Ordinary Chapter 18: Safe Zone

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: KarateChopMonkey

 

The Special Unit had long investigated Shen Si’s past history thoroughly. Since he had connections with the three S-Rank Survivors, they could not just let this pass as a coincidence.

Shen Si’s profile was very comprehensive, from birth to now, from his hometown to college to where he worked now, he simply had not experienced anything that could be considered special, and the Special Unit continued to analyze. After repeated investigations, they found that this was the most ordinary, ordinary person.

“Uh? Really don’t want to dig deeper into this?” Xia Leyu sat on the chair, “How can I explain this to the top?”

“No need to explain.” Ning Yangze’s eyes were on the document in his hands, “We have investigated Shen Si more than once or twice, and we haven’t found anything special until now. With no access to the unlimited flow world at all, it looks a little more likely to be a coincidence.”

Xia Leyu nodded, then let out a breath, “But what reason should I give to the higher-ups?”

“You have to look at the things written and read the details properly.” Ning Yangze tossed the document he had just read to Xia Leyu, “Who is the earliest Survivor we can trace back to so far?”

Xia Leyu blinked, “It’s God of Light, Bai JunYi, right?”

“That’s right, and when did he enter the unlimited flow world?”

Xia Leyu pulled out Bai JunYi’s information, he has naturally already read Bai JunYi’s files countless times by now, but he pulled it up just to reconfirm. Checking the date on the information, Xia Leyu nodded, “The data shows that Bai JunYi was reported missing on May 25, 2027. “

“Now check at what time Shen Si coincidentally concocted this herbicide.”

“…Does it mean?!”

Xia Leyu hurriedly flipped through the data he had just received, and found the time Shen Si stated, plus the date his college roommate had told him, although the time was only in a general range… 

“September 2026.” Xia Leyu’s eyes widened, “Almost of a year before Bai JunYi entered the world of unlimited flow?”

“That’s right.” Ning Yangze opened the document about the unlimited flow world, “Bai JunYi can be said to be the first victim of the unlimited flow world. When he talked to us before he also mentioned that when he entered the unlimited flow world the number of Survivors was not very large. We thus judged that the world hadn’t opened up until then, so it has probably only been four years at most. Shen Si couldn’t have known that there was this playfield in the unlimited flow world before the unlimited flow world opened and actually made an effective herbicide.”

Xia Leyu smiled at these words, “Then it’s really a coincidence, and this person is awesome.”

“Should we call him Mr. Coincidence? His coincidences are unbelievable.”

“There are really such coincidences in this world.” Ning Yangze stood up, “You go over to the Inspection Unit and urge them, and ask when they can announce the results, I’ll go talk to Shen Si.”

Xia Leyu yawned, he was a bit sleepy as he slumped on the table. The frames of his glasses looked crooked as they knocked on the table. He and Ning Yangze had worked overtime until now without a break, he even felt like he could sleep through the whole night with his eyes closed. It was not just them, most of the people in the Special Unit were in this state.

After finishing the most urgent events, they let the Special Units split into two groups to work alternately, excluding the two of them, since they had to guard both sides to make sure no accidents would happen.

“Inspection Unit? Announcing the results? You’re talking about the news that you can get peculiar abilities after coming out from a playfield?”

“Mn, there is no way to hide this matter.” Ning Yangze sighed, “In the past, most of those related posts were just talking for fun, after all, a playfield for an ordinary person is too unrealistic. We also didn’t see anyone with abilities appear, so most will not really make the connection, but now, nearly 10,000 were on a single playfield. The probability is even lower, so there will be people who will get an ability.”

Xia Leyu nodded, “Got it, I’ll go now.”

With Xia Leyu leaving the headquarters, Ning Yangze went directly to the current quarantine site. At present all the Survivors had been tested and it would take some time for them to deal with the aftermath of what happened in the playfield. Then they had to write it into a report to submit.

And… Even if they were all released, after this happened, those people wouldn’t be the same as they once were.

Mental playfields were really troublesome.

At Shen Si’s isolated room, Ning Yangze pushed open the door. Shen Si leaned back in his chair and looked at the mineral water bottle in his hand, seemingly deciphering the ingredient list on it. His white hair was so white under the incandescent light that it was blinding.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Shen.” Ning Yangze tried to speak in the most gentle voice possible.

Shen Si looked up, he looked at Ning Yangze who came in, they locked eyes just like that for three seconds, then he stood up, “Not that Mr. Xia from before?”

“He has another mission. This is the first time we’ve met. My name is Ning Yangze, a Team Leader of the Special Unit.” Ning Yangze modestly introduced himself, “This time I’m here because I want to talk to Mr. Shen about a business deal.”

“What?” Shen Si was a bit confused, “Even the Special Unit does business?”

“This time is a special situation.” Ning Yangze smiled and walked in front of Shen Si. “I heard from Xia Leyu during all this it was your herbicide that got rid of the flowers in the whole playfield while causing no harm to people. I would like to buy the production method of this herbicide from you.”

Shen Si sat in place as he put the mineral water bottle back on the table, “I have no issue with that, I was actually going to give it to you from the beginning.”

“Huh?” Ning Yangze froze.

Shen Si nodded, his face was calm, as if he had anticipated this situation in advance, and was just saying what was currently on his mind.

It can’t be that his senses are muddled because of psychological pressure or something, right?

“About this matter Mr. Shen you can reconsider!” Ning Yangze hurriedly spoke, “I represent the Special Unit while negotiating with you, but that is your product, so there’s no pressure, we will even buy it with the terms laid out by Mr. Shen. This is absolutely not something you are being threatened to do!”

“I wasn’t thinking that either.” Shen Si looked at Ning Yangze, “Why would you assume that, Mr. Ning?”

Ning Yangze coughed, then he scratched his hair a little helplessly, “Really? Then I’m really sorry, I’ve been hearing too many threats and such for a while, so I just subconsciously…”

Whether it was the playfield participants who were quarantined or people who were found to have gotten an ability, the drastic change in circumstances made them suspect first. Whether it was Ning Yangze or others being suspected, the scale in their minds tipped in the direction of not believing anything, so Ning Yangze could only explain over and over again to appease them.

Suddenly there was a person who had a different mindset. It surprisingly made him a little uncomfortable.

“I was actually prepared to give this to the Special Unit from the beginning.” Shen Si turned the conversation back on track, “I had a wide range of interests when I was in college, and I especially liked plants, so I was really just going to come up with a good weed killer, and I ended up with something like that.”

Shen Si’s face was expressionless, but his dark eyes carried some helplessness, and it seemed to be carrying a hidden meaning.

“That herbicide, no… maybe you can’t call it a herbicide anymore… that agent can cause a certain range of plants to die, and it only works on plants.” Shen Si’s voice was tinged with sadness, “I tried to deal with these agents, and finally found that it can’t be disposed of, because after use this agent will cause damage to the soil.”

“What kind of damage?”

“I can’t say for certain.” Shen Si shook his head, “But up to now, no new plants have ever sprouted in the soil where this agent has been used.”

Indeed, that empty flower pot on Shen Si’s balcony was the soil where that chemical had been used. Shen Si brought the soil back and tried to get rid of the agent, but unfortunately it never worked.

“So, what you’re saying is that you want the help of the Special Unit in this matter?”

“Survivors have all kinds of abilities, you are the Special Unit that manages the Survivors, so I think you should be able to solve this problem better than me.” Shen Si fished out a piece of paper from his pocket, and handed that piece of paper to Ning Yangze, “This is the formula of the agent, if it’s not resolved, no plants will grow in the area of that playfield.”

Taking the piece of paper, Ning Yangze opened it and looked at it, the handwriting on it was neat and the various ingredients and ratios were clearly marked.

“I got it.” Ning Yangze stood up, he put the piece of paper into his pocket, then smiled and said goodbye to Shen Si, “Then see you later.”

Shen Si watched Ning Yangze leave as he leaned back in his chair, his dark eyes devoid of emotion.

They had been in quarantine here for three days, and it was estimated that they would be able to get out soon.

The odds were that he could not go back to his apartment, and following the loss of his job, he had now lost his place of residence.

Shen Si got up helplessly and plopped down on the table.

“It’s so hard to live.”

Meanwhile, Ning Yangze clutched the paper in his hand and walked forward, his speed getting faster and faster, almost breaking into a run. He had only one thought in his head now, to hurry up and get to the Inspection Unit.

An agent targeting plants only affected the soil, so plants couldn’t survive in it.

If this agent was also effective on a playfield, as long as it did not affect humans, they could use this potion to prevent the recurrence of the Flower mental playfield! What if a small area of land remains where plants didn’t grow? In a crisis like this, every extra piece of safe land was a big deal!

In the Inspection Unit, Xia Leyu was sitting in the doorway. There was a sudden bang, and the door of the Inspection Unit was kicked open. The almost asleep Xia Leyu was so scared he jumped.

“What? Team leader?!” Xia Leyu hurriedly took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes hard, “Team Leader, why did you come over?”

“Is there any spare manpower in the Inspection Unit now? Help me test this thing first!” Ning Yangze ignored Xia Leyu, and barged right in, “This thing is very important!”

The testing team in the Inspection Unit with dark circles under their eyes glanced at him, then turned their heads and went back to their own business.

“What are you doing?” The head of the Inspection Unit, He Xin, came over in his white lab coat, and frowned at Ning Yangze, “We are very busy here, because we’re testing the important thing you asked us to do with priority.”

“He Xin, do you have time now? This must be examined immediately.” Ning Yangze shoved the formula in his hand to He Xin.

“What is this?” He Xin opened the piece of paper and looked at what was on it.

“It’s the herbicide that breaks the mental playfield Flower, it can affect the soil and make the plants die out for a certain period of time.”

Instantly understanding Ning Yangze’s meaning, He Xin’s eyes widened, “Is the information reliable?”

“It’s because I don’t know if it’s reliable that I want you to test it!” Ning Yangze patted He Xin’s shoulder, “If it’s true, both our Special Unit and your Inspection Unit will benefit greatly. The situation might even change because of this thing.”