Chapter 850: The Dark Iron Refinery Incident
by xennovel“Something’s wrong…”
Lu Xin looked up at the directional arrow on his glasses and suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of alarm.
ID 014 — S-Level Forbidden Zone Dark Iron Refinery.
On the left lens of his glasses, the direction he was heading to was clearly displayed—this very place.
Just moments ago, he had roamed this wasteland, dispatching three Knight Orders and four spirit monsters leading a string of children—the so-called “Pale Nun.” However, those Knight Orders were merely money-driven mercenaries attacking settlements; Lu Xin didn’t even have time to question them.
Moreover, the spirit pollution source known among the mercenaries as the “Pale Nun” was nothing more than a secondary pollution source.
Even if cleared, it would not completely remove the influence on the affected children.
They all seemed to be summoned by something, irresistibly drawn to this place…
Even though Lu Xin’s current level allowed him to somewhat diminish their contamination, it was only a reduction, not a complete purge. This left him no choice but to follow the pollution trail step by step…
It was precisely to trace this ultimate pollution source that he had come to this S-Level Forbidden Zone.
As he drew closer, a red warning light began flashing on his glasses.
Lu Xin immediately realized that he was now heading into an S-Level Forbidden Zone.
And it was an officially registered S-Level Forbidden Zone.
After the Black Table Deity Incident, Lu Xin had met with Dr. An of the Moon Eclipse Research Institute, and it was after that urgent push by the institute to establish and strengthen alliances around the High-Wall Cities’ forbidden zones that almost every S-Level Forbidden Zone had been cleared or allied with. Happy Town and Qinggang were no exceptions.
Every time he returned to Qinggang, the database on his glasses automatically updated.
Naturally, these newly numbered S-Level Forbidden Zones were recorded into the system.
Having an ID meant that the zone was relatively stable; at the very least, any loss of control would immediately alert the High-Wall City.
But why was this forbidden zone behaving so mysteriously?
Furthermore, he had only set out to deal with an accidental spirit pollution incident—so how had he gotten so deeply involved?
How could it be that, by some twist of fate, it all pointed to an S-Level Forbidden Zone?
……
……
Lu Xin had to stay alert.
Being hunted by assassins from around the world, he was meant to be cautious about everything.
Yet, just as he was preparing to escape those assassins, this uncanny coincidence occurred—shouldn’t he have avoided it?
After all, he had already saved several children from settlements.
Perhaps at this point, calling the police or contacting Soda City through Qinggang to have them handle it would be better…
You see, anyone could make a smart decision like that.
But just as Lu Xin thought this—and even started slightly turning his motorcycle around to climb a nearby highland and survey the Dark Iron Refinery in the distance—he suddenly drew a deep breath, instinctively tightening his grip on the handlebars.
……
……
Ahead, about several kilometers away, was the S-Level Forbidden Zone shown on the map.
Just as Qinggang had done with Happy Town, this S-Level Forbidden Zone was also enclosed by man-made high walls.
Taut barbed wire ran along the walls, with a checkpoint set up approximately every three kilometers. Around the zone, special observation posts had been established, accompanied by military camps housing stationed soldiers.
But now, only a scene of ruin surrounded this forbidden zone.
The high walls lay askew, and corpses were strewn haphazardly beside the zone.
On the small house atop an observation post, red warning lights flickered weakly, but there was no sound.
This was an S-Level Forbidden Zone that had lost control.
Whether due to internal anomalies or something else, the protective forces here had been compromised.
What made Lu Xin’s skin crawl was that along the edge of the zone, amid heaps of rubble from toppled walls, one after another, small children—shaking like tiny penguins—reached out with both little hands as if yearning for an embrace, led by spirit monsters clad in nun’s attire, stepping into the zone…
Inside the zone, swirling black mists churned continuously.
Within the darkness, a ghastly pale face with a stiff smile could be seen, its mouth wide open to nearly three or four meters in height.
Inside that gaping mouth was the indistinct visage of a gentle woman.
She stretched out her arms toward the children, as if waiting for their embrace.
“Mom… Mom…”
All the children joyfully and happily called out as they ran toward the faceless woman, arms wide open.
Yet they did not know that they were walking straight into the mouth of an unknown spirit monster…
……
……
“Hoo…”
Lu Xin took a deep breath and shook his neck.
A crisp cracking sound echoed.
Little Nineteen, perched on the fuel tank, was already beginning to show signs of anxious impatience.
Like a startled kitten, she fidgeted restlessly.
Behind him, his Sister suddenly lifted her little head, pressing both hands onto his shoulder, her face etched with caution.
“Brother, don’t go…”
She suddenly clung to Lu Xin’s neck, nervously pleading.
Little Nineteen, in his arms, also struggled to lift her face, watching Lu Xin with worried impatience.
“I know,”
Lu Xin patted his Sister’s cold little calf and stroked Little Nineteen’s face, murmuring, “These events are too coincidental.”
“Something’s off with this zone’s loss of control…”
“Even if it truly lost control, Soda City’s response shouldn’t be this delayed…”
“And even if this pollution source specifically targets children and can have such a massive effect in such a short time…”
“It’s just not normal…”
“…”
He listed all his doubts in one go.
His pupils suddenly deepened as he murmured, “But I can also see that…”
“Those children are real…”
“So what stands before me is indeed a group of children being devoured by a monster…”
“And my choice is whether or not to go rescue them…”
“…”
After a brief pause, he softly answered himself, “I will.”
As he spoke, he tightened his grip on the throttle, and the motorcycle began to roar with building power.
There was no time to call the police or wait for others to handle it.
Because the pollution was already beginning; every night, countless children were unknowingly led into the zone.
The numbers and consequences were incalculable.
These weren’t just numbers—they were burgeoning lives that had yet to fully grow.
“You’re so foolish, Brother…”
Sensing Lu Xin’s intent, his Sister’s voice suddenly grew tense as she clung tighter to his neck.
Perhaps he really was a bit foolish…
Lu Xin gripped the throttle, and the wheels screeched as his motorcycle sped forward.
At the moment his speed peaked, an unexpected calm washed over him.
It was as if time had slowed, his thoughts blossoming like a flower—calm yet resolute:
But to be human, one must first distinguish if something is human before judging its intelligence, right?
Having a Mental Core meant he possessed the ability to discern right from wrong.
A world where doing the right thing is deemed abnormal is the real problem.
……
Perhaps at that moment, Lu Xin had already decided to act—only then did he find his reason to do so.
Even knowing something was off, after all, he was the strongest man above the world’s surface.
So it was just a slight risk.
More importantly, time was running out; he couldn’t afford to wait for an obviously correct decision.
Even if, as his instincts warned him, something was indeed wrong, he still had to act.
Sometimes, one must be a fool to prove one is human.
……
……
“Targets have entered the designated area. Prepare to execute the ultimate cleanup plan.”
In a mysterious conference room in Soda City, as Lu Xin’s motorcycle rushed down from the highland and the light of the Red Moon shone brilliantly, a Man in Black Spades stood up nervously in the secret meeting room.
He stared at the footage from the observation post camera by the forbidden zone capturing the motorcycle, visibly excited.
“I told you so long ago.”
A Man in Red Heart Cloak straightened his back slightly, his eyes beneath the cloak exuding sharp indifference:
“Our plan was indeed a bit hasty—it might leave traces.”
“Being the most destructive force, even Qinggang couldn’t properly assess his abilities. No matter how perfect our plan, he might see through it, spotting flaws almost intuitively…”
“But that doesn’t matter.”
“What matters is that once he detects a problem, he’ll still walk right into our trap.”
“That’s defined by his humanity, and it’s our greatest leverage in setting up this plan.”
“…”
“How should I put it?”
After a pause, he whispered, “His humanity makes him so… stupid!”
“…”
“…”
Listening to the two of them, the conference room fell into a long silence; no one dared to share their enthusiasm at such a critical moment.
From an execution standpoint, it was a very successful plan with a high chance of success.
Yet even they couldn’t take pride in its success.
……
……
“Sigh, how could the Nine of old have pulled this off?”
Next to a high-end hotel in Soda City, inside a Jeep, the plump Fourteen munched greedily on the thick, well-sealed ham Lu Xin had left him, his chubby frame trembling as if choked by the meat.
“Aren’t you worried someone might call you stupid?”
……
……
Inside a high-end residential area, the handsome and refined Number Three gently laid a sleeping child on the bed.
He walked into the bathroom, then approached his wife who was applying a face mask. Wrapping his arm around her slightly rounded waist, he rested his head on her shoulder and took a deep, enchanted breath, as if to forever memorize her scent and keep his inner turmoil at bay.
“How old are you? Still doing that?”
His wife struggled a little but couldn’t break free. With a soft laugh, she said, “When is your classmate leaving?”
“I suppose he’s already gone…”
Number Three hugged her waist tightly, his words muffled.
“I reckon he’s doing pretty well—wearing a 200,000-watch, treating us to dinner, spending money without blinking an eye.”
His wife laughed, “But why do you seem a bit indifferent toward him?”
“What’s the use if he does well?”
Holding her closer, Number Three said, “He’s made enemies—he’s being hunted.”
“Oh dear…”
His wife, slightly startled, said, “Then couldn’t you call the Security Hall to help him out?”
“That’s not something our Security Hall can resolve.”
Number Three chuckled, “Even if you called into the Main City, it wouldn’t work.”
“I see…”
Her husband’s words left her shaking her head. With a sigh, she added, “I still think he’s a good person…”
Number Three fell silent for a long while before softly replying, “Yeah…”
“Everyone has changed, especially him—he’s become so…”
……
……
“Get out of here!”
Elsewhere, in a secret lab, a burly man with monstrous strength hurled a Number Eight out the door.
Then the lab door slammed shut.
“Fifth Sister… Number Five… and that Zhou surname fellow…”
Number Eight, having finally tasted freedom, stubbornly banged on the door, shouting, “I think there’s no need to refuse Number Nine. What he said actually makes sense! Why won’t you help him properly this time?”
“What we experienced as kids was all wrong…”
“…”
“It really was wrong, but now you have nowhere to complain, right?”
Inside the lab, Number Five’s pale face peered from behind the burly man at a small glass window, coldly staring at Number Eight:
“Besides, you must admit this is a rare opportunity.”
“In a situation where no one expected it, the Black Spades Office seized the only chance to strike back with an assassination.”
“If Number Nine truly dies, then the Old Director fails—and we profit…”
“…”
“No, no, that won’t do…”
Number Eight paused and then pounded the door even harder, “This isn’t right!”
“What you’re doing is clever, but it’s all wrong…”
……
……
“Hoo…”
High in the air, Lu Xin took a deep breath, then slowly spread his arms as if he were flying.
Before the motorcycle even touched the ground, he exchanged one last look with his Sister and Little Nineteen.
Their eyes confirmed what needed to be done.
Then he leaped upward, stepping on the seat to propel himself into the air. The motorcycle crashed heavily onto the ground as he, his Sister, and Little Nineteen rushed toward the gap in the forbidden zone.
“Brother, you’re such a big dummy…”
As his Sister shouted, she frantically grabbed her disheveled hair.
Too young to understand the importance of hair, she ended up pulling out a large clump.
Still, she accurately landed among the children being drawn into the zone.
Her tiny hands grasped one child, who in turn reached for another further ahead, linking all the children near the forbidden edge into one chain.
Then, with determination, she tugged them away.
Sensing her, spirit monsters in nun attire surrounding the area turned their attack toward her.
At that moment, Little Nineteen clutched the Bright Dining Knife tightly in her hand.
Though initially panicked by a vague, unsettling premonition that had made her wildly agitated, upon seeing Lu Xin’s calm gaze, she quieted down, as if receiving a signal that bolstered her resolve.
In the next instant, her body was suddenly pulled by an unseen force, moving with blinding speed as she flashed past the nuns.
A soft “shh, shh” sounded twice as those two spirit monsters were torn asunder into pieces.
Meanwhile, as the two little ones rushed to rescue the children and clear the continuously emerging secondary polluted bodies in the zone, Lu Xin pressed forward into the thick, dense black fog inside, extending his left hand far ahead.
At that moment, Black Particles materialized out of nowhere. Their immense force churned the air into rolling layers.
“Shh, shh, shh…”
A cascade of dark mists tore apart, and Lu Xin finally caught sight of what lay within the zone.
His right hand had been ready all along—to snatch the children as they entered the zone once he saw what was inside.
But what he saw made him hesitate.
He saw dozens of children gathered around a corpulent, towering woman—or rather, something that could no longer be called human. It was nothing more than a heap of rotting flesh with black skin, reeking of decay…
She sat cross-legged in the center of the zone, her unkempt hair piled on either side of her body.
Mumbling incoherently, fleshy, chubby arms emerged from her body.
Slowly, they stretched out to grab the children and pull them into her mass.
……
……
“Crack…”
Lu Xin’s focus tightened to the extreme as he fiercely swung his left hand at the monstrous, hideous spirit.
Black Particles scraped against the air, forming rippling layers as they zoomed to the monster’s front and, like slicing through tofu, tore into it effortlessly—ready to shred its massive body apart entirely…
“Shh, shh…”
At first, the Black Particles’ force was more than the monstrous forbidden zone spirit could withstand.
Lu Xin successfully penetrated it, destroying most of its body.
But just then, his face drained of color.
He felt something grasp his left hand and seize the Black Particles emanating from him.
Abruptly, his right hand shot forward. In a flash, it multiplied into a dozen limbs, each grabbing the nearby children by the monster’s side, pulling them out one by one and tossing them to his Sister outside the zone. Simultaneously, his own body recoiled sharply, melting into a blurry shadow within the fetid air.
But he could no longer retreat.
The monster’s body suddenly disintegrated into pieces as vast clumps of rotting flesh splattered in every direction.
Then, the ground around Lu Xin seemed to come alive.
One after another, black flesh buds slowly writhed, as if infused with a strange rhythm and vitality, emerging from beneath the earth.
At that moment, even the power of his Black Particles felt subtly suppressed.
“This…”
Facing the black flesh buds that closed in from all sides, Lu Xin’s heart sank to the depths.
……
……
Before this, Lu Xin had wondered how these assassins intended to kill him.
At that moment, he finally understood.
In the beginning…
They had unleashed the primordial force, waiting here for him…