Chapter 79: Clarifying Responsibilities
Chapter 79: Clarifying Responsibilities
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat……
The violent gunfire noise saturated every inch of the surrounding space.
The flickering gun muzzles alternately lit and darkened the area, rapidly crisscrossing.
Those who had followed Mr. Xu were all highly-trained Private Armed Forces.
Upon charging forward, they instinctively formed a line and fired ruthlessly at Lu Xin with precise, vicious shots. Yet in their sight, Lu Xin faced their bullets with what looked like excitement, twisted bizarrely mid-air to shift horizontally several meters, making the bullets hit only empty space.
As they frantically adjusted their muzzles to track him, he rapidly closed in.
Under the gleam of gunfire and surrounding streetlamps, his figure was fast and eerie, trailing afterimages. The leftmost Armed Personnel urgently swung his muzzle toward Lu Xin. But the moment he aimed, Lu Xin was already before him — his face pressing against the gun barrel.
The man panicked, jerking the trigger.
Lu Xin, still aimed at, revealed a bone-chilling smile. He tilted his head, avoiding the roaring bullet, then seized the man’s arm. Instantly, the Armed Personnel felt his right arm turn ice-cold, as if invaded by frost, losing all control. Enraged and terrified, his left hand darted down to draw the Dagger at his thigh.
Yet as he drew it, his unresponsive right hand had already pulled the Handgun from his waist and fired at his own left arm.
His hands were now fighting each other, viciously violent.
Soon, it wasn’t just his hands. His legs tangled together, his torso twisting into a grotesquely folded shape — as if his right shoulder had fallen in love with his left lower abdomen, his left rib embracing his right cheek……
……
The other Armed Personnel watched in indescribable horror as a Shadow flashed by and the leftmost comrade became a contorted mass. Overwhelmed, they stopped worrying about hitting allies and opened fire in that direction.
But their comrade was riddled like a sieve, while the black Shadow vanished.
Frantic, they searched their surroundings until someone suddenly looked up. Lu Xin was standing among them!
Even a playful grin lingered on his face.
Everyone jolted backward in shock, raising their guns.
But at that instant, Lu Xin’s freakishly abnormal Shadow swept through their ranks.
Crackle……
One screamed and slashed at the Shadow with his Dagger. Yet his neck went cold — for his arm had unnaturally twisted backward. He thought he was thrusting forward, but in reality, he was slashing violently toward his own throat……
Another swept his gun wildly, but the gunfire burst from behind him.
Glancing down, he realized his neck had been rotated 180 degrees — he was now facing backward.
The sheer cacophony of moments like that seemed to reach an impossible peak.
The once-quiet Villa entrance exploded into an overlapping chaos of gunshots, screams, and bullet-pocked ground.
All transformed into bizarre, writhing puppets — like helpless Toys.
Amid it all, someone faintly caught the sound of a little girl’s laugh.
……
As abruptly as the gunfire began, the eerie silence also took hold.
Nearly seven or eight Bodyguards lay twisted on the ground. Some were mute; others clung to life, minds shattered by the sight.
“Hehe, fun, so much fun……”
Lu Xin stood amid the jumble of twisted Armed Squad members, strewn Handgun components, Daggers, shell casings, and human parts. He turned to glance at Little Sister. She crouched beside him, eyes glittering blackly. Gently clapping, she surveyed the chaos around her like an art piece she’d crafted, ecstatic.
Sensing his gaze, she lifted her little face, suddenly wary.
As if fearing Lu Xin might scold her.
But after watching her for a moment, Lu Xin merely bent to gently pat her head. No praise — yet no reproach.
Only then did he turn to scan the surroundings.
……
To others, Lu Xin had just shifted from an aberrant figure back to normalcy almost instantly. It was as if he’d never moved at all — as if that horrifying, unearthly Shadow bore no connection to him.
He cautiously lifted his foot, avoiding the Armed Personnel on the ground like someone stepping past scattered debris.
Then he walked toward Mr. Xu and his daughter on the Villa’s steps.
BANG……
A gunshot erupted behind him. Lu Xin whirled around with unnatural speed.
It was the Butler, who had fallen earlier. After struggling for so long, he’d accidentally pulled the trigger.
Thus, the gun perpetually aimed at his own forehead finally claimed his life.
Lu Xin relaxed and continued walking forward.
…
…
“Mr. Lone Soldier…”
A trembling voice suddenly sounded from the side.
Lu Xin paused slightly, turned his head, and looked towards him.
The speaker was Manager Liu (the fat one). Meeting Lu Xin’s gaze, he also instinctively took a step back.
He had seen some Ability Users before and even witnessed them solving problems privately. But obviously, the abilities of those Ability Users he had encountered were either magical or bizarre, always leaving him amazed. However, today, what he came across was something that truly made him feel fear—a fear that chilled to the bone…
It was as if that person was just calmly watching him now, not seeming angry or hostile.
But he could vaguely sense a creeping feeling all over.
As if being watched by something dangerous.
“Mr. Lone Soldier, I want to say…”
He paused, forcing his voice not to tremble: “For any issue, it’s better for everyone to discuss it properly. Mr. Xu holds high status in the Main City. We should settle matters with reason… That’s always better than causing a mess nobody can handle…”
Lu Xin listened, a surprised expression appearing on his face: “Was I not being reasonable?”
“No… I didn’t mean that…”
Manager Liu (the fat one) hurriedly explained: “I meant that we didn’t have to reach this point.”
Lu Xin frowned, then looked at the daughter held in Mr. Xu’s arms and said: “She pointed a gun at me first.”
After a pause, he added: “And she really intended to shoot at that moment.”
“This… yes, it was Miss Xu’s fault…”
Manager Liu (the fat one) stammered, not denying it, and struggled to explain:
“But with your ability, subduing her would have been easy. There was no need… to ruin her hand.”
Lu Xin frowned, seeming to ponder the issue.
He thought for a moment before replying earnestly: “Are you saying I should have given her a pass?”
Manager Liu (the fat one) froze for a second, struggling to process it, but it seemed like the logic made sense…
Lu Xin shook his head: “I have the ability, but that doesn’t mean I should yield to her.”
“She and I are equal. I shouldn’t bully her with my ability, and she shouldn’t bully me for lacking one.”
“Right?”
“…”
Lu Xin spoke these words very seriously.
Although he felt Little Sister had gone a bit too far, he knew he shouldn’t blame her or push the problem onto her. After all, it was important to draw clear lines, and another point: without Little Sister helping him, he would just be an ordinary person. Since he was also ordinary, why should he have to yield to her?
No one should bully anyone—that was true fairness.
“This…”
Facing Lu Xin’s earnest words, Manager Liu (the fat one) seemed clearly stunned.
After a while, he could only sigh: “Even so, with things at this stage, it’s still messy…”
“Right…”
Lu Xin nodded unexpectedly and said: “If everyone had reasoned, this wouldn’t have happened. I would’ve helped her with the Contamination and solved the Source of Contamination… I wouldn’t even charge extra… Her hand wouldn’t be hurt, that Butler on the second floor wouldn’t be dead, these Bodyguards wouldn’t be in trouble, and you wouldn’t have to worry so much here…”
“It’s all turned out like this…”
He glanced at the father and daughter Xu and said: “They need to reflect on themselves!”
“…”
Manager Liu (the fat one) had nothing to say.
He vaguely felt something was off, but Lu Xin’s words made logical sense.
Seeing no response, Lu Xin continued walking forward.
“You…”
Only when Lu Xin stood before him did Mr. Xu react.
He clung tightly to his daughter, shrinking backward, and called out hoarsely: “What do you want?”
“You… Do you really think just because you joined that department, you can… run wild?”
“…”
“I don’t think I’m running wild…”
Lu Xin looked at him calmly and said: “I’m saving your lives. Whatever that painting you’re hiding is, or whatever you plan to do with it—none of it matters. I only know this: that painting isn’t something you can casually handle. If a real problem occurs, it won’t just be you affected.”
“So even if you try to stop me, I’ll still step in.”
As he said this, he glanced at Manager Liu (the fat one) and added: “After all, yours is just a private affair.”
“And dealing with these is part of my job!”
“…”
“You… How did you find out?”
Mr. Xu stiffened, suddenly realizing Lu Xin had mentioned the painting, and his expression turned drastic.
“Now, I need to discuss something else with you.”
Lu Xin didn’t answer his question, merely looking at him seriously: “By the rules, I can’t ignore you hiding the Source of Contamination. If you had cooperated, we could have sorted this smoothly. Then I would’ve helped keep your identity or other details confidential as per the contract. But you’re being uncooperative.”
“So I must report this to the leader.”
“Since you resisted first, reporting it doesn’t mean I broke the contract…”
“Is that clear to you?”
“…”
Lu Xin spoke these words earnestly.
After all, breaching the contract meant no payment.
Clarifying responsibility was crucial.