Chapter 36 Part 2
Shi Xu smiled, a hint of ruthlessness in his voice. “If they don’t want to leave, force them. If they know staying in that room means death, they’ll leave.”
“…” A shiver ran down Qi Yu’s spine. He covered Shi Xu’s eyes. “Don’t look at me like that. I feel like you’re about to kill me.”
Only a monster like Shi Xu could intimidate a pollutant. They could barely handle one S-class pollutant, let alone several.
Shi Xu would have simply killed all five fragments, moving from room to room.
A thought occurred to Qi Yu. “Wait, it can rewind time. Wouldn’t it just rewind before you kill it, staying in the room? And even if you killed the fragment in your room, the others could rewind time, reviving it, trapping you again.”
“Its time rewind ability has limitations,” Shi Xu said confidently.
Qi Yu: “How do you know? You weren’t there!”
Shi Xu gave him a look, then explained, under Qi Yu’s expectant gaze, “If it didn’t have limitations, you would have died there today.”
Qi Yu fell silent. Shi Xu continued, “Even with Lin Quan’s evolved ability, transforming each room into a weapon takes time. He couldn’t do it simultaneously for all five rooms. The pollutant could have rewound time, restoring the rooms, but it didn’t. That means it had already used its ability, waiting for the cooldown period.”
Shi Xu’s explanation only confused Qi Yu further. “How do you know Lin Quan’s ability has a time limit?”
Shi Xu: “Didn’t he have you kill the fragments in your rooms again before using his ability?”
Qi Yu nodded. “We tried one last time, but couldn’t kill them all at once.”
After killing the fragments individually, they were sent back in time, trapped again.
Shi Xu: “As long as one fragment remains, it can rewind time. After you killed the fourth fragment, the fifth one used its ability. It took you two minutes to kill the first four. That means the cooldown period for its time rewind ability is at least two minutes. That’s enough time for Lin Quan to prepare and kill all five simultaneously.”
He glanced at Qi Yu, adding, “Lin Quan is smarter than you. He figured that out.”
“…” Qi Yu frowned. “Hey, don’t praise him! We’re friends!”
Shi Xu chuckled. “I’m just stating facts. He deserves credit.”
“That fact hurts my feelings!” Qi Yu huffed, turning away.
Qi Yu’s subordinates dispersed, except for one who remained, finally understanding the key points after hearing their conversation, but still confused about something.
He cautiously asked Shi Xu, “Captain Shi, you said that as long as one fragment remains, it can rewind time. You don’t have Captain Lin’s ability. How could you be sure you could kill all five fragments in two minutes?”
Qi Yu glared at him. “How dare you question Captain Shi’s abilities! He doesn’t need two minutes, one minute is enough! He could handle ten, easy!”
Shi Xu: “…”
Shi Xu: “Don’t overestimate me. Three more, and I would have been dead.”
Qi Yu turned back, his expression fierce. “I won’t allow you to belittle yourself! You could handle twenty!”
Shi Xu: “…”
The subordinate: “…” Vice-Captain Qi, truly the ultimate fanboy.
Lin Quan eliminated five pollutant fragments. Combined with the one Shi Xu killed, that was six. But they weren’t certain the S-class pollutant was truly dead.
They had to find its main body.
Qi Yu and his team searched the empty houses in Jinzhu Bay that night, but a few homeowners refused to cooperate, delaying the search.
They finally obtained a search warrant.
After resting, they resumed the search.
This time, they found it. With the warrant, they didn’t waste time arguing with the homeowner, entering the villa directly.
Each time a fragment was destroyed, the main body suffered significant damage. After losing six fragments, the S-class pollutant was severely weakened. When Lin Quan entered, it lay on the living room floor, helpless, easily eliminated.
Shi Xu observed the entire process.
According to the investigation, the pollutant had been lurking in Jinzhu Bay for nearly seven years, having consumed the villa’s owner, living under his identity.
Each pollutant had unique abilities. This one had managed to remain undetected for years.
The Anomaly Management Bureau had inspected the villa multiple times, finding nothing amiss.
“It was clever. During our inspections, it used its fragments to distract us, hiding the main body elsewhere, then using its fragments to cause trouble in that area, drawing us away, then returning to Jinzhu Bay under the homeowner’s identity. It managed to hide for seven years.” Qi Yu’s tone was increasingly sarcastic, directed at themselves, including himself.
“If the bureau had detected it earlier, so many innocent lives could have been saved.” He looked troubled.
Shi Xu: “This isn’t our fault. We’ve only been working there for a few years.”
Qi Yu chuckled. “It’s not your fault, but it’s mine. I was here two months ago. I didn’t notice anything. If I had… I wish I had the ability to rewind time.”
“Pollutants are cunning. Don’t blame yourself. If you dwell on every loss, you’re not suited for this job. Resign before it affects you.” Shi Xu’s tone was chillingly indifferent.
Qi Yu knew he was right. He wished he could be as calm and detached as Shi Xu, but he couldn’t.
Director Shen said Shi Xu was the perfect fit for the Anomaly Management Bureau, even considering him as his successor.
Qi Yu agreed. Shi Xu was always rational when facing pollutants, never swayed by emotions, which was why he remained at the top.
But the most suitable person wanted to be ordinary, leaving the bureau prematurely.
Qi Yu sighed, a sigh of regret for Director Shen.
“Speaking of which, you promised to introduce me to your… partner… after this was over.”
He almost said “sister-in-law,” but remembering Gu Sui calling Shi Xu “wife,” he couldn’t bring himself to say it.
Shi Xu: “Another time.”
Qi Yu pressed, “When? Don’t tell me you’re stalling again.”
“Wait,” he grabbed Shi Xu’s shoulder. “Are you not planning to introduce us at all?! How could you, Shi Xu?!”
Shi Xu shrugged him off, looking at the photos Qi Yu brought him.
Qi Yu covered the gruesome photos, his face close to Shi Xu’s, frowning. “I’m talking to you! What’s so interesting about these disgusting photos? Am I not more appealing than them?”
Shi Xu pushed his face away, delivering a casual, yet devastating blow. “He is more appealing than you.”
Qi Yu: “…”
He looked at the gory photos, then at his own reflection in his phone screen.
“I’m still quite handsome.” He relaxed, fixing his hair.
He didn’t bother Shi Xu any further, but continued to mutter, “You were there. You asked for these photos just to… admire them?”
They documented every scene. They had photos and videos of the S-class pollutant’s demise.
Only a day later, Shi Xu asked for them. He wouldn’t have given them to anyone else, but for the former captain, he was willing to risk a pay cut.
He had taken a day off, coming here early to accompany Shi Xu, only to be ignored the moment Shi Xu got the photos.
“What’s so interesting about them?!” he grumbled.
Shi Xu pointed at a photo. “Can you tell what he looked like?”
Qi Yu looked at the photo. The person’s face was obscured by black slime and blood, only his eyes visible.
“How can I tell?” Qi Yu said. “If you want to know what he looked like, I can find his old photos. Why look at this gruesome mess? Besides, after being parasitized, he wasn’t himself anymore.”
“Yes, he changed.” Shi Xu’s voice suddenly deepened, a smile spreading across his face, his body trembling slightly.
Qi Yu paused. He hadn’t seen Shi Xu like this in a while.
He seemed excited, but there was a hint of madness behind his smile, unsettling.
“What is it? Did you find something?”
Shi Xu: “That pollutant… looks a lot like my sister’s boyfriend.”
