Chapter 809: A Cascade of Turmoil

After the Old Researcher finished speaking, a heavy silence fell over everyone.

An invisible oppression loomed over their hearts, and no one dared to breathe loudly for a long while.

Doctor An was on the verge of speaking up when Master Li quickly hushed her with a slow shake of his head.

Meanwhile, Lu Xin remained silent—silence that stretched on for what felt like an eternity.

He could feel a tidal wave of anger surging inside him, an anger that nearly threatened to overwhelm him. Yet, he forced himself to hold back. Like many in life who face tremendous shocks without knowing their true limits, he realized his endurance might be far greater than he ever imagined.

It took him a long time amid that furious tide before he could reclaim a sliver of calm.

Then he lowered his voice: “Suddenly, I find what you said makes a strange kind of sense…”

A ripple of murmurs spread around him— even his Sister quickly lifted her little face in surprise.

“I hate you all.”

Lu Xin suddenly looked up at them, gritting his teeth as he spoke.

The Old Man in the Black Robe involuntarily shifted his body and snorted coldly.

In contrast, the Old Man in the White Coat kept his expression unchanged, silently awaiting Lu Xin’s next words.

“But it really has nothing to do with the Unique Consciousness.”

Lu Xin spoke again suddenly, causing a few nearby people to startle.

In that moment, Lu Xin even closed his eyes briefly, summoning every ounce of restraint to set aside his anger as he thoughtfully muttered, “Logically, I shouldn’t be forced to choose between you. I should detach myself from the emotion and carefully consider how to handle this in a way that aligns with my own principles…”

The Old Man in the White Coat’s eyes even sparkled with a hint of surprise.

Unable to hide his admiration, he lightly patted his hand and said, “It’s impressive that you can remain so rational under pressure.”

“This matter is actually quite simple…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Lu Xin’s voice suddenly rose as he looked up at him.

A low, eerie chuckle escaped him—strange and unsettling.

Turning his gaze back to the Old Man in the White Coat, he murmured, “From a logical standpoint, I’m no big shot. My actions are nothing like the grand deeds you all fancy. I should be quietly living my life—earning a living, raising my family, without being disturbed…”

“Yet here I am, a nobody, crawling along the street when suddenly a brawl breaks out. They’re scrambling over a gun—yet by some twist of fate, that gun lands right in front of me. Then they all demand it, insisting it should be theirs, claiming it’s wrong to give it to anyone else. And now, I’m forced to decide its fate…”

“…”

At that, he looked up at the Old Man in the White Coat and asked, “Who do you think I should give it to?”

The Old Man in the White Coat seemed momentarily taken aback by Lu Xin’s odd question.

After a brief pause, still smiling, he replied, “In my opinion, you should just drop the gun. That way, you offend no one.”

“No.”

Lu Xin looked at him intently and said, “I’m going to run. I’ll deliver the gun to the Police Station…”

Hearing Lu Xin’s words, the Old Man in the White Coat’s expression darkened, and he slowly shook his head after a long pause.

“But what if even the Guards can’t be trusted?”

“…”

“Then, it should go to someone I can trust.”

Lu Xin replied quietly, “I’m sure there will be someone reliable to whom I can hand this over.”

“But…”

His voice suddenly rose sharply, “That person would never be one of you!”

“Swish!”

At that same moment, as soon as he finished speaking, he abruptly reached out and grabbed his Sister’s hand.

In the next instant, summoning all his might, he bolted off in the opposite direction.

He had never run so fast before.

Every fiber of his being surged with mental power, and even black particles flared anew in his eyes.

The surrounding mental energy swirled like a gale, boosting his speed as he dashed away like lightning.

As he left, he instinctively glanced back at Doctor An and the others, a trace of regret in his eyes.

He didn’t want to leave them behind, but he had no choice.

Fresh from discovering his true origins, there was too much he needed to process.

Although he harbored deep hatred for those Researchers, their mysterious force of ‘Nothingness’ did indeed help rein him in.

That’s why Lu Xin was no longer in the mood for a desperate fight.

After all, lower levels of hatred drive one to annihilate an enemy without care for consequence.

But when hatred reaches a higher degree, it becomes something you can endure.

Because it is a kind of hatred that even time cannot wash away.

Now, Lu Xin had even resolved to bide his time and settle the score later…

He must escape—no matter what.

Those First Researchers might control forces capable of resisting black particles, but that didn’t mean much.

A defensive power is passive; an attacking force can always choose to flee.

Gritting his teeth, he refused to believe anything could stop him when he decided to run.

If worst comes to worst, he could always wake Mom up.

Then he’d join up with his Father, and eventually, his entire Family would come after them…

“…”

“…”

“Swish. Swish.”

His escape was unbelievably fast, quickly creating a huge gap. His movements were so sudden that hardly anyone noticed until long after, when Doctor An finally realized what was happening, a hopeful smile creeping onto her face.

“Block them off for him…”

She suddenly gritted her teeth, clenching the gun in her hand.

Striding forward quickly, she ran her fingers through her hair and wiped the blood off her face.

The stockings on her legs were worn out, exposing her toes.

So she tore off the stockings altogether, leaving her with two dazzling white legs.

It was as if she intended to appear more alluring at that very moment— not as if she were preparing for a lethal sniper mission, but rather for a hasty, yet long-awaited date.

“You two, die together!”

Meanwhile, Master Li glared resentfully at Doctors Zhang and Wang, twisting his body forcefully and stomping his foot.

He puffed up and charged over to Doctor An, rather than watching the two.

“Old Wang…”

“Old Zhang…”

The two doctors exchanged a glance, then separated their clasped hands and strode forward.

They positioned themselves on either side of Doctor An and Master Li and declared in low, firm voices, “Now’s the time for us men to lead!”

In the process, Sissi had already taken off her Down Jacket.

Every time she looked at herself, a sense of inferiority crept in, but this time she recalled a friend’s compliment:

“You look so adorable. Wanna come over to my place?”

“…”

That remark even brought a slight smile to her face as she waved goodbye in the direction her Sister had taken.

Clack, clack, clack…

Uh…

A Zhen’s arms flailed as a sleek, silver, mechanical composite gun slid out from his arm.

At the same time, a rapid whirring sound erupted from the core of the energy source in his chest.

In that moment, they all fell silent.

Facing that immense surge of mental power with their seemingly insignificant forms, they advanced.

However…

The ones blocking the Old Apartment Building and those people in front of Lu Xin suddenly hesitated.

Because the enemy hadn’t given chase.

At the tip of a vine, a little child bared his teeth in a mocking grin, clearly eager to pursue, but after crawling forward for only a few dozen meters and seeing no movement from the others, he abruptly shrank back, his eyes wide as he stared at the two figures standing atop the Abyss Worm.

Angrily and helplessly, they watched Lu Xin’s retreating figure.

“I told you there was no need to say that to him.”

The Old Man in the Black Cleric Robe spoke in a deep, emotionless tone, “He simply can’t control his emotions.”

“Sigh…”

The Old Man in the White Coat exhaled softly, “We must at least give him some explanation.”

“Besides, convincing him to voluntarily hand over the Unique Consciousness would have been the best outcome for everyone.”

“…”

The Old Man in the Black Cleric Robe’s expression turned chilling as he declared, “We are not after the best outcome.”

“But rather the most efficient method!”

“…”

As he spoke, he pulled out another Black Playing Card from his sleeve.

He delicately held it between his fingers; the card’s face was imprinted with an eye, obscured by countless runes.

“What are you waiting for?”

He murmured softly to the card.

“…”

“…”

“Swish…”

As Lu Xin bolted away at breakneck speed, he sensed everything around him receding rapidly.

He could feel his Sister, clutched in his arms, growing cold.

It was the first time he had ever fled so recklessly, barely even glancing back to see what was happening—whether the enemy was in pursuit—even though he could clearly sense a peculiar surge of mental energy stirring behind him…

He refused to stop; he even silently prayed for Mom to appear soon and block that encroaching mental force.

After all, she had always shielded him from harm.

After all…

“Sigh…”

While these thoughts grew stronger in Lu Xin’s mind, a soft sigh suddenly echoed inside him.

In that instant, his heart trembled with raw emotion.

Had Mom truly heard his plea and come to his aid?

A pang of guilt surged through him—was it wrong to have startled her awake like this?

As he pondered this, his peripheral vision caught a glimpse of Mom.

She stood quietly by the roadside, dressed in muted clothing.

It was a face and presence he knew all too well. His cry was nearly at his throat.

But then he saw Mom holding a pair of scissors, gently extending her hand toward him—just as she used to…

Yet she wasn’t aiming the scissors at someone behind him; instead, they were directed at herself.

“Snip…”

The crisp, familiar sound of scissors rang out as Lu Xin stumbled suddenly.

He felt no pain, but realized something was missing—his embrace had grown painfully empty. He looked down in shock to see his Sister’s shadow fading fast, her small face fixed in terror and despair as she faced Mom’s direction.

“…”