Chapter 421: Chasing Shadows in the Wasteland

“Is this good enough?”

While speeding along, Lu Xin could feel a vast force field radiating outward from the center of the Doll.

Following the original plan, he had not only accomplished the assigned task but even exceeded expectations. As he mentally counted the seconds, he glanced at the Doll in the passenger seat.

The Doll had been bouncing and jumping for a good while before settling back into her seat.

Her little face was rosy from excitement, and a bit of sweat was visible on her forehead.

“She really thinks I’m just taking her out for a ride, doesn’t she?”

A strange thought suddenly crossed Lu Xin’s mind before he smiled and asked, “How are you feeling now?”

The mission had been even more successful than expected—the Doll unleashed an influence far beyond what was predicted. Lu Xin wasn’t sure if it was too much for her or if she could push on a little longer. He had to check on her condition; after all, Chen Jing had repeatedly warned him to ensure the Doll’s limits were never exceeded.

Ah well, that’s just the Doll from Happy Town.

Listening to Lu Xin’s words, the Doll tilted her head slightly and thought for a moment.

Then a smile broke across her face as she answered earnestly:

“I’m happy.”

Lu Xin paused for a moment, then smiled—her answer was quite reassuring.

……

Since she was happy, it meant she hadn’t hit her limit. He could now wrap up this mission.

At this point, probably due to the distance, Chen Jing’s voice was no longer audible over the channel.

But that was expected. From the start, Lu Xin had coordinated with Chen Jing and the others to use the Doll’s influence to draw away the Armed Force. How far they were drawn, and how many were diverted, was something he would judge based on the situation.

Now that he thought about it, he had already circled most of Happy Town, affecting well over half of the armed forces.

Over the Wasteland behind him, a sweeping glance revealed countless people running desperately, their voices hoarse with exertion.

The plan had achieved its purpose, allowing the next phase to begin.

“Then veer towards the distance, disperse these people completely—let them remain stranded in the Wasteland…”

Lu Xin thought this as he turned the vehicle at an intersection, steering onto the Wide Road and accelerating forward.

In the distance behind him, the throng of people swelled like a surging ocean, chasing him in vast numbers.

Most of these pursuers had come from nearby.

The ones farther away had been left behind so far they were no longer visible.

But Lu Xin knew they were still on his tail. The gathering of so many created a formidable, oppressive mass—dense like an ant swarm creeping across the Wasteland. Some sprinted along the road while others scrambled over the muddy grass.

It was as if their humanity had faded; chasing had become nothing more than an instinct.

But no matter how frenzied and insane their pursuit, no one could surpass human limits.

No pair of legs can outrun four wheels.

Moreover, with Sister helping out, even if they were driving too, none could outpace Lu Xin at that moment.

This plan was set to succeed.

“But—is it really that simple?”

At the moment he floored the accelerator, Lu Xin also checked his rearview mirror.

Previously, during discussions with Chen Jing and the seasoned Drunkard, they had raised an issue.

When facing a foe like the Technology Church, one can never be too cautious.

It appeared that using the Doll’s power to draw away the armed forces around Happy Town was a high-probability success, and something the enemy wouldn’t have anticipated. Still, there was the risk that the Technology Church had preemptively prepared countermeasures.

So from the beginning of the mission, Lu Xin had prepared for any unforeseen mutations that might arise.

Mutations were inevitable—the question was what form they would take.

A basic deduction suggested they would mostly be related to the mental realm.

The Technology Church had used some means to lure these people over, while Lu Xin used the Doll’s power to divert them.

It seemed like a simple maneuver, but in truth, it was a clash of two forces.

Caught in between were the armed personnel from the Settlements.

These individuals had been drawn to the vicinity of Happy Town, even to the point of breaching their previously set alert lines. They were driven by an inexplicable influence, their desires hooked by an unseen force.

At this point, they could be described as lightly polluted entities, tainted by desire.

The arrival of the Doll only layered an additional influence upon them.

With these two forces intersecting, problems were bound to arise.

……

“Huh, huh, huh…”

Someone was sprinting across the Wasteland with all his might.

He had been chasing from the very beginning, long since left far behind—he couldn’t even catch a glimpse of the Modified Car.

Yet he pressed on with all his strength, running in giant strides. All around him, frenzied and ecstatic people dashed wildly, making him feel overwhelmingly uneasy as he spotted a woman resembling a little princess and the crowd closing in.

“Look at them—chasing like lunatics. This won’t do!”

“These crazy bastards, these scoundrels—if they catch up with that girl, what will they do to her?”

“The consequences would be unimaginable.”

“So I must reach her before they do, to protect that little princess.”

……

Driven by this thought, he ran without reserve.

But his strength was waning; fatigue crept in.

The more he ran, the slower he became, while the turmoil and worry inside him grew stronger.

He nearly despised his own weak body—only ten kilometers in and already too exhausted, and why were there more and more people? That innocent, kind girl—why were these rough fellows chasing her?

He even began to despise himself.

He remembered that he had come here in pursuit of a great treasure…

So why had he suddenly lost sight of that treasure?

What exactly was he doing? Why had he become so lost?

……

Frustration, regret, and every conceivable emotion swirled in his mind.

The pain was fermenting, an agony that was taking over.

He was on the brink of collapse, ready to drop to the ground and cry without shame.

But everyone around him was fighting for survival, and so he had no choice but to strive on.

The intensity of his emotions, mingled with sheer physical exhaustion, stood in stark contrast.

Trapped in a gap, he was tortured by two extreme sensations.

Under such torment, his sanity was stretched taut, always on the verge of shattering.

And he wasn’t the only one feeling this way.

Across the Wasteland, more and more people were succumbing to this emotional strain.

When countless individuals were enveloped in such despair, a somber atmosphere pervaded the entire Wasteland.

……

The sun had risen high, its light stark and blinding.

Twisted desires had begun to ferment among the crowd, exuding an almost irresistible allure.

“Ugh…”

Suddenly, someone collapsed, retching violently like a dried-up fish—his limbs convulsed, and his body trembled uncontrollably.

Yet that indescribable longing continued to drive him, pushing him to force his nearly dimming eyes forward. When he realized he could never catch up to the Modified Car, despair washed over him.

But he refused to accept that despair—never.

Then, in that moment, his sanity completely crumbled and his vision went black.

Just before he fainted, he thought he saw a pair of eyes.

Something burst forth from deep within his heart.

In that instant, he felt an unexpected sense of relief.

The tormenting desire that had plagued him seemed to be swept away by a mighty current.

His body felt weightless, as if he were flying, enveloped by countless individuals like himself. Their voices filled his mind—shouting, roaring, cursing, hurling insults.

He had once refused to stoop so low as to join them, even finding them repulsive.

But now, utterly exhausted, a thought crept in that maybe it wouldn’t hurt to loosen up a bit…

Maybe admitting that he was just like them, fully accepting and merging with them, might not be so bad…

Falling from grace felt strangely comforting.

Even if those around him were marred by filth and ugliness, gathering together still provided a sense of security.

……

“What is that?”

Lu Xin sensed a change behind him and quickly glanced over his shoulder.

While his eyes skimmed the rearview mirror, he saw nothing but emptiness.

However, when he turned around, he noticed several gigantic monsters emerging in the barren Wasteland behind him.

They had slender limbs and bloated bodies, crazily clambering above the heads of the chasing crowd.

Their bodies, due to excessive fat, had assumed a tire-like, segmented shape.

Yet their heads were peculiar—a smiling human face.

Chubby and round, the smile was gentle yet stiff. A closer look revealed that the face was composed of many different expressions—some frenzied, some sorrowful, some pained, and some angry—all merged to form that oddly tender smile.

Adorned with neatly arranged black markings, upon closer inspection, each marking was actually a rapidly rotating eye scanning the surroundings. At the tip of their slender limb-tails were human hands, contracting and expanding like claws, scraping desperately at the ground.

“Mental Monster?”

Lu Xin was taken aback. He hadn’t expected such formidable Mental Monsters to appear suddenly in the Wasteland.

And they seemed to have emerged out of nowhere.

“Twisted desires are bound to spawn malice—in other words, these Mental Monsters,”

Mom, seated in the back seat, remarked lightly, “These few are considered a lower form of existence in the Abyss.”

“They’re actually quite good-hearted; they just want to protect something.”

“But because they’re so good-natured, they keep everything they wish to protect within themselves. After all, swallowing what you want to protect is the only way to ensure you never part ways, isn’t it?”

“……”

“Ah, well…”

Lu Xin couldn’t help but glance at Mom through the rearview mirror, his expression tinged with worry.

Is this really protection?

He recalled once fretting over Sister’s values, and now, looking at Mom, he realized her perspective might be equally dangerous…