Chapter 289: Psychic Showdown

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Lu Xin was already using special bullets when he fired at the brain-like monster from the air.

However, when the arcing special bullets hit the surface of the brain-like monster, they were instantly blocked by the layer of distorted air clinging tightly to its blood-red main body. Two bullets were deflected elsewhere.

Another bullet got stuck directly in the distorted air, failing even to detonate.

“What a waste…”

Lu Xin thought as his body began to fall. He simply put away his gun and lunged directly at the brain-like monster.

Screeech…

The sound of the violin started again, growing more intense. An unusual feeling surfaced in Lu Xin’s mind once more.

“Again?”

This surprised him slightly.

He rarely experienced the same pollution repeatedly. Especially facing this brain monster, its pollution seemed to last significantly longer than others he’d encountered, a full five seconds. Furthermore, he had already regained clarity once, yet when its violin music started again, it could still affect him. This felt even rarer.

He immediately turned to look at Mom.

Nearby, Mom stood before the brain, appreciating the violin performance. She was also turning her head to look at Lu Xin.

Then, her hand reached into her satchel and pulled out a pair of scissors.

Snip…

A crisp sound of scissors closing echoed in Lu Xin’s ears. Immediately after, everything around him fell quiet.

He could hear the friction of the surrounding air, the sound of the cold, blood-tinged wind blowing through the deserted city, even his own heartbeat and Father’s panting breaths. But the violin sound vanished instantly. Simultaneously, the feeling of accelerated blood flow and unresponsive limbs caused by the violin also disappeared.

Lu Xin took a deep breath, held Sister’s hand tightly, and reached directly for the surface of the brain monster.

Since Sister hated it, he would tear it apart.

…

Buzzz…

Just as Lu Xin’s hand reached the blood-red brain, a piercing sound suddenly erupted.

Faint electrical currents flashed within the complex, deep crevices on the brain’s surface. At the same time, the surrounding air abruptly distorted, spreading outwards like a tide from the entire brain’s surface, enveloping Lu Xin.

Within this distorted air, tiny cracks suddenly split open the ground.

The shells of abandoned cars and tangled electrical wires simultaneously twisted into curls, like scorched hair.

It was an invisible force capable of affecting real objects and distorting them.

…

“Mental impact…”

Lu Xin was pushed back by the impact, his brow furrowing slightly.

He recognized this power—a direct application of mental strength.

Another name for it was telekinesis.

Regardless of the system, Ability Users, or rather, Pollution Sources, more or less utilized such power. Essentially, it was a form of mental radiation. However, Ability Users with lower psychic power levels could affect very few real things, often using it more as a form of perception. Those with strong mental power could directly distort objects within their radiation range.

But normally, few Ability Users or Pollution Sources would do this.

Because this level of psychic power consumption could easily deplete their mental energy.

They could suddenly fall into extreme mental fatigue, even passing out.

It was too wasteful.

Thud! Thud!

As the concept of mental impact flashed through Lu Xin’s mind, he landed on the ground.

Everything around him seemed distorted; every object appeared stretched or deformed to varying degrees. This was because the air around him was affected by the brain monster’s mental power. However, Lu Xin himself showed no abnormalities…

This mental impact didn’t affect his body; it merely acted like a wall, blocking his forward charge.

“It’s time for Father to act…”

Lu Xin didn’t hesitate and raised his hand.

His shadow instantly transferred from the multi-limbed, centipede-like monster it enveloped towards the brain-like monster.

As if someone had shone a bright light source behind him, his shadow suddenly surged, growing larger and wider like a black devil. It instantly enveloped the entire brain and began tightening relentlessly.

The brain monster’s mental impact could distort anything, but it couldn’t distort the shadow.

“Hehehehe…”

Hollow laughter echoed as the shadow covered the brain monster’s surface, corroding it bit by bit.

The brain monster continued releasing its mental impact. The force of this impact prevented anything from approaching it, even holding the shadow ten centimeters away. But this resistance was clearly strenuous. The shadow gradually blackened this ten-centimeter gap, slowly breaking through like countless insects burrowing inward, eroding this space.

This was Father’s power corroding it.

The brain monster’s mental impact was simply too strong. It allowed it to isolate itself from all approaching forces. Even using Sister’s power, he couldn’t get close. Even Father’s power needed some time to eliminate it…

Meanwhile, on the other side, Mom continued to appreciate the violin performance.

She seemed to be using this method to counter the monster’s violin sound, preventing it from affecting Lu Xin.

“How can there be something that releases high-intensity mental impact for so long?”

Lu Xin wondered inwardly.

So troublesome…

…

“What… what exactly is that thing?”

While Lu Xin was considering how to quickly deal with the brain monster, deep underground in this abandoned city, within a hidden laboratory, numerous researchers in white coats were also staring blankly at the surveillance screen. They watched the young man standing before the brain monster completely unaffected, his shadow clawing wildly as it covered the brain.

They simply couldn’t understand.

A Second Stage madman monster was eliminated by him instantly?

And he was standing directly before the Third Stage creation—God’s Brain No. 3 Experiment Subject—without being torn to shreds?

“This was clearly just a routine feeding experiment…”

A staff member cried out involuntarily: “How could someone like this suddenly appear?”

“Is he an Ability User?”

“No, how strong would an Ability User have to be to confront God’s Brain head-on?”

…

The absurdity and confusion they felt were indescribable.

In their perception, it felt like their entire worldview was collapsing.

“No matter who he is, he absolutely cannot be allowed to leave alive…”

A white-bearded man suddenly rushed towards the control console, shouting in a low voice: “Increase the energy input! Eliminate him!”

…

Zzzzzz…

As a red lever was pushed up in that hidden laboratory, a harsh buzzing sound suddenly came from beside the blood-red brain in front of Lu Xin. It sounded like the noise of powerful electrical currents passing through fragile wires. Lu Xin looked up and could see through the distorted image that the blood-red brain was becoming increasingly vibrant, even emitting a faint glow.

Countless blood vessels extended from it, wrapping around nearby buildings, utility poles, and even drilling into the surrounding abandoned houses. It was these blood vessels that suspended it in mid-air, but unexpectedly, they could also apparently transmit energy.

Buzzzzz…

A piercing sound continuously assaulted his mind.

The blood-red brain’s mental impact suddenly intensified severalfold.

Lu Xin felt something pressing against him from all sides, even trying to burrow into his body.

Even the shadow, which had corroded to within two or three centimeters of the brain monster’s main body, was gradually pushed back by the rapidly intensifying mental impact. From two or three centimeters, it was pushed to four or five, then slowly increased to seven or eight centimeters…

The shadow grew more violent. Lu Xin could already hear Father’s curses.

He was angry, urging Lu Xin to stop meddling and release more of his power.

But Lu Xin still didn’t agree.

After the Second Stage incident, his relationship with Father had repaired significantly, which was why Father wasn’t always confined to that room anymore. However, caution was still necessary. He wasn’t certain if releasing too much of Father’s power would make his emotions uncontrollable… Sigh, every family has its problems. Things were improving, but they couldn’t be ignored.

To some extent, he felt pressured from both inside and out.

This put some pressure on Lu Xin as well.

Beyond the pressure, a feeling of dissatisfaction began to grow…

…

“Don’t worry. This is a filthy thing, different from you.”

“It’s a monster, and you are… human!”

“So why fight them head-on? Since you’re human, there should be a human way to handle this…”

Mom’s figure appeared beside Lu Xin.

Amidst the distorted and chaotic images all around, only Mom appeared remarkably real and stable.

Perhaps this was because, loving beauty as she did, she disliked others distorting her appearance.

“Find its pollution logic through rational analysis, then sever its logic chain?”

Mom’s voice slightly eased Lu Xin’s dissatisfaction. He looked up at her with some curiosity.

“Yes.”

A faint smile appeared on Mom’s face as she looked at Lu Xin. “Have you figured it out?”

“It uses the violin sound to control those madmen, and the method of control is transmitting emotions.”

“Moreover, it’s incomplete. That’s why its violin music is so monotonous!”

…

“Transmit emotions?”

Lu Xin nodded slightly, understanding Mom’s meaning, and turned his head to look somewhere specific. “So…”

A smile graced Mom’s face as she looked in a particular direction.

Sister, who was sulking nearby with her chin in her hands because she couldn’t harm the brain monster, also looked over.

Within Lu Xin’s black shadow, a pair of blood-red eyes suddenly opened and also looked towards that place.

Under their collective gaze, the skinless dog tucked its tail tightly in fear.