Chapter 245: Severing the Threads

Seems like Mom could sense the sincerity in Lu Xin’s words, as her mood also improved significantly.

A faint smile appeared on her face as she looked up at the red-cloaked mental monster:

“This person is quite interesting. He’s clearly alive but doesn’t want to live. Some might think he wants to die because living is too painful for him, seeking release. But why can’t it be understood that he simply desires death itself?”

“Perhaps only in death can he release his negative emotions?”

…

Lu Xin listened attentively to Mom’s words, thoughtfully saying, “I remember during the training sessions, Han Bing told me that mental power possesses vitality. Since he wants to die, does that mean he opposes this vitality? Then…”

“Could it be this feeling that gives it the characteristic to devour or attract the mental power of others?”

…

In an Information Analysis Department office, everyone was quietly listening to Lu Xin’s voice echoing through the room.

Because Lu Xin was so close to the red-cloaked mental monster at this moment, his voice occasionally became hoarse and unstable. Yet, they could still make out certain things Lu Xin said casually, as if chatting with someone.

Crucially, these words actually managed to clear up some of their confusion.

“Mr. Lone Soldier’s analysis makes sense.”

Professor Chen was the first to notice the value hidden within Lu Xin’s seemingly abnormal self-talk, speaking gravely, “So, one of the abilities of this mental monster codenamed ‘Red Cloaked Apostle’ is to devour the mental monsters it attracts, as well as the mental power of everyone in Qinggang City who sees it. Then, the solution is…”

…

“The solution…”

While the Information Analysis Team worked tirelessly on their analysis, Lu Xin was also pondering this problem.

He looked up, carefully examining the monster.

When others couldn’t see mental monsters, he could.

But this mental monster before him was visible to everyone in the city.

However, when viewed from a distance, this mental monster resembled a human figure nearly a hundred meters tall. Even its red cloak appeared incredibly real, with clear shadows and folds visible in some areas.

But now, up close, Lu Xin realized it wasn’t a physical entity in the conventional sense.

This mental monster, codenamed ‘Red Cloaked Apostle’, was actually composed of countless individual filaments, stretched taut and radiating outwards. Millions upon millions of them, densely packed. All the filaments radiated outward yet converged here, segmented by different colors, thus forming the solid image people in Qinggang saw from afar.

It was like looking at a screen from far away where the image appears clear, but up close, you see individual pixels.

Those individual filaments were the pixels of this monster.

Lu Xin could even see one filament connected directly to himself.

“Can you help me?”

Facing this strange phenomenon, he turned directly to Mom.

“Why talk about helping among family?”

Mom smiled at Lu Xin, saying gently, “But after solving this problem, other problems will arise…”

Lu Xin nodded and smiled, “We’ll just solve the problems one by one.”

“So smart.”

Mom nodded with a smile, then elegantly reached into her satchel and took out a small pair of scissors.

She reached out in front of Lu Xin, towards the filament connecting him and the Red Cloaked Apostle, and with a soft *snip*, she cut it.

Lu Xin distinctly felt a sense of relief.

It was as if the Red Cloaked Apostle had lost its mysterious allure in his eyes.

*Whoosh…*

As if an invisible wind blew past, more red filaments floated lightly, drifting towards Lu Xin.

Lu Xin took a step back and said to Mom, “Cutting just one isn’t enough.”

“Oh my, you’re quite impatient…”

Mom gave Lu Xin a playful glance before gracefully walking forward.

Lu Xin saw her walk to the edge of the building. Dressed in a small white formal dress, she looked elegant and captivating under the Red Moon.

At the same time, he saw another Mom appear beside the flower bed downstairs.

She was also carrying a small bag, standing at the monster’s feet, looking up at it.

And nearby, on a bench in the plaza; to the East, behind the monster near the steel drawbridge;

North of the monster, under a large banyan tree in a garden; to the South, behind the floor-to-ceiling window of an office…

Countless Moms appeared, surrounding the red-cloaked monster, smiling as they watched it.

Then, in perfect unison, they simultaneously took out exquisite pairs of scissors from their satchels.

*Snip…*

Faint, crisp sounds rang out simultaneously, merging into a single, pleasant vibration.

The world fell silent for a moment, as if sound itself had been cut.

…

…

*Gasp…*

As the sound of scissors echoed simultaneously, countless people throughout the city who had been standing transfixed, staring blankly at the red mental monster, suddenly gasped for air. Some collapsed, while others abruptly crouched down.

Expressions of shock and fear appeared on their faces, accompanied by a strange exhaustion.

When they looked up again, they found that the incredibly clear Red Cloaked Apostle had vanished…

Or rather, it hadn’t vanished, but they could no longer see it clearly. They could only sense a large mass of dark red, distorted air beside the Donghai Grand Hotel, rippling strangely under the light of the Red Moon in the sky.

“I can’t see it anymore…”

“The Red Cloaked Apostle has disappeared…”

…

Excited shouts quickly erupted from the temporary command center near the Isolation Zone.

Even Chen Jing and the others couldn’t contain their excitement, quickly glancing towards the Donghai Grand Hotel.

Sure enough, they could no longer see the red figure.

Someone even thought the problem was solved and was almost jumping with excitement.

“Attention, the Red Cloaked Apostle has not been resolved…”

Professor Bai’s voice cut through the excitement, “Mr. Lone Soldier merely severed the logic chain connecting us to the Red Cloaked Apostle. Just now, every one of us was actually under its pollution, though it was hard to detect. The only proof was that we could see it. But now that the connection is cut, we are no longer being polluted, and thus we can no longer see it…”

“Similarly, the mental monster’s psychic power growth has been interrupted.”

…

Saying this, he turned to the secretary beside him, “Record this ability.”

A dedicated secretary beside him quickly took notes.

“Furthermore…”

Then Professor Bai turned to Mr. Su and Minister Shen, saying:

“With the Red Cloaked Apostle’s psychic power growth severed, other changes are bound to occur. The most terrifying is…”

“The mental monsters it attracted will inevitably disperse.”

…

*Beep beep…*

As if confirming his words, countless Mental Detection Devices started blaring simultaneously.

Flashing red lights intertwined, forming a sea of red.

Those were the mental monsters from the residual Altered Persons scattered throughout the city.

Although roughly seventy percent of the Altered Persons had been identified beforehand, sent to the Isolation Zone, and then dealt with by Doll all at once.

The remaining number was still significant.

More than half of those remaining had already reached the Red Cloaked Apostle and been devoured by it.

The smaller remaining portion was still en route.

They had been continuously drawn towards the Red Cloaked Apostle. Although they polluted passersby along the way, their fixed route made them traceable and relatively easy to avoid. But when that connection was severed, their movement also ceased simultaneously…

If one had to describe it, it was as if a look of confusion appeared on them.

At this moment, the rule attracting them had vanished.

Consequently, driven by instinct, they immediately scattered like a tide, surging into the city.

Watching the alarms on the detection devices beside them blare wildly, all the Special Task Force members tightened their grip on their guns.

“Report! The mental monsters that were converging towards the Donghai Grand Hotel have suddenly stopped! They are now dispersing outwards, mostly towards the West! It seems… it seems they’re attracted by the city’s population!”

The frantic shouts of an observer crackled through the walkie-talkie.

…

“The time has come to test our ability to clean up pollution sources.”

Mr. Su remained calm, merely nodding slightly.

Minister Shen immediately picked up the walkie-talkie and commanded loudly, “All Special Task Force teams, advance together! Establish a cordon within a three-thousand-meter radius around the Donghai Grand Hotel! Authorization granted for medium-level ion rifles! Do not allow the pollution sources to spread beyond three thousand meters!”

“Additionally, all Ability Users, enter the cordoned zone immediately and clean up all mental monsters!”

“…Send the D-rank personnel to the most dangerous areas!”

…

*Rustle rustle…*

The entire city seemed to spring to life at this moment.

Team after team of fully armed Special Task Force members formed lines and charged forward.

Then, at the three-thousand-meter radius mark from the Donghai Grand Hotel, they dropped their backpacks and simultaneously pressed a button. Instantly, blue electrical arcs spread out from the backpacks, intertwining with others.

It formed what looked like a pre-designed cordon, appearing as a complete circle when viewed from above.

“Such thorough preparations. You had this ready all along?”

Professor Bai turned to Minister Shen with a teasing smile.

“Of course, it was prepared long ago.”

Minister Shen stated with a cold expression, “However, it was originally prepared for those crazy… Ability Users attending the high-level talent conference.”