Chapter 1

Mission Objective: Jiang Muye

Target Level: S

Target Contamination Value: 89.7%

No wonder they brought him along, even though his compatibility with Jiang Muye was only 60%. It was just too dangerous—only 0.3% left.

Just 0.3% more, and he'd reach the Alice Line.

Shen Shu rolled down the window slightly, letting the icy wind rush in and clear his head.

Once a Sentinel's Contamination Value exceeded 90%, they would enter an irreversible End of Mutation. Their Mental Body would embark on a journey toward death, merging with their physical form. The moment the Mental Body perished completely, the Sentinel would transform into a mindless Mutant.

Mutants, Pollutants, Mutated Species, monsters... call them what you will. At their core, they were simply creatures with superpowers, driven by hunger, slaughter, territorial expansion, and carrying deadly sources of contamination.

This process was so bizarre that people called it the Alice Line. Calling it the Death Line was too harsh for a Sentinel's mindset.

Shen Shu pulled a chocolate bar from his pocket and began eating it. The car and driver had been specially assigned to this mission, and he'd been ordered to board immediately after receiving the notice, without a moment to spare for a proper meal.

The chocolate bar was quickly gone, leaving Shen Shu's stomach feeling as empty as before. He rested his chin in his hand, gazing out the window. His eyes swept past a sign for a drink shop offering a buy-one-get-one-free deal, and he felt a sudden urge to get off and buy a cup.

Just as he was thinking this, he caught the eye of the black-suited driver in front. Shen Shu gave a polite nod, then lowered his head to resume his "serious" study of the patient's medical records.

Shen Shu didn't believe his barely passing compatibility score could cure the patient. Being brought along was like the department chief taking him along on a consultation at the hospital—partly to gain experience, partly to see if his relatively new brain had even a 1% chance of offering a useful suggestion.

During Jiang Muye's last examination, his Contamination Value was only 75.3%. This time, it had surged by 14.4%, indicating the severity of the Contaminated Zone he had visited. Based on Shen Shu's experience, such a drastic increase almost guaranteed that the value would continue to rise even after leaving the zone.

The moment this thought crossed his mind, a warning tone sounded ahead. The driver glanced at it, and the vehicle, which had been law-abiding moments before, suddenly accelerated like a race car. "Hold on tight, Dr. Shen," the driver called out as he sped away.

He was right.

The vehicle quickly reached its destination: a villa complex. The property management didn't even try to stop them, letting the car with its special license plate pass through without hesitation. As soon as the car stopped, Shen Shu swiftly got out, verified his identity again, and entered the villa. Inside, 18 or 19 Guides and at least eight doctors were already gathered.

Shen Shu, his white coat quickly identifying his place, stood at the back of the group of senior figures, listening to the analysis without greeting anyone. Staff members were already handing out more detailed medical records.

As the senior figures discussed and analyzed the case, Shen Shu learned some classified information that would normally be withheld from him. Jiang Muye had been sent to S-class Contamination Zone 12, a zone that had expanded by 5% in the past month. This meant either the number of Mutants inside had drastically increased, or they had become stronger, or both.

"It's increased by another 0.1. If this continues, he'll reach the Alice Line within eight hours at most."

"Is SG14 not effective enough? Should we switch to SG07?"

"07 is too harsh. It's not time for that yet." The white-bearded old man waved his hand angrily. "Stop throwing out random ideas!"

"What about the Guides? What's the highest level one we have here right now?"

"72% is done, and another 78% is on the way. It'll take at least two more hours to get here."

Shen Shu manipulated the tablet, pulling up more real-time data. Suddenly, the white-bearded old man turned to them and snapped, "What are you all just standing around for? Can you grow flowers by staring at reports?! Go check on the patients!"

The young doctors immediately responded, and Shen Shu followed them in a rush into the elevator, descending to Sub-level 3. This level housed the sealing chambers, where Alphas were almost always confined after awakening as Sentinels. Otherwise, no one could work.

Outside the sealing chamber was a massive one-way glass pane. From inside, one could only see a solid wall, effectively blocking the intense sense of crisis Sentinels felt when being watched, which could further damage their fragile mental state.

A handsome red-haired young man sat cross-legged on the sofa, his expression blank as he tilted his head to receive Guiding Substance from the Guide beside him.

Two other Guides sat on either side of him, their fingers intertwined with his.

Two Alpha Guides stood outside the door, their arms connected to pheromone extraction devices, showing no intention of entering the treatment room. They were acting like mere Guiding Substance dispensers.

Alpha pheromones are mutually exclusive; entering would only make the other party more agitated.

Shen Shu had witnessed such scenes several times before and wasn't overly surprised.

Though it appeared chaotic, it was purely a life-saving measure.

Whether the Guide inside was willing or not, even the Sentinel himself might not be willing to do this.

Unless the Sentinel himself wanted to die, abandoning all care for country and family, one was a patient and the other was there to heal and save lives.

The only reason such high-level contact was necessary to effectively absorb the Guiding Substance was because the other party's rank was too high, the Guide inside's rank was too low, and their compatibility was poor.

Mucosal absorption of medication is faster than oral ingestion. This indicated that Jiang Muye's condition had become so dangerous that they dared not directly inject Guiding Substance to suppress it, instead opting for a more natural Guiding Substance to gently suppress his Contamination Value.

The Guide with 72% compatibility was also inside. Following their secondary contact, Jiang Muye's Contamination Value only decreased slightly—it was as if the time until he entered the Alice Line had extended from eight hours to nine.

He had managed to buy an hour of precious time.

As Shen Shu was pondering some of the wicked cultivators' methods, he suddenly heard the elevator ding. Several senior doctors descended. The crowd gathered around the observation wall automatically dispersed. The white-bearded old man leaned in for a closer look, and suddenly Jiang Muye seemed to sense something. He turned his head, his emerald eyes as cold as ice and as fiery as frozen flames, almost piercing anyone who met his gaze.

The white-bearded old man rolled his eyes and shouted, "Shen Shu! Has Shen Shu arrived yet?!"

Even though Shen Shu had hidden in the back, he couldn't escape being called out. He forced himself to reply, "I'm here."

The white-bearded old man snapped, "What are you dawdling around for? Since you're here, get in there and take a look!"

Among the city's resident Guides who were also doctors and Betas, there were only two. Shen Shu was one of them. His Guiding Substance was highly adaptable, placing no burden on Sentinels and remaining unaffected by pheromones. Moreover, he possessed professional expertise. If he wasn't going, who would?

Shen Shu sighed resignedly. "I'm going."

He really didn't want to go in. That was why he'd been hiding at the back, silent, ever since they entered. Even Sentinels with high Contamination Values were usually bound with restraints that ensured they couldn't possibly jump up and attack. But this one's level was too high, and his Contamination Value was rising rapidly, making it impossible to restrain him.

Getting punched wouldn't kill him; he could use special growth serum to rapidly heal the injuries. But that didn't mean it wouldn't hurt!

Staff members led Shen Shu to the side, into the isolation area, where he quickly changed into a steel-plated protective suit. The triple-sealed chambers opened one by one, and Shen Shu stepped inside. As the final chamber opened, those emerald-green eyes fixed on him, unblinking.

The absence of aggressive intent indicated that the man's mind still retained a degree of clarity. Shen Shu breathed a sigh of relief. He walked slowly, almost at a leisurely pace, while Jiang Muye's gaze remained locked on him. As Shen Shu approached, Jiang Muye extended his arm, his expression blank, and reached out to pull him into his arms. Shen Shu pulled out a detector and clipped it to Jiang Muye's wrist.

Jiang Muye froze, his eyes involuntarily darting to the detector. The next instant, the device was flung against the wall, shattering into pieces. Jiang Muye grabbed Shen Shu, his hand clamping around his neck, his face darkening with displeasure.

No one could stop his movements.

Shen Shu: "......"

He's a old workhorse, he's used to it.

The moment the detector was activated, data flashed across the screen outside. Shen Shu glanced at it—not good. All the readings were in the red.

He made a safety gesture toward the observation wall beside them, then placed a hand on Jiang Muye's arm. The clear contact seemed to relax Jiang Muye slightly. Seeing this, Shen Shu released the SG12. The drug had mild anesthetic properties, and mixed with his Guiding Substance, it wouldn't cause any problems.

Ten seconds later, Jiang Muye's expression grew noticeably dazed, and his hand slowly loosened its grip, resting loosely on Shen Shu's shoulder.

Despite his usual cold, handsome features, he now showed a hint of youthful innocence.

He's only eighteen.

Shen Shu carefully guided Jiang Muye's hand downward so he could wrap it around him. Jiang Muye tensed briefly when his arm was taken, but relaxed again as his hand settled around Shen Shu's waist.

He naturally buried his head in Shen Shu's arms.

Shen Shu gently stroked his hair, his long fingers tracing the vibrant red strands all the way down to the pale, strong nape of his neck. "We need to perform some treatment next. Will you try not to resist? I promise you'll feel better afterward."

Jiang Muye looked up at Shen Shu from his embrace, his expression almost docile. He nodded and murmured, "Mmm..."

He slowly rose, intending to kiss Shen Shu to draw out more Guiding Substance.

But before he could finish the word, Shen Shu had already injected the needle into the back of his neck. Do you know why Shen Shu kept stroking Jiang Muye's head and neck?

It's the same principle as giving a cow an injection: first, you pat it a few times to relax it and get it used to the touch. Then, when you give the injection, it doesn't know to flinch away.

Jiang Muye's eyes widened, but he collapsed before he could even resist. Outside, the main force had already donned protective suits and entered. The white-bearded old man's beard was still caught outside his suit.

He gave Shen Shu a thumbs-up. "Good job!"

Shen Shu casually grabbed a blanket and covered Jiang Muye's lower half. "Next time, could you send someone else for this kind of work?"

The old man waved his hand. "You've earned a merit!"

Shen Shu immediately smiled. "Saving lives is part of the job."

Such emergency rescues usually only occurred among Grade A and above Sentinels and Guides, with substantial rewards from both the state and the individuals themselves. Jiang Muye was his first Grade S rescue. Based on Grade A standards, saving one person earned 50,000, with an additional 100,000 to 200,000 for exceptional merit. If the rescue failed, the family received 5,000 to take the body home.

S-class should at least follow these standards, right?

Alright, alright! This trip alone is worth half a year of overtime!

I love coming! I love it! A few more of these and I'll have enough for a down payment!