Chapter 195: Decoding the Single Soldier
by xennovel“The ‘True Hometown’ mysterious organization in Satellite City No. 4 has been completely dismantled. An in-depth investigation is underway.”
When Minister Shen strode into the meeting room in Qinggang Main City he found Professor Bai smiling as he reported to Mr. Su.
He paused slightly surprised that Mr. Su had come personally. After a respectful nod he placed his hat on the table and addressed Professor Bai, “You didn’t need to call us over just for this mysterious organization.”
Professor Bai chuckled and had Chen Jing put away the investigation materials concerning the ‘True Hometown’ organization. He then nodded to Minister Shen and Mr. Su pulled out several new files handing one each to them. Keeping one for himself and giving another to Chen Jing he slowly began, “Of course. I asked you here for another much more important matter.”
He gestured for them to look at the files in their hands then slowly continued, “I believe the mystery surrounding Mr. Lone Soldier’s abilities has been solved.”
“What?”
Both Minister Shen who had rushed over and the remarkably composed Mr. Su were clearly taken aback.
They quickly lowered their heads glancing at the files they held.
The first page contained Lu Xin’s profile:
Name: Lu Xin
Codename: Mr. Lone Soldier
Age: 23
Ability: Spider-type (crossed out), followed by ‘Unnamed’
Level: C+ (crossed out)
Loss-of-control risk: 75 (Pending discussion)
…
…
Minister Shen merely scanned it before stating gravely, “75? How could it possibly be that low!”
“Isn’t it still pending discussion?”
Professor Bai settled into his chair putting on a pair of reading glasses. Flipping through the documents he said, “We have to admit one thing. Regarding Mr. Lone Soldier’s loss-of-control risk assessment we’ve never had any substantial evidence. We relied on subjective feelings and judgments to assign him such a high score, far exceeding the standard threshold…”
“But in reality if you look at all the cases he’s handled his completion rate and adherence to regulations make him an anomaly among Ability Users. You can hardly find a single violation in anything he’s managed!”
…
“Actually there are some.”
Chen Jing adjusted the sunglasses on her face adding, “After analyzing his and Gecko’s mission reports I suspect he might be padding his expenses… Of course the amounts are quite interesting. Over several occasions the total sum reaches… several thousand!”
“Err…”
Mr. Su’s expression had been somewhat tense but hearing this he couldn’t help but rub his nose.
Minister Shen however snorted coldly his face stern. “Continue!”
Professor Bai smiled slightly. “In short objectively speaking Mr. Lone Soldier’s risk isn’t high at all. In fact it’s considerably lower than other Ability Users much lower even than Gecko whom we generally consider to have the lowest loss-of-control risk. After all…”
“Gecko’s expense reports are far more inflated than Mr. Lone Soldier’s.”
“And his slightly unusual eagerness towards the opposite sex does make one uneasy at times…”
“Furthermore we have to admit there’s only ever been one reason why Mr. Lone Soldier’s loss-of-control risk was rated so high.”
Professor Bai paused slightly here then stated word by word, “We don’t understand him!”
Mr. Su looked up his curiosity piqued.
Minister Shen also frowned slightly then slowly nodded.
“Mr. Lone Soldier’s ability is strong but we don’t know why it’s so strong.”
“He has repeatedly exceeded our expectations in completing missions but we don’t know how he achieved it.”
“We thought we had categorized and evaluated his abilities but there are always moments where details he inadvertently reveals shatter our classifications and evaluations…”
Professor Bai paused again saying, “This is the real reason we gave him such a high loss-of-control rating!”
“We don’t understand him so we fear him.”
…
The meeting room fell quiet not with oppressive silence but a subtle tension.
Mr. Su broke the silence with a smile nodding, “Putting others aside honestly I personally do feel a bit of that.”
“I’m naturally wary of things or individuals I don’t understand.”
…
Since even he admitted it Minister Shen’s silence served as his agreement.
Professor Bai nodded gently. “I share that sentiment though perhaps due to my personality my curiosity about such unknowns outweighs my fear. That’s why I’ve always wanted to try and uncover Mr. Lone Soldier’s secret…”
“I’ve made numerous hypotheses and deductions during this time which I won’t detail now.”
“What truly helped me figure it out were the reports submitted just recently…”
…
As he spoke he flipped the file in his hand to a specific page showing it to the others.
It was a copy of a report submitted by the Loss-of-control Risk Observation Team.
It meticulously documented Mr. Lone Soldier’s performance during the ‘Ghost’ capture incident and the cleanup of the ‘True Hometown’ mysterious organization in Satellite City No. 4. The level of detail included every word spoken every action taken and every suggestion made by Mr. Lone Soldier when cooperating with Drunkard.
However the final conclusion was what caught their attention most.
“It can be confirmed that Mr. Lone Soldier possesses more than just one ability. His overall abilities are in a chaotic and mixed state!”
…
…
Everyone in the meeting room turned to that page in their files staring at the sentence.
“What… does this prove?”
Minister Shen remained silent for a moment before saying, “From my perspective this only confirms our concerns were justified!”
“The report itself doesn’t prove much but it provides a basis for our analysis!”
Professor Bai stated calmly his expression open, “Previously our concerns about him stemmed mainly from two reasons:
First we suspected he wasn’t truly a Spider-type.
Second we didn’t know if he actually had family members with him…”
…
Professor Bai’s words made everyone present nod lightly.
This was something perfectly clear.
“This report was compiled by integrating information from the Special Cleaning Department’s special evaluation team and Drunkard’s report.”
Professor Bai placed the report on the table reporting calmly:
“The evaluation team sent by the Special Cleaning Department included two senior observers and one highly potential newcomer.”
“This newcomer excels at observation particularly in perceiving and analyzing subtle changes in mental power. They observed Mr. Lone Soldier continuously from the moment he captured the ‘Ghost’ until he dealt with the Ability User from the Locals Association.”
“Additionally when Mr. Lone Soldier decided to go to Satellite City No. 4 I requested Drunkard to observe him as well.”
“Besides the basic loss-of-control risk evaluation and mission completion assessment the most crucial question was…”
Professor Bai’s voice grew slightly heavier here, “…to see if he had family.”
…
…
The expressions of the other three people in the meeting room turned more serious.
Minister Shen in particular looked extremely grave now.
“And the result is… he doesn’t.”
Professor Bai stated the answer directly then continued regardless of their reactions:
“When engaging the two Mental Monsters codenamed ‘Missionaries’ in Satellite City No. 4 Mr. Lone Soldier used his abilities within Drunkard’s influence range.”
“Under those circumstances if he had family present Drunkard would definitely have noticed.”
“Furthermore the observation team analyzed various details from beginning to end. Besides confirming the complex state of Mr. Lone Soldier’s abilities they also determined that his abilities are indeed manifested by himself.”
“We can completely rule out factors like ghost possession influence from strong pollutants or reliance on parasitic items.”
“He unleashed those abilities entirely on his own.”
…
Seeing Professor Bai’s confident demeanor even Minister Shen was slightly stunned.
But he said nothing. Drunkard was reliable and her testimony carried significant weight within the Special Cleaning Department.
“As for his abilities…”
Professor Bai paused slightly before saying, “It’s confirmed he possesses more than just the Spider-type ability.”
“Based on current records…”
“He can control his body like a Spider-type enhancing his flexibility perception and even wound recovery; he can directly ‘see’ Mental Monsters; he can tear apart Mental Monsters with his bare hands; he can remotely track the Knight Orders. Additionally he can even neutralize Mental Pollution Bombs using unknown methods and safely enter and exit Happy Town…”
“Most critically he could directly locate the mastermind behind the two Mental Monsters through them and analyze the reason the mastermind sent them as well as why they attacked Drunkard.”
…
Everyone in the meeting room frowned feeling this was the most incomprehensible part.
Their research on Mentally Altered Persons had always aimed to find logic amidst chaos.
But now they saw no logic only felt headaches.
Only Professor Bai’s expression gradually brightened at this point. He said softly, “Looking at the data now the various behavioral details displayed by Mr. Lone Soldier indicate his abilities are chaotic and complex unlike the clear core and abilities of other Ability Users. This confused and worried us but perhaps that’s just because we were thinking in the wrong direction before…”
“I suspect Mr. Lone Soldier’s ability isn’t Spider-type but rather…”
Pausing slightly Professor Bai looked at the other three and softly revealed his answer:
“…He himself possesses no ability at all!”