Chapter 20: The Cannibalistic Hot Pot Restaurant (Part Nine)

Zhu Ning had always been curious about what would happen if spiritual pollution were used on a source of contamination.

To reframe the question: does a contaminant need to maintain its own mental "health"? Zhu Ning had encountered few pollutants; the fishman was stranded because he missed the last train of Line One.

Later, she checked the news from that day—underground radiation had spread throughout the district, forcing the last train of Line One to stop prematurely at the previous station.

The fishman waited at the station, growing increasingly anxious. He kept muttering that he had missed the last train and couldn’t afford a taxi.

Contaminants also require a safe zone to maintain their mental stability, though their standards differ from those of ordinary people.

Most people don’t realize they’re doing wrong when committing misdeeds; they rationalize their actions to avoid psychological collapse.

What about Wang Ming?

After killing his boss, he remained lucid for a while but was soon driven insane again.

He could only convince himself that the boss intended to kill him first, and that he was merely acting in self-defense—taking over the hot pot restaurant driven by desire.

He polluted the others in the hot pot shop, cutting off the boss’s flesh to keep the restaurant running.

He placed fingers in the cashier’s drawer and shaped the entire hot pot shop to resemble Xiao Hui’s diary.

He made the hallucinations caused by spiritual pollution come true, making everything seem rational.

The rotting meat in the hot pot shop, the monsters in the trash bin, the strange aromas, the disappearing employees, the bizarre basement, and the boss portrayed as the root of all evil—

Meanwhile, he left a recording tape in the toilet tank, becoming the safest victim.

This contaminated zone maintained an internal ecological balance; Wang Ming made the logic of the hot pot shop self-consistent. He had painfully managed it for thirty years, seemingly perfect until Zhu Ning shattered it today.

Zhu Ning broke his foundation in half.

Had Wang Ming committed an unforgivable crime? It seemed not; he was also a victim of spiritual pollution.

But since being spiritually polluted, he had obsessed over making the spiritual pollution real. He could only accept his role as a victim, trapped stubbornly inside his own contaminated zone.

Liu Niannian found the situation eerie—she saw that Zhu Ning hadn’t done anything at all. The enormous pig-faced figure in front of her froze, mouth agape, rooted to the spot.

His expression was pained, as if he wanted to say something but couldn’t. He wanted to roar in anger but found no reason to. He wanted to laugh joyfully but felt no grounds for laughter. He wanted to cry but equally lacked reason.

Chaos erupted inside the hot pot shop.

Several employees peering through a hole in the ceiling clapped wildly. Half their bodies emerged from the hole, hanging upside down from the ceiling, including the pig-headed man.

Clap, clap, clap—

They laughed uproariously, their mouths stretched to their ears, clapping so rapidly it seemed they might injure their hands.

Wang Ming’s reflection in the shattered mirror alternated between crying and laughing, the fractured glass rippling with each movement.

Rustle rustle—

The hot pot shop owner’s body seemed afflicted by an uncontrollable illness; his flesh began frantically attempting to escape.

He had truly gone mad this time.

The order in the hot pot shop was broken by Zhu Ning, causing the staff and customers to collectively lose their minds.

Zhu Ning stepped forward, but the mirror image retreated, watching her warily as if she were a genuine monster.

With each step Zhu Ning took forward, the contaminant moved back until cornered against the wall, unable to retreat any further.

The contaminant, now discovered, had nowhere left to run.

Liu Niannian saw the contaminant visibly trembling, shaking uncontrollably, the mirror reflecting the movement.

The contaminant’s mind was in chaos, curling up with the wall in confusion. Trapped by Zhu Ning, it even looked at her with a pleading expression.

It was effective.

Zhu Ning stood before it, wielding no weapons, ignoring the contaminant’s tearful face.

Effective—so she decided to intensify it. She reopened the system panel.

System: [Rotten fish head opened, consuming 5 life points. Apply spiritual pollution to Wang Ming again?]

Zhu Ning: “Apply.”

Upon activating it, the contaminant’s expression turned blank.

In that moment, no one spoke or applauded. The entire contaminated zone fell into an eerie silence, so quiet that breathing could be heard.

Breath—in—breath—in—

A rhythmic breathing filled the contaminated zone—it was not Liu Niannian’s or Zhu Ning’s, but the contaminant’s.

The pig-headed man hiding in the mirror tentatively stretched out his hand.

His arms were covered with scars. Zhu Ning stood directly opposite him; logically, he could easily seize her, but he did not.

He paused after extending his hand, looking down at his palm, as if pondering a difficult math problem.

Then, with a gentle tug to either side of his face—

Snap—

Like tearing a paper bag, a deep crack appeared inside the contaminated zone.

The fissure began from the pig-faced reflection in the mirror, spreading rapidly to the ceiling, floor, the boss’s life monitor, and the other employees watching from the ceiling.

The contaminated zone was fragile, like a paper toy, collapsing slowly from within.

Had the contaminated zone... committed suicide?

Liu Niannian stared in disbelief; she had never heard of such a thing as a contaminated zone committing suicide.

What happened next answered her doubt easily. From the torn rift gushed thousands of blood-like pollution spores.

Thousands upon thousands of spores.

The spores swarmed like a plague of locusts, swirling inside the collapsing hot pot shop, quickly enveloping Zhu Ning and Liu Niannian.

Only upon seeing the spores did Zhu Ning exhale, her tense body relaxing.

It was a success.

She had spent ten life points and applied spiritual pollution twice, gambling that the contaminant could be re-polluted.

Pollutants were abnormal, but their spiritual pollution state had to match their own strength.

If the pollution concentration was too low, it couldn’t form a contaminated zone. If too high, it would break the internal balance and eventually collapse.

Ding—

A mechanical voice echoed in Zhu Ning’s mind:

[Congratulations on completing the random mission: Cannibalistic Hot Pot Shop. Purification level: 100%. Survivor rescue mission: 100% complete.]

[Calculating rewards...]

[Congratulations! Basic reward: Spiritual energy restored to 100.]

[Congratulations! Purification value reward: 2000. Current total purification value: 2154.]

[Congratulations! Pigman reward: Pigman’s Guillotine.]

[Reward description: C-grade pollutant item, can be used once within 24 hours to instantly kill a mission target with perfect accuracy.]

[Congratulations! Beginner talent unlocked: Metal Manipulation. This talent allows control over metal objects within one meter.]

[Congratulations! Random mission reward: Master Key.]

[Reward description: Can open any door.]

[This mission line advances side quest: Searching for the Truth Behind Death. Key clue found. Progress: 20%.]

The hot pot shop assisted the side quest, increasing progress from 5% to 20%. Was it related to Eternal Life Pharmaceuticals?

Zhu Ning had never heard of this pharmaceutical company and planned to investigate after leaving.

...

After the contaminated zone collapsed, the hot pot shop returned to its original appearance.

Inside was coated with a thick layer of dust. A hot pot shop left unattended for thirty years was filthy and chaotic, with dilapidated tables, scattered beer bottles, and blackened walls.

If one ignored the rotting meat and pollution spores on the floor, it looked like any ordinary abandoned building. The thousands of pollution spores painted the interior in a blood-red glow.

This was Zhu Ning’s second mission; she was more experienced this time and knew she had to start containing the spores immediately.

Beside her, Liu Niannian was shocked—it was her first time seeing so many pollution spores at once.

Previously, she had only seen three in the lab.

In her mind, Zhu Ning was a genius. She still didn’t understand how Zhu Ning had managed to kill the contaminant without using weapons.

Moreover, Zhu Ning had protected herself from injury; without her, Liu Niannian would surely have been cleaved in two by the guillotine.

Liu Niannian said, “Um... thank you for saving me.”

She carefully chose her words. Her family was wealthy, and she wondered how much money would be appropriate to thank Zhu Ning.

Zhu Ning was canceling the auto-send message; it had been less than an hour since entering the contaminated zone—a rather swift operation.

Zhu Ning asked, “How is your mental state now?”

Liu Niannian thought Zhu Ning was showing concern and replied firmly, “Not bad. I don’t think I’ve lost my sanity.”

This girl had a high spiritual energy, Zhu Ning thought.

Liu Niannian now regretted underestimating Zhu Ning. “You saved me. I’ll be sure to thank you properly.”

She hesitated, unable to bring herself to say, “My family will bring money to you.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Zhu Ning said, having received system gratitude with very generous rewards this time.

Liu Niannian thought: Is Zhu Ning some kind of living saint?

Zhu Ning said, “Just help me clean up the trash.”

“Ah?” Liu Niannian was baffled. “Ah?”

What was Zhu Ning asking her to do? Sweep trash? Liu Niannian had never even held a broom in her life.

“I was a cleaner to begin with,” Zhu Ning said, already opening her cleaning backpack.

Liu Niannian blushed, recalling how she had mocked Zhu Ning’s lowly occupation and belittled her as a demon hunter. Now she wanted to shove her past, outspoken self back into a hole.

Zhu Ning pulled out cleaning tools from her backpack and tossed one to Liu Niannian. There were thousands of pollution spores inside the contaminated zone. If Zhu Ning worked alone, she’d be cleaning until dawn.

If Liu Niannian’s mental state was stable enough, she could lend a hand.

Liu Niannian held a strangely shaped cleaning tool, utterly confused. What was this?

Zhu Ning demonstrated, collecting a single pollution spore. “Learned it?”

Liu Niannian nodded, still baffled but finding it not difficult—the suction tube merely had to be brought close to the spores for automatic collection.

She tried it and found the process surprisingly soothing—almost therapeutic.

Liu Niannian asked, “We only need to collect the pollution spores?”

If that was all, it wasn’t so unbearable.

Zhu Ning said, “After containment, we’ll clean the site, remove all rotten meat, wash away bloodstains, and ensure no spores remain. If we work fast, it should take us about two hours.”