Adam Carter withdrew his gaze, not particularly interested.

　　The night in K City was excessively quiet.

　　Only when passing by certain alleys could Adam Carter hear a few heavy breaths, mixed with chewing sounds.

　　Whenever this happened, Adam Carter would follow the sound into the alley.

　　He wasn’t there to break them up—he was there to join them.

　　……

　　……

　　Adam Carter touched his stomach. He had always been a faithful practitioner of the principle of eating only until he was eighty percent full each day. It had been a long time since he’d felt this stuffed, almost to the point of wanting to vomit.

　　Tonight alone, his spiritual power threshold had increased by 70. Plus, the fusion with the King Fish had given him a one-time boost of 100. Now, he was an Awakened with a spiritual power threshold of 170.

　　This number wasn’t high. At least according to the institute’s standards, it was only the lowest tier, a level 1 Awakened.

　　However, K City was entirely Adam Carter’s home turf. The bloodline suppression here made him almost invincible. Besides, the strength of an Awakened wasn’t determined solely by spiritual power threshold.

　　“Full. Time to go home. I’ll come back tomorrow.”

　　He was actually hoping to encounter a pollution patient who hadn’t fully mutated yet. According to the system’s theory, he might be able to treat them. But this kind of thing obviously couldn’t be forced—he couldn’t exactly go door to door with a loudspeaker asking around.

　　Adam Carter walked down the street. A bleak east wind blew by. In his pocket, his phone vibrated slightly.

　　It was actually an AirDrop from an iPhone.

　　A message from a stranger popped up: [Bro, why are you outside? A few security guards in our neighborhood got infected, and no one’s come to collect them yet. Are you trying to get yourself killed?]

　　A pretty warm-hearted guy.

　　The phone kept vibrating: [You’re blocking the light—those pollutants are super sensitive to light! Don’t you watch the news!!! How did you even get out on the street?]

　　[Shit!!! They’re coming!!! Run!!]

　　Just as the message popped up, the 13th floor of the building behind Adam Carter lit up. A petite girl stood by the window, nervously tapping on the glass, making a loud noise, then darted away like smoke.

　　Moments later, Adam Carter’s phone received a new message: [This whole building belongs to my family. I’m going to hide in another room. That’s all I can do for you.]

　　The system said, “Although I don’t have much fondness for humans as a species—weak, selfish, pitiful—I have to admit, humans always have some actions that baffle me. In these moments, you all seem kind of cute.”

　　The end of the street trembled.

　　A nearly three-meter-tall fish-headed man came hopping this way. Its body still retained a human shape, thin and hunched, but it had an enormous fish head—judging by the type, it looked like a catfish. Its fish lips opened and closed, and its four whiskers waved in the wind.

　　[Wow, congratulations, you’ve encountered the first mini-boss of this experience instance: a fishman with a pollution value of 400. This fishman was a big eater in life, and after mutating, it’s even more gluttonous. In three days, it ate sixty people and grew this fat. It eats not only humans but also its own kind. It’s more aggressive than the average fishman.]

　　[But the good news is, the fish eggs it spits out are a bit gross, but they won’t pollute you. Also, there’s a reason its head is so big. You humans have a saying: ‘If the relationship is deep, down it in one gulp; if it’s shallow, just take a lick.’ This fishman is pretty close to you… Its weakness is its gills. Anyway, be careful.]

　　The fishman wasn’t very smart. It was originally heading toward Adam Carter, but after seeing the light on the rooftop, it was quickly attracted and lumbered toward the apartment building.

　　All Adam Carter had encountered so far were frogs—he’d never dissected such a big fishman.

　　Besides, he considered his survival odds against pollutants to be just a bit higher.

　　So, he turned on his phone’s front flashlight.

　　The fishman suddenly turned its head. It seemed to sense a provocation and charged at Adam Carter with unbelievable speed.

　　A night of feasting had significantly improved Adam Carter’s physical abilities. Almost instantly, he reacted, quickly retreating to dodge the fishman’s attack.

　　But this fishman was just too big.

　　Adam Carter’s arm was grazed by the fishman’s whiskers. What looked soft and boneless was actually sharper than blades.

　　His clothes were torn, and blood seeped out.

　　The fishman suddenly froze, unmoving.

　　System: [Crap. Your blood, your blood—I should’ve thought of this! Shit!!]

　　The system was always sarcastic, but this was the first time Adam Carter had heard it sound so panicked.

　　[Don’t fight. Now, quick, immediately. Run to the Pollution Disease Prevention Center. If you don’t want to get surrounded, run!!!]

　　……

　　……

　　Qujiang Park.

　　Qujiang District truly deserved to be the origin of K City’s pollution disease. Although the numbers weren’t especially high, the danger and pollution values were far above other areas.

　　One bizarre-looking pollutant after another flocked here, like moths to a flame.

　　The waters of Qujiang were almost stained red with blood.

　　A fine sheen of sweat appeared on David Harris’s forehead. To deal with the pollutants here, a total of sixteen Awakened had stayed in the park this time—quite a few more than usual.