Chapter 19: Investigation into Spiritual Contamination

Under Chen Jing’s command, the entire Investigation Team immediately sprang into action.

Qin Ran now seemed genuinely rattled. He watched the three Armed Personnel with intense vigilance, his eyes betraying deep wariness. With his cunning and experience, he could tell these heavily armed soldiers were different from the desperate outlaws he’d encountered Outside the City, and unlike the Guard Bureau or patrol squads he typically dealt with in the Satellite City.

He signaled his men with his eyes to keep their distance and wait obediently where they stood.

And when Lu Xin asked about the location where he had killed Cui Wang and disposed of the body, Qin Ran immediately provided the answers.

“Proceed to investigate immediately. Bring the relevant individual, Qin Ran, as he is suspected of withholding truth.”

Han Bing’s voice came through the earpiece.

Upon hearing her words, Lu Xin immediately addressed the Armed Personnel: “Get in the vehicle.”

Then, nodding at Qin Ran, he added, “You come too.”

The Armed Personnel swiftly complied. One went to start the Jeep, while the other two positioned themselves behind Qin Ran.

Qin Ran glanced at the cold Submachine Guns in their arms, then turned his gaze to Lu Xin. He suddenly gritted his teeth. Whatever this man from The Wilderness was thinking, he spoke not a word and simply followed them into the Jeep.

As they drove through the front courtyard, the nominal manager hurried forward a few steps, calling out, “Big brother—”

“Just wait here!”

Qin Ran shouted at them through the window.

The Armed Personnel in the vehicle ignored Qin Ran and the reaction from the Sifang Transportation Company entirely, treating them as beneath notice.

Since no further instructions came through the earpiece, Lu Xin also refrained from offering any commentary.

He could sense that the dynamics had shifted ever since the three Investigation Team members reported to him. Though Qin Ran’s subordinates outnumbered the Investigation Team members by more than ten to one, the swift, decisive professionalism of these three clearly high-intensity-trained Armed Personnel and their status of being fully armed meant that if conflict erupted, Qin Ran’s men charging forward en masse would likely be akin to delivering themselves as prey. The gap between the two sides was far too stark.

Qin Ran had clearly recognized this disparity, which was why he now behaved so meekly.

Still, Lu Xin faintly felt that these three Investigation Team members seemed somewhat wary of him…

For instance, the one who looked the youngest kept stealing glances in his direction when he thought Lu Xin wasn’t looking.

But the moment Lu Xin made eye contact, he would…

Lu Xin suddenly turned his head to look toward the left window. The young soldier by the window instantly snapped his head around.

He sat rigidly upright, clutching his gun to his chest!

…

The vehicle headed toward the South District. Here sprawled a vast expanse of abandoned Factory Buildings and disorderly narrow paths. Waist-deep weeds grew all around, alongside haphazard piles of cement and debris. In the distance, half-finished constructions were visible, along with colossal rusted iron frames long since abandoned. The entire area was desolate and devoid of human presence.

The road was rough, but their modified Jeeps were well-suited to such complex terrain.

“It’s just ahead,” Qin Ran said in the vehicle, pointing to a more specific location. He seemed tense too, his words spilling out almost unconsciously: “The deal went down behind that mound. That’s also where I put a bullet in Old Cui. He looked drunk, but otherwise normal… We dumped the body behind that stretch of grassland. Plenty of wild dogs hang out in packs there.”

“Recommend immediate psychic energy detection sweep of both locations and surrounding three hundred meters.”

Han Bing’s voice sounded in Lu Xin’s earpiece.

“Agreed.”

Chen Jing added immediately: “The emergence of a Psychic Pollution Source, while differing from ordinary Contamination Incidents, still leaves traces. The key to handling Psychic Contamination Incidents lies in locating the Source of Contamination. That source often originates from a potent Mental Fluctuation. When a person is killed, their Mental Fluctuation becomes intense; most postmortem mutation events begin right then.”

“Of course, some data suggests a few mutations arise due to postmortem stimulation of the corpse.”

“…”

In fact, the three Armed Personnel in the vehicle also wore earpieces and had heard the Information Analysis Team’s advice.

Therefore, after disembarking, they merely glanced questioningly at Lu Xin. Seeing no objection from him, they proceeded.

Lu Xin recognized this as a learning opportunity and watched their actions carefully.

They moved with practiced efficiency, retrieving a black case from the vehicle. Unlocking its complex mechanism via code, they opened it to reveal a silver, rectangular device resembling a Satellite Phone. Four metal pillars supported a ring atop it, along with an alarm unit, giving it the look of a metal detector from an old movie.

One member remained by the vehicle. The other two retrieved specially designed helmets – round, thick, with transparent visors. What surprised Lu Xin most was that most of each helmet seemed constructed from a special kind of glass.

“The instruments they are using now are a type of simplified psychic energy detector, recently put into service.”

Chen Jing continued lecturing over the channel: “Psychic Energy is inherently invisible; or rather, ordinary people’s psychic energy rarely affects instruments enough to become observable. But for mutated Sources of Contamination, or Mutants, psychic energy surpassing a certain threshold, combined with advanced materials originating from the Lunar Eclipse Research Institute, makes detection feasible.”

“However, these instruments remain in research and trial phases. They can sense anomalies in psychic energy, but lack precision.”

“The helmets they wear are a protective measure to shield themselves from abnormal Spiritual Contamination. As previous documents provided to you should have stated, glass is currently the best material we have found for blocking the spread of Mental Plague.”

“…”

Lu Xin only gave a low “Mhm” in response.

He didn’t dare admit that his focus in reviewing those files had been primarily on the sections concerning salary and subsidies.

Following Qin Ran’s directions regarding the murder and corpse disposal sites, the Investigation Team swiftly completed their detection sweep of the locations and surrounding area. They even found some bone fragments suspected to be Cui Wang’s remains. However, they detected no anomalous psychic energy.

“Are you absolutely certain you named the correct places?”

Lu Xin turned to Qin Ran, double-checking.

Qin Ran’s face was stormy, harboring profound Fear: “My life’s on the line. Do you think I’d lie?”

Lu Xin also felt Qin Ran wasn’t hiding anything. Furthermore, he didn’t doubt the Investigation Team members’ detection; when he scanned the two areas himself, he saw nothing abnormal. It wasn’t like the situation in the café, or the first time he’d seen Qin Ran, when he could clearly perceive distorted flesh-like entities—distinctly abnormal Monsters.

It was now he realized the importance of the Information Analysis Team.

Lu Xin asked directly: “What now?”

“If the death site and the corpse disposal site show no issues, other factors must be considered.”

Han Bing’s voice, calm and analytical, came through the channel: “First, how exactly were those individuals affected?”

“Every Source of Contamination has a specific range of effect; only those within that range get contaminated.”

“Analysis of current data shows the affected individuals have no connection to each other, no acquaintance. Yet they all became part of the ‘Avengers.’ This means their routes while alive must have intersected somewhere…”

“That point of intersection is highly likely the source of this Contamination Incident.”

“Recommend mobilizing personnel to investigate the identities and pre-death routes of these ‘Avengers’!”