Chapter 240: The Devouring Apostle

“Is that it?”

Lu Xin stared at the Isolation Zone before him, momentarily surprised.

Dealing with the monsters that had appeared inside the Isolation Zone would have been a headache even for him.

Regardless of their individual strength, their sheer numbers were the problem.

Even if his sister came to help, it would probably take some time to deal with them all.

Maybe not even his sister; perhaps even if Father came out and smashed these monsters one by one, it would still require some time…

Not only would it take time, but there was no guarantee some wouldn’t escape.

As for what Mom would do, Lu Xin wasn’t sure. He knew the least about her.

And now, Doll dealt with these mental monsters… just like that?

She closed the umbrella, opened it, and it was over?

…

…

While Lu Xin was still processing his surprise, Doll floated down from the sky, offering him a smile.

It was a bright smile, full of genuine happiness.

She quickly hid her face behind the umbrella again, lest others see, revealing her smile only to Lu Xin.

“Even though you’re smiling so sweetly right now, I’ve already seen your brutal side…”

“…You really are one hell of a heavy hitter!”

Lu Xin thought to himself, observing Doll.

At the same time, he gained a better impression of Doll’s abilities.

Her method for clearing out those mental monsters was disturbingly simple.

She basically just borrowed the surrounding mental power and released it by opening her umbrella.

If Lu Xin hadn’t already had some understanding of her, he wouldn’t have even been able to figure out her true ability from that process.

“Doll did very well.”

Chen Jing praised her after a moment, perhaps having been stunned herself just now.

“Mr. Lone Soldier, confirm there are no remaining Altered Persons in the Isolation Zone…”

“None left.”

Lu Xin glanced over and nodded firmly.

It really was spotless…

Hearing this, Chen Jing strode towards the Isolation Zone and looked inside.

Inside the Isolation Zone, most of the previously quarantined people were in a daze.

She felt a slight sense of relief confirming they hadn’t turned to dust along with the mental monsters.

She understood the principle behind how Doll had achieved this.

According to Professor Bai’s deductions, these mental monsters were actually manifesting by borrowing the mental power of these Altered Persons.

In other words, they were hiding within the bodies of these Altered Persons, which was why they couldn’t even be detected before complete mutation.

Doll had borrowed a portion of their mental power to crush these mental monsters.

In a way, this was turning their own power against them.

Now that the mental monsters were dealt with and these people survived, it was naturally a good thing.

After all, there were over a thousand people in the Isolation Zone now.

Perhaps compared to the entire population of Qinggang Main City, this number wasn’t high, but if they all perished at once, it would still have a massive impact. Especially since Doll did it herself, it was unknown if dealing with these people would affect her own state.

However, although they survived, lingering effects were unavoidable.

Their mental power loss was too severe. Moreover, the deeper the influence from the previous wishing and cursing, the more severe the loss.

It was conceivable that their chances of future recovery were slim, but there was nothing that could be done about it.

…

…

“Special Task Force can disable visual interference.”

“Re-establish the cordon and assess the remaining individuals.”

“Support Team, enter the area. Confirm if any mental monsters remain in the Isolation Zone!”

…

Chen Jing commanded loudly, then spoke into the channel, “Mr. Lone Soldier, this isn’t over yet.”

Lu Xin nodded. “I know.”

Over at the Donghai Grand Hotel, the giant mental monster in the red cloak was still overlooking the city.

And elsewhere in the city center, sounds of chaos occasionally erupted—those were Altered Persons who hadn’t been rooted out earlier.

They must have also generated mental monsters, but the extent of the chaos they’d caused was unknown.

If the Sea Country’s threat to Qinggang came firstly from the Altered Persons and secondly from that ‘Red Cloaked Apostle’…

Then Doll had only dealt with the threat posed by most of the Altered Persons.

Two threats remained:

One was the mental monsters that hadn’t been captured earlier and were now scattered throughout the city.

The other was the ‘Red Cloaked Apostle’ itself.

…

“Various mental monsters have appeared in the main city, primarily in the city core. However, the City Defense Department received our notice this afternoon and has already made arrangements. Presumably, by now, various Ability Users have already begun the cleanup operation.”

Chen Jing explained as she walked towards Lu Xin, her voice continuously broadcasting over the channel.

“What I need to talk to you about is that S-level Ability User from the Sea Country.”

…

Hearing this, Lu Xin was slightly taken aback and looked up at the mental monster taller than a thirty-three-story building.

Since its appearance, it hadn’t actually caused any destruction. It merely emitted a strong wave of mental radiation about every minute. This radiation caused headaches, dizziness, and an instinctive sense of awe-filled fear towards it.

And Lu Xin could feel its psychic power was immense.

Just then, Chen Jing asked, “Are you confident you can clean it up?”

Lu Xin was surprised by the question, then slowly shook his head.

“It won’t be easy to clean up.”

He spoke slowly, a troubled expression on his face. “It’s too dangerous.”

Hearing this, Chen Jing’s heart sank slightly.

…

“How do we deal with that monster? Should we have Doll handle it?”

At the same time, Minister Shen, Mr. Su, and Professor Bai had gathered.

Hearing that the Isolation Zone issue was resolved eased their moods slightly, but the presence of that silent, terrifying mental monster overlooking Qinggang prevented them from truly relaxing. They could only consider how to resolve it.

“I don’t recommend letting Doll handle it, for the same reason I advised against using the high-frequency ion cannons.”

Professor Bai directly rejected Minister Shen’s suggestion. “Whether it’s the results forcibly extracted from Elder Ye through interrogation, or the reports now coming back from the Special Task Force members who risked their lives approaching the pollution source codenamed ‘Red Cloaked Apostle’ for investigation, everything makes me realize this mental monster is definitely different from others. It can’t be resolved through conventional means.”

After a pause, he continued, “Do you know how high its current psychic power level is?”

Mr. Su and Minister Shen looked over nervously.

Professor Bai held up the electronic screen in his hand. “It has already exceeded twenty thousand, approaching thirty thousand!”

“What?”

Both Mr. Su and Minister Shen were alarmed. No matter how strong their will, they couldn’t quite hold it together at this moment.

“Psychic power doesn’t come from nowhere. Why is it so high?”

Mr. Su subconsciously asked.

“The Information Analysis Team is currently comparing data gathered from various sources. We should have results soon.”

Professor Bai said, “For now, all I can do is speculate…”

“Have you considered why Elder Ye was so certain that just one S-level Ability User could genuinely cripple Qinggang, creating conditions for their Sea Country forces to land? And why did he believe Qinggang couldn’t handle this mental monster?”

…

He paused again before continuing, “Every S-level Ability User has aspects that can be called ‘unsolvable’.”

“Although the Information Analysis Team’s data comparison hasn’t arrived yet, based on partial data comparisons and the manner of its appearance, I already have a hypothesis. If I’m not mistaken… this mental monster possesses a trait that allows it to attract other mental monsters towards it, and it releases mental impact waves of unknown significance at regular intervals.”

“The Special Task Force has already observed from close range that mental monsters approach it and are devoured by it, strengthening itself.”

“So, can we infer that its ability is to devour other mental monsters?”

“Extending this line of thought, could it even devour the mental power of other people?”

…

Seeing the strained expressions on Mr. Su and Minister Shen as they tried to understand, Professor Bai slowed his speech deliberately:

“Haven’t you noticed? We can all clearly see that mental monster.”

“This is a very rare phenomenon, from which we can deduce:

“Just by looking at it, a portion of our mental power is already being devoured by it.”

“And this is the reason its psychic power is increasing so rapidly.”

“As long as you look at it or approach it, your mental power becomes part of it.”

“Therefore, its current psychic power, already nearing thirty thousand, actually comes partly from mental monsters, and partly—perhaps the most crucial part—from Qinggang, from us, from everyone who sees it…”

“This ability is similar to Doll’s, but it’s not borrowing mental power; it’s devouring.”

“Furthermore, this devouring isn’t obvious initially, and because of the chaos and pressure in the city, it’s hard for us to notice.”

“But if we were to actually attack it with high-frequency ion cannons, or have a powerful Ability User like Doll attack it, the consequences would be very dangerous. The principle of high-frequency ion cannons involves adjusting frequency waves to create an impact similar to mental power, effectively converting a powerful psychic magnitude into telekinesis to attack mental monsters.”

“Different frequency waves can weaken the attack’s power, or even strengthen the target.”

“That’s why Elder Ye was confident this monster could withstand, or even be immune to, high-frequency ion cannon attacks.”

“If Doll uses borrowed mental power to attack it, that power could potentially be devoured, strengthening it instead.”

Reaching this point, he snapped his fingers lightly. “This is the most insidious part of the Sea Country’s plan.”

“Our attacks will only strengthen this pollution source.”

…

Hearing Professor Bai’s analysis, Mr. Su’s face darkened. He suddenly added, “There’s another vicious aspect. If we hadn’t detected this characteristic beforehand, then even if we eventually dealt with this pollution source, a large number of people in Qinggang City would have already had their mental power devoured. The consequence would be large numbers of people simultaneously falling into uncontrollable depression.”

“The most likely outcome would be…”

He paused, then gritted his teeth. “Mass suicides among residents, even the military!”

“Bastard! I’ll screw his…”

Minister Shen cursed instinctively but stopped himself midway, realizing cursing was pointless now.

He suddenly looked at Professor Bai. “Any suggestions?”

*Beep beep!*

Just then, Professor Bai’s electronic screen lit up; a file had been transmitted.

But Professor Bai only glanced at it before closing it. “The Information Analysis Team’s comparison results confirm my hypothesis.”

“Since things have come to this…”

He looked at Mr. Su. “I now formally request the activation of that unconventional emergency defense plan I proposed.”

Mr. Su fell silent for a moment. “Are we ready?”

Professor Bai didn’t answer immediately.

Mr. Su hesitated again, uncertainly asking, “Mainly… is Mr. Lone Soldier ready?”