Chapter 195: The Secret of the Lone Soldier

“The True Homeland organization in Satellite City No. 4 has been completely dismantled. Further investigation is underway.”

In Qing Harbor Main City, when Minister Shen strode into the conference room, he saw Professor Bai smiling as he reported to Mr. Su.

He paused for a moment, seemingly not expecting Mr. Su to be present in person. After offering a salute, he placed his hat on the table and addressed Professor Bai: “If it were just for this mysterious organization, you wouldn’t have needed to call us here directly.”

Professor Bai smiled, motioned for Chen Jing to put away the investigation files related to the “True Homeland” organization, then nodded toward Minister Shen and Mr. Su. He retrieved several documents, distributing a copy to Minister Shen, Mr. Su, one to Chen Jing, and kept one for himself. Slowly, he stated: “Of course. I asked you here for another, far more critical issue.”

He signaled for them to look at the documents in their hands before continuing: “I believe the enigma of the Lone Soldier’s abilities has been solved.”

“What?”

Both the characteristically rushed Minister Shen and the exceptionally composed Mr. Su visibly registered astonishment.

Immediately, they both lowered their heads to scan the files they held.

The first page contained Lu Xin’s details:

Name: Lu Xin

Codename: Lone Soldier

Age: 23

Ability: Spider-Type (crossed out) followed by “Unnamed”

Level: C+ (crossed out)

Risk of Loss of Control: 75% (Pending Discussion)…

…

Minister Shen scanned briefly before stating tersely: “75%? How could it possibly be that low!”

“Isn’t it still pending discussion?”

Professor Bai settled into his chair, donned a pair of presbyopic glasses, and began flipping through the documents as he spoke: “We have to admit one thing: regarding the assessment of the Lone Soldier’s Risk of Loss of Control, we haven’t had any substantive evidence thus far. It’s been largely based on subjective feelings and judgments that we assigned him this figure, one that surpassed the baseline by a significant margin…”

“But in reality, looking at all his completed missions, his fulfillment rate and adherence to regulations are practically an anomaly among Ability Users. In every case he’s handled, you can scarcely find the slightest breach of protocol!”

“…”

“There actually is one,” Chen Jing pushed her sunglasses up her nose and added: “Through analysis of his and Gecko’s task reports, I suspect he engages in expense padding… Of course, the amounts reported are quite… intriguing. Over several instances, the sum totals… a few thousand!”

“Hmm…”

Mr. Su, his expression initially taut, paused to subtly pinch the bridge of his nose.

Minister Shen only huffed coldly and said: “Continue!”

Professor Bai smiled faintly: “In short, based on objective evidence, Lone Soldier’s risk isn’t just not high; it’s significantly lower than other Ability Users. It’s lower than even Gecko, whom we publicly acknowledge as having the lowest risk, after all…”

“Gecko is far more ruthless with his expense reporting than Lone Soldier.”

“And… his slightly unusual yearning for the opposite sex does sometimes raise concerns…”

“Moreover, we must acknowledge that the only reason Lone Soldier’s Risk of Loss of Control has consistently been rated so high is one thing.”

Professor Bai paused slightly here, then spoke with deliberate emphasis: “We don’t understand him!”

Mr. Su glanced up, his expression curious.

Minister Shen also frowned slightly before giving a slow nod.

“Lone Soldier’s abilities are formidable, yet we don’t know why he is this powerful.”

“He has repeatedly completed missions beyond our expectations, yet we don’t know how he achieved it.”

“We believed we’d categorized and evaluated his abilities, yet time and again, minor details he displays inadvertently shatter our classifications and assessments…”

Professor Bai paused again briefly before stating: “This is why we rated his risk of losing control so high!”

“We fear him because we don’t understand him.”

A profound silence settled in the conference room – not stifling, but charged with a subtle tension.

Mr. Su broke the quiet with a smile, nodding with candor: “Others might not say it, but personally, I admit I feel a degree of it.”

“Indeed, I carry a certain wariness toward things or people I don’t comprehend.”

Even he had voiced this sentiment, so Minister Shen took silence as his own affirmation.

Professor Bai gave a small nod: “I share a similar reaction. Though perhaps personality differences play a part; my curiosity toward the unknown often outweighs my Fear. Therefore, I’ve consistently wished to unravel the Lone Soldier’s secret…”

“During this period, I’ve formulated numerous hypotheses and inferences, which I’ll refrain from detailing here.”

“What truly brought me clarity were actually several mission reports submitted just recently…”

…

He spoke as he flipped to a certain page in the documents he held, showing it to the person beside him.

It was a photocopy of a report submitted by the Loss of Control Risk Assessment Team.

It meticulously recorded Lone Soldier’s performance during the “Ghost” capture operation and the cleanup of the “True Homeland” cult organization in Satellite City No. 4. The level of detail even included every word spoken, every action performed, and every suggestion made by Lone Soldier during his collaboration with Drunkard.

However, what caught their attention the most was the final conclusion.

“It can be confirmed that Lone Soldier possesses far more than one ability; his abilities as a whole exist in a state of chaotic complexity!”

……

In the conference room, everyone flipped to that page and stared at the sentence.

“What… does this imply?”

Minister Shen remained silent for a moment before speaking. “In my view, this substantiates our concerns as well-founded!”

“The report itself may not be conclusive, but it provides a basis for our analysis.”

Professor Bai spoke with composure, “Previously, our reservations about him primarily stemmed from two concerns:

First, we suspected he wasn’t a true Spider-Type.

Second, none of us knew with certainty if he truly had several family members by his side…”

“…”

Professor Bai’s words elicited a silent nod of agreement from everyone present.

It was a situation that could not be clearer.

“This report was compiled by integrating findings from the Special Clean-up Department’s Special Assessment Team and Drunkard’s reports.”

Professor Bai placed the report on the table and stated calmly:

“The assessment team dispatched by the Special Clean-up Department included two veteran observers and one highly promising rookie.”

“This rookie excels in observation, particularly in detecting shifts in Mental Power and analyzing minute details. They observed Lone Soldier continuously, from the moment he captured the Ghost until after he neutralized the ‘True Homeland’ Ability User.”

“Additionally, when Lone Soldier decided to go to Satellite City No. 4, I had requested Drunkard to observe him during that opportunity.”

“Beyond the fundamental assessment of Risk of Loss of Control and task completion evaluation, the most crucial question…”

Professor Bai paused, his voice deepening slightly, “…was to ascertain whether he has family.”

……

The expressions of the other three people in the conference room grew grave.

Minister Shen, in particular, now looked utterly serious.

“And the result,” stated Professor Bai directly, “was that there were none.”

Ignoring their changing expressions, Professor Bai continued:

“When Lone Soldier confronted the two Psychic Entities codenamed ‘Preacher’ in Satellite City No. 4, he employed his abilities and engaged the entities within the effective range of Drunkard’s power.”

“Under those circumstances, if he possessed family members, Drunkard would certainly have detected them.”

“Furthermore, the observation team meticulously analyzed all details from start to finish. Besides confirming the complex nature of Lone Soldier’s abilities, they also verified that Lone Soldier’s abilities were indeed manifesting from himself.”

“It entirely ruled out elements such as spirit possession, significant Contamination influence, or reliance on Parasitic Artifacts.”

“He exhibited those abilities entirely through his own means.”

“…”

Witnessing Professor Bai’s assured demeanor, even Minister Shen was slightly stunned.

He didn’t voice any objections, however. Drunkard was a highly reliable agent, and her verification carried substantial weight within the Special Clean-up Department.

“As for his abilities…”

Professor Bai paused briefly before stating, “It can be confirmed he possesses more than just Spider-Type abilities.”

“Based on currently documented instances…”

“He can control his body like a Spider-Type, enhancing his agility, Perception, and even wound recovery; he can directly ‘see’ Psychic Entities; he can physically tear Psychic Entities apart with his hands; he can track the Knights Order remotely. Moreover, he can even dismantle Mental Contamination Bombs using an unknown method, and safely enter or exit Happy Town…”

“Most crucially, he can directly pinpoint the manipulator behind those Psychic Entities through the entities themselves. He can also analyze, from those entities, why the manipulator commanded them to move and the reason they attacked Drunkard.”

“…”

Everyone in the conference room furrowed their brows. This seemed the most perplexing aspect.

Their research into Mental Aberrants had always aimed to find logic within the Chaos.

But now, they saw no logic at all, only a profound headache.

Strangely, only Professor Bai’s expression gradually cleared. He said softly, “Reviewing the data now, the multitude of behavioral details shown by Lone Soldier indicate a chaotic and complex nature to his abilities, differing significantly from the clear core manifestations of other Ability Users. This has caused us confusion and suspicion. Yet, perhaps the issue simply lies in the fact we were looking in the wrong direction all along…”

“I suspect Lone Soldier’s fundamental ability is not Spider-Type. Rather…”

He paused slightly, his gaze sweeping over the other three as he softly voiced his conclusion:

“…he might not possess inherent abilities at all!”