Chapter 91: Containing the Bloom

The mall entrance was already pure chaos and it looked like it had been that way for a while.

Countless people were pouring out of the main entrance, some panicked, others with a fanatical look on their faces.

Everyone was desperately trying to get out of the mall but they were jammed together, making escape impossible.

Some were even smashing second-floor windows, scrambling to climb out using ropes or curtains.

Faced with such chaos and the sheer number of people anyone would feel utterly powerless.

…

…

“Recommendation: Clean up the Pollution Source first, meaning the Red Rose Parasite…”

Han Bing’s voice came through the channel, crisp and clear.

Lu Xin figured they must have been trained to quickly analyze information and report on situations under pressure.

“Got it!”

Lu Xin knew what mattered most. After dropping down like an agile spider, he grabbed onto a stainless steel flagpole in front of the mall, swung himself around, pushed off it with his feet, and leaped three or four meters to land in front of an open second-floor window, ducking inside.

His movements were strange yet nimble, ignoring the fact the window was barely the size of a basketball hoop.

Once inside the mall he ran fast, like a shadow.

Normally running that fast would kick up a strong wind but he moved almost silently.

In less than ten seconds he passed through three doors and rounded two corners, reaching the center of the mall. A glance downward revealed a middle-aged man cradling a corpse below in the first-floor atrium.

The man looked to be around forty, covered in blood. Broken bones jutted out from his flesh.

It seemed he’d fallen from the third floor onto the mall’s hard marble floor.

The impact had injured him severely, yet he still held a woman of similar age. From his posture, it looked like after jumping from the third floor, he had struggled to pull her into his arms. But both he and the woman had been dead for some time; you could feel the cold stiffness and eerie sense of death emanating from them.

He was kneeling on the ground, head thrown back, mouth open, eyes wide with a distorted expression.

If this scene were a painting it would be an intensely emotional abstract piece, overflowing with regret.

…

…

There weren’t many people left in the mall, but chaos still reigned. Lu Xin saw some people locked in frantic, passionate kisses. He also saw a young girl fiercely pounding on the shuttered gate of a closed shop. Inside the shop, a burly man and two or three clerks huddled together, sobbing terrified.

Lu Xin leaped lightly from the second floor, landing without a sound.

Amidst the chaos he just watched the dead man intently.

On the dead man, still frozen in that screaming, upward-gazing pose, he saw a strange rose.

The flower grew out of his wide-open mouth, standing over a meter tall. The bloom itself was twenty centimeters across, unnaturally vibrant and full. Its petals unfurled forcefully, each soaked in a blood-red hue so intense it seemed capable of burning one’s eyes. A strange magic emanated from it, dyeing the area around the man an eerie red.

…

…

“This man must be the mall’s Pollution Source!”

“Recommended cleanup methods for the Pollution Source: One, use a Special Containment Bag. Two, find a nearby method to incinerate the corpse…”

“…”

On the channel Han Bing observed the surroundings through the camera on Lu Xin’s chest, speaking softly.

“No need…”

But Lu Xin just shook his head and walked towards the corpse.

He whispered, “I can see it.”

“You can see it?”

Han Bing’s voice held a note of pleasant surprise. “What does it look like?”

“It’s a rose!”

Lu Xin said, “A rose growing out of a person’s body. It’s the color of blood!”

As he spoke he reached the corpse. Gazing at the rose he could almost feel its infectious power. Just looking at it felt like seeing someone you loved most dearly. He wasn’t sure if this emotion appeared out of nowhere or if it was hidden deep within people’s hearts—so small it was usually negligible, but now growing larger.

Larger and larger until it threatened to overwhelm all reason with madness.

Images of girl after girl flashed uncontrollably through Lu Xin’s mind…

…subconsciously wanting to find them, possess them, regardless of the cost.

“How strange. I’m sure I don’t like that many…”

Lu Xin wasn’t affected by this burgeoning madness. He simply observed his own emotional changes like an outsider, not even slowing his pace as he walked straight up to the rose and grabbed it.

As he pulled the rose out Lu Xin could feel it emit what seemed like a scream, as if struggling.

But its struggles were too weak. He plucked it out easily.

Sister immediately reached for it excitedly, but Lu Xin shook his head and didn’t give it to her.

“This rose is too improper. Don’t eat it, okay?”

He held the headset microphone and said this to his Sister.

Sister gave him an odd look, then snatched the rose anyway and tore it to shreds in moments.

Lu Xin glanced apologetically at his Sister then looked around elsewhere.

He saw the middle-aged man’s body slump the moment the rose was removed, collapsing limply to the ground, still embracing the woman in his arms. Even the savage, distorted expression on his face softened considerably, though the look of pain remained, perhaps because things were now irrevocably lost.

…

…

“Is it dealt with?”

Han Bing asked nervously over the channel.

“Dealt with.”

Lu Xin nodded, looking around.

The strange, distorted atmosphere vanished completely the moment the rose was torn apart.

So he said softly, “This kind of Pollution Source is easy to clean up!”

“Excellent work, Mr. Lone Soldier.”

Han Bing sounded slightly relieved on the channel but quickly added, “The most important thing now is to stop the spread.”

Lu Xin looked around the mall. “That’s going to be tricky.”

For him, cleaning up the Pollution Source was simple—just pull out the rose.

But the surrounding area was already chaotic. He could see hundreds of people within his line of sight alone, and who knew how many had escaped before he arrived? How could he and his Sister possibly stop the spread with just their power?

“The City Patrol Army and the Security Hall have already set up blockades at major intersections around the area, sealing off the contaminated zone.”

Han Bing said over the channel, “What we can do now is quickly stop these Polluted individuals from colliding with them…”

She paused before continuing, “Mr. Lone Soldier, you understand that their primary mission is preventing the spread of Pollution. So when the blockade teams are impacted by the Polluted and feel the pressure on the lines reaching its limit, what will they do…”

“I know.”

Lu Xin took a deep breath.

When the blockade teams felt they were losing control they would open fire.

So as he asked these questions his expression tensed. He rushed towards the surrounding chaos while asking:

“Is there a better way to stop them?”

“…”

“The secondarily contaminated group reacts strongly but the pollution level shouldn’t be deep.”

Han Bing answered briskly, “So there are two ways to stop them:

“One, exert a stronger influence on the secondarily contaminated group to forcibly change their behavior.”

“Two, use any method to block their path of movement!”

“Once the influence of the Red Rose Pollution Source weakens and the situation is under control, the Support Team can enter for centralized treatment…”

“…”

“Understood…”

By the time Han Bing finished explaining, Lu Xin had already climbed a mall pillar to the second floor. He grabbed a colorful flag stuck there for a dog food ad, pulled it down, and with a flick of his wrist, wrapped the flag around the pole, turning it into a makeshift club.

Then Lu Xin dashed towards the girl who was frantically smashing the iron gate trying to break into the shop and swung the flagpole.

*Crack!*

The girl’s ankle dislocated and she collapsed sharply to the ground.

Inside the shop the trembling clerks and the burly boy simultaneously looked up in shock.

“Don’t go near her until the alert is lifted…”

Lu Xin whispered this into the shop before dashing off in another direction.

…

…

Han Bing heard the sounds from Lu Xin’s end over the channel and asked nervously, “What method are you using?”

“I don’t have the ability to exert another kind of influence on them so I’m using a simpler method…”

Lu Xin now brandishing the flagpole had reached another frenzied crowd and raised it high.

His face was grim and determined. “I’ll break their legs first…”