Chapter 216: She Fell From the Sky
Chapter 216: She Fell From the Sky
“How could this be?”
Accompanying Chen Jing and boarding the Jeep parked outside the station, Lu Xin still felt puzzled: “Why would Xiao Yuan’s stepmother be the one giving him nightmares? By doing this, was she harming Xiao Yuan, or was she trying to harm her own two children?”
“Are you trying to understand their thinking?”
Chen Jing turned the key already left in the ignition. Hearing Lu Xin’s words, she couldn’t help but laugh softly and said:
“We aren’t professional detectives, nor psychologists, and certainly not researchers of bizarre societal phenomena.”
“We’re just a group of people specialized in eliminating Sources of Contamination.”
“So, what we need to do is capture the Sources of Contamination and those who use the characteristics of Contamination to break the law. That’s all. Their interrogation and psychological analysis will be handled by specialists, and they’ll do it far more professionally than we ever could.”
“For instance, concerning what you’re curious about specifically, a report will very soon be handed to us.”
“But I don’t even support you reading that report.”
“Because theoretically, your work concluded the moment you found that woman.”
“If you insist on reading it, I’ll also give you some advice. Through these reports, you always end up seeing a lot of darkness beyond your imagination. If your mental resilience isn’t strong enough, you might even be influenced by that kind of dark thinking…”
She paused slightly, adding with a smile: “…Actually, that should also be considered a form of Contamination.”
“It’s just that, this time, we can’t even use abilities to fight against it!”
“……”
“The boss is indeed the boss. She spoke gracefully.”
Lu Xin thought to himself; truthfully, his current state was merely curiosity.
That Xiao Yuan’s stepmother was the one causing his nightmares had been completely unexpected.
However, the bigger source of confusion for Lu Xin now was the weakness she displayed earlier.
When he dealt with the vestiges of Mental Power left on Xiao Yuan previously, she hadn’t seemed this compliant.
Some doubts remained about the case. Still, since Chen Jing said the interrogation results would come, it was fine to wait and see.
Seeing Lu Xin fall silent, Chen Jing smiled and said: “By the way, you haven’t told me how you figured it out?”
“By comparing her Mental Power.”
Lu Xin answered honestly: “Also, I saw a Psychic Entity on her.”
“A Psychic Entity?”
Chen Jing seemed slightly curious, asking.
“Yes, like a second head. Looked similar, but incredibly vicious…”
Lu Xin described it meticulously.
Chen Jing proved an excellent listener. She didn’t interrupt, fully hearing his description of the Psychic Entity. Then, instinctively glancing at the rearview mirror, she remarked nonchalantly: “Did any of your family come into the city this time?”
Lu Xin grasped the undertone in Chen Jing’s words. After a brief pause, he turned to look at Chen Jing: “My Little Sister…”
Chen Jing instinctively glanced where he looked, her expression tightening slightly.
Lu Xin said: “My Little Sister isn’t beside me.”
Chen Jing immediately turned her head to fully look at Lu Xin.
Lu Xin smiled: “Actually, it’s been a while since I’ve seen any of my family.”
Chen Jing’s gaze lingered on Lu Xin’s face for a moment, detecting no trace of deception.
She recalled Professor Bai’s earlier analysis:
“If Lone Soldier’s ‘family’ is actually his cognitive understanding of his own reconstructed abilities, then as he becomes increasingly adept at utilizing these powers, adapting to their characteristics, his family must inevitably fade away.”
……
“Very well.”
She nodded, saying nothing more, and only gently started the vehicle.
Lu Xin was slightly startled, suddenly remembering something: “Wait, what about the others…”
Chen Jing looked at him curiously.
Lu Xin glanced towards the station direction: “Isn’t Gecko here yet? He agreed to meet me at the station.”
“Gecko?”
Chen Jing heard this and couldn’t contain a brief smile: “He arrived on the first train early in the morning.”
Lu Xin was stunned: “Where is he?”
“Originally, he said he’d wait here to go over together.”
Chen Jing pursed her lips, suppressing her smile: “But when I told him his Information Analysis Specialist had already stayed at the conference hotel a day early as part of the organizing team, he immediately dashed off by taxi all by himself…”
Lu Xin was completely baffled: “Huh? He didn’t wait for me?”
Chen Jing nodded: “He didn’t even remember he was supposed to wait for you.”
Lu Xin’s stubble-bearded face showed clear confusion, unsure what to say for a moment.
Chen Jing chuckled as she started the car.
“I’ll take you directly to the East Sea Grand Hotel where our meeting is held. During the conference, you can explore the Main City, have meals with colleagues. Once I drop you off, my task is complete.”
“Since it’s your first time in the Main City, feel free to ask me anything—though I don’t enjoy being a tour guide.”
“Alright…”
Lu Xin mumbled in agreement but then frowned.
“So… should I ask or not?”
At that moment, the car emerged from the tangled lanes near the station and entered a pristine wide road.
From the passenger seat, Lu Xin immediately sensed a completely different atmosphere.
Clean.
Tidy.
Crowded.
Yet detached.
The buildings stood tall and immaculate, their glass exteriors reflecting sunlight as if brightening the world itself.
Pedestrians wore neat attire, moving in interconnected streams—a vast ocean of people flowing toward countless destinations.
Pressing his face against the window, Lu Xin observed the crowd, each person radiating an intrinsic uniqueness.
Suddenly, a question he’d pondered many times surfaced in his mind.
The dean often reminisced about the world before the Crimson Moon Incident.
Was it… like this?
Fundamentally, the Main City and Satellite Cities didn’t seem so different.
Satellite Cities also had roads, vehicles—even more chaotic ones.
Yet the orderliness here held an uncanny magnetism, stirring instinctive reverence alongside an odd comfort.
“Do you like the environment here?”
Chen Jing broke the silence, noticing Lu Xin’s prolonged quiet.
Lu Xin gave a faint nod.
After a pause, Chen Jing suddenly asked,
“What’re you thinking about right now?”
Lu Xin hesitated.
“Will Satellite City No. 2 become like this too?”
“Our goal isn’t just to transform Satellite City No. 2,” Chen Jing replied with a smile.
“Also, can you spot the differences between here, the Satellite Cities, and outside the walls?”
Lu Xin reflected briefly.
“People here wait for traffic lights. They use crosswalks.”
Chen Jing nodded, turning to him.
“That’s called Order.”
“A professor I deeply respect once said: When freed from hunger, humans yearn for love.”
“When a City is freed from hunger, it yearns for Order.”
“After the Crimson Moon Incident, chaos reigned for a time—but Order will always reemerge.”
“It’s that simple.”
“…”
Lu Xin absorbed her words silently, storing them away.
His thoughts shifted.
This first visit to the Main City felt precious; its essence deserved solitude and slow reflection.
And soon he’d enter the conference at the East Sea Grand Hotel.
If Tie Cui, Gecko’s Information Analysis Specialist, was already at the hotel… where was his own Information Specialist?
Han Bing.
Curiosity flickered.
After collaborating for so long, he’d pictured Han Bing:
Young, lively, kind—a girl with warm, understanding eyes.
Only, he’d never imagined how she’d style her hair or dress.
Observing his mix of expectation and pensiveness, Chen Jing offered a faint, knowing smile.
She drove quietly, guiding the Jeep through the towering, orderly metropolis toward the hotel in East City.
…
As the car neared its destination, the architecture began shifting.
Warm-toned residential blocks gave way to stark silver skyscrapers—stern as blades piercing the sky.
Lush gardens spread beside neat stone-paved plazas. Wide roads, lined with sentry posts, stretched smoothly ahead.
Lu Xin knew they’d arrive soon.
Stealing a moment when Chen Jing looked away, he subtly straightened his clothes.
Passing smoothly through checkpoints, the Jeep soon entered a vast Plaza.
At its center stood a building soaring over thirty stories high. Neatly dressed people streamed through its doors.
Lu Xin scanned the entrance lobby.
Soon, he spotted a familiar figure.
There stood Gecko, sporting a flashy gray blazer, hair gleaming like wet ink.
He struck an exaggeratedly bashful pose, chattering animatedly at a tall, cold-eyed girl beside him.
The girl—around twenty—returned Gecko’s antics with an icy glare beneath a frost-hued trench coat.
Beside them stood another girl in a white down jacket, dark hair cascading softly.
Sipping coffee, she smiled sweetly, occasionally glancing into the distance as if waiting.
…
…
Chen Jing slowed the car.
“We’re here,” she said, meeting Lu Xin’s gaze.
Lu Xin nodded.
As the Jeep halted, he stepped out.
He didn’t know whom he’d meet but felt a budding anticipation.
“Hey, he’s here!”
Gecko spun around, spotting Lu Xin immediately. Beaming, he waved energetically.
Both girls followed him as he walked toward the car, their expressions diverging—one curious, the other shy.
Lu Xin adjusted his expression into a polite smile.
He raised a hand to wave back and started walking toward them.
Shatter.
A soft crack echoed from above.
Glittering shards rained downward.
Falling slowly, like pebbles sinking through water.
Sunlight caught the tumbling fragments, weaving strangely beautiful refractions across the air.
Sensing something, Lu Xin instinctively looked up.
Then he saw it:
A girl drifting downward from the sky, holding a folded parasol.
She fell from terrifying heights—abrupt, alarming.
As glass shards haloed her descent in prismatic light, her form blurred like an illusion.
No one reacted before she plunged past the thirtieth floor…
Then her descent decelerated.
Snap.
Her Parasol unfurled in the wind.
Whoosh.
Layered lace skirts bloomed upwards.
Then settled slowly as she hovered, suspended in mid-air.
Her features were sculpted to unreal perfection—eerily blank.
But in the hollows of her eyes, a spark ignited—bright and vivid.
Her gaze locked unwaveringly on Lu Xin.
Then, her lips curved.
A smile pure, radiant, and alive spread across her face.