Chapter 101: Mechanical Tears

Although he was awake now, Lu Xin still remembered the faint sound of crying.

If he listened carefully, he could pinpoint its location.

The crying sound was like a barely perceptible thread weaving through the countless people around him.

Lu Xin followed the sound, quickening his pace.

He planned to follow this thread that connected everyone, this network, and trace it back from one point to another until he found the origin, the core key influencing everyone.

This method of transmission truly resembled Special Pollution Source 072, which he had dealt with before.

Number 072 had generated an extremely fearful emotion just before death. Lacking self-awareness, that fear began to spread uncontrollably, affecting the entire building and even the whole residential area.

That pollution source spread an emotion of fear.

But this crying sound was spreading an emotion that plunged people into endless sorrow…

And no matter how you looked at it, this crying sound was many times stronger than Pollution Source 072.

It seemed like it had undergone some refined processing, making it harder to detect, yet the intensity of the pollution was far more severe…

“Is this a coincidence, or was Special Pollution Source 072 just an experiment?”

The thought flashed through Lu Xin’s mind.

…

…

“What’s he doing?”

Gecko, positioned atop the high wall, stared blankly.

But no one answered him. The soldiers on the wall were already looking expectantly at him, hoping for an explanation.

And although Linda in the comms channel could see some of the scene through the camera on Gecko’s chest, the distance was too great and the lighting unstable. She couldn’t make out Lu Xin’s actions clearly, nor could she offer an explanation.

“Mr. Lone Soldier reports detecting traces of pollution!”

Tie Cui’s voice came through the channel, sounding somewhat grave. “According to Mr. Lone Soldier’s dedicated information officer, he’s already sensing some kind of mental influence. He’s attempting to track it, searching for the pollution’s source…”

“He can do that?”

Gecko was dumbfounded. “Is he a walking human mental detector?”

“Shut up!”

Linda, channeling Tie Cui, snapped back, “Maintain alert immediately and help him guard against surrounding dangers.”

“Alright, just one question…”

Gecko agreed, then asked curiously, “Is Mr. Lone Soldier’s information officer pretty?”

Tie Cui was momentarily stunned by the question before retorting irritably, “She’s the belle of our Information Analysis Team. What do you think? Pretty?”

“Ooh…”

Gecko sounded surprised, then suddenly a little worried. “She doesn’t have kids, does she…”

Tie Cui was speechless for a moment before replying coldly, “Technically, she’s still a kid herself!”

“Tsk tsk, now I feel much more balanced…”

Gecko was still muttering, but his actions didn’t falter. He unslung the long box from his back, and with a series of clicks and clacks, assembled it into a cold, precise sniper rifle about a meter long. He then lay prone on the high wall, aiming the barrel steadily around Lu Xin. To be safe, he even attached the aiming scope this time.

…

…

Following the faint, barely-there sensation, Lu Xin soon arrived before a sunken area.

He walked among the few people standing there, circled around, then stepped back a few paces, stopping in front of one person.

He was looking for the crying boy, but strangely, this person wasn’t a boy.

It was a man who looked to be around thirty years old, with a thick beard. His expression was no different from those around him; he stood quietly, looking up at the high wall, faint tear tracks on his face. His skin had a strange, plastic-like texture.

Lu Xin stood before him, watching him quietly.

The man, however, just stared motionlessly at the high wall.

Lu Xin observed him for a long time, finally convinced that this person resembled someone he had seen before.

Qin Ran!

This was a bearded, thinner version of the Qin Ran he had met previously, one that seemed utterly lifeless.

Lu Xin was certain he had found the key.

At this distance, he could clearly sense that the crying sound he heard originated from within this man. Strangely enough, Qin Ran looked like a robust man between thirty and forty, and he wasn’t moving his mouth at all, not even slightly, yet the crying emanated from inside him.

A grown man’s body emitting the faint cries of a little boy created an uncanny sense of grotesqueness.

…

…

“I’ve found the core key of this pollution.”

Lu Xin spoke softly into the channel. “Ready for cleanup anytime…”

As he spoke, he adjusted the camera on his left shoulder so Han Bing could see more clearly.

“Analyzing target data. Mr. Lone Soldier, advise temporary retreat and maintain vigilance…”

Han Bing’s slightly nervous reminder sounded in the channel, accompanied by the sound of data transmission.

Lu Xin took a deep breath, slowly stepped back, his eyes fixed on this Qin Ran.

…

…

*Click… clack… click…*

But before Han Bing could provide any analysis results, before Lu Xin even made a move,

the ‘Qin Ran’ before him suddenly emitted faint mechanical whirring sounds from within his head, like countless tiny gears gently turning. Immediately after, a seam appeared horizontally across the middle of Qin Ran’s plastic-textured head, running from his left earlobe to his right, bisecting his nose and neatly dividing his face into upper and lower halves.

Then, the upper half of his head suddenly popped open like a lid.

Lu Xin looked inside his head. There were no brains or blood.

There was only a white sphere flashing with a faint blue light, possessing a distinctly high-tech feel.

Two thin, translucent wings popped out from the sides of the sphere and began vibrating rapidly. It then flew out from ‘Qin Ran’s’ cranial cavity into the air. The faint crying sound was indeed coming from this white sphere…

Lu Xin frowned deeply, staring at the winged sphere.

“Not a little boy, just something playing a crying sound…”

“That crying… was actually recorded?”

Lu Xin was somewhat surprised. He had considered what the pollution source might be like, but he never expected it to be so technological.

“What is this?”

…

In the channel, Han Bing’s voice suddenly hitched.

Instantly, her voice became tense. “Mr. Lone Soldier, be careful…”

“That’s a product of the Technology Church…”

…

*Beep beep beep—Beep!*

At that exact moment, the small white sphere hovered in the air, its flashing blue light suddenly elongating.

Simultaneously, a faint synthesized electronic voice emanated from within.

“Anomaly detected nearby. Initiating experiment phase two ahead of schedule!”

As the voice sounded, two black openings cracked open on the white sphere’s shell, and silver tentacles extended out.

The next moment, an intense and terrifying blue electrical current suddenly surged outwards.

In an instant, this current engulfed the four people nearby, including Lu Xin.