Chapter 392: The Whispering Field

What’s my job right now?

1. Investigate how these colleagues died and find a chance to avenge them.

2. Investigate how the pollution field we’re facing formed and find a way to destroy it.

3. Bring their last words back.

…

Pondering these questions Lu Xin took a deep breath forcing himself to calm down.

Although his mood was complex right now he knew he had to remain calm. Only by staying calm could he find useful information amidst this chaos. This was his job just as they had dutifully performed theirs.

“Mr… Mr. Lone Soldier we feel… very confused right now…”

After Mom’s scissors did their work the changes in the Captain and his team members stopped. But it was clear they were trapped in extreme chaos and agony. If the changes had continued they likely would have succumbed to the emotional assault and pollution’s influence eventually mutating into those mental monsters. For now the process was merely interrupted.

But the pain wouldn’t lessen.

It was like someone gravely injured whose death was temporarily delayed but whose suffering only intensified during the wait.

However when Lu Xin approached them they still subconsciously looked up.

As soldiers they instinctively didn’t want others to see their weakness but their voices couldn’t help but tremble.

“It’s okay you’ve already done very well.”

Lu Xin looked at them quietly and said softly “Now I need you to tell me how you feel.”

“Every emotional change and physical sensation.”

“What exactly did you encounter before how did you experience all this how did you discover something was wrong with yourselves…”

“These things are very important information. Perhaps they can help us deal with this pollution source.”

…

“Okay…”

The Captain was missing a piece of his head and one eye was already blind. His other eye was gradually dimming appearing very vacant. But he seemed to understand Lu Xin’s meaning replying quickly “Very exhausted very tired like this body doesn’t belong to me anymore… but it seems like some strange power is keeping me in this body…”

As he spoke his gaze seemed distant looking up at the dark night sky.

“He sensed that field too?”

Lu Xin silently noted this in his mind.

This answer confirmed his earlier hypothesis.

Ever since seeing the dead colleagues at the observation post he had wondered where the pollution came from.

After seeing this advance team and the researchers who left promptly but were still contaminated elsewhere he wondered how the pollution spread and how it caused these abnormalities.

No direct contact just a glance and immediate departure resulted in contamination?

Now he had an answer.

It wasn’t that a glance caused the contamination but that contamination began the moment they entered this area.

The people at this observation post weren’t the pollution source they were merely pollution entities.

They were all affected by this pollution field of unknown size turning them into the living dead.

If that’s the case.

Lu Xin looked up again and asked “Then do you remember how you… died?”

“Died…”

This single word caused the bodies of these living soldiers to tremble almost imperceptibly.

They seemed terrified almost to the point of collapse.

But their strong willpower still made them follow Lu Xin’s words and think:

“Just now… just now we all forgot about this…”

“But… but upon realizing I was already… already dead I seemed to remember something…”

“Many fragmented memories are flooding my mind…”

…

When this topic came up someone slammed their head forcefully while another’s already stiff facial muscles contorted into a twisted expression. But it was clear they were trying very hard using all their strength to think about Lu Xin’s question: “I remember my teammates and I were originally on duty here preventing the spread of pollution but it seems… it seems something happened…”

“We seemed very agitated. We fired at our teammates like madmen…”

“Oh god I killed Old Sun…”

“I can’t remember I just can’t remember. My brain… it feels like a piece is missing…”

…

Lu Xin could see their agony but forced himself to endure because this question was crucial.

Only by understanding this could they determine what this pollution actually was.

From living people entering this field to becoming the living dead yet still carrying out their former duties and tasks.

There was still a missing link: death.

What caused their deaths?

This should be the final piece in explaining the entire living dead incident.

But it seemed the Captain was struggling immensely to recall.

He was right his brain was indeed missing a piece.

…

“Alright take a moment to relax…”

Lu Xin said softly unable to bear watching their suffering any longer.

Although Mom had cut something for them it was obvious she couldn’t cut away their pain.

This pain was their own; no one could bear it for them.

Forcing them to recall how they died in this state was undoubtedly the most painful thing so Lu Xin let them relax for now while he thoughtfully went into the nearby observation post tent.

Amidst the chaos he could only follow standard procedure.

He searched for a while and found what he was looking for.

It was a box of surveillance videotapes labeled with different dates.

According to the observation post’s regulations cameras were installed both inside and outside the tents. Normally footage would be overwritten every seven days but because this was a high-risk S-rank observation mission the rules required saving all recordings in case issues arose and needed review.

If they were just here to investigate the incident at the observation post the first thing would be to check these surveillance recordings.

But Lu Xin and the others were unlucky encountering such a severe pollution spread event right away.

Since the pollution spread had already happened he might as well start investigating according to the original plan.

…

The colleagues at this observation post were undoubtedly meticulous. These videotapes were stored neatly.

While selecting a tape Lu Xin suddenly remembered he forgot something.

He left the tent again crouched beside the corpse of a deceased observation post staff member and observed carefully.

At this moment the few surviving armed soldiers nearby had calmed down slightly.

Someone glanced towards Lu Xin saw him staring thoughtfully at the corpse and trembled slightly.

“Should be seven to ten days?”

After observing for a while Lu Xin roughly estimated the time of death for these observation post staff.

Then he returned to the tent selected the tape from ten days ago put it in the playback machine and fast-forwarded while watching. The footage was incredibly dull just normal work processes. Lu Xin kept fast-forwarding until the tape ended.

Then he put in the one from nine days ago still nothing.

He put in the eighth day’s tape. Initially nothing but after fast-forwarding through a long segment Lu Xin suddenly paused slightly.

He saw on the surveillance footage that the staff were still working diligently but one of them already had a noticeable wound on his head. His heart tightened slightly. He carefully rewound and finally found the footage of the incident two hours earlier. It happened around seven in the evening shortly after nightfall.

In the footage several staff members were doing their respective jobs. Someone was monitoring the Mental Detection Device recording the data changes. Someone was silently looking through a microscope. Then their movements suddenly stiffened.

Lu Xin checked the digital display confirming it wasn’t a frozen frame but the people had paused their actions.

They maintained this motionless posture for about seven or eight seconds then resumed their movements.

But this was where the weirdness appeared. The staff member monitoring the instrument panel suddenly stood up without warning and grabbed a nearby coffee pot.

He silently walked up to the staff member peering into the microscope and brought the coffee pot down hard on the back of his head.

Once twice. Blood splattered in the black and white footage.

Someone else entered grabbed the observation personnel by the neck pinned him to the ground and choked him tightly.

When the personnel on the ground stopped moving suddenly a spray of blood erupted from the forehead of the person who had just strangled his colleague.

…

The living people in the footage became silent corpses.

Lu Xin kept staring at the screen. The screen was still his gaze was still.

About ten minutes later he saw the dead bodies lying on the ground slowly get up sit back down at the microscope while others either continued observing or left the tent. They started working as usual even chatting and laughing.

Lu Xin found several other videotapes including those from outside the tent.

He confirmed that the incident at this observation post occurred around 7:30 PM eight days ago.

But no matter the angle no opponent was seen.

Taking a deep breath Lu Xin pressed the button to contact the Qinggang Special Cleaning Department.

“This is the Qinggang Special Cleaning Department S+ Project Command Station. May I ask… is this Mr. Lone Soldier?”

A voice immediately came from the other side of the communication line.

But the voice was clearly filled with tension.

“It’s me.”

Lu Xin spoke into the walkie-talkie forcing himself to stay calm his voice soft “I am now reporting new information.”

“It’s confirmed that the incident at the observation post occurred around 7:30 PM eight days ago. The cause of death for the personnel was killing each other. However the surveillance videos they left behind show no signs of mental monsters or ability users.”

“The staff at the observation post were reawakened approximately ten minutes after death specifically nine minutes and thirty-seven seconds.”

“However based on the previous record of Researcher Wang Song I suspect the reawakening time has significantly shortened.”

“These reawakened individuals forget they are dead and are unaware of their cause of death. After being informed by outsiders that they are dead they fall into intense agony. Most will experience mutations and loss of control in their mental power due to this agony leading to fusion and the birth of a strange mental monster.”

“A small number with strong willpower can slow down this mutation process and even continue performing tasks during this period.”

“The mental monster is related to the number of surrounding uncontrolled deaths. Each individual contributes approximately two hundred to three hundred psychic power magnitude.”

“They can be eliminated by being shot with special bullets.”

…

“Ah this…”

He reported the results of his observations as concisely as possible.

The liaison on the other end of the walkie-talkie was clearly taken aback.

Apparently they didn’t expect Lu Xin to still be handling his work so meticulously at this time.

But he reacted quickly and the sound of frantic keyboard typing immediately followed.

Lu Xin didn’t want to miss anything pausing briefly before continuing “Additionally regarding this pollution I have a hypothesis awaiting confirmation. This pollution isn’t contact-based or invasive but rather a field-type pollution.”

“Meaning this surrounding area I don’t know the exact range is entirely within the pollution zone.”

“Field pollution?”

The person on the other end was clearly shocked.

“Correct.”

Lu Xin spoke slowly “I don’t know how large this area is currently.”

“But it’s confirmed that this area extends at least thirty li outwards…”

“This pollution field envelops everyone within it including me right now. Everyone inside this field is already contaminated and it’s certain that within this field under the influence of mental radiation the dead will be awakened.”

“But what force caused them to kill each other the reason hasn’t been found yet.”

“Perhaps it’s part of the field’s ability or perhaps an abnormal power is spreading across this wasteland.”

“I hope you can warn the main Information Gathering Team to be wary of this strange power.”

“I can choose to go protect them but without understanding what this power is I’m not sure if my going over now is good or bad. Because I must admit I…” He paused then said softly “I’m not very good at protecting.”

…

Lu Xin spoke slowly because he was thinking as he spoke.

The person on the other end didn’t rush him. After confirming Lu Xin had finished reporting his findings he took a deep breath. He didn’t respond to Lu Xin’s warning but said softly “Now I will report the current work progress to Mr. Lone Soldier.”

…

Lu Xin nodded pulled a sticky note from the side and picked up a pen.

“Research on materials related to the living dead incident is currently inconclusive. We’ve found some cases but few resemble the current situation. As for hypotheses about related abilities there are a few directions but the professors dare not confirm anything yet.”

“Also the Investigation Team heading to Songshan Town reported their progress three minutes ago confirming the presence of pollution.”

“However their report cut off halfway and… they disappeared.”

…

“Pollution confirmed in that small town too?”

Hearing this Lu Xin fell silent for a moment.

This seemed expected yet he hadn’t thought of it earlier.

Suddenly hearing this already confirmed answer Lu Xin abruptly turned his head to look outside the tent. He saw only the pitch-black night. In this gloomy weather even the Red Moon was invisible in the sky only impenetrable darkness and chilling wind remained.

Is Songshan Town also enveloped within this pollution field?

Just how large is this pollution?

“As for the main Information Gathering Team…”

The liaison paused before saying softly “Mr. Lone Soldier doesn’t need to go protect them anymore.”

The hand recording information suddenly stopped.

Lu Xin wanted to ask something but no sound came out.

The liaison also fell silent for a moment then said in a low voice “The staff member who previously contacted the main Information Gathering Team heard gunfire and the sounds of others struggling and screaming from their location. This lasted for a long time until a few minutes later someone from the Information Gathering Team spoke again. They seemed unaware of the previous gunfire and screams so we suspect…”

Lu Xin sighed softly not knowing how to respond.

Just then a different voice suddenly came through the walkie-talkie “Single Soldier we need you to return immediately.”

It was Chen Jing’s voice.

Lu Xin let out a breath and said “The investigation isn’t finished yet.”

“This is no longer just about the investigation mission…”

Chen Jing said in a low voice “The intensity of the pollution we’re facing this time has exceeded our imagination. We’ve already lost many people but we don’t even know what the opponent is. So if you continue to stay outside I worry you might…”

“Isn’t it precisely because we don’t know what the opponent is that we need to investigate?”

Lu Xin replied softly after a moment’s silence.

“But…”

Chen Jing’s voice sounded urgent rising slightly before she deliberately slowed it down:

“Right now in that wasteland… you might be the only living person left…”

…

As these words were spoken the atmosphere became incredibly oppressive.

Lu Xin understood Chen Jing’s meaning. The pollution field covering the wasteland was too terrifying. Anyone entering this field didn’t know when they might become contaminated. Sending others in might cause even greater casualties.

No reinforcements could come so they had to ask him to return first.

In fact at this point still thinking of letting him return was already Qinggang’s biggest gamble.

They didn’t even know if he himself was contaminated.

“Precisely because I’m the only living person left…”

After a while Lu Xin slowly let out a laugh and said “That’s why this job can only be done by me huh…”

Speaking slowly he turned off the communication.