Infinite Pollution: The SSS Guide Pierces the Horror Dungeon - chapter 12

Wen Song had never known that stepping into a Pollution Zone would feel like this.

It was as if she had entered another world.

Unlike the bitter cold of the Northern Frontier, here it seemed to be the height of summer.

Everyone inside-if they could be called “people”-was dressed lightly: T-shirts, camisoles, shorts, slippers, and some even held large palm-leaf fans.

“Barbecue! Barbecue! One yuan per skewer! One yuan per skewer! All vegetables and meat, just one yuan! You won’t regret it! You won’t be cheated!”

A greasy, blackened grill had a loudspeaker hanging above it, broadcasting the same phrases over and over.

By the roadside, a mala tang shop that had been open for years glowed with white lights. One of the characters in its sign seemed broken, leaving only the rest illuminated.

There was also a steaming hotpot restaurant, packed with people. Many customers sat outside, with bubbling, crimson broth in their pots. The ingredients were hidden from view, but the rich aroma filled the air.

A hair salon with spinning lights, a supermarket, street lamps flickering from unstable wiring-everything suggested this was an utterly ordinary place.

If only… the heads atop those people were actually human heads…

“Damn, why did it turn into night here?” Cheng Yang, ahead of her, couldn’t help but speak out at the sight.

Turn into?

Wen Song caught onto that word. Was Pollution Zone Seven not always night?

“Pollution Zone Seven used to be daytime forever. These things mostly only came out at night; daytime sightings were rare, so it wasn’t too hard to clear. Now that it’s turned into night… this is bad,” another team member, Ji Cheng, said through gritted teeth.

Wen Song looked at the “people” coming and going, narrowing her eyes slightly.

It seemed-

Someone was watching them.

One, two, three…

“They’ve noticed us! Split up! Blend into the crowd! Communicate immediately if anything happens!” Qin Xu’s voice exploded in her ear.

Wen Song spun around quickly and walked toward a nearby barbecue shop.

She remembered the most important rule of Pollution Zone Seven: blend into the local way of life.

Wen Song looked up at the clock on the barbecue shop’s wall. Its design didn’t match the shop’s decor at all-it was a big Hello Kitty face, the kind a little girl might use.

The pink plastic casing, faded from years of use, had turned a pale yellow.

The dial, stained by smoke and grease, was a scorched yellow-brown.

She could just make out the time: 11:30 p.m.

This was the perfect hour for a late-night snack.

Wen Song calmly entered the shop. The proprietress behind the counter saw her and immediately greeted her with a warm smile.

“Hello, what would you like to eat? All our barbecue skewers are one yuan each, meat or vegetable alike.”

Wen Song looked up and met the gaze of the proprietress-whose neck bore a mouse’s head.

Clearly, having a mouse’s head beam a warm smile at you was an extremely bizarre thing.

An ordinary person would probably have screamed by now.

But Wen Song remained perfectly composed. “Hello, I saw your hiring notice outside. Are you still looking for a server?”

She glanced at the tables nearby. Each was piled high with plates of meat.

The meat gave off a strange, foul stench, cut into various sizes and skewered onto wooden sticks.

Though it was rotten beyond belief, it still squirmed as if alive.

Most astonishing of all, the moment it touched the grill, all the foul odor vanished, replaced by a thick, mouthwatering aroma.
Just a single whiff is enough to make your mouth water uncontrollably, making you want to go up and take a bite.

[Note: There is mental contamination. Do not eat anything, do not smell anything, and do not stare at anything for too long.]

The moment Wen Song realized she had such a thought, she immediately sensed something was wrong.

These Aberrants were trying to use mental contamination to keep people like them trapped here!

[Damn! I entered a spicy hotpot restaurant. I clearly had dinner tonight, but after glancing at those ingredients, I’m suddenly starving!]

[Me too. I’m at a hotpot place, and I was literally drooling just now.]

[I just drank a bottle of nutrient solution to fill my stomach, afraid I wouldn’t be able to control myself.]

[Activate olfactory filtering system.]

Qin Xu reminded everyone in the channel.

[Yes!]

Everyone responded in unison.

Although Wen Song was a Guide and had the highest mental strength among them, she still activated the olfactory filtering system to avoid any accidents.

When the Rat-Head Boss Lady heard that Wen Song was here to apply for a job, her expression froze for a moment, as if she hadn’t expected Wen Song to be a job applicant.

Her enthusiastic smile twitched on her face like a stuck tape before she adjusted it back to the right angle.

“Welcome, welcome, come with me.”

Wen Song followed behind the Rat-Head Boss Lady, glancing again at the meat.

She wasn’t stupid-she wouldn’t be a customer and eat that weird stuff.

Besides, she had no money.

She didn’t know what currency this world used. If she ordered something and couldn’t pay, eating for free, the Aberrants might get angry and chop her up on the spot to serve as meat. That would be a terrible deal.

“Have you ever worked as a waitress before?” The Rat-Head Boss Lady was quite chatty.

Wen Song didn’t blink. “Yes.”

If cleaning up zombie corpses after a sweep counted, that is.

“That’s good. We get a lot of customers at night. You’ll just be responsible for taking orders and serving food.”

The Rat-Head Boss Lady handed Wen Song an apron, along with a menu.

The rat’s paw rested lightly on her shoulder. “I believe in you. You can do it. Good luck.”

Wen Song glanced sideways at the paw on her shoulder. The claws were long, painted with blood-red nail polish. If she made any sudden moves, she had no doubt this paw would plunge straight into her chest.

Wen Song put on the apron. Just then, a customer entered, and she immediately stepped forward, imitating the Rat-Head Boss Lady’s earlier phrasing.

“Hello, what would you like to eat? All our skewers are one yuan each, whether meat or vegetarian.”

Everything on the menu looked normal.

After taking the order, she went to fetch the ingredients.

Wen Song walked down the corridor toward the kitchen.

“Thud, thud, thud!”

There was a loud noise from the back kitchen-the sound of a cleaver hitting the chopping board.

It sounded like something with tough bones was being chopped up.

Turning the corner, she saw the kitchen door was open, and Wen Song stopped in her tracks.

Her gaze locked directly with the freshly severed human head on the chopping board.

The head had graying hair and a face full of wrinkles. She must have died in terror, eyes wide open, mouth agape, as if calling out for something.

The rat chef in the kitchen was wielding a cleaver, methodically dismembering her body piece by piece.

A flash of memory crossed Wen Song’s mind-the video she’d watched in the conference room.

A little girl, tears streaming down her face, knelt on the ground, kowtowing over and over, her forehead bleeding profusely.

“Please, I beg you, save my grandma, save my grandma-“