Chapter 462: A Question of Pollution and Responsibility

I… never mind.

He… sigh.

Brother Lu, you…

…

Vice President Xiao’s car, with its absurdly low chassis and impractical design, crawled slowly down the road.

Lu Xin sat in the back seat, with Gao Yan—still unconscious and slumped beside him—while his mind silently mulled over the Special Cleaning Department’s protocols. Meanwhile, Vice President Xiao, driving ahead, kept turning his head as if about to say something, only to hold back, not once but three times.

Lu Xin finally noticed and glanced into the rearview mirror: “What do you want to say?”

“Brother Lu…”

Vice President Xiao’s eyes, seen through the narrow lens, looked rather pitiful: “Are you really planning to lock him up or get rid of him?”

Hearing the question, Lu Xin fell into thought.

He glanced at Gao Yan beside him, slumped in the seat with a deathly pale face as he lay unconscious.

At a glance, Gao Yan seemed tall, handsome—even exuding a refined charm…

But who could have guessed that moments before he had looked so ferociously terrifying?

Glancing lightly at Vice President Xiao, aware of his worry, Lu Xin murmured, “Although our work mostly involves isolating or cleaning them up, training always emphasized that our main goal is to cure them.”

Vice President Xiao’s face brightened with excitement: “So, he can actually go back to the way he was?”

Lu Xin laughed. “If a cure is possible, of course.”

Vice President Xiao grew even more animated: “Then he…”

Lu Xin shook his head. “The chances of recovery are extremely low.”

Vice President Xiao fell silent, blinking for a long while.

Sensing his underlying worry—mixed with complexity and fear—Lu Xin decided, within protocol, to add, “His pollution has become severe. I don’t know if anyone else has seen a similar case, but in every incident I’ve witnessed, no severely polluted individual has ever been cured. Just look at him now…”

With that, he wisely refrained from saying anything harsher, only shaking his head slightly.

Vice President Xiao suddenly fell silent. After a moment, his eyes grew slightly red.

“How could a perfectly fine person end up like this?”

“…”

When asked, Lu Xin’s instinct was always to respond.

But this time, he opened his mouth and nothing came out.

Because the issue was too complex.

For those affected by mental pollution, mild cases might only sap some mental power, plunge one into depression, or cause hallucinations and lethargy. Though a complete cure is rare, there is at least hope.

For severely polluted individuals, they effectively become pollution sources themselves—let alone a cure, it’s a miracle if the spread even stops.

That is the terrifying nature of mental pollution.

It’s not like a common cold or a minor injury where a dose of medicine and rest will do the trick.

In fact, there are traces to follow, but it’s all too complex and fragile to truly mend.

Especially after what happened at Happy Town, Lu Xin felt it even more deeply.

Ordinary people’s resistance to mental pollution is simply too weak.

But…

On one hand, ordinary people are so fragile that they have almost no chance to fight back against mental pollution.

On the other, mental pollution is becoming ever more diverse, complex, and its threat level is escalating.

Lu Xin felt a deep, oppressive heaviness as he pondered the matter.

This problem seems unsolvable…

Colleagues in Qinggang, along with many people he knew, have been working tirelessly…

…

Lost in thought, his satellite phone suddenly rang. Lu Xin hesitated before quickly answering.

Han Bing’s voice came through the receiver: “Mr. Lone Soldier, where are you now?”

Glancing at Vice President Xiao in the driver’s seat, Lu Xin lowered his voice: “I’m on my way to investigate.”

After encountering two police officers earlier, Lu Xin had asked them to report the incident.

However, considering that both Chen Jing and Han Bing had been busy lately—and the threat level of this pollution incident was uncertain—he hadn’t called them directly. Even when reporting, it was just to alert the higher-ups.

He hadn’t expected Han Bing to call so soon.

“Mr. Lone Soldier, have we become so estranged?”

Han Bing’s voice held a hint of childlike grievance: “Such a big deal, and you didn’t call me directly?”

“Huh?”

Surprised, Lu Xin quickly explained, “No, I was just worried you were too busy.”

Han Bing sighed, “I’m really busy—I’ve been working overtime for days, sleeping only three hours a night. My hair is even falling out…”

Changing the subject, she added, “But as the liaison for your messages, everything concerning you goes through me.”

Lu Xin immediately felt a twinge of guilt.

It seemed that, unintentionally, he had added to Han Bing’s workload.

“If her hair is really falling out, doesn’t that mean it’s partly your fault?”

…

“Alright, just kidding. Special pollution isn’t trivial—we have to stay alert.”

Han Bing chuckled, shifting the conversation back and adopting a slightly serious tone: “Mr. Lone Soldier, I have two points for you. First, we received the report from those two officers; please briefly describe the situation.”

Lu Xin hurriedly explained, detailing Vice President Xiao’s account and mentioning the odd detail of insects seemingly in Gao Yan’s eyes.

Clicks of a keyboard echoed from the other end—it seemed Han Bing was inputting the information.

“Only when insects appear in his eyes can we confirm he’s been polluted…”

“The method of pollution remains unknown for now…”

“Another highly covert case of a special pollution incident…”

After a pause, Han Bing sighed, “So, Mr. Lone Soldier, you’re planning to check on Gao Yan’s home to see if the girl he kidnapped has been affected, and to verify if those close to him remain normal?”

Lu Xin nodded, “Yes.”

Upon discovering someone has been polluted, it’s crucial to immediately check those close to them.

Based on that, we deduce the chain of pollution logic and assess the threat level.

“That sounds like a solid plan.”

Han Bing warned, “But Mr. Lone Soldier, be careful—the place you’re headed might be troublesome.”

Lu Xin hesitated, “Are there any formidable pollution sources?”

She replied, “No.”

Han Bing continued, “Mr. Lone Soldier, I just received a notification.”

“Someone is trying to dig into your information.”

“…”

“What is it?”

Lu Xin was momentarily stunned.

Han Bing explained crisply:

“It’s simple: someone is snooping into your past and secret identity through private channels.”

“Because you are Qinggang’s Level 4 Special Talent… with your upcoming contribution points, you’re likely to jump to Level 5. Plus, your file is an extremely high-level A-class secret. So if anyone tries to pry into your affairs, I’ll know immediately.”

“…”

“Huh?”

Lu Xin hadn’t realized he enjoyed such special treatment in Qinggang.

Finding it rather surprising, he asked, “Do you know who it is?”

“It’s someone from Qinggang Changxing Group.”

While typing, Han Bing explained, “They managed to get someone from the Administrative Main Hall—it must be their Chairman, Gao Chang. He arrived in Qinggang two decades ago enjoying Level 5 citizen status, normally residing in XX Community of the Main City, but also running extensive business in the Second Satellite City, where he’s a candidate councilor. His connections and influence are enormous.”

“I first got your task report and within less than ten minutes, I received a tip that someone was probing into your information. It appears that after you injured the polluted individual, they were notified and have started preparing to deal with you.”

“…”

Lu Xin glanced at Gao Yan beside him, slowly piecing things together.

Undoubtedly, the one digging into his information was someone from his own household.

It’s uncanny—when their own child gets injured, their first reaction is to probe the perpetrator’s identity.

Unsure how to handle such matters, he asked, “Then what should we do?”

Han Bing explained, “In these situations, we generally have two responses.”

“One is to issue a warning or make an arrest directly.”

“The other is to provide false identity details to mislead them.”

“It depends on the circumstances. If their intent is adverse towards you, we arrest and interrogate. But if it’s related to an ongoing mission, we provide false identity information to avoid alerting them…”

“…”

Lu Xin immediately understood.

The Special Cleaning Department is known for its no-nonsense efficiency, though it does vary by case.

When handling pollution sources, speed is critical—even if it requires massive resource expenditure.

But if an Ability User is involved, extra caution is necessary to avoid tipping them off.

He offered his opinion, “I’m not entirely sure of this incident’s nature, but we must be careful not to alert them.”

“Alright, I know how to proceed.”

Han Bing let out a gentle sigh, “Mr. Lone Soldier, be careful. I’ve arranged for support to be ready for you.”

“They should be on site within twenty minutes.”

“…”

Lu Xin was somewhat surprised, “Are there still people in the city?”

Han Bing replied with a hint of helplessness, “Although the whole Special Cleaning Department is swamped, we can still spare a few.”

“Just hope this incident doesn’t escalate too much…”

At the end, she suddenly seemed troubled, softly complaining, “Sigh, I’ve been working overtime for so long…”

“I just want to wrap up work, take a vacation, eat some ice cream, and watch old movies…”

“…”

That remark left Lu Xin momentarily stunned, as he had been about to reply.

It was the first time he had heard such a small grievance from Han Bing…

That girl’s work attitude leaves much to be desired!

But considering she’s already losing hair, a little complaint seems fair…

Deep down, Lu Xin found this side of Han Bing all the more genuine.