Chapter 703: Shadows Over Qinggang

I’m completely overwhelmed.

That’s exactly how Mr. Su and Minister Shen feel.

They originally thought that Single Soldier’s request for a medical examination by the Qinggang Cleanup Department was a good sign, and they were ecstatic when his assessment report was finally released. With hearts pounding in anticipation, they headed to Professor Bai’s office, eager to review the report.

They believed that once the report was in hand, many unanswered questions might finally be resolved.

But in reality, they soon discovered that their doubts hadn’t disappeared—if anything, they had multiplied.

The Tyrant, Sister, Father, Pale Hand, and mysterious, unexplained changes over an unknown period—the causes and consequences of it all…

……

……

A long silence filled the office.

Everyone was lost in thought from different perspectives, momentarily forgetting to speak up.

“Sigh…”

Professor Bai rubbed his face to relax a bit and said, “Of course, these are not the only issues.”

“There are still many inexplicable, mysterious phenomena surrounding Single Soldier…”

“Even though the tests revealed numerous abilities, they still couldn’t fully explain certain events with him.”

“For instance, Chen Jing once found herself in peril alongside Single Soldier, only to be rescued by him.”

“That time, you saw him unleash an unprecedented level of telekinesis, deflecting a hail of multi-barrel rotary gun bullets.”

“Or consider the agents under Old Shen—some died mysteriously after spying on Single Soldier’s movements…”

“Or, who taught him to create parasitic devices as large as an old building…?”

“And if I remember correctly, Single Soldier once admitted that in his mind, it wasn’t just Father and Sister…”

“What about the ability codenamed ‘Mom’?”

……

“Hmm…”

Mr. Su and Minister Shen both nodded in agreement.

Though the matter was undoubtedly intriguing, they no longer appeared shocked.

They were utterly numb.

Deep down, they felt that any bizarre happenings involving Lu Xin were entirely plausible.

It was Chen Jing, however, who underscored the purpose of her being in that office.

After a brief moment of thought, she said, “I believe the issue might lie with the changes Professor Bai mentioned earlier.”

“If Single Soldier was originally the child codenamed ‘Tyrant’, then he would naturally be devoid of both ability and emotion. Such a person couldn’t work quietly at a small company for so long without problems arising.”

“Nor could he suddenly display such inexplicable abilities after we recruited him…”

Then…

Pausing for a moment, she curiously asked, “What has caused this transformation in him?”

Professor Bai listened intently, nodding approvingly.

Only experts can dissect such issues to grasp the heart of the matter. Look at Minister Shen and Mr. Su… sigh!

“Two possibilities.”

Professor Bai explained, “In that classified file, Single Soldier showed none of these changes when he left the Research Institute.”

“So, it’s highly likely that his current transformations occurred after the Escaped Lab incident.”

“In other words, they might have been triggered either by the Escaped Lab or by methods employed by the former director of the Red Moon Orphanage.”

“Yet that orphanage ended in an explosion, suggesting that the experiment had failed…”

……

“As for another possibility…”

After a brief contemplation, he said, “Have you noticed that between the Red Moon Orphanage Explosion Incident and the moment Single Soldier truly entered our radar, there’s a significant gap in our investigation, leaving us clueless about what happened?”

Chen Jing immediately nodded subtly at his words.

Before recruiting Single Soldier, it was her responsibility to investigate his past and analyze his risk of losing control.

Their probe revealed that Single Soldier had worked at that small company for four years.

They even discovered that he had attended high school in the Second Satellite City—down to retrieving his rather unremarkable report card.

Strangely, while traces of his past could be found, all the crucial details were missing.

There was an underlying air of inexplicable oddity about it all.

For instance, after the orphanage explosion, there remained a gap of over three years before Single Soldier started high school.

Where did he go during that period?

Moreover, even though admission to the Second Satellite City high school was granted upon passing a basic exam—with nearly all tuition waived—in such a chaotic social order, without a stable home or forward-thinking guardianship, no one would typically send a child to school.

Furthermore, despite the policy, practical implementation was nearly impossible amid the disorder.

Frankly, without adult protection, signatures, or even donations, it would have been nearly impossible for Single Soldier to enter high school.

Who sent him there?

An investigation into that matter was once launched, but it ended in failure.

Due to disorganized management, numerous records from that high school were lost, leaving no trace whatsoever.

Naturally, after the Red Moon Incident, such losses became common—with schools and the Security Hall all missing a wealth of data.

But when it comes to records concerning Single Soldier, suspicion is inevitable.

Was the loss of these documents accidental or deliberate?

……

……

Chen Jing looked up at Professor Bai.

It was clear that these matters would either require direct questioning of Single Soldier or an investigation sanctioned by the Special Cleaning Department.

Previously, the Special Cleaning Department had halted such inquiries.

Now, to uncover the truth, it won’t suffice to simply restart the investigation—it will require deploying Ability Users to join the probe.

“First, let’s conduct a psychological assessment on him!”

Professor Bai murmured and then looked at Mr. Su. “If Single Soldier himself can’t clarify these events, our Special Cleaning Department must establish a dedicated investigation team to dig deeper. Naturally, we must prepare ourselves for the fact that uncovering long-buried, deliberately erased incidents might herald impending danger.”

“Of course, since Single Soldier has placed his trust in us, many of our concerns are alleviated.”

……

After a pause and a slight, wry smile, he said, “For now, we must focus on another matter.”

Minister Shen and Mr. Su both looked up at him as he spoke.

Professor Bai laughed and said, “Single Soldier’s voluntary cooperation with this exam comes with its own conditions…”

“He wishes for us to analyze his abilities and guide him on the right path…”

“Simply put, he seeks our guidance and assistance…”

……

“What the heck?”

Minister Shen nearly jumped, exclaiming, “He still needs guidance and assistance?”

Mr. Su was equally dumbfounded, murmuring, “Really placing so much trust in us?”

“We must help where help is needed…”

Professor Bai smiled helplessly and sighed, “Who would have thought the contract was written this way?”

“Although we initially signed the contract merely to restrain Single Soldier, who’d have thought he would strictly adhere to it from start to finish, leaving us completely on the back foot…”

……

Seeing the terror on Minister Shen and Mr. Su’s faces, he shook his head lightly and said, “Fortunately, our experience from collaborating with Doll on the Heaven’s Kingdom Plan has been invaluable.”

“Besides, hasn’t Single Soldier already cooperated with our assessments?”

“As researchers, analyzing data and forming hypotheses is our core duty, isn’t it?”

“Of course, we only hope that the assistance we ultimately provide will live up to Single Soldier’s trust.”

……

……

The meeting room suddenly fell into a heavy silence.

Even after Professor Bai’s explanation, they couldn’t shake the feeling that it was odd for the Special Cleaning Department to assist someone like Single Soldier.

They even wondered how, despite being at Stage Five, he could place so much trust in us.

What have we in Qinggang done to deserve such trust from you…

We haven’t even figured out Stage Four yet…

……

……

“Sigh, you’re the expert—your professional knowledge runs deep, and you sure know how to sell a story…”

In the end, Mr. Su sighed softly and said, “So, it’s up to you to decide on this matter!”

“Whatever it takes—as long as it benefits Qinggang and keeps risks in check—I have no objections.”

“Since this assessment of Single Soldier has uncovered numerous issues and revealed that his potential and power far exceed our wildest imaginations, whether we can help him or not, it doesn’t change the fact that he is unbelievably formidable.”

“So, right now, the only concern I have is one thing…”

……

After a pause, he looked upward.

All he could see was the ceiling above.

But everyone in the office knew exactly what he was looking at.

Minister Shen asked, “If Single Soldier teams up with Doll, could they possibly challenge that entity up there?”

The atmosphere in the office suddenly grew heavy.

Even Mr. Su and Chen Jing instinctively glanced out the window, as if fearing they might be overheard by some unseen presence.

“That question…”

Professor Bai hesitated before finally delivering a disappointing answer: “I don’t know either.”

Meeting everyone’s gaze, he sighed softly and said, “Because we don’t even know what it truly is…”

While discussing the matter, he shot Chen Jing a knowing look.

Chen Jing immediately understood and brought over another set of documents, placing them before Professor Bai.

Professor Bai flipped through the concise report—mostly a few pages of mental radiation assessment data, along with a single page of a sketch depicting nothing more than a pair of simple eyes.

“We don’t even know when this thing first appeared overhead…”

Looking over the report again, Professor Bai couldn’t hide his frown and said, “A month ago, observers first detected an unknown mental radiation force over Qinggang. We’re unsure how long it has been present, but it seems to have materialized once Doll’s mental power further bonded with Qinggang, causing the residents’ mental forces to coalesce—only then did distinct changes appear.”

“We cannot observe the whole picture, nor can we determine the true nature of this mental force.”

“The only tangible evidence we have is a sketch drawn by Doll after sensing this mental energy…”

“…Those eyes!”

……

Professor Bai furrowed his brows and said, “According to Doll, those eyes in the sky are watching over Qinggang.”

“That’s exactly why we suspended unnecessary helicopter flights and aerial operations—we just want to keep our distance.”

“Yet, in truth, our efforts seem to have no effect on it whatsoever.”

“Those eyes remain there, silently watching Qinggang, their vigil beginning and ending at unknown times…”

……

Chen Jing added, “Single Soldier has the ability to directly see mental monsters.”

“Yet he hasn’t noticed those eyes.”

……

Professor Bai nodded slightly and said, “As expected, Single Soldier isn’t omniscient.”

“All we can do now is intensify our monitoring and preparations to determine whether those eyes are truly drawing nearer.”

“I have also sought assistance from the Research Institute, hoping to receive their informational support.”

“As for now…”

He suddenly smiled, leaned back in his chair, and said, “First, I need to have a discussion with Single Soldier.”

“No matter how much we can help him, all we can do is try our best.”

“Do our best in everything and get ready to go head-to-head with the unknown.”