Chapter 249: Nice To See You

“Mr. Lone Soldier, can you hear me?”

“Mr. Lone Soldier, after interrogating the Old Captain of the Maritime Nation, we learned the ‘Red Apostle’ may possess another ability. When pushed to its limit, it can release a large number of Psychic Entities. The exact details remain unknown, but it can be inferred that this batch of Psychic Entities differs from the Mutants appearing within Qinggang City. Please prepare for its potential counterattack, Mr. Lone Soldier…”

“Do be careful…”

“…”

Lu Xin, squatting atop the ruins of the East Sea Grand Hotel, quietly looked down at the building’s base. His Shadow was locked in a violent, twisting struggle with the clusters of red Psychic Energy below. An unusual emotion stirred within him.

He could feel the sensation. The sensation of Father utterly tearing that monster apart, thoroughly suppressing it.

Yet, the Red Apostle, shattered into countless pieces, hadn’t been completely annihilated.

The Red Apostle’s Psychic Energy manifested a bizarre characteristic.

That was, no matter how many times it was ripped apart, it seemed capable of re-merging and reforming.

While Father’s ability ensured it was repeatedly dismembered, pulverized again and again.

This was a battle of merging versus smashing.

Gazing down at the scene of the Red Apostle constantly attempting to reform, only to be perpetually suppressed, a peculiar sense of satisfaction filled his heart.

As if he had been waiting to witness such a scene for a long time.

He only reacted when Han Bing’s voice came through the channel for perhaps the umpteenth time.

Hearing Han Bing’s voice, Lu Xin let out a soft sigh.

It was evident that she, or rather the people of Qinggang, were genuinely trying very hard to assist him.

Lu Xin even felt they were like a group of slightly childish, clumsy children. Clearly incapable of helping at this level of battle, yet they still strained every nerve, using every method they had to offer him some support.

So, after a moment of silence, a smile appeared on Lu Xin’s face.

He replied softly, “Ah, I heard you…”

“So sorry, the signal wasn’t great just now…”

“…”

“Understood, we’ll work on improving signal transmission…”

Relief was evident in Han Bing’s voice, mixed with urgency: “Mr. Lone Soldier, how is the Cleanup Mission progressing?”

“Is there any way we can assist?”

“…”

Lu Xin fell silent once more.

Honestly, he didn’t really feel like dealing with other matters right now.

If anyone other than Han Bing had spoken up on the channel just then, he might very well have become irritated.

“It’s almost resolved.”

After a pause, he answered lightly, “Don’t rush. Don’t worry.”

“When he is dealt with, I will inform you.”

“…”

“Okay.”

Han Bing seemed to hesitate for a moment, then her laugh came through, gentle and soft: “I look forward to it.”

“When Mr. Lone Soldier finishes this Cleanup Mission, I must treat you to a meal. I’ll also…”

“…bring you the wontons I wrapped myself!”

Hearing her warm words, a sense of warmth spread through Lu Xin’s heart as well.

He chuckled lightly: “Alright, I’ll be waiting to eat them.”

…

Slowly standing up, he looked down at the Psychic Entity below.

He was already quite certain: this Psychic Entity could no longer rise again.

If one peculiar trait of this Psychic Entity was its aberrant ability to merge – allowing it to recover from all manner of damage – then encountering Father’s ability meant it could only be suppressed.

Because Father’s ability wasn’t merely about cutting or shattering.

Judging by Father’s temper, his ability leaned more towards complete Annihilation…

The Red Apostle was close to emptiness, but unfortunately, it wasn’t truly empty. It still possessed a fundamental vitality.

As long as this vitality existed, it couldn’t possibly reassemble under Father’s suppression.

“So that means… its last ability should manifest now?”

Just as Lu Xin had this thought, he saw it. The mass of Red Apostle Psychic Energy, shrouded and tormented by the Black Shadow below, began undergoing violent changes.

Originally, these dismembered parts were struggling to fuse together, but over such a long time, its limited intellect finally realized that this path was impracticable.

Thus, its body stopped attempting to merge and began to divide.

The colossal form started splitting into separate segments, each undergoing bizarre transformations. Some twisted grotesquely, sprouting enormous gaping maws filled with rows of sharp teeth across their bodies.

Others cracked open with fissures revealing sinister, cold eyes lurking within.

Some strained to extrude bat-like wings, flapping desperately as if yearning to take flight.

Still others disintegrated into swarms of various insects that rustled and scurried, burrowing beneath the earth.

…

The Psychic Entities Han Bing had reported had emerged.

Combining her intel, it could be ascertained:

Had this Red Apostle dispersed its Psychic Energy after division, transforming into multitudes of disparate Monsters?

Previously, it had augmented its Psychic Magnitude by devouring Qinggang City’s Psychic Entities.

Now, however, that method of magnifying its Psychic Magnitude was severed. Suppressed by Father, it had even lost the possibility of reforming. Thus, it opted for division, fracturing itself into these distinct Psychic Entities…

If it could consume, was it not also feasible for it to manifest this capacity for division?

Moreover, this was not mere release; it endowed the entities with evidently amplified Psychic Magnitude compared to before…

Lu Xin nodded slightly.

He was uncertain of the accuracy of this deduction, but that held little significance.

He was no professional investigator.

He needn’t comprehend the mechanics of its shifting abilities at this moment.

His task was simply to eradicate them entirely.

Ultimately, the result was paramount, was it not?

…

Rustling and rushing—

These divided Psychic Entities immediately scattered, fleeing in all directions.

They seemed to employ this strategy to evade the brutal, tyrannical suppression of the Shadow.

Naturally, these fragmented Psychic Entities couldn’t match the Psychic Magnitude of the Red Apostle itself. Yet, it was undeniable that this fragmentation aided their evasion of Lu Xin’s Shadow’s suppression. And once escaped, Qinggang would undoubtedly plunge into catastrophic Chaos.

“Heh-heh…”

Watching the fleeing Psychic Entities, Lu Xin’s face wore an empty expression.

He murmured softly, “What’s the point?”

“Oh, Toys don’t run away. I want to stitch you all back together…”

Amidst the scattering Monsters, an aberrant figure persisted.

Little Sister had initially struggled to drag over one of the Red Apostle’s severed arms and a leg. Yet the sheer Psychic Magnitude was too immense for her diminutive stature, and the adversary’s fusion capabilities exceeded her expectations. Ultimately, she only succeeded in Contaminating one arm, twisting it into a freakish, five-fingered hand that crawled grotesquely on the ground…

Now, perched upon this Monster-arm, she steered it to chase down other Monsters. Each time she caught one, the clawing fingers would unfurl, seize its prey, and with a crushing squeeze, distort the creature into a mangled, misruled pulp.

Mother’s figure had already vanished behind the third-floor window opposite.

Her whereabouts were unknown.

Only occasionally, amidst the swirling Chaos, could glimpses be caught of her engaging in a friendly chat with a Monster, one hand holding its limb while the other grasped her Scissors. Friendly indeed.

…

“Still not out?”

Lu Xin frowned, scanning the throng of Psychic Entities.

Finally, his gaze settled upon the sea of scrambled Psychic Entities below. Within the dark-toned expanse of this ocean, all color seemed leached away. Turbulent and chaotic, rippling with varied frequencies, it churned the area beneath the East Sea Grand Hotel like a boiling cauldron, endlessly spewing bubbles—each bubble a distinct shape.

Amidst these bubbles, Lu Xin glimpsed a flickering white silhouette.

Carefully sensing the Mental Energy Fluctuation of this phantom, he swiftly ascertained its nature.

Drawing a long, slow breath, he rose to his feet.

As he stood, his Shadow elongated, morphing into a clawed, gaping Devil that surged instantaneously toward its surroundings.

The vast majority of the scattered Psychic Entities were annihilated instantly, swallowed whole.

Yet, at this moment, Lu Xin deliberately raised an arm.

The movement manipulated the Shadow.

This caused the rampaging, chaotic Shadow to suddenly yawn open into a colossal void, encircling the white phantom precisely. Like a safe island emerging within churning black tides, it stood immune to the surrounding turmoil.

Then, Lu Xin slowly descended the floors of the East Sea Grand Hotel.

While controlling the Shadow, his movements were far less nimble than usual. Little Sister, engrossed in her chaotic play below, was not here to assist him. Thus, he could only borrow a faint measure of her strength, laboriously navigating his way down the structure’s facade.

Step by step he descended, moving into the swirling mass of Psychic Entities, pressing ever forward.

Finally, he approached the white silhouette.

It manifested as a young man, unnaturally pale of face.

He stared blankly, eyes wide open within this black tide, profoundly incongruous with the surrounding madness.

Dense quietness surrounded him, saturated with an unnerving sensation of Void.

Studying this pale form, Lu Xin’s face slowly shaped itself into a faint smile. This smile underwent continuous adjustment.

Finally, it settled into an expression of warm, genial affability:

“Hello.”

“I’m truly pleased to meet you.”