Chapter 30: Psychic Magnitude Estimation

“Directly see?”

Chen Jing paused slightly after Lu Xin’s words, reflexively echoing them.

She stressed the words “see.”

“Yes!”

At this point, Lu Xin also seemed serious, saying, “I could see what those monsters looked like. That’s how I knew all three of them were restrained, not turned into part of the monster. Also, the reason why Little Sister could help me deal with that monster back then was because I could see it… That monster was terrifying, but if you avoided it, you were fine!”

“So you mean…”

Chen Jing appeared thoughtful, her expression gradually turning grave, “You can see those distorted psychic energy fields?”

“Sometimes I can. Like in that café, I saw that monster putting something in my cup. And just now, when that monster erupted, I could see it too. But later, when it hid in the puddle, I couldn’t see it anymore…”

Lu Xin spoke slowly, frowning, “You guys can’t see them?”

“Most of the time, no!”

Chen Jing frowned, speaking deliberately, “And to be precise, it’s not exactly ‘seeing’ for us. It’s more like sensing.”

“Psychic entities have no physical form. We can only perceive their existence under certain conditions.”

“……”

Lu Xin considered this distinction for a moment before slowly saying, “Then that might… be your problem?”

“This…”

Lu Xin’s words introduced a moment of confusion for Chen Jing as well.

Talking to this young man felt strange, not least because he had an invisible little sister staring at you from beside him.

But professionalism allowed her to quickly adjust her mindset.

Her tone relaxed, and she chatted with Lu Xin with a smile.

She inquired about Lu Xin’s initial investigation at Qin Ran’s place, how well he was adapting to working with the Investigation Team, and delved into details about his experience seeing that psychic entity and fighting it. She even found a pencil and swiftly sketched a likeness of the “Human-Fruit Tree” Lu Xin described onto paper…

…Lu Xin thought this woman was impressive. She could sketch – just from his description, she managed to draw something quite similar.

“You did well this time. Go back and rest first.”

After their serious conversation, Chen Jing rubbed her temples and said to Lu Xin, “I will inform you about the follow-up investigation.”

“Okay.”

Lu Xin also stood up, seemingly somewhat hesitant.

Seeing this, Chen Jing smiled reassuringly, “Don’t worry. Some of your manifestations are indeed rarely seen. But after the Crimson Moon Incident, abilities resulting from spiritual mutation have always been diverse. The fact that you can see those sources of contamination, even engaging in close combat with them… that’s not necessarily a bad thing, nor is it the strangest. I’ve even encountered those who can steal others’ abilities…”

Lu Xin nodded and said, “I actually wanted to ask about that payment…”

“……”

Chen Jing momentarily lost the thread, paused for a beat, and then laughed, “It will soon be deposited into your account!”

Lu Xin relaxed, nodded, and turned to leave the room.

“Lots of people are looking at you with ill intentions…”

Little Sister followed by his side, lifting her small face to say, “Big Brother, the woman with the deformed chest is trying to fish information out of you…”

Lu Xin gently put a finger to his lips and whispered, “Be quiet. They’re paying us…”

…

After escorting Lu Xin downstairs and arranging a car to take him home, Chen Jing walked slowly back to the previously empty conference room, lost in thought. Lu Xin’s answers seemed to trigger a flurry of particularly complex ideas in her mind.

Regarding Lu Xin’s ability to see those sources of contamination, or his belief that he directly saw the monster itself – she hadn’t known about this.

Frankly, this represented a gap in her working knowledge.

But there was nothing she could do. Lu Xin’s specific condition probably required the resources of the Main City for comprehensive assessment.

Yet Lu Xin’s psychic state made her wary of taking the risk to send him there.

Furthermore, Lu Xin’s performance during this mission evoked even more conflicting feelings within her.

Diversity in abilities often signifies another elevation in the risk of loss of control.

But this young man had saved three of their members during a dangerous contamination incident.

Or rather, prevented them from killing three of their own.

…

“Being able to see psychic entities isn’t a unique case. In fact, during a full moon on clear nights when the Crimson Moon shines brightly, many people have claimed to see shapes of mutated spiritual entities. Some resembled ghosts, others turned into all sorts of twisted monsters. This, actually, is the origin of the term “psychic entity.”

“However, strictly speaking, they shouldn’t be “seeing” it, but sensing it. Because the energy level of those contamination sources is so high, it affects our brains, distorting our vision, causing those images to manifest…”

“Precisely because of this, no photographic equipment has ever been able to capture a concrete image. This has been confirmed.”

“And so far, images of the monsters have all been produced through manual sketches, with limited reference value.”

“Additionally, one more point is worth mentioning: the appearances of psychic entities witnessed by different people at the same time are also mostly vague and impossible to describe accurately. For the same psychic entity, some might say it looks like a ghost, while others might claim they saw Ultraman…”

“……”

A woman’s voice suddenly rang out in the empty conference room. It was Sergeant Han Bing.

Chen Jing rubbed the bridge of her nose, then reached for the window and pressed a button.

Projection equipment on all four walls of the office activated. The projected light instantly outlined one after another faint blue, yet lifelike, life-size human figures within the empty room.

The entire office seemed to have abruptly filled with people.

To an outsider, it would surely appear incredibly bizarre.

Just two streets away from this Guard Bureau were neighborhoods without functioning phones or consistent access to water and electricity.

Yet within this Guard Bureau conference room, they had restored pre-Cataclysm level, high-end holographic projection technology.

“But his case is clearly different…”

A man wearing a white lab coat and glasses spoke up, “Not only does he see them, but in his eyes, he can discern every minute detail. From four or five meters away, he could determine whether our three team members were restrained or already contaminated.”

“This goes far beyond mere hallucination. I rather suspect it’s because his psychic magnitude is exceptionally high, granting him extreme sensitivity to fluctuations and changes in psychic energy. Then, within his chaotic consciousness, it manifests as him ‘seeing’ the monster!”

“Preliminary assessment leads me to suspect his psychic magnitude may very likely have reached three hundred units… perhaps higher!”

“……”

The atmosphere in the office suddenly turned quiet.

Clearly, a mutant in the initial mutation phase, who hadn’t even undergone guidance, possessing a psychic magnitude over three hundred units – this was an exceedingly significant matter. Everyone needed a moment to process, analyze, and make their judgments.