Chapter 156: Codenamed “Lone Soldier”

Qin Ran was dumbfounded and instinctively on guard.

He couldn’t understand why such a strange-looking mother and daughter pair would appear around this Small Town.

The Mother looked elegant and refined, like someone from Highwall City… no, at least someone from the Main City of Highwall City. She resembled those self-proclaimed nobles who still maintained the refined lifestyle from before the Cataclysm. But why would a person like this be around the Small Town? Judging by her appearance, she seemed to have come here as a tourist, admiring the Flower Field.

The little girl appeared even stranger. She was petite, wearing a ragged white dress. Her black hair hung down, covering most of her face. Underneath the dark hair were bright eyes, fixed intently on him…

…And she was emitting a low, bone-chilling laugh.

Strangers shouldn’t appear in this Small Town, especially not people who seemed normal yet extremely abnormal.

Qin Ran dared not draw attention. He merely stole a glance at them, not even showing surprise, nor hesitating in his stride. He smoothly turned, preparing to duck into a different alley of the Small Town and leave through another exit.

“Excuse me. Who sent you to investigate the Escaped Laboratory?”

A polite inquiry sounded not far behind him.

“Whoosh!”

Qin Ran’s body jolted violently; goosebumps erupted all over his skin as cold sweat instantly drenched his forehead.

Without time for thought, Qin Ran drew his gun with lightning speed and pulled the trigger.

“Bang!”

A bullet shot toward the source of the voice.

Simultaneously, he rolled sideways, nimbly diving into the nearby Flower Field that stood waist-deep.

Even without his ability, he was a man of considerable skill.

His chosen action was also the most correct course.

After diving into the Flower Field, Qin Ran instinctively glanced back and broke out in a fresh wave of cold sweat.

He had fired a Special Bullet.

Even an Ability User should be affected somewhat, giving him a chance to flee.

But the bullet had stopped.

Halted mid-air, mere centimeters away from that beautiful face.

The black bullet casing was already cracked with fissures, blue streaks of Electric Arc flickering between the cracks.

Normally, this bullet should explode, fragments tearing apart to unleash a sphere of blue electricity that annihilated everything nearby.

But it seemed wrapped in some invisible force, prevented from dispersing.

The woman gently lifted her hand, nudged the bullet ten centimeters away from her left cheek, and let go.

“Pop…”

The bullet resumed its flight and exploded mid-air, unleashing a massive sphere of blue electricity.

A circular scorched area nearly three meters in diameter instantly appeared in the Flower Field.

The woman didn’t look back. Instead, she gazed at Qin Ran with something like regret and shook her head slightly. “Why won’t you just die cleanly?”

Qin Ran trembled as if plunged into an ice cellar; a despairing sense of powerlessness surged from his heart.

…

“Whoosh!”

As the Special Bullet exploded in the distance, Lu Xin, who had been wildly lashing the Human-Fruit Tree, abruptly turned his head.

He looked toward the edge of the Small Town, crimson light flaring in his eyes.

Before him, the Human-Fruit Tree had been flayed into unrecognizable fragments. Only jagged stubs remained of the trunk, and the dozens of Vines adorning it were either shattered or broken.

The surrounding ground was littered with torn pieces of Qin Ran. Some were slowly vanishing, others twitched faintly.

Amidst this Chaos, Lu Xin hadn’t noticed one Qin Ran fragment was already missing.

But the gunshot snapped him alert. The fury on his face visibly intensified.

“Fugitives are the worst…”

“…”

He growled lowly and suddenly lashed out with full force.

This blow was no longer playful, but deadly serious.

“Wham!”

Under the colossal impact, the whip in his hand and the last half of the trunk collided and simultaneously shattered.

Pulverized into dust, all activity ceasing.

From the core of this detonation, a wave of destructive power rippled outward. It engulfed all the scattered Qin Ran fragments still retaining a trace of vitality on the ground around it, utterly obliterating them, causing them to vanish completely from the air.

Finally, only a single detached face remained in a distant spot, its lips still faintly quivering: “The Wilderness… hauling goods…”

Crunch!

Lu Xin walked over, crushing the face underfoot. Then he turned around, staring toward the edge of the town.

Suddenly, a savage, exhilarated gleam flashed in his eyes.

His slightly swaying body abruptly steadied itself, and he charged toward the town’s border.

He charged straight through.

Blocking his path stood Happy Town’s houses.

These houses were slender, densely packed, overwhelmingly numerous, crammed tightly together.

Earlier, Lu Xin had considered opening a door to enter one. But he sensed something terrible would happen if he did. So even after confirming Qin Ran was hiding somewhere inside, he hadn’t opened a single door.

Now, he didn’t open any doors either. He smashed directly through.

Rumble!

The wall before him twisted violently the instant his body hit it, then shattered, collapsing with a thunderous crash.

But even the falling debris failed to touch him.

It had already been pulverized into dust by the black shadow behind his body—or rather, the swirling mass of twisted telekinetic power.

The moment he burst into the first house, something inside the room became faintly perceptible. It instantly radiated intense hostility, unfurling a bizarre and terrifying psychic energy, as if poised to lunge at Lu Xin…

But it never reached him.

Lu Xin didn’t bother looking closely. He plowed straight through, shattering the thing in his path before charging into the next house.

House after house, monster after monster, were simultaneously smashed to pieces.

The town seemed rocked by an earthquake.

From the street at Happy Town’s rear where Lu Xin started, to the Flower Field at the edge where Qin Ran now stood, lay countless houses in between. Each one harbored bizarre and terrifying entities. Yet now, a perfectly straight line tore through the town. Along this line, nothing remained whole; nothing bearing any spark of life survived…

The entire town was jolted awake. All its inhabitants snapped their heads up.

This time, their expressions no longer held smiles, but fury… and fear.

…

“I think… I understand…” Qin Ran heard the relentless sound of collapsing buildings echoing from the town behind him. His face instantly drained of color.

Abruptly, he looked up at the mother and daughter holding hands in front of him. His mind raced, recalling everything: the mission files about the “Escaped Laboratory” he’d seen, the uncanny and unpredictable nature of this Ability User from Qinggang City, Lu Xin’s chilling words after receiving the Big Head Ghost’s item—”Little Sister’s already gone to find him”—and that refined woman’s regretful sigh:

“Why couldn’t you just die cleanly?”

“…”

Realizing this, Qin Ran felt a wave of absurdity wash over him, followed by bitter amusement. Millions of words clamored in his heart to be spoken.

But what finally escaped his lips was a phrase steeped in utter resignation: “Who the hell named you ‘Lone Soldier’?”

Hearing this,the refined woman smirked wordlessly.

Even the odd little girl showed a faintly gleeful smile.

But neither answered his question.

Qin Ran knew why they remained silent. Already, he could hear a noise like crackling static closing in from behind.

…

Lu Xin, having shattered countless houses and charged straight across the entire town, was now emerging right behind him.

Behind Lu Xin, the Crimson Moon had deepened to a more vivid, intense red.

And the stark outline of the black Shadow behind Lu Xin’s slender frame pulsed with Psychic Energy radiating pure, palpable Fear.

The Flower Field was carpeted with vibrant pink blossoms, bursting with life.

Yet as Lu Xin passed, all the flowers withered instantly, drained of every trace of vitality.

Trapped between them, Qin Ran felt an unimaginable despair engulfing him, bone-deep despite the seven or eight meters separating them.

“So this is the power codenamed ‘Tyrant’…” Qin Ran’s face twisted into a mask of bleak self-mockery, his voice fading weakly. “…The Experiment had already reached this stage…”

But just as he uttered these words, Mother abruptly frowned.

At the same moment, the heavy panting behind Qin Ran grew harsh and ragged; a surge of lethal danger bore down on him with terrifying speed.

…

“You can’t kill me!”

Yet in this same instant, Qin Ran whirled around, screaming with desperate force.

Lu Xin’s hand was inches from his face. Overlapping Lu Xin’s arm was the Shadow’s limb. But a closer look revealed the Shadow was straining to slash downwards, while Lu Xin’s own arm fought to hold it back.

Trembling, Lu Xin held the Shadow’s arm suspended, stopping it mere centimeters from Qin Ran’s face.

“Do you know why I chose to hide here?” Qin Ran shrieked on, oblivious to why the blow hadn’t landed, consumed by his own frantic cries.

His face, under the Crimson Moon, contorted into lunacy. His shriek turned piercing, distorted: “Because this is Happy Town! Because the Queen sleeps here! Because every soul in this town belongs to her, even me now…”

“And now…” He drew a ragged breath, his eyes fixed on the town.

Happy Town’s neat, dense housing had been obliterated by Lu Xin’s reckless charge, leaving a scar-like gash tearing straight through its heart.

Qin Ran’s voice cracked, edged with the madness born of despair:”…you’ve already awakened her.”