Chapter 286: The Brain’s Sonata

*Bang bang…*

Lu Xin steadily drove the motorcycle while pulling out his handgun, accurately taking down two madmen for Boss Gao. With his Sister’s little hand holding onto him, driving and shooting simultaneously felt as simple as holding chopsticks in one hand and a phone in the other.

And at this moment, the superior performance of his motorcycle truly shone.

Boss Gao Ting was pushing her bike to its absolute limit, blasting deafening music, riding at a speed that threatened to end in fiery destruction at any moment.

But Lu Xin easily kept pace, feeling like he had plenty of power to spare. He even felt confident that if he truly unleashed the motorcycle’s speed and gunned the throttle, he could leave Boss Gao far behind.

“You’re pretty amazing…”

After passing through the most dangerous stretch, Boss Gao finally spared a glance at Lu Xin.

Slightly surprised by Lu Xin’s calmness, she then shouted, “Where’s the violin?”

Lu Xin pinpointed the direction slightly. “Ten o’clock… See that intersection ahead? Turn left.”

“Got it…”

Boss Gao acknowledged and twisted the throttle again.

The motorcycle beneath her let out an angry roar, exhaust pipes nearly spitting flames. Seconds later, she reached the intersection. Barely slowing down, her body nearly scraping the ground, she took the sharp turn, straightened the handlebars, and accelerated once more. Only then did she look back, seeing Lu Xin’s silver motorcycle still steadily following.

This unnerving calm and composure made Boss Gao involuntarily gasp, whispering, “You…”

But she stopped abruptly before finishing.

She noticed Lu Xin looking up ahead, raising an eyebrow slightly, seemingly surprised.

Such an expression might be common on others, but seeing it on this young man felt strangely unexpected.

She quickly turned her head to look forward, and her hands went weak, nearly causing her to fall.

…

She had been asking Lu Xin where the violin sound was coming from.

Because her motorcycle was blasting a soul-shaking tenor voice, she couldn’t hear any violin clearly, even if there was one. But now, even amidst the loud, chaotic music, she heard the violin sound Lu Xin had mentioned.

Or rather, she directly saw the person playing the violin.

…If that could be called a person!

Turning onto this street, they saw it—about a hundred meters ahead, a mass of flesh hung suspended.

At first glance, it looked like raw, reddish meat, twenty meters high, dangling seven or eight meters above the street, riddled with deep grooves. Countless blood vessels snaked out from it, wrapping around nearby buildings, utility poles, and trees. Red blood dripped constantly, pooling into puddles of pus on the ground below.

It was a brain.

It seemed formed from countless pieces of flesh and blood, its surface dotted with stiff, twitching limbs.

It hung there silently in the air.

Below it, several vein-like appendages drooped down, clutching a violin.

It was playing the violin this way.

The music was quiet, melodious, with an ethereal quality that induced relaxation and calm.

Yet, the source of this tune was that enormous, hideous, even indescribable brain-like monster.

…

“What… is that?”

Boss Gao’s voice trembled as she whispered the question.

“Hmm?”

Hearing her, Lu Xin sharply turned his head towards her, surprised. “You can see it?”

Boss Gao took a deep, cold breath. “I’m not blind…”

Lu Xin frowned, looking back at the monster at the street entrance.

He hadn’t been too surprised at first, assuming it was another monster only he could see—he’d encountered plenty before, after all, nothing was truly shocking anymore. But realizing Boss Gao could see it too startled him. Because, if she could see it, did that mean… the monster he was seeing now was real?

Moreover, Lu Xin focused his gaze and quickly confirmed.

This was even different from the Red Cloaked Apostle everyone saw back in Qinggang Main City.

Back then, the people of Qinggang could see the Red Cloaked Apostle because everyone had been affected by its pollution.

But this one… it was physically real.

Meaning, there really was… a terrifying, blood-red brain there.

It was even playing the violin!

And Mom, whom he had asked his Sister about earlier but Sister didn’t know where she went, was right there beside the brain. She wore a small black formal dress and blood-red high heels, carrying a small bag, standing quietly before the monster.

As if listening intently to its performance.

The elegant woman and the indescribable brain monster formed a stark contrast.

…

*Screech…*

The sound of sharp braking echoed as Boss Gao and Lu Xin simultaneously stopped their bikes about fifty meters from the fleshy mass.

“What exactly… what is this supposed to be?”

Boss Gao suddenly spoke, her voice clearly panicked.

Lu Xin thought she was handling it quite well. After charging recklessly through so many madmen for so long, and then suddenly seeing such a massive lump of flesh, she had actually managed to keep her sanity and hadn’t freaked out completely. Her courage was already quite impressive.

“This should be the musician we’re looking for.”

Lu Xin explained patiently, “I think if we clean this up, the problem should be mostly solved.”

He kept another question to himself.

Why was Mom here? And why was she listening so intently to this monster’s performance?

Hearing Lu Xin’s words, Boss Gao abruptly turned her head to look at him.

Countless questions seemed to swarm her mind, but what came out was: “You… aren’t you scared?”

Lu Xin glanced at Boss Gao. “Of course, I’m scared.”

The expression on Boss Gao’s face became even more speechless. “Is this how you act when you’re scared?”

Lu Xin paused, unsure how to answer, finally saying seriously, “I’m scared on the inside.”

Boss Gao gave Lu Xin a long, deep look before suddenly turning her gaze away.

She forced herself to look at the brain playing the violin, hanging above the street, and grit her teeth slightly.

*Rustle, rustle…*

By now, an uncountable number of madmen had gathered behind them, frantically catching up.

These madmen were faster than ordinary people, but chasing motorcycles was still strenuous. However, being madmen, they had their terrifying aspect: they simply didn’t know when to stop, relentlessly pursuing from behind.

Their crazed, terrifying expressions would unnerve anyone who saw them.

“Huuuff… Regardless…”

Boss Gao took a breath, twisted the handlebars. The engine let out a low growl, like it was building power. “Since we can confirm those madmen are controlled by this violin sound, then all we have to do is take this thing out, right?”

“Hmm?”

Lu Xin looked at the woman again, slightly surprised. This woman is quite fierce…

“Fuck it!”

“Whatever it is, I refuse to believe it’s immune to bullets…”

Just as Lu Xin was pondering this, Boss Gao Ting cursed fiercely, suddenly twisted the throttle hard. *Vroom!* The motorcycle popped a wheelie, charging forward under the immense power. Simultaneously, she raised her gun. *Bang bang bang bang bang!* The bullets flying from the muzzle seemed imbued with her ferocity, heading straight ahead.

“She’s really fierce…”

Lu Xin thought, pulling the revolver from his pocket and loading the special bullets.

“Wooo…”

As the madmen caught up behind him, he too twisted the handlebars sharply, rushing forward.

*Bang bang…*

As Boss Gao’s bullets neared the brain-like monster, tiny tendrils of flesh on the grooves of its blood-red surface began to writhe incessantly. Their movement distorted the surrounding air, seemingly forming an insulating layer.

The bullets entered this isolated zone, their trajectories instantly warped.

Sparks flew briefly, then the bullets vanished, flying off to who knows where.

“Indeed, these tangible monsters can’t be killed so easily…”

Lu Xin summarized mentally while taking out another gun from his bag.

It was pitch black, engraved with intricate ‘Q’ patterns. Fifteen-round capacity, heavy, much heavier than his revolver. Likewise, both its precision parts and smooth frame were a significant step up from the revolver.

This was the gun Minister Shen gave him back in Qinggang. Because it was so beautiful, Lu Xin usually hesitated to use it.

However, he didn’t rush to fire just yet.

It was loaded with special bullets; each shot used one up, and they were very expensive.

He had to get closer, find an opening, then take the shot.

*Bang bang bang bang*

But Boss Gao, charging ahead, clearly didn’t care about that. She fired wildly as she rushed towards the monster.

Lu Xin saw her, upon realizing the bullets were useless, directly take out a small green apple…

*Screech…*

But before she could raise her hand to throw it, the wheel of her motorcycle suddenly turned, and she crashed hard onto the ground. Falling at such speed, the impact was significant. Lu Xin was momentarily surprised; the woman’s riding skills were excellent, as everyone had seen along the way. Even firing with one hand and reaching for a small apple shouldn’t have caused her to crash.

“Hehehe…”

Before the thought fully formed, he suddenly saw Boss Gao, fallen on the ground, abruptly lift her face.

An eerie smile spread across her face, the corners of her mouth stretching wide to the sides.

It was the smile of the madmen…

“Is this the difference between corporeal and incorporeal monsters?”

“I didn’t see the monster make any obvious polluting moves, yet she’s already contaminated?”

As Lu Xin thought this, he also felt a wave of dizziness.

Perhaps due to the closer proximity, the sound of the violin was now clearly audible in his ears.

It felt like his blood suddenly accelerated, racing through his veins like wild horses, desperately rushing into his brain. At the same time, his limbs felt strangely weak. His steps, usually steady, felt like they were landing on empty air.

Legs, feet, body – they all seemed to have a life of their own, refusing to obey his brain’s commands.

Or perhaps, his brain was occupied by the music, separated from his body by a layer.

“Hehehe…”

Lu Xin heard a cold laugh nearby, only to realize it was coming from himself.

The ground rushed up; he was falling too.

“Must not fall!”

The thought flashed through Lu Xin’s mind.

…Otherwise, the bike will get scratched!

He abruptly released the throttle, planting one foot on the ground, barely managing to control his body.

.