Chapter 188: That’s Possible Too?

“……”

Lu Xin wasn’t sure if the Drunkard made sense, but it wasn’t that important.

Assured that these matters were within the Drunkard’s control, his mind eased slightly. He said, “Your previous guess was wrong. There isn’t any mastermind pulling the strings from behind. I’ve already searched this entire compound, so I can confirm that!”

“No?”

The Drunkard smacked his lips. “That shouldn’t be. Those two Psychic Entities were clearly lured here, they can even change tactics…”

His face gradually took on the profound, troubled expression of an Old Man as he puffed on his pipe.

His bare leg resting on his other knee, the smooth calf sheathed in a heavy army boot, began to shake involuntarily.

……

“So, how exactly did the other side target you?”

Lu Xin tried hard not to look at the Drunkard’s actually quite good-looking legs.

Having legs like that on him was truly jarring to behold.

He simply pulled over a chair to sit down, lit a cigarette, and began pondering.

“Honestly, I don’t even know myself how they targeted me,”

The Drunkard sighed, tapped out his pipe, and said, “According to my previous investigation, I’d already identified this mysterious organization worshipping the ‘True Homeland’ and was ready to act against them at any time. The real trouble, though, is not finding their Ability User.”

Lu Xin deeply sympathized with this sentiment.

Attacking rashly when the opponent’s Ability User remained unknown was highly likely to cause significant chaos.

If the Ability User willed it, they could easily cause widespread disorder.

No matter how tight Qinggang City’s defenses, no matter how orderly its systems, being on the passive defensive could still lead to a heavy loss.

Put bluntly, in many cases, the only recourse Qinggang City had was post-incident retaliation.

But not all Ability Users feared that.

……

“Originally, I planned to analyze the opponent’s abilities by investigating those mysterious deaths, hoping to pinpoint him. But progress wasn’t smooth. It was only after encountering those two Psychic Entities that I figured out the real reason behind the deaths. Frankly, they were simple. Those people weren’t murdered at all; it was all because of these two Psychic Entities…”

“Though, ironically, this makes deducing that Ability User’s power even harder…”

“Can he actually transform into a Psychic Entity? Or is his ability to distort Psychic Energy, creating Sources of Contamination?”

As he spoke, a hint of self-mocking expression crossed the Drunkard’s face: “At the very least, right now, I’m utterly baffled…”

“……”

Lu Xin dropped his cigarette butt onto the floor and slowly stamped it out, his face showing an expression of deep contemplation.

The so-called sealed-room beheading case, and the delinquents from the Red Vest Brotherhood who had died twisted into plant pot shapes were, for ordinary people, naturally unimaginable Aberrations. They had even reached the point where the Administrative Hall had to suppress certain information to prevent mass panic.

However, from an Ability User’s perspective, such Anomalous events actually had numerous possible explanations.

Lu Xin surmised that the sealed-room beheadings were likely related to that Psychic Entity near the Drunkard’s building, the one adorned with the Necklace of Human Heads. And the thugs twisted into plant pot shapes were victims of that Boston Ivy/ Creeping Vine Psychic Entity.

The method of death was fairly easy to deduce. The real puzzle was how the other side had achieved this.

How had they manipulated these two Psychic Entities to arrive near the Drunkard’s building?

How did they make those two Psychic Entities vanish without a trace, so suddenly?

Was it like the Southern Wall incident again? Artificial Psychic Entities?

Yet, upon closer analysis, Lu Xin felt something was different. The artificial Psychic Entity at the Southern Wall, while possessing vitality, had extremely low intelligence. Created solely for self-destruction, its very name told you it was a Bomb.

But these two Psychic Entities actively sought people, even adapted their strategy to different situations.

This indicated they possessed a degree of intelligence.

“Have you exchanged views with those above?”

After a moment, Lu Xin asked softly.

“I’ve talked it over with my Information Analysis Specialist.”

The Drunkard shook his head. “That young lady said the Special Clean-up Department’s existing database contains no cases that explain such a phenomenon. She suggested deploying more Ability Users or City Defense Troops to directly capture or eliminate those two Psychic Entities. But I haven’t agreed yet. First, those Monsters are highly peculiar; they likely have a significant backstory…”

“And second, as you saw, their vanishing act was impossible to stop. More manpower wouldn’t have made a difference.”

“Originally, I planned to hang on for one more night, see if you could help find the mastermind manipulating things from behind. But if he truly couldn’t be found, or if he wasn’t even nearby to begin with… we might have to follow their plan.”

“……”

“He is definitely not in the vicinity.”

Lu Xin answered the Drunkard’s question, his tone unusually definite.

The Drunkard nodded slowly. “Then it seems this is going to get messy again.”

Even if they couldn’t locate the opposing Ability User, they couldn’t just sit back and let such an organization wreak havoc in Satellite City No. 4. They had to act. Yet, without knowing the extent of the enemy Ability User’s capabilities or his whereabouts, taking action risked alerting him. And if the enemy sought revenge, the situation could quickly spiral into something unforeseen.

“Not necessarily…”

Lu Xin raised his head to look at Drunkard and spoke slowly. “If it’s not the case that an Ability User is lurking nearby, controlling these two Psychic Entities, then it’s highly likely he’s already left a mark on you. Once he releases the Psychic Entities, they’ll automatically seek you out. That would mean you’ve already fallen victim to the enemy Ability User’s power — you just haven’t realized it yourself…”

“The Monsters started coming for you three days ago. They’ve been coming for three days straight.”

“Doesn’t that imply you were afflicted precisely three days ago?”

“Where were you three days ago?”

“…”

Staring into Lu Xin’s earnest eyes, Drunkard couldn’t help but give a bitter smile. “Kid, what you say makes sense. I know I must have been afflicted three days ago, and I remember the location. The feeling was quite distinct — like someone was secretly watching me…”

“But it’s pointless. I’ve tried many methods. There’s no way to use it to track him down.”

“…”

The Information Analysis Team had long since analyzed why she was targeted by Psychic Entities and where things went wrong.

They had even proposed several contingency plans — screening tactics or surprise raids to locate the enemy.

But Drunkard had rejected all these options.

None of these methods offered a guarantee of success; they were only viable as a last resort.

“I’m not trying to draw him out.”

Listening to Drunkard, Lu Xin slowly shook his head. He seemed to have come to this conclusion after deep thought. He looked up at Drunkard and said, “I just need to know exactly where you were afflicted and why the enemy targeted you directly…”

Drunkard frowned slightly, puzzled. “What good will that do, kid?”

Lu Xin smiled naturally and replied, “I plan to invite them to visit my place.”

…

“What?”

Hearing this, Drunkard became flustered. “Kid, don’t get impulsive over this. You mustn’t be reckless!…”

“Look at me right now and you’ll understand — having them fixate on you is way too dangerous…”

“That bunch is fiercer than the Maniacs Outside the City. The fact they targeted me earlier was already an extreme provocation, but this time, they even endangered my neighbors. That’s nothing short of creating a Contamination Incident — a major crime warranting immediate elimination. Using my own Ability, I can still manage to resist their efforts. But if it were someone like you…”

She didn’t finish the sentence, displaying high emotional intelligence.

But the implication was clear — she believed a Spider-Type couldn’t possibly handle such Monsters.

“…”

“It’s okay.”

Lu Xin answered softly. “The danger might not be mine.”

“Looking at what happened today, it seems the enemy doesn’t even need to be physically present to subject you to continuous attacks from these Psychic Entities. The key problem is that these Psychic Entities themselves can’t even be cleansed; they just sow Chaos and disappear. Today they dared target your neighbors. Who’s to say they won’t become even more extreme tomorrow? Guarding this spot forever isn’t a solution.”

“Right now, we don’t know how they’re able to do this, so we have no countermeasures. Therefore, perhaps it’s better to try and disrupt their plans. Drawing their attention could potentially confuse their logic. Maybe if I draw them away, they won’t bother returning…”

“…”

“You’re… seriously considering this?”

Drunkard stared at Lu Xin, completely dumbfounded, her mouth hanging slightly open.

“Yes. While I don’t possess your Ability, I do have another advantage…”

Lu Xin smiled faintly. “I don’t have neighbors.”

…

Having said this, and seeing Drunkard’s utterly stunned expression, Lu Xin turned his head.

His Little Sister was dangling from a corner of the ceiling just then. Hearing his words, she too looked momentarily surprised, her small mouth opening slightly. After the surprise, clear delight bloomed on her face, and she gently clapped her hands. “Yes! Yes!”

He himself found the idea increasingly intriguing. A smile spread across his face. “I think my family will welcome them very much.”

…

Since returning from that trip, Mother seemed to have different plans.

She gave him that “secret,” instructing him to open it only upon reaching the Second Stage.

Furthermore, she’d quietly told Little Sister to refrain from helping him in ordinary matters. Instead, Mother wanted him to overcome these Psychic Entities by imitating the capabilities of his family members himself. Lu Xin wasn’t certain why she’d requested this, but it didn’t deter him from his plan to lure these two Psychic Entities back to their home… This seemed an ideal opportunity to bridge the communication gap and resolve the underlying tension within the family.

After all, his family had given him that secret as a gift.

It wouldn’t do to not return the gesture in kind…