Chapter 55: Introduction to Special Pollution

Even though he’d worked late the previous day, Lu Xin still arrived at the company at nine the next morning, right on schedule.

Having hope always gives you a bit more motivation than usual.

The project Lu Xin had been ‘assigned’ at the company was now on track. Brother Zhang—who loved slacking off, drinking, and shirking responsibility—was handling the legwork and market research. This meant contacting the various fiberglass filter cloth factories in the Second Satellite City to assess their product quality. Then, Sister Sun—gossipy, greedy, and a bit petty—would compare the different prices.

Normally, Lu Xin wouldn’t need to get involved in this work. Plus, the piles of documents that used to overwhelm the office had mysteriously dwindled, leaving him feeling quite relaxed—almost like he could take the whole day off.

Still, he wasn’t planning on relaxing too much.

Once at the office, Lu Xin quickly threw himself into work, heading out to the factories to check product quality and prices himself.

It wasn’t that he felt forced to put on a show; after working at the company for so long, he understood office politics.

As the project lead, if he didn’t understand the market and left everything to Brother Zhang and Sister Sun, problems were likely to arise. Brother Zhang was already a bit greedy; now, with this authority, it would be easy for him to collude with the factories, skim off the top, and take kickbacks… Of course, Lu Xin didn’t necessarily think kickbacks were wrong—everyone took them, so what could you say?

He was just worried Brother Zhang would get too greedy and cause big trouble, making things difficult for everyone.

Under these circumstances, the more he understood the market, the more likely they were to subconsciously stay honest.

You always have to be serious about work, after all.

Besides, the next ‘Model Employee’ selection was coming up soon.

…

…

After finishing his workday, Lu Xin clocked out on time and headed to the Security Hall for professional training.

Chen Jing’s arrangement made sense. After all, how could he do this kind of work without the necessary professional knowledge?

Besides, the daily meal and transportation allowance was so generous…

Still, Lu Xin chose the time slot after his regular work hours to avoid interfering with his job at the business company.

“My name is Lu Xin. Colonel Chen arranged for me to come here.”

Upon arriving at the Security Hall, Lu Xin stated his name, much like someone reporting a case.

“Hello, Mr. Lu. Please follow me!”

The girl on duty in the lobby studied Lu Xin’s face for a moment before immediately getting up.

She led Lu Xin into an elevator, and they began to ascend.

The Security Hall served as the Second Satellite City’s safety and security department. The first floor was the reporting area, the second held various department offices, and the third was likely where the security chief and others held meetings. However, the young girl took Lu Xin straight to the fourth floor. Stepping out of the elevator, they found it eerily quiet, with almost no one in sight and no cameras visible in the hallway.

She brought Lu Xin to a rather spacious office. Inside, he was completely alone.

At the far end of the long desk hung an enormous LCD screen.

A document pouch lay on the desk.

After bringing Lu Xin a cup of coffee and asking about his dinner preferences, the young girl quietly excused herself.

“Hello, Mr. Lone Soldier!”

Lu Xin had just taken a sip of coffee when the LCD screen flickered with static before stabilizing. A screen popped up with the title ‘Classification of Special Pollution Types’ as a soft voice sounded.

Lu Xin recognized the voice—it belonged to Han Bing, whom he’d worked with on a previous mission. He quickly replied, “Hello.”

Only after speaking did it occur to him that Han Bing might not be able to hear him.

Han Bing quickly responded, “Hello, I’m Han Bing. I’ll be responsible for your basic theoretical training during this period!”

“Oh, okay!”

Lu Xin nodded quickly. He hadn’t expected her to be his trainer; he’d pictured some bald old professor.

He felt a slight pang of disappointment. It would have been nice if Han Bing’s face could appear on the screen.

It wasn’t that he was being lecherous; anyone would be curious about what a girl with such a pleasant voice looked like, right?

“Alright. Before we begin the explanation, I hope you’ll keep this in mind.”

Han Bing’s voice echoed softly in the office: “Everything related to Mental Pollution Sources is highly mysterious and difficult for ordinary people to accept. It can easily lead to misunderstandings and chaos, so it remains classified information inaccessible to the general public.”

“Every case we handle, even those with the lowest security classification, is top secret to ordinary people.”

“Therefore, you must ensure that the content of this training and the documents provided to you are never seen by ordinary people!”

“If there’s an accidental leak, please notify Headquarters immediately. We will dispatch personnel to handle it…”

…

“Okay, understood!”

Lu Xin agreed seriously.

Chen Jing had told him something similar initially, just not as formally.

“Alright then, please open the file on your desk!”

Han Bing said softly, “I will explain according to the table of contents. If there’s anything you don’t understand, feel free to interrupt me and ask questions.”

Lu Xin acknowledged and picked up the document pouch from the desk. It felt quite thick, suggesting substantial content inside. Surprisingly, the seal was secured with fresh wax waiting to be broken, subtly emphasizing its importance.

As Lu Xin opened the pouch, Han Bing’s voice took on a more analytical tone: “The concept of Mental Pollution Sources was first proposed twenty-seven years ago by the Moon Eclipse Research Institute, which was then known as the Red Moon Institute. However, this concept didn’t gain widespread recognition initially. It’s only in recent years that it has gradually become known and accepted by the major High-wall Cities…”

“So, strictly speaking, research into Special Pollution has only been ongoing for less than thirty years. Many theories have been proposed and confirmed during this time, but many others remain purely theoretical. Furthermore, with the increasing frequency of Special Pollution Sources appearing in recent years, a vast amount of data and cases, whose authenticity is difficult to determine, require our investigation.”

“Simply put, the study of Special Pollution is far from complete!”

“Our… our philosophy has always been a parallel path of skepticism and practice.”

“We may not be able to explain every mystery or strange phenomenon, but we will keep searching until we find the answers!”

…

“Alright, I understand!”

Lu Xin nodded slightly, understanding what she meant.

Weren’t his own ‘family’ also something they wanted answers for but couldn’t provide?

“Excellent. Let’s begin the official training now!”

Han Bing seemed pleased with Lu Xin’s cooperative attitude, her voice revealing a hint of ease: “Your training will primarily cover two areas. The first is Mental Pollution, including the classification and levels of Special Pollution Sources, standard cleanup methods, analysis of unconventional cases, and so on. The second area is Psychic Power, covering ability series, extensions, analysis, etc.”

“Next, I’ll start by explaining the classification of Special Pollution Sources…”