain order. In addition, he hadn’t reached the third stage of distortion for a long time. This made the people above have a different attitude towards him.
However, on the third day, the management staff were free of this worry.
They concluded that they would not be Shen Qingyang’s opponent…
Because of his presence, Building 4, which should have been the most chaotic, was instead the most organized ward in the shelter.
The tentacles wrapped around the neighbor’s body, which did not give him much opportunity to struggle.
Shen Qingyang still had a warm smile on his face, “Since you understand that living a bad life is better than a good death, why did you still court death?”
The squelching sound of viscous fluid came from the small room. Shen Qingyang did not use his mouth to eat but relied on his tentacles.
These tentacles penetrated into the distorted person’s brain. Soon, the distorted person who was nearly two meters high was sucked into a human stick with only skeletons remaining.
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The resident manager’s hands were shaking as he turned on the lights and used the key to open the door.
He pushed open the door, and the room of only more than ten square meters was full of blood.
At first, the space dedicated for Shen Qingyang’s activities was only 2.7 square meters, but because his tentacles were increasingly getting longer, the staff had to open up a few nearby rooms for him to rest.
Shen Qingyang pointed at the dry corpse on the ground and explained, “He took the initiative to attack me.”
The manager nodded in a hurry, “I understand, I understand.”
It could no longer be defeated. If he was not sensible, the situation in the shelter would be very dangerous.
Manager, “Actually, I was looking for you tonight because I got a notice from above…”
Shen Qingyang’s expression looked a little surprised. He then calmly said, “I understand. Can you leave me for two minutes? I need to write a suicide note?”
“No, it’s not into the incinerator.” The manager’s back was already oozing with cold sweat. “It’s like this, a notice came from the PDC side, wanting us to find two distorted people in different stages. We just thought of sending you there… Although there’s a certain danger in trying new drugs, in your case, the shelter’s drugs are no longer useful to you… We might as well try. Of course, it still depends on your opinion.
Shen Qingyang was silent for a moment, “I don’t have any problem with that.”
The manager quickly took out the tester, “Okay, I’ll write a report first and then prepare a vehicle to send you to PDC.”
According to Germane International Standards, a mutation degree above 100 was no longer human but already accomplished an evolution.
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Shen Qingyang stood up from his chair for the first time.
His head directly hit the ceiling, his dark tentacles rolled and surged, and gathered in a mass on his lower body.
When the meter swept over the person in front of him, it made an alarming “didi” sound and emitted a burst of red light.
Shen Qingyang, mutation degree: 99.9.
Lu Yan sat in front of the examiner’s table. On his left was Bai Qiushi, while on his right was Lin Sinan.
After all, he was about to directly face the distorted people here. The slightest misstep would kill the fragile, combat-inefficient Enlightened ability user. Therefore, some strong protection was required.
Lin Sinan handed over a round piece of iron sheet, “This is attached to the skin and can be used with the meter to detect and observe the mutation degree.”
According to Lin Sinan, frequent exposure to Pollutants and excessive use of ability would lead to an increase in mutation degree. This process was usually irreversible. For example, Bai Qiushi’s four eyeballs have grown out, and there was no way to remove them.
Healers could not cure themselves. Consequently, Enlightened healers were extremely cautious about using their abilities
“Can I really still eat?” Lu Yan asked the System.
Although he felt like he had digested some of it on the road, Lu Yan still felt uncomfortably bloated in his stomach.
[Not a problem, you can rest assured that when you reach the limit, you’ll breakthrough. Somebody else is already washing them clean and directly sending them to you. Isn’t that better than you going door to door looking for fallen salted fish?]
Lu Yan thought it had a point.
The first to be brought in was a man in the first stage of distortion.
This man looked newly polluted and not very dangerous, with only a slight facial deformity and his webbing has not even fully formed yet.
The distorted man was tied to the chair with a frightened expression, like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
Lu Yan got up, slowly approached him, and then extended his hand.
A thin, translucent layer of fish scales emerged. Slender, white silk threads came out and took root on top of the distorted person’s head.
This scene was a little bizarre.
Nevertheless, the two present here were both Enlighteneds who have fought against Pollutants for years. They had long been familiar with some strange occurrences.
One by one, the fish eggs were drawn out. The parasitic young fish also sensed the danger lurking inside Lu Yan’s body, as if quietly hibernating.
On the meter, the mutation degree of the distorted man took a significant dip. It kept falling from 57, and finally, to 0. It would take a few days for his body to recover, but his consciousness was obviously clearer.
“Abba, Abba, Abba …… Thank you, Doc.”
Lu Yan’s mutation degree did not change much, it only increased by 0.07.
The accuracy of this instrument was much higher than that of normal electronic measuring instruments.
Seeing the result, Lin Sinan’s face couldn’t help showing joy.
This showed that Lu Yan could indeed treat pollution disease and has fairly stable data of his own.
Bai Qiushi filled out the form to record and transmit the relevant data back to the Headquarters.
Lin Sinan asked, “Dr. Lu, would you like to take a break?”
Lu Yan supported himself and was about to nod when the System suddenly snapped, [I suggest you take a look. After all, you won’t be able to see it when it’s too late.]
“See what?”
[From humans to Pollutants, it is called “evolution,”  but there are successes and failures in evolution. What you have seen before, whether it is a distorted person or a Pollutant, is a failed mutationally evolved species. However, this next case belongs to a perfectly evolved species.]
“What’s the difference between a perfectly evolved species… and a mutationally evolved species?”
[If I must say, it’s probably the difference between a phoenix and a chicken.]
Lu Yan admitted that the System’s little gimmick had indeed tempted him.
He smiled and said, “I’m fine, no need. Let’s settle it all at once.”
Thus, Lin Sinan spoke a few words towards the intercom.
After a while, four strong officers came in carrying an iron cage.
This iron cage was urgently sent from the zoo, with a fishing net-like grid on its surface to prevent the captive inside from escaping.
Now, there was an…octopus in the iron cage?
Deep black tentacles filled the three-meter-high cage. The eyes on the surface of the tentacles looked around, full of curiosity and some evil.
Bai Qiushi’s four pupils scurried around like a compass in his eye sockets. He frowned, “It’s no longer different from Pollutants. Who sent it?”
As soon as he finished speaking, the tentacles parted to make a way, allowing the innermost Shen Qingyang to be revealed.
Shen Qingyang grabbed the railing with a surprised expression, “Dr. Lu, I didn’t expect to see you again.”
Lu Yan stared at his face, a little surprised, “I also did not expect it.”
He thought that the property management brother would turn into an Anura.
“I’m relieved to see that you’re alright. I’ve been worried about you these days,” Shen Qingyang asked, “Why is Dr. Lu here?”
Lu Yan succinctly replied, “Treat disease.”
Shen Qingyang smiled, his eyebrows arched in a soft manner, “It seems that I have become your patient again.”
Even though Shen Qingyang has been acting meekly, Bai Qiushi’s gaze was still full of vigilance.
Lu Yan moved a little closer to the iron cage, then stopped and extended his hand.
The thin, white threads spread out once more, only to have a slight hesitation when they approached Shen Qingyang.
Shen Qingyang’s expression was full of encouragement. He even took the initiative to reach out a section of his tentacle and stick to Lu Yan’s thin, white threads.
Without a doubt, his hand was surprisingly electrified.
Only Shen Qingyang’s smile did not change much. Thus, it was clear that that power grid was nothing more than a formality to him.
The thin threads wrapped around the tentacle. After realizing that the other party did not intend to resist, the Kingfish became significantly more exuberant.
It began to extract the pollution source from Shen Qingyang’s body.
The System gave detailed information.
[Shen Qingyang, perfectly evolved species, Pollutant. The pollution value is 6100— look, it’s also mutation, yet he’s much stronger than you.]
[Mutational Abilities: Mimicry, Life Absorption.]
[Mutational Course: Tentacle Gigantization.]
Lu Yan was inwardly shocked, “He’s already a Pollutant?”
[Yes, Mimicry allows him to disguise.]
“But he still seems to retain his rationality and social nature.”
[That’s why it’s called a perfectly evolved species.]
…
“The mutation degree has decreased.” Lin Sinan stared at the meter with tense seriousness, “but it’s slower.”
After a full half an hour, Shen Qingyang’s mutation degree only dropped to 90.
In contrast, Lu Yan’s mutation degree increased by 2. His spiritual power threshold, on the other hand, skyrocketed by 270. With a total of 440, he would immediately be out of the bottom tier standard.
“Stop the experiment,” Bai Qiushi said on the spot, “This distorted person doesn’t need to be sent back to the shelter. Stay in the PDC for now.”
Lin Sinan and Bai Qiushi were students cultivated at the same time and used to live in the same dormitory, which was the reason why Lin Sinan dared to be impudent to him.
He knew Bai Qiushi very well.
Lin Sinan clearly understood that Qiushi was prepared to kill.
Although he didn’t know why.
Shen Qingyang didn’t look sad, “Thank you, Mr. Lu. I’m really happy to know you’re fine.”
There was a saying in traditional Chinese medical science: “That a person in poor health could not handle something so strong as a tonic.”
Lu Yan felt that his current state was very appropriate.
He was tired, lethargic, and just wanted to sleep.3
Lu Yan nodded, “Okay. See you tomorrow.”
Since he was his own patient, he naturally needed to be treated, even if he was a Pollutant.
Shen Qingyang was taken aback, a light smile bloomed on his face, but he did not respond.
Together with the cage, he was locked in a closed, dark room in the PDC.
The walls of the room were built with special materials that could immensely affect a Pollutants’ state.
The smile on Shen Qingyang’s face finally and slowly disappeared.
His tentacles in the cage continued to surge, finally converging and gathering into a bundle.
Both of his legs reformed back under him.
He appeared more human than ever before, but if someone checked with a detection device, they would find that Shen Qingyang’s mutation degree has exceeded the dangerous value of 100.
By the second day he spent in the shelter, he was no longer a human being.
Shen Qingyang opened the power grid. The high voltage made his hair explode. He felt slightly numb but quite comfortable.
He came to the door of the room.
The door required a triple password that was impossible for an ordinary person to breakthrough.
Therefore, Shen Qingyang did not use any methods that ordinary people would use.
A tentacle came out from behind his waist and forcefully slammed the wall in front of him, making a loud crash.
The wall made of special alloy collapsed like a piece of tofu with a big hole hewn out.
The alarm sounded, but Shen Qingyang didn’t care. He was even in the mood to walk towards the grooming mirror, in front of the bathroom door, to tidy up his clothes.
At the end of the corridor, Bai Qiushi entered an obvious state of combat readiness, his eyes full of vigilance.
[Ability: Barrier]. An invisible wall of air enveloped the area, blocking all of Shen Qingyang’s retreat.
Shen Qingyang sighed, “Although I don’t mind fighting with you, I really don’t want to be seen by Dr. Lu now. Besides, Dr. Lu doesn’t sleep well, the loud sound will wake him.”
He turned on the faucet, instantly turned into a strip of sarcomas, and burrowed in.
The author has something to say:
Q: Why is the property management brother so strong?
A: The Pollutants’ evolutionary path is different from that of the Enlighteneds.