Chapter 309: Negotiating with the Absorbed

Lu Xin and his family looked towards the monster that had devoured the entire convoy.

It stood at the front of the line of old drivers, still wearing those strange white clothes. Bright red tentacles constricted its own body as it stood rigidly in formation like a hawk guarding chicks, its small head lowered, body seemingly trembling slightly.

Sister squatted on its head, her small hands curiously touching its ears.

Perhaps because Sister had it under control, it hadn’t been able to escape when the infant’s cries rang out earlier.

It had become a hostage.

Lu Xin stood up and walked towards it, counting the figures behind the small monster.

Thirty-seven people from the convoy, not one missing.

There was even an extra one. Peering closer, Lu Xin realized it was a man in casual clothes. He stood at the very front, head bowed low, hands resting on the monster’s shoulders, his face obscured.

“Could this be the personnel from our Qinggang Central City office…”

The thought struck Lu Xin suddenly, bringing a hint of surprise.

He had been waiting for someone from the office to make contact, but no one had shown up.

Could it be that he wasn’t stood up, but rather arrived too early and got caught in the mess?

…Han Bing had said the office personnel were quite professional, but… this?

His disdain for this Qinggang colleague grew slightly.

Regardless, rescuing everyone was the priority. After circling the creature, Lu Xin came to stand before the monster at the front. He looked down at it and said seriously, “Will you release them willingly, or do I have to find a way?”

The monster’s body was trembling violently now.

Its tentacles wrapped around itself, as if hugging itself tightly out of fear.

Suddenly, a thin voice sounded from the back of its head, “I… am one with them now. If you hurt me… they will die too. So… I can release them. But you have to… promise me… let me leave… okay?”

“Are you trying to negotiate with me?”

Lu Xin stared down at the monster, his expression clearly displeased.

The monster didn’t speak, its body shaking intensely.

“Brother, I want this toy. Can you give it to me, please?”

Sister rode on the monster’s head. As it trembled, she trembled too, but hers was from excitement.

“I just bought you a toy last time, aren’t you tired of it yet…”

Lu Xin first dismissed his sister’s request, then narrowed his eyes at the monster, muttering to himself, “So, the most troublesome thing about this monster is that after polluting the convoy members, it turned them into a part of itself. Harming one harms them all. To deal with it, the first step is to separate it from the others.”

“Basically, sever its Logic Chain…”

“Sigh, if only Mom were here, one snip of her scissors would solve everything…”

…

The monster clearly didn’t understand terms like “Mom” but it felt a strange sense of dread.

It shivered even more fiercely, yet felt it should be relieved. The person before it clearly cared about the lives of those behind it, meaning he wouldn’t just kill it outright, ignoring the hostages. This seemed to be its advantage…

…Thinking this, the tightness of its self-embrace loosened just a fraction.

“Sister, can you pull these people apart?”

Lu Xin pondered for a moment before asking.

Sister stretched out her small hands, tugging slightly. “It’s really tough. I don’t know if tearing it apart would work.”

Lu Xin seriously considered his sister’s ability, his face taking on a professional look as he mused, “Theoretically, it’s now one entity with the others. If you tear its body apart, you’d be tearing the others apart too…”

Sister’s eyes lit up. “We can stitch them back up…”

Lu Xin shot his sister a reproachful glance. “It’ll leave scars…”

Sister pouted, crossing her little arms tightly.

Lu Xin then looked towards Shadow. “Do you have a way?”

“Hehehehe…”

Shadow chuckled eerily. “I’m quite skilled at chopping off their arms…”

Lu Xin sighed and finally turned to look at the skinless dog. It tilted its head, watching Lu Xin curiously.

Lu Xin didn’t even ask, just sighed, “If only Mom were here…”

He understood the skinless dog better. This creature could likely throw others’ emotions into disarray. However, since the monster and the convoy were now linked, using the dog’s ability might plunge everyone into emotional chaos, potentially leading to mass hysteria or even madness…

Both Sister and Father now looked at Lu Xin with rather cold, eerie gazes.

The skinless dog wanted to glare too, but remembering its status, it decided to wag its tail happily at Lu Xin instead.

…

“I’ll try to persuade it…”

Lu Xin pretended not to notice their stares. He focused seriously on the tentacled monster, a creature one might not want to look at twice. He observed its skin, the tentacles that replaced its arms, its large ears, and the way the arms of those behind it rested on its shoulders, as if countless fine threads bound it to them, forming a single entity.

Negotiation was very important and useful. Mom used to handle it, now he could try himself…

“Are you ultimately human or monster?”

Lu Xin suddenly asked, “What I mean is, were you originally human, but changed into this? Or were you created as a monster from the start? And were you created looking like this… rather cute way?”

The little monster remained silent, just hugging itself tighter.

“If you were human, then ending up looking like this… you’re quite sick!”

Lu Xin spoke patiently, “But if you were created like this from the beginning, the emotions I sense from you feel real. Can a monster truly feel abandoned like children? …Seriously, I really understand you. I remember being isolated for a time back at the orphanage. But later, we all got along great…”

“…Wherever I went, they’d proactively hide, waiting for me to catch them.”

…

Lu Xin felt the little monster trembling even more violently; he knew he had struck a chord.

His smile became kinder. He patted its little head, felt it was damp, and casually wiped his hand on its clothes. He continued, “Your ability seems different from others, like you’ve all been strengthened. Take you, for example. Your ability was actually quite weak originally, but now… it’s still pretty weak… but your influence is stronger.”

“I didn’t even notice you for such a long time earlier.”

“Of course, that might also be because you’re genuinely not very noticeable…”

…

Within the monster’s simple fear, many complex things seemed to suddenly surface.

Sensing this change, Lu Xin pressed his advantage, continuing his persuasion, “I really, truly understand you. I understand that feeling of wanting to be found. But you do have this quality of not being easily noticed. And looking like this now, it’ll probably be even harder to integrate into society. Even if you did, how would you find a job, fall in love, or even get married?”

“Looking like this, probably no girl would like you, right?”

…

Listening to Lu Xin’s friendly persuasion, both Sister and the skinless dog were stunned for a moment, then turned their heads away, seemingly unable to bear watching.

Even Shadow fell silent.

Lu Xin slowly reached out, took hold of one of the little monster’s tentacles, and held it friendly. “You originally had two companions, barely counting as someone caring about you. But look… they both escaped just now, ran off so quickly…”

His voice took on a sympathetic tone. “They didn’t think about saving you at all…”

“Huh? Hehe… Sorry, I didn’t laugh. I just thought… could it be they forgot about you too?”

“Tsk tsk, abandoned yet again…”

…

The little monster’s body began to tremble even more violently, its flesh twitching as if it were crying.

“Don’t cry, don’t cry. One must accept reality…”

“Look, at least we didn’t forget you. So…”

Lu Xin sympathetically placed his hand on its small head and sighed softly, “Make your decision soon!”

“Be good, don’t make me get angry…”

…

…

“Even Infant felt scared?”

The man in the darkness fell silent for a moment, then murmured softly to himself, “If that’s the case, the opponent’s strength might be beyond the Second Stage. He could be a mature Second Stage, or even a stable S-rank. It’s highly unlikely someone like that emerged from the wild. He most likely has a powerful faction and researchers supporting him… Inner Demon, can you show me his appearance?”

The man in the suit with only one eye on his face nodded. Deep within the darkness, a blood-red eye snapped open.

In the darkness before this eye, strands of light coalesced.

What finally appeared was the image of a young man, his neck bent at a ninety-degree angle, his eyes calm, a smile on his face.

Within the darkness, looking at the image projected by Inner Demon, the atmosphere seemed to become exceptionally oppressive.

The man remained silent for a long time, but one could feel his gaze fixed intently on the young man, as if trying to identify him.

After a considerable time, he suddenly asked softly, “How old is he?”

Inner Demon thought carefully. “Approximately twenty to twenty-five. His aura is very much like an ordinary person…”

The man in the darkness suddenly asked, “Does he possess abilities similar to the Spider-type?”

“Yes, I initially mistook him for Spider-type.”

Inner Demon spoke in a low voice, “But later I discovered I was terribly mistaken.”

“You’re already very lucky to have returned alive.”

The man in the darkness chuckled softly, then sighed with emotion, “He’s grown up…”

Both Inner Demon and Infant, hiding in the darkness, remained silent. They didn’t ask questions, but they could discern strange emotions in the man’s words – perhaps reflection, perhaps even a hint of… excitement.

“Notify Zhao Hui. Proceed with Plan Two immediately.”

The man in the darkness snapped his fingers lightly, the sound crisp and decisive, without a hint of hesitation.

Inner Demon seemed surprised. “Isn’t… isn’t that too rushed?”

“The plan had already progressed to this point anyway; it was just a matter of closing the net sooner or later. Zhao Hui previously reported that he had done what we asked. So, letting him contribute his remaining usefulness now is also quite good.”

“Most importantly, since he has arrived, how can we welcome him if our plan isn’t completed?”

The man spoke calmly, as if explaining, or perhaps reassuring himself. Then he pressed a call button and gave a quiet order:

“Have her come over.”

“Squeak.”

No footsteps were heard, but just two seconds later, the room door was pushed open. A small figure appeared in the doorway.

The light from the corridor illuminated her. It revealed a little girl who looked about eight or nine years old. She wore only a small white skirt and was barefoot, her head lowered, standing there silently. Against the light, one could see that the parts of her skin not covered by clothes were littered with large, terrifying scars and fine stitches.

The man looked at her, his gaze softening. “You can get ready.”

“Nineteen…”