Ch34 - Is there a way…

Zhongdu’s User Committee, Basement Warehouse, Floor 36.

In the cage made of damp mud and dirt, the four oil lamps on the walls flickered dimly. An old and rusty robot pressed its big face against the glass in the center of the room. 

The dirt cage was wholly sealed, not a single lick of wind in the room, yet suddenly, the oil lamps were extinguished. In the terrifying and eerie light, the little robot revealed a strange, evil smile, raising its arms up high, and then…

“Crunch—”

Polluter 004 wiped itself against the glass in boredom.

“16 hours and 25 minutes since Dad last paid attention to me…” 

“Missing Dad.”

“16 hours and 26 minutes since Dad last paid attention to me…”

“Missing Dad, missing Dad.”

On the screen it used as a face, a “╭(╯^╰)╮” symbol flashed.

The basement warehouse 36 floors down were already rarely visited. If it wasn’t for the 004’s unexpected situation last time, Wang Tao wouldn’t have even sent Zhao Hen and Li Xiaoxiao down to check it out.

In the silent room, phrases such as “so bored”, “Dad seems to be busy”, and “I want to hear Dad sing”, sounded from time to time. The seemingly five-year old voice that accompanied these words didn’t conform with those words, which made it very strange.

004 could roughly feel that something had happened in the city above it. Its Dad was busy and so were the bad guys that locked it up.

But even if he was busy, its Dad still had to pay attention to it! 

It felt very aggrieved.

Suddenly, the little robot slightly stopped its movements, strangely saying “why is Old Pervert back again?” Swearing a whole mouthful and greeting Old Pervert’s entire family, 004 finally stopped talking after a few minutes.

But it was only a moment of silence. 004 jerked its head up and looked at Zhongdu, which was above the dirt cell. A mess of characters sped across its screen.

In the next second, a boy’s angry shouts echoed in the cell 36 floors underground. 

“I can let locking me up slide, but how dare you bring higher polluters here to steal my turf?!!!”

“Old Pervert Old Pervert Old Pervert!”

“Ahh!”

“Dad, kill him!” 

At the same time.

Contamination Area 81, Fumin Community.

“Turn away, everyone. Don’t look directly at Polluter 008.”

The man’s cold and calm voice sounded. Wang Tao stood the closest to Su Jiuzhou and Xiao Jinyu, and when he heard those words, his face suddenly changed. He quickly turned around, not letting his eyes scan what Su Jiuzhou was holding, and loudly ordered the other team members: “All turn around!” 

“Whoosh—”

The team members who had just finished casting the steel cage turned their heads one after the other, and even Zhao Hen had immediately stopped his dance and turned his sweaty body around.

The moment Xiao Jinyu heard the words “Polluter 008”, his body tensed up. He clearly felt an eerie sensation come from the right of him as he heard the crisp sound of a box opening. 

However, after the thing let out that piercing scream, it didn’t do anything else.

The man’s palm still tightly covered his eyes. Xiao Jinyu was about to question Su Jiuzhou when he whispered: “Cover your eyes yourself, don’t look at it.”

It?

Polluter 008. 

Xiao Jinyu raised his hand, tightly covering his eyes.

“Stand behind me.”

The youth was silent for a moment, then took two steps to the side. Su Jiuzhou looked at Xiao Jinyu, raising his eyebrows, before reaching out to pull the other person behind him.

On the large lawn of the community, there was only silence. 

Wang Tao turned around and didn’t look at Su Jiuzhou or the polluter in his hand, but he began to recall information about this polluter.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

C abaji bo fluta qbiieafgr lc Jtlcj tjv jkjxfcfv rfio-jkjgfcfrr jcv Ubiieafg 008 kjr atf rfmbcv bcf Qjcu Kjb tjv rffc.

[Polluter Number: 008]

[Brief Description: A yellow, old phonograph with vinyl records featuring popular Pre-Type-A radiation songs. The record burner plays a total of three songs and the selected song can be played by placing the needle on the corresponding vinyl.] 

[Contamination Methods:

Look directly at Polluter 008, in five seconds, a level four user will be contaminated.Be exposed to the air in which Polluter 008 is located, in ten minutes, a level one users will be contaminated. For each level of protective clothing, the rate of contamination is halved.

*Ubiieafg 008’r mbcajwlcjalbc jylilas lr cba ragbcu jcv la lr delaf oglfcvis ab tewjcr.

Rfza, obg atf wbgf vfajlifv lcobgwjalbc, Qjcu Kjb vbfrc’a delaf ecvfgrajcv.

Ubiieafg 008 kjr jikjsr rabgfv lc atf Jjqlaji’r Djrfwfca Qjgftberf. C vjs jub, Ve Alehtbe revvfcis rjlv tf cffvfv ab ifjnf Itbcuve obg atf Jjqlaji. Qjcu Kjb atbeuta atja Jbibcfi Ve tjv rbwfatlcu lwqbgajca ab vb. Dea tf vlvc’a fzqfma atja ja atja alwf, Ve Alehtbe tjv jigfjvs vfmlvfv ab ub ab atf Jjqlaji’r Frfg Jbwwlaaff ab ajxf Ubiieafg 008. 

In the entire country, only level six users dared to cross 90% of the contamination areas and travel from Zhongdu to the Capital at the fastest speed, not taking any detours. And only level six users dared to take the eighth ranked polluter with them.

The Capital’s Logic Research Institute didn’t fully disclose all the information on Polluter 008, but Wang Tao, as the leader of Zhongdu’s Extermination Squad, had a certain authority. So in addition to knowing how to avoid being contaminated by 008, he also knew the general logic skill of 008.

—008 could change the speed of which organisms move!

Immediately, Wang Tao understood why Su Jiuzhou had brought 008. 

He said with surprise: “Colonel Su, what’s the upper bound to how much 008 can slow a speed of an organism’s movement?!”

Xiao Jinyu paused when he heard what Wang Tao asked.

Slowing the movement of organisms?

Wait, what does slowing the movement of organism mean? Could it be? Was he was thinking of that? 

Under the blood-stained eyelid, the youth’s eyeballs were shifting non-stop. Xiao Jinyu was constantly thinking. If it was as he predicted, Su Jiuzhou left Zhongdu specifically to bring this polluter over…

Su Jiuzhou had long since foreseen that the head picking incident was not to be underestimated and catastrophe were to befall Zhongdu!

A thousand thoughts came to Xiao Jinyu’s mind. The numerous and disorderly ideas were all hidden beneath the hands that covered his eyes.

Su Jiuzhou looked down to glance at Xiao Jinyu. He did not immediately reply to Wang Tao’s question but instead turned around and looked towards the silent phonograph. 

Su Jiuzhou reached out and pulled up the gramophone’s needle.

“Is there a way…”

A crisp but slightly quiet child’s voice suddenly sounded. The voice sounded very young, like it belonged to a little girl of four or five years old.

Su Jiuzhou stopped moving. 

Xiao Jinyu also blanked. He looked tilted his head upward with his eyes closed and started analyzing attentively.

This sound traveled from in front of Su Jiuzhou. Plus, this sound had the same voice as that scream when Su Jiuzhou opened the box before.

Thus, this is Polluter 008.

Polluter 008 used a thin-sounding small girl’s voice and picked of from where she last stopped: “For you to solve this issue of yours without using me?” 

Xiao Jinyu blanked and strung the words 008 just spoke together.

—Is there a way for you to solve this issue of yours without using me?

Su Jiuzhou laughed: “Take a guess.”

008: “There is!” 

“You guessed wrong.”

In the next second, Su Jiuzhou smiled slightly and placed the gramophone needle on the second ring without hesitation.

It let out some little girl-sounding sobs and, following, unable to control itself, a song was pulled out from its throat.

Xiao Jinyu couldn’t identify which song this little girl’s clamped voice was singing, but once he recognized it… 

Xiao Jinyu: “…”

Every user at the scene who heard the singing voice: “…”

“Oh~ Super idol’s smile is not as sweet as yours,

The sunlight of an August's noon does not shine as bright you~ 

Love the 105 °C you,

Distilled water that is pure in every drop~”

The song originally sounded very nice, however, a greasy feeling washed over with it. 

This was a song that Xiao Jinyu had never heard and based off its style, it should have come out before he was born.

It seemed to be a long song, but while it sang, 008 suddenly began to repeat the ‘distilled water’ line like crazy. This lyric was extremely catchy and as Xiao Jinyu listened, he found that his brain was repeating this song continuously.

Immediately, his heart sank.

Xiao Jinyu realized that the hymn sung by thousands of people, seemingly filling the space between the heavens and the earth, was suppressed by this catchy song. 

The hymn of a thousand people was getting lighter and lighter and the catchy song from 008 was getting clearer and clearer.

Zhongdu’s User Committee, Maintenance Department.

Li Xiaoxiao looked at the scene captured by the drones, her entire body standing up from the chair. Immediately, there was a long chorus of chairs being pushed back in the Maintenance Department.

All the workers looked at the big screen. 

They saw that, in the snowy night, the cold lights illuminating the long march.

The cold snowstorm didn’t stop, and the large snowflakes fell on the marchers’ heads. On both sides of the road, the wind blew the dead leaves, making a rattling sound. Everything was as usual, except for all the humans on the street… They all stopped moving!

Li Xiaoxiao widened her eyes, and ordered: “Zoom in.”

“Yes!” 

Soon they saw two young men looking around in confusion. Li Xiaoxiao recognized these two as members of the Extermination Team.

But other than these two, everyone else on the street stopped moving. Like someone had pressed the stop button, and whether or not it was a marcher, their family or friends, or a stranger who wanted to help, they all stood sillily in place.

After a while.

Li Xiaoxiao: “No, these people are still moving, they’re just moving very slowly!” 

A staff member asked: “Department Head, I just received a message from the two on the screen, they said they feel like their movement speed has slowed down. They’re obviously running with all their might, but their speed and their body has been reduced.”

“Reduced?!” Li Xiaoxiao suddenly understood: “Then does that mean something is slowing them down?”

At the same time at the lawn in from of Fumin Community.

Su Jiuzhou finally answered Wang Tao’s question: “1000 times.” 

Wang Tao said in surprise: “It can reduce a person’s movement speed by 1000 times?”

Su Jiuzhou: “That’s the upper limit of 008’s logic skill. Play the third song and it can reduce the movement speed of living beings by 1000 times, very close to pressing a pause button. But if users listen to this song, they will only slow down 10 times, at the very most.” After a moment, he looked back at the youth who was still covering his eyes and pursing his lips behind him.

Su Jiuzhou smiled: “A level one user’s movement speed will be reduced by 10 times, a level two user by 8 times, and so on.

“The current song that is being played is the second song recorded by 008. All living beings who hear this song will have their movement speeds reduced by 100 times, a level one user will have their movement speeds halved, and there is almost no impact on users over level five.: 

Saying this, Su Jiuzhou closed his eyes.

He sensed around a bit.

008’s song covered all five marches and at the same time, it had also expanded out a bit more further.

After thinking for a moment, Su Jiuzhou raised his hand and reached out towards the old fashioned phonograph. 

…

“Open your eyes ba.”

Xiao Jinyu slightly froze before he dropped his hand and looked at the man in front of him.

008 was still singing those two catchy lyrics, but it was already put away. Xiao Jinyu subconsciously looked behind Su Jiuzhou. There was a tall black box seemingly having no lid and the song came from this box… 

Su Jiuzhou smiled and before he could say ‘do you really want to be contaminated this much?’, the youth in front of him quickly turned his head and never looked at the black box again.

Su Jiuzhou’s voice stopped.

The entire Fumin Community was covered with five huge steel plates.

Separated in the moonlight, more than twenty searchlights stood in every corner of the community, illuminating everything like it was day. 

Xiao Jinyu’s voice was undisturbed as he asked: “Colonel Su, has the speed of the marchers been reduced by 100 times?”

Su Jiuzhou lightly stared at him and after a while: “En.”

Xiao Jinyu lowered his head and began thinking.

According to what Su Jiuzhou had just said, 008’s second song can reduce the speed of regular people by 100 times and other than level one users, there generally isn’t any effect on other users. 

Then that means the marchers outside are completely out of danger.

Although there were many marchers, there were only a few dozen users outside maintaining order. But these dozens of users could move freely between the thousands of marchers. When they lift their hands to their necks at a hundredth of their normal speed, these dozens of users could easily push their hands back.

Xiao Jinyu’s heart skipped a beat.

(You have a lot of time now…) 

(Because, I’m here.)

…

Under the glaring searchlights, because of his excessive use of his logic skill earlier, there wasn’t a trace of blood on the youth’s face. The effect of 008 caused Xiao Jinyu to blink like he was in a slowmo video. His eyelashes fluttered slightly in the air and he looked at the man in front of him.

“Colonel Su.” 

His speaking speed was also reduced by a fraction.

“En?”

“Thank you. I’ll begin to transfer Pope’s Crown’s ashes now.”

Xiao Jinyu raised his hand and swiped across his eyelids. He walked towards the closest black light dot. 

However, before he could take two steps, he suddenly heard footsteps.

Xiao Jinyu slowly turned around and looked at the man following him.

Su Jiuzhou: “008’s contamination ability isn’t very strong, but it’s still able to contaminate a level one user. Don’t stray too far from me or you’ll be contaminated by it after ten minutes.”

After a moment. 

Xiao Jinyu: “Thank you.”

While he talked, the youth reached out and grabbed a ball of air, using his flying fist.

Su Jiuzhou didn’t say anything, silently looking at the black-haired youth not too far away.

Ten minutes ago. 

When Su Jiuzhou rushed to Contamination Area 81, the first thing he saw was the youth standing atop the desolate ruins. He saw him forcibly use his logic skill again and again, the pain making him wrinkle his eyebrows, and the blood and tears flowing down nonstop from the corners of his eyes.

However, the next second, Su Jiuzhou’s steps stopped.

He saw the thin, pale youth raise his hand without hesitation and decisively wipe the blood from the corner of his eye.

A strange strength and fragility. 

…

This youth seemed different from before.

Did something happen?

Su Jiuzho narrowed his eyes in thought. 

The author has something to say:

Zhao Hen read the comments of the previous chapter and said that he had something he wanted to say.

Polite Zhao Hen: Are you guys sexy?????!!!!