An SSS-level Mutant?
Although Yuan Li didn’t fully understand Mutants, she knew one thing—anything ranked SSS had to be terrifying.
Sure enough, Captain Lin explained it to her.
“You can think of an SSS-level Mutant as an SSS-level Natural Disaster.”
What was a Natural Disaster?
It was something beyond human resistance.
Yuan Li’s heart tightened. “But… what does that have to do with you—and with me being attacked?”
“Because dealing with Mutants is the Cleaning Department’s responsibility.”
That single sentence first startled Yuan Li, then left her even more confused.
“You deal with Mutants—you do the most dangerous work. You’re heroes. But those people just now… they didn’t look like people with that kind of awareness.”
Maybe some were driven by passion, but there was no way that so many people would compete to do the most dangerous job.
Well… mainly because they really didn’t look like that kind of people.
Captain Lin’s expression turned slightly subtle. He glanced at Hong Yuan. “You didn’t explain the basics of the Cleaning Department to her?”
Hong Yuan crossed her arms. “She chose to work on her own. And this isn’t something she needs to know.”
“That doesn’t sound like something you would say.” Captain Lin looked at Hong Yuan with a meaningful gaze, then looked at Yuan Li as if she were something novel.
Suddenly, he smiled. “Of course they don’t have that awareness. They want to become members of Team 3—not for any noble or glorious reason. They just want to survive.”
“Don’t understand?”
Yuan Li looked at him, her fingers unconsciously tightening around Hong Yuan’s clothes, wrinkling the fabric.
She had a feeling that what Captain Lin was about to say would be a huge shock to her.
Hong Yuan glanced down at her clothes, frowning, about to stop him.
But then she noticed the silver bracelet on Yuan Li’s wrist.
If Yuan Li became an Evolver, she would learn these things eventually.
It was only a matter of time.
That moment of hesitation was enough—Captain Lin had already spoken.
“We are tools. They are just cannon fodder. Before we come into contact with the Natural Disaster-level Mutants, they’ll go ahead to scout. When that time comes… how many do you think will return alive?”
Yuan Li’s pupils shrank sharply. The sheer shock left her dazed.
It wasn’t until they were almost at the medical room that she came back to her senses.
Now, only Hong Yuan and Captain Lin were beside her. The others had gone somewhere unknown.
She grabbed Hong Yuan’s wrist, staring at her insistently. “Are you going too? Will it be dangerous? You…”
Will you come back?
The girl in her arms looked too fragile, and the worry in her eyes burned too intensely.
It made Hong Yuan want to avoid it.
Before she realized it, her hand had already moved faster than her thoughts—she pressed lightly at the back of Yuan Li’s neck, knocking her out painlessly.
Captain Lin’s smile faded. He warned, “She just came out of the lab. We haven’t confirmed she’s completely safe. Don’t be too soft on her.”
After a pause, he added in a low voice, “Even if she’s fine, don’t get too close. People like us… only bring disaster.”
Hong Yuan suppressed any unnecessary expression and said coldly, “I know my limits. And even if you’re the captain, don’t cross the line.”
Captain Lin raised his hands. “Alright, alright, my fault. Let’s go—if we’re acting, we might as well act it out fully.”
“Acting it out fully” meant taking Yuan Li for another physical examination.
The doctor was speechless. “She’s only been back a few days. Why is she getting checked every day?”
But after hearing Hong Yuan’s calm and concise explanation of what had just happened, her complaints shifted to the group of troublemakers.
“Alright, she’s fine. She was probably just frightened and fainted.”
After finishing the basic check, the doctor couldn’t help but mutter, “If you really don’t know how to take care of people, just let someone else do it.”
She had only meant it as a casual complaint, but Hong Yuan immediately said, “Then you take care of her for a while.”
The doctor blinked. “?”
At first confused, she quickly realized something. Her expression turned serious. “You’re going on this mission? But you just got back. Your bodies need rest.”
“Is there anyone else who can go?” Hong Yuan asked in return.
Teams 1 and 2 both had missions recently and hadn’t even returned yet. Only Team 3 was available.
And any movement from an SSS-level Mutant could not be ignored.
A distance of 300 kilometers was nothing to an SSS-level Mutant.
The doctor had no words to refute that. After a long silence, she could only say, “Take care. Be careful.”
Hong Yuan and the others didn’t stay long.
They still had to prepare—gather supplies and weapons.
Three hundred kilometers might be nothing for an SSS-level Mutant.
But for them, with Mutants roaming outside the city and damaged roads everywhere, what used to take just over three hours on a highway would now take at least five days round trip.
Not to mention scouting and setting up new luring devices after reaching their destination.
Roughly estimated, returning within a week would already be considered good.
So when Yuan Li woke up, she learned that she had been entrusted to the doctor.
She immediately tried to get out of bed. “Have they left? I want to see them off.”
“They’ve already gone,” the doctor stopped her. Seeing Yuan Li’s disappointed expression, she changed the topic. “The place you worked at yesterday—you haven’t received your pay yet, right? Want me to go with you to get it?”
Yuan Li held her face dramatically. “I still have to go to work! Am I late?”
The doctor was both speechless and amused. “You’re still going to work? I thought you wouldn’t, after what happened.”
“But I still need to survive, don’t I? I don’t have money right now. And the pay there seemed pretty good…” Yuan Li declared firmly that money came first.
In the end, the doctor accompanied Yuan Li to the hotel.
After leaving the medical room, the doctor took off her white coat.
Underneath, she wore the most common outfit in the Cleaning Department—cargo pants and a T-shirt, though hers were khaki-colored.
“Get in.” The doctor’s car resembled a compact car from the peaceful era. Seeing Yuan Li’s curious look, she smiled. “What is it?”
“I thought cars like this wouldn’t be practical anymore in this era. I thought they’d be abandoned,” Yuan Li said honestly.
“This kind of car is still very convenient inside the city,” the doctor replied, starting the vehicle. “If you have time, you should learn how to drive. It’ll be useful.”
Yuan Li felt tempted for a moment, then deflated. “I didn’t see many cars on the road. Are they expensive now?”
“Not really.” The doctor smiled. “If you worked for the Cleaning Department, you’d earn much more than at the hotel.”
Yuan Li: “…”
She laughed awkwardly and turned her head away. “I don’t think we took this route before.”
She pretended to be interested in the scenery outside.
But suddenly, her expression changed. “Wait—Doctor, stop the car!”
The doctor hit the brakes, confused. “What is it?”
“I think I saw something just now…”
Yuan Li’s heart pounded. A strange impulse surged within her chest. Without hesitation, she opened the car door and ran out.
By the time the doctor got out as well, she saw Yuan Li had already run back to the intersection they had just passed.
In her hands, she held a dirty little furball.
Yuan Li beamed brightly at her.
“Doctor, look what I picked up!”