Chapter 75: The Source Remains

Lu Xin’s face turned a sickly green as he watched his sister devour the serpent-like tentacle, utterly speechless.

Meanwhile, the girl on the floor, after having the tentacle ripped out by Sister, convulsed violently for a moment before falling completely still. Not only did the frantic twisting and struggling cease but all movement stopped entirely. The abruptness was startling, almost like the reaction to being shot in the head.

“This… What is…”

Mr. Xu’s face was etched with terror. “Xiao Xiao… How is she?”

The unspoken question hung heavy in the air: “Is she still alive?”

He had only seen Lu Xin initially restraining his daughter, then suddenly stand up and step aside, brow furrowed as if watching something unseen. Throughout this, Lu Xin only made subtle movements like ‘reaching out,’ ‘worrying,’ ‘sighing,’ ‘frowning,’ and so on. Towards the end, he even abruptly drew his gun and took a few steps towards his daughter.

Ultimately though, he hadn’t done anything further, not even approaching her.

Her reaction had been bizarrely intense, culminating in sudden, complete stillness.

He felt as if doused with ice water, unsure whether his daughter had been cured or killed…

“I don’t know if she’s okay…”

Lu Xin glanced at his sister excitedly munching on snacks nearby, then looked back at the girl on the floor. “But the pollution should be resolved…”

“I…”

Mr. Xu’s heart nearly stopped.

Surely you didn’t hire someone to solve your daughter’s problem only for them to *solve* her, right?

“Doctor! Doctors, quick, come in…”

Panicked, he yelled while rushing forward.

“Whoosh—”

The door burst open, and the medical personnel who had pushed the glass-and-steel case earlier surged in. Behind them, Liu, the fat man, peeked curiously inside. Upon seeing the scene on the floor, they were all taken aback. They quickly checked the girl’s pulse and breathing, sighing in relief before scrambling to lift her onto the sofa.

“Looks like she’s alright…”

Lu Xin watched quietly from the side, pondering inwardly.

Luckily, the girl hadn’t died. Otherwise, figuring out how to settle this account would have been tricky.

If he had cured her pollution symptoms but she ended up dead anyway, wouldn’t that complicate things?

For instance: what kind of reward would he be entitled to?

Considering this, maybe the next contract should include a clause:

Pollution cleansing only, life or death not guaranteed?

That sounded weird somehow…

…

…

“Thank you, Mr. Lone Soldier, thank you so much…”

Once Mr. Xu confirmed his daughter was alive and no longer exhibiting that eerie madness, his face lit up with joy. He approached Lu Xin excitedly, instinctively reaching out a hand as if to express his gratitude.

But halfway there, he hesitated, wanting to pull his hand back.

For some reason, looking at the quietly standing Lu Xin, he felt an inexplicable sense of awe.

Initially, this young man had seemed ordinary.

Now, looking again, he sensed a mysterious, almost uncanny aura about him.

Lu Xin took the initiative, grasping Mr. Xu’s hand for a brief shake. “No need to thank me, it’s what I should do. Honestly, I wasn’t sure it would work.”

He offered a slight smile. “Good thing she didn’t die.”

Mr. Xu’s expression turned complicated; he seemed to want to say something but held back.

“Her pollution issue should be temporarily resolved. That leaves just one last thing.”

Lu Xin withdrew his hand and looked towards the girl, speaking softly.

“It’s not over?”

Mr. Xu was clearly surprised, glancing at his daughter.

“Right!”

Lu Xin said, “Aren’t you curious how your daughter got polluted in the first place?”

Although he was new to this job and hadn’t received extensive training, Lu Xin understood clearly that compared to the person afflicted by pollution, the pollution source was the most critical issue. If the source wasn’t identified, there was no guarantee against a second contamination, nor any way to know if that source could quickly affect many others…

“Based on her behavior earlier, I lean towards her being affected by a pollution source rather than undergoing a mental variation.”

Seeing Mr. Xu’s confusion, Lu Xin explained his understanding.

After his recent training on special pollution theory, he could distinguish the difference.

Especially since he could directly see mental monsters, he was even more certain. If the girl had undergone her own variation, what Sister pulled out probably wouldn’t have been a serpent-like tentacle, but her own mental entity.

Hearing Lu Xin’s words, Mr. Xu immediately understood, his expression turning serious.

“Wake her up, then leave!”

Seeing that the medical staff had moved his daughter to the sofa and bandaged her wounds, he gave a low command.

The medical personnel obeyed readily, giving Xiao Xiao an injection before exiting.

Once everyone had left the living room, Mr. Xu sat nervously beside his daughter, gently stroking her hair. “Xiao Xiao,” he called softly, “how are you feeling now? Can you hear Daddy? Can you talk?”

On his third call, his daughter’s eyelids fluttered slightly, opening a crack.

She seemed disoriented, her eyes taking a long moment to focus on Mr. Xu’s face.

“Dad…”

Though clearly very weak, upon regaining consciousness, she suddenly grew tense.

Her body tilted slightly upward as if trying to sit up immediately. “That thing…” she cried urgently.

She seemed desperate to tell Mr. Xu something extremely important right away.

But just as she began to speak, she noticed Lu Xin nearby.

The words caught in her throat. “Quick… make him leave first!”

“Uh…”

Mr. Xu hesitated visibly, glancing back at Lu Xin.

At that moment, Lu Xin had just sat down on the sofa, pulling out a crumpled pack of cigarettes, preparing to light one.

“Make him leave…”

His daughter pleaded anxiously, gripping Mr. Xu’s sleeve tightly.

Seeing Mr. Xu’s predicament, Lu Xin nodded. “I’ll step out for a smoke. You two talk!”

He stood up and turned towards the door.

Mr. Xu’s grateful voice followed him. “Thank you, thank you, Mr. Lone Soldier.”

…

…

“Mr. Lone Soldier, truly amazing! It’s a pity I couldn’t witness your prowess firsthand!”

Reaching the doorway, Lu Xin was about to pull out the half-smoked cigarette from last time when Liu, the fat man, approached him with an impressed expression. While speaking, Liu offered a cigarette with a golden filter tip. Lu Xin put his own pack back in his pocket, accepted Liu’s cigarette, and leaned slightly to light it from the lighter Liu held out.

“This time was quite simple. Hope dealing with the pollution source is just as easy!”

He commented while taking a drag.

“Pollution source?”

Liu, the fat man, paused, slightly startled.

“Yeah!”

Lu Xin looked at him curiously. “Since I accepted this commission, I’ll definitely see it through to the end. Not just saving the girl, but handling the pollution source too. And don’t worry, I won’t charge extra fees…”

Hearing this, Liu seemed taken aback for a second, then chuckled.

The two stood on the steps smoking. Not far away, the doctors in white coats secretly peeked at Lu Xin.

…

…

After a short while, Lu Xin caught a glimpse of his sister out of the corner of his eye, scaling the villa wall like a ghost. She crouched on the marble pillar beside him, leaned her small head close, and whispered mysteriously, “They’re talking about an oil painting…”