Chapter 222: Qinggang’s Nuclear Weapon
by xennovel“Can’t we leave yet?”
“It’s getting late…”
Lu Xin, who everyone assumed must be thrilled, was actually slumped on the sofa bored out of his mind.
He realized the most tiring thing wasn’t doing something specific but sitting rigidly for hours in a place so clean he didn’t dare mess it up. Making matters worse the room’s owner wasn’t exactly the talkative type. She also happened to possess arguably the world’s most beautiful face and a figure with near-perfect proportions.
As a man he had tried to appreciate the view.
But the key issue was that many people were still paying attention to him.
He had to maintain composure in public so Lu Xin didn’t spare the girl a single glance instead focusing on the television screen.
After a while Lu Xin who was waiting for the higher-ups to provide a solution already felt quite stuffy.
He’d come to the Main City clearly to attend the high-level talent meeting help Vice President Xiao with his problem figure out his own ‘Second Stage’ issue and maybe even catch up with his colleagues and finally meet his intel analyst Han Bing…
…He wondered if Gecko and the others were happily drinking and chatting together right now.
He also had no idea if Han Bing was even in this building.
Everyone else was happily attending meetings while he was stuck here accompanying the most beautiful girl in the world…
“Sigh…”
Lu Xin let out a long sigh his gaze shifting away from the TV screen he’d long since grown tired of watching.
He glanced over. The room’s owner was still kneeling on the floor completely absorbed in arranging her little plastic blocks. From any angle she looked almost perfect her only flaw was her lack of conversation skills.
…
…
“The decision from above is here.”
A faint static crackled in the channel followed by Chen Jing’s voice.
“What’s the verdict?”
Lu Xin immediately perked up.
Chen Jing said slowly, “We hope you can accept a temporary commission.”
“The task for now is: Accompany Doll.”
“Huh?”
Lu Xin was taken aback letting out a questioning sound.
It was a bit loud. The girl immediately turned her head to look at Lu Xin. He quickly waved his hand gesturing that everything was fine.
The girl went back to arranging her plastic blocks.
Lu Xin lowered his voice, “What kind of task is this?”
“A B-level task.”
Chen Jing stated, “Both the importance level and the payment are B-level.”
Lu Xin was surprised.
“And this B-level is just the preliminary preparation.”
Chen Jing’s tone turned serious. “During this time you might be assigned a more critical task with a higher classification. But that mission requires you to interact more with Doll—to understand her and let her get used to your presence. That’s why we’re starting with this companionship task.”
After a pause she asked, “So your opinion is…”
“The task itself is fine. It’s what I should do.”
Lu Xin replied seriously then glanced at Doll and whispered, “But do I just have to stay here?”
“I haven’t used the restroom in hours…”
…
Chen Jing paused at this question holding back a chuckle, “There’s a bathroom in Doll’s room.”
“But it’s a girl’s bathroom…”
Lu Xin answered awkwardly, “Can’t I leave for a bit first?”
Chen Jing fell silent for a moment seemingly checking a map then chuckled lightly, “There should be a public restroom outside the room.”
Hearing this Lu Xin frowned slightly and slowly stood up.
He subconsciously lightened his steps heading towards the door. He reached the doorway and gently pushed it open feeling nothing unusual.
Just as relief washed over him he suddenly sensed a cool delicate fragrance beside him. Turning his head he saw the girl had gotten up and was silently trailing him. Lu Xin shook his head and simply strode out of the room.
He found the public restroom pushed the door open then turned to stop the girl who was about to follow him in, “You can’t come in here.”
The girl looked at him somewhat innocently.
Lu Xin forced a smile, “Wait for me outside okay?”
The girl continued to look at her innocently but Lu Xin steeled himself left her there and resolutely walked into the bathroom…
…
…
When he came out feeling much lighter he saw the girl was still obediently waiting outside for him.
Lu Xin helplessly reported to his leader, “She keeps following me. She even wanted to follow me into the restroom…”
“That’s somewhat expected.”
“This is the first time Doll has shown such strong attachment and reliance on someone else. She might not understand boundaries or the concept of personal space. Of course based on her past behavior you could probably use commands to make her comply but until we have a detailed plan let’s avoid doing that for now.”
“Because any of those actions could potentially destabilize her emotions…”
Chen Jing patiently explained finally concluding, “So we’ll have to ask you to accommodate her for the time being.”
“Sigh…”
Lu Xin sighed slowly. Perhaps due to extreme boredom he was reluctant to end the call with Chen Jing.
He subconsciously asked, “This girl… Doll. What happens if her emotions become unstable?”
Chen Jing was silent for a while before replying, “Doll protects this city but she also has the power to destroy it.”
“That terrifying?”
Lu Xin was stunned.
He was currently in this city that seemed vast enough to contain everything.
Looking out the window he could see endless stretches of lights like an ocean engulfing everything.
Therefore he understood the terrifying implication of her words even better.
“Yes.”
Chen Jing’s reply was simple. “Normally Doll’s files are Qinggang’s highest secret. But as a special operations personnel you now have the clearance to know these secrets. That’s why I’m telling you this but you’ll also need to sign a confidentiality agreement.”
As she spoke a crisp electronic chime sounded from Lu Xin’s backpack.
Opening the backpack Lu Xin saw an electronic contract had already been sent to his tablet computer.
He hadn’t encountered this format before but after considering it he decided he could accept. Following Chen Jing’s instructions he signed his name and added his handprint. Then he sent the contract back through the local network before putting the tablet away.
He whispered to Chen Jing, “You can tell me now.”
“Alright please note everything you hear now is Qinggang’s highest secret.”
Chen Jing began softly, “Doll’s ability is recorded as A-level in the files.”
“But you could say Doll isn’t just A-level. Or rather she *was* A-level three years ago.”
“It’s just that for strategic reasons we haven’t publicly disclosed that her ability is growing.”
“This is meant to lower the guard of other high-wall cities and factions.”
…
Lu Xin paused for a moment then said, “I figured as much but…”
He couldn’t help but glance at the girl arranging her blocks, “How is she rated so high?”
He himself seemed to be A-level.
Gecko was only B-level…
“You should have a mental power detector handy. You can check the ambient mental power radiation in the room…”
Chen Jing suggested gently, “You can take a look.”
Lu Xin nodded, “Actually I checked earlier. It seemed to be a few hundred.”
“Doesn’t seem that high right?”
Chen Jing said softly, “That’s just what Doll emits passively. If she actively uses her ability it will be much higher.”
“Even so…”
Lu Xin mentally calculated, “It still doesn’t seem *that* high…”
Perhaps due to preconceived notions he always thought only someone like the Queen of Happy Town could be considered S-level.
“This is where Doll’s secret lies.”
Chen Jing explained slowly, “If you only consider her inherent power Doll’s ability should be rated A-level. But in reality Doll’s own psychic power level is constantly growing. And besides growth she has another terrifying aspect: as a Princess-type one of her abilities allows her to borrow the psychic power of those around her. The more people nearby the more power she can draw…”
“In other words in crowded places Doll’s psychic power potential is effectively limitless.”
…
“What?”
Hearing this Lu Xin was truly astonished.
“That’s also what gives us the biggest headache…”
Chen Jing paused before continuing slowly, “Through observing Doll we can confirm one thing: the range of her negative influence is consistent with the range from which she borrows psychic power. When she was younger her negative influence was about ten meters. At that time her power borrowing range should also have been ten meters. But as she gets older this range increases.”
“We actually stopped testing Doll’s influence range three years ago.”
“Because the conditions are too difficult to meet and the risks are too great.”
“But one thing is certain: if Doll were to lose control completely or intentionally unleash her power her negative influence could now engulf the entirety of Qinggang City. Likewise she could borrow the mental power of everyone within it.”
“We’ve taken various measures but we haven’t found any method to reliably contain her in a critical moment.”
“…Even the safe house you’re in only isolates her mental power radiation when Doll cooperates. And as you saw earlier if she wants to leave she can easily destroy a safe house of this level.”
…
Lu Xin was already somewhat dumbfounded.
Chen Jing concluded with a soft sigh, “Internally Doll’s current designation is: Qinggang’s Nuclear Weapon.”