Chapter 5: An Invitation and an Explanation

*Splash splash splash…*

When Lu Xin escaped the Subway Station, he saw chaos erupting around him.

Just moments ago the streets had seemed deserted but now countless black Jeeps materialized alongside soldiers in uniform. They seemed to spring from the ground itself, heavily armed, their boots thudding heavily as they swarmed the area, swiftly setting up roadblocks and aiming their weapons, sealing off every street.

Faintly he could even hear sounds of pursuit, capture, and gunfire. Lu Xin felt a jolt of surprise. Not daring to delay he scrambled quickly between the shadows of walls, scaling the sides of apartment buildings dotted with broken windows, putting distance between himself and the commotion.

Fortunately no one seemed to expect an escape route up the walls, and combined with his speed, he didn’t attract any attention.

Using both hands and feet, Lu Xin moved like an agile spider, climbing several hundred meters away onto a building over ten stories high. Only then did he leap up high, crouching on the building’s ledge. Turning back towards the Subway Station he saw dark figures crowding every street. The entire area including the Coffee Shop and the station itself was completely surrounded, watertight.

A wave of fear washed over him at the close call.

“Brother, how are you going to thank me?”

His sister’s voice sounded nearby. She was crouching not far from Lu Xin, hugging her patched-together Teddy Bear.

Her messy hair hung loose, her eyes shining faintly – a sign of her immense satisfaction.

“Thank you?”

Still rattled, Lu Xin felt a surge of annoyance. “I ought to smack you…”

But the words died on his lips as he recalled the danger. His resolve softened. “Thank you…”

“You’re my brother, I’m your sister. Why say thank you?”

Sister giggled, her hair falling to cover most of her face, giving her an eerie cuteness.

Just as Lu Xin was about to praise her, she suddenly looked up, eyes full of expectation. “Just give me a toy instead!”

“Another toy?”

Lu Xin glanced at the Teddy Bear in her arms, exasperated. “Don’t you have one right here?”

“Teddy is very cute!”

Sister hugged the bear tighter. “But Teddy can’t talk!”

Her voice grew excited as she described it in detail, “I want one that can talk…”

Lu Xin tried to placate her, “I’ll buy you one with electronic sounds later!”

“Electronic sounds aren’t fun…”

Sister’s smile turned unsettling. “Not just talk, I want one that screams. The more miserable the screams the better…”

Lu Xin said, “Have you ever heard of a screaming chicken?”

Sister seemed taken aback. After a moment of silence she suddenly declared, “This is boring. I’m not playing with you anymore!”

“Hey, you…”

Lu Xin started to speak but saw his sister suddenly leap up. Her small figure moved like an agile kitten, jumping directly off the building. He rushed to look down, only to see her land lightly on a horizontal electric wire below. The wind blew, swaying her gently with the wire. She shook her head at Lu Xin and smiled, “Brother, you need to be careful. Someone’s watching you…”

Lu Xin grew alert. “Who?”

“Not telling…”

Sister giggled, climbing along the wire to the opposite building and quickly vanishing through a broken window.

“That girl…”

Lu Xin looked down from the tall building feeling a bit dizzy. “You left. How am I supposed to get down?”

…

…

Remaining vigilant Lu Xin leaped from this apartment building to the one next door. Then he crept down floor by floor through the dilapidated stairwell. Nearing the ground floor he deliberately took several detours, using leaning utility poles and the remnants of collapsed houses reduced to single walls, finally emerging onto a street several hundred meters away, walking cautiously.

He deliberately straightened his clothes, stuffed his hands in his pockets, preparing to blend naturally into any crowd.

“Get in. I’ll buy you a coffee!”

But he hadn’t taken more than a step when a voice suddenly spoke.

Startled Lu Xin spun around and saw a woman leaning against a Jeep.

She wore a casual suit and had short hair. A large pair of brown sunglasses covered her face. Her figure was lean and agile radiating a wild sort of charisma. This aura even seemed to lend a sharp edge to the high heels she wore. Behind her the dark Jeep looked like an iron beast, tough and fierce.

Coffee?

Lu Xin’s heart jumped. He immediately recalled his sister’s warning. He was twenty-three and had never been asked out by a woman, especially not one like this; she definitely wouldn’t be interested in his type. So she must be one of the people who surrounded the subway station? Maybe she’d been watching him all along? Asking him for coffee didn’t seem hostile…

Although being suddenly asked for coffee by a woman like this seemed unusual, Lu Xin didn’t dare refuse.

So he murmured, “Can we get something else? I don’t really feel like coffee right now!”

The short-haired woman seemed slightly surprised by Lu Xin’s composure, but she had clearly encountered people like him before.

Recalling what Lu Xin had just gone through she smiled. “Alright then, let’s go to a bar!”

With that she naturally opened the car door for Lu Xin.

Lu Xin obediently sat in the passenger seat. Though he hadn’t ridden in cars many times in his life he didn’t look around or touch anything inside. He just sat quietly in the passenger seat not even sneaking glances at the woman driving.

The woman also didn’t rush to speak just focused on driving.

After about twenty minutes the car turned onto a sparsely populated street. The woman parked, led Lu Xin through a dim underground passage, and arrived at a door with an iron gate. She pushed it open and went inside.

The bar hadn’t opened for business yet; it was dim and quiet inside.

A sleepy-eyed bartender opened the door for them without a word, placed a bottle of alcohol and two glasses on a table, then went back to catch up on sleep. The large bar was left empty except for Lu Xin and the woman.

“My name is Chen Jing. I don’t mean you any harm, but I admit I arranged what you encountered today!”

The short-haired woman spoke frankly placing a green-covered ID on the table in front of Lu Xin. Lu Xin glanced at it, learning she was from Qingcheng Main City the highest-level operative of the Qingcheng Inspection Department. He couldn’t help but look up at her. People from the main city were beyond the imagination of Satellite City residents, especially someone of her high status inviting him for a drink. It was very strange.

Thinking about the file the Director had inexplicably asked him to deliver and the monster in the coffee shop, Lu Xin knew something was wrong. Being suddenly set up and encountering such a terrifying event should have made him angry but Lu Xin noticed a bulge under the woman’s jacket at her waist – knew it was a gun – so he just lowered his head and asked, “Why?”

“Let me start with the standard explanation!”

Chen Jing didn’t elaborate on that question. She bit off the cork and poured two glasses of alcohol.

“I belong to a department that handles abnormal affairs specializing in managing pollution within the high-wall cities!”

Lu Xin blinked clearly unable to process such words.

Chen Jing pushed a glass towards Lu Xin. “You can think of us as: Official.”

“After the Red Moon Incident the reorganization of the major main cities and satellite cities, dealing with and exterminating the lunatics outside the walls, resistance against the Wasteland Knights and Spirit Cults, as well as the construction and routine maintenance of the high walls – our people handle all of it!”

“And now our main focus is dealing with pollution events in the main city and the five major satellite cities!”

“Abnormal events?”

Lu Xin looked up at her.

“Yes strange incidents beyond normal understanding. Like what you encountered in the coffee shop!”

Chen Jing nodded, took out a file and pushed it towards Lu Xin. “Take a look!”

Lu Xin saw the words “Confidential” printed on the cover page.

He slowly opened it and saw lines of typed text and numerous data points on the first page.

Target ID: D-Class Special Pollution Source — 036

Target Level: One

Infection Level: Low (Contact transmission / Infection rate 90% / Deep infection rate 70%)

Growth Potential: High

Danger Level: Low

Target Characteristics: Target is a Level One Mental Monster capable of infecting any life form through close contact. Does not possess airborne transmission capability. Can be eliminated by destroying the Mental Monster’s host. The host remains within the scope of a normal person and can be harmed by physical attacks. According to current observations the source itself does not possess higher intelligence only repeating actions performed before infection simple communication.

Special Cleanup Methods: None

…

…

As Lu Xin read the file Chen Jing slowly lit a cigarette.

She began speaking slowly, “The Red Moon Incident turned over seventy percent of the world’s population into lunatics. We survivors can only live in the main cities and satellite cities protected by high walls. But in reality even the survivors aren’t necessarily normal. Many have also developed Mental Alterations. They can affect the people or things around them!”

“We call such situations Pollution!”

“Pollution?”

Lu Xin looked up hearing this familiar yet suddenly foreign word.

After the Red Moon Incident the collapse of civilization and breakdown of order led to the destruction of countless chemical plants power stations etc. and the leakage of waste materials. This left traces of pollution everywhere in the world especially outside the high-wall cities. Even after thirty years many places haven’t improved. Residents of the high-wall cities were certainly familiar with pollution but the pollution this woman spoke of seemed different.

“That’s right Pollution!”

Chen Jing nodded repeating herself. “Just like pollution sources in the ordinary sense they radiate outwards affecting those nearby causing them to exhibit similar symptoms. It’s similar to a plague only this kind of pollution is more mysterious more terrifying!”

“The coffee shop you entered today was one such case. Before today it had already polluted fifty-two people!”

…

“If…”

Lu Xin was somewhat shaken by the number. He tried hard to digest Chen Jing’s words gesturing with his hand:

“What happens if you get polluted?”

“You get sick!”

Chen Jing’s answer was very simple, almost mechanical as if she had answered it too many times:

“Ordinary pollution makes a person’s body sick while mental pollution makes a person’s mind sick!”

“The consequences vary. Some develop severe depression and commit suicide unable to bear it!”

“Some lose their sanity and frantically attack people around them!”

“Some lose the ability to communicate with everything around them…”

“And some develop an intense desire to harm themselves…”

…

“Simply put pollution sources create a type of contagious mental illness!”