Chapter 92: Twisted Devotion

Amidst the chaos of the mall Lu Xin moved at top speed. His feet skimmed lightly across walls railings and the slowly moving escalators as he leaped through the building rushing towards the scattered frantic crowds. Each strike of the flagpole landed precisely on the leg joint of a running man or woman easily dislocating it.

Once dislocated they could only crawl. Some forgot everything else clutching their legs and crying out in pain.

Because he applied the force with such precision the joints could likely be easily reset later though they might remain sore for a few days.

When he encountered couples who might have been shopping together and were affected simultaneously he broke both their legs separately. Then he’d find nearby shops shove one person inside quickly pull down the rolling gate and lock the other one outside.

Watching one weep outside the iron gate while the other screamed from within Lu Xin felt a strange sense of purpose in his work.

Distinguishing who was affected and who was merely panicking in the chaotic crowd was simple. Those affected were frantically rushing towards their lovers either chasing them or clinging tightly. Those unaffected were clearly terrified either desperately searching for an exit or already hiding.

*Clack clack clatter.*

Lu Xin lost count of how many legs he’d broken in just a few short minutes.

He also had no idea how many couples he’d separated who were locked in fervent embraces radiating a sweetness so intense it turned foul.

For some reason while performing these life-saving acts he felt inexplicably good.

Perhaps it was because he was saving their lives…

…and definitely not because he hadn’t had a girlfriend since he could remember!

Thanks to his superhuman speed and precision strikes this section of the mall quickly quieted down. Although cries of pain and shouts echoed from various spots the figures running wildly everywhere had vanished reducing the danger significantly.

After finishing Lu Xin quickly exited the mall and scanned his surroundings.

The entire Second Satellite City was now enveloped in sudden mental pollution incidents plunging it into chaos.

People with fanatical expressions could be seen rushing down the streets. Others were chasing or embracing each other nearby.

Without waiting for Han Bing’s prompt he charged forward continuing his work.

The job description: break the legs of all the couples.

There were a few minor errors along the way. Most people whose legs Lu Xin broke just lay on the ground crying out. It seemed the intense pain temporarily overrode their feverish impulse to find their lovers. And without treatment even if they wanted to crawl the pace was slow and the constant pain kept them somewhat lucid.

Under these circumstances few questioned what Lu Xin was doing.

Only once when a fat man and a plump woman were hugging and kissing Lu Xin went up broke one leg each and shoved them into two separate shops nearby. Just as he was about to lock the gates he heard the fat man yelling “Why’d you hit me?!”

Lu Xin was a bit surprised. “You weren’t polluted?”

“What pollution?”

The fat man cursed “It’s the end of the world! Is having one last kiss with my girlfriend bothering you?!”

…

Lu Xin wasn’t sure how to respond. He finally said seriously “Kissing is one thing but why were your hands reaching into her clothes?”

With that he quickly scaled the building face and left.

“What business is it of yours where my hands go?!”

The fat man cursed for a while then suddenly realized “That guy just climbed the wall! Spider-Man?”

“Why would Spider-Man use a staff?”

“Shaolin Spider-Man?”

…

The scene was chaotic Lu Xin had to move fast.

But before he could completely clear the area and ensure no polluted individuals were escaping randomly…

He noticed a sudden change among the frenzied crowds around him.

Because this was a mall and a densely populated residential area there were naturally many couples and spouses. After being influenced they had already embraced each other madly kissing with the greatest passion.

It created an image of extreme fervor.

But suddenly their frantic actions ceased.

Because so many people stopped their frenzied movements simultaneously it created an eerie tableau.

The fervor seemed to abruptly drain from them replaced by an unnatural calm.

They separated slightly looked at each other earnestly and then smiled.

Afterward as if seeing something in each other’s eyes they took hands turned and walked away.

Their movements were gentle and joyful their faces held expressions of firm resolve and happiness.

Some re-entered the mall while others went into the nearby building.

It looked as if they were entering the hall of matrimony.

“What’s happening?”

Lu Xin still held the flagpole but faced with this change he momentarily didn’t know how to proceed. Should he still strike?

“Mr. Lone Soldier report what you see on site.”

Han Bing’s voice came through the channel.

Through the camera feed she could observe some scenes.

But with Lu Xin moving so quickly the camera was constantly shaking violently making it difficult for her to see clearly.

Lu Xin snapped back to attention quickly reporting what he saw “They seem to have suddenly stopped being frantic and calmed down… It’s an unusually calm state. I see them heading to different places most entering high-rise buildings or…”

As he spoke his pupils suddenly contracted looking towards a high-rise building in the northwest corner. “Not good!”

Before Han Bing could ask he was already rushing in that direction saying “There are people standing on the edge of the building up there…”

Han Bing’s voice instantly became exceptionally calm as if the girl was using all her strength to suppress her panic and astonishment for calm analysis “It has now been thirty-two minutes since the sudden pollution source incident erupted at Wanzhong Mall. Please confirm if these individuals attempting to jump are the same group previously affected by secondary contamination?”

Lu Xin sprinted towards that direction but stopped after just a few steps.

Because he saw the young couple standing on the building edge ahead—looking to be in their early twenties the boy handsome the girl cute. They held each other’s hands exchanged a silent smile and simultaneously took a step off the building…

Lu Xin could only watch helplessly as they fell like kites plummeting to the ground.

He noticed that even after hitting the ground they were still holding hands.

“Mr. Lone Soldier please confirm if these individuals attempting to jump are the same group previously affected by secondary contamination?”

Han Bing’s anxious voice echoed in the channel pulling Lu Xin back to reality.

He forced himself to look away from the couple’s bodies quickly scanned a nearby couple entering a high-rise hand-in-hand and recalled seeing them just moments before passionately kissing atop a car…

He nodded grimly. “Yes!”

“There’s reason to suspect the secondary contamination group from Special Pollution Incident 096 has begun to mutate…”

Han Bing’s voice trembled slightly despite her effort to remain steady. “There isn’t enough evidence yet to be certain but it’s highly likely…”

After a pause she whispered “A lovers’ suicide pact!”

“What does that mean?”

Lu Xin asked this even as he charged into the nearby building.

With a swing of his flagpole the couple who had entered hand-in-hand now had dislocated ankles.

His voice however remained as calm as possible while asking.

“It’s a self-destructive tendency subconsciously chosen after emotions become twisted to the extreme…”

Han Bing’s voice trembled slightly. “We guessed correctly before. Because the core pollution source’s psychic level wasn’t high enough and there wasn’t enough time for deep infection and assimilation of the secondary contamination group the third stage of pollution transmission didn’t occur…”

“But problems still arise. In this case chaos created through the mass deaths of the secondary contamination group…”

…

Lu Xin listened quietly. After a long moment he cursed under his breath “Fuck!”