Chapter 103: The Face Collector

“A Mental Monster has appeared. Recommend immediate elimination.”

Han Bing’s voice echoed through the channel.

Lu Xin nodded, understanding her words.

He still didn’t really know what kind of organization the Technology Church was, nor why Han Bing reacted so nervously upon seeing this small white ball, a “suspected creation of the Technology Church”. But that didn’t stop him from doing his job.

Normally, one would need to find its Logic Chain and Core Key, then eliminate the Mental Monster.

But now that the Mental Monster had already manifested, simply eliminating it would alleviate the situation.

…

…

With that thought, Lu Xin leaped high into the air.

Sister perched on his shoulder, making him as agile as a spider.

Almost instantly after launching himself upwards, he reached the Mental Monster. Facing the grotesque faces on its body all screaming silently at him, Lu Xin simply frowned and tore downwards with both hands.

“Tear!”

He grabbed two of the faces, using them as leverage to rip the creature apart.

The dull sound, like thick paper being torn, must have been some sort of auditory hallucination.

Normally, tearing a Mental Monster wouldn’t produce any sound.

But this Mental Monster was clearly ripped in two. It seemed to feel fear and pain, rapidly fleeing in opposite directions. It was one monster, but now it looked as if Lu Xin had instantly torn it into two…

Lu Xin hesitated for just a moment before Gecko’s voice came through the channel.

“Bro, I’ll take the one on the left.”

Tie Cui must have helped patch Gecko’s channel through.

Lu Xin immediately nodded. Planting his feet on the shoulders of the people standing around like wooden stakes, he pushed off and dashed forward. Moving with incredible speed, he reached the right “half” of the monster in just a few steps, simultaneously reaching out to grab it.

Mental Monsters also possess life characteristics and stable structures.

Tearing them apart to a certain degree will cause them to dissipate.

“Bang!”

At the same time, a gunshot rang out from a distance.

The monster fleeing to the left was instantly hit by a bullet.

The bullet looked strange—about a finger’s length, entirely black, lacking any metallic sheen. It looked more like solidified ink.

When this bullet struck the Mental Monster, it suddenly disintegrated. Simultaneously, intense electrical arcs intertwined and spread instantly, forming a massive ball of electricity that enveloped most of the Mental Monster.

That half of the Mental Monster melted and disintegrated like ice dropped into boiling water.

…

…

“Ah, these Electric Plasma Bullets developed by the Moon Eclipse Research Institute really work wonders. Too bad you can’t just apply for them whenever…”

Gecko’s laughter could be heard over the channel: “Linda, tell them I fired two shots when we get back, okay?”

Linda’s cold voice carried a hint of relief: “Don’t corrupt the newcomer and the underage girl…”

“Who’s the underage girl?”

The question flashed through Lu Xin’s mind.

At the same time, he had already leaped above the Mental Monster in front of him, hands reaching down.

Gecko had said before that Spider-type Ability Users should use guns.

There was some truth to that.

For example, his current speed at clearing the monster was clearly slower than Gecko’s.

Although he hadn’t received much training yet, he could already identify some issues. Compared to Doll and Drunkard, Spider-types like himself and Gecko had abilities more focused on enhancing themselves, making it difficult to handle large-scale situations. Of course, the Spider-type also had its advantages, like high adaptability allowing the use of various weapons.

The only pity was that Sister didn’t like guns.

…

…

“Rip…”

As the thought crossed his mind, Lu Xin grabbed the Mental Monster and pulled hard.

This Mental Monster seemed weaker than the one in the coffee shop, even weaker than the 041 Human-shaped Fruit Tree related to Qin Ran. It showed no desire to fight back and wasn’t very sturdy. Lu Xin caught it as planned, tearing off most of its body in one go. It looked like only a small piece of the monster remained.

Shape-wise, only one complete human form, three hands, and four feet were left.

Fragmented and strangely bizarre.

But what Lu Xin hadn’t expected was that the remaining one-and-a-half faces on the small piece of the Mental Monster suddenly opened their mouths wide, as if letting out pained screams. Simultaneously, it scrambled forward quickly, using the “human pillars” below as footholds.

Wherever it crawled, faces with various expressions were continuously pulled out from the people below and merged into its body, causing it to rapidly grow larger again. Those whose face-like objects were taken collapsed silently to the ground. As it crawled onward, people fell like dominoes while it grew bigger and bigger.

“Something’s wrong…”

Seeing this, Lu Xin was suddenly alarmed and spoke in a low voice.

Han Bing asked nervously over the channel, “What is it?”

…

…

“Wait, how is this monster getting bigger again?”

Gecko, up on the High Wall, seemed to have noticed the problem too, exclaiming in surprise, “The readings on the detection device are climbing higher and higher…”

“This Mental Monster seems capable of devouring the mental power of the people around it…”

Lu Xin realized the problem, tension showing on his face as he accelerated towards the monster.

“Swish…”

He quickly caught up behind the monster, tearing forcefully at its body again.

He tore off another piece, but the monster didn’t even look back, just charged rapidly into the crowd. Beneath the High Wall, the dense mass of people became like an ocean for it. It plunged headfirst into this ocean, and wherever it passed, mental power was ripped from each person, becoming another face on its body. This caused its form to grow larger and larger.

The faces on its body multiplied. Every piece Lu Xin tore off was replaced by even more merging into it.

Many faces even turned to look at Lu Xin, showing expressions of excitement or anger, some even sticking their tongues out at him.

“A growth-type monster…”

“If it can grow by merging with the mental power of the crowd below the High Wall, doesn’t that mean…”

…

The voices from the Information Analysis Team on the channel also sounded somewhat surprised.

Tie Cui was already shouting anxiously, “Impossible! No Mental Monster can absorb others’ mental power that quickly! The higher the Pollution Level, the easier it is to merge with other mental power, but even an A-level Pollution Level shouldn’t allow this…”

“Well, it is related to the Technology Church. A little weirdness is normal…”

Gecko’s voice rang out urgently, “But you guys better find the reason quickly! I’ve got a bad feeling about this…”

At the same time, dull and terrifying gunshots echoed.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

More and more bullets flew from Gecko’s gun, striking the Mental Monster.

Each bullet that hit formed a dazzling sphere of electrical arcs on the monster, vaporizing a part of its body. And each time Lu Xin grabbed it, he could tear off another piece. But even with their combined efforts, the monster’s body continued to grow relentlessly. From the initial four or five faces, it swelled to dozens, then scores…

In almost no time, the monster had grown to be three or four meters tall and seven or eight meters long. It was a grotesque patchwork of human faces, each bearing a different expression, constantly writhing and struggling.

“Psychic Power three hundred…”

“Five hundred…”

“One thousand…”

…

At the edge of this wasteland, a team specifically tasked with monitoring Psychic Power levels watched their instrument panels. Their expressions were as if they’d seen a ghost, and their voices sounded unnaturally strained.

“Not good! This Mental Monster’s level is about to break two thousand…”

“My god, wouldn’t that make it C-level…”

“At this growth rate, I suspect it’ll reach B-level in five minutes, and A-level in twenty!”

“Stop suspecting! Send a level one alert to Headquarters immediately…!”