Chapter 275: Night Terrors

“What on earth happened?”

Following local customs, Lu Xin ducked into the tent shared by Old Zhou and Little Zhou.

By the faint light filtering in from outside, he saw both the uncle and nephew’s faces etched with vigilance and fear.

Little Zhou’s body was even trembling slightly.

This unusual reaction put Lu Xin on alert too. He pulled his bag in front of him, ready to draw his gun at any moment.

“Shh…”

Old Zhou motioned to Lu Xin, then whispered, “You’ll know soon enough.”

Hearing this, Lu Xin had no choice but to patiently wait.

He listened intently. Outside the tent, there was absolute silence. The earlier chatter, conversations, and singing had all abruptly vanished. Even the snores seemed to have stopped, as if someone had pinched the snorers’ noses…

The entire world was eerily quiet.

“Tap, tap, tap…”

After a while, the sound of footsteps finally broke the silence outside.

If it weren’t for the profound quiet, the footsteps would have been hard to distinguish.

Under the nervous gazes of Old Zhou and his nephew, Lu Xin peered through a gap in the tent. He saw a pair of long legs appear near the distant service hall. Clad in skinny jeans and laced riding boots, it was the Boss he’d met earlier. She emerged from the service hall holding a bamboo pole, strolling leisurely across the open space…

He could see that whenever she approached a tent, it seemed to tremble slightly.

Looking thoughtful, she paused briefly in front of each tent, shook her head, and then slowly walked away.

“What is she doing?”

Lu Xin watched the scene, completely baffled, and asked in a low voice.

“This… This is her acting up again…”

Old Zhou’s voice trembled slightly as he whispered, “It happens every night, and it’s getting more frequent…”

“Hmm?”

Lu Xin grew wary and asked professionally, “What are the specific symptoms?”

Old Zhou sighed softly, looking troubled. Finally, he lowered his voice again, “Mr. Lu, I’m not badmouthing the Boss behind her back, I genuinely hope you can help her… Our Boss, although she’s a woman, is a really good person. Her man started the convoy, but after he died in an accident, she took over everything.”

“Our leader is beautiful and young. She attracted countless admirers before, but she dealt with them all swiftly. We all know she’s still hung up on her previous man and has no interest in finding someone else. But this very person…”

His voice trembled slightly as he said, “After the last delivery, she just… changed.”

“Normally, she’s still the same as before, honest with everyone and fair in her dealings. But once night falls… she goes around the entire convoy picking people to… accompany her… to sleep with her. Everyone in the convoy has been harassed by her now…”

…

…What the hell?

Lu Xin was stunned listening to this. That was quite a twist.

“It’s true…”

Little Zhou nodded vigorously beside him, tears welling in his eyes. He looked at Lu Xin with sympathy.

“Brother Lu, I think you need to be careful. The way the Boss looked at you earlier wasn’t right…”

…

“It’s really giving me a headache…”

Old Zhou sighed quietly, “We just can’t figure it out. How could someone like her suddenly turn into a she-wolf? You have no idea how crazy she gets when she takes us in… I… I’ve seen all sorts of things in my life, but she… she’s just too terrifying. After a night with her, you can barely crawl out of bed for days…”

“We’re all running around the Wasteland, already exhausted. If this keeps up, it’ll kill us…”

…

Lu Xin listened, completely bewildered, unsure how to respond.

At first, he thought, ‘Is that all?’

But on second thought, he grew cautious.

For a person to undergo such a drastic change was indeed cause for alarm.

Another point was that he had encountered a similar pollution situation once before, and it led to very serious consequences.

Could it be that this was the same kind of pollution?

But how did this relate to the talk of head-swapping and body-swapping?

…

…

“Tap, tap, tap…”

Before Lu Xin could ask more, he heard the sound of riding boots on the ground outside growing clearer.

Finally, the footsteps approached step by step, heading directly towards Old Zhou’s tent pitched at the outermost edge.

“Swish!”

Hearing the boots draw nearer, both Old Zhou and Zhou Xiaomao’s faces turned ashen. They swallowed hard several times.

Eventually, the footsteps stopped right in front of their tent.

“Tap, tap.”

It was the sound of the bamboo pole tapping the tent. Then, the Boss’s voice came from outside, “Are you asleep yet?”

Her voice, usually somewhat hoarse, was now pitched high, mimicking a delicate tone.

It sounded incredibly strange.

Old Zhou, pale-faced, glanced at Little Zhou.

Little Zhou immediately forced out a snoring sound from his throat.

“Heh heh…”

Outside the tent, the Boss sneered. Suddenly, she yanked hard at the tent flap and cursed, “Stop pretending to be asleep, dammit! Hurry up and send out that pretty boy who came back with you today… If not, you two come over with him…”

“Ah, this…”

Old Zhou and Little Zhou shivered simultaneously.

Old Zhou looked apologetically at Lu Xin and called out, “Boss, he’s our benefactor. Maybe…”

Lu Xin sensed something was wrong. His hand had already slipped into his bag.

The Boss outside remained unmoved, sneering twice, “What do you think?”

Old Zhou was rendered speechless. He glanced at Lu Xin, a determined look hardening his face, sighed deeply and said,

“Forget it, I’ll sacrifice myself…”

As he spoke, he started to lift the curtain to go out. Little Zhou beside him grabbed his arm, biting his lip slightly, “Uncle, no, let me go instead.”

“After all… I’m younger…”

…

“Don’t.”

Old Zhou slowly pushed his hand away, sighing sadly, “Precisely because you’re young, you don’t know how to protect yourself…”

Little Zhou’s face was already filled with gratitude and sympathy, his voice choked with tears, “Uncle, you have to take care of yourself.”

“Aunt and your two cousins are waiting for you back home…”

…

Old Zhou also lamented sorrowfully, “Let’s not mention your aunt right now…”

As he spoke, he tightened his belt, his face set with determination, and lifted the curtain, preparing to go out.

Lu Xin watched the uncle and nephew with a peculiar expression, analyzing the inner thoughts behind their tragic performance.

Just as Old Zhou’s trembling hand was about to lift the curtain, Lu Xin sighed softly:

“Let me go instead!”

…

“Ah, this…”

Old Zhou froze for a moment, staring blankly at Lu Xin.

Little Zhou also grew nervous, whispering, “Little… Brother Lu, don’t treat this as fun. You’ll regret it.”

Lu Xin shook his head slightly, “No, I feel like she really isn’t normal.”

After speaking, he picked up his bag, nodded to Old Zhou and Little Zhou, and ducked outside.

…

The Boss was waiting nearby, holding the bamboo pole, smiling.

She seemed to have intentionally kept some distance, allowing Old Zhou and Little Zhou time to explain the situation to Lu Xin.

Seeing Lu Xin emerge, a strange glint flashed in her smiling eyes. She chuckled softly, “Lucky you…”

Lu Xin nodded and asked seriously, “Where are we going?”

“What’s the rush?”

The Boss giggled, slowly turning around, “Follow me!”

Saying this, she swayed her hips and walked ahead gracefully. It had to be said, her dashing attire combined with her long legs and full hips created a powerful visual impact as she walked, undeniably alluring.

But Lu Xin didn’t dare relax in the slightest.

Even from his perspective, the Boss now felt like a different person from the one he met earlier.

However, he couldn’t see any Mental Monster on her.

This could only mean two things: either the woman’s pollution was internal, like Xu Xiao Xiao’s after contact with the oil painting.

Or, the woman herself was an Ability User with malicious intent.

Either possibility was quite dangerous.

This danger wasn’t directed at him, but at the innocent people in the surrounding convoy.

When Ability Users clashed, regardless of the outcome, it was all too easy for bystanders to suffer misfortune…

“Whew…”

While maintaining his alertness, he gently touched his glasses.

The dog needed to be summoned; after all, it originated from that oil painting. If this woman’s pollution or mutation was related to or similar to that painting, Glasses Dog should be able to help. Moreover, summoning Glasses Dog should alert his family to his current tension, and they would step in when needed.

Lu Xin had already calculated everything.

Once he confirmed this woman was problematic, a confrontation was inevitable.

If he accidentally killed her, this convoy probably wouldn’t let it go easily. He might even have to fight them. Escaping with his motorcycle from under the noses of this group of armed, experienced drivers wouldn’t be easy…

…Mainly, it would be hard to ensure the motorcycle didn’t get scratched.

…

As he followed the woman into the service hall, Lu Xin felt many sympathetic gazes on his back.

However, the moment he stepped inside, Lu Xin relaxed.

He saw his sister perched atop the foremost pillar in the service hall, head down, curiously observing the woman.

That skinless little dog stood below the pillar, its bulging eyes fixed intently on the woman.

Mom was sitting on a small stool nearby, gentle and elegant.

The light from the fire behind him made his own shadow flicker unpredictably, appearing menacing, like bared fangs and claws, exuding a chilling aura.

The whole family was here, so…

…

Lu Xin looked up and saw the Boss had already reached the tent area.

She turned slowly, giving him a seductive glance. Tossing the bamboo pole aside, she gently undid the buttons on her clothes. Her body slithered like a snake twice, and she was completely bare.

Then she bit her lip, smiled, beckoned to Lu Xin with a finger, and slipped into the tent.

Lu Xin didn’t follow her in. Instead, he looked at her body.

Remembering what Old Zhou and the others had said, he examined her carefully, focusing on the connection between her neck and body.

The Boss was very cooperative, resolving the ‘can’t see clearly’ problem right from the start.

The first step was to check if there was a Mental Monster on her.

But after careful inspection, Lu Xin was certain there wasn’t.

The second step was to carefully observe the woman’s body. He found that her figure was indeed excellent.

However, something he hadn’t noticed while she was clothed was that her body was covered in countless scars.

There were knife scars of varying lengths, and also some scars resembling bullet holes.

More importantly, many wounds looked fresh.

Under the flickering firelight, those scars almost seemed alive.

Lu Xin couldn’t help but frown.

Although he couldn’t accurately determine if her head had been swapped, it had to be said that her head and body certainly didn’t seem to belong to the same person.

“Heh heh…”

Seeing Lu Xin’s scrutinizing gaze, a trace of disdain appeared on the Boss’s face.

She lazily half-turned, resting one somewhat coarse hand on her leg, propping up her head with the other.

She grinned at Lu Xin, “Come on…”

Her voice was like a cat’s purr.

Lu Xin tightened his grip on his bag, his gaze sharpening, “Do what?”

The Boss looked at Lu Xin with some surprise, then chuckled, “Still playing dumb at this point?”

Lu Xin paused slightly, then said sternly, “You can state your purpose now…”

“Purpose?”

The Boss looked confused, then shook her head, “Isn’t my purpose obvious enough?”

“This…”

Lu Xin felt her reaction wasn’t quite what he expected.

He frowned slightly and looked again, more intently. A strange blue light flashed across the lens of his left eye.

In his vision, a stream of data popped up. Blue-lined boxes contracted and expanded, finally locking onto the Boss’s body. Then, a pile of assessment results regarding Mental Radiation appeared, conducted at the highest possible limits.

The result was: close to zero…

Slightly unwilling, Lu Xin tried looking again using Mom’s vision, but only saw a mass of burning red.

Gradually, Lu Xin’s serious expression turned baffled.

Something seemed off.

Nearby, his family members also seemed stunned. They exchanged glances, uncertainty flickering between them.

…

“Clack, clack, clack…”

That was the sound of Mom’s high heels on the ceramic tiles. She was the first to rise expressionlessly and leave.

Sister, still perched on the pillar, covered her eyes, shot Lu Xin a reproachful glance, and quickly scampered away.

Even Lu Xin’s shadow had returned to normal at some point.

The skinless little dog trotted nonchalantly past Lu Xin, acting as if it hadn’t seen a thing.

The atmosphere became somewhat awkward.