Chapter 411: The Vanishing Forest

That seemingly endless Forest of the Dead was rapidly vanishing.

During Lu Xin’s earlier skirmish with the two Ability Users, nearly a third of the Death Flowers had been eradicated. Each vanishing Death Flower caused about a hundred corpses to expend their inherent mental power and return to a state of calm.

Thus, by the time Qinggang’s reinforcements arrived, a third of the Forest of the Dead had already disappeared.

The arrival of the Doll became the key to dismantling the forest.

Previously, Lu Xin had taken a head-on approach to eliminate these Death Flowers.

Although such a brute-force method did little harm to him, it came at a cost. The chaotic Mental Impacts created razor-edged ripples that battered his clothes and wounded him.

The Doll’s technique, however, was distinctly different from Lu Xin’s.

Once she appeared, the pervasive mental energy within the Forest of the Dead began to flow.

She emanated an astonishing magnetic pull that grew stronger and stronger.

At first, only the corpses that had yet to generate pale mental entities turned their blank eyes toward her. Later, even the mental entities that had coalesced into Death Flowers—and the mental entities themselves—were drawn to her.

They started to stream toward the Doll, thread by thread, one by one, with an almost fanatical fervor.

Perhaps it was because all that had become mental energy originated from the dead.

Also, being the darkest hour before dawn, the surrounding lights appeared dim.

At that moment, the Doll floated amid the Forest of the Dead. The omnipresent mental radiation transformed the light into a ghastly green hue, casting an eerie pallor over her perfect little face. The pale mental entities, twisted by the Drunkard’s distorted perception and unable to pinpoint her true location, swam around her like fish, their expressions wild with zeal.

“Bang!” “Bang!” “Bang!”

The parasol in her hand kept snapping shut and springing open.

Everywhere she went, strings of Death Flowers were obliterated in clusters before her.

Chaotic mental currents swirled around her, and large groups of corpse-faces, their expressions crazed with fervor, collapsed to the ground.

The Drunkard, with a determined expression, positioned himself in front of the Doll. As a result, even when she failed to dodge the onslaught of Death Flowers trying to destroy her, they couldn’t lock onto her true location, effectively adding an extra layer of protection.

Above, in the helicopter, Gecko fired nonstop with a long-range sniper.

Shell casings fell one by one to the ground below.

Bullets sporadically burst from the gun’s receiver.

Blue electric arcs sporadically exploded amid the Forest of the Dead, turning each Death Flower into chaotic mental flux.

……

During this period, Lu Xin crouched below, watching intently.

He knew the situation was nearly under control.

More than half of the stabilizers in this field had been destroyed back when he reached the Factory Building.

Thus, as the field crumbled, it was clear that after the two Ability Users had dealt with the threat, some Death Flowers hadn’t even had time to fully bloom before disintegrating into wisps of mental energy.

With the danger largely dissipated, he was simply watching the unfolding battle.

Seeing Gecko eliminate a Death Flower with each shot, he couldn’t help but admire, “Incredible.”

Although Gecko was classified as a textbook first-tier in the Seven Steps Theory, he truly was impressive.

He had pushed his first-tier abilities to the extreme.

Then, spotting the Doll gliding through the Forest of the Dead, her little face ghastly pale, he paused before exclaiming:

“Truly Qinggang’s top bruiser.”

“And still so beautiful…”

“…”

Some people, when dead, merely become zombies.

But with someone like the Doll, even in death, she’d seem like a zombie bride.

Facing the recurrent assaults of Death Flowers—which were continually redirected by the Drunkard’s abilities—Lu Xin mused that if he possessed such power earlier, he wouldn’t have been trapped in the midst of the Death Flowers. Instead, he could have lured them away, sneaking into the Forest of the Dead himself.

In short, everyone’s simply amazing!

……

The Forest of the Dead, once filled with endless screams of agony and howls, was gradually quieting down.

The Pale-Haired Old Man beside Lu Xin, whose melodious howling had persisted endlessly, was also nearing his finale.

Not because the pain had subsided, but because his throat had torn.

When Mom struck him, all the pain he was supposed to feel came crashing back.

Thus, the old man delivered a performance reminiscent of a hysterical tenor.

At this point, he was curled up on the ground, caked in mud and twitching uncontrollably.

Lu Xin did not kill him.

Because he was a man who cherished life and wouldn’t take a life lightly.

Besides, he only worked for the Special Cleaning Department—his privilege was limited to cleaning up pollution, not holding a license to kill.

As for the Red-Haired Woman, Lu Xin didn’t touch her either.

After all, she already looked miserable. Despite being a living person with eyes darting wildly, she could only twirl slowly on one leg like a mere toy.

Her supporting left foot’s shoe had been worn through, the flesh on it eroded away by friction.

Only the bone remained, endlessly revolving.

Even though Lu Xin suspected she might be the prime culprit behind the catastrophic losses at the Observation Post and the Information Gathering Team, he refrained from administering extra-judicial punishment.

From start to finish, he deliberately ignored the woman who spun in circles, singing as her eyes streamed tears—a woman sending him a silent signal to let her have her moment of release.

After all, if she was having so much fun twirling, why should anyone stop her?

He even managed a small smile in her direction.

Perhaps that was a noble gesture.

……

The Doll swooped in from afar.

She wore a complex black dress and held a parasol in her hand.

With the Forest of the Dead nearly eradicated, she descended lower and lower, almost skimming the ground.

In fact, she was still able to float without touching the ground because, although the forest had been mostly eliminated, a substantial amount of residual mental energy lingered nearby.

If this residual energy were to dissipate completely, and with only Lu Xin and a few others left from the helicopter, the Doll wouldn’t be able to stay aloft.

The Drunkard, who had been safeguarding her, had long since retreated. Though outwardly resembling a high school girl, inside he carried the gentle, kind-hearted nature of an old man. Staying too long by the Doll’s side would compromise his own safety.

Still, she seemed indifferent to all of this as she silently headed toward Lu Xin.

She stopped about three or four meters away, and calmly offered Lu Xin a smile.

Lu Xin looked up and asked with a smile, “What brings you out here?”

The smile on the Doll’s face vanished, and she lowered her head silently.

“Huh?”

Lu Xin found it odd, “Why does she look like she’s done something wrong?”

……

“Clatter… clatter…”

Not far away, a helicopter had landed directly on a pile of corpses, crushing them into a pool of blood.

Inside the helicopter, Chen Jing emerged from the driver’s cabin and initially intended to disembark. But upon seeing the multitude of corpses on the ground—and a foot in sharp high heels that had just extended and then retracted—she swiftly shoved Gecko out and adjusted her headset.

She asked, “Can the Single Soldier hear me?”

“…”

This time, the information was much clearer.

Lu Xin immediately responded, “Yes, yes. Thank you, Team Leader. I really…”

Just when he thought the moment was stirring, wasn’t it time for some rousing, inspirational words?

Then he heard Chen Jing over the channel, “Check whether the Doll has donned her mask. When she jumped from the helicopter earlier, I saw her seemingly take it off… If she’s already wearing it, bring her back with you.”

“We have plenty of work to do right now.”

“……”

“Oh!”

Lu Xin curtailed his flow of grateful words and shot the Doll a glance to confirm she wasn’t wearing a mask.

Approaching her, he noticed a slender silver chain on the hem of her black dress.

One end was fastened at her waist while the other held a delicate mask.

Lu Xin guessed that even the chain was chosen for its exquisite rose motif—definitely the handiwork of the Service Team.

Perhaps they were aware of the Doll’s habit of casually tossing things around, so they prepared such a chain.

He picked up the mask, fastened it onto the Doll’s face, and secured the strap behind her head.

Afterward, he quickly checked her other gear.

Having once undertaken a task to accompany the Doll, he considered himself half a member of her Service Team.

Thus, he was well-versed in minimizing the Doll’s influence on her surroundings.

Once that was done, he led her swiftly to the helicopter.

They had to move quickly because the Doll was descending fast; if she landed among the corpses, it wouldn’t look good at all.

Just think of those brand-new boots stomping on dead bodies—it would be quite a sight.

……

“Ha-ha, dear Captain, I’ve come to rescue you. Are you happy?”

Chen Jing had just pushed Gecko down. Standing amidst the corpses while keeping a wary eye on the surroundings, Gecko broke into a broad smile at the sight of Lu Xin.

“Why say ‘you all’?”

Lu Xin thought to himself and then smiled, “Actually, if you had arrived a little later, I would have handled it all.”

His words momentarily stunned both Chen Jing in the helicopter and the Drunkard not far away.

Gecko, laughing from the side, said, “Yes, yes! We all know someone with your level of ability can’t possibly be overwhelmed by problems!”

He winked at Chen Jing with a knowing look.

Chen Jing merely glanced Lu Xin up and down without responding.

Since she was wearing sunglasses, she looked exceptionally stern—and Lu Xin immediately became serious, preparing to update her on the situation. But unexpectedly, Chen Jing reached out from the cabin, gently embraced Lu Xin, and then sat back down.

In a low voice she said, “It’s good to see you’re alright.”