This Is What You Call Professionalism

"Uh..."

Out of nowhere, Lu Xin thought Gecko was committing suicide.

Only after he leaned out to look did he realize that just as Gecko's body was about to hit the ground, he had swiftly reached out and grabbed the water tower, catching an elevated section with uncanny precision. His body then made a bizarre turn in midair, and both feet landed on the water tower. It was as if he had redirected his downward momentum, effortlessly springing outward.

Beneath the Crimson Moon, he looked like a strange reptile as he rapidly and bizarrely crawled toward the factory building.

"We'll go too..."

Lu Xin had just turned to look at Sister when he saw her staring angrily in the direction Gecko had gone.

She suddenly grabbed Lu Xin, and the siblings leaped high into the air. When they landed, they happened to come down on a power line running beside the water tower. Then, using both hands and feet, they sped toward the factory building along the wire like specters.

In the end, Lu Xin entered the factory building only one step behind Gecko.

At that moment, with Zheng Yuanxiong unconscious, the entire factory had taken on a strange atmosphere.

Although Zheng Yuanxiong had passed out, all the workers continued handling the tasks before them in a dull, mechanical manner. The entire factory was filled with a pungent, acrid smell, mixed with the heavy stench of blood and even urine.

They had been too busy to visit the restroom, so they had simply relieved themselves where they stood whenever nature called.

As for Gecko and Lu Xin, who had entered the factory one after another, the workers did not even move their eyes toward them.

"Taking Zheng Yuanxiong down with a tranquilizer gun is only the first step!"

Tie Cui's voice came through the channel. "Because Zheng Yuanxiong has already undergone an obvious Mental Mutation and is extremely close to losing control, it's uncertain how effective this anesthetic—which can put an elephant to sleep for three days—will be on him. He could wake up at any moment. To be safe, we need to put a special restraint device on him, so he won't affect anyone else again..."

"And what you need to do is..."

As he listened to Linda, Lu Xin followed closely behind Gecko until they reached Zheng Yuanxiong.

When Linda said the words "stand guard for him," Lu Xin was already standing beside Gecko, warily watching their surroundings.

Gecko's hands and feet were quick and nimble. He reached the unconscious Zheng Yuanxiong, immediately hooked his neck with the tip of his foot, and then put the glass helmet with an iron clasp over his head. That was not all. With a sweep of both hands, he produced two pairs of handcuffs and a pair of shackles from beneath his leather coat and fastened them all onto Zheng Yuanxiong.

Looking at Zheng Yuanxiong, bound from head to toe, Lu Xin was certain that even if he woke up, he would no longer pose much of a problem.

"Haha, all done..."

After finishing, Gecko sat on the floor somewhat smugly, tilting his head back with pride.

"Brother, am I impressive or what?"

He looked quite arrogant at that moment.

But Lu Xin felt Gecko had earned the right to be a little arrogant. After all, Lu Xin had watched him handle this Pollution Source just now. Although he had been muttering nonstop, he truly had not wasted a second or made a single mistake.

This is what you call professional...

Lu Xin found himself faintly looking forward to becoming this professional himself.

"Very well done!"

Linda praised him without a hint of emotion through the channel, then said, "Immediately send the support team in!"

"The almighty support team..."

Gecko laughed, then looked up at Lu Xin. "Brother, how about we find somewhere for a drink later?"

Lu Xin was just about to agree when Sister gently tugged at him.

He turned around, then froze slightly when he saw an office desk nearby.

A small girl in red, no more than a few years old, was crouching beneath the cluttered desk, which was piled with all kinds of documents and receipts.

She looked only seven or eight years old. In her arms, she held a cotton doll with a body made of coarse yarn and button eyes sewn onto its face. She wore a clean little red dress. Her two pitch-black eyes timidly watched Lu Xin and Gecko, as if frightened yet puzzled, and she asked softly, "Big Brother, why aren't you working?"

Who is she?

A tremendous sense of astonishment arose in Lu Xin's heart, along with a trace of wariness.

Right now, everyone in the factory except Zheng Yuanxiong was working frantically and uncontrollably. Even though Zheng Yuanxiong had fainted, they were still repeating the commands they had received earlier. But... why was there a little girl here?

"There's another little girl here..."

At the same time, Gecko had noticed her as well. His expression became extremely strange as he spoke quietly into the channel.

"What little girl?"

Linda's voice in the channel sank slightly.

"She looks seven or eight years old. She's wearing a red dress and has two braids. Between her eyebrows... there's a mole..."

Gecko described her quickly and quietly while gently raising his hand, intending to take a picture of her.

But the little girl beneath the desk had already slowly crawled out. She simply looked quietly at Lu Xin and Gecko before her, tilting her head slightly and saying softly, "Big Brother, everyone else is working. Why aren't you..."

"...working?"

"..."

As her voice rang out, the entire factory suddenly became eerily silent.

Only the sound of the machines turning continued.

At that moment, all the workers who had been busy stopped what they were doing. Then, dull and in unison, they turned toward Lu Xin and Gecko, as if they had only just noticed these two outsiders—or rather, these two people who were not working.

Then some of their expressions gradually twisted, while others grew furious. Hostile, resentful, and sinister gazes turned toward them...

The bizarre change caused Gecko's raised hand to stiffen slightly. He did not continue making any obvious movement.

"A little girl with a mole between her eyebrows?"

Linda's voice came through the channel. "The records show that Zheng Yuanxiong has an eight-year-old daughter."

Her voice paused slightly, seemingly trembling. "But she died a year ago..."

"The cause of death was... Zheng Yuanxiong was so busy with work that he neglected to care for her. While she was picking up some yarn toy..."

"...she was caught in the machine!"

"..."

The glaring lights, the hollow and monotonous grinding of the machines, and the hostile, furious gazes of the workers around them.

The little girl before them, her expression twisted as she questioned them.

Together, all of this formed a visually striking and absurd tableau.

Gecko's Adam's apple bobbed slightly. His voice was low, as if afraid of startling something, when he said, "A secondary Pollution Source..."