Chapter 11
Shi Xu had nightmares almost every night, even when exhausted.
Last night, however, he slept soundly, dreamlessly. This morning, it took five rings for the alarm to wake him.
His usual routine disrupted, he stared at the alarm clock for a moment before getting up.
Ever since the guest arrived, his stable routine had been thrown off balance.
He had a feeling this wasn’t a good thing.
Shi Xu went downstairs five minutes later than usual. Before entering the dining room, he smelled smoke coming from the kitchen.
He guessed who was responsible, but the scene still surprised him.
The normally clean stovetop was splattered with egg yolk and oil. The frying pan contained a pile of charred, unrecognizable food. The spherical octopus stood beside the stove, its tentacles frantically trying to clean up the mess, making little sucking noises.
Each of the pollutant’s tentacles could function as a hand, yet they were remarkably ineffective.
Shi Xu watched for a moment, then asked, “What are you doing?”
The pollutant jumped, turning around. Shi Xu saw guilt in its golden eyes.
“I… wanted… to cook… for Wife.” Despite its guilt, it confessed honestly.
Shi Xu’s lips twitched in amusement.
“This is what you cooked?”
The pollutant suddenly inflated, trying to hide the mess behind its body.
Shi Xu chuckled. “No need to hide it. I already saw.”
The pollutant’s tentacles fidgeted awkwardly. “I… first time… learning. Not… very good. I… will… try harder.”
Shi Xu opened the refrigerator, taking out a carton of milk. “Why are you learning to cook?”
The transparent tentacles turned red. The pollutant replied shyly, “To… win someone’s… heart, must… win… their stomach.”
Shi Xu: “…”
His gaze fell on the pollutant’s clenched tentacles, his amusement fading.
“You haven’t given up? You still want to pursue me?”
The pollutant clenched its tentacles tighter, its resolve firm. “I… exist… because of you. Of course… I want… to be… with you!”
Shi Xu paused, scoffing. “I’m not that great. If anyone heard that, the Anomaly Management Bureau’s complaint box would be overflowing with reports against me by tomorrow.”
His expression and tone were mocking, but the pollutant wasn’t deterred.
Shi Xu’s attitude would have discouraged countless suitors, but the pollutant wasn’t human. It didn’t understand human reactions. To it, everything Shi Xu did was right, even disliking it.
It was the one who initiated the affection. As Shi Xu said, they were different species, even adversaries. His instinctive rejection was perfectly normal.
If he didn’t like it, then it would try harder to make him like it.
“I… won’t… tell anyone. Won’t… let anyone… find out… about me. Anything… that harms you… I won’t do. Wife… don’t worry.” The pollutant puffed out its non-existent chest, its tone firm.
Shi Xu didn’t reply, taking out the toast he bought last night and eating it with cold milk, a simple breakfast.
Thanks to the pollutant’s kitchen disaster, he finished breakfast ten minutes earlier than usual, with five minutes to spare before his usual departure time.
He opened the door. The little black cat, absent for a while, was waiting outside. It hadn’t seen Shi Xu for a while either, meowing affectionately upon seeing him.
The pollutant stood behind Shi Xu, watching him toss a can of food to the cat, a wave of jealousy washing over it.
The cat wanted to lick Shi Xu’s fingers as usual, but the glare from the side startled it. It meowed softly, avoiding Shi Xu’s hand, focusing on its food, its tail tucked between its legs, no longer daring to twine around Shi Xu’s wrist.
Shi Xu noticed the cat’s unusual behavior, glancing at the pollutant. He didn’t need to ask to understand the reason.
He watched the cat eat in silence. The pollutant couldn’t contain itself. “Wife, is… it… that… interesting… to watch?”
Shi Xu: “Not really interesting.”
The pollutant felt a flicker of happiness, then heard Shi Xu add with a smile, “But quite cute.”
The pollutant immediately scowled at the cat.
Wife likes cats. I can become a cat too!
But Wife didn’t like its cat form. Was it really that ugly?
This cat wasn’t cuter than it!
The cat ate quickly, finishing the can in no time, purring contentedly. Shi Xu reached out, stroking its head gently.
The cat, used to his touch, nudged his hand, but its purr died in its throat, frozen by the pollutant’s icy glare.
[That’s my Wife! His hand, his body, everything about him is mine! Who allowed you to touch my Wife!!!]
The little black cat: “…”
Just as Shi Xu entered the Anomaly Management Bureau, his assistant approached, having waited for him, reporting the morning’s events.
According to the medical esper at the scene, Zheng Xin’s time of death was between 11:30 pm and midnight. He had been parasitized and rapidly mutated, killing his wife.
Mutation usually took at least 12 hours. Zheng Xin’s rapid transformation indicated the pollutant parasitizing him had already mutated, having escaped from another host.
The investigation revealed this pollutant was responsible for the deaths of Zheng Xin’s son and ex-wife. After killing Zheng Xin and his current wife, it committed suicide.
“A murder-suicide, the whole family wiped out. I really don’t understand what pollutants are thinking.”
The round table in the meeting room was full, murmurs filling the air. Shi Xu caught this sigh amidst the noise.
He silently agreed.
“Why do you want to understand what pollutants are thinking? Do they even have brains or thoughts? Those disgusting things should just be killed.”
“Haha, I was just saying, don’t take it seriously!”
The door opened. A bodyguard quickly stepped aside, making way for the elderly man behind him.
The man’s hair and beard were white, his face gaunt and wrinkled like dried bark.
Despite his age, he stood tall and straight, showing no signs of frailty.
His appearance was a stark contrast. His face belonged to someone nearing death, but his body was still strong and agile, yet he carried a decorative dragon-headed cane.
Elder Shen was the current director of the Anomaly Management Bureau.
His arrival instantly silenced the room. Everyone stood up, greeting in unison, “Director Shen.”
“Relax, sit down.” Elder Shen smiled faintly, the wrinkles on his face deepening. His narrow eyes, almost devoid of visible whites, held a gentle warmth.
His smile eased the tension, but no one dared to be careless in his presence.
Variant attacks were common, and more brutal incidents had occurred. The problem was that last night’s incident happened after the Anomaly Management Bureau concluded its investigation, and the victim had been questioned by them.
Regardless of explanations, the fault lay with the bureau. They failed to detect the hidden danger and protect the victim.
Zheng Xin and his ex-wife had influential families, and with pressure from his current husband’s family, the matter escalated to Director Shen.
Without a satisfactory resolution, this wouldn’t end.
Elder Shen sat at the head of the table, his gaze sweeping over the 19 faces in the room, finally settling on Shi Xu.
“Who killed that Variant?” His tone was light, but his gaze was sharp.
Shi Xu remained calm, smiling faintly. “I did.”
Elder Shen let out a surprised “Oh.”
Everyone present understood. He wasn’t surprised that Shi Xu killed the Variant, but that the Variant continued its rampage after being killed by Shi Xu.
“Captain Shi, are you certain you killed it?”
Shi Xu: “I am.”
Elder Shen raised an eyebrow. “Then why did it attack again?”
Shi Xu: “I don’t know.”
He was telling the truth. Only half an hour had passed since he heard the news. He was still processing the information.
“If Shi Xu intervenes, the Variant has no chance of survival.” This was a widely accepted fact.
No one had ever questioned Shi Xu’s abilities, and they still didn’t, because it was unthinkable.
But the reason for his supposed failure was now a complex issue.
Why would Shi Xu fail?
How could Shi Xu fail?!
“Captain Shi, I expect a reasonable explanation.”
The incident was sudden. Shi Xu had only read the assistant’s report, not visiting the scene himself, not investigating thoroughly. He didn’t know the reason, so how could he offer an explanation?
Annoyed, but maintaining his smile, Shi Xu said, “Apologies, please give me some time.”
Elder Shen pressed, “How much time?”
Shi Xu: “Three days.”
Elder Shen gripped his cane. “Two days, at most.”
Shi Xu: “Alright.”
The meeting lasted only ten minutes, but the atmosphere was stifling.
Shi Xu, at the center of the storm, felt little pressure, while the others felt suffocated.
He left the meeting room under curious and scrutinizing gazes. His assistant waited in the corridor, nodding, then reporting more bad news.
Shi Xu wondered if he had hired this assistant solely to deliver bad news.
Lately, it had been nothing but overtime and trouble.
This bad news involved Qi Yu.
“Someone anonymously reported that Vice-Captain Qi was the mastermind behind the Variant attack that killed Zheng Xin.”
Shi Xu thought he misheard. “What does this have to do with Qi Yu?”
The assistant: “Vice-Captain Qi said something outside the reception room yesterday, ‘His son should have taken his father along’…”
Shi Xu’s eyes darkened. The assistant continued cautiously, “Someone overheard and connected it to this morning’s incident. Ten minutes ago, someone from the Esper Monitoring Department came and took Vice-Captain Qi away.”
Shi Xu: “Who came?”
The assistant: “Vice-Captain Lin Zhi.”
