Chapter 47: Countdown of Thirty Seconds

“Proceed with cleaning now…”

Upon hearing the voice transmitted through the channel, Lu Xin’s heart sank slightly. “How to clean it?”

There were nearly a hundred people still in that factory…

“Rest assured, our target isn’t those workers!”

Gecko seemed to have guessed Lu Xin’s thoughts, chuckling in a low voice: “Our job is to cleanse the Source of Contamination, not kill the contaminated. While our top priority is always preventing the spread of Contamination, if we can manage without shedding blood, it’s better not to.”

“Besides, judging from the current situation and the reports from the earlier Investigation Team, the capability of that Source of Contamination is more about influencing people around it, not assimilation. So those workers are only mildly contaminated and can still be saved.”

Lu Xin breathed a small sigh of relief. “So, directly eliminating that factory owner is sufficient?”

Gecko shook his head. “We can’t kill him now. If we kill him, just before death, he might release a Mental Plague. All moderate carriers could uncontrollably surge toward other areas, creating a major hazard for the surrounding region… Although, they probably couldn’t escape either. Look around, you should understand what I mean…”

Lu Xin didn’t even need to look around.

In all directions, darkness swallowed everything. Only sparse street lamps illuminated patch after patch of sickly pale ground.

In that darkness, Lu Xin knew, stood detachment after detachment of heavily armed soldiers, ready for a desperate defense. If the factory workers broke out, rushing towards the perimeter, they would be shot dead instantly. The Satellite City would not permit any to breach the blockade.

Just like inside the coffee shop back then.

Frowning at this thought, he asked, “But we have to clean it immediately, yet we can’t kill him. Then how…”

Gecko chuckled. “Linda, suggestion please.”

Though invisible, Lu Xin could almost picture Tie Cui Linda on the other end wrinkling her brow at this moment. Yet, when it came to the job, she answered with utmost seriousness, “Our mission this time is to sever the Source of Contamination, halt its influence on the workers, and contain it immediately. That way, the Support Team will have a chance to enter the factory building and transport those freed from the Contamination for treatment.”

“So, my suggestion is: use a specialized high-powered tranquilizer gun, resolve this at long range, and force the Source of Contamination into instant unconsciousness!”

She paused briefly, seemingly considering that the Lone Soldier (Lu Xin) was also listening, and as the guided party, he needed to understand the reasoning behind each suggestion. She added an explanation, “Because Zheng Yuanxiong hasn’t completely lost control yet, he still retains some human characteristics. This makes the tranquilizer gun plan feasible. If he were fully in a state of Loss of Control, it would be useless!”

Lu Xin listened attentively and nodded, not thinking about whether Tie Cui Linda could see him or not.

Gecko, listening in, suddenly interjected, “This guy can influence nearly a hundred people at once; that means his Psychic Magnitude won’t be low. He might generate strong Telekinetic Power before the bullet hits him, affecting, or even outright stopping my round.”

In the channel, Tie Cui declared, “Therefore, if you agree to this plan, I will simultaneously order the Support Team to trigger an explosion on the east side of the factory in thirty seconds. The powerful sound and shockwave should distract Zheng Yuanxiong. Even if he manifests Telekinetic Power then, his divided attention would make it unstable.”

“And that will be your moment to fire.”

“But you will only have an instant. The one and only chance.”

“…”

“Heh heh…”

Gecko laughed softly. “Darling Linda, your voice is so lovely…”

A heavy breath hissed through the channel; Tie Cui Linda seemed thoroughly exasperated.

Before she could voice anything, Gecko cheerfully cut in, “Agreed!”

Even as the word left his mouth, he was already opening the long case on his back. Inside lay a sleek and coldly intimidating sniper rifle. Gecko’s hands flew, accompanied by crisp and efficient clicking sounds. In moments, he had assembled various components onto the rifle. The instant the chamber loaded with a round, he hooked his legs over the iron railing and inverted his body.

The dark, ominous muzzle aimed at the factory building three hundred meters away.

In the channel, Linda’s voice became exceptionally calm: “Countdown commences!”

“Thirty…”

“Twenty-nine…”

“…”

Time seemed to slow down. The surrounding world fell into profound silence.

Only Linda’s cool, enunciated numbers in the communication channel, and the faint hum of machinery turning within the factory building three hundred meters away, pierced the quiet.

Lu Xin absorbed it all with deep focus.

Even the Little Sister beside him tilted her head, observing Gecko with apparent curiosity about the procedure unfolding.

Lu Xin now recognized the distinct way Gecko moved – different from his Little Sister. Gecko hung inverted, his legs firmly wrapped around the railing, body pointing downward, rifle aimed at the factory complex. He truly embodied a highly agile and precise spider.

While the Little Sister, simply crouched to the side… seemed mostly just strangely cute.

“Countdown one, prepare!”

As these thoughts raced through Lu Xin’s mind, Linda’s voice in his headset reached the final seconds.

Then, at that exact moment, brilliance erupted in the east.

A titanic roar followed shortly after.

Simultaneously, Lu Xin glimpsed, from the corner of his eye, the slight upward quirk at the corner of Gecko’s mouth.

Click.

The trigger dropped.

Lu Xin instantly shifted his gaze towards the factory building. As his perception focused and narrowed across the distance, he could see the vibrations disturbing the glass within the factory caused by the colossal detonation. The other workers inside remained largely oblivious, continuing their tasks mechanically. However, the factory owner Zheng Yuanxiong stirred slightly. His head turning instinctively towards the source of the explosion.

And in that split second, a bullet shaped like a slender, crimson needle—

Pierced through the glass.

Even three hundred meters away, Lu Xin felt he shouldn’t hear a thing.

Yet he seemed to catch that faint—

Thip.

The scarlet needle struck the back of Zheng Yuanxiong’s collar.

A spray of crimson bloomed.

Even a Tranquilizer Dart, traveling three hundred meters to find its mark, possessed startling force.

Zheng Yuanxiong was sent flying out, sprawling face-down onto the floor.

Around him, lights groaned; plastic conduits warped – everything distorted momentarily in that impact.

He struggled to push himself up, muscles tensing.

But after only a feeble attempt, he slowly went limp again.

The anesthetic proved remarkably potent.

…

“It’s done!”

Gecko instantly retracted the rifle. With a twist, he was upright on the tower’s roof. He grinned, “Linda, what did you want to say to me?”

Some tension seemed to ease in Linda’s voice over the channel, though her tone remained icily professional, “You should proceed to the next phase!”

“Roger that!”

Gecko laughed, rummaging in his backpack. He pulled out a glass-like object, resembling a helmet, and clutched it to his chest.

He threw a grin at Lu Xin. “Let’s move, brother. Time to wrap this up!”

With those words, he straightened his body and—

Simply tipped backwards.

Falling—

Plummeting straight down from the water tower over thirty meters high.