MCL CH4

Chapter 4: “You smell so good.”

The quarantine zone was divided into many rooms.

The one Lin Xi was in was an isolated observation room. Besides this, there were many ordinary rooms, and the people living in them were partly sent by the action team, and partly came for testing on their own initiative. Although no one liked the feeling of being observed separately like an anomaly, the immune system alone was simply not enough to resist the onset of lesions, and no one wanted to bring risk to their families.

Many people had forgotten exactly when it started. They just remembered that one day, various fragmented spaces began to appear in different places. At first, more than fear, people felt curiosity, until one day, contaminants suddenly surged out of a rift, and in just one night, more than ten cities became a paradise for monsters. The struggle between humanity and the rift world began from then on.

Later, as if arranged by some unseen force to combat these disasters, people began to awaken special abilities one after another, gradually bringing the originally one-sided crisis to a delicate balance.

Lin Xi followed behind the researcher. Through the small window, he could see the figures in the isolation rooms.

He had only been awake for a few days and didn’t understand the situation outside, but just from the number of people quarantined here, at least the frequency of rifts appearing in this city was already much higher than it was in his time.

In just three short years, this world had clearly become excessively unstable.

But none of this seemed to have much to do with him now.

After all, Lin Xi was already dead.

The voice in his mind had been chattering nonstop since he left the observation room, clearly very excited about what might happen next.

[Looks like I underestimated this low-level contaminant. The speed at which it incubates the contamination zone is simply efficient in the entire contaminant world! Sometimes I really admire the stupidity of humans. Look at those flower seedlings, how well they are being raised by these people… oh no, to be more precise, I should say how well these people are being raised. Even I can smell the sweet fertilizer scent of their completed incubation.]

Lin Xi had long noticed the flower seedlings placed in those rooms.

Unlike the seedling the researcher had brought to him two days ago, these flower seedlings were all already showing faint signs of blooming. The people in the isolation rooms sat at their desks, staring blankly at the flowers, motionless like plants, only slowly turning their heads to look when they heard the footsteps outside.

As they walked, the direction of each person’s lesion was quite unique.

The person in the first isolation room had their entire face peeling off like tree bark. Their swollen eyeballs were like those that had been soaked in water for a long time, slightly protruding from eye sockets that were clearly not the right size, making their entire gaze look even more dull. A translucent, viscous liquid, not like blood, oozed from their eye sockets and seeped into the cracks of their dry skin.

He seemed completely unaware. Watching Lin Xi and the others pass by the door, he slowly turned his body back and sat back down in the posture of staring blankly at the flower seedling.

In comparison, the little boy in the second isolation room seemed much luckier. The direction of his lesion had at least allowed him to retain a complete human face, but the excessive barbs protruding from his body had completely torn his clothes, making him look like a hedgehog wrapped in burlap. Amidst these tattered rags, something seemed to be still trying to spread outwards.

A piece of fabric on his shoulder happened to be torn open, and the thing hidden inside grew wantonly in an instant as if it had a life of its own—a dark green vine covered in thorns, densely packed with fruits that would make someone with trypophobia’s scalp tingle. But if you looked closely, you could see that these so-called fruits were not proper things either, but rather fleshy tumors that seemed to still have life and were constantly wriggling. The transparent skin was covered with a web of blood vessels.

Then the third room, the fourth…

The scene in every isolation room was quite shocking. If it were anyone else, they probably would have already lost control of the churning acid in their stomach.

Going deeper, compared to the front, the several rooms further down the corridor gradually became empty of people.

Seeing the traces of someone having lived inside, Lin Xi didn’t ask where the people had gone.

There was no need anymore.

It was very clear that in just a few short days, the entire quarantine zone had completely fallen.

Lesions after contact with a contamination source are divided into several stages. Low-level lesions still have a chance of being cured, but judging by the condition of the people in these isolation rooms, even if they hadn’t become food for the contaminant, they had at least entered the ranks of third-stage lesions.

According to the official judgment criteria, these people were already “infected,” and with humanity’s current scientific research level, a cure for “infected” has not yet been developed.

It seemed that he was probably the only normal “human” left in the quarantine zone.

To this, Lin Xi expressed his deep regret.

[Now I have good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?]

The voice in his mind sounded rather cheerful, which made Lin Xi feel that it wasn’t anything good. “The bad news.”

[From the current situation, if it had been discovered a few days earlier, there might have been a chance to get out unscathed. But now, the entire quarantine zone has been contaminated. If it continues at this rate, everyone here will soon become its fertilizer. In other words, it’s already impossible for you to leave safely after the observation period is over. What a pity.]

He said so, but there was not a trace of pity in his tone, but rather it was full of schadenfreude.

Lin Xi was noncommittal about this conclusion.

[Why are you silent? No way, no way. You don’t think you can still stay out of this, do you? Listen to me, if we join forces, we can have a beautiful future together!]

Lin Xi turned a deaf ear. “You just said there was also good news.”

At the mention of good news, the voice’s mood instantly dropped, sounding very unenthusiastic: [Oh, the good news is—although this low-level contaminant likes to eat humans, it’s also very picky. The fertilizer in this quarantine zone has basically finished incubating. Before it runs out of food, it probably won’t be interested in your un-incubated, stinky, and tough flesh.]

Lin Xi: “In other words, I’m still safe in the short term.”

[Yes, but only for a short term.]

[I’ve already said, you can’t stay out of this. Let’s join hands and solve this low-level contaminant and get the crystal core. Isn’t that great!]

“No.” Lin Xi’s lowered gaze glanced at the mechanical monitoring device on his wrist and said lazily, “I’m still wearing this thing. Once I let you out, the fluctuation in the contamination value can’t be hidden at all. I still have things to do. I don’t want to end up on the United Administration’s wanted list right after waking up, let alone be sent to a research institute to be an experimental subject on an operating table.”

“Anyway, as long as someone comes forward to solve the problem, that’s fine. Why not choose to let the professionals see it through to the end? The action team is so concerned about my lesion situation. When the quarantine period is over, they should send someone over to understand the situation. The leakage of contaminants was an accident that shouldn’t have happened in the first place, and they should be the ones to clean it up.”

At this point, Lin Xi smiled slightly. His pair of curved, mismatched eyes made him look exceptionally harmless. “Now that the entire quarantine zone has fallen, as the only surviving ordinary person here, the most in-character thing to do is, of course, to obediently wait for rescue here.”

[Are you really not considering it? Look at this researcher girl. She’s taken care of you for so long. You should at least have some compassion. Solve that low-level contaminant, we get the crystal core, and we can send the people here for rescue in time.]

“Rescue?” As if hearing the funniest joke, a deep, cold smile suddenly appeared in Lin Xi’s eyes. “Are you sure that with their current level of lesion, being sent to the contamination prevention and control center to live like white mice is called ‘rescue’?”

[It is… probably… perhaps… okay, you’re right.]

The voice still sounded unconvinced: [But don’t you really think it’s a pity for this girl? So what if she turns into a contaminant? Anyway, you’re not exactly human now either. You’re two of a kind. What if you end up with a moving love story!]

“It is a pity, but forget about the love.” Lin Xi glanced up at the researcher’s already eerily tall back in front of him. “I’m not interested in women.”

The whole world returned to a brief silence.

After a long while, the voice in his mind finally spoke with difficulty: [Did I just learn something I shouldn’t have?]

Lin Xi said faintly, “Mm, you’ve learned a secret you shouldn’t have, so I’ll arrange for you to be silenced.”

[…QAQ?]

The researcher didn’t notice Lin Xi’s distraction and was still leading the way while introducing the situation in the quarantine zone.

If you ignored the issue of her size, everything seemed quite normal.

But along the way, Lin Xi’s brow inevitably furrowed tighter and tighter.

The fragrance was too strong.

If at first it had come in waves, then by now it had unknowingly enveloped him completely.

Looking out the window from the edge of the corridor, you could see layers of coiling vines. The branches clinging to the edge of the window frame alone were already dense enough to drive someone with trypophobia crazy. You didn’t need to look to imagine the even more shocking scene outside.

This quarantine zone had clearly been completely surrounded by vegetation. Not just the outer walls, but even in the corridor, you could occasionally see branches growing out of the cement floor for no reason. Accidentally stepping on the petals scattered on the ground would instantly crush them into a crimson stain, adding a bloody, fishy smell to the strong, nauseating floral fragrance.

As if to divert Lin Xi’s attention from the “silencing,” the voice in his mind started to make small talk: [No doubt, it’s human blood. The fertilizer incubated from humans is indeed quite nourishing for low-level contaminants.]

[Seriously, I kind of understand why humans don’t like cheap perfume. Too many smells mixed together is indeed unpleasant. Not to mention you, even I find this smell not very pleasant.]

[As a C-class contaminant, it at least has some brains. This fragrance carries mental Contamination, which is enough to cause mental disorder in ordinary people. But what a pity, the one it encountered this time happened to be me.]

Lin Xi rubbed the tip of his nose.

From just now, he had been sneezing one after another without stopping.

Finally unable to bear it, he found a medical mask at a workbench and put it on, finally feeling a little more comfortable.

After leading Lin Xi on a tour of the quarantine zone, the researcher, from somewhere, took out another pot of seedlings and was once again making a vigorous sales pitch.

Lin Xi very gentlemanly waited for her to finish her pitch before speaking with a slight smile, “I’m sorry, I admit this plant is indeed very cute. But as you can see, my pollen allergy is really very serious. I’m afraid I really can’t take on the important task of planting flowers.”

As his voice fell, the smile on the researcher’s face froze.

Her already completely blocked mind at this moment only allowed her to complete the arranged task step by step. She clearly couldn’t understand why, in such a high-intensity mental Contamination environment, the human in front of her would refuse again.

The excessively high degree of lesion made her thinking process a bit difficult. After a long while, she still seemed unwilling to accept the reality of being rejected again. She stared blankly at Lin Xi, took a step forward, and once again pushed the flower seedling in her hand out.

In just a few short days, she had grown a bit too tall. A height of nearly two meters on a girl was extremely disharmonious, not to mention the proportion of her limbs that came into view after she took off her protective suit. It was as if withered branches were growing wildly on a main trunk, developing without any rules, filled with distortion from top to bottom. Taking a step forward like this was enough to completely envelop the 1.82-meter-tall Lin Xi in shadow.

“Please take good care of this flower seedling. You will like it.”

“Please take good care of… this flower seedling…”

“You… will like it…”

With each step closer, the gradually stiffening tone also gradually became more forceful.

Lin Xi just watched as the facial features on her originally quite delicate face gradually stretched, occupying her entire face in an extremely disharmonious proportion. Her protruding eyeballs were almost touching his face.

“Please, take good care of… this… flower seedling…”

Lin Xi: “…”

So persistent.

[I don’t know why, but looking at this girl, I suddenly feel a kind of sorrow that belongs to a working person. Sometimes, KPIs are indeed very important.]

[What’s wrong with a working person? She was just given a task to incubate more sweet and delicious fertilizer.]

[Why don’t you just accept it? Anyway, a contamination source of this level can’t cause too much of an impact. Hmm… if you have a pollen allergy, you can still sleep with a mask on, right?]

Lin Xi looked calmly at the flower seedling in front of him for a long time, and finally sighed silently.

Forget it, for the sake of her lending me the tablet a few days ago.

Seeing that Lin Xi was finally willing to accept the flower seedling, the researcher’s face, which had completely lost its human appearance, seemed to finally show a hint of a gratified smile.

However, just as Lin Xi reached out his hand, the originally silent flower seedling suddenly and without warning began to stir.

The abruptly erected sharp thorns were like sharp blades. The moment they stabbed, Lin Xi, with quick eyes and hands, flung the entire flower pot outwards.

Crash—!

A splash of soil instantly spread across the floor.

The next second, Lin Xi had already crushed the still wriggling branches on the ground with his foot. He lowered his gaze and lightly swept over the deep wound left on his fingertip.

He patted the dust off his trouser leg and looked at the researcher as if it had nothing to do with him. “Sorry, I accidentally dropped it. How about you get me a new one?”

There was no response.

In a long silence, the researcher’s gaze was fixed on the tip of Lin Xi’s finger—that red, oozing wound.

As if attracted by something, her expression gradually changed from its original calmness to a kind of fervent excitement that was about to burst forth.

As her limbs began to twist bizarrely, the sound of her bones cracking became the only background noise.

The voice from between her teeth was low and hoarse. “Fragrant… Mr. Lin, you smell so good…”

“Eat.”

“So fragrant… want… to eat…”

Lin Xi’s originally gentlemanly smile paused slightly at this moment.

Although he was willing to treat those who had shown him kindness with a friendly attitude, it didn’t mean he would like being looked at with the eyes of someone looking at food, not to mention, to be precise, the one looking at him could perhaps no longer be called a person.

A deep gash suddenly tore open on the researcher’s neck. Countless branches and leaves began to grow wildly, roaring out from her body, and in the blink of an eye, were about to fill the already not-so-wide corridor space.

Seeds.

The seeds planted in these people were the true contamination medium that completed the control.

Before the plant roots clinging to the walls could spread towards him, Lin Xi had already chosen to evacuate at the first moment of the crisis outbreak without any hesitation.

While running at full speed, he didn’t forget to ask sincerely, “Didn’t you say that contaminants have no interest in un-incubated fertilizer?”

The voice in his mind also sounded very surprised: [Huh, impossible! Could it be that this low-level contaminant is also a face-con?!]

“Huh?” Lin Xi mimicked the tone. Amidst the pursuit from behind, he didn’t stop his frantic running and said slowly with a smile, “Useless contaminant, I’ll believe you when pigs fly.”

[…]

Why are you insulting a contaminant!