Translator’s Note
Not gonna lie. I’m pressured right now. XD I have not updated for more than a month. Also, this single update’s main purpose is for us to know if you’re fine with the terms we formulated because this chapter will contain terminologies that we’ll be using throughout the novel. I also changed a vital term (i.e. pathological change → mutation) in Chapter 2.
“This kind of frog man has corrosive saliva. Gastric acid is as corrosive as aqua regia.”1[According to Illinois (n.d.), Aqua Regia (Latin for “royal water”) is an acidic, corrosive, and oxidative mixture of three parts concentrated hydrochloric acid (HCl) and one part concentrated nitric acid (HNO3).]
“It has an obvious response to human flesh and blood, consistent with the pattern of distortions in polluted patients.”
“The skin is flexible and waterproof. The weakness is in the abdomen.”
“Most of its body is composed of rapid muscle fibers. It is preliminarily speculated that it has strong explosive power and poor endurance.”
Lu Yan wrote down the relevant data in his work record book one by one.
After two days of recovery, his injuries no longer affected his movement.
He’s a doctor who has everything at home. Therefore, it didn’t seem surprising to have a set of scalpels for dissection.
The following parts of the text will be scrambled to prevent theft from aggregators and unauthorized epub making. Please support our translators by reading on secondlifetranslations (dot) com. If you are currently on the site and and you are seeing this, please clear your cache.
Mbkp zso-zlhlz Vszzwvydv bye lppldvkyzzu zspv kvp bwxyd nbyaynvlakpvknp yde bye nsxrzlvlzu zspv kvp pydkvu. Rv sdzu alvykdle y rakxkvkhl elpkal vs pnyhldtl yde oyp ds zsdtla nsdpkelale bwxyd. Lsv vs xldvksd vbyv vbkp twu vakle vs jkzz bkx.
Mbwp, yzvbswtb bl pvkzz alvykdle bkp alprlnv qsa bkp talyv vlynbla, Nw Zyd eke dsv pbso xlanu obld bl pvyavle.
Nw Zyd vbalo vbl qast xlyv kdvs vbl xlyv takdela yde nbwadle kv wr. Tl vbld qzwpble kv esod vbl eaykd vs ewxr kv. Ebkzl eskdt ps, vbl Fupvlx pyke okvb rkvu, [Mbkp jkde sq qast xlyv…kp alyzzu iwkvl vypvu.]&dcpr;&dcpr;
Nw Zyd, “R vbkdj vbyv yp y rlapsd, R pbswzed’v.”&dcpr;&dcpr;
[…Rq usw pyu ps.]
G eyu byp rypple pkdnl vbl cseu oyp ekprsple sq, yde Nw Zyd bye clld yoyjl qsa dlyazu 30 bswap.
Tl qlzz cynj vs pzllr cwv oyp pvkzz yoyjldle cu y jdsnj yv vbl essa yv 10 s’nzsnj kd vbl xsadkdt.
Mblal oyp dsvbkdt vs cl esdl pkdnl bl byp yzoyup clld y zktbv pzllrla.
The property management brother shouted at the door, “Mr. Lu, are you awake?”
The name of the property management brother was Shen Qingyang, who has been working here for two years.
The door lock was corroded before. In this special situation, Lu Yan couldn’t find anyone to change the lock, so he had to change it to a new one himself.
Electronic lock and a fingerprint unlock feature— the one without a keyhole.
He turned on the smart peephole monitor and asked through the speaker, “What’s the matter?”
“Do you know where the tenant opposite to you has gone?” Shen Qingyang inquired, his eyes were slightly dull, holding a bottle of mineral water in his hand and taking a sip every half a minute. “He didn’t take his water for the last two days. We looked at the surveillance and found no one. We’re wondering where he went.”
Lu Yan calmly answered, “I don’t know.”
“Well, if you hear any news, you can contact me in the real estate group. I’m off to the next house to deliver water.”
Lu Yan wondered if Shen Qingyang himself noticed that when he left, he walked with small skips.
If it was a child, it would probably look cute to walk and jump like that.
Lu Yan was silent for a moment, feeling that there might be more people infected in this city than he thought.
The System also sighed, [The speed of evolution has accelerated. Usually, it will take at least a month from the first stage to the third stage. K City is going to get out of control faster than expected.]
Lu Yan hesitated for a moment and asked, “Isn’t there a Pollution Disease Prevention and Control Center?”
[The number of Enlighteneds could not keep up with the Pollutants, and now they can’t even keep up with the speed of evolution. Fires are starting all over the world. How do you put them out with only a bottle of water?]
Lu Yan thought it had a point.
Lu Yan waited for a while, carried the water and fresh food items into the house, and turned on the TV as usual.
Although he had stocked up on supplies, most of them were instant-packed foods. Fresh ingredients needed to be delivered by others.
The TV station was broadcasting news at the moment, which was the only program the residents of K City could receive now. The TV station was severely understaffed. Nowadays, they could only provide signals at the 10th, 14th, and 20th hour every day which only lasted for an hour every time.
Without covering the truth and pretending that everything was peaceful, the female anchor solemnly introduced the pollution disease on the screen.
The anchor’s voice trembled slightly as she read the news, probably seeing the information for the first time as well.
This is the most grievous trial humanity has ever faced worldwide since the beginning of the new century.
Now K City has issued a yellow warning.
This pollution disease is transmitted through egg parasitism, and the parasitized part is infectious. Parasitic fish eggs mostly survive in tap water, so citizens are advised to pay attention to their drinking water.
According to research, parasite distortion is divided into three stages. The first stage is characterized by… The distortion period has a duration of 7 to 50 days. The final transformed Pollutants are divided into three categories: Anura,2[Chinese: 蛙人; pinyin: waren; literal translation; frog man. ‘Anura’ (plural: Anurae) is a term Luna (another amazing translator) derived from the frog’s scientific name, Anura.] Osta,3[Chinese: 鱼人; pinyin: yuren; literal translation; fish man/merman. ‘Osta’ (plural: Ostae) is a term Entropy-ge (another great translator) derived from Osteichthyes, one of the classes of fish.] and Phyta,4[Chinese: 藻人; pinyin: zaoren; literal translation; algae/seaweed man. Luna-jie derived ‘Phyta’ (plural: Phytae) from the taxonomic division or phylum of plants or algae.] in ascending order of danger. Distorted people are highly aggressive and are no longer humans. If you encounter a distorted person, please seek shelter immediately. If you notice that someone in your home is starting to show signs of distortion, call the police immediately.
Despite the extraordinary strength of the enemy, we still cannot give up hope. The K City authorities have never given up on the citizens.
In addition, people who have suffered contamination but no symptoms of distortion can call the Pollution Disease Prevention and Control Center. At this critical moment of life and death, we need everyone’s strength!
With the photos flashed on the television, the last trace of cover-up regarding the pollution disease was torn off. Trepidation and anxiety gripped everyone’s heart.
Many people realized the seriousness of the problem through the TV and went to the shelter, either voluntarily or taken in by the PDC.
Other citizens chose to flee overnight and as a result, gunfire rang continuously until dawn. Armed forces were still in service when the social order hadn’t broken down.
On the fifteenth day of the blockade, for the first time, someone came to the edge of the city.
It was a taxi driver who, with his familiarity with the city, had shaken off the trail behind him. He drove down the highway out of the city, his face showed happiness like he obtained a new lease of life.
The streets were empty and more desolate than ever. The driver drove down a side road. This road was in a worse condition, but through this path, he didn’t have to go through the toll station to get on the highway leading to other cities…
Passing through the Ancient Tea Horse Road5[Also called Southern Silk Road. Link.] was the nearby M City.
Seeing the victory ahead, the smile on the driver’s lips solidified on his face.
On the edge of K City, a wall several meters high had been built at some point.
The wall was endless, smooth, and exceptional, like a giant cage.
The Headquarters sent Enlightened reinforcements.
With the [Ability: Barrier] and a spiritual power threshold of 8700, Bai Quishi was the SpecOps6[Special Operations] Division’s Team 2 and the Captain of the Squadron 1.
He sat high up on the city wall. His expression was full of impatience as he listened to Lin Sinan’s report.
“It’s impossible to fight. If it weren’t for my fear of dying, I wouldn’t have awakened this ability. Not to mention that I’m not physically fit, and I’m not one of those combat mad dogs … What? I didn’t scold that guy. I will hold this earthen city wall for you for a week at most. In one week, control all pollution in the city. Otherwise, the Headquarters will consider using thermal weapons. It’s the kind that— boogsh — explodes like a mushroom. Do you understand?”
The 16th day of the lockdown.
Shen Qingyang’s face already showed obvious signs of distortion, including anterior7[It is an anatomical terminology that pertains to the front, especially situated in the front of the body.] bulging of the eyeballs.
Lu Yan dissected Zhou Kaiwen. The other party’s brain was atrophied8[Brain atrophy refers to the death of brain cells or neurons.] so severely that it was only as big as a walnut. All its surface grooves had disappeared, appearing like a piece of smooth foie gras. 9It’s a goose liver:
Without a doubt, this was also the reason why some Pollutants were still able to move despite their brains being blown out. It’s ironic why it’s a no-brainer that they don’t need their brains at all.
Shen Qingyang stopped at Lu Yan’s door.
He rang the doorbell and asked, “Mr. Lu, are you there?”
A few moments later, Lu Yan’s somewhat distorted voice came from the door’s speaker, “Yes.”
“It’s good you’re still there. This is the last time I’ll be delivering water. The Pollution Disease Center’s examiner said that I will soon enter the second stage of distortion. Although I don’t know exactly where the distortion has occurred, I can see it. Everyone has become afraid of me.” Shen Qingyang’s voice was sluggish, “There is a shortage of people to handle logistics now. I would have gone to the quarantine center a long time ago if there wasn’t a delay in finding someone to replace me… Do you know about the quarantine shelter? It’s where the distorted people are gathered for treatment.”
“They call it the 22nd Century Concentration Camp. None of the infected people sent there survived. However, there’s no other way. When I watched the news, those who became distorted only have the instinct to eat. It’s said that memories build people, yet when I reached that point of distortion, I would no longer be “me.” So I think it doesn’t matter if my body dies at the quarantine shelter.”
“Although I‘m unable to know what class distortion I’ll be, it’s inevitable. Dr. Lu, I want to remind you… that you smell different from ordinary people, you smell quite good. You must pay attention to safety. Even though the area has been divided for testing, it’s still very chaotic outside. I have deleted the surveillance for you that night, so it’s good that you’re safe.”10[Kris Xian: Oh my gosh! He knows!]
Just like making funeral arrangements, Shen Qingyang rambled on and on.
“Also, thank you, Dr. Lu.”
Shen Qingyang came from the countryside and dropped out of junior high school. Later, he moved bricks on a construction site and broke a leg. It was Lu Yan who was in charge of the operation at that time.
He was saved but one of his legs became limp, and he couldn’t go back to work. Lu Yan just saw the recruitment information downstairs and introduced it to him.
Out of nowhere, Shen Qingyang’s stomach made a few “rumbles” of hunger.
He was still eating like usual yet the food no longer gave him a sense of satiety.
When he woke up this morning, he even secretly cut off a piece of his own flesh because of hunger, and it unexpectedly didn’t hurt much.
Shen Qingyang took one last look at the door of Lu Yan’s house, turned around, and left.
Afterwards, he went to the shelter under the supervision of the Pollution Prevention and Control Center’s staff.
There were seven people in this neighborhood who went to the shelter.
More people in K City suffered from pollution than expected, so the beds here were particularly tight.
The accommodation provided by the shelter was a single room. The rooms were temporarily built and were extremely narrow. They were only separated by a metal sheet in the middle, similar to sleeper trains11
There was naturally no sound insulation in such a place. The sound of an apple being chewed from next door could be heard loud and clear.
Fortunately, Shen Qingyang was accustomed to hardships, but he didn’t think he could make it out alive. He was just worried about Doctor Lu who was still in the neighborhood. Thus, he spent his first night sleepless.
K City was adjacent to W City.
A man in a black robe stood on the outskirts of the city, looking at the earthen wall enclosing K City.
The high wall not only blocked the land upward but also blocked the river downward.
The special medicine used to kill fish eggs has been discharged into the water. In about two days, the Pollutants in the river would be completely poisoned.
The black-robed figure could not be identified, whether a man or a woman. The entire person was tightly covered.
“The center is the best place to incubate. Only by devouring can we achieve better evolution. Sometimes I really appreciate the bright aspects of human nature. At least they have built a center, haven’t they?
The black-robed man stood still, there was no one else around.
Surprisingly, the voice was coming from the back of his head.
“I don’t know which lucky person the Kingfish egg will fall into…In order to hatch this time, I also made sure that H City was in a chaotic state first in order for the Headquarters not to be able to handle it, so of course, they won’t have any spare energy to take care of of this place.
“Yes, I know, your son is still in K City. But that doesn’t matter, does it? Besides, don’t tell me you still have some fatherly emotions like that.
“This process will naturally involve many sacrifices. However, all sacrifices are for the coming of the great God.”
The wind blew and lifted the hood off of the black-robed man.
Its front face had only one protruding eye, no mouth, and the white of its eye was bloodshot. Behind the head was a constantly changing human face, sometimes male, sometimes female.
“K City is just the beginning. Sooner or later, this world will be littered with the relics of God!” The human face’s expression was filled with fervor, and then calmed down, “and we are the creators of God.”
The author has something to say:
[Information that can be unlocked]
Enlightened (ability users) settings:
1. Divided according to ability: Combat, support, and special.
2. There are strong and weak abilities!
3. Spiritual power threshold: The higher, the stronger.
4. An Enlightened can awaken multiple abilities.
5. Pathological change (mutation) is present in many Enlighteneds.
***
Pollutants (diseased evolutionary species) settings:
1. Pollutants also possess abilities similar to Enlighteneds.
2. The strength of the Pollutant relies on the pollution value. There are special testing instruments, and the upper limit of the instrument is 10,000. Comparable to the spiritual power threshold, the higher, the stronger.
3. Three consequences of pollution: A. Death. B. Become a Pollutant after distortion. C. Become an Enlightened.
4. The low-level Pollutants only have the instinct to eat while the high-level Pollutants (perfectly evolved bodies) have intelligence.
5. Normal people’s pathology degree will increase when exposed to Pollutants. However, the Enlightened has a certain resistance.
Translator’s Note:
and that’s the end of our Biology class. Lol.
Also, (a) co-translator(s) is/are greatly appreciated to provide faster updates. Are you up for it?
Thanks for the chapter.
You’re welcome! ❤️
Thanks for the chapter :3
No problem! ❤️
Your life got super busy! You had to prioritize, so don’t feel bad! Real life has to come first. It’s the only way things work. SQY is such a good guy. I really feel so bad for him! 😭 Has eaten himself but just wants to protect people so he’s volunteering to go to the center to die. Thanks for your hard work translating!
Thank you for always reading and commenting despite my slow a$$ updates. Have a blissful day!
I feel so bad for Shen Qingyan. 😭
Shen Qingyan was a real one 😔✊