Chapter 80: 污染中调

Chapter 80

After returning to Central City, the thing Zhou Xiangzhe should have done first was go to the S-Zone for a comprehensive checkup, not come to the supermarket with Shen Wang to pick out butterfly knots that only little girls would like.

However, Shen Wang had signed that agreement.

If he wanted to, even if the top brass of the Pollution Control Center showed up, they'd have to wait until he finished picking out butterfly knots before they could drag Zhou Xiangzhe into the S-Zone for his checkup.

So, in the bustling supermarket, two tall, handsome men—one dressed in black, the other in white, one cool, the other warm, looking perfectly matched—kept drawing glances from customers. It would've been fine if they weren't standing in the little girls' accessories section.

Shen Wang was seriously considering the colors of the butterfly knots. As he looked, he glanced at Zhou Xiangzhe.

"What style do you like? What color?"

Zhou Xiangzhe was silent for a moment before finally speaking a few seconds later. "Blue?"

According to Zhou Xiangzhe's taste, he didn't like these styles of butterfly knots… the colors were garish reds and greens, very eye-catching. Zhou Xiangzhe didn't like eye-catching things, but he'd promised Shen Wang he'd wear one, so he could only try to pick the least garish one from the bunch.

Why did he like his horns so much? And why did he want to hang a butterfly knot on them?

Shen Wang glanced at him, his smile meaningful, carrying a hint of something subtle in the air.

"Would blue clash? Would red look better? Your skin's fair, so white would be too plain." Shen Wang continued picking, talking as he did. "And these look pretty tight. Wouldn't it be uncomfortable if it's tied on? We need to consider the elasticity."

Zhou Xiangzhe: …

Was he really talking about tying a butterfly knot on his horn, and not… somewhere else?

"Shen Wang," Zhou Xiangzhe said softly. "You don't need to consider that."

"Of course I should." Shen Wang picked up a blue butterfly knot and held it against the single horn on Zhou Xiangzhe's side, as if checking the effect. "Blue still feels like it's missing something."

Zhou Xiangzhe's throat bobbed. This newly grown horn was especially sensitive—he'd probably never been this sensitive in his life. So he could feel the touch of the butterfly knot against his horn, and the slight coolness of Shen Wang's fingertips.

A faint, instinctive urge to shy away, a tingling numbness.

Of course, he restrained himself and didn't pull back. After all, if Shen Wang wanted to touch him, he couldn't exactly refuse. They were legally married; every part of him could be seen.

Shen Wang found a red one and held it next to Zhou Xiangzhe's horn, looking quite satisfied with the color.

Zhou Xiangzhe looked at that bright red and finally whispered, "If you just want a cord… I have a lot of hair ties. Red ones… too."

Shen Wang gave him a subtle look. 'So you already have some ready?'

They were really just ordinary hair ties for pulling hair back. Zhou Xiangzhe's hair hadn't been long before—short and black like everyone else's—but after he used Devour on the Deer God Entity, it grew past his shoulders overnight, so he had no choice but to find a tie to keep it out of his eyes.

He just hadn't expected they'd have this use now…

Zhou Xiangzhe thought: It's like a tool for flirting.

But Shen Wang didn't listen to him. He smiled as he listened to Zhou Xiangzhe, then turned around and bought a plain-colored butterfly knot. Thankfully, this one wasn't too flashy or big. Zhou Xiangzhe imagined what it would look like tied on his head and finally decided it wasn't unacceptable.

After buying the butterfly knot, Zhou Xiangzhe went to the S-Zone. The Pollution Control Center had already booked his appointment.

As Zhou Xiangzhe's legal spouse, Shen Wang accompanied him the entire time this visit.

Shen Wang had been to the S-Zone a few times, but only to see Zhou Xiangzhe, so he'd always taken the same route, entered the same place. This was his first time seeing the S-Zone's examination and treatment facilities.

At the doctor's signal, Zhou Xiangzhe removed his jacket, wearing only a white undershirt as he walked into the examination room. Zhou Xiangzhe was already good-looking with a great build, exuding the mature aura of an adult man. He pushed back his long hair, revealing the horn on his head, and walked behind the machine for the examination.

Shen Wang's eyes darkened slightly, because he noticed that after removing his jacket, the black tattoo on Zhou Xiangzhe's neck became even more conspicuous, like a strange symbol etched there.

He really liked this tattoo on Zhou Xiangzhe's body, and he kind of didn't want anyone else to see it.

Oh well. This was a special Hospital; covering it up wasn't realistic.

The examination machine beeped. The doctor in charge of the testing sucked in a sharp breath.

"It really dropped to 70!"

"But Captain Zhou is showing a Distortion Reaction, with high-contamination-level Distortion Contamination present. Our previous conclusion holds: even if the Deer God Entity disappears, Captain Zhou's Distortion won't vanish."

"The Distortion Reaction is present, but the Contamination Level has dropped."

"Captain Zhou is different from everyone else! He's the only Mutant who's never shown signs of Mental Aberration!"

"Right, Captain Zhou's situation was always special!"

Hearing this, Shen Wang raised an eyebrow. He looked at Zhou Xiangzhe, who happened to glance over at the same time. They met each other's eyes for a moment before looking away.

This man… even the S-Zone hadn't detected his Mental Aberration.

Zhou Xiangzhe had hidden his true emotions for years, even masking his Mental Aberration with other methods. You had to admit: he was just too clever, with no flaws except for being bad at communication.

The examination ended. Zhou Xiangzhe got off the machine, draped his jacket over one arm, and went to get the results. But the two doctors in charge were deep in discussion about the drop in Zhou Xiangzhe's Contamination Level, not even noticing him.

Then Zhou Xiangzhe overheard the doctors' wild speculation.

"There's another possibility! Captain Zhou's legal spouse is also a Class S Mutant, with the talent Contamination Immunity. Do you think it's possible that during Negative Contact, Captain Zhou also developed Contamination Immunity?"

"I think it's highly likely!"

Zhou Xiangzhe couldn't help but cough.

The two doctors froze. They turned to look at Zhou Xiangzhe, then instantly realized their words had crossed a line. Flustered, they quickly handed over the test report and said the examination was over, they could leave.

Only after walking out of the examination room with the report did Zhou Xiangzhe speak. "S-Zone doctors will suggest anything to find a breakthrough. Though I think that possibility is pretty low."

Shen Wang said, "I think it's somewhat credible."

Zhou Xiangzhe was taken aback. "Huh?"

"Back in Order City, wasn't it during Negative Contact that I controlled your Contamination Level?"

Zhou Xiangzhe silently lowered his head. "…That was you biting me. That doesn't count as Negative Contact. You didn't even break the skin."

Shen Wang had only been teasing, and he didn't mind being shot down by Zhou Xiangzhe at all. Instead he asked with interest, 'You think when you go see the doctor next, he'll suggest you come in for a full checkup after we've done it?'

Zhou Xiangzhe: …

That would expose the fact that they hadn't had sex at all.

Legally married, no wedding night, no sex life. Thinking about it like that was kind of depressing.

Returning to the doctor's office, sure enough, the doctor inside made another sound of surprise upon seeing Zhou Xiangzhe's report. He kept asking how Zhou Xiangzhe had lowered his Contamination Level, also considering Shen Wang's talent as his partner.

But at the same time, the doctor apologized.

"Sorry, this is your private business, but I still brought it up." The doctor said, "Because this is just too astonishing."

The doctor's eyes gleamed. "Perhaps Captain Zhou will be our biggest medical breakthrough!"

It had been thirty years since the apocalypse. Humanity had built a massive High Wall to resist the Pollutant and protect the remaining ordinary people, but the problem of Contamination Level remained beyond their reach. Humans couldn't comprehend this strange thing called Contamination that had appeared out of nowhere, so they had no way to deal with it. In the end they could only rely on the Safehouse to build the S-Zone, and on the Pollution Inhibitor to control Mutants' Contamination Levels.

However, neither the S-Zone nor Pollution Inhibitors could reduce the Contamination inside a person.

Zhou Xiangzhe was the only example of a Contamination Level decreasing.

Zhou Xiangzhe knew how excited the S-Zone was, and he knew how urgent lowering Contamination Levels was for humanity. But this method simply couldn't be used, and he couldn't expose Shen Wang either. So he just kept saying: it was because after the Deer God Entity left his body, it took 20% of his Contamination with it.

Nothing else was involved.

The S-Zone accepted this explanation. The doctor replaced Zhou Xiangzhe's damaged Pollution Inhibitor and then went back to studying his examination data.

Walking out of the doctor's office, Zhou Xiangzhe let out a soft sigh.

"Looks like I won't have to keep coming to the S-Zone anymore."

"Yeah." Shen Wang nodded. "Good. I didn't like coming to the S-Zone to see you anyway. This place calls itself a treatment center, but it's more like a Prison."

Zhou Xiangzhe gazed gently at Shen Wang. "I didn't like it either."

They turned to leave the S-Zone. Just then, hurried footsteps sounded behind them, and someone called out.

"Captain Zhou, wait!"

Zhou Xiangzhe and Shen Wang stopped at the same time and turned around, only to see a person in a white coat, still wearing protective gear, hurrying over. Zhou Xiangzhe glanced at his name tag, and a flicker of something subtle instantly colored his dark eyes.

The man gasped for breath. "I heard Captain Zhou's Contamination Level dropped by 20%?"

Zhou Xiangzhe neither confirmed nor denied it, just watched the man.

The man didn't seem to expect Zhou Xiangzhe to answer either; he simply said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, 'Could Captain Zhou stay in the S-Zone for a week? This is an extremely rare phenomenon. Once we get research results, it'll be a leap forward for all of humanity!'

'What did you say?' Before Zhou Xiangzhe could get a word out, Shen Wang cut the man off flatly.

Shen Wang looked the man up and down. "What do you mean?"

'You… I take it you're Captain Zhou's lover, the Class S Mutant with the Contamination Immunity talent? You're welcome to come along too—I'm very interested in you as well.' The man went on, 'For you to grow into a Class S Mutant at such speed, there must be something extraordinary about you. If we can research it, it'll benefit all of humanity.'

"Fuck." Shen Wang hadn't expected this guy to set his sights on him too.

Shen Wang pointed behind him. "Get the hell out of here."

The man looked at Shen Wang strangely. "What do you mean?"

"I mean: you'd better get out of my sight right now. I really hate what you're saying. If you don't roll out of here now, I'll help you roll."

The man fell silent for a few seconds. He was about to say something else when a doctor from the office, hearing noise outside, came out to check.

The moment the doctor saw the man, he instantly clamped a hand over the man's mouth and started dragging him back into the office.

"Please ignore him, you two! He's an idiot! Don't pay any attention to what an idiot says!"

"Sorry, sorry!"

With a bang, the office door was slammed shut.

Shen Wang looked at Zhou Xiangzhe strangely. "What was his deal?"

Zhou Xiangzhe sighed very softly. "That man is Long Xiao. He's from the former Academy."

"Former Academy?"

"The Academy was disbanded, but its duties can't be. Some of its people are in the S-Zone researching Contamination Levels and making Pollution Inhibitors. Others are developing weapons and tools that can be used in Contamination."

"Long Xiao is the scientist who liaises specifically with the S-Zone. He's a genius, but his brain is wired wrong—he just can't bend."

As he spoke, Zhou Xiangzhe and Shen Wang walked out.

"Remember? I was once asked to participate in an Academy 'talent enhancement' modification surgery. I didn't go. The one who proposed that surgery was him. The modification ultimately failed. The Mutants' talent levels did increase, but their Contamination Level problems accelerated too."

"But the Pollution Inhibitor is also something he developed."

The Academy and the Pollution Control Center punished him for that failed modification surgery. But because he genuinely did raise Mutants' talent levels and went on to develop the Pollution Inhibitor, controlling many people's Contamination, the Pollution Control Center couldn't bear to give him up.

So they just kept him in the S-Zone studying high-Contamination-Level Mutants, trying to get him to find a way to lower Mutants' Contamination Levels.

He genuinely doesn't know how to talk. He acts superior to everyone. In this whole world, he's the only one who'd dare ask Zhou Xiangzhe to cooperate with a modification surgery.

When people asked him how he dared, Long Xiao answered: Zhou Xiangzhe's popularity is high enough. If he participated, then countless others would rush forward to join.

He's the kind of guy who'd absolutely get beaten up if they let him out.

"So the Pollution Control Center kept him?" Shen Wang raised an eyebrow slightly. "Too good at offending people, sees anyone outside his own work as nothing, low probability of betrayal, and wouldn't survive if they let him out."

"Right." Zhou Xiangzhe nodded. "If they let him out, he'd probably get stuffed in a sack and beaten to death on the first day."

They kept talking as they walked out of the S-Zone. Just then, Zhou Xiangzhe's phone rang.

Zhou Xiangzhe answered the call.

"This is Zhou Xiangzhe."

"An interview? Now?"

Zhou Xiangzhe was silent for a few seconds, then looked at Shen Wang.

"Shen Wang, command says there are reporters outside. They're asking if we want to do the interview now."

Shen Wang looked at him. "If we do it this time, we won't have to do it again later, right?"

"Right." Zhou Xiangzhe said, "Class S Mutants don't need frequent interviews. Most are just to reassure the public. This time the public is too panicked, so they're in a hurry to get the interview done and released. But if you think the timing is wrong now, we can delay."

"It's fine, let's just get it handled quickly." Shen Wang said, "We're in a hurry."

"In a hurry?" Zhou Xiangzhe was puzzled.

Shen Wang calmly tapped his own pocket.

"Finish up fast and go home. The Butterfly Knot is still in my pocket."

Zhou Xiangzhe: …

Was there really no escaping this?

No, he should say it was already giving him face that Shen Wang hadn't made him wear it in front of the reporters.

/

By the time they finished with the reporters, it was already late.

Zhou Xiangzhe not only had to present his new appearance, but also explain why he'd returned to black hair and black eyes, all while concealing the fact that the Deer God Entity had escaped. The press conference left him mentally and physically exhausted. Fortunately, while Zhou Xiangzhe wasn't good at communication, Shen Wang was a very smooth talker.

During the interview, Shen Wang could very easily steer the topic onto himself, then chat animatedly with the reporters, seeming to radiate endless light and heat, quite eye-catching.

No matter when or where, Shen Wang was always the most dazzling person.

Zhou Xiangzhe thought silently: The most popular Class S Mutant would probably change hands soon.

But it was fine. Shen Wang was still a member of his North Star. North Star was still the most powerful team in Central City, and in the whole country.

The night grew deeper, but Zhou Xiangzhe felt increasingly uneasy, because nights always made people think of many things. Like: drunkenness, moon-gazing, and the ambiguous entanglement between lovers.

He wasn't sure what Shen Wang was thinking, but he knew Shen Wang was stubbornly determined to tie that Butterfly Knot on his horns.

So Zhou Xiangzhe took Shen Wang back to his own place.

The moment the door closed, Shen Wang pinned Zhou Xiangzhe against it as if by accident. His force was light, gentler than a child's roughhousing. Zhou Xiangzhe didn't resist, just watched as Shen Wang leisurely fished the Butterfly Knot he'd bought at the supermarket from his pocket.

Shen Wang didn't speak, but they both knew what was happening now. He reached out and carefully tied the Butterfly Knot onto the curved horn on Zhou Xiangzhe's side.

Zhou Xiangzhe could feel the unfamiliar horn he'd never had before being loosely bound by a ribbon. The strange sensation made him let out a low gasp. His horn was oddly sensitive. Every movement Shen Wang made made his limbs go weak.

Only after Shen Wang finished tying the knot did he speak. "Pretty."

Zhou Xiangzhe steadied his breathing, making sure his voice wouldn't tremble before asking softly, "Really pretty?"

To express his liking, Shen Wang leaned in and gently kissed the corner of Zhou Xiangzhe's mouth. His eyes were dark and unreadable. He repeated, "Pretty."

"Where's your bedroom?"

Zhou Xiangzhe's fingers curled involuntarily. He wasn't sure if Shen Wang was really asking or just teasing him again, because Zhou Xiangzhe's home was simple and clean. Aside from a living room, there was only one bedroom, obvious at a glance. But under Shen Wang's gaze, he still pointed in the direction.

Shen Wang led him into the bedroom. Zhou Xiangzhe's bedroom was much like the living room—clean and tidy, not a speck of dust in sight. All his clothes were neatly hung in the wardrobe.

But Shen Wang's goal this time wasn't to admire Zhou Xiangzhe's room and wardrobe.

He very directly pushed Zhou Xiangzhe onto the bed, then leaned down. Zhou Xiangzhe was very compliant, only instinctively tilting his neck aside when Shen Wang leaned over him.

"Shen Wang…?"

"Didn't you say I could touch you however I wanted?" Shen Wang's breath brushed against Zhou Xiangzhe's neck. He started unbuttoning Zhou Xiangzhe's jacket without any ceremony, took it off, and tossed it straight onto the floor—challenging the nerves of a neat freak.

Zhou Xiangzhe watched his jacket make contact with the floor. His little finger twitched, then he chose to ignore it.

Shen Wang looked at the large tattoo on Zhou Xiangzhe's neck.

Back in the S-Zone examination room, when Zhou Xiangzhe took off his jacket, you could see that tattoo extended much deeper. It exposed most of its shape, seductively stretching below the collarbone, hidden deep in his clothes. It made you really want to take his clothes off and see exactly where this thing was hiding, how much space it occupied.

Zhou Xiangzhe swallowed. He felt Shen Wang unbuttoning his inner shirt. Cool fingertips traced from his neck down to his collarbone, his chest, tracing the expanse of black tattoo.

Only after undoing all the buttons of the inner shirt did Shen Wang realize the tattoo on his neck was truly just the tip of the iceberg. That huge expanse of black spread from Zhou Xiangzhe's neck all the way down his chest, then curved around to his lower back, and followed his side waist to disappear beneath Zhou Xiangzhe's black trousers.

Feeling the touch of Shen Wang's fingers, Zhou Xiangzhe suddenly felt like saying something.

His voice was a bit hoarse as he lay on the bed and asked Shen Wang softly, "Do you like it?"

Shen Wang blinked. "I like it."

Before Zhou Xiangzhe could voice any further thoughts, he suddenly felt a wetness on his neck. Shen Wang had actually kissed the tattoo there.

Zhou Xiangzhe couldn't help but let out a muffled groan. He couldn't hold back anymore. He flipped over, putting Shen Wang beneath him. His eyes were rimmed red. He covered the licked spot on his neck with one hand, looking utterly aggrieved.

"Shen Wang." Zhou Xiangzhe called his name. "It hurts."

Shen Wang didn't mind that he and Zhou Xiangzhe had switched positions. Hearing this, he just smiled and reached up to poke his horn.

That black horn was loosely holding the Butterfly Knot, adding a touch of eye-catching ambiguity to Zhou Xiangzhe's usually cool demeanor. Because of his touch, Zhou Xiangzhe trembled, then reached out to press down Shen Wang's teasing hand.

At this point, it wasn't something you could just stop if you wanted to.

Zhou Xiangzhe's black hair spilled over Shen Wang. His eyes were full of Shen Wang's figure. Finally, he spoke.

"Do you want to?"

Shen Wang lazily flexed the wrist Zhou Xiangzhe was holding. "Making up for the wedding night?"

Zhou Xiangzhe's throat bobbed. He asked softly again, "Do you know how?"

"I don't." Shen Wang said, "How about… you teach me?"

Zhou Xiangzhe's breath hitched. He couldn't say another word.

And after those words, came a sleepless night.

In the end, Shen Wang did see just how extensive the tattoo on Zhou Xiangzhe's body was, and exactly where it spread.

It's just that by then, he had no attention left to spare for such things.