Chapter 101: The Humanoid Mobile Spirit Detector

Though fully awake now, Lu Xin could still recall that faint sound of crying.

By concentrating carefully, he could pinpoint it.

That weeping was like a fine, almost imperceptible thread, woven through the vast crowd around him.

Following the sound of crying, Lu Xin strode forward rapidly.

He planned to trace along this thread, or rather this net, that connected everyone. From one specific point in this web, he would retrace his steps bit by bit, until he found the source of the entire network and located the key core influencing them all.

This method of transmission truly resembled the Special Contamination Source No. 072 he had handled previously.

Case No. 072 originated from an entity that, near death, had experienced an extreme surge of Fear. Lacking independent consciousness, that Fear emotion began spreading uncontrollably outward, affecting the entire building, and even the whole residential complex.

That Source of Contamination had spread Fear.

Now, this sound of crying was spreading an endless sadness emotion…

Furthermore, by every measure, this weeping was many times more intense than Contamination Source No. 072.

It seemed it had undergone some kind of meticulous processing, making it harder to detect, yet the potency of the Contamination was far more severe…

“Is this coincidence,” Lu Xin wondered, “or was Special Contamination Source No. 072 an Experiment?”

The thought struck Lu Xin.

……

“What is he doing?”

Gecko up on the High Wall was staring blankly.

But no one answered him. The soldiers on the wall were themselves looking eagerly at him, hoping for an explanation.

Meanwhile, Linda on the comms channel could see some footage through the camera on Gecko’s chest. However, especially at this distance and with the unstable lighting, she couldn’t make out Lu Xin’s actions clearly enough to offer any explanation either.

“Lone Soldier says he’s detected traces of contamination!”

The voice of Tie Cui sounded over the channel, grave and heavy: “According to Lone Soldier’s designated information controller, he’s currently sensing some kind of influence on the Mental Plane. He’s trying to track it, to find the Source of Contamination…”

“He can do that?”

Gecko was dumbfounded. “Is he a Humanoid Mobile Spirit Detector?”

“Shut up!”

Linda, embodying Tie Cui, snapped sharply. “Go on immediate alert. Cover him against surrounding threats.”

“Okay, just one question though…”

Gecko agreed but asked curiously, “Is Lone Soldier’s information controller pretty?”

The question momentarily flustered Tie Cui. With exasperation, she replied, “She’s the flower of our Information Analysis Team. What do you think?”

“Oh really?”

Gecko sounded surprised, then suddenly a little worried. “She doesn’t have kids, does she…”

Tie Cui was momentarily speechless. After a pause, she stated coldly, “Strictly speaking, she is still a kid herself!”

“Huh, well that makes me feel a bit better, actually…”

Gecko kept muttering, but his hands moved without delay. He unslung the long case from his back. With a series of rapid clacks and snaps, he assembled it into a sleek, cold, meter-long Sniper Rifle. Then he laid prone atop the High Wall, the muzzle trained tightly on the area surrounding Lu Xin. For extra security, he even mounted the scope this time.

……

Following that faint, almost intangible sense, Lu Xin soon arrived at a depression.

He walked a circle among the few people standing there, then took a few steps back and stopped before one person.

He had been searching for the crying boy, but strangely, this wasn’t a boy.

It was a man who looked to be in his thirties, sporting a thick beard. His demeanor was identical to the others around him – standing quietly, head raised looking toward the High Wall. Faint tear tracks were visible on his face, and his skin had a peculiar, plastic-like texture.

Lu Xin stood before him, gazing quietly at him.

The man, meanwhile, stared motionlessly at the High Wall.

Lu Xin observed him for a long time. Finally, he became certain this man resembled someone he had seen before.

Qin Ran!

It was Qin Ran, but bearded and much thinner than the version he’d seen previously, seemingly devoid of vitality.

Lu Xin knew he’d found the key.

At this distance, he could feel very clearly that the crying sound he heard was emanating from within this man. Strangely, Qin Ran appeared very much an adult male between thirty and forty years old. Furthermore, he wasn’t moving or opening his mouth at all, yet the weeping emerged from inside him.

The fine, crying sound of a little boy, coming from within a grown man – it created a bizarre sense of grotesquery.

……

“I have discovered the Core Key to this Contamination.”

Lu Xin spoke softly into the channel: “Ready to commence cleanup at any moment…”

As he spoke, he adjusted the camera on his left shoulder so Han Bing could see more clearly.

“Analyzing target data now, Mr. Lone Soldier. Recommend temporary withdrawal while maintaining vigilance…”

Han Bing’s slightly tense voice sounded in the channel, accompanied by the sound of data being transmitted.

Lu Xin took a deep breath and took a slow step back, his gaze never leaving this Qin Ran.

…

Clack-clack-clack…

But before Han Bing could offer any analysis results, even before Lu Xin took action.

The “Qin Ran” before him suddenly emitted a faint mechanical whirring from its head. It sounded like countless tiny gears gently turning. Immediately afterwards, a crevice appeared horizontally across Qin Ran’s face, splitting his plastic-like skull cleanly into upper and lower halves – running from his left earlobe, across the bridge of his nose, to his right earlobe.

Then, the top half of his head gently popped open like a lid.

Lu Xin saw the inside of his skull. There was no brain matter, nor any blood.

Only a white sphere pulsed with a pale blue glow, radiating a distinctly technological feel.

On either side of the sphere, two translucent, thin wings snapped out and began to vibrate rapidly. It then flew out of “Qin Ran’s” cranial cavity into the open air. The ghostly sound of weeping was emanating from this white sphere…

Lu Xin frowned deeply, his gaze fixed on the winged orb.

“Not a little boy, just a device playing a recording of crying…”

“That crying… it was recorded?”

Lu Xin was somewhat surprised. He had imagined various forms a Source of Contamination might take, but he’d never imagined it would feel so technologically advanced.

“What is that?”

“…”

Han Bing’s voice abruptly halted in the channel, sharp and curt.

Then her tone instantly became tense: “Be careful, Mr. Lone Soldier…”

“That’s a product of the Church of Technology…”

“…”

Beep-beep-beep—Beep!

At the same moment, the small white orb hovered slightly in the air. Its flickering blue light abruptly elongated.

Alongside this, a faintly synthesized electronic voice issued from within.

“Detection of anomalous target proximity. Experiment initiates Second Stage ahead of schedule!”

As the voice spoke, two dark apertures split open in the orb’s casing, and slender silver appendages slipped forth.

The next instant, intense and terrifying blue lightning arced out violently.

In a single, blinding instant, the electrical surge swallowed Lu Xin and the four others nearby within its raging current.