Chapter 215: Ended Before It Began

“Watchdog?”

This peculiar designation sparked a flicker of curiosity in Lu Xin.

He instinctively looked up, then immediately felt a scorching gaze coming from deep within the station hall, precisely from the direction he had just walked. Lu Xin instinctively turned his head and saw that within the passageway he had traversed moments before, a subtle sense of oppression was emanating. Slowly, a tall figure clad in black leather emerged from the crowd.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

The man’s heavy footsteps seemed to strike directly at one’s chest, capable of syncing one’s heartbeat with their rhythm.

Lu Xin involuntarily raised his head. The man walking out of the passage was incredibly intimidating. His height likely exceeded two and a half meters. He wore pure black, oversized leather trench coat with a stand-up collar, and heavy black riding boots.

On his head was a black cowboy hat; his face was concealed by a black mask and black sunglasses.

Emerging from the crowd, he stood a half-body taller than everyone else, resembling a mobile fortress.

The countless people moving back and forth around them subconsciously felt the oppressive aura and subtly shifted away.

The queue of people exiting the station distinctly formed an arc, as if pressed into shape by his sheer presence.

Strangely, though, none of these people who clearly felt this pressure instinctively turned to look.

It was as if they sensed the pressure from this individual without consciously registering his existence.

Even Lu Xin found it odd; he hadn’t noticed this man in the passage earlier.

Logically, with such an imposing stature, Lu Xin should have spotted him anywhere.

……

“Anything?”

The fortress-like man came to a stop before Lu Xin and Chen Jing, his voice low and echoing heavily.

While Lu Xin was studying him curiously, Chen Jing had already taken out a tablet computer, flicked through it a few times, and then looked up at the man. “You seem to have missed someone. There’s a woman showing irregularities. She entered the Main City a week ago. You failed to detect her. It wasn’t until today that our Special Clean-up Department’s Lone Soldier noticed something abnormal about her.”

The black mask and sunglasses hid the man’s entire face, making any expression impossible to discern.

He showed no reaction to Chen Jing’s words, merely replying flatly, “Impossible.”

“It’s true.”

Lu Xin turned and glanced towards Xiao Yuan. “That woman over there. The one in the grey trench coat.”

“I noticed you watching her even as I approached.”

The man in black hadn’t even looked in that direction, his tone chilly. “She’s not an Ability User.”

“But she has done things that affect others.”

Lu Xin looked up at him, patiently explaining. “So it seems you’ve overlooked her.”

The man said nothing, merely looked down at Lu Xin.

Given his apparent height of nearly three meters, he genuinely needed to look down at Lu Xin.

The man was completely swathed in stiff, cold black clothing, obscuring his true appearance. Yet, he radiated an overwhelming sense of pressure. Especially when scrutinized at close range, it felt like being engulfed by pure darkness.

He seemed to carry a certain shadow within himself, capable of blotting out all light and inducing panic.

For a brief instant, Lu Xin felt his own heart constrict.

But only for a second. Then he remembered: This is a colleague! Why be afraid?

So, a polite smile appeared on his face as he met the man’s gaze.

He even gave a friendly nod, then extended his hand towards the man. “Hello. I’m Lone Soldier.”

“…”

The man in the black trench coat remained silent, staring at Lu Xin’s outstretched hand.

After a long moment, he also extended his hand and shook it.

……

Standing beside them, Chen Jing watched the scene of “Watchdog” and Lu Xin staring each other down—one towering, the other looking up—and a faint smile touched her lips.

She seemed to have witnessed such situations more than once, even more dramatic ones, so she remained perfectly calm.

Moreover, she noticed that Lu Xin seemed utterly unaffected by the intimidating aura radiating from Watchdog, the kind that could make one’s heart stop in fright.

This struck her as rather amusing.

Watching Lone Soldier shake hands with the black-trench-coat-clad man, she couldn’t help but chuckle. “Alright, no need to argue.”

“Arguing over something like this… it’s just too silly for people like us.”

Still smiling, she turned her gaze towards the woman. “Why debate who’s right? Why not just go over and ask her directly?”

Lu Xin nodded. “Okay.”

His superior had spoken. And she made sense. How could he possibly refuse?

The Watchdog also fell silent for a moment, then turned and walked straight ahead.

Lu Xin noticed that he raised his hand slightly as he stepped forward.

The instant his hand lowered, numerous fully-armed figures clad in black uniforms emerged from the crowded station Plaza. Like a net closing in, they swiftly tightened their encirclement from all directions, surrounding Xiao Yuan and his family.

“The Main City always takes defense very seriously,”

Chen Jing explained as she and Lu Xin followed. “Both east and west entrances have strong security measures, and Ability Users directly subordinate to the City Defense Department are on duty here. Last time, that Ghost, right as he tried to infiltrate the Main City, was discovered by the Watchdog. But before he could be captured, he got scared. He didn’t try to enter the Main City again; he just turned back immediately.”

“Let’s go, we should go take a look too.”

As she spoke, she walked forward with Lu Xin close behind.

At this moment, Xiao Yuan and his family, having reunited, planned to leave together. But just as they reached the exit, they were surrounded by Armed Personnel in black uniforms on all sides. Facing rows of black gun barrels, their faces turned ashen with fear.

“Wh-what… what’s going on here?”

The Xiao family was confused and terrified. Xiao Yuan, especially, thrust his hands high into the air, yelling: “My suitcase, there’s nothing in it…!”

“At most… just a few comic books…”

“……”

The Watchdog didn’t speak. He simply watched quietly from a few meters away.

Among the gun-wielding Armed Personnel, a figure resembling the Captain stepped forward. Leveling his gun firmly at Xiao Yuan’s stepmother, he said in a low voice, “No need to panic. We just need your cooperation regarding a certain matter at present…”

Xiao Yuan and his Father both looked horrified and turned their heads simultaneously to stare at her.

This woman, beautiful yet haggard in appearance, swayed slightly on her feet.

Lu Xin already had his bag clutched in his hand. Sensing trouble, he was preparing to charge at the woman.

Her appearance was frightening; she probably wouldn’t be easy to deal with.

However, even Lu Xin hadn’t expected what happened next. Faced with those dark, gaping muzzles, the woman’s face suddenly drained of all color. Even the crimson spine and vicious head that had been sprouting from her back vanished, as if Lu Xin had just seen a Hallucination.

She merely seemed to go weak at the knees, swayed slightly, and murmured, “It finally caught up… I knew it…”

“I knew I couldn’t hide… After what happened…”

“……”

As she spoke, she raised both hands to clasp the back of her head, beginning to sob quietly.

“Wh-what…”

Not far away, Lu Xin felt completely bewildered as he watched the woman being cuffed by someone beside her, then fitted with an Ability Suppressor and a Protective Visor before being led away.

What was happening?

Before he had even done a single thing, it was all over?

……

“Let’s go.”

Seeing Lu Xin still seemed eager to take action, Chen Jing turned around directly with a smile. “Whether she’s an Ability User or not, she can’t escape now. The City Defense Department’s interrogation methods are far harsher than ours. We just need to wait for the results.”

Lu Xin had no choice but to nod.

Yet, seeing the woman led away, he still felt dissatisfied. Thinking for a moment, he unexpectedly stepped forward. Ignoring Xiao Yuan’s confused and hopeful gaze fixed upon him, Lu Xin walked straight past him and approached the man Xiao Yuan called his Father.

The old man was utterly flustered: “What… what on earth? How…?”

Lu Xin scrutinized the old man carefully, feeling slightly disappointed. He took the man’s hand and clasped it:

“Hello, Boss Xiao.”

“Good to meet you.”

“Goodbye, Boss Xiao.”

“……”

Only then did he turn and walk away with Chen Jing towards the station exit.

Boss Xiao was utterly dumbfounded. He stared blankly as people took his wife away, watched as an unfamiliar young man approached, politely shook his hand, and then left. All he could manage in that moment was a bewildered question: “He… who was that?”

Xiao Yuan was equally stunned; this chain of events had completely overwhelmed him.

After a lengthy pause, he finally stammered out a reply: “If I told you… he’s… just a junior employee at our company…?”

“Would you believe it?”