Chapter 56: Popping the Pustule
Before entering the experimental field, Luo Shizhen looked toward Chen He-an with a bit of a lack of confidence.
Chen He-an gave him an affirmative nod and said with a smile, âGo on.â
Having received his teacherâs encouragement, Luo Shizhen also gained some confidence. He took a deep breath and stepped through the large gate.
Chen He-an then looked toward Sui An. âSui-laoshi, Iâm counting on you.â
Sui An: âDonât worry. He is my student too.â
He followed Luo Shizhen and entered the experimental field together.
The experimental field was massive. In the center, there were iron restraint devices that held a person firmly in place.
From the head and limbs to the waist and feet, these restraint devices werenât a cage, yet they were more effective than one.
But one only needed to see the appearance of the restrained person to understand why.
His face was swollen, and his eyes were squeezed until they bulged due to the expansion of the flesh on his face, distorted to the point where no human pupil could be discerned.
That wasn’t even the most critical part. The most critical part was that from his face down to his feet, giant “blisters” had sprouted one after another. Calling them blisters was generous; they were more like large pustules that would make anyone with trypophobia feel uneasy all over.
The ugly pustules were uneven, and their exteriors were covered in a thick green discharge. The discharge was poisonous; as it dripped onto the floor, it had already corroded a section of the floorboards, revealing the solid steel plate beneath.
His limbs could no longer be called human limbs either. They had grown thick and large, like oversized frog webs.
âThis is Luo Tianâen. He was polluted on the spot while fighting a Grade 5 Anomaly. Because the Pollution speed was too fast, by the time his teammates sent him to Yongzhou, his Alienation value had already reached 65%.â
Sui An stood behind Luo Shizhen, calmly recounting Luo Tianâenâs situation:
âBecause the Alienation value was too high, his Qi was incredibly violent, making it impossible for other Energy Users to approach. Currently, Luo Tianâenâs Alienation value has reached 89%.â
âHis reason comes and goes. When heâs not rational, he is very likely to attack others. Iâm only telling you this so youâll be psychologically prepared. Donât be frightened by a sudden attack. Iâll be by your side at all times; he wonât be able to touch you.â
Luo Shizhen nodded. âI understand. Thank you, Sui-laoshi.â
He had been a bit lacking in confidence before entering the door, but since he was already inside, he no longer hesitated. He walked step by step toward the no-longer-human Luo Tianâen.
Sui An followed closely behind, his mental threads woven into a dense net that guarded Luo Shizhenâs side.
There was a part he hadnât mentioned.
The reason Luo Tianâen couldn’t be healed in time after being sent back to Yongzhouâaside from his violent Qiâwas another reason.
His appearance was too horrifying, and his state was too unstable. A mere touch would cause a large patch of skin to be rapidly corroded.
Although Yongzhou could guarantee that he wouldnât harm the Energy User during treatment, a Purifierâs use of their ability came from the heart.
Humans had an instinctive repulsion toward deviant, ugly, and terrifying faces. For ordinary people, however, when this instinctive repulsion arose, it would be suppressed by their reason.
And they would tell themselves that these were warriors fighting on the front lines, these were victims, and that they shouldn’t look at them with strange eyes.
Other Awakeners could do this, but Energy Users were stuck at this point.
Their reason naturally understood the cause and what they should do, but an Energy Userâs use of their ability relied on instinct.
Instinct was like a toddler who couldnât understand an adultâs wordsâit couldnât be communicated with, didnât understand many things, yet could detect danger faster than reason. The appearance of a mutating person would make an Energy Userâs instinct scream “Danger! Danger! Danger!” and try as hard as possible to flee.
Reason could be so anxious it wanted to jump over a wall, but if instinct was unwilling to cooperate, there was nothing that could be done.
It just so happened that an Energy Userâs ability relied on instinct.
This was why a newly awakened Energy User could only use their ability on those they were close to. Only when facing someone close would their instinct let down its guard, and only then would they be willing to manipulate their ability to approach violent external Qi.
Forcing an Energy User to suppress their instinct for treatment would only result in their ability losing control and backfiring on the Energy User themselves.
After this had happened twice, the Awakener Center learned its lesson and specifically formulated relevant regulations.
Sui An followed step by step behind Luo Shizhen, his body slightly tensed. Once Luo Shizhenâs emotions were affected by Luo Tianâenâs state, he would immediately call a stop.
Luo Shizhen looked up at Luo Tianâen.
Due to Alienation, the manâs height had been forcibly stretched to over three meters. This was also why he looked even more terrifying.
Luo Tianâenâs reason had been coming and going until his body sensed the approach of a powerful Awakener and automatically sent out a warning. Only then did he suddenly snap awake.
His vision was a bit blurry. When he looked at people, he already had frog-like characteristicsâthe scene before him was broad and distorted, overall circular, with an almost 360-degree field of vision.
âYou…â
Luo Tianâen opened his mouth muddledly. As he did, a long, forked tongue flicked out like a snakeâs.
Realizing this would scare people, he hurriedly retracted it with force.
Luo Shizhen, however, wasn’t scared at all. He could even be described as being a bit curious:
âYour tongue is like a frogâs.â
Outside, dozens of staff members in white coats stared intently at the screen while hurriedly asking their colleague responsible for monitoring Luo Shizhenâs heart rate.
âHow is it? Is his heart beating fast? Is he scared?â
The colleague looked at the heart rate display in surprise: âNo. His heart rate has barely changed.â
âNo change? Not at all?â
An elderly staff member stepped forward in disbelief. âLet me see.â
âTeacher, look. It really hasnât changed.â
Luo Shizhen wasnât nervous at all. Compared to the staff monitoring his heart rate outside, Sui Anâstanding right beside himâcould see even better that the boyâs condition was extremely stable. In fact, it was too stable.
In this childâs eyes, the now incredibly ugly, venomous mutantâwho looked like he would break through his shackles and lunged forward at any momentâseemed no different from a blade of grass or a flower.
His instinct showed no sign of fear whatsoever.
His reason had even begun to chat with Luo Tianâen.
Luo Shizhen naturally remembered that as a Purifier, he had to soothe his patient. And the best way to soothe a patient was, of course, to subtly chat about everyday topics.
âMy name is Luo Shizhen. We even share the same surname. Is your body in pain right now? Or is there anywhere you feel uncomfortable?â
Luo Tianâenâs mind was not very clear. He vaguely remembered his adoptive son saying he was being sent here for an experiment to see if he could be purified.
But this young man before him was the Purifier?
He wasnât afraid of him, and he was even chatting with him?
âHallucination… hallucination…â
So many days had passed, and the fact that Luo Tianâen could hold on until now meant he naturally had some experience in countering the Alienation process.
He immediately closed his eyes, constantly telling himself to calm his mind and not listen to the words of the hallucination to avoid deeper Alienation.
After repeating this three to five times, Luo Tianâen opened his eyes again. Luo Shizhen was currently looking at him with some envy.
âYouâre so tall. You look very impressive.â
Luo Tianâen: â…Hallucination, hallucination…â
âAre you seeing hallucinations? Can you tell me what they look like?â
Luo Tianâen closed his eyes.
Luo Shizhen scratched his head and felt that it was about time. He put on his gloves.
Everyone thought he would do a bit of psychological preparation, but as soon as Luo Shizhenâs gloves were on, he didn’t hesitate for even a second and immediately reached out to touch Luo Tianâenâs body.
The crowd outside was startled and hurriedly looked at the screen.
âHeart rate. The heart rate frequency still hasnât fluctuated much.â
Luo Tianâenâs heart rate, however, was about to break three hundred!
The tall figure that had been quiet and restrained suddenly gave a jolt. Instinctively wanting to retreat, yet unable to move due to the restraints, his muscles tensed, and his entire body forcibly shrank back half an inch.
Luo Tianâen snapped his eyes open. This time, he didnât think it was a hallucinationâthe voice could change, but the sense of touch couldnât.
âDonât touch me! Iâm poisonous!â
Luo Shizhen raised his hand. âItâs fine, Iâm wearing gloves. Besides, if I donât touch you, how can I purify you?â
Luo Tianâen was in disbelief. âDonât you think Iâm horrifying?â
âNo.â
Luo Shizhen spoke the truth: âYou look like a toad.â
âRight, so donât you think Iâm scary?â
Luo Shizhen was confused. âYouâre all tied up, and itâs not like youâre going to bite me. Why would I think youâre scary?â
When he was a child, his classmates would go to the river to catch tadpoles to raise. Luo Shizhen had raised them tooâthere were frogs and there were toads. Some classmates only liked frogs and disliked toads, but Luo Shizhen had never been able to understand their thinking.
Werenât frogs and toads the same? Four legs, they ate bugs, and they both lived in the water and could come to the shore.
In Luo Shizhenâs eyes, tadpoles, frogs, and toads were all the same.
He remembered to soothe his patient: âDonât move anymore. Iâm going to start the purification.â
Luo Shizhenâs hand landed on a pustule. Green discharge oozed between the glove and the bump, yet he remained unfazed, only earnestly trying to see if he could perform the purification.
Luo Tianâen instinctively tensed his body again, then quickly relaxed.
He thought of what his adoptive son had said.
At this moment, he actually believed it a little.
Maybe this time, it really would be successful.
Luo Shizhen had already felt around every place he could reach, top to bottom.
It was the same situation as beforeâhe couldnât suck anything out.
But because he had the experience of purifying Lu Qiujin, he didnât hesitate at all this time.
âIt might hurt a bit. Please bear with it.â
With that, he forcibly popped the pustule beneath his hand. Green discharge surged out, and Luo Shizhen felt that familiar black Qi.
The crowd outside: â…â
An experimental staff member marveled: âThis childâthe newborn calf that doesnât fear the tiger. Itâs as if he doesnât know what fear is… Wait, is he… already purifying?â
Luo Shizhenâs eyes curved with joy. His previously sated stomach felt that familiar hunger once again.
One was a stranger the first time, but a friend the second. This time, the flavor was like a roasted chicken leg.
He no longer hesitated, reached out his hand, and began another hearty feast.
Translator’s Note:
Luo Shizhen continues to be the ultimate “honest, naive man” who completely bypasses all the complex social cues and power dynamics of the Awakener world just by being himself.
I love how his logic for cutting open Lu Qiujin’s heart was just “if I can’t find the dirt on the outside, it must be on the inside.” It’s so Shizhen! And now we meet Luo Tian’en, who is in a truly pitiable state. The way Shizhen just sees a “giant toad” instead of a terrifying monster is both hilarious and touching. It really highlights his “pure heart” (辤ĺäšĺż – Chizi Zhi Xin), which seems to be the key to his unique purification ability.
Some cultural notes:
- “Newborn calf doesn’t fear the tiger” (ĺççç˘ä¸ćč – Chusheng niudu bu pa hu): An idiom used by the staff to describe Shizhenâs fearlessness, though in his case, itâs more that he just doesnât perceive things as scary!
- “Same surname” (ćŹĺŽś – Benjia): In Chinese culture, people with the same surname are often considered distant “family” or kin, even if they aren’t related. Shizhen uses this to build rapport with Luo Tian’en.
- “Roasted chicken leg”: Shizhen really is a foodie. It seems different types of Pollution or Gu have different “flavors” to him!
Enjoy~
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