Chapter 74: Unraveling the Source

Lu Xin could also sense the changes in the living room.

For a normal person this change was utterly bizarre. Every object seemed to thrum with life as if it had suddenly woken up. Part of the mind might still be desperately trying to rationalize ‘None of this is real don’t believe it’ but hormones were already flooding the system uncontrollably.

When these hormones peaked they seized control of the brain itself.

This is probably what going mad feels like…

Lu Xin thought silently.

…

…

The human-head tentacles woven into the furniture writhed desperately now. Some even let out soft breathless moans that could make anyone blush. Mr. Xu nearby was merely affected but Lu Xin stood right at the epicenter.

To him it felt as if everything in the living room was smiling at him.

But Lu Xin just thought for a moment and slowly reached out his hand.

These human-head tentacles made the living room incredibly eerie but how could he possibly be swayed by them?

How abnormal would someone have to be to be affected by them?

“Now I can confirm it’s pollution…”

Thinking this he simply extended his hand slowly.

Now that the mental monster’s presence was confirmed the solution was simple: just deal with them.

“No need…”

But this time Sister didn’t come over to take his hand like before.

Instead she let out an excited laugh and rushed forward herself.

She scrambled like a spider or maybe a little ghoul in a dirty white robe instantly reaching the nearby coffee table. Her hands grabbed down hard. The table remained unchanged but she yanked a human-head tentacle right out of it excitedly tearing it in half. Then she grabbed the two halves ripping them into several more pieces…

Then she leaped onto the pillar wrapped her arms and legs around it and bit down hard.

…

…

Lu Xin felt a little helpless. Sister was having too much fun this time she didn’t even need his help.

So he could only stand quietly watching his sister scramble around relentlessly tearing apart the grotesque tentacles. She was having so much fun he could hear her giggling gleefully. Laughing she unearthed tentacles from various spots like digging holes ripping them to shreds. In just a few dozen seconds she’d already destroyed more than ten of them.

As Lu Xin watched Mr. Xu beside him descended into utter confusion.

He looked around. Objectively nothing had changed.

But in his eyes endless changes were happening constantly.

This potted plant would suddenly become incredibly attractive then just as suddenly become plain and ordinary…

Sometimes the nearby pillar looked like a person then like a pillar then back to a person again moments later.

It plunged him into a state of extreme cognitive dissonance.

“Sister’s approach isn’t working…”

After watching for a while Lu Xin also shook his head slightly.

Sister was certainly powerful compared to these tentacles but there were too many of them and they were too cunning.

Some were torn apart but others hid.

They even knew to hide when Sister lunged only to peek out again shortly after.

Sometimes while Sister was still digging diligently in a corner a tentacle would peek out from the top of the wall.

It almost looked like Sister was being toyed with by them.

As her brother how could he let Sister be tricked like this?

…

…

So Lu Xin frowned and began to observe carefully.

Sister had destroyed quite a few tentacles since she started but their overall number didn’t seem to be shrinking.

These tentacles were vivid each unique in form but sharing the exact same expression.

Thanks to his recent professional training Lu Xin easily identified the core issue: ‘Mental power from a pollution source can refract into various forms but the total psychic power remains constant!’

‘Theoretically mental power can’t be killed or diminished through non-specific attacks.’

‘Every pollution source has its own logic chain and core key…’

…

‘So…’

Lu Xin turned his gaze towards the motionless girl on the floor.

The problem still lay with her.

Thinking this Lu Xin took out the gun from his bag and walked towards the girl.

His movement immediately triggered a major reaction. All the human-head tentacles emerging from the walls and objects seemed to notice him instantly growing tense. Hissing they surged towards him.

‘Whoosh!’

Sister zipped back to Lu Xin’s side perched on his shoulder and tore apart any tentacles that got near.

Then she tilted her head down looking curious.

Lu Xin also looked up slightly giving Sister a helpless expression.

It was a look that chided Sister for being slow.

Sister immediately pouted looked a little miffed and leaped away again.

She leaped straight towards the girl lying prone on the floor.

And as she leaped towards the girl the surrounding tentacles also suddenly rushed towards the girl simultaneously.

They seemed to transform back into that patch of ‘seaweed’ growing on the girl’s back!

Sister charged over grabbing several tentacles at once and forcefully tearing them off.

She ripped off half of the strange twisted appendages in one go. The remaining tentacles seemed grievously wounded writhing and growing frantically. They desperately tangled together like strands of hemp rope countless tendrils weaving into one massive stalk. At its tip a head sprouted its expression far more complex now.

And this head then suddenly split open down the middle transforming into a maw filled with sharp teeth.

It lunged towards Sister filled with an unnatural terror and ferocity.

Facing this terrifying sight Sister’s eyes suddenly gleamed with excitement.

Then she too opened her mouth wide. Her eyes shone dark and bright her mouth stretching impossibly wide revealing rows of knife-sharp teeth. Her whole face distorted grotesquely transforming her into a twisted yet somehow cute little monster.

‘Awooo!’ she bit back tearing off a chunk of the serpent-like tentacle.

The massive tentacle seemed terrified suddenly retracting rapidly back into the girl’s body.

But Sister’s eyes gleamed as she pursued it relentlessly grabbing hold.

This time though she didn’t rip it apart. Instead her small hands worked rapidly pulling it out section by section. Yet no matter how much she pulled the length in her hands remained stubbornly half a meter long. Finally she yanked out the very last piece—be it a tail or another head—and still only half a meter remained.

Sister held its body with both hands her eyes shining as she stared at it.

It looked like a fierce agile serpent but unlike any normal snake it had a silently screaming sharp-toothed maw at both ends. Its body twisted emitting unheard cries of agony…

It seemed to struggle desperate even to bite back at Sister.

But under Lu Xin’s gaze which screamed for her to stop Sister already bit down hard on the serpent’s body with a sickening crunch.

The serpent immediately writhed even more violently…