Tall chimneys belched thick black smoke, shrouding the entire incinerator in a haze. The air pollution was clearly visible.

Ivy sniffed the air. A strong, indescribable smell filled her nostrils—like decaying corpses soaked in disinfectant, both foul and strangely sweet, making her stomach churn.

Wang Jian quickly pulled out a spare dust mask and offered it. “It’s pretty awful, right? I couldn’t stand it at first either, but you get used to it after a couple of days. Wearing a mask blocks most of the smell.”

Ivy thanked him, noting that the mask was a bit thicker than the medical masks she remembered from her past life.

With the mask on, the smell was greatly reduced, at least to the point where she wouldn’t feel physically nauseous.

Ivy asked, “Is this the smell of burning corpses?”

Wang Jian nodded and shook his head. “The incinerator is divided into several areas. Burning corpses is only one part; we also burn contaminated materials, radioactive waste, and garbage. But the most pungent smell is definitely the corpses.”

Ivy swallowed. “Is the air toxic?”

Wang Jian scratched his head. “Everything is decontaminated before burning, so the official line is that it’s not toxic. But the workers all secretly think it is. So, Ivy, are you still sure about this?”

Ivy scoffed. “It’s fine. You’re working here, aren’t you? I’ll just wear my mask properly.”

Wang Jian smiled warmly. “Yeah, there’s definitely some toxicity, but it’s not as bad as outsiders think. My dad worked at the incinerator for twenty years, and nothing happened to him.”

Ivy nodded, discreetly tightening her mask.

Wang Jian hadn’t really interacted with Ivy in class, but as fellow dropouts, they felt a sense of camaraderie upon seeing each other after leaving school.

Wang Jian thought for a moment and whispered, “Actually, this job is pretty relaxed, and sometimes you can find some unexpected benefits.”

Ivy wasn’t particularly interested in Wang Jian’s “benefits,” but she feigned curiosity. “What do you mean?”

Wang Jian remained coy, dangling the bait. “Come on, you’ve never seen a evil corpse up close, have you? I’ll take you to see. If we’re lucky…”

Wang Jian chuckled mysteriously.

Ivy’s eyes lit up. She adjusted her backpack strap and excitedly followed Wang Jian.

...

The heat rising from the incinerator created shimmering waves in the air.

Wang Jian pulled open the incinerator door, bent down, picked up a black body bag from the floor, expertly tossed it onto a table, and then unzipped it.

Wang Jian: “Look, this is a evil corpse.”

Ivy’s eyes widened. She had seen pictures of evil corpses online, but seeing a real one up close was still shocking.

The head was grotesquely deformed, the chest unnervingly caved in, the ribs grotesquely protruding like the teeth of a cannibal, and the arms were twisted beyond recognition. Only the legs vaguely resembled a human form.

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Ivy covered her mouth, her face pale with horror. “It’s even more terrifying than the pictures. It’s hard to imagine a human body could be distorted like this.”

Wang Jian, who had vomited the first time he saw a evil corpse, still hadn’t fully adapted. He forced a calm expression, saying, “I suspect the online images are photoshopped. Otherwise, thinking about the risks of martial arts training, and the possibility of ending up like this… few students would dare to train.”

The origin of the evil corpses was still unclear.

But there were two main theories:

One was that excessive accumulation of nuclear radiation in the body caused gene mutations.

The other was that reaching a certain level in martial arts training could cause a breakdown or lead to cellular distortion if one deviated from the right path.

Ivy unconsciously touched the cool spot on her chest and gave Wang Jian a pale smile. “You make a good point. I now think dropping out of school might not be such a bad thing after all.”

Wang Jian zipped up the body bag, suppressing his nausea, and shoved the evil corpse into the incinerator, starting the cremation process.

Intense flames surged from countless holes at the bottom of the incinerator, transforming into hundreds of fiery serpents that coiled around the evil corpse, greedily consuming flesh and bone.

Wang Jian turned to Ivy and smiled. “Exactly. I hope those students in our class who are taking the exam will get into college, improve their martial arts skills, and then… one day… all end up here.”

Ivy nodded silently. Then, as if remembering something, she quickly unzipped her bag, pretending to throw something into the incinerator.

Wang Jian was startled. “What are you doing?”

Ivy stopped, unzipped her bag further, and pulled out her graduation certificate, then generously showed Wang Jian the stack of exam papers inside.

She said, “I want to burn these exam papers. It’s a farewell to my failed and incompetent student life.”

Wang Jian grinned and waved his hand. “Burn them. Burn them all.”

Ivy, with renewed determination, swung her arm, throwing the bag in a wide arc. It landed squarely on the evil corpse’s chest, swallowed by the "maw" and engulfed by the flames.

Wang Jian offered Ivy a cigarette, but she shook her head.

Wang Jian removed his mask, put the cigarette in his mouth, and said, “Keep an eye on things, will you? I’m going outside for a smoke. It’s too stuffy in here.”

Ivy smiled gently, her pupils reflecting the flames. Even the shadow cast by her feet seemed to be dissolved and absorbed by the intense light.

He finished one cigarette, then another, and then half a pack…

By the time Wang Jian, smelling strongly of smoke, returned, the incinerator had automatically shut down. On the hot metal plate remained only a pile of white ash, and… something else.

A black, irregularly shaped bead, roughly the size of an apple seed.

Against the backdrop of the white ash, the black bead stood out starkly.

Ivy’s pupils dilated. She stared intently, as if the bead held some strange power that captivated her.

Ivy unconsciously swallowed, then startled by her body's craving.

“I want to eat it.”

Ivy was shocked and quickly looked away, towards Wang Jian.

“Wow, you got something good! Usually, it takes burning ten evil corpses to get one of these black beads,” Wang Jian said.

As he spoke, he used metal tongs to pick up the bead and rinse it in cold water.

As he rinsed it, the bead’s shape became clearer. It resembled a dented peach pit, but it hadn't broken. Its surface had many uneven cracks.

Ivy observed Wang Jian’s expression. “Strange, he doesn’t seem affected. Does that mean only I want to eat it?”

“Here,” Wang Jian said, suddenly tossing the bead to Ivy.

Ivy suppressed her urge and caught it steadily.

Almost the moment she touched it, a prompt appeared in her mind.

“That’s why I said this job is good. Occasionally, you get a black bead. Although we don't know its uses, there are people on the black market who buy them. The price isn't high, just about a hundred, but it’s extra cash,” Wang Jian said, clearly hoping Ivy would take the job.

“Anyway, will you come work here? We can be work buddies,” Wang Jian added, genuinely hoping he wouldn’t have to burn corpses alone. The daytime wasn't so bad, but the night shifts were… unsettling.

Ivy held the black bead in her palm, feeling its cold temperature, her tone filled with intense excitement. “Yes, I’ll come.”

It wasn’t for the extra money, but because…

[Detecting special metal—Iron Fragments of Evil and Resentment.]

[Consumable: Yes.]

[Current Consumable Iron Type—Cast Iron. No additional slots available.]

[Reminder: If you wish to consume a new type of iron, please first clear the current slot and reset the absorption rate.]

[Do you wish to reset?]

[ … ]