Chapter 582: A Chaotic Clash Under the Red Moon

“You really think I can’t tell?”

While surrounded by those plastic brats — his face showing a wistful expression — the Tang-suited Dragon Team Leader shouted in a low voice.

As he released the plastic brats, strange, semi-transparent filaments began to emerge from the open glass jars in the train carriage beneath his feet, snaking up along his legs and wrapping around them in layers.

It made his body appear as if it were encased in a thick cocoon.

At the same time, his mental power grew ever stronger.

His voice, suppressed and hoarse like a yell venting his pain, boomed, “You’re stronger than me simply because your psychic power is higher. You must have gone through Central City’s zero-ability user modification — relying on sheer mental influence to overpower your opponent. But alas, Central City’s tech might not let you run wild in the Chaos Zone…”

“Creak…”

A bizarre, twisting sound arose as metal railings on a truck were distorted, emitting a grating, claw-like noise.

“Huff…”

The Dragon Team Leader drew in a deep breath.

Suddenly, an invisible ripple spread out, forming a gigantic circle.

Gravel and sand around them, as if whipped by a wild gust, began rolling rapidly outward.

In an instant, his six eyes snapped toward Lu Xin.

An unseen tide of mental power surged like a wave directly at Lu Xin.

Nearly submerging him.

At the same time, the plastic brats — hopping around merrily as if handed candy — grew excited.

Their stiff, grotesque faces split into wide maws, revealing razor-sharp teeth as their bodies sprang from the ground, charging toward Lu Xin like vicious little beasts, greedily eyeing his flesh.

“Chit!”

Lu Xin took a step back, dodging several of the attacking brats.

But there were too many; a few managed to latch on, biting and tearing at him.

A strange sensation overwhelmed him. The bites, though excruciating, left no marks on his body. Instead, his mental power seemed slightly diminished, while the brats that bit him became even more frenzied, their fierce expressions and speed noticeably heightened.

“This is…”

Lu Xin mused, “They’re biting my mental power?”

No wonder earlier the Dragon Team Leader shouted about not fearing his own mental strength…

Could it be that these brats were specifically designed to counter high psychic power in zero-ability users?

“Don’t bully big brother…”

Just then, as Lu Xin was besieged by a swarm of frenzied brats, his sister charged in furiously.

With both her small hands, she grabbed the necks of two plastic brats. Amid their desperate struggles, she slammed them together, shattering them into pieces.

When they hit the ground, they were nothing more than fragmented bits of plastic.

But the area was soon swarmed by countless pale, small figures carrying the pungent tang of formaldehyde; they lunged at Lu Xin. Though his sister was quick and fierce, she couldn’t alone stop the brats from clambering onto him and biting into his shoulders. She could only pull at them while shouting angrily, “He’ll get mad — he’ll kill you all…”

“You’re so cute; I don’t want him to kill you, big brother…”

“…”

“Team Leader, who exactly is he?”

Meanwhile, the Dragon Team Leader, nearly exhausted after unleashing a mental impact, looked on with fierce eyes as countless ghastly plastic brats surrounded Lu Xin and hopped toward him.

Only then did the armed personnel dare to approach him, forming a circle to protect him.

“That is…”

The Dragon Team Leader gritted his teeth, enduring the mental force transmitted through the filaments. His body felt as though it were expanding into nothingness — though outwardly unchanged, he sensed an internal inflation, especially in his head. It felt as if his head were about to burst like a giant balloon.

This was because the plastic brats were channeling a portion of the bitten mental power into him.

He even felt a surge of panic — what kind of monster could wield such tremendous psychic power?

Could the mere torn fragment be enough to overwhelm him?

Yet when his subordinate inquired, his inner terror coalesced into sheer disgust and hatred.

Gritting his teeth, he spat, “Madman!”

But no matter how fearsome, it would end here.

Under the assault of these little demons, his mental power weakened further while his own strength grew. Even if the brats couldn’t kill him directly, the shifting balance of psychic power guaranteed his eventual victory…

…though it might come at a steep price. He might even spend a month wetting the bed and crying like a child.

…

…

“Tsk…”

Even Lu Xin, though surrounded by these bizarre plastic brats, felt a surge of irritation.

His mental power hadn’t noticeably diminished, but the bites on his arms and legs still stung.

How can I put it? These brats are just as unruly as those from the orphanage we grew up in.

So even though he felt the urge to explode in anger, he managed to hold it back.

It must be said, this was his greatest progress since the incident in Heichao City.

In a way, he had learned to control his anger.

And the reason for this restraint was very simple…

He remembered his mission: to earn that two million… no, to intercept Hell’s Messenger!

The key to intercepting Hell’s Messenger was to cut off its route, forcing it to return the same way.

So his best choice was to wait here, and once it got close, suddenly unleash his wrath.

That way, a startled Hell’s Messenger, with no time to change course, would opt for the fastest escape — trotting straight back to Red Mud Town, into Xia Chong’s ambush circle…

But if it was far enough to sense his anger and get frightened,

then, with multiple escape options, it might head east or west, throwing his plan into uncertainty.

This was why Lu Xin no longer wanted to anger easily.

He couldn’t even tap into Father’s strength, or else that two-million-valued Hell’s Messenger might end up frightened too.

And of course, he couldn’t let go of that Tang-suited guy — after all, he had bullied him; Lu Xin was determined to get even.

That was justice.

So on one hand was justice, and on the other, two million.

Which should he choose?

Lu Xin had no other idea — he wanted it all.

As for how…

…there were many ways!

…If his opponent was formidable through parasitic items, wasn’t he armed with them too?

…

With that thought flashing through his mind, Lu Xin quickly stepped back, flung his arms aside, and sent a plastic brat — which had been biting his palm — flying. Then he lifted a hand to gently touch the frame of his glasses and murmured, “You still wanna eat?”

A strange mental power bounced lightly off the frame.

“Woo-woo…”

Seconds later, from within the shadow under the Red Moon, a pair of fierce, glaring eyes materialized.

A skinless dog suddenly leapt down from the nearby rooftop.

Baring its fangs and glaring with blood-red eyes, it let out a sharp chattering bite that shattered a plastic brat encircling Lu Xin into pieces. With its four claws, it then tore apart additional brats clinging to Lu Xin’s shoulder and thigh.

It then turned, wildly wagging its tail at Lu Xin.

“Dispose of them.”

Lu Xin nodded at the skinless dog and his sister.

Immediately, both flashed ferocious expressions, flanking Lu Xin as they bared their sharp fangs in a fierce challenge.

“Shasha shasha…”

The sound of plastic feet stomping on gravel grew louder as countless plastic brats encircled them.

They were tightly surrounded, like an ant swarm.

The number of these plastic brats seemed to have increased exponentially — each one growing stronger and more agile.

With his sister and the skinless dog protecting him for the moment, Lu Xin reached into his black bag.

After a brief search, he pulled out a black 12-Layer Puzzle Cube.

“Wuuah…”

As the vicious plastic brats charged en masse, Lu Xin gently twisted the cube.

His sister and the skinless dog froze in shock.

They had been defending Lu Xin without fear, even against so many brats.

But unexpectedly, at the very moment the vicious creatures surged forward, Lu Xin vanished — at least, to their senses, he seemed to briefly disappear, only for a vicious plastic brat to suddenly appear behind him.

“We fought for you, and you ran away?”

A surge of betrayal welled within him, yet he bravely surged toward the encroaching plastic brats.

Thanks to the power of the 12-Layer Puzzle Cube altering his mental signature, Lu Xin instantly became untouchable. Even the plastic brats — and the Tang-suited Dragon Team Leader controlling them — couldn’t pinpoint his location immediately.

In the next instant, Lu Xin reached into his bag and pulled out a black playing card.

The Jack of Spades.

Taken from the head of Changhu City’s ability user Black Jack.

Lu Xin hadn’t yet studied this card, but there wasn’t much to examine. He pinched it between two fingers, feeling the deep, hidden mental power within, gave it a cold glance, and then nodded toward the Dragon Team Leader.

That Dragon Team Leader remained cautious; even though he had already unleashed the plastic brats on Lu Xin, he hadn’t let his guard down.

The remaining dozen armed personnel had long since formed a circle around him, muzzles pointed outward.

Rushing in headlong would undoubtedly result in some losses.

So Lu Xin recalled the playing card; he remembered Black Jack’s ability.

The mental power hidden within the playing card was meant to lie quietly in his bag.

But at Lu Xin’s glance, it panicked.

Faintly, he could hear a discontented voice mutter, “Damn it, it’s exposed…”

Whether it was the cube or the card, while lying obediently in his bag, they evaded even ordinary mental scans.

But once scrutinized by Lu Xin, hiding any longer served no purpose…

So a faint current of electricity began coursing over the playing card.

In the next moment, Lu Xin suddenly felt a flash before his eyes, as if experiencing a brief teleportation.

It felt as if he and someone near the Dragon Team Leader were drawn together by a tremendous force.

As he pulled an armed personnel toward him, that very man was simultaneously drawing him in.

He understood — there was no resisting this magnetic pull, so he allowed it to drag him over.

“Whoosh…”

In the very next moment, Lu Xin found himself occupying the position of that armed personnel, while his opponent now stood where he had been.

So this was why Black Jack had been able to replace Han Bing at that moment.

It was all based on the Abyss and a sudden positional swap with someone within his sight.

Quite useful.

With that thought, Lu Xin looked up at the Tang-suited Dragon Team Leader.

There he stood, right before him — his eyes behind the mask anxiously scanning the distance.

For over a second.

Precisely, when he noticed an armed personnel abruptly appearing within the circle of plastic brats in the distance, he suddenly bowed his head and saw someone within the group of protecting armed personnel turn around.

Facing him, that person wore a faint smile and held a playing card between his index and middle fingers pressed against his chest.

“You…”

In that instant, the Dragon Team Leader was nearly blown away, his body visibly trembling.

The Beijing Opera Mask on his face flashed with rapid, intricate patterns — each flash indicating the activation of a different ability.

Every flicker of the patterns signified another skill unleashed.

Several strands of unusual mental power simultaneously seeped into Lu Xin’s body.

But it was futile; as soon as these abilities hit him, his overwhelming psychic power diluted them.

On the surface, Lu Xin appeared completely unaffected.

“Swish!”

Desperation spurred the Dragon Team Leader to abruptly raise his gun, aiming it at Lu Xin.

But Lu Xin was even faster — a revolver emerged from his black bag, pointed directly at his face.

Facing that dark, ominous barrel, the Dragon Team Leader felt a surge of despair.

While Lu Xin continued to point at him, he reached out and tore the mask from his face.

Beneath the mask, the Dragon Team Leader’s face was slick with cold sweat and despair as he stared blankly at him.

Surprisingly, that face was rather handsome.

Lu Xin clenched his fist and delivered a crushing punch to his face.

Blood immediately burst forth from his nose, splattering over half his face.

That made him look a whole lot better.

Meanwhile, the cigarette clutched in his mouth had burned right down to the end.

Lu Xin casually spat it onto the ground, extinguished it with his toe, and said, “Now, can we have a serious talk?”