Chapter 45: Grade C Special Contamination Source—039
Chapter 45: Grade C Special Contamination Source—039
“How frightening…”
Until after carrying a huge backpack and walking out of the Tower, Gecko was still speaking with lingering fear.
“Why are you so afraid of her?”
Lu Xin followed behind Gecko and asked with some curiosity.
Watching Gecko’s initial carefree appearance, one would have thought he wasn’t afraid of anyone…
“Did you hear her saying earlier to make me strip naked and dance in the crowd?”
Gecko turned to look at Lu Xin, his expression serious.
Lu Xin was somewhat surprised: “She really dares to do this?”
Gecko shook his head, saying, “She has done it!”
“…”
Lu Xin silently imagined that scene, thinking: “That is indeed quite frightening…”
…
…
“Alright, time for work!”
Gecko arrived by the roadside and slowly stretched, then turned to Lu Xin with a smile: “Brother, since Lao Chen asked me to guide you, I won’t hold back. Our Spider-Type is different from others; it’s best learned through action. I’m not good at preaching theories and big principles. In short, just watch what I do…”
Lu Xin nodded, knowing how to treat a senior colleague.
He wanted the other person to feel his respect, but not appear too stiff.
They had just arrived at the roadside when a black Jeep pulled up in front of them. The two boarded the vehicle.
The driver didn’t even ask where they were going, but immediately drove them toward the Northern District.
In the car, Gecko handed over a box. Lu Xin opened it and saw a black radio headset; he had used one before. He took it off, put it on his left ear, and turned it on. Gecko also turned it on and then laughed, “Here it comes…”
“Processing team channel connected…”
“Information Analysis Team channel connected…”
…
In the channel, a cold and crisp voice soon sounded: “Signal test!”
“Hah…”
Gecko immediately switched to a teasing voice: “Dear Linda, I haven’t heard your voice for days, I miss you!”
That crisp voice said: “My name isn’t Linda, my surname is Tie, and I’m called Tie Cui.”
Lu Xin immediately glanced at Gecko.
Gecko gave a forced laugh, saying: “The name Tie Cui doesn’t suit such a lovely voice, so I’ll still call you Linda. Just saying this name out loud always makes my heart itch; it feels nice…”
The female voice in the channel said: “Then you can call me Tie Cui Linda.”
Gecko immediately showed a constipated expression.
“Now begins the briefing on the Special Contamination Incident materials:
Number: Grade C Special Contamination Source—039
Target Level: Grade C
Infection Level: Low
Threat Level: Medium
Event Summary: Special Contamination Source 039 was discovered 10 days ago by the Investigation Team…”
…
Lu Xin had thought these briefings deserved careful listening, but he didn’t hear clearly what Tie Cui, or Linda, said next, because at this moment Gecko had reached over, grabbed his headphone, leaned his head close, and whispered mysteriously: “Hear that, brother? This is the most important lesson I’ll teach you. The Information Analysis Team is our most crucial partner…”
Lu Xin completely agreed; the Information Analysis Team could provide timely information to him.
Gecko said: “Think about it, without them chatting with us all the time, how boring would it be during our Field Duty?”
Lu Xin: “…”
How was this different from what he imagined?
“Every leader of the Information Analysis Team is exclusively assigned to members of our Special Operations Team, so that we can develop better synergy and form a tacit understanding. This way, during Cleanup Missions, it’s more efficient. And another point, think about it, whenever we’re on mission, we chat with them, again and again, chatting away, would it not…”
Gecko winked at him, looking like he meant “you know.”
Lu Xin unconsciously thought of Corporal Han Bing with her soft, polite voice, wondering if she would be assigned to him.
“So, for us in Field Duty missions, flirting is the top priority!”
Gecko generously shared his experience with Lu Xin, then released the headphone and laughed: “Linda…”
“Call me Tie Cui!”
“Alright, Tie Cui Linda, you never finished telling me last time. Are you single right now? Then you just logged off…”
Linda’s calm voice came through the channel: “That’s because I was in a hurry to feed my child.”
“……”
Gecko’s expression looked as if he had swallowed a fly—his face was all screwed up.
But soon his face relaxed, and he chuckled. “Don’t kid with me. I’m not that easy to fool. As if I didn’t know how strict the Information Group’s management is? There’s no way they’d allow babies in the Office!”
“……”
Linda said, “Who said my child is a baby? Maybe he’s in his twenties for all you know!”
Gecko’s expression looked as if he had swallowed two flies this time.
……
……
The Jeep soon arrived at a dark, oppressive area in the Northern District. Tall Factory Buildings lined wide roads, but streetlights were sparse and far apart, making the surroundings dim. Only in the distance could the harsh glare of a light from inside one Factory Building be spotted. Both Gecko and Lu Xin got out of the vehicle. Gecko even hoisted that tall, narrow box onto his back.
“Darling Linda, I’m off to save the people of this city again. Do you have any parting words for me?”
“Yes!”
The woman’s voice on the channel paused for a moment. “Don’t call me Linda anymore. And if you must, drop the ‘darling’!”
“Alright, Linda!”
Gecko cheerfully waved his hand, then suddenly winked at Lu Xin. “Let’s go!”
“Hmm?”
Lu Xin was slightly startled. Gecko’s fairly tall and sturdy-looking body suddenly leaped high. He scrambled straight up a nearby brick wall, almost four meters high, gave a wave, and then, with a slight push off the wall with both feet, began climbing upwards. The surrounding light was already dim, making his figure almost invisible.
“Huff…”
Lu Xin took a breath too, then stretched his hand towards his side.
“Why won’t you give me candy?”
Little Sister’s somewhat eerie little face appeared in the night, her eyes full of resentment.
Lu Xin reached up and pinched his earpiece, then whispered to Little Sister, “Too much candy is bad for children’s teeth…”
“You think I’m a child…”
Little Sister seemed annoyed, glaring at Lu Xin ominously.
Lu Xin studied her seriously. “You are a child. A pretty one too…”
Little Sister seemed taken aback.
After a while, she lifted her little face shrouded by black hair and asked, “Pretty like the kind that’s… pieced together?”
Lu Xin nodded earnestly. “Yes!”
Little Sister fell silent, seemingly contemplating.
“I don’t just want candy. I want the black kind. The kind so sweet that it’s almost bitter…”
Only after quite some time did Little Sister speak again, her tone absolute as she held out both hands. “Ten pieces…”
“Alright…”
Lu Xin mentally counted the candies in his pocket and nodded, seemingly helpless.
Then he reached out his hand. Little Sister appeared pleased as her cold, small hand finally slipped into his palm. He gently closed his fingers around it.
In that same moment, Lu Xin felt his body grow light. The upright wall before him seemed to become flat ground. He moved nimbly up the wall, joining Gecko at the top. Then, the two of them walked along a power line to an adjacent rooftop, climbed a rusted water tower, and perched on top of the iron tower under the Crimson Moon. There, they paused.
“Took you long enough. Thought maybe you took the subway again…”
Gecko glanced back at him and asked quietly, “See the Source of Contamination?”
Following his gaze, Lu Xin looked into the distance and saw the Factory Building about three hundred meters away.
He narrowed his eyes slightly, and his vision seemed to zoom in. Through the building’s glass, he saw what was inside.
His spine stiffened slightly.
On the night wind came a low giggle, audible only to Lu Xin: “Fun…”