Chapter 61: The Headless Rider

“A headless rider?”

Chen Jing sounded much more alert after receiving Lu Xin’s call.

“Yes!”

Lu Xin answered concisely: “I ran into him near the elementary school. He seemed suspicious so I tried to grab him but he was too fast. I chased him but couldn’t catch up… I only shot him at the last moment. Unexpectedly even without a head he still climbed over the High Wall got on a motorcycle he’d stashed there and took off… His driving skills are impressive!”

“Don’t touch anything for now. Wait for me!”

Chen Jing hung up decisively.

Meanwhile around Lu Xin the other soldiers had already dispersed under the captain’s orders sealing off the area and remaining vigilant. They couldn’t hear Lu Xin’s conversation; only the captain who was slightly closer caught snippets. Keywords like “head fell off” and “impressive driving skills” left him feeling creeped out and confused.

Even now he still didn’t know who Lu Xin was.

But he recognized Lu Xin’s ID and knew the authority it represented.

So he could only rack his brain recalling the scene he’d just witnessed to prepare for the inevitable questioning:

He had indeed seen a motorcycle speeding away but in that light and at that speed he couldn’t tell if the rider had a head or not. Of course that didn’t mean he thought Lu Xin’s claim was unreasonable. After all seeing Lu Xin standing perfectly fine on top of the High Wall without any climbing gear seemed pretty unreasonable itself.

He also knew the Main City had a special department.

Some of his brothers in the City Patrol Army were often transferred to that mysterious department never to be seen much again.

Moreover the people transferred to that department usually fell into two categories.

One type was the troublemakers the extremely difficult to manage ones who had even made serious mistakes bordering on dismissal or already dismissed.

The other type was the elite of the elite.

And usually they would occasionally hear about a certain City Patrol unit being suddenly dispatched to lock down an area ensuring no living creature got out. However these lockdown missions often came only with orders no explanations. More often than not seemingly tense lockdown operations would be inexplicably called off.

“So this guy who looks pretty ordinary must be quite capable right?”

He mused silently.

Soon subsequent events proved his suspicions correct.

First a squad arrived with equipment far superior to theirs led by a soldier whose rank dwarfed his own. They were even equipped with the L-E Eclipse series handheld plasma guns nicknamed “Madman Killers”. Although these things could only fire one plasma bullet at a time their power was terrifying capable of turning three or four nearby people directly into ash with a single shot.

Though numbering only about twenty these newcomers immediately took command upon arrival. They meticulously set up a perimeter inside the existing one pushing the City Patrol soldiers to the outer ring without offering any explanation.

However they still didn’t approach the young man.

Not until a helicopter arrived shattering the relative quiet with its deafening roar and bright lights.

He saw a tall short-haired woman in a black suit step out before the helicopter even fully landed. Her aura was sharp as a knife compelling him to look away instantly. As she passed he straightened his posture and saluted. A soldier like him who could read a person’s bearing knew this woman was formidable.

…

…

“Where did the head land?”

Chen Jing walked straight towards Lu Xin after getting off the helicopter skipping any handshake and asking directly.

“It should have fallen over in that direction!”

Lu Xin pointed based on his memory.

Support Team members in black protective suits who had arrived even before Chen Jing immediately headed towards that area. Since two teams of soldiers had successively cordoned off the location not even a blade of grass had been disturbed.

“How did you notice something was wrong with him?”

During this time Chen Jing questioned Lu Xin seriously.

Lu Xin thought for a moment then said “Earlier I was just walking down the street minding my own business and he stared at me.”

Chen Jing frowned slightly. “And then?”

Lu Xin said “Then I shot him!”

Chen Jing’s expression clearly shifted. “You shot him just because he looked at you?”

“No at first I just turned my head to look back at him.”

Lu Xin recalled slowly “He appeared in front of me three separate times. I was walking in a straight line and didn’t see him follow or overtake me yet he’d suddenly reappear ahead of where I’d just been then look at me and smile. It seemed like a provocation the kind you often see on the streets of the Satellite City so I didn’t pay much mind…”

“I just stared back at him until he stopped smiling that’s all.”

…

Chen Jing pictured the scene her expression turning a little strange. “And then?”

Lu Xin said “Then I opened fire.”

…

Chen Jing looked like she was struggling to maintain her composure.

“I had a reason for shooting!”

Lu Xin paused slightly then continued “I saw a tentacle like a vine emerge from behind him…”

“He probably thought I couldn’t see the tentacle so he was relaxed still smiling!”

“But when I saw that tentacle reaching for my forehead I knew he meant harm!”

“So I opened fire!”

…

Hearing this Chen Jing finally relaxed slightly.

Even though Lu Xin’s reaction was perfectly normal somehow listening to him felt… off.

“After that you chased him all the way here?”

Chen Jing collected herself slightly and continued questioning.

Lu Xin nodded. “I wanted to know why he was acting so strange so I kept chasing him.”

He gestured towards the High Wall. “But he’s fast not like me or Gecko. It’s different. He seems able to extend strange tentacles like threads latching onto things from afar almost like flying. In areas with lots of buildings I had trouble keeping up. Until we got here and he was about to go over the High Wall…”

“So I decided to kill him.”

…

Although she might have made the same decision in that situation Chen Jing still found Lu Xin’s firm declaration slightly odd. “Just because you thought he was strange you decided to kill him?”

“No!”

Lu Xin shook his head and stated frankly “It’s because he appeared next to the Red Moon Orphanage.”

…

…

Lu Xin’s answer was calm.

But Chen Jing suddenly understood the crucial point Lu Xin was making.

He decided to kill the man because he appeared near the Red Moon Orphanage. In other words even if the man had only targeted Lu Xin it wouldn’t have triggered his killing intent. But simply appearing near the Red Moon Orphanage meant he could potentially threaten it. That’s why Lu Xin didn’t hesitate to decide to kill him.

She didn’t say anything immediately instead pondering slowly “You were recruited by us not long ago haven’t handled many mental pollution incidents and each time the cleanup was thorough. So you shouldn’t have made any enemies…”

“In your life before this did you come into contact with anything… else?”

…

Lu Xin thought for a moment. “No I’ve always lived in the Satellite City.”

Chen Jing’s brow furrowed slightly as if she’d thought of something but she didn’t voice it immediately.

“The fact that he had a vehicle hidden outside the wall strongly suggests he’s from the outside!”

After a moment she nodded and muttered “Probably some Ability Users from outside the city trying to stir up trouble again.”

Just then a report came back from the distant Support Team “We’ve found the missing head!”