Chapter 317: Flesh and Fire

The middle-aged man gripped the gun in his hand, but weighing the situation, he chose not to fire.

He silently observed the man wearing gold-rimmed glasses before him and asked, “Was all this prepared for me?”

“Not exactly.”

The man with the gold-rimmed glasses smiled and explained, “Originally, I hadn’t planned on using such drastic measures to invite you, but plans change, so I had to act sooner. I have an excellent project that needs your help. We leave tonight.”

The middle-aged man looked up at him calmly. “The Research Institute handles confidentiality very well. Capturing me is useless.”

“I know.”

The man with the gold-rimmed glasses smiled. “So, while I came to pick you up, my people inside the secret research project you’re heading were moving out the instruments and key parasitic items you need… Your son helped my people get in. He’s always harbored a desire to rebel against you, an impulse for revenge… Also, a major pollution incident is about to erupt in Central City.”

“The Special Action Team from Satellite City Seven should be too busy to deal with us right now and won’t arrive anytime soon.”

“Therefore, we have ample time to get you out.”

As he spoke, he put his glasses back on, smiled, and extended his hand. “Pleasant cooperation!”

…

The middle-aged man followed the man with the gold-rimmed glasses out of the car. He didn’t shake the offered hand, merely surveyed his surroundings.

He saw that the armed personnel previously protecting him had now all transformed into grotesque masses of flesh and blood. They weren’t dead yet, their bodies just twitched, flesh surging like expanding foam, sprouting buds.

When these flesh buds touched, they linked together, forming even larger masses of flesh.

“Eee~~”

The growth of these flesh masses wasn’t silent; they faintly emitted the sound of infants crying.

“Has your research in the domain of life reached this level?”

“It truly exceeds my imagination.”

The middle-aged man frowned, looking at the writhing, indescribable masses of flesh on the ground, and questioned the man with the gold-rimmed glasses, “So, you’re the one the Stalker was looking for, the person related to the escaped lab… Chen Xun?”

“Yes, Dr. Zhao Shiming.”

The man with the gold-rimmed glasses smiled, slowly lowering his outstretched hand. “We should have a lot to talk about.”

“After all, our research directions are the same.”

“That’s why I hope Dr. Zhao can come with me and see the project I’m currently working on!”

“Of course.”

He chuckled slightly. “I’m also saving your life, Dr. Zhao. If you go to the detention center now, you’ll die, and Central City will suffer greatly because of it… I understand your anger, so if you truly want revenge, only I can help you.”

…

Zhao Shiming didn’t say much more. After a two-second silence, he stated, “I’ll go with you.”

A smile appeared on the face of the man with the gold-rimmed glasses. He said sincerely, “We can pick up your son…”

“Although his injuries are quite severe, I believe my skills should be sufficient to heal him.”

…

A mocking smile touched Zhao Shiming’s lips as he shook his head. “No need.”

“Who knows if he’ll still be my son after your ‘treatment’.”

…

He ceased any pointless resistance, even tucking his gun away.

The man with the gold-rimmed glasses was very magnanimous, not even attempting to confiscate Dr. Zhao’s weapon.

“Are we just leaving like this?”

However, as Zhao Shiming prepared to get into Chen Xun’s car, he hesitated, glancing at the masses of flesh covering the ground.

“This type of mental entity isn’t the most powerful, but it’s the most dangerous. Its interference with reality, especially with people, is too strong. Just leaving this stuff here… won’t the threat to Central City be too terrifying?”

“It’s fine.”

Chen Xun chuckled. “Only this way can we ensure our smooth departure.”

“Besides, I also need this method to let the Research Institute understand the results of my current research.”

Zhao Shiming said no more and boarded the car. A beam of stark white light cut through the rain curtain as the vehicle sped towards the north gate.

Beneath the downpour, only the slick, writhing flesh trembled softly.

Faint cries like those of infants carried far through the rain, influencing person after person.

…

“What’s wrong?”

Lu Xin, who had been dozing quietly in the detention center, suddenly woke with a start.

He looked up and saw his sister at the small window, her hands gripping the iron bars, her little head peering outside.

“I don’t know.”

Sister shook her head. “But it feels like there’s something familiar over there…”

“Familiar?”

Lu Xin was a bit surprised. “Then wouldn’t it be better to go take a look?”

“I can’t go that far.”

Sister looked petulantly at Lu Xin. “And you refuse to go out.”

“I broke the law…”

Lu Xin tried to explain awkwardly to his sister, wondering why something familiar to her would appear right at this moment.

Just as he was considering whether to ask the guard for leave to step out for a bit, Sister jumped down.

“Okay, I can’t see it anymore!”

“So fast?”

Lu Xin frowned. At the same time, he suddenly caught the faint smell of blood.

It wasn’t the first time he had smelled this particular scent.

Back at the motel, when the third hidden monster rescued the man in the suit, it had left behind a pile of bizarre, rotting flesh in the courtyard. Before that flesh completely dissolved into blood, it emitted this exact smell.

Compared to then, the smell he detected now was fainter due to the distance.

However, this bloody scent was growing stronger.

“Eee~~”

Suddenly, faint, soft crying sounds drifted over, exceptionally eerie amidst the snoring from the adjacent cells.

“What’s that?”

Lu Xin abruptly lifted his head, walking to the bars to peer outside.

In the neighboring cells, some people were also awakened, mumbling, “Why are they sending kids here too?”

*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*

“What the hell is that?”

“Holy sh—”

…

Suddenly, terrified screams and intense gunfire erupted outside.

Everyone in the cell block woke up, crowding against the bars to watch.

“Why are they shooting?”

“Did someone get scared and start crying?”

…

Amidst the somewhat frightened and panicked murmurs, Lu Xin remained silent for a moment before the sound of cracking bones echoed. He squeezed through the bars, then followed the corridor outwards. Reaching the first door, he saw the police officer on duty outside was gone. The iron door was locked. The sounds of gunfire and screams outside grew more frequent, and the thick smell of blood drifted in.

The iron door was locked. Lu Xin hesitated for a moment, then reached forward.

He simply punched a hole right where the deadbolt was, pulled the door open, and walked out.

He had just turned a corner when he saw several police officers screaming and fleeing towards him. Behind them shambled several bloated monsters of writhing flesh. Several mouths had sprouted on their bodies, some emitting the cries of infants.

“What is this?”

Lu Xin frowned deeply, feeling they somewhat resembled the Second Stage madmen he’d encountered in White Tower Town.

However, these monsters seemed unstable.

“Don’t panic!”

He shouted in a low voice while hitching up his pants and charging forward, smoothly grabbing a gun from one of the guards.

*Bang!* *Bang!*

The bullets accurately struck what should theoretically be the monster’s head, causing a spray of blood.

However, against this somewhat mucus-like monster, bullet holes of this extent didn’t seem fatal.

The flesh simply flowed downwards, covering the wound, even restoring it to its original state.

Gunfire had extremely limited effect on it.

Lu Xin glanced down at his feet; the shadow seemed completely unchanged.

He remembered: Father disliked these foul-smelling monsters, even found them repulsive.

So, he took a deep breath and looked around.

In the hall ahead, there was a small table with some groceries and two bottles of alcohol. A tattered curtain hung on the nearby window. The guards behind him were already panicked, now desperately running towards the small door leading to the detention cells.

Even moving slowly, the monster had already reached him, slowly raising a hand to grab him.

Lu Xin sighed, twisting his body to dodge the monster’s grasp. Then he kicked off the monster’s knee, launching himself high into the air, before bringing his own knee down, smashing this seemingly invertebrate-like creature downwards.

Simultaneously, he pushed off the monster’s body, using the momentum to rush to the left and yank down the curtain.

With a swift motion, the curtain swept up the two bottles of alcohol from the table in the hall. He tucked the bottles under his arm, freed his other hand, and wrapped the curtain tightly around the falling monster, several times over. Then, grabbing a bottle in each hand, he bit off the caps with his mouth and raised them, glugging the entire contents onto the creature.

Tossing the empty bottles aside, he took out the green plastic lighter the young guard had given him earlier.

With a *click*, the flame leaped high.

Lu Xin tried to light it, but it didn’t catch immediately; this alcohol burned slowly.

He had no choice but to bring the flame close to the monster, shielding it with his hand, and slowly ignited the curtain.

Once the fire caught, fueled by the alcohol, it flared up with a *whoosh*, blazing like a torch.

…

Taking a few steps back, Lu Xin addressed the guards, “Get behind me. I’ll protect you.”

The guards, still in a state of terror, stared blankly at this man who had emerged from a cell, hitching up his pants. Faced with his gentle smile, they felt an unnerving sense of dissonance. For a moment, no one spoke. Of course, no one bothered asking how he escaped or brought up pointless issues like prisoners not being allowed to break out.

The guard whose gun he’d taken hesitated, but then Lu Xin handed the weapon back to him.

“What exactly happened?”

Lu Xin slowly walked outwards, dealing with two fully formed monsters and one that hadn’t quite finished forming along the way.

These monsters were horrifying in appearance, exuding a strange, terrifying aura, but they weren’t difficult to handle.

By the time he reached the front hall, the smell of blood was even stronger. Peering out through the faint light, he saw flashes of fire suddenly erupting everywhere through the misty rain curtain, accompanied by those infant cries, fine as needles.

“Is this the third monster from the motel, the one that never showed itself?”

“What is it doing?”

…

Lu Xin’s brows furrowed tighter, feeling a strange sense of unease.

“Wooo…”

Just then, the drawn-out wail of sirens suddenly rang out, spreading instantly from every corner throughout the entire city.

Lu Xin had heard this sound twice before in Qinggang.

Although this sound often signified disaster, danger, and panic, Lu Xin’s mood suddenly calmed.

He knew this meant Central City’s professional cleanup personnel were about to intervene.

Monsters and Ability Users, chaos and order, were about to clash violently once again.

And as for himself right now…

He calmly walked back and knocked on the door leading to the detention cells.

Since someone else was doing their job, he should naturally continue doing what he was supposed to do.

Be detained.