Chapter 19: Tracing the Source

Under Chen Jing’s command the entire Investigation Team sprang into action.

Qin Ran seemed genuinely stunned now. He warily eyed the three armed personnel his gaze filled with deep apprehension. With his seasoned experience he could naturally tell these fully equipped soldiers were different from the desperate outlaws he’d seen in the Wasteland and unlike the Security Hall officers or patrol teams he usually dealt with in the Satellite City.

He subtly signaled his subordinates not to approach ordering them to stay put and wait quietly.

And when Lu Xin asked him about killing Cui Wang and where he’d dumped the body he answered immediately.

“Proceed immediately to investigate! Bring the relevant individual Qin Ran to prevent any suspicion of him hiding the truth!”

Han Bing’s voice came through the headset.

Hearing her words Lu Xin immediately instructed the armed personnel “Get in the car!”

Then he nodded at Qin Ran “You’re coming too!”

The armed personnel acted instantly. One went to start the car while the other two moved behind Qin Ran.

Qin Ran glanced at the cold submachine guns cradled in their arms then turned to look at Lu Xin. Suddenly he clenched his jaw. It was unclear what this man from the Wasteland was thinking but without saying a word he followed them into the Jeep.

As they drove through the front yard the nominal manager hurried forward a few steps calling out “Big Brother…”

“Just wait!”

Qin Ran yelled back at them through the window.

The armed personnel in the car completely ignored the reactions of Qin Ran and the Sifang Transport Company or perhaps simply didn’t care.

Lu Xin also kept quiet as no instructions came through his headset.

He could feel the dynamic shift the moment these three Investigation Team members reported to him.

Although there were only three members in the Investigation Team while Qin Ran had over ten times that number of subordinates the swift efficiency and live ammunition of these clearly highly trained armed personnel made it obvious. If conflict broke out Qin Ran’s men rushing forward together would just be cannon fodder. The gap between the two sides was far too apparent.

Qin Ran must have realized this disparity too because he became very cooperative.

Yet subtly Lu Xin felt that these three from the Investigation Team seemed somewhat wary of him…

For instance the youngest-looking soldier kept stealing glances at him when he thought Lu Xin wasn’t looking.

But the moment Lu Xin met his gaze he would…

Lu Xin suddenly turned his head towards the left window. The young soldier by the window snapped his head away instantly.

Cradling his gun he sat bolt upright!

…

…

The car headed towards the South City area. Here lay a vast expanse of abandoned factory buildings interspersed with chaotic small roads. Waist-high weeds grew everywhere amidst haphazard piles of concrete rubble and dirt. In the distance one could see half-finished constructions and even tall rusted iron frameworks abandoned long ago. The entire area was utterly desolate devoid of any human presence.

The road was difficult but their modified Jeeps were well-suited for traversing such complex terrain.

“It’s just ahead!”

Qin Ran pointed to a more specific location from the car. He seemed nervous talking more than usual “The deal happened behind that dirt mound. That’s where I shot Old Cui. He seemed drunk at the time but nothing else seemed off… The body disposal site is behind that patch of grass. There are often packs of wild dogs there!”

“Recommend immediate mental power scans of these two locations and a 300-meter radius around them!”

Han Bing’s voice came through the headset.

“Agreed!”

Chen Jing immediately added “The emergence of a mental pollution source while different from ordinary pollution incidents still leaves traces. The most crucial part of handling a mental pollution incident is finding the source. This source often begins with intense mental fluctuations. When a person is killed their mental state fluctuates violently. Most post-mortem mutation events start from this point!”

“Of course limited data also suggests some mutations occur because the corpse is stimulated after death!”

“…”

In fact the three armed personnel in the car also wore headsets so they had already heard the suggestion from the Information Analysis Team.

Therefore after getting out of the car they simply glanced questioningly at Lu Xin. Seeing no objection from him they began their work.

Lu Xin knew this was a learning opportunity and watched their actions intently.

He watched them skillfully retrieve a black case from the car. After opening a complex lock with a code they revealed its contents: a device entirely silver shaped like a rectangular satellite phone. Four metal pillars on top supported a ring and an alarm unit making it look somewhat like the metal detectors seen in old movies on TV.

Then one person remained stationed while the other two took out specialized helmets. They were round thick and had transparent face shields. What surprised Lu Xin most was that the bulk of these helmets seemed to be made of a special kind of glass.

“The instrument they’re using now is a simple mental power detector only recently put into use!”

Chen Jing continued lecturing Lu Xin over the channel “Mental power itself is invisible or rather the mental power of ordinary people hardly affects instruments enough to be observed. However some mutated pollution sources or mutators have mental power exceeding a certain threshold. Coupled with some new superconducting materials from the Moon Eclipse Research Institute this has made detection a reality!”

“However these instruments are still in the research and testing phase. They can sense abnormalities in mental power but lack precision!”

“And the helmets they’re wearing are a protective measure against abnormal mental pollution. As mentioned in the file I gave you earlier glass is currently the best material we’ve found for blocking the spread of the mental plague!”

“…”

Lu Xin just gave a quiet “Mm.”

He didn’t dare admit that he’d mainly focused on the sections about salary and allowances in those files.

The inspection of the two locations mentioned by Qin Ran—the murder site and the disposal site—along with their surroundings was completed quickly. The Investigation Team even found some suspected skeletal remains of Cui Wang but detected no abnormal mental power.

“Are you sure these are the two places?”

Lu Xin turned to Qin Ran confirming one more time.

Qin Ran’s face was grim harboring deep fear “My life is on the line do you think I’d lie?”

Lu Xin didn’t think Qin Ran was hiding anything either. He also didn’t doubt the Investigation Team personnel’s readings because when he looked towards those two areas himself he didn’t sense anything unusual—unlike in the Coffee Shop or when he first met Qin Ran where he could clearly see distinctly abnormal monstrous entities resembling mutated flesh.

This highlighted the importance of the Information Analysis Team.

Lu Xin asked directly “What now?”

“If there are no issues at the death site or the disposal site we must consider other factors!”

Corporal Han Bing analyzed calmly over the channel “First how were those people affected?”

“Every pollution source has a certain range of influence. Only those who enter this range become polluted!”

“Based on current data analysis those individuals had no connection to each other and didn’t know one another yet they all became members of the ‘Avengers’. This indicates that the paths of these unrelated people must have intersected at some point before their deaths…”

“The place where their paths crossed is highly likely the source of this pollution incident!”

“Recommend organizing manpower to investigate the identities and pre-death routes of those ‘Avengers’!”