Chapter 343: Difficult Reunion

Everyone around—Chen Jing, Gecko, and the Ability User teams from Central City—was stunned by the scene unfolding before them. They watched as Lu Xin walked forward and gently embraced the extremely dangerous little girl, their hearts leaping into their throats.

An indescribable, strange feeling suddenly washed over the crowd.

Xia Chong abruptly turned and shot Chen Jing a meaningful look.

Chen Jing’s expression was just as troubled as hers.

She had initially dismissed Lu Xin’s claim of visiting family as just an excuse.

She had already guessed Lu Xin’s true purpose for coming and understood from his silent demeanor how he intended to treat this ‘relative’. Therefore, she essentially still viewed this as a mission.

She had also spoken of visiting family simply to ease Lu Xin’s emotions and mitigate the severity of the situation.

But it wasn’t until this moment, seeing Lu Xin hold the little girl, that she suddenly realized.

There was actually some truth to Lu Xin’s words about ‘visiting family’.

…

It wasn’t just the people around watching Lu Xin; his Sister behind him was watching him too.

She had been very worried, but when she saw Lu Xin embrace the little girl, her eyes instantly reddened.

For the first time, her face held no trace of teasing or mischief, only genuine sadness.

Beneath Lu Xin’s feet, the Shadow that had merged with the darkness remained silent, merely observing him quietly.

But no one knew what the Shadow was thinking.

From a nearby corner, a skinless dog emerged, creeping stealthily closer to Lu Xin.

…

“Bi…”

The little girl, held tightly by Lu Xin, had already gripped the dining knife embedded in the concrete wall. But Lu Xin’s embrace made her hesitate slightly, as if she’d forgotten to pull the knife out.

Her little face was still filled with astonishment and bewilderment. Even the deep-seated hostility within her hadn’t dissipated, yet she subconsciously didn’t struggle, seemingly wanting to remain in this embrace.

After an unknown amount of time, she slowly opened her mouth.

Because she hadn’t spoken in a long time, her voice was harsh and unclear, and speaking took great effort.

“Bi… Big mon… ster!”

Her small head near Lu Xin’s ear, she slowly, forcefully uttered these three words.

Lu Xin, holding the girl tightly, trembled slightly.

Meeting again after so many years, this was the impression he had left on the youngest child.

She thought he was a big monster?

For a moment, he felt the entire world turn empty.

If only all the pain in this world was purely physical.

A certain consciousness began to stir.

Lu Xin felt as if an invisible hand was squeezing his heart tightly, like something was permanently missing a piece. He had forgotten about it, but suddenly, memories related to it flooded back into his mind, feeling incredibly vivid.

That feeling of missing a piece hadn’t healed with time; instead, the void felt even deeper.

He wanted to roar like a beast, to pound his head violently, even wanting to rip out his own heart to check if the feeling of a missing piece was real. But he knew clearly that none of it would help.

When intense, vivid pain struck, the only thing to do was endure it silently and wait for it to pass.

The people around began to instinctively retreat.

They sensed an intense, profound emotion emanating from Lu Xin, like something that could drown many people.

“Woof…”

The skinless dog, mustering its courage, suddenly rushed forward and bit Lu Xin’s calf.

It clamped its eyes shut, refusing to let go, resigned to its fate whatever may come.

…

“Brother, she’s already gone…”

Only after the intense emotion radiating from Lu Xin had mostly subsided did Sister carefully approach.

She gently tugged at the corner of Lu Xin’s clothing, her eyes fixed only on his face.

After a long moment, Lu Xin finally let out a soft sigh.

He looked down and saw that the girl in his arms was gone.

What he held now was something resembling crystal, like solidified flesh and blood.

It was the same material as those people in the courtyard who could transform into Gecko’s likeness using the Rubik’s Cube’s power.

Little Nineteen had escaped.

The one he had been facing was just something akin to a puppet.

She was still so scared of him.

After all, in her eyes, he was a ‘big monster’.

“It’s not her fault.”

After a long pause, Lu Xin slowly sighed again, stood up, and kicked the skinless dog several meters away. His emotions seemed to have significantly calmed. Turning back, he saw his Sister’s reddened eyes and said softly, “She’s very scared.”

Sister nodded vigorously and whispered, “She was always the most timid one.”

Lu Xin nodded, looking ahead.

…

“Who… who exactly is he?”

Only then did the surrounding people feel the pressure lessen somewhat.

For a moment there, watching Lu Xin holding the little girl in the white dress, they had almost seen him as a mental pollution bomb of unknown magnitude.

In the eyes of an Ability User, sensing the terrifying emotions erupting from Lu Xin back then was no different from an ordinary person watching a hundred kilograms of TNT explosive right in front of them with its fuse merrily burning away.

Fortunately, the terrifying emotion from Lu Xin slowly dissipated.

They all felt a sense of relief, like having survived a disaster.

However, they only breathed a slight sigh of relief.

The two Central City Ability User teams that had just arrived wore serious expressions as they looked towards Xia Chong.

In their eyes, Lu Xin’s terrifying presence had already overshadowed their focus on the mission.

“A colleague from Qinggang.”

Xia Chong glanced up at Lu Xin, her thoughts seemingly complex.

But after a moment’s thought, she offered only this simple explanation.

“Qinggang sent people in too?”

The captains of the two teams exchanged glances, their eyes fixed on Lu Xin. “Someone this terrifying… What are you doing here?”

Lu Xin seemed not to hear them and didn’t answer, merely looking up at the building before them.

For a moment, the captains of these two teams didn’t dare to press further.

“We accompanied him here to visit family.”

At this point, Chen Jing took the initiative to answer their question, slowly straightening up. Her gaze swept over everyone present. “It seems the Black Table isn’t as easy to deal with as you thought. These casualties weren’t part of your plan, were they?”

“If we continue further into the laboratory, we might encounter even greater dangers. I think…”

“Shouldn’t we prepare to join forces ahead of time?”

“After all, waiting until the most desperate moment to team up is the most foolish thing to do.”

…

The teams exchanged uncertain glances. The man in the exquisite suit asked in a low voice, “Is Captain Li really dead?”

Xia Chong nodded expressionlessly. “Dead. Along with two of his team members, two of mine, and one from the Doctor’s team. Out of the twelve of us who explored head-on, six are already dead. Casualties are over fifty percent.”

“Snap!”

The mood among everyone present instantly turned grim.

The woman with the strong gothic attire suddenly clenched her jaw and forcefully cracked the whip in her hand.

“He… he really died.”

The man in the exquisite suit remained silent for a long while before sighing softly, “That guy who always arranged the compensation funds first before every major pollution source cleanup, always telling us that many people die every day, so it wouldn’t be surprising if it was our turn… he finally died. Fortunately, this time, just like before, he arranged the compensation funds in advance.”

His words didn’t sound like grief; they almost sounded like mockery.

But his face was so dark it looked like water could seep out, and his hands trembled uncontrollably.

“Since Captain Li is dead, then…”

The gothic-style woman was also silent for a moment before suddenly looking up at Xia Chong:

“According to our hierarchy, you should take temporary overall command. Can your current injuries handle it?”

As she spoke, she glanced towards the Doctor, frowning slightly.

Clearly, if Xia Chong had to withdraw from the cleanup mission, the Doctor would take command.

That was obviously a situation nobody wanted to see.

“I’m fine.”

Xia Chong took a deep breath, looked up at the few people around her. Though small in stature, her aura was unusually commanding as she spoke in a deep voice, “I will temporarily assume overall command. We can confirm the laboratory is nearby, so there’s no need to split up for exploration anymore. All remaining personnel will regroup into one team… Colleagues from Qinggang, from now on, you will act together with us, and…”

She suddenly turned to glance at Lu Xin, uttering four words: “…Information will be shared!”

…

Chen Jing frowned slightly, looking towards Xia Chong.

She knew the weight carried by those last four words Xia Chong had added.

“Don’t say anything else. Right now, in this city, I have the final say on everything.”

Xia Chong cut Chen Jing off, saying, “Even if you really came here to visit family, I am temporarily requisitioning you now. Because the situation is urgent, and since we belong to Central City, according to regulations, we have the authority to temporarily requisition Qinggang’s action teams.”

Hearing this, Chen Jing understood that Xia Chong was shouldering all potential consequences.

She smiled slightly and said, “Alright, Squad Leader Xia Chong.”

No one else objected. With composed expressions, they all looked towards the building ahead.

…

“I need to request leave.”

But just then, Lu Xin suddenly spoke softly.

Everyone else paused, slightly startled, turning to look at him.

“I’m currently on leave, and I have some very important personal matters to attend to.”

Lu Xin spoke frankly, which surprised the Ability Users from Central City. The calm, natural demeanor of this Qinggang Ability User seemed completely different from the person who had held the little girl, emanating intense mental fluctuations moments ago.

He spoke as if he had already made a decision, his face expressionless. “So, I won’t be joining your operation.”

“You…”

Xia Chong abruptly turned to look at him, unsure if he was using this as an excuse to express something else.

She simply said, “Acting alone will be extremely dangerous.”

Lu Xin looked at her quietly and said, “If you act together with me, it will also be extremely dangerous.”

…

The expressions of the Central City Ability Users turned somewhat strange.

No proud Ability User likes to hear words like that. However, remembering how Lu Xin had scared off the ghost-like little girl and the terrifying fluctuations he emitted while holding her, no one refuted him.

Xia Chong also fell silent for a moment, then turned to look at Chen Jing.

Chen Jing gave her a slight nod. “He is trustworthy. The data doesn’t lie.”

It was unclear whether she was explaining this to Xia Chong or implying something else.

Xia Chong grasped Chen Jing’s meaning almost instantly and looked directly at Lu Xin. “Where are you planning to go?”

Lu Xin paused for a moment, then smiled at them. “I’m going to see my relatives.”

“You all be careful too.”

With that, he shouldered his backpack and walked towards the building ahead.

He entered the building directly through the main entrance.

Behind him, Sister jogged a few steps to catch up, taking his hand.

The Shadow returned to normal, hiding in the darkness.

And the skinless dog, which he had kicked several meters away and was lying on the ground with its tongue lolling out, froze for a moment before abruptly realizing. Seeing Lu Xin already walking away, it hastily scrambled up, wagging its tail and anxiously scrambling to follow.

…

The Central City Ability Users left outside wore expressions varying degrees of astonishment.

They had each determined the importance of this building from different directions, and their experiences along the way had proven the danger of this ruined city. Entering this most dangerous area now undoubtedly required the utmost caution.

Yet this Ability User from Qinggang chose to enter directly from the front?

Especially since he was alone.

“We should probably choose a different route from him.”

Only after Lu Xin had entered the building did Chen Jing let out a soft breath and say to Xia Chong.

“Who exactly is he?”

Xia Chong whipped her head around to look at Chen Jing. “Letting him barge in just like that, aren’t you afraid he’ll mess things up?”

“Also, why did he hug that monster?”

“Why were his mental fluctuations so terrifying?”

“Furthermore, the Zero Ability User is the Research Institute’s latest project. Is he… is he a Zero Ability User?”

“I can sense his unstable state, so I didn’t ask him directly. But you must give me an explanation!”

…

“Asking who he is isn’t appropriate under such urgent circumstances.”

Facing Xia Chong’s barrage of questions, Chen Jing appeared remarkably calm, shaking her head. “I can’t explain his specific situation to you. I can only tell you that he wasn’t nurtured by Qinggang’s Research Institute, but is an ordinary Altered Person.”

Many people around, including Xia Chong, instantly gave Chen Jing a look that said, ‘Are you taking me for an idiot?’

Chen Jing remained composed and continued, “As for whether he’ll mess things up, you don’t need to worry.”

“After all, within our Qinggang, he has handled numerous special pollution incidents of various scales with zero violation records, and his mission completion rate has reached as high as A+. In all of Qinggang, only my performance record is slightly better than his.”

The feeling that Chen Jing was blatantly lying grew stronger among the onlookers.

Xia Chong frowned, seemingly weighing something, but ultimately didn’t ask anything further.

She looked towards the back of the building and said, “Move out.”