Fear of food

Chapter 150 Sources of Pollution
Chen Qi kept waiting, waiting for the Ferris wheel to stop, waiting for the parasites inside to be transformed into amusement park employees.

It took more than an hour to successfully convert these parasites into employees, which took longer than before.

Chen Qi guessed it was because the employees he was going to convert this time were all too strong overall.

They are mostly second- or third-generation Nightmare Clan parasites.

As for the fourth generation, Chen Qi didn't care about it at all and ate it as a snack.

Of the dozen or so employees, five are second-generation Nightmare Clan parasites, and the rest are all third-generation Nightmare Clan parasites.

Marilyn Monroe wasn't the strongest among them, but she was certainly the most visually appealing.

Chen Qi beckoned to her.

She approached with a sweet smile, bowing respectfully in a gesture of respect: "Master, is there anything you need me to do for you? Anything is fine!"

"From now on, you will be the general manager of the amusement park. When I'm not around, the amusement park will be under your management," Chen Qi appointed.

"I will definitely not let Master down." She blinked. "If I behave well, can Master reward me?"

"What reward do you want?"

"I will take whatever my master gives me."

Chen Qi surveyed Marilyn Monroe's prominent curves with his gaze and couldn't help but swallow hard: "It's not impossible."

The former Marilyn Monroe was like a sweet poison, delicious but deadly. She seemed to obey Chen Qi in every way, but Chen Qi knew that what she truly obeyed was the Menglong within his body.

On the surface, she was submissive, but in reality, she was only thinking about how to gain more benefits for Menglong and the Nightmare Clan, and how to exploit Chen Qi to extract more value.

Now things are different. After his soul was deeply bound to the amusement park by the Ferris wheel, Chen Qi became her true and only master.

She is now absolutely loyal to Chen Qi and there is no way she could betray him.

He could give a reward, but not now... He had more important things to do.

"As for the other employees in this amusement park, Monroe, you can assign them positions and tasks according to your own ideas, but..."

Chen Qi looked at Huang Jihai in the crowd: "Professor Huang, you are older and more experienced. You are the only one who can do this cleaning job!"

Huang Jihai opened his mouth, but ultimately lowered his head and replied, "Yes!"

"Raise your head, I have a few questions for you."

"Please speak, Master."

"Where did you hide my mom and Coffee's son?"

"Also, where exactly is the source of pollution in Jinghai City?"

This is why Chen Qi had been waiting for the Ferris wheel to stop. Jinghai City is so big that even if he didn't stop for a moment during the past hour or so, he wouldn't be able to find anything of interest.

Ask Huang Jihai, who has become an employee, and you'll get the answer immediately.

Huang Jihai immediately spilled the beans, revealing everything he knew and all the information he had previously considered confidential.

Chen Qi immediately left the safe house and found his teammates.

"Let's go to Jinghai City Bus Terminal."

"You mean the bus company headquarters?" Zhui Feng asked in surprise. "What would you be doing there?"

"That place is the source of pollution in Jinghai City, and many important hostages are being held there by the Nightmare Clan."

A hopeful glint appeared in Coffee's eyes: "My son..."

Chen Qi nodded: "That's right, I've already confirmed it."

"Let's go then." Coffee, usually so calm, became unusually eager.

A group of people immediately drove to the bus terminal.

Actually, Chen Qi would have been able to fly there alone at a faster speed.

But since things have come to this point, there's no need to rush.

While on the road, the group started discussing things inside the car.

"I never expected the source of the pollution to be the bus terminal. I don't remember the bus terminal being an S-level pollution zone!"

The bus terminal was not included in the official list of S-level polluted areas.

In their intelligence, the bus terminal was not even a deeply polluted area, not even classified as Grade E.

Moreover, upon closer examination, the bus terminal does not fit the characteristics of a "crowded" contaminated area.

There aren't many employees working here; it's not even as densely populated as a factory area. And very few people come here to take the bus; they're just scattered here and there.

Chen Qi had the same question before, but he had already gotten the answer from Huang Jihai.

"For the Nightmare Clan, our human desires are their sustenance. What the Nightmare Eaters need is 'appetite'. Therefore, the more people there are, the more serious the pollution is, and the easier it is for pollution sources to emerge."

"They can convert our human appetite into special energy for their growth... Although there aren't many people at the bus terminal, there are many buses! And even more people ride the buses every day!"

"Each bus runs back and forth along a route several times a day. How many tourists get on and off along the way?"

Chen Qi's words opened everyone's minds, and Zhui Feng exclaimed in surprise, "You can do that?"

Gan Shui suddenly realized: "Indeed, during peak hours, the buses are always packed. There are so many buses in Jinghai City, and they serve countless passengers every day. The passenger flow far exceeds that of most densely populated polluted areas."

Dabing added, "Moreover, at the time when people get off work or school, they are hungry and eager to go home for dinner, which is when their appetite is at its peak."

Xu An'an grasped the key point: "So those buses can bring back energy transformed from desire?"

Chen Qi nodded: "You can think of all the buses as part of the contaminated area of ​​the bus terminal. These buses have been specially modified by the Nightmare Clan, and some of the drivers on popular routes are even parasites."

"This not only allows them to collect a large amount of energy for their appetite, but it is also very discreet, making it impossible for outsiders to imagine."

If Huang Jihai hadn't confessed, Chen Qi would never have guessed that the source of the pollution was at the bus terminal.

My intuition told me that there weren't many people there, and it was remote, so it couldn't possibly be a polluted area.

Chen Qi and his group experienced a bumpy ride, as the car moved slowly due to the poor road conditions.

He noticed that two people remained silent throughout the journey: Coffee and Momo.

Coffee was anxious and restless because she was about to see her son, which Chen Qi could understand.

And Momo... is it because she's too socially anxious?
The car fell silent. Momo seemed to have mustered up her courage and asked Chen Qi:

"Could you help me find out where my brother is from those parasites?"

"Your brother? Has he gone missing?"

Chen Qi realized that things might not be so simple.

Given Momo's computer genius abilities and her connections with the authorities, finding someone shouldn't be a problem for her if it's just a simple disappearance. Momo took off her straw hat, revealing a head of smooth, short black hair. Seeing everyone's eyes on her, Momo straightened her chest, overcoming her social anxiety, and began to tell her story about her brother.

“My brother is six years older than me, he’s 22 this year, and he’s studying at university in Wentang City. He didn’t come back this summer; he stayed there to do a summer job…”

"Wentang City? Isn't that also a food-contaminated area!"

"So your brother didn't disappear in Jinghai City, but in Wentang City?"

“That’s right.” Momo nodded. “In the two days before the food phobia outbreak in Jinghai City, my brother showed some abnormal behavior, and then he disappeared completely.”

"By the way, my brother is probably also a pagan. When he was chatting with me, he vaguely mentioned food mutations..."

Xu An'an's beautiful eyes narrowed slightly: "You mean, two days before the food contamination outbreak in Jinghai City, your brother mentioned food mutations to you?"

Chen Qi also caught the key point and looked at Peanut: "Captain Peanut, didn't the pollution in each city start at the same time on the same day?"

“You don’t have to call me ‘Captain Peanut’ every time you say a word to me. It’s too deliberate.”

Peanut protested for a moment before nodding and saying, "According to the intelligence we've gathered, whether it's food-related pollution or dream pollution, and whether it's domestic or international, they all broke out at the same time."

Chen Qi's expression turned grave: "So how did Momo's brother know about the food mutation a day or two in advance?"

Peanut took a deep breath: "I reported Momo's situation a long time ago, and the entire organization is taking it very seriously because it could very well be related to the origin of all the pollution!"

"However, there has been no progress so far. We have tried our best, but we still cannot find any trace of her brother. It's as if he has vanished into thin air. He has not appeared since the pollution outbreak, has not shown his face, and has not used any identity information."

"Speaking of which..." Peanut seemed to remember something, "Did those parasites you subdued explain the origin of the contamination?"

“I’ve already asked,” Chen Qi shook his head. “They don’t know either.”

Even the second-generation Nightmare Clan members didn't know the origins of the Nightmare Clan.

All they know is that they are life forms born from the source of pollution, so in reality, the Nightmare Clan that have appeared so far have only lived for a few months.

Of course, Monroe and the others mentioned the mysterious Nightmare Clan...

The first generation of Nightmare Clan members are powerful and rare, unlike any other, and may know some secrets that ordinary Nightmare Clan members do not.

However, ever since Chen Qi's two bodies merged and he began to wreak havoc, the two first-generation Nightmare Clan members inside his body have started to feign death.

No matter what Chen Qi asked, neither of them answered.

Chen Qi pressed Momo for more details, learning about Momo's brother's name and some information about Momo's family.

Thanks to her connections with the authorities, Momo managed to move her contaminated parents and family members outside the contaminated area, but she still couldn't find her brother.

However, it was precisely because of her conversations with her brother before and after the contamination that she did not immediately doubt herself after the outbreak of food phobia.

She has been working hard in the fields and striving to improve her own strength, all in the hope that one day she can save her brother.

"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you," Chen Qi said, shaking his head. "Among the Nightmare Clan members I subdued, only the Nightmare Eaters from Jinghai City are real Nightmares; the rest are all Nightmares. I don't think any of them know about Wentang City."

Despite saying that, Chen Qi still gave instructions, telling Menglu to ask the others.
-
The car bumped along the way and finally arrived at the bus terminal.

However, this place has long since ceased operation, and rows of buses are now parked inside the station, covered in rotting flesh and blood.

The area was desolate and dilapidated, with not a single passenger in sight.

Since the pollution entered the second stage, the entire city has come to a standstill.

“You all follow behind me.”

Chen Qi took the lead and flew in first.

Within the domain's coverage, he had a clear understanding of everything around him.

This is indeed the source of pollution in Jinghai City. Within Chen Qi's territory, although the exact location of the pollution source has not yet been found, several pollution sources of varying sizes have indeed been detected.

However, no S-level pollution sources have been found yet, and ordinary high-level pollution sources are no longer effective against him, so Chen Qi is too lazy to eat.

Chen Qi continued his search, and relying on his expertise, he quickly searched the entire bus terminal inside and out.

They did discover quite a few parasites. These parasites were alerted, but under the cover of the crimson domain and intimidated by the pressure from the higher-ranking Nightmare Clan, they didn't dare to run away at all.

However, they were unable to find the hostages held by the Nightmare Clan, nor did they discover the source of the contamination.

"How is it?" Coffee asked with concern.

Chen Qi shook his head: "Wait for me here, I'll be right back."

After saying that, he vanished into thin air the next moment.

In reality, they had already entered the interlayered world of this area!

Chen Qin could sense the existence of an illusion in this area. Even an S-level pollution source could create a rule-based illusion, let alone this being the source of pollution for the entire Jinghai City. It would only be of a higher level and with a stronger effect!

Therefore, there is also an illusion here, but it seems that in order to avoid being discovered by Chen Qi, this illusion is not effective at all.

Chen Qi knew that Huang Jihai couldn't be lying; the source of the pollution must be here, just hidden away.

He searched inside and out, and the only place left where he could hide things was the hidden world.

Entering the mezzanine world, it's a familiar scene again: a narrow field of vision, where you can't see your own feet or the top of your head.

However, compared to his previous cautious exploration in the interlayered world, Chen Qi can now roam freely in this world.

He quickly navigated through the mezzanine world and soon spotted a... bus!

A brand new bus, its tires seemingly untouched by dirt, its paint gleaming.

In the mezzanine world, there's a bus parked there; something's definitely not right.

When Chen Qi looked into the car, his eyes immediately narrowed.

There's someone inside the car!

And there's more than one.

The driver in the driver's seat happened to meet Chen Qi's gaze and revealed a sinister smile.

Immediately afterwards, he stepped on the gas, and the bus seemed to skip the acceleration process altogether, quickly accelerating to its limit and crashing directly into Chen Qi!

Chen Qi felt that if it were a normal bus, he could probably flip it over directly.

However, after careful consideration, he did not choose to fight head-on, but instead calmly dodged away.

In the instant he brushed past the bus, he saw through the side window that the bus was full of passengers.

Among a group of unfamiliar faces, Chen Qi immediately spotted a middle-aged woman leaning against the window. She had a profile that Chen Qi recognized very well.

"Mom!"

(End of this chapter)