Chapter 21: The Containment Department

When Pei Shu arrived at the hot pot restaurant after receiving the call, it was already four in the morning.

They had brought a professional team of demon hunters with them. Before they had even arrived, they received a report from the technical department of the Cleaning Center: the "Hao Zai Lai" Hot Pot Restaurant was a C-grade contaminated zone, activated just this night.

They had come prepared to collect Liu Niannian’s corpse. As an ordinary person who had been inside a contaminated zone for over two hours, she had likely already been assimilated into a pollutant.

If she had truly turned, the demon hunters wouldn't even be allowed to execute her on the spot; they would have to take her back to the laboratory through a much more complicated process.

They had made full preparations, had three backup plans, and had accounted for every possibility—but they had not expected the scene to be far beyond their imagination.

Liu Niannian was sitting alone on the steps at the entrance of the hot pot restaurant, her little white kitten-themed protective suit covered in blood.

The young lady was resting her chin on her hand, looking deep in thought.

The security team captain, Pei Shu, felt a bit uncertain about the situation. "Young Miss?"

Liu Niannian did not respond.

Pei Shu didn't dare to lower his guard. He signaled, and the security team entered the zone to begin their search. Eight minutes later, someone reported back: "The interior is clean. There are no surviving pollutants and no residual contamination spores."

If the absence of pollutants was understandable, what about the lack of contamination spores and rotting flesh? Someone had not only leveled this contaminated zone but had also purified it?

In his understanding, such a feat would require at least one professional exorcist team and one professional cleanup team to accomplish.

Had someone from the Cleaning Center already been here?

But Pei Shu was certain that his was the first team to arrive.

The person who had truly purified the hot pot restaurant had already left. Who exactly were they? Why had they saved Liu Niannian a step ahead of them without contacting the Lu family?

Pei Shu asked, "No one else?"

"No. We searched the entire street; only the Young Miss is here."

Pei Shu was no fool; there was no way Liu Niannian could have done this alone. He stood respectfully beside her and asked, "Shall we head home first?"

Whatever happened, they could discuss it at home. Their arrival had disturbed many people tonight, and staying out for too long was never safe. Once they were home, he could question her properly.

Liu Niannian rested her chin on her hand. "Do you think I’ve been heading in the wrong direction in life this whole time?"

Pei Shu: "?"

Had his good-for-nothing, idle young mistress started pondering the meaning of life?

Liu Niannian: "Do you think I’ve had a talent all along that I just never developed?"

Pei Shu: "??"

Narcissistic rich kids usually thought they were exceptionally capable and held a distorted view of the world. Pei Shu had long known that Liu Niannian had zero talent, despite her previous desire to become a demon hunter.

She traveled under the alias of "Liu Niannian," and wanting to see what a real contaminated zone looked like after one of their gardeners had been mentally corrupted at that very hot pot restaurant.

In Pei Shu's eyes, this behavior was just courting death. So, she survived one visit to a contaminated zone, and now she thought she had the talent of a demon hunter?

Expecting her to boast again, Pei Shu prepared to offer perfunctory flattery and asked patiently, "What kind of talent?"

"Tell me," Liu Niannian said, looking at her own hands. "Is there a possibility that I’m exceptionally good at something, but I just don't know it yet?"

Before Zhu Ning left, she had said that Liu Niannian was incredibly talented at cleaning up trash—the area was spotless, her speed was lightning-fast, and her service was excellent. She even said she’d like to hire her again if the opportunity arose.

It was the first time anyone had told her they wanted to hire her for a job. She was completely lost in thought, even re-evaluating her own dreams.

Liu Niannian muttered to herself, "Am I actually... really good at cleaning trash?"

Pei Shu: "???"

Cleaning trash? He could never have imagined linking "cleaning trash" to the young mistress. She must have been affected by some kind of mental pollution.

……

Zhu Ning’s backpack was heavy.

After collecting the contamination spores in the area, she had increased her purification value by 1,060 points.

She also had 1,060 contamination spores and a pile of rotting flesh. The storage tools in the cleaning backpack could condense one cubic meter of rotting flesh down to one cubic centimeter.

Zhu Ning’s cleaning backpack was full. But she faced a problem: she was carrying a bag full of rotting flesh and contamination spores. These were definitely not obtained through official channels, so how was she supposed to dispose of them?

Should she bury them somewhere? What if she contaminated the soil?

Zhu Ning felt like a criminal who had just acquired a stash of weapons and didn't know how to handle them. Then, she resorted to a foolish method: she made good use of a search engine.

Forum search: "Excuse me, how should one dispose of contamination spores of unknown origin?"

Surprisingly, this method was quite practical. There were actually experience posts on the topic. Once she searched, the steps and methods appeared immediately, very detailed: she had to go to a branch of the Cleaning Center—the Contamination Spore Containment Department.

Containment departments were scattered throughout every corner of the city, disguised as various storefronts to collect civilian contamination spores. If anyone collected them, they could take them there to exchange for payment.

The forum was smart; after automatically detecting her location, it displayed the nearest containment department. It was quite thoughtful.

After Zhu Ning’s location was detected, it displayed the nearest department: "The Noble Queen’s Shop."

Zhu Ning: "..."

Huh? That shop owner in the purple thermal underwear was part of the Containment Department?

No wonder he was so kind as to point her in the right direction and act so convincingly!

As a bumpkin from a zombie world, Zhu Ning was visiting a host club for the first time in her life. She was immediately bewildered by the passionate and vibrant cultural atmosphere inside.

There was a row of muscular hunks, ready for selection. When she walked in, the shop owner in the purple thermal underwear wasn't there; she was greeted by the shop's agent.

"Not interested? Is it too forward?" the agent asked. "We also have the 'Business Elite' type, the 'Delicate Pretty Boy' type, the 'Green Tea Brother' type, or the 'Honest and Mute, Just Get the Job Done' type."

Zhu Ning: "..."

The variety was rich—they were truly professionals.

Zhu Ning had just come out of a contaminated zone where she had been dealing with disgusting pig-headed creatures. Now, thrust into a host club, she stood there with a look of pure, blank bewilderment.

Seeing that Zhu Ning still wasn't satisfied, the agent thought she must have high standards. "If you don't like these, we can also do custom orders."

Zhu Ning was curious: "Custom?"

"We have 'blank people' who just came out. No memories, no past. You can input any preferences. Our shop provides a warranty if there are issues. But if you want to customize a specific face, that's an extra cost—we have to pay copyright fees."

In the wasteland world, technological development had reached a point where "blank people" were like blank slates, and customers could draw whatever they wanted on them. This was the ultimate extreme of commodification, where even human beings could be bought and sold.

The "custom face" he mentioned meant buying the face of a celebrity; the celebrities sold their likenesses to the production company.

They could be mass-produced to satisfy fan fantasies. Every time a face was sold, they earned another copyright fee.

In the wasteland world, it wasn't just music and film works that could be bought and sold—faces could be, too.

Many celebrities, once they made a name for themselves, would sell the rights to their likeness. From then on, they didn't have to sing, dance, or act; they could just lie at home and collect money.

The agent smiled: "Customization starts at 50 million New Credits."

Zhu Ning: "..."

No man was worth that much money to her, thank you very much. Virtual ones weren't either.

"My heroine, you really made it out?" Zhu Ning suddenly heard a familiar voice. She turned around to see the shop owner coming down the stairs.

The shop owner was quite dramatic. Zhu Ning had dealt with him once before and was familiar with his style. She felt very calm inside now—*Brother, please stop acting.*

Zhu Ning: "About that..."

Could he help her out?

"This is my guest." The shop owner leaned against the wall, flashing a calm smile. "This way, darling."

Zhu Ning, who had been called "darling," didn't even know which foot to step with first.

Song Zhizhang led her into a room. To her surprise, the door was Barbie pink, and a sign on it read "Gentle Warming Room." Once inside, however, she found it was very professional. The decor was pure white, with a wide desk and instruments running in the background.

The shop owner really did run a host club by day and handle contamination spores by night. He was a man of many talents.

"Please sit." The shop owner gestured to the chair opposite him and took a seat in a black swivel chair.

His demeanor was different from before; the worldly air had faded, and he radiated a sense of professionalism.

The shop owner coughed lightly. "Let me introduce myself formally: I’m Song Zhizhang."

She never would have guessed that someone with such a refined name could have such a unique taste in clothing.

Zhu Ning paused, then gave her real name: "Zhu Ning."

She would have to deal with him in the future. Since Song Zhizhang was part of the Containment Department and connected to the Cleaning Center’s internal network, it would be easy for him to find out who she was, so there was no need to hide it.

"Don't be afraid," Song Zhizhang said. "I only collect the spores; I don't care about anything else."

Zhu Ning felt relieved.

Song Zhizhang looked at her with interest. Zhu Ning had taken off her helmet after entering. She was quite tall, likely over 175cm. But she looked nothing like a fierce or vicious person; her features were sharp and well-defined, with a small face and an aura of heroism.

She was the type that was very popular in the market—"can be salty, can be sweet." Recently, custom-made people with this kind of look were very trendy. She had tied her hair into a messy ponytail, and now it was frizzy from the helmet. She looked like someone who had just graduated.

But Zhu Ning had leveled a C-grade contaminated zone. If his information was correct, this was only the second time Zhu Ning had entered a contaminated zone.

That contaminated zone had existed for 30 years. As a long-time neighbor, Song Zhizhang was very familiar with it. Anyone who could enter that zone and come out alive was far from ordinary.

Song Zhizhang: "I've never seen anyone work alone before."

Zhu Ning raised an eyebrow—was that a compliment?

Song Zhizhang explained: "Usually, there are at least two people—one demon hunter and one cleaner. Sometimes, it’s one demon hunter leading three cleaners."

As the ratings of contaminated zones grew higher, more logistics personnel were needed. One person couldn't handle the containment alone.

Zhu Ning had realized this too; she would have to solve this problem sooner or later.

"Where are your contamination spores?" Song Zhizhang stopped the small talk.

Zhu Ning handed over the contained contamination spores and the cubes of condensed rotting flesh. Song Zhizhang put them into the machine behind him. The machine was semi-transparent, and red lights were constantly scanning the contents.

"1,060 contamination spores, 300 blocks of contaminated flesh," Song Zhizhang read the data from the machine.

"Our algorithm is the same as the Cleaning Center's: 700 New Credits per C-grade spore, 500 New Credits per block of rotting flesh."

"39 pollutants killed, one C-grade contaminated zone leveled."

"Contamination spore income: 742,000; rotting flesh: 150,000; pollutants: 1,170,000; C-grade contaminated zone: 1,000,000."

With every number Song Zhizhang reported, Zhu Ning’s joy climbed higher and higher.