Chapter 445: The Surge of Mental Turmoil

Qinggang – they really have the nerve to do that…

At this moment, the RV had long since headed in the opposite direction the moment mental power left Happy Town, and it was far away. Inside, neither Qin Ran, nor the inept Tech Priest, nor the mysterious old man wished to remain in the same area as Lu Xin once the mental radiation dissipated.

They all seemed determined not to share the zone with Lu Xin after the mental radiation vanished.

Through the surveillance footage, they saw the scene unfolding in the wasteland:

Qinggang’s Army was ruthlessly and dominantly obliterating the rampaging mental turbulence, piece by piece.

Moreover, rows upon rows of troops armed with a slew of special weapons, along with Ability Users, had organized into coordinated squads. Under the suppressive fire of the overclocked electro-ion cannons, they steadily advanced, interweaving their formations. Using a combination of various abilities and specialized arms, they hunted down the struggling Mental Monsters one by one.

……

The surveillance image was silent, yet it evoked an inexplicable sense of awe.

Even they were momentarily stunned; disbelief painted every face in the RV.

“Qinggang has delivered an unexpected, yet praiseworthy, performance…”

Only the old man seemed unsurprised. He nodded slightly, his cap pulled lower.

“Now isn’t the time to discuss this, is it?”

Qin Ran abruptly turned around and fixed his gaze on the old man, exclaiming, “A meticulously planned operation has been thrown off by so many unforeseen events. How can we remain so calm? Can the Cardinal’s plan truly succeed?”

The old man lifted his head just a bit, his kindly, wise eyes meeting Qin Ran’s as he smiled, “Why ask me whether it will work?”

“But…”

Qin Ran was momentarily speechless, feeling absurd. He muttered, “You’re his consultant, aren’t you…”

“Since I’m the consultant…”

The old man casually brushed off his pant leg and chuckled, “Of course, I’m here to help him execute things perfectly.”

“Now, he’s done everything he can.”

“And why would you ask me about success?”

……

The muscles in Qin Ran’s face twitched slightly. After a long pause, he raised his head and said, “Then who should we ask?”

The old man laughed softly and stretched lazily, “Obviously…”

“It’s up to him and his opponent to answer that.”

……

Rumbling thunder.

When the massive roar and the tremors of an earthquake erupted, Lu Xin finally snapped open his eyes.

As the mental turbulence enveloped the wasteland, Lu Xin’s senses plunged into a waking nightmare – suffocating, agonizing – every pore overwhelmed, with a thousand voices seemingly shouting in his ears.

Yet, when distant cannon fire roared to life, all the hallucinations and chaos suddenly vanished.

Even from far away, he could faintly hear the explosive boom of the electro-ion cannon. That sound, far more monotonous than the clamor of mental turbulence, exuded a power that reassured the heart.

Lu Xin took a deep breath and looked up. Everything had changed.

……

Sunlight suddenly poured in.

The prickling sensation in his mind vanished as if erased, and his senses seemed to sharpen in an instant.

Startled, Lu Xin looked up to see a brilliant post-rain scene under a sunny sky.

In that moment, he could hardly feel any influence of mental power – it was as refreshing as a lazy afternoon in his memories.

All the surrounding mental power had been completely swept away by the Doll.

In the distance, that heart-stirring rumble continued unabated.

Yet in this small town, aside from the occasional gentle tremor of the earth, an air of calm and peace prevailed.

The dark red mental turbulence that once pervaded the skies above Happy Town was nowhere to be seen.

It had transformed the area into an utterly pristine, dust-free realm of mental power.

“Snap!”

As he looked up, a black shadow fell from above.

Instinctively, Lu Xin raised his hand to catch it, only to be knocked to the ground as he cradled a soft body in his arms.

Looking down, he saw a small face, marked with surprise.

It was the Doll who had fallen – deprived of its mental power, it could no longer stay aloft.

One had to admit, it was rather heavy.

Lu Xin briefly wondered if her weight exceeded a hundred jin.

The Doll, caught by Lu Xin, looked equally astonished – clearly unaccustomed to falling after a lifetime of flight.

Momentarily panicking, she opened her eyes wide and then saw Lu Xin’s face.

Her expression, too, betrayed surprise, as if she were seeing the world for the first time without the barrier of mental power.

No more interference from mental forces.

Curiously, she slowly reached out to caress Lu Xin’s cheek.

Lu Xin froze for a moment, hesitant. Was that move really appropriate?

After all, she wasn’t his sister.

“Mr. Lone Soldier, Mr. Lone Soldier, can you hear me?”

From the headset embedded in the left pant leg of his glasses, a gentle voice called out.

The voice on the other end was anxious, repeatedly calling. Initially rough and hoarse, it gradually grew clearer.

Lu Xin was instantly startled and quickly evaded the Doll’s hand as he tentatively asked, “Han Bing?”

“It’s me, it’s me.”

Han Bing’s tone instantly brightened with joy, “Mr. Lone Soldier, it’s great that you’re receiving my signal.”

“Our Qinggang has dispatched a special team for handling the pollution. Their mission is to clear the mental turbulence and Neutralize the blockade of Mental Monsters overflowing from Happy Town. Once the turbulence dissipates, communication should resume…”

“I’ve been calling you for ten minutes…”

“I’m so relieved you can hear me. Can you hear clearly now?”

……

“Yes, yes, I can…”

Lu Xin was momentarily taken aback and quickly nodded, “I haven’t heard your voice in ages.”

……

After a brief pause, Han Bing laughed and said, “I’ve been eager to get back to the Information Analysis Team as well.”

Lu Xin, hearing this, was momentarily at a loss for words.

Feeling a touch of warmth inside, he shot a glance at the Doll, then stood up and moved aside.

“Mr. Lone Soldier, are you alright?”

“I’m fine.”

“Not injured, I hope?”

“None at all…”

“That’s great…”

“Thank you, thank you…”

……

After a rapid exchange of familiar pleasantries, Han Bing briskly continued, “Mr. Lone Soldier, I’ve been ordered to assist you in this urgent pollution cleanup mission. Please activate the ‘Redning’ Glasses Communication System; I have important data to transmit to you.”

Only then did Lu Xin react, quickly pressing the miniature button beside his glasses.

The headset in his glasses served as a dedicated communication system, always on for spontaneous calls and coordination.

The mirrored display and visuals, however, belonged to a separate computer system.

Earlier, when he entered the area affected by mental radiation, that system was interfered with, so Lu Xin had shut it down.

“Okay…”

Unsure if Han Bing could see the online status of his system, a note of relief crept into his voice as he crisply stated, “Mr. Lone Soldier, I’m now transmitting the latest data from Professor Bai. It should help you complete the cleanup mission.”

“After collating and analyzing all previous data, and liaising with the Central City Moon Eclipse Research Institute,”

“we can now basically pinpoint the goal of the Calamity Archbishop.”

“There is reason to believe that through this sequence of operations, he is attempting to reach his fourth stage.”

“In other words… Mental Overlord.”

……

“Mental Overlord?”

Lu Xin’s heart suddenly raced as he turned to look.

He had almost forgotten about this person.

Now that the mental turbulence had been cleared and the Doll’s crisis was averted, it was time to address the real issue.

With the surrounding mental turbulence gone, the sunlight over Happy Town had never seemed so bright.

The clarity around was as pristine as the clearest glass.

Yet before Lu Xin, that massive cocoon of light still stood.

The Doll’s ability could only expel unclaimed mental radiation.

The mental power belonging to an Ability User or Pollution Source would not simply vanish.

When he first entered Happy Town, the wasteland was filled with dense mental radiation. But the Doll had not initially drawn out such raging forces, for these powers belonged to the Disaster Museum.

It wasn’t until she started shattering the museum’s mental radiation framework that these forces began to swirl around her.

……

Lu Xin saw that light cocoon and the human-shaped cross within it.

At that moment, the Queen’s parasitism had deepened even further.

The nerves and blood vessels extending from the cross seemed to have doubled in number, embedding themselves deep within the Queen, siphoning vast amounts of flesh and mental power, while she hung her head, seemingly devoid of resistance.

“With the surrounding mental power gone, the Queen’s ability to resist has weakened…”

A heaviness settled over Lu Xin’s heart.

He could tell that in this short time, the Queen had lost twice as much.

The Technology Church had been targeting the Queen for some time now.

She had been resisting, so the parasitic ritual by the Technology Church had been progressing very slowly.

But now, with the mental radiation entirely expelled by the Doll, her resistance was noticeably faltering.

Her pace of being parasitized had noticeably accelerated – it appeared she wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer.

……

“Whoosh!”

Sensing Lu Xin’s gaze, the yellow-haired, blue-eyed Calamity Archbishop in the light cocoon glared at Lu Xin with a cold look.

Outside Happy Town, the violent roar and the sensation of massive mental radiation vanishing had undoubtedly caught his attention.

Yet he felt the plan was still under control, maintaining an aloof, disdainful gaze from above.

Through the light cocoon, Lu Xin and he locked eyes, as if sparks were flying and sizzling where their gazes met.

Their stature contrasted starkly, one towering over the other.

The Calamity Archbishop’s look had become especially cold, even laced with contempt.

Then, within that disdainful look, Lu Xin slowly turned away, propping himself against a stone beside the cocoon with one hand on his glasses as he murmured, “Oh, I hear him now… I’m right next to him…”

“He’s hiding in the light cocoon, too scared to come out. I can’t reach him.”

“Hahaha, I really don’t understand – after all, you’re the professional…”

“So, do you have any way to deal with him?”

“……”

Calamity Archbishop: “?”

This reaction isn’t what I expected at all.