Remnants of Dungeon Pollution: Exploring the Consciousness Space

"Registering, I believe I've been affected by dungeon contamination and require a status assessment." Zhang Anzai walked to the front desk and spoke to the staff member who looked like a nurse.

Although almost all of their employees stayed in the company around the clock, their job functions were so specialized that not everyone could quickly transcend the ranks of mortals through store items, making medical services a necessary existence.

This floor was the more respectable part of the Logistics Department, the location of the Medical Department, which was essentially a hospital tucked inside the company building.

Looking left and right, the white walls, white lights, and the faint scent of disinfectant gave him a strong sense of déjà vu.

"Turn left to the Dungeon Contamination Department, third door." Although she looked exhausted and somewhat listless, the staff member still arranged the examination for Zhang Anzai.

There was actually a special reason for this: dungeon contamination itself was a rather serious situation.

There were only a few reasons to register here: first, normal injuries or illnesses, the kind of diseases one would catch outside. Second, problems caused by company products, usually involving buying internal items and having them malfunction.

Then, there was the third category that required special attention: the influence caused by dungeons, which primarily appeared in administrators like them.

The first was quite common, as modern people were all sub-healthy, and the second was not rare either, as company items were not all beneficial.

To say nothing else, the side effects of a single Ox-Horse Pill were hard to bear. Zhang Anzai had once seen a death-fearing rookie who gulped down three or five Ox-Horse Marching Pills, preparing to pull three consecutive all-nighters to boost his performance, only to end up in shock and check himself in here.

But if one had to say which was the most dangerous, it was undoubtedly the third.

Zhang Anzai crossed the corridor to the Dungeon Contamination Department and pushed open the door to the third room. Inside was a space with a window, resembling a psychological counseling office; the decor wasn't as cold as the outside, looking more like a normal home instead.

However, the room was only slightly larger than a standard single room, containing only a desk, a large cabinet, and a medical recliner.

A long-haired female physician wearing a casual shirt under a white lab coat sat at the desk, looking at the documents in her hand.

"Administrator Group 7, ID 01, Zhang Anzai?"

Zhang Anzai closed the door and nodded: "That's me."

The doctor, whose long hair was braided and draped over one shoulder, looked quite gentle as she nudged her name tag: "Just call me Dr. Yu. Sit down and tell me about your situation."

Zhang Anzai glanced at the name tag: "Yu Xian..."

He then sat down on the backrest chair in front of her.

"Your condition looks quite good," Yu Xian said.

This was indeed the case. Dungeon contamination referred to situations where employees who observed dungeons were affected through cognitive contamination, curses, or evil arts transmitted across screens.

Usually, it didn't happen, but once it did, it was no small matter.

Among the employees who came to see her about this issue, Zhang Anzai was in very good shape.

"I led a dungeon last night that contained ghosts with cognitive contamination properties. I'm not sure if I've been affected, so I came to get checked out," Zhang Anzai said.

This was also the truth, though he didn't mention that he had personally touched two types of materials related to the ghosts, which might carry more direct contamination; that was his primary concern.

"Ghosts?" Yu Xian recorded it on the medical chart on her clipboard and then indicated: "Lie down, I'll give you an examination."

Zhang Anzai stood up and lay down on the reclining chair by the window, which resembled a dentist's treatment chair.

Yu Xian walked out from behind the desk, pulled over her swivel office chair, and sat down beside him.

At this moment, Zhang Anzai had the company's glass curtain wall on one side and Yu Xian, holding a medical clipboard and a tablet computer, on the other.

For some reason, he felt the sunlight in this room was warmer than in the offices or dormitories, and the color tone of the entire space was quite comfortable.

I suppose it's to help us relax a little... Everyone in the company knew that the pressure on these employees was immense.

"Place your hands on the armrests to detect your physical condition," Yu Xian said, lifting the wide armrest beside the recliner.

On it was a palm-shaped metal interface.

Zhang Anzai placed his hand on it, while Yu Xian looked at the page on her tablet.

"You took Ox-Horse Pills with side effects last night, didn't you? Are you feeling weak in your limbs and mentally listless now?" Yu Xian asked in a soft voice.

Zhang Anzai indicated: "Yes."

He still had the mental exhaustion from multitasking, so his state likely differed from someone who had just taken a liver-bursting pill; thus, she couldn't pinpoint it, only identifying that most of it was caused by medication.

"You rookie administrators are under a lot of pressure, but you must be careful. The pills sold in the internal store have very frightening side effects.

Although they don't leave any toxicity lingering in your body, sometimes the side effects are more uncomfortable than a normal illness, especially after overdosing," Yu Xian cautioned in a soft voice from the side.

Seeing his reaction, she likely assumed Zhang Anzai had swallowed several different types of Ox-Horse Pills at once.

"Understood," Zhang Anzai replied, then asked: "What about the residual issue I mentioned?"

Yu Xian tapped on the tablet and then indicated: "Just about to handle it. Close your eyes, I'm going to give you an examination."

Zhang Anzai maintained his original posture, then felt a strange current surge from beneath the palm he had placed on the armrest, while simultaneously, several fingers seemed to press suddenly against his temples and forehead.

"Whoa..." Zhang Anzai's body moved involuntarily, much like when one has a sudden sensation of falling while sleeping poorly.

In reality, his body was perfectly still, lying securely on the recliner. It was just that his consciousness had stood up in a pitch-black space, detached from his body.

"Where is this..." Zhang Anzai looked around; in every direction, there was endless black fog.

There seemed to be no ground beneath his feet, yet he was clearly standing there.

"Relax, don't be nervous. You can walk around as you please. You might feel dizzy or experience spatial disorientation during the process, but that is all normal," Yu Xian's gentle voice drifted over from what seemed like a great distance.

"This is the inside of your consciousness. Rookies are almost all still ordinary people, so it's a bit primitive here."

"Move around a bit first. In a moment, I'll attempt to load the scene; if there's truly any issue with you, it should manifest."

Yu Xian guided him slowly.

Zhang Anzai was quite astonished, attempting to take a few steps within the conscious space.

Looking down, he saw that his own image was clear, and where he walked, a flat, floor-like spatial structure slowly lit up, no longer a void.

"To pull me into the conscious space in an instant... truly, there isn't a single simple department in this company."