Chapter 336: Touching the Truth

“What kind of pollution or ability is this exactly?”

In the chaotic courtyard Lu Xin felt an oppressive sensation for the first time.

There was no Information Analysis Team no materials provided beforehand for him to study and everything was happening incredibly fast.

Facing this situation he couldn’t fight back nor could he leave.

Especially with the situation changing so rapidly and people potentially dying at any moment he didn’t even have enough time to analyze the logic chain and find the source of the pollution.

A sense of agitation began to bubble up within him.

Beneath his feet in the faint moonlight and building shadows the unnatural shadow stirred restlessly.

“I can’t ask for your help this time…”

Lu Xin suppressed the turmoil in his heart and halted the shadow trying to extend itself.

He could clearly see the terrifying aspect of this pollution lay in its ability to restrain the strongest counterattacks of those affected.

Not only could he not let the Shadow act even his Sister couldn’t play as freely as before.

Chen Jing and Gecko one was a leader who looked out for him the other was his first real friend.

He didn’t want to see them die by his own hand.

So…

How could he resolve the current situation and safely rescue them both?

…

Forcing himself to calm down Lu Xin dodged various attacks while his mind raced.

This pollution ability was terrifying turning everyone into copies of his teammates.

It could even sow chaos making it impossible for him to distinguish his real teammates amidst the hostile figures.

Fortunately Lu Xin glanced at his Sister.

She seemed to understand his worries holding his hand obediently waiting for his decision.

But there was a mischievous smirk on her small face like she was enjoying the show.

Though slightly annoyed Lu Xin felt a small measure of security.

This at least proved that the pollution ability could affect his teammates but not his family.

…

“Even if it changed my teammates’ appearances there must be something it couldn’t change…”

“Otherwise everyone should be rushing me right now instead of fighting each other…”

“This seems deliberately arranged. Among those people some must be intentionally attacking their own companions to confuse my judgment. Or perhaps it did affect Gecko and the Leader plunging them into chaos…”

“After all Gecko is only B-rank.”

“As for the Leader…”

“So influencing them shouldn’t be too difficult right?”

“No wait my focus right now should be how to tell them apart…”

…

As these thoughts raced through his mind Lu Xin moved with nimble agility weaving through the chaotic battlefield.

He dodged bullet after bullet and deflected incoming knife thrusts.

Everywhere he looked he saw Gecko’s face some gloomy some bizarre.

Their skills defied human limits their combined assault putting immense pressure on him every second…

“Is this Gecko’s true strength when he goes all out?”

Lu Xin wondered ducking his head to avoid a bullet then grabbing a leg kicking towards his temple. He thought “He really is different from Sister. He’s developed the Spider-type ability to its absolute limit…”

“Huh?”

Lu Xin suddenly realized this wasn’t the time to get distracted.

He still held the leg of the Gecko that had kicked at him; it felt ice-cold like a dead object.

A flash of insight struck him. He suddenly understood how to distinguish the real Gecko and Chen Jing from the crowd.

Because they might encounter flesh monsters this time Chen Jing had them all change into new combat suits.

The purpose of these suits was to minimize contact with monster flesh. When changing back at the hotel Lu Xin had specifically touched it remembering the initial sensation the fabric gave him—soft yet possessing the distinct texture of woven material.

And just moments ago when Chen Jing transformed he had pressed her shoulder.

The texture hadn’t changed it was exactly the same as back at the hotel.

But the leg he held now clearly had a different icy cold feel.

…

If that’s the case…

Lu Xin who had been dodging left and right suddenly stopped. He whispered “Sister you might need to be a bit rougher.”

Sister whipped her head around to look at Lu Xin her small face alight with excitement “Play happily?”

Lu Xin glanced at his Sister and nodded “Yes.”

The moment he nodded someone charged him firing rapidly with guns in both hands.

Crack…

Lu Xin pushed off the ground forcefully his leg bones emitting a crisp snap as his speed surged. His figure flickered like an afterimage in the dim courtyard light swaying left and right like a poorly assembled puppet dodging the incoming bullets. Simultaneously he lunged forward grabbing the attacker’s arm. The sensation in his palm was a hard cold iciness.

Lu Xin abruptly looked up flashing a bizarre ferocious smile at this ‘Gecko’.

Then he surged forward pressing his hand against the ‘Gecko’s’ head and shoving it hard against the pillar behind him.

“Crash!”

This ‘Gecko’s’ head exploded splattering cold slurry-like blood everywhere.

In the next instant Lu Xin dashed left planting his foot on the pillar and circling halfway around dodging attacks from one ‘Gecko’ with a gun and another with a dagger. While his foot was still on the pillar his hands dropped down grabbing their arms.

The feeling in his palms told him these two were fakes.

So as his body began to fall he reached out grabbing their necks.

“Rip…”

Two heads tumbled to the ground. Blood surged like mud from the neck cavities as the headless corpses swayed and collapsed.

“Bang bang bang…”

Gunfire flashed incessantly in the small courtyard illuminating the dim space in flickering bursts.

Amidst the crisscrossing bullets and daggers Lu Xin’s figure weaved through the crowd. Occasionally the muzzle flashes revealed his agile form and his face—calm to the point of indifference yet with a hint of excitement gleaming in his eyes.

Wherever he passed one Gecko after another fell like straw.

Some twisted into grotesque shapes others simply split apart.

Uncertain what these things were or if they could revive Lu Xin struck ruthlessly aiming for complete destruction.

The Red Moon shone quietly on the earth as the number of people in the courtyard rapidly dwindled.

Only when just four or five figures remained standing did Lu Xin suddenly stop.

He slowly raised his hand wiping the bloodstains from it onto his clothes.

His mood gradually relaxed. Then he smiled a look of lingering enjoyment on his face as he gazed at the few remaining ‘Geckos’ in the courtyard.

…

Meanwhile on the east side of the city in the alley where countless blood-red eyes grew…

The Doctor and his two patient team members had their weapons aimed at each other’s vital points.

The mutual hatred the urge to kill the other had consumed their thoughts.

At this moment they felt no sense of being influenced by others only a deep-seated loathing for each other.

Then…

The Doctor whose scalpel was aimed at a teammate’s artery revealed a sinister smile.

With a *shhk* sound his scalpel abruptly lifted slashing towards the teammate whose slightly misaligned pupils always made his gaze seem unfocused “I’ve tolerated you for a long time. I’ve long wanted to correct the position of this eye…”

“Tch…”

His scalpel left a bloody scratch on the patient’s cheek.

Because he hadn’t targeted the artery closest to the scalpel the teammate had room to tilt his head back avoiding having his eye stabbed.

Also as he tilted his head back the gun held by this patient fired.

But surprisingly he didn’t aim for his teammate’s head but precisely at the edge of the doll mask worn by the other.

“Wearing that mask every day it’s disgusting! I want people to see your true face…”

The teammate wearing the mask felt the bullet pierce the edge. The immense force snapped his neck with a ‘crack’ sound shattering half the mask and knocking it askew revealing a stubbled face. But he had no time for that. His large hand gripping the Doctor’s neck yanked him forward opening his fuzzy mouth wide to plant a kiss.

He declared with vicious determination “I’m gonna screw you…”

…

A unique torture session thus commenced.

They all acted on genuine hatred for each other their minds filled with the cruelest intentions.

But none wanted to kill; instead they sought more vicious ways to torment each other. Consequently what should have been resolved quickly dragged on filled with unbearable sensations of pain…

In the alley full of eyeballs a man in a suit with only one eye appeared.

His elegant slender body trembled slightly.

Because he was in a state of continuous observation he could perceive all the malicious thoughts in these people’s minds.

Furthermore due to the depth of his observation he empathized with their current sensations.

Thus he simultaneously suffered the pain of a scalpel repeatedly cutting his face and body the chaotic feeling of a slimy hand grabbing at his head and hair and the nauseating sensation of a large mouth kissing him haphazardly…

It nearly drove him to collapse.

Then just as his mind fell into disarray the commotion in the alley abruptly ceased.

“Not good…”

The Man in the suit or rather the Inner Demon snapped back to awareness wanting to retreat.

But he only took one step back before a silver scalpel pressed against his throat.

The sharp sensation caused the flesh there to instinctively contract. Bile rising in his throat began to fall back down.

His thoughts were still scrambled; he couldn’t even understand how this Doctor had found his true self directly.

“It’s quite unpleasant isn’t it?”

The Doctor’s face still bore traces of saliva but his gaze was calm gentle and sympathetic as he looked at the single eye on the man’s head.

“Delving into the minds of several mental patients… it must be a rare experience right?”

The Man in the suit trembled slightly as if trying to answer.

But with a *tss* sound the scalpel slit his throat.

Next it struck his eyeball then his joints then the location of his heart.

The Doctor’s scalpel attacked all possible vital points on his body in rapid succession with exceptional precision while smiling with an understanding expression “I truly sympathize with you. So many teams came in why did you have to pick us? Didn’t you know that through calculation I could easily see where you were?”

As he spoke he struck even harder “Sigh of course even though I sympathize I can’t spare you.”

“After all you’ve seen our… inner thoughts!”

“I can’t possibly expose the fact that I’m not really a doctor…”

…

The two mental patients watched from afar as the Doctor dismembered the one-eyed monster their eyes filled with enjoyment.

“Have you noticed the Boss is different from before?”

The patient with the wandering gaze asked the other while applying a band-aid to his face.

“Yeah!”

The other patient carefully readjusted the half-broken mask on his face and sighed “His condition is getting worse.”