Chapter 226: Lone Soldier Squad Mobilized

“Compared to Team Leader Chen… this leader, Deputy General Manager Xiao, indeed lacked some of that drive…”

Lu Xin mused inwardly about the leader’s decisiveness while slowly scanning the results of the second screening that had just been sent over.

The woman contacted by Lu Weiwei, Yu Chen, was a housewife commonly found in Main City.

She did not work at a company; her main task was taking care of her children. However, both children were already grown—one in college and one in high school—so she had quite a bit of free time. She frequently met with friends or participated in various activities.

“Whoever conveyed the matter of the ‘Wish Incident’ to her… must be within this social network, right?”

Lu Xin looked closely. At first glance, the information seemed overwhelmingly vast.

Such voluminous information simply couldn’t have been investigated in just a few hours.

It wouldn’t have been possible even with Main City’s numerous surveillance cameras and complete resident information registration.

So, it was highly likely that after the incident at this woman Yu Chen’s home, the Main City Guard Bureau had already conducted an investigation, compiling these materials then. Now that it intersected with Lu Weiwei’s case, these results were directly retrieved.

Even though seeing such messy data instinctively made one want to back away, Lu Xin patiently studied through it.

However, upon closer inspection, Lu Xin discovered an interesting phenomenon.

At first glance, Yu Chen’s information seemed chaotic, with a social network giving one a headache.

But after some study and filtering, it became clear she actually interacted with very few people.

Put simply, she looked busy, but had few friends.

“Yoga studio twice a week…”

“Often arranges to shop with friends, but actually shopped alone most of the time…”

“Liked attending gatherings of wives of mid-level corporate executives, but didn’t really integrate into that circle…”

“…”

Lu Xin flipped through it bit by bit, mentally considering which contacts were most likely to have exposed her to the “Wish Incident.”

“When investigating abnormal incidents in Main City, there are also essential things to pay attention to.”

Chen Jing’s voice came through the channel.

It seemed she had also been reviewing the materials while Lu Xin was going through them, offering timely advice:

“For Main City, order and safety are paramount above all else. Therefore, our investigation must be more meticulous. The ideal approach is to find suspicious clues as quickly as possible, locate the source with the utmost speed, and then carry out a decisive cleanup.”

“For instance, this woman named Yu Chen; the circle she was involved in implicated many people. If this were a Satellite City, we could detain all of them for interrogation. But in Main City, we must be mindful of the repercussions of such an action.”

“So, their investigation and questioning must also follow certain rules…”

“Of course, in practice, after Yu Chen had her incident, the Guard Bureau already questioned them one by one earlier. No abnormalities were found.”

“…”

Lu Xin nodded, continuing to scroll down. Suddenly, his swiping finger paused.

The screen frame stopped on one of Yu Chen’s activities, and the activity itself was highlighted with a red box.

“Stress Relief and Guidance Class?”

The records indicated Yu Chen had been very interested in this activity before her incident, attending at least twice a week.

“This is one of the series of initiatives launched by Qinggang to prevent Special Contamination Incidents.”

Chen Jing explained slowly: “Sufficient data has shown that stress and emotion are common triggers for spiritual abnormality. Therefore, helping citizens relieve stress and counsel their psychological state, while ensuring their basic needs, is also an important subject.”

“Among these, planning for entertainment culture promotions is one approach; these psychological counseling courses are another.”

“The main content of the course is actually to subtly inform the public of the existence of Spiritual Contamination and gradually teach them how to relieve and resist it. As you know, public sentiment is the hardest to control. Revealing Psychic Contamination Incidents outright carries a high probability of triggering abnormal Chaos. So, this is like teaching them to protect themselves without actually disclosing the truth.”

“These kinds of courses have been promoted in Main City for some time now and are just about to be rolled out to the major Satellite Cities.”

“And precisely because these courses are under the supervision of the City Defense Department and monitored by the Special Clean-up Department, they ironically have the least suspicion attached to them.”

“…”

Lu Xin did not say much. After a slight pause, he said: “Can I go and take a look?”

“…Yes.”

Chen Jing did not elaborate, agreeing directly.

This wasn’t the first time she had conversed with Lu Xin in this manner as an Information Analysis Specialist.

However, during the investigation into Incident 041— the Special Contamination Incident—Lu Xin had been a rookie, so she had taken a more guiding role.

This time, she was genuinely acting as an Information Analysis Specialist, replacing Han Bing, so her role was supplementary.

An Information Specialist can provide analytical support and suggestions, but mustn’t overstep their role.

“Looking at the schedule, the Stress Relief and Guidance Class Yu Chen attended has a session starting tomorrow at ten in the morning.”

“Do you want the relevant personnel brought to the Guard Bureau for questioning, or will you attend the class tomorrow?”

……

Chen Jing’s approach always carried an air of grandeur; for instance, if there was any disagreement, she might just bring everyone over for questioning…

Lu Xin sighed and said, “Better to go during class tomorrow!”

He currently had no plan and no evidence; he merely intended to observe.

Bringing them over directly would cause too big a commotion.

“Alright, tomorrow at 8:30 AM, I’ll arrange a vehicle waiting for you downstairs.”

Chen Jing made the arrangement efficiently.

This also made Lu Xin sense the difference between Chen Jing and Han Bing; when Han Bing offered suggestions, he could discuss them.

For example, he felt like 8:30 could be changed to 8 o’clock, or similar.

But since Chen Jing was the leader after all, Lu Xin didn’t dare to bring it up…

……

The next day, at exactly 7:00 AM, the curtains of the Safe House automatically opened, and sunlight flooded into the Safe House.

Lu Xin opened his eyes and sat upright.

At that moment, he saw that on the large bed, Doll sat up at the exact same time.

“Morning…”

Lu Xin greeted her with a smile, then grabbed his bag and headed to the outside bathroom to wash up.

Doll instinctively tried to follow him, but Lu Xin held her back, pointed to her own bathroom, and patiently told her, “Wash up here, I’ll go outside to wash up; I’ll be back shortly…” and earnestly assured her, “I really will come back.”

Doll quietly watched Lu Xin, seeming to understand, her face lighting up with a smile.

Ten minutes later, Lu Xin returned to find that Doll had changed back into black thermal underwear and was sitting on the sofa, clutching a pillow.

When she saw him return, she moved aside to make space.

Lu Xin sat beside her, turned on the TV, and they began quietly watching television together.

“How to handle frequent and urgent urination?”

“Ankang Hospital welcomes you…”

……

At 7:30, three people wearing thick Protective Suits took the elevator up to this floor.

They pushed a small silver cart into the Safe House, first setting a breakfast in front of both Lu Xin and Doll; then one began tidying the room, while the other two—one helped Doll comb her hair, and the other started inspecting her skirt.

Lu Xin’s breakfast consisted of a portion of soy milk and fried dough sticks, along with three tea-soaked eggs, neatly packed in a paper box, looking very appetizing.

This was his specific request.

Doll’s breakfast, on the other hand, was a type of white soft sticky rice cake, but without that powdery outer layer that tended to stick to hands.

This was her regular breakfast.

……

“As Doll grew with age, she learned under the guidance of the service team to simply manage her daily routines.”

“For instance, after returning to the Safe House, she took off the thick and bulky skirt, brushed her teeth and washed her face before bed, bathed and changed into pajamas; in the morning after washing up, she put on a fresh set of base layer shirt and tights, and waited for the service team to help her dress.”

Chen Jing was already waiting on the channel, and her voice showed no sign of fatigue: “However, Doll still couldn’t handle overly complicated things, so she still needed this professional service team to assist with her daily care.”

“Originally, their duties were confined only to food, daily routines, and safety.”

“But over time, the service team even learned to comb her hair and design pretty dresses…”

……

Lu Xin subconsciously turned his head and glanced at the service member who, while Doll was absorbed in watching TV, skillfully twisted her hair into a bun.

All three of them wore thick Protective Suits, sealed head to toe, typical traits of the Support Team.

And what they were doing…

…Well, it fit his usual understanding of the Support Team—they could do anything.

……

Since this was also part of his mission, Lu Xin carefully observed their work.

At the same time, he listened to Chen Jing explain on the channel: “When Doll went outside, three items were essential to prepare.”

“First, her everyday clothes.”

“She had seven similar sets, all in a European court attire style. They chose this attire because, one, its decorations used sufficient material. Two, back when several styles were considered, Doll showed some interest in this particular style…”

“I suspect that was because she’d been watching Disney-style cartoons at the time…”

“These garments had an outermost layer of fabric woven from a new type of softened glass fiber, identical to the material in our usual Protective Suits, just softer and much lighter. This fabric helped contain some of her Psychic Energy emissions, preventing her from unconsciously affecting passersby or staff near her during outings.”

The second item that needed preparation was the little cherry hair clip she wore in her hair. Concealed within this hair clip was a miniature Mental Fluctuation detector. It had been calibrated with a higher alert threshold, so it normally wouldn’t react. Only when the intensity of Doll’s Psychic Energy release reached a certain level would it automatically sound an alarm while simultaneously playing a piece of music she liked.

This served to alert the surrounding people to react and, to some extent, subconsciously encourage Doll to rein in her Psychic Energy.

Based on this principle, someone had once considered using this method to gradually guide Doll into completely suppressing her Psychic Radiation power—similar to how lab mice learn to navigate a complex mechanism through electrical shock responses.

But this approach had already been rejected.

…

Hearing this, Lu Xin also nodded instinctively.

He turned to glance at Doll, who was busy pinching a piece of glutinous rice cake while intently watching a prostate health advertisement on TV. He felt she was a living, breathing person. If anyone truly thought of treating a girl like this in the same way as lab mice, he would definitely be displeased.

Doll noticed Lu Xin’s gaze and turned her head to look at him. After a moment’s thought, she extended the glutinous rice cake she’d been eating towards him…

Lu Xin eyed the half-eaten rice cake but didn’t take it. Instead, he tore off a piece of fried dough stick and handed it to her.

Doll leaned her head forward, carefully bit off a small piece, and her expression clearly showed she didn’t like it. Nevertheless, she still ate it.

Behind them, the service team member who had just managed to style Doll’s hair into what would cost at least ten yuan in a barbershop visibly froze in shock.

“The third item requiring preparation,” Chen Jing continued from the channel, unaware of these details and still briefing Lu Xin meticulously, “is a pair of special contact lenses made from a unique glass material.”

“The negative impact Doll has on people around her generally falls into three categories. First, without any barrier, anyone within a certain radius will inevitably be affected.”

“Second, if someone directly gazes upon her face, they become actively subject to this influence.”

“Third, when she specifically locks eyes with someone, the effect on that person becomes intensely amplified.”

“These contact lenses are designed specifically to counter this aspect.”

“With these three protective measures in place, Doll can essentially walk along the streets like any normal person without imposing her influence on those around her… Of course, this is only theoretical. Our principle remains: caution is still paramount.”

“Alright…” Lu Xin acknowledged this understanding.

…

After finishing breakfast, Lu Xin and Doll went downstairs. The lower floor was deserted, but a large, boxy van stood ready. Its cargo bay had been modified—surrounded entirely by glass and adorned with warm-toned decorations.

At the front of the vehicle, a similarly fully armored individual was positioned to drive.

Chen Jing’s explanation went on: “The driver is part of Doll’s dedicated service team personnel. He’s not only equipped with highly specialized Protective Suit, but has also taken medication in advance to regulate his Emotion. However, per protocol, he will only drive for thirty minutes, after which he must be relieved by another person.”

“Other service team members will constantly maintain a perimeter around you. Should any need arise, they will appear within one minute.”

“…”

“Honestly, what a hassle…” Lu Xin couldn’t help but sigh softly upon hearing these stringent, meticulously detailed regulations.

The girl sitting across from him abruptly raised her head and gave him a look.

Lu Xin felt slightly awkward. Hurriedly pointing at the service team driver in front, he explained, “I meant him.”

The driver smoothly started the vehicle. The glance he cast Lu Xin’s way in the rearview mirror carried a touch of reproach.