Chapter 558: Trials of Chaos
by xennovelOn the execution platform, Father held the Scarecrow’s head, his disdain barely hiding a surge of excitement.
Lu Xin’s Sister trembled with excitement as she watched the scene unfold beside him.
Even the person upstairs, leaning out the window and watching Mom below, had a slight smile tug at her lips amid her indifference.
Suddenly, she wondered what feelings her own Sister must have experienced upon witnessing this.
Lu Xin himself showed no unusual emotion; he was merely handling a special pollution incident cleanup.
His gaze remained calm as he looked ahead, a hint of provocation in his eyes.
……
……
“So, these top-tier lords we selected have really been executed just like that?”
The middle-aged man possessed by Number Seven displayed an expression of utter bewilderment.
Even she seemed unable to accept the scene before her…
Some outcomes, even when anticipated from the start, are hard to swallow when they actually occur.
It wasn’t until Lu Xin’s gaze met hers that she finally reacted, saying, “I admit, I never expected this.”
Lu Xin looked at her expression and suddenly felt a burst of delight.
Meanwhile, Number Seven observed the smug, almost pleased look on Lu Xin’s face and shook his head slightly.
“I never thought you’d truly pass the Trial of Recognition.”
“……”
“Hmm?”
Lu Xin’s face showed a trace of puzzlement.
“So, your performance was actually better than all of ours…”
Number Seven sighed softly and then raised his head to look at Ye Xue.
At that moment, unable to reach Number Seven’s limit with his human-shaped spiderweb, Lu Xin had already released the group.
Ye Xue was now temporarily safe, and with so many people exposing themselves from the cover of hide-and-seek, a clear escape route emerged. Her courage seemed much stronger than before as it returned to her.
The little girl picked up her guitar and snapped it in two with a forceful twist.
From the guitar, a small paper tube tumbled out, gently bound with a blue ribbon.
Ye Xue picked up the paper tube and lightly tossed it to Lu Xin.
“This is your report card.”
Her gaze was cold and burning with jealous anger as she said, “It was given to you by the Director.”
“Director?”
Those two words struck Lu Xin’s heart with intense force.
Even when he had just come to terms with his identity, hearing those words—especially from Number Seven—triggered a powerful emotional shock, laden with ambiguity…
In other words, the Director she mentioned was exactly the one he understood.
But as his pupils contracted and he abruptly looked up, he saw confusion flash across Ye Xue’s face.
Beside her, a succession of faces underwent bizarre changes, forming a barely noticeable, strange straight line that darted past countless people and swiftly drifted beyond the plaza.
Number Seven had already left.
After being bitten by the skinless dog and shocked by the execution, she dared not linger.
Although in the end, Lu Xin succeeded in seeing the expression he craved on her face, he had to admit…
Number Seven’s ability was truly terrifying.
This wasn’t his first encounter with a Ghost-type ability user, but it was clear Number Seven’s power far surpassed that of the one he’d met before. If she hadn’t been determined to make trouble for him, he might have been able to keep her around.
Her sudden appearance had enraged him, and now she was under his threat.
Yet, in the end, all it took was one sentence to leave behind such a token?
Lu Xin, deep in perplexity, lowered his gaze to the paper scroll.
……
……
“Clatter…”
A sudden uproar erupted all around.
The commotion spread rapidly, escalating in an instant.
Heichao City residents, awakened from a brief yet deep sleep by the sight of the Scarecrow’s execution, only then snapped fully awake.
At that moment, they looked up in confusion, astonished to find themselves present here.
“What’s happening…?”
“Help…”
Suddenly, continuous screams of agony began to ring out.
Some people were terrified to death upon suddenly spotting clumps of flesh gathered around them, screaming hysterically.
Others, already injured in earlier frenzies and numb despite heavy wounds, now realized with horror that intestines were spilling, an arm was severed, or several knives were impaled in them, prompting cries of pain and terror.
Amidst the heart-wrenching cries, some even tore off their underwear, staring at the fabric with silent tears.
“Ah…”
Even Ye Xue, not far away, suddenly woke up and knelt in pain at the sight of her shattered guitar.
But she quickly gathered herself and anxiously scanned the crowd in search of her brother.
“Captain…”
“…What’s the situation now?”
At the Seventh Floor location, Mr. Gecko and the others hurried down, weaving through the crowd to reach Lu Xin.
Lu Xin looked around.
The execution platform had vanished, and the Heichao City Administration Hall was nothing more than ruins.
Twisted, bizarre steel bars were entangled together, while shattered debris and broken tiles piled up like mountains. The central plaza, once the heart of Heichao City’s prosperity, was now a cratered expanse filled with corpses and multi-barrel rotary gun casings rolling in a golden hue.
At first glance, the city’s chaos and terror seemed even graver than during the previous frenzy.
Yet unmistakably, the city was at its most lucid moment.
“It’s over…”
Lu Xin softly replied as he gradually withdrew his gaze.
“Over?”
Han Bing and the others still wore heavy expressions of unease; the bizarre and terrifying scenes from moments ago continued to flash in their minds.
“Indeed…”
Lu Xin turned to Han Bing and said, “So, what do we do now?”
“Huh?”
Han Bing was momentarily stunned before, in a terrified tone, he managed to say, “You’re asking me?”
In a state of shock over such horrors, even Mr. Lone Soldier had the nerve to ask him what to do?
Fortunately, she quickly detected the trust in Lu Xin’s eyes and, with thoughts racing, hurriedly said, “If we confirm that the special pollution source has been completely cleaned up with no signs of resurgence, our mission is accomplished. All that’s left is to wait for the Heichao City Administration to restore order and to brief the officials at the Administrative Main Hall on our support task.”
“Alright.”
Lu Xin agreed briskly but couldn’t help adding, “Though it might be a bit troublesome…”
“We never know if there are still any competent officials left in Heichao City…”
“……”
At his words, Han Bing and the others were left speechless.
Following Han Bing’s suggestion, they neither alerted the surrounding people nor immediately helped maintain order in Heichao City; instead, they quietly slipped away from the crowd.
They noticed that the convertible Jeep they had driven earlier was still parked in the middle of the road, which was a relief. Once aboard, Mr. Gecko floored the accelerator, slowly weaving through the bewildered masses toward City No.3.
After the Jeep had been moving for a while, a series of rapid footsteps suddenly echoed from a nearby building.
The footsteps reached the street but soon faded away, leaving only a lingering sense of numb bewilderment.
After a long moment, a fallen Elegant Lady’s bicycle by the roadside was righted and, as if moving on its own, raced after the Jeep.
A few seconds later, even that bicycle seemed to vanish from sight.
……
……
Lu Xin and his group returned first to the hotel in City No.3, the journey completely clear of obstacles.
The entire City No.3 was nearly deserted, with not a soul in sight; shop doors stood open, their dazzling displays untouched. Lu Xin couldn’t help but marvel at how, in collective madness, people seem to disregard everything.
Upon arriving at the hotel, the first thing Han Bing did was…
…boil water to brew coffee.
While sipping her coffee and organizing her thoughts, she said, “Our first task now is to observe—see when order is restored in Heichao City. If it recovers quickly, we can negotiate with the Administration in advance; if it lags, we might have to use our abilities to help restore order to some extent.”
“Later, Mr. Gecko and Miss Red Serpent will accompany me to take a look outside.”
“As for Mr. Lone Soldier’s orders…”
She paused before adding, “You rest at the hotel. We’ll call on you if needed.”
“Alright.”
Lu Xin readily agreed, smiling as he said, “In that case, I’ll be counting on you.”
Han Bing, Mr. Gecko, and the others exchanged knowing glances…
Mr. Lone Soldier, who had caused such a commotion at the central plaza earlier, had the nerve to say he needed their help…
……
……
“This incident…”
After they left, Lu Xin sat on the sofa and slowly lit a cigarette.
After a moment of thought, he opened the window, grabbed a disposable paper cup, filled it halfway with water, and placed it before him.
He pondered the recent events carefully.
Even though the matter had been resolved, he couldn’t shake the feeling that it was far from simple.
“Isn’t it intriguing?”
Mom’s silhouette appeared by the window, leaning on the sill as she tenderly watched Lu Xin. Her deeper emotions remained hidden, but a faint smile graced her lips as she softly said, “Although many unpleasant things occurred along the way, the outcome is indeed satisfactory—both in cleaning up the special pollution and…”
She paused and then laughed, “meeting that woman who brings joy…”
“Joy?”
Lu Xin clearly didn’t register; after all, Number Seven was the person he despised most.
Mom chuckled softly, “Think about it—you get to kill her again. Isn’t that delightful?”
“Oh, indeed.”
Lu Xin suddenly understood and nodded, “That truly is delightful.”
Mom covered her mouth with a laugh, admiring Lu Xin with a satisfied glance as her expression grew ever more pleased.
Father joined in with a chuckle, his silhouette appearing in the deepest, shadowed corner of the room. Sister had already made an appearance, hanging upside down from the ceiling, curiously eyeing the small paper scroll in Lu Xin’s hand.
Not only her; Mom and Father also seemed very intrigued.
In fact, Lu Xin himself was curious.
He hadn’t opened it on the way precisely so he could examine it carefully when the time was right.
This was a gift from the Old Director.
No matter how much he despised the Old Director, knowing it was sent by him stirred a flicker of excitement within Lu Xin.
“Report Card…”
“Trial of Life…”
“Trial of Pain…”
“Trial of Desire…”
Lu Xin recalled the words spoken by Number Seven as she left and her complex expression.
After a moment of silence, he mustered the courage to slowly untie the silk ribbon on the paper scroll and unrolled it. Before his eyes was a series of bold, determined characters that stirred a strange emotion in his heart.
Yes, this was indeed the Old Director’s handwriting.
And clearly, it could be regarded as a report card.
It listed a series of subjects in careful script, with several grades noted at the end.
Trial of Life: A
Trial of Pain: A
Trial of Desire: A
Trial of Recognition: ?
Trial of Strength:
Trial of Heart:
Trial of God:
……
At the bottom of the report card was the Old Director’s neat, earnest signature: Wang Jingyun.