Chapter 209: The Other Half Question
Chapter 209: The Other Half Question
“What… what happened?”
After Xiao Yuan had spent some time adjusting and regaining clarity, he immediately saw the room in utter disarray.
His younger brother sat crying on the bedhead, while his little sister was squeezed inside the cabinet in front of him, frantically rubbing her eyes. Both trembled with fear, the terror unmistakable on their faces. Xiao Yuan himself lay sprawled on the floor, his back aching intensely as though his skeleton had fallen apart.
His female secretary lay nearby, unconscious. She hugged her bloody thigh where bright red soaked through her stockings.
Several bodyguards hid just outside the door, too afraid to show their heads. Only their panicked voices could be heard:
“Sir, please don’t do anything foolish for love…”
“We respect all forms of genuine love, truly! Qinggang has no discrimination…”
“…”
“What on earth is going on?”
Bewildered, Xiao Yuan turned and saw Lu Xin sitting on a nearby chair.
Lu Xin held a gun in his hand. His head hung low, face hidden, giving off an aura of defeat.
“Mas…Master Lu—what happened?”
Xiao Yuan felt his head throb painfully. A whole bottle of brandy swallowed earlier, followed by a sudden shock of wakefulness, left him dizzy.
Seeing the room in such chaos filled him with dread.
“Hmm?”
Upon hearing Xiao Yuan’s call, Lu Xin seemed to snap back, lifting his head slowly.
Xiao Yuan noticed his moment of readjustment before Lu Xin refocused his gaze.
……
……
“Don’t call me Master.”
Lu Xin scanned the room, then stowed his gun away with deliberate slowness, releasing a long sigh.
“But this…”
Xiao Yuan stammered, fear and confusion blending in his voice. “Brother Lu—just… what exactly happened here?”
“I’m younger than you.”
Lu Xin answered softly. “Actually, not much happened. We’re pretty much done.”
“This… you call this ‘pretty much done’?”
Xiao Yuan stared blankly at his wailing siblings and his unconscious, bloodied secretary. How could things turn so drastically worse? It felt like pure catastrophe.
“While I was helping you confront your problem… your secretary…”
Lu Xin, now composed, explained in an even tone, “…likely harbors feelings for you. She misunderstood something. At the critical moment, she gave the room key to your brother and little sister. So during your worst nightmare, they burst in—almost turning that nightmare into reality. To solve your problem, I had to intervene…”
He glanced briefly at the gunshot wound on the secretary’s leg, face unchanging.
After a slight pause, he added, “Perhaps I used a bit too much force.”
Though he said ‘too much force,’ he didn’t truly seem regretful…
The thought flashed through Xiao Yuan’s mind, yet Lu Xin’s calm description now made the earlier terror painfully clear.
The nightmare remained vivid in Xiao Yuan’s memory. The near-reality that he might have harmed his own siblings made horror twist through him, his face muscles contracting violently as he glared toward his secretary.
But upon seeing her unconscious on the floor, injured leg outstretched, his anger softened to pity.
Instead, he yelled at the door: “Get in here! Now! It’s safe! Get her to a hospital!”
Hearing his voice, one bodyguard dared to peer inside. Seeing Xiao Yuan awake and Lu Xin sitting quietly, the gun no longer visible, he gathered courage to rush in. Four bodyguards lifted the secretary together and rushed her out.
Xiao Yuan shouted again: “Are four men needed to carry one woman? Send two more! Take Luo Luo and Tong Tong away!”
Hastily freeing two, the bodyguards approached his still-crying siblings. Xiao Yuan frantically tried to calm them, attempting a funny face just for his trembling little sister. Instantly recoiling with a shriek, her wails only intensified.
“Ai!”
Frustrated and helpless, Xiao Yuan slammed his palm against his forehead.
Lu Xin watched the bodyguards scramble chaotically and frowned.
Now, a Support Team would’ve handled this cleanly…
These four—even their own limbs seem foreign to them.
Centering himself for a moment, he looked toward the doorway and saw chaos unfolding.
Down the hall, curious hotel guests leaned cautiously from their doors.
Lift after lift spilled out hotel security guards and staff below him jostling to climb the stairs, gathering at a distance to watch in confusion.
Faintly, but clearly rising from outside: the sound of sirens.
…
…
Although he himself was caught in extreme confusion, he could only brace himself to deal with the matters at hand.
After lightly adjusting his mood, Lu Xin said to Xiao Yuan, who was visibly flustered, “There might be some trouble later that will require your help to tidy up. But you can rest assured, you probably won’t suffer any more nightmares tonight.”
Upon hearing this, a flicker of excitement finally appeared on Xiao Yuan’s face: “Solved… just like that?”
“Let’s say it’s half solved.”
Lu Xin gave him a nod and added, “There’s one more important thing, but I need to make a phone call first.”
Seeing Xiao Yuan’s nervous expression, he managed a faint smile. “You handle what comes next first.”
As he spoke, he picked up his bag and walked out the door.
Arriving at a secluded corner of the hotel, Lu Xin made sure no one was around to overhear before dialing the number.
“It’s confirmed. He was indeed contaminated… or influenced.”
In essence, the effect an Ability User and the source of contamination have on people is the same.
However, one is intentional, the other unintentional, so it’s better to distinguish slightly when describing it.
“Understood!”
The sound of keyboard tapping came from Han Bing’s end, followed by her question, “Mr. Lone Soldier, why is it so chaotic there?”
“We encountered a minor issue. I fired my gun,”
Lu Xin explained softly.
Han Bing instantly showed hints of concern. “Mr. Lone Soldier, are you injured?”
Lu Xin replied, “I’m fine.”
Han Bing asked further, “What about the subject?”
“She sustained some injuries.”
“…”
Han Bing audibly sighed in relief. “Good, I’ll handle it.”
Quickly, sounds of keyboard typing and file transfers echoed from her end. Four or five seconds later, she picked up the phone again:
“The necessary communication has been completed. Please provide a summary of the incident now, Mr. Lone Soldier.”
“I proceeded according to the original plan, observing his state post-slumber…”
Lu Xin slowly recounted the recent events. “The peculiarity lies here. When I intervened, the residual Mental Power left by the Dreamweaver appeared to attempt influencing me, trying to pull me into the Dream Realm…”
“But it vanished almost immediately.”
After a slight pause, he added, “…and now there’s absolutely no trace of Psychic Energy detectable on our Deputy General Manager Xiao.”
“Vanished?”
Han Bing listened carefully without interrupting until Lu Xin finished. “Did you neutralize it?”
Lu Xin denied it, “I didn’t harm it.”
“If that’s the case, then its own strength dissipated?”
Han Bing showed no suspicion and analyzed slowly, “Normally, the Psychic Energy left by a Dreamweaver-type Ability User within a victim’s body to impose continuous suggestions is extremely weak. The Psychic Magnitude usually doesn’t exceed one hundred, sometimes less than fifty, or even lower. Thus, when it attempts to affect an Ability User, it accelerates its own consumption process…”
“…”
“Hmm.”
Lu Xin pondered briefly, feeling Han Bing’s analysis wasn’t entirely accurate. He slowly countered, “It… seemed stronger than that…”
He paused, then shook his head regretfully. “Never mind, it truly was weak.”
A small “?” symbol visibly formed above Han Bing’s head over the phone.
Lu Xin didn’t linger on that point. After a moment’s thought, he said, “This Ability User actually has some peculiarities. Certain aspects remain unclear to me, so perhaps we should delay the official report. Let me investigate the unusual aspects more thoroughly first.”
“Agreed.”
Sensing Lu Xin’s caution, Han Bing inquired, “How does Mr. Lone Soldier plan to proceed?”
Lu Xin replied simply, “Naturally, by finding him face-to-face and asking.”
“…”
Despite their long collaboration, Han Bing still needed a moment to process Lu Xin’s direct, somewhat brutal approach to resolving mysteries. After a slight pause, she offered a light, almost amused acknowledgment, “That would certainly solve everything… Did Mr. Lone Soldier discover any leads earlier?”
“That’s precisely what I intended to mention.”
Lu Xin shook his head, then remembered she couldn’t see it. “I previously failed to detect the actual Dreamweaver.”
“What currently affects the Deputy General Manager Xiao is merely residual Mental Power.”
“After this Mental Power was fully depleted, I couldn’t find even the slightest trace left upon him.”
“…”
“If that’s so, it signifies the Dreamweaver possesses exceptional mastery over their power.”
Han Bing’s voice held a note of gravity. “This makes it more complicated. Dreamweaver-type abilities are inherently Aberration-like and difficult to trace. Moreover, users can employ psychological suggestions and similar methods to maintain significant distance from their targets, killing remotely. If the trail left is faint enough, we might struggle to distinguish whether phenomena originate from the victim’s own mind or are a result of external manipulation.”
“Locating him won’t be straightforward.”
…
Having already deeply studied the profiles on Dreamweaver-type Ability Users, Lu Xin understood this perfectly.
It resembled poisoning – neutralizing the toxin was one matter, but identifying the poisoner was an entirely separate challenge.
“Mr. Lone Soldier, your mission could be considered completed.”
On the phone, Han Bing, after a brief beat, continued more formally, “Finding that specific Dreamweaver-type Ability User would constitute an exceedingly complex and laborious task, likely demanding extensive data analysis. Therefore, I recommend formally transferring the case to Headquarters for the Investigation Team to take over.”
“…”
“About that…”
Lu Xin seemed to hesitate briefly before reaching a decision. “I’ll handle it.”
“Hmm?”
Han Bing’s voice held faint surprise. “Does Mr. Lone Soldier already possess a viable approach?”
Lu Xin stated slowly, “I have a rough idea. It should be workable…”