Chapter 210: Finding It and Seizing It

“Uncle Police Officers, please believe me, we really didn’t do anything…”

“That’s right, we were performing an exorcism…”

“No, no, don’t listen to their nonsense, it wasn’t a love affair thing…”

“Gun? What gun?”

“We didn’t fire any shots, no shots at all…”

“…”

Standing at the door of the hotel room, Xiao Yuan was desperately trying to explain the earlier gunshot incident to the patrol officers who had rushed over.

However, despite his relatively high status, he couldn’t convince them regarding such a grave matter as “shooting a gun.”

The two Police Officers had already forcibly checked the hotel room and were now looking stern, insisting on a thorough investigation of the surroundings.

But just as he was sweating with anxiety, unwilling to “betray” Lu Xin, the two patrol officers received a message on their Walkie-Talkie. One of them stepped aside, spoke a few words, and when he came back, his expression had changed. He whispered a few words to his colleague. At that exact moment, Lu Xin walked back from nearby. Seeing him, the two patrol officers immediately became tense, snapped a quick salute.

Their tone shifted from the earlier accusatory questioning about what had happened to one of respect: “Is there anything we can help with?”

Xiao Yuan was dumbfounded. How had their attitude changed so drastically?

“No, no, thank you,” Lu Xin also quickly thanked them.

The two men immediately nodded, saluted again, and swiftly departed.

Xiao Yuan was dumbstruck by this scene.

Though absolutely certain Lu Xin had helped him, he still felt a sense of unreality.

Wasn’t this a serious crime involving shooting someone? And it just ended like this?

He had already guessed Lu Xin had an unusual status after seeing him casually enter the Guard Bureau. Yet now, he still felt the world seemed absurd beyond his expectations…

…It wasn’t about why an employee of his company was so formidable, but rather, why was such a person working for him?

…

“Lu… Lu Brother… er, no… Little Lu… no… Brother Lu…”

After switching through several addresses, Xiao Yuan finally found one that felt somewhat more comfortable. He then asked nervously, “What… what should I do now?”

“I really am younger than you,” Lu Xin glanced at him. “You’re our department head. Just call me Little Lu.”

Xiao Yuan felt his scalp tingle: “I’m not that kind of boss…”

Lu Xin sighed inwardly, deciding to yield and not fuss over the address. Sorting his thoughts slightly, he said:

“The issue of you having nightmares every night is now resolved. You’ll be able to sleep well tonight. However, there’s another problem: finding the person responsible for giving you those nightmares. That task, I’ll handle personally for you…”

“The person giving me nightmares?”

Xiao Yuan was first startled, then his eyes widened. “You mean… someone was harming me?”

Lu Xin nodded. “Yes. It’s certain your nightmares were caused by someone intentionally inflicting them upon you.”

“Right now, I’ve only fixed the issue of you having the nightmares. What remains is to find him.”

“…”

“Okay… okay…”

Hearing this, Xiao Yuan trembled with gratitude.

He couldn’t tell whether there was more fear or fury in his heart right now.

Initially, those relentless nightmares had pushed him to the brink of mental collapse, even making him question whether he was truly depraved. When he learned from Lu Xin that help was possible, he’d been filled with excitement and anticipation. Simply ending the nightmares had been his biggest goal. But now, hearing that his nightmares had been deliberately designed filled him with a new surge of anger.

“This is troublesome for… troublesome for you, Brother Lu… definitely…”

His face twisted slightly: “Definitely help me find him! Please!”

“…”

He simply couldn’t figure out who would be so vicious, making him, over and over again, figuratively eat his own Little Sister…

He would rather endure having a gun pointed at him.

“Finding him is a given, but this requires your help.”

Facing Xiao Yuan’s angry, slightly twisted face, Lu Xin remained extremely calm, gently rubbing his temple.

“First, you need to tell me the truth.”

Lu Xin looked up at him. “In the dream, did someone force you to… consume… them?”

“…Or did you willingly do it yourself?”

“…”

This abrupt statement without head or tail suddenly made Xiao Yuan snap his head up.

Looking at Lu Xin’s calm face, he felt immense psychological pressure, not daring to speak a single lie. After a long pause, he stammered: “At… at the beginning, I indeed dreamed of a… a strange man. He was forcing me, but… but after a few days, actually… actually, it was… it was me doing those things in the dream. The me in the dream, it seemed…”

His lips trembled as he mumbled for a while before finally saying: “As if he had become another person, quite… quite enjoying the process.”

Lu Xin only watched him quietly, thoughtfully knitting his brows.

“I… I didn’t want to say that because… because I truly felt… that wasn’t me in the dream…”

Xiao Yuan seemed desperate to explain: “The one in the dream was a pervert, that wasn’t me…”

Uttering these words seemed extremely difficult for him.

But surprisingly, Lu Xin didn’t say much else. He merely nodded and said: “I understand. You don’t need to worry either. It isn’t because you actually have such desires—you’re just particularly deeply affected. However…”

“What comes next, you must speak the truth. Understood?”

“…”

“Mhmm, okay, okay, I swear…”

Xiao Yuan nodded repeatedly, even starting to raise one hand earnestly.

“No need to be so nervous.”

Lu Xin motioned for him to put his hand down, inwardly chastising himself.

Had he been too stern? Look how he’d frightened the boss…

…

But hearing Deputy General Manager Xiao’s words now, Lu Xin felt even more certain about his earlier thoughts.

This Ability User was likely a bit more capable than he had initially thought.

Or rather, the situation was a bit more complex.

The problem Xiao Yuan faced seemed like something an ordinary Dreamweaver-type could cause, and Han Bing’s analysis wasn’t mistaken.

Yet some details felt rather peculiar.

For instance, the Mental Power residue lingering within Xiao Yuan’s body. Though it appeared friendly and easy to deal with, Lu Xin suspected it was nowhere near Han Bing’s estimate of mere “dozens or hundreds” of Mental Power units. Rather, it was slightly higher than that—perhaps a small several times higher…

This was precisely the strangeness.

What normal Ability User would willingly leave such a significant chunk of their own Psychic Energy inside a victim?

This was practically equivalent to severing a portion of their own Mental Power.

Even to harm someone, one must consider the cost!

The difference between an Ability User and a Source of Contamination lies in a single key factor: Will. Sources of Contamination indiscriminately Contaminate anyone fitting their Logic Chain, while Ability Users ensure their targets fit their Logic Chain. Thus, Contamination is random and uncontrolled in its degree, whereas Ability Users calculate precisely when affecting others, seeking maximum profit.

The dilemma Lu Xin faced was this:

Judging by the degree of influence, it resembled the deep, residue-heavy impact of a Source of Contamination.

But judging by the way the influence manifested, it seemed targeted—like the mark of a precisely chosen Ability User.

…

“If you want to find the person harming you, you first need to do a few things.”

Lu Xin looked at Xiao Yuan, speaking slowly: “If your nightmares began a month ago, then I need you to gather everyone you came into contact with around that time. Also, list anyone bearing a grudge against your family, anyone wishing to destroy your relationship with your family, anyone who would benefit tremendously should something happen to you… And crucially, anyone who easily got near you, having contact with you not just once.”

Speaking unhurriedly, Lu Xin stated: “Gather them all together.”

Xiao Yuan listened, confusion clouding his eyes: “Why do that?”

Lu Xin watched him silently.

Xiao Yuan immediately caught himself and hastily added: “It might be troublesome, but I’ll do my absolute best. The problem is, my family is currently processing their residential permits for the Main City right now. At present, my parents, servants, and so on are all staying in the Main City…”

“We will visit the Main City too.”

Lu Xin replied, pausing briefly before continuing: “I need to see them. Every single one. Then, we screen them, one by one.”

“Screen them one by one?”

Xiao Yuan’s eyes widened slightly: “And… then what?”

“And then?”

Lu Xin glanced at him: “Naturally, we arrest him.”

Xiao Yuan was instantly stunned. Such words spoken so blandly…

He suddenly felt this subordinate was icily confident to the extreme.

…

This was the method Lu Xin had devised.

He had already encountered the residual Dreamweaver power clinging to Xiao Yuan.

He had felt it up close and remembered it.

Since he couldn’t directly ask his family for help, he would gather every single suspect together. Then, by scrutinizing each one in turn, he would find whoever emitted Psychic Energy resembling this pattern—naturally catching the hidden person harming others from the shadows.

Be it a Dreamweaver-type or a Source of Contamination, this rather blunt method could flush them out.

This was the elimination method.

Beyond genuinely resolving Xiao Yuan’s problem, Lu Xin harbored another, subtler purpose.

The residual Dreamweaver power within Xiao Yuan had bought him twenty-something seconds in the corridor…

Then the main body itself…

Of course, he shouldn’t think like that; Dreamweavers weren’t expendable resources.

Still, sincerely asking them for a small favor shouldn’t be unreasonable, right?

…The Psychic Energy they left in Xiao Yuan had been incredibly eager—expending itself entirely to help him.

…Presumably, the original body itself was also warm-hearted, right?

Even if they refused, Lu Xin didn’t mind having a proper conversation, moving them with his sincerity.

After all, this individual was an illegal Ability User.

Thinking this, the faint tension finally eased from Lu Xin’s face, replaced by a placid smile.