Chapter 588: A Reckoning in the Chaos Zone

Thud thud…

Over an hour later, Xia Chong and her team also arrived, boarding the helicopter without delay.

They had already been in contact earlier. According to the doctor codenamed Scalpel, if Xia Chong hadn’t just performed a long-distance transit and was still recovering—since crossing the Abyss is far too risky—she would have come directly from the Abyss the moment Lu Xin’s call was lost. It seems even that helicopter was requisitioned on the fly in Red Mud Town…

Whoosh…

Before the helicopter had fully landed, several black ropes were already being thrown out.

Four soldiers from the Negative Zero Unit, clad in sleek, high-tech black combat uniforms, gripped the ropes as they descended.

They quickly spread out in all directions to stand guard and assess the scene.

Soon, the rest of the Negative Zero Unit soldiers along with Xia Chong and the others emerged from the helicopter.

One couldn’t help but notice that as soon as they landed, Lu Xin was seated face-to-face with armed personnel—untethered, unrestrained, and even with their weapons untouched—amidst a floor scattered with blood, flesh, and corpses, casually smoking and chatting with odd expressions.

“You’ve arrived,”

Lu Xin eagerly rose to greet them upon seeing their arrival.

Xia Chong merely shot Lu Xin a brief glance, nodded, and with a slight wave, went off to inspect the Hell’s Messenger.

“This is…”

Lu Xin felt a twinge of anxiety at her impassive expression.

“Relax, brother,”

Nearby, Scalpel cheerfully approached, patting Lu Xin’s shoulder and murmuring, “What you did completely caught Squad Leader Xia Chong off guard. She’s now tense and in disbelief—mixed with a hint of fear. She needs to survey the area first to confirm the facts and to calm herself.”

“Oh.”

Lu Xin replied, secretly thinking there was nothing surprising about it.

Xia Chong looked at the cool Lu Xin and mused, ‘I never thought his nerves were this fragile…’

“Come on, look what I brought you!”

Brimming with enthusiasm and mystery, Scalpel reached into his pocket and pulled out an item.

Intrigued, Lu Xin leaned down and was astonished to find a wooden box—clearly an improvised find—inside of which lay a copper lighter adorned with an intricate classical European engraving of a lady, interwoven with golden thread.

“This is…”

“It’s for you,” Scalpel replied.

He continued, “I heard you were out of fire, so I managed to find it in that villa at the last minute.”

“Oh my…”

Lu Xin was simultaneously surprised and delighted, waving his hands, “No, no, isn’t it too expensive?”

“Expensive?”

Scalpel, looking a bit puzzled, said, “Can something that expensive not be used to light a flame?”

“Ah…”

Lu Xin suddenly regarded Scalpel with newfound respect, feeling an instant kinship.

After a few refusals, Lu Xin finally accepted the lighter. By then the surroundings had become orderly as the Negative Zero Unit, together with Xia Chong’s team, began examining the Hell’s Messenger. Although the mental monster couldn’t be seen directly, its intense psychic radiation was unmistakable at close range.

“Is that it?”

After a brief assessment, one Negative Zero Unit member remarked in a doubtful tone:

“Its psychic power is down to less than 30,000. It seems much weaker than what we detected earlier.”

“…”

“Hm?”

Xia Chong shot a suspicious glance at Lu Xin.

Slightly embarrassed, Lu Xin explained, “It’s always like this when it gets close. Really.”

Fortunately, another soldier from the Negative Zero Unit had conducted further tests on the Hell’s Messenger and confidently stated, “We can confirm this is the mental monster we’re after. We’re not sure why its psychic power has drastically weakened, and its unusually cooperative behavior is odd, but its distinct psychic signature leaves no doubt.”

“…”

At these words, Xia Chong’s face seemed to darken as she exhaled in relief.

Lu Xin, standing off to the side, secretly breathed a sigh of relief as well.

With the main culprit now in custody, Xia Chong’s team turned their attention to scrutinizing the Dragon Team Leader and the others whom Lu Xin had nonchalantly apprehended.

The floor was littered with casings, blood-soaked chunks of flesh, armored vehicles, submachine guns, special bullets, and even unusually crafted plastic dolls—leaving everyone with bewildered expressions and momentarily speechless.

“It’s definitely the Flame Company,”

Scalpel strolled among the armed personnel and their vehicles, inspecting their weapons and the blood-smeared casings on the ground. He even licked a bit of blood off his lips, pinched the arm of a soldier, and then calmly returned, saying, “High-tech modified vehicles, new Fire God submachine guns, and Type-B blood.”

“They show all the marks of rigorous training—the calluses that take at least five years to form and muscles as hard as stone.”

“It appears they belong to the Flame Group’s second-level rapid response unit.”

“We didn’t spot any Ability Users among them; otherwise, they’d be classified as first-level responders.”

“This really is a big catch.”

“We’ve long suspected that trading souls and building hell involve forces of terrifying magnitude.”

“Now, tsk tsk, it’s clearly linked to Flame Company.”

“…”

Hastily, Lu Xin tried to explain on behalf of the Dragon Team Leader, “He claimed to be with Black Box and said it was just a side job.”

“Believe him? Not a chance,”

Scalpel remarked, “If our capture fails or we fall into their hands, we’d still insist it was only a side job.”

“Since he claims to be with both Flame and Black Box, that can only mean one thing.”

“He’s with Flame and Black Box.”

“…”

Lu Xin was momentarily lost for words, convinced by Scalpel’s logic.

That friend from Central City is indeed brilliant—one of the smartest people he’s ever met.

And he’s so warm and generous.

Apart from getting a bit of blood in his mouth during the scene assessment, he was nearly perfect.

Seeing him instilled in Lu Xin a strong sense of camaraderie.

“Mm, just as reported…”

After confirming the situation, Xia Chong nodded slightly. Her expression remained icy—not a coldness that repels, but one of overwhelmed disbelief.

Slowly turning her head, she fixed her gaze on Lu Xin and asked, “How did you do it?”

At her question, the Beast Tamer beside her—and even the typically non-inquisitive members of the Negative Zero Unit—turned to look at Lu Xin. No one spoke, but their puzzled eyes said it all.

A mental monster rated at 100,000 psychic power, lacking any physical form yet moving with incredible speed.

A fully armed second-level rapid response unit from the Flame Group, equipped with special bullets and some mysterious device…

And yet, you managed to capture them all quietly on your own?

“So that’s how you did it…”

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Lu Xin admitted, “I first neutralized that armed squad, and then the monster appeared.”

“And then I captured it too.”

“…”

Noticing the intimidating look in Xia Chong’s eyes, Lu Xin sheepishly explained, “It was really close. Their weapons were formidable, and the monster reacted swiftly with its bizarre abilities—it nearly let them escape.”

“…”

“…”

Lu Xin was telling the truth.

Capturing that mental monster was a stroke of luck; perhaps it sensed the Dragon Team Leader’s aura—or detected something in their midst—and rushed in at nearly a hundred meters, allowing me to grab it effortlessly.

Normally, with its keen alertness, it would have kept its distance to test the waters before darting away.

In that sense, the Dragon Team Leader did play a part.

Yet after hearing Lu Xin’s explanation, Xia Chong’s team only grew more puzzled, and a heavy silence fell over the group.

Xia Chong even furrowed her brows in thought, wondering, ‘Did I misunderstand something? Why does it all feel so off?’

Phew…

Luckily, Xia Chong was quick on her feet. She adjusted her mood and reached out with her chubby little hand.

“Anyway, thank you for your assistance, Mr. Single Soldier!”

Seeing her earnest expression, Lu Xin felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders.

With hope in his eyes and sincerity in his handshake, he smiled, “Do you think I handled this mission well?”

“Exceeded expectations,” Xia Chong replied seriously.

She continued, “Not only did you avoid putting us in harm’s way—saving us from potential casualties—but you also spared us a huge expense in ammunition and other supplies. Moreover, you captured not just that mental monster, but also members from Flame Company and evidence of their dealings with it. This definitely proves the link between Flame and soul trading.”

“After thorough interrogations, we might even uncover the full truth behind this trade.”

“…”

Hearing her words lifted Lu Xin’s spirits considerably. Collecting himself, he smiled and said, “Then…”

“As mentioned before, regardless of whether the capture was completely successful, once I return to Central City, I’ll transfer the money to you.”

Xia Chong replied with a slight raise of her eyebrow, “Are you trying to ask for extra pay?”

“How… could that be?”

That question left Lu Xin a bit embarrassed.

He did need money—after all, there was a whole family to support—yet he prided himself on his professionalism…

“Well, if extra cash were possible, who wouldn’t take it?”

“I don’t think so. This isn’t something a little extra can fix.”

Surprisingly, Xia Chong’s face broke into a rare smile as she said, “Rest assured, we won’t take all the credit. Once this is over, it will be reported to the Research Institute. No matter what, your contributions on this mission won’t be forgotten.”

“Oh, alright…”

Lu Xin awkwardly withdrew his hand, secretly musing that a bonus wasn’t such a bad idea…

“Alright, let’s head back.”

“After all, since we’re this close to the Chaos Zone, we need to avoid lingering through the night.”

Scalpel snapped his fingers, suggesting to Xia Chong.

At that moment, the Negative Zero Unit had already secured the Hell’s Messenger inside a special black cylindrical container.

They collected the Flame Company’s weapons, special bullets, various files and materials from the vehicles, and even assorted parts from the plastic dolls scattered on the ground. Everything was carefully stored in a sturdy black glass case and loaded onto the helicopter.

Finally, the Dragon Team Leader along with several armed personnel were handcuffed and escorted into the helicopter.

Once the Dragon Team Leader settled into the cabin, he appeared to breathe a quiet sigh of relief.

Glancing out furtively and noting that Lu Xin was still standing, he seemed reassured that they weren’t allied with those men, and he exhaled once more.

A subtle smile of relief crept onto his face—a hint of gratitude for surviving the ordeal.

“By the way, what do you plan to do with the rest of the situation in the rear?”

It wasn’t until Scalpel’s reminder that Lu Xin snapped to attention and quickly asked Xia Chong, “What’s your plan?”

Xia Chong scanned the area and, regaining her cool demeanor with renewed confidence, said briskly, “The helicopter cabin can’t hold that many people. For now, the Negative Zero Unit will escort both the captured mental monster and the Flame Company’s Squad Leader back for interrogation. We’ll figure out how to transport the rest later. Ordinary members aren’t of much use.”

“They’ll be taken back for questioning; if there are any issues, we lock them up. If there aren’t, we let Flame redeem them.”

“…”

“Hm?”

Lu Xin was taken aback—his tone almost sounding like a kidnapping scheme.

But noticing Xia Chong’s professional explanation, he held back and, once she finished, asked, “And then?”

Xia Chong thought for a moment before replying, “Naturally, once interrogations reveal clues of soul trading, we move on to the next step.”

Lu Xin nodded and added, “And then?”

“And then…”

Xia Chong looked momentarily puzzled and turned to Scalpel, “Anything else?”

Scalpel hesitated and murmured, “I can’t think of anything else for now…”

Then, looking directly at Lu Xin, he said, “What else?”

“The vehicles…”

Noticing that they kept missing the point, Lu Xin pointed to the row of SUVs and the last big truck parked nearby, “What about all these vehicles? Once you’ve taken the people away, what do you plan to do with the trucks?”

“Whoosh!”

Immediately, several eyes turned to look at Lu Xin.

Xia Chong and the Beast Tamer, and even Scalpel, were momentarily taken aback before their eyes filled with admiration for Lu Xin.

“They’ll need at least four trucks to transport those armed personnel back. As for the rest…”

After a long pause, Xia Chong finally answered, “Just leave them here?”

“Alright.”

Lu Xin let out a sigh of relief and smiled, “Then pick which ones to use—keep the usable ones running.”

“No need; I’ll drive them back later…”