Teacher Tuo's expression changed drastically. "You!"

From behind him, massive quantities of black hair surged forward, charging toward the flame.

A loud "crackling" sound followed, like oil splashing in a pan when water hits it.

The fire didn't go out. On the contrary, it burned even fiercer, roaring so high it almost reached the ceiling.

Seeing the fire grow more and more intense, Teacher Tuo panicked. He made a painful decision and immediately retracted the hair near the flames. The rest coiled up and retreated behind him from the ceiling.

Ruan Xing tilted his head, a bit curious about where the hair went, but behind him was nothing but empty space. He couldn't see it clearly.

Without the hair to fuel it, the flame acted like a grumpy little gremlin. After spitting out two small puffs of smoke, it finally disappeared.

Next to him, Ming Rui and Luo Yiyi were both stunned. Was this what it meant to be truly powerful? Just one move, and the pollutant couldn't even fight back?

Teacher Tuo stepped forward. "Who exactly are you?"

Ruan Xing replied, "That's not important."

Teacher Tuo was shocked. "I'm just a law-abiding, ordinary hairstylist. What did I do to deserve this?"

Ruan Xing said flatly, "Law-abiding? I doubt it."

He gave Ming Rui a look, who stepped forward. "You've harmed so many people!"

Teacher Tuo casually picked up a pair of scissors and toyed with them in his hand. "How would I know?"

Ming Rui raised his voice, "You're the reason why those girls died! You lured them here!"

Teacher Tuo's hand paused, and a dangerous glint flashed in his eyes. "What are you talking about?"

As if Pandora's box had been opened, Ming Rui no longer held back.

"You used job offers and fake promotions to lure young girls in, so that you could sell them off. And you still have the nerve to call yourself law-abiding?"

Teacher Tuo smirked, eyes filled with menace. "Little brother, you know slander is a crime, right?"

Ming Rui was stunned, staring at him, speechless.

Luo Yiyi hurriedly pulled Ming Rui behind her, afraid of angering this pollutant and getting him eaten. Ruan Xing was strong, but the rest of them were just weaklings in comparison.

Ruan Xing stepped in front of Ming Rui, completely shielding the boy. He looked calmly at Teacher Tuo. "I'll give you a chance. Tell the truth."

Teacher Tuo sighed, sounding a bit helpless. "You can't treat an ordinary hairstylist like this…"

Ruan Xing narrowed his eyes and cut him off.

"Alright then. But all of that happened a long time ago. I've kept a low profile over the past few years. Occasionally, catching one or two people just to play with their hair, that's all."

Teacher Tuo walked to the corner and sat down on the same cardboard box Luo Yiyi had seen earlier.

"Maybe twenty years ago? Around that time, I went from being a normal barber to a pollutant…"

He used to be a simple hairstylist who was fond of beautiful hair. Especially the kind Ruan Xing had was his absolute favorite.

Then, by some twist of fate, he got into human trafficking. Back then, the base wasn't strict about such crimes, so he grasped the opportunity. Using job postings and discount campaigns, he attracted many clients. Thanks to his skills, he became a well-known name. People even crossed half the city to find him.

He didn't target just anyone. He picked beautiful girls with good hair and simple backgrounds, especially those with long, straight black hair.

While cutting their hair, he would drug them, then drag them into this room, shave off their long hair, and sell them. All he cared about was their hair. He had little interest in the people themselves.

But there was one exception.

"She was just too beautiful. You wouldn't believe it," the hairstylist said with a crazed look. "I finally understood what it meant to have a Muse. Those insane artists who would do anything for their Muse! I get it now! Because I would do anything for her too!"

His eyes sparkled. "I was willing to become a pollutant for her!"

Ruan Xing asked, "You became a pollutant willingly?"

The hairstylist nodded. "Yes. I wanted to keep her. I couldn't bear to lose her. So, I gave in to corruption and became a pollutant that everyone wanted to kill. But I lost control. During the pollution incident twenty years ago, I still lost her... She was taken away."

His face looked utterly disappointed while Ming Rui's gaze was filled with the urge to kill.

"You weren't eliminated twenty years ago?"

Teacher Tuo shook his head. "I hid. They never found the real source. I curled up in the farthest corner of the neighborhood and just survived. Without my Muse, it was like I lost my will to live. I was only waiting, gathering strength."

"But!" His eyes lit up. "Today, I smelled her scent. She must have come to see me! My patience paid off!"

Ruan Xing asked, "Did you find her?"

Teacher Tuo nodded hard. "I found the scent. But it wasn't her."

He looked at Ming Rui. The boy's face became pale.

Teacher Tuo smiled and continued, "But now that I think about it, maybe I was just inexperienced back then. I didn't realize that there was someone even better. And today, I found you."

He took a step forward but stopped when Ruan Xing shot him a look. "You are my true Muse. Your hair is like silk, your eyes sparkle like gems, your voice, your face, everything about you is perfect. As for the other one, who cares about a dead person?"

Ming Rui had just laid his companion down when he heard this. He sprang up and pointed a gun at Teacher Tuo, jaw clenched tight.

But Teacher Tuo glanced at him casually. "That thing cannot kill me."

Bang! Ming Rui fired. Luo Yiyi screamed in shock. But the bullet was blocked by a wall of black hair. It reminded Ruan Xing of how the mycelium protected him before. Quite fascinating.

Bang Bang Bang! Ming Rui continued to fire, spraying bullets at the hairstylist.

Clinks echoed as the bullets hit the ground. The hairstylist ignored him and looked at Ruan Xing. "Would you be my model? I'm willing to pay any price."

His tone was light, as if Ming Rui didn't even exist.

Ruan Xing smiled. "Sure. Then hand over the pollutant core."

Teacher Tuo's face froze. That was basically asking for his life. Was this even something a normal person would say?

The noise from Ming Rui irritated him. A huge mass of hair burst from behind Teacher Tuo and slammed Ming Rui against the wall like a trapped fly. He struggled, but it was hopeless.

Luo Yiyi shouted, "Ming Rui!"

Then looked at Ruan Xing.

Ruan Xing said calmly, "This doesn't sound like someone begging." He tossed a small flame, but it fizzled out when it touched the hair.

A creepy laugh came from Teacher Tuo. His once handsome face was now twisted. "Not all hair burns. After seeing your abilities, did you think I would fall for the same trick twice?"

"I finally softened up, and you still want to push me? Since you're already here, you might as well stay!" Teacher Tuo laughed wildly. An overwhelming amount of hair burst from behind him, flooding the entire room.

Ruan Xing suddenly understood. Ah, no wonder he was so willing to confess. He was stalling for time to evolve.

Teacher Tuo tried to persuade him again. "Come with me. I'll find a way to turn you into a pollutant. You will be my eternal Muse. I'll never let you suffer."

Fu Gui chimed in: [Look at this pollutant. Such sweet words. If only his approach were not so creepy.]

After Ming Rui was trapped, the hair turned toward Luo Yiyi, capturing her tightly too.

Teacher Tuo said, "See? I am strong. You'll not regret choosing me—"

As he spoke, Ruan Xing's hair loosened and fell around his body like a silky black waterfall under the light.

Teacher Tuo was stunned. "So beautiful. Too beautiful!"

Suddenly, something shiny flashed in the air. The hair wrapped around Ming Rui was sliced apart and fell to the floor like a pile of broken noodles, limp and twisted.

Teacher Tuo's eyes bulged. "What was that?!"

There was a high-pitched squeak in the air. The hair binding the others also got chopped and slithered on the floor like dying fish.

At the same time, the thing revealed itself. It puffed up like cotton candy, floating beside Ruan Xing. It was also thread-like, but far more delicate and fluffy than Teacher Tuo's entire hair army.

Teacher Tuo's face changed. His hair rushed toward all three of them.

Ruan Xing fed a massive burst of magic into the mycelium, which instantly ballooned in size and coiled around the two teens. Under his command, it pushed Teacher Tuo back step by step.

Teacher Tuo panicked. He had never been strong to begin with. Facing Ruan Xing was like delivering himself on a silver platter. "Do you not want to know where those girls went? I can tell you! Just calm down!"

Ruan Xing paused. "Speak."

Teacher Tuo sighed in relief. "Actually, I don't know where they went."

The mycelium lunged forward again.

"I'll talk! I have a guess!"

Ruan Xing narrowed his eyes. "Hmm?"

Teacher Tuo looked at Ming Rui. "They were probably sent to the Holy City."

Ruan Xing heard that name again.

The last time was from the doctor who attacked the boy's sister.

"They say you can gain power there. I've never seen it myself, but my power came from the Holy City," Teacher Tuo said. "It's a mysterious place."

While he talked, his human shell reached behind him, pulled out a gun, and fired at Ruan Xing.

It was the gun Luo Yiyi had dropped earlier. Somehow, he had stolen it.

Ruan Xing hated thieves.

The mycelium blocked the bullets just in time, then charged at Teacher Tuo like it was enraged, holding him down with just its own strength.

Ever since Ruan Xing grew stronger, the mycelium had evolved too. In fact, it even seemed more human now.

Fu Gui whispered: [The pollution source is inside that cardboard box he was sitting on. Attack it.]

Ruan Xing raised his hand. Dozens of black arrows shot at the box and pierced through it like knives through butter, revealing a black, gleaming pair of scissors inside.

"No!" Teacher Tuo screamed, eyes bloodshot. Even after losing an arm, he ignored it and lunged at the box.

His severed arm was quickly reattached by the hair crawling out of his body, just like those middle-aged couples before.

But he was too late. The arrows had shredded the box, and the black scissors inside were fully exposed.

“Please… no…”

A tear slid down his cheek.

"Your technique is really amazing!" a girl with black hair once told him with a bright smile. "I always catch your promos. I feel so bad not paying, so I bought you these scissors. They said this brand is great."

The black scissors glowed in the dim light.

[Ming Zhi, female, Investigation Corps Third Squad member, 25 years old. Accidentally awakened spatial powers. Overall rating: Five stars (highlighted)]

"This is the intel we received. She often visits your shop."

"Tony, did you go soft?"

He had never expected her to approach him with a motive. When he refused to obey orders, he triggered the pollution inside himself. The Quarantine Center arrived, but he still couldn't protect her.

Teacher Tuo looked at Ming Rui and saw Ming Zhi's face. If she had a child, he would probably be about this age.

The hairstylist's body began to dissolve, like being erased by an invisible rubber.

The mannequin heads dangling from the ceiling lost their support and came crashing down. Ming Rui had to dodge with his unconscious teammate while Ruan Xing had the mycelium to protect him.

Ming Rui picked up the scissors. As the scene faded away, his face finally relaxed.

Beside him, Luo Yiyi burst into tears of relief. "Thank goodness. We're finally out of the polluted zone!"

Ming Rui looked up at the young man fixing his hair. A strand of white mycelium wrapped around, pinning the hair neatly to the top of his head.

The scene around them changed. All the hair disappeared, leaving only a floor full of plastic mannequins.

While Ming Rui was still dazed, Ruan Xing walked over to Luo Yiyi. Ming Rui then saw him wave a hand. The girl's joyful expression turned confused, then she rolled her eyes and fainted, collapsing beside Ming Rui's teammate.

"I adjusted her memory a bit," Ruan Xing said, winking at Ming Rui. "You're not going to tell anyone, right?"

Ming Rui nodded vigorously. "I'll come up with a good excuse!"

Ruan Xing was too powerful. If he wanted to deal with Ming Rui, it wouldn't require any effort. Since he trusted him enough to share this, he had to keep the secret.

Ruan Xing was satisfied. "The Quarantine Center should arrive soon. I'll wait for you at the alley on the next street."

It was quiet and secluded. Perfect for a talk.

Ming Rui was confused. Polluted zones didn't always appear in every exam, but Ruan Xing acted like he was very familiar with the process.

Carrying apples and tomatoes, Ruan Xing walked out of the neighborhood.

Outside, the sun was bright, and the alarms were blaring.

"Hurry! How many candidates are still inside?!" a pot-bellied middle-aged man yelled at a sweating worker in uniform. "Six left!" he replied.

On stretchers, some examinees lay in pain. A few even vomited hair clumps soaked in mucus that squirmed like slugs.

Fu Gui glanced and muttered: "Gross."

Ruan Xing blended into the chaotic crowd. He suppressed his presence and slipped out quietly.

Ming Rui carried Luo Yiyi and the dazed teammate. Someone quickly led them out and people rushed to help.

After making sure that there were no loose ends, Ruan Xing finally walked away.

Avoiding the Quarantine Center's line of sight, he walked for over ten minutes until he reached a quiet alley and chatted with Fu Gui while waiting.

Although he didn't earn much magic power, at least it was something like a dessert after dinner.

Not far away, a cat's meow echoed. Ruan Xing turned to look and brushed past a figure.

That person wore a white uniform with tassel epaulettes and passed him at less than half a meter.

A knight. But someone unfamiliar.

Ruan Xing looked ahead at the traffic light. From the corner of his eye, he noticed that the figure stopped.

Then, that person turned around and began walking toward him.

Perched on his shoulder, Ruan Xing felt Fu Gui tensed up.