Chapter 49: The Factory Girl

What’s a Secondary Pollution Source?

Lu Xin also watched the little girl holding the plush toy. He spoke softly, careful not to make any sudden movements.

Tie Cui’s explanation quickly came through the comms: ‘A Secondary Pollution Source is a mental schism born from the main Pollution Source for some reason. It retains a connection to the original but possesses a degree of autonomy…’

‘Judging by the current situation, it’s highly likely that after Zheng Yuanxiong mutated, his intense longing for his daughter caused him to reshape her using his own mental power… Be careful. This kind of pollution source can be even more troublesome than the original… Especially since you can ‘see’ it directly, its Psychic Power must be very high…’

…

As she quickly explained, the sound of rustling papers accompanying her words, the factory floor remained eerily silent.

The machines kept running, yet their constant hum somehow created a different, unsettling kind of quiet.

“Brother, why aren’t you… working?”

The little girl still gazed softly at Lu Xin and Gecko, but her seemingly innocent, delicate face was starting to twist unnervingly. The harsh, bright glare of the incandescent lights distorted her features. Her voice held a chilling strangeness. “Dad said everyone has to work. People who don’t work… must be punished…”

As she spoke, the wooden, stiff workers surrounding Lu Xin and Gecko began to slowly shuffle forward.

They advanced on Lu Xin and Gecko, grabbing nearby thread cutters, steel rulers, and axes.

The anger on their faces grew more pronounced, their jaws clenched tight.

It was as if they utterly despised Lu Xin and Gecko, wanting nothing more than to tear them limb from limb.

Gecko, standing behind Lu Xin, suddenly gritted his teeth, flicked his wrist, and sent a dagger flying forward.

*Clink*.

The dagger passed right through the girl’s forehead and embedded itself in the table behind her.

The girl wasn’t solid.

But Gecko’s action seemed to provoke the girl. She suddenly screamed.

“Why aren’t you working?!”

Her voice seemed to ripple outwards with a strange force.

“Work! Work! Work!”

“Damn you! Damn you! Damn you!”

Suddenly, all the workers in the factory seemed to go berserk. Shouting frantically, faces contorted with fervor, they surged forward. Some reached out, others opened their mouths wide like savage beasts.

*Swish!*

Gecko dodged the lunges of two or three people in one fluid motion, scrambling several meters up the wall.

Dodging items and wooden sticks thrown by the frenzied workers below, he urgently spoke into the comms to Tie Cui, ‘Linda! Think fast, is there any way to deal with this Secondary Pollution Source?’

Tie Cui’s voice sounded anxious too. ‘Spider-types have trouble dealing directly with this kind of Secondary Pollution Source. I recommend you retreat immediately. I’ll request backup from Headquarters. Someone like Doll, a Princess-type Ability User, should handle her…’

“We need Doll to step in again?”

Gecko’s voice held obvious hesitation. ‘And these workers…’

Lu Xin had also found temporary safety, perched atop a tall stack of textiles.

Listening to Gecko and Tie Cui’s conversation, he immediately grasped the problem.

These workers were now severely influenced, filled with intense hatred for him and Gecko. If they retreated, the workers would undoubtedly chase them outside, inevitably confronting the military blockade.

To prevent their escape, these people would meet only one fate.

Gecko had said before: dealing with the Pollution Source is always the top priority.

But this was still nearly a hundred lives…

This made Lu Xin grit his teeth slightly. He glanced at his Sister and whispered, ‘I’ll try!’

With that, he jumped down, weaving through the frenzied factory workers.

“You can handle a purely mental Secondary Pollution Source?”

Gecko was clearly surprised. He quickly leaped down from the wall, instantly drawing some of the ‘firepower’ away from Lu Xin!

“Damn it, stop him!”

But Tie Cui’s voice suddenly crackled over the comms, sounding strangely strained.

Although she said ‘stop him,’ she hesitated, the rest of her words unspoken.

“Channel Two!”

Gecko knew her well and immediately guessed something was up. He muttered the command and pressed a button on his earpiece.

Soon, on the private channel connecting only him and Tie Cui, her voice came through urgently, ‘He *can* directly handle the Secondary Pollution Source. You can’t handle a purely mental one because you don’t have specific Telekinesis abilities or related guidance training. But he’s different. He *does* have the ability to harm mental entities…’

‘This was proven during the previous 041 Pollution Source incident. But we can’t let him do this!’

…

Gecko, both nervous and utterly baffled, asked urgently, ‘Why?’

Tie Cui’s voice lowered slightly. ‘Colonel Chen gave me some materials recently. They indicate that while his Psychic Power is extremely high, his loss-of-control risk isn’t low either. Therefore, he’s strictly forbidden from handling situations that could cause significant psychological stress. Even knowing it’s just a Secondary Pollution Source, if it has the appearance of a little girl…’

‘Having him deal with it personally could cause unnecessary stress and psychological trauma…’

…

Gecko was taken aback, finding it hard to understand. ‘But it’s clearly fake…’

‘The mind itself is an illusory state!’

Tie Cui replied gravely, ‘Preventing his Loss of Control takes priority over this mission. We can’t risk it…’

Even as they spoke, while Gecko voiced his confusion, he was already moving quickly towards Lu Xin.

At this moment, nearly a hundred people in the entire factory were madly lunging at them. The sheer number packed together created indescribable chaos and congestion. Even for a Spider-type Ability User trying to avoid injury while also refraining from fatally harming the surrounding people, advancing proved incredibly slow.

Meanwhile, Lu Xin, who was closer to begin with, was already nearing the girl by navigating the pipes along the ceiling.

“Brother, let’s go ‘deal with’ her, okay?”

His Sister’s eyes sparkled with excitement as she suggested this.

“No!”

Lu Xin knew exactly what his Sister meant by ‘deal with’ and immediately refused.

“Why?”

His Sister pouted unhappily, causing Lu Xin to falter for half a beat, nearly getting hit by a flying shovel blade.

“Because she looks pitiful…”

“They already said she’s fake!”

“But she looks real…”

Answering, Lu Xin ran seven or eight steps along the nearby walls, circling over the heads of a group of workers madly chasing and throwing things at him. Then, with a casual pull, he brought down a row of stacked wooden racks.

A mountain of assorted wood and goods crashed down, blocking the frenzied workers pursuing him.

Lu Xin then landed softly, right in front of the little girl.

Looking at the little girl clutching her plush toy, he said earnestly, “Little sister, stop causing trouble!”