Chapter 111: Containing the Blast
by xennovel“What was that just now…”
Just as the Human-faced Monster began to blur as if about to dissipate, Gecko, who had retreated but remained near the battlefield, suddenly jumped up in alarm. He whipped his head around to look towards the High Wall.
After carefully sensing the situation, he muttered, “I felt a collapse of mental power… That Human-faced Monster…”
“…is about to explode.”
…
His expression twisted as he said this, the implications clearly unsettling him.
“What’s the mental monster’s psychic level now?”
Tie Cui’s calm, quick voice came over the channel.
Gecko checked the detector in his hand. “Even from three kilometers away, I’m detecting residual psychic energy close to a hundred,” he reported quietly. “We can infer the monster under the High Wall still has a level over two thousand… That’s surprisingly low. When we left, its level was constantly rising, nearly four thousand…”
“‘So, Lone Soldier managed to cut its psychic level in half in such a short time?'”
…
“‘But even a level of two thousand could have terrifying consequences…'”
Tie Cui, after some rapid calculations, finished his thought, “If a psychic level of two thousand explodes… even if the monster has no other pollution traits, just a warped mental force field erupting instantly…”
She paused slightly before adding in a low voice, “It would be almost equivalent to ten kilograms of high-explosive TNT!”
“And the worst part is the explosion would create a Mental Plague, twisting minds. The radiation would cover a radius of over three kilometers. Within that range, all ordinary people would die instantly or be warped into new pollution sources…”
…
Gecko jumped up, startled. “Should we request the Special Task Force?”
“It’s too late for them to intervene now…” Tie Cui replied softly.
“No need!”
Han Bing’s steady voice suddenly cut into their channel.
“‘Why?’ Tie Cui asked instinctively.”
“Because I’ve been waiting on the channel, and Mr. Lone Soldier hasn’t asked for help yet.”
Han Bing’s voice was soft and gentle. “Mr. Lone Soldier is very reliable. If he hasn’t asked for help, it means he can handle it!”
Gecko was momentarily speechless.
Just then, a distinct tremor shook the ground and the building he was on, a tangible vibration, not a psychic one. After a stunned moment, Gecko scrambled up the building face, reaching the rooftop in one breath, and anxiously looked towards the South Wall.
There were no flames near the South Wall, just a large cloud of dust rising into the air.
Unable to see clearly, Gecko nervously glanced back at the detector in his palm.
On the instrument’s dial, slick with sweat, the reading for residual psychic energy was dropping rapidly.
“This is…”
Gecko froze on the spot.
“Report: Psychic levels in the Second Satellite City’s South Wall area are dropping rapidly!”
“Mental radiation is disappearing, approaching zero!”
“Requesting instructions, should we enter the scene?”
…
Similar reports and inquiries echoed across Qinggang City.
What followed was an anxious wait, filled with uncertainty for many.
No doubt many people in various places were struggling, unsure of the next step.
Gecko was the first to receive orders: “Approval granted. Gecko, proceed to the scene for assessment…”
Gecko acknowledged immediately. Just as he was about to move, Tie Cui’s hesitant voice came through again, “…Be careful!”
Gecko paused, then laughed loudly. “Okay, Linda.”
…
…
As his voice faded, Gecko shot off like a black shadow, racing towards the High Wall.
He vaulted over numerous walls and ruined buildings, a ghost under the Red Moon.
Five minutes later, he reached the edge of the wasteland beneath the High Wall. He scanned the area first, confirming no trace of the mental monster remained, before speeding up again, rushing into the wasteland to search.
He saw countless people lying silently and chaotically on the ground beneath the High Wall.
On the other side, a large number of people were still standing. Unlike before when they all just stood there watching the wall and weeping, now some were regaining consciousness, looking around in confusion.
Some opened their eyes only to be confronted by the field of bodies, fainting immediately from the shock.
Others cried out in terror, pushing and stumbling as they tried to flee.
Fear and confusion hung over everyone like a dark cloud.
…
…
Ignoring the crowd, Gecko quickly moved through them. He spotted Lu Xin sitting on a large rock that had been thrust up from underground, his head bowed. At his feet was a terrifyingly large crater. The sides showed earth and rubble blasted upwards and overturned by immense force—a shocking sight.
“Brother, you okay?”
Gecko cautiously approached Lu Xin. He picked up a thin stick from the ground and gently poked him.
“Hm?”
Lu Xin, lost in thought, snapped his head up, making Gecko jump back.
“Oh, you’re here…”
Seeing it was Gecko, Lu Xin relaxed and smiled. “It should be resolved now. Ask the Support Team to come in!”
“Oh…”
Gecko agreed hesitantly. Seeing Lu Xin lower his head again, he couldn’t help but swallow nervously. “What are you doing?”
Lu Xin slowly turned around. He was holding a mangled headset and the shattered remains of a detector, trying to piece them together. Unfortunately, both were too badly broken to be repaired.
“The headset’s broken, and I stepped on the detector…”
Lu Xin sounded a bit troubled as he murmured.
After a moment, he looked up worriedly. “Headquarters won’t make me pay for these, will they?”
…
Faced with this unexpected question, Gecko didn’t know how to respond. He ended up answering honestly, almost instinctively, “If you don’t explicitly report that *you* broke them, they probably won’t make you pay…”
Lu Xin seemed slightly relieved and finally gave up trying to put the pieces back together.
Gecko, still somewhat dazed, walked around the large crater, which measured four or five meters in diameter.
He silently estimated the energy required to create such a hole, then glanced at the panicked crowd running behind Lu Xin.
He crouched thoughtfully beside the crater. “Brother, how did this happen?”
Lu Xin glanced at it. “It was the mental monster. It suddenly exploded, like a bomb.”
“It certainly looks that way.”
Gecko nodded seriously. Then he looked up again, his eyes full of fear. “Then…”
“How did you manage to concentrate its explosive power into just this small area?”
…
Lu Xin looked up at Gecko.
The astonishing scene from moments before flashed through his mind.
It was Sister. Just as the mental monster was about to explode, unleashing a warped and terrifying force field, she had split her small body apart. The twisted mental monster she had polluted did the same. Using their divided forms, they enveloped the Human-faced Monster, preventing its explosive power from spreading, concentrating it instead into a single point.
How much power would that require?
Honestly, he found it quite strange himself.
But he looked at his sister, who was now grinning, holding his arm as if expecting praise.
Lu Xin didn’t answer directly.
…
…
“You just need to gather the explosive power, wrap it up, and that solves it.”
Lu Xin replied softly, looking up at Gecko. “Can’t you guys do that?”
Gecko slowly and seriously shook his head.
Lu Xin looked thoughtful. “Then this must be…”
“Brother, I know the rules…”
Gecko held up a hand, stopping Lu Xin, and finished his sentence for him, “So this must be *our* problem, right?”
Lu Xin nodded and smiled.