Chapter Summaries

After Lu Xin resolved the threat to Xu Xiao Xiao, he reported the hidden Pollution Source and confirmed that his commission work was complete. Chen Jing arrived and confronted Mr. Xu over his illegal activities, ordering him to help retrieve the painting and face judgment.

• Lu Xin called Team Leader Chen to report the hidden Pollution Source and learned he no longer needed to handle the Xu family’s affairs.
• Lu Xin confirmed with Fat Manager Liu that his payment would be made, while Sister examined the fallen armed men.
• Soldiers arrived, secured the villa complex, and removed the casualties and witnesses without speaking to Lu Xin or the Xu family.
• Chen Jing arrived and dismissed Mr. Xu’s complaint, saying Lu Xin had followed proper procedure.
• Chen Jing confronted Mr. Xu about his illegal dealings and ordered him to retrieve the painting and accept Qinggang’s judgment.

Chen Jing interrogated Mr. Xu and hypnotized Xu Xiao Xiao about the smuggled artworks and the dead Pioneer Team. Xu Xiao Xiao began to describe the mysterious painting she had found, but her awe threatened to break through the hypnosis.

• Chen Jing questioned Mr. Xu as armed soldiers escorted him, Xu Xiao Xiao, and Lu Xin toward Qinggang.
• Mr. Xu admitted that he funded Pioneer Teams to retrieve artworks and had sent Xu Xiao Xiao to meet a team two months earlier.
• Chen Jing hypnotized Xu Xiao Xiao, who revealed that the Pioneer Team members had died violently at their camp, including their leader Shen Baohui.
• Xu Xiao Xiao said the team's recovered goods were still there, along with an unlisted painting hidden beneath black cloth.
• Xu Xiao Xiao recalled lifting the cloth and said the painting was beautiful as her dazed state began to falter.

Chen Jing questioned Xu Xiao Xiao about how a Crimson Moon painting had distorted her behavior and desires, while Mr. Xu realized his daughter had manipulated him into bringing it back. The team reached Bangbu Port, with the painting’s lingering influence still affecting Xu Xiao Xiao.

• Chen Jing prompted Xu Xiao Xiao to describe the painting, and she recounted how its beauty had driven her to hide it and seek increasingly reckless sensations.
• Mr. Xu tried to take over the account, but Chen Jing insisted that Xu Xiao Xiao describe her own experience and asked whether her actions had been voluntary.
• Xu Xiao Xiao admitted that after the contamination was cleansed, she still longed to see the painting and regain the feelings it had given her.
• Chen Jing told Mr. Xu that he and Xu Xiao Xiao had both been influenced, and blamed his greed and disregard for warnings about Pollution Sources.
• Chen Jing told Lu Xin he had done well, then drove the group to Bangbu Port.

Lu Xin and Chen Jing retrieved a psychic parasitic painting from Bangbu Port and arranged its transport to headquarters for study. As they drove back, Chen Jing explained how objects could carry psychic force, then their convoy stopped at an intersection where a girl was proposing in the road.

• Chen Jing led soldiers to Xu Xiao Xiao's hidden cabinet at Bangbu Port, where Lu Xin retrieved the painting without incident.
• A support team sealed the painting in a reinforced case, and Chen Jing ordered Mr. Xu and the port's goods isolated while authorities investigated the smuggling network.
• Chen Jing drove Lu Xin toward the Guard Department and explained that psychic parasitic items stored psychic force, like several previously encountered Pollution Sources.
• The convoy stopped at a traffic light after a minor accident, and the driver reported that a girl was proposing in the middle of the road.

Chen Jing watched a woman’s roadside marriage proposal turn into a violent attack, and the crowd and armed soldier froze as the woman began eating the man she claimed to love. The chapter ended with the man weakening beneath her assault and the scene holding everyone spellbound.

• Chen Jing saw a wedding-dressed woman proposing to a young man in the middle of the road and ordered the alert raised.
• The woman insisted she had not agreed to their breakup, while the man said she had dated other people and begged her to let him go.
• Chen Jing ordered a soldier to move the pair aside and told the investigation team to observe the woman’s mental state.
• The soldier approached as the woman lunged at the man and kissed him, then bit off a piece of his flesh.
• The woman declared that she would eat the man, attacked him again, and left him struggling as the crowd and soldier stared blankly.

Chen Jing tried to escape a sudden mental pollution incident on Jiujiang Road, but an attacker with Qin Ran’s face fired a grenade at their Jeep. Lu Xin survived the crash and recognized the man as he took the Crimson Moon painting.

• Chen Jing recognized the outbreak as a sudden mental pollution incident and drove the Jeep off the congested road while calling for help.
• The girl in the bloodied wedding dress and the people around her spread chaos and violence through the crowd.
• A cigar-smoking man in a tattered leather jacket mounted a grenade launcher and fired at Chen Jing’s Jeep.
• Sister warned Lu Xin to run and helped him endure the blast, but the Jeep crashed into a building and pinned him beneath it.
• The attacker took the intact case containing the Crimson Moon painting, turned toward Lu Xin, and revealed Qin Ran’s face.

After an apparent Qin Ran stole a glass case and fled, Lu Xin and Chen Jing escaped their wrecked vehicle and discovered that armed attackers had them surrounded. The attackers trained six heavy rotary machine guns on them, leaving their survival uncertain.

• Lu Xin recognized the fleeing man as Qin Ran, while wondering whether he had escaped containment or was someone else.
• Sister pulled a metal shard from Lu Xin’s thigh and soothed the wound, allowing him to climb out of the wreckage.
• Chen Jing crawled free, saw Qin Ran driving away with the glass case, and called for Lu Xin to pursue him.
• Sister alerted Lu Xin to people emerging from parked cars and setting up heavy rotary machine guns around them.
• Chen Jing recognized the weapons and realized that Qin Ran had prepared an ambush intended to leave no survivors.

Lu Xin and Chen Jing were caught in a Gatling ambush, but Mom appeared and shielded Lu Xin and Sister from the bullets. Chen Jing then saw Lu Xin stop the combined barrage with a Telekinesis shield, leaving her stunned by his power.

• Five Gatlings opened fire on Lu Xin and Chen Jing, killing armed guards and trapping them in a storm of bullets.
• As the barrage overwhelmed him, Lu Xin felt despair and raised his hand before his face.
• Mom appeared and embraced Lu Xin and Sister, taking every bullet into her body while shielding them.
• Chen Jing realized she had not been hit and saw the bullets suspended in the air before Lu Xin.
• Chen Jing recognized that Lu Xin's Telekinesis shield had blocked the fire of five Gatlings and wondered how powerful his mental level was.

Chen Jing turned the Mental Modified Human snipers against one another while Mom shielded Lu Xin from their bullets. As pollution outbreaks spread across every district and the stolen painting’s thieves escaped, Lu Xin struggled to decide what to do next.

• Chen Jing used her ability to make the six Gatling-gun operators turn their weapons on one another, killing the Mental Modified Humans.
• Mom revealed that the bullets had left her unharmed, and she and Lu Xin exchanged knowing smiles while Sister watched him warily.
• Chen Jing reported the stolen painting and the spreading Red Rose pollution event, then learned that severe outbreaks had appeared across the other districts as well.
• Mom asked Lu Xin how he wanted to deal with the person who had stolen the painting and nearly killed them, while Lu Xin looked toward the direction Qin Ran had fled.
• Lu Xin remained confused and irritated as Sister tensely watched him, and he struggled to decide what to do.

After Lu Xin recovered from his disoriented state, he rushed into the chaos to respond to the threat spreading across Satellite City No. 2. Chen Jing issued emergency orders and began questioning the wedding-dress girl at the center of the Jiujiang Road contamination, while Mom walked away into the crowd.

• A Level 1 Alert sounded across Satellite City No. 2 as widespread Mental Pollution threatened the city.
• Chen Jing warned Lu Xin that the whole city was in danger, and he regained focus and set off to carry out his mission.
• Lu Xin freed an injured motorcyclist, then Sister joined him as he rode toward the city center.
• Chen Jing ordered investigation teams to detain or destroy vehicles belonging to people showing signs of the contamination and told residents to shelter indoors.
• Chen Jing shot two contaminated attackers, photographed the wedding-dress girl, and used her voice to question the barely living girl about her past with her boyfriend.
• Mom smiled and walked into the chaotic crowd.

Lu Xin raced through the chaos in Satellite City No. 2 to check on the relocated Crimson Moon Orphanage, then learned Chen Jing had arranged for Cheng Hui’s team to protect it. After reporting for duty, he set off with Sister to resolve the pollution spreading at Wanzhong Mall.

• Lu Xin sped through the disorderly city, showed soldiers his identification, and was allowed through their checkpoints on his way to the Guard Department.
• Lu Xin diverted to the Crimson Moon Orphanage and learned from Cheng Hui that everyone there was safe and that Chen Jing had ordered the investigation team to protect them.
• Cheng Hui gave Lu Xin a communications kit, and Han Bing briefed him on multiple suspected pollution outbreaks across the satellite cities.
• Han Bing ordered Lu Xin to go to Wanzhong Mall and stop the Mental Pollution spreading there.
• Lu Xin gave Sister a candy, took her hand, and climbed across the rooftops toward the mall.

Lu Xin raced to Wanzhong Mall after a suspected Red Rose-related Mental Pollution outbreak triggered by a murder and spread through the crowd. As Han Bing relayed Chen Jing’s theory that the rose caused staged contamination and recommended eliminating the parasite, Lu Xin arrived to find people pouring out of the mall and leapt toward the entrance.

• Lu Xin hurried across the city while Han Bing reported that a man had pushed his wife from Wanzhong Mall’s third floor and then jumped after her, triggering mass emotional disturbance.
• Han Bing relayed Chen Jing’s preliminary report identifying the incidents as Special Pollution Event 096, linked to a Red Rose Flower and suspected deliberate propagation.
• Han Bing explained that a rose could plant a contamination seed, cause distorted romantic obsession, and trigger a radiative secondary outbreak among nearby people.
• Lu Xin recalled a boy outside Crimson Moon Orphanage who had claimed that giving someone a red rose would make them fall in love, and wondered whether the boy was connected to the current incident.
• Lu Xin reached Wanzhong Mall, saw crowds fleeing through its smashed entrances, and launched himself toward the mall to stop the outbreak.

Lu Xin removed the Red Rose Pollution Source from a corpse in the mall, ending its influence but leaving many secondarily contaminated people in chaos. To keep them from reaching the blockade, he began stopping them by breaking their legs.

• Han Bing advised Lu Xin to clear the Red Rose parasite, and he entered the mall to find a dead man with a Rose Flower growing from his mouth.
• Lu Xin pulled the Rose Flower from the corpse, and Sister tore it to shreds, ending the strange atmosphere in the mall.
• Han Bing warned that contaminated people might overwhelm the blockade and prompt the forces there to open fire.
• Lu Xin wrapped an advertising flag around a pole, dislocated the ankle of a girl attacking a shop gate, and warned the people inside to stay away from her.
• When Han Bing asked what method he was using, Lu Xin said he would start by breaking the contaminated people's legs.

Lu Xin tried to contain the spreading Mental Pollution in Satellite City No. 2 by stopping affected couples, but their behavior shifted from frenzied affection to calm suicide attempts. Han Bing suspected the secondary-pollution group was being driven toward mass deaths to create chaos.

• Lu Xin raced through Wanzhong Mall, dislocating the legs of people rushing toward their lovers and separating affected couples.
• Lu Xin continued stopping couples across Satellite City No. 2, though he mistakenly injured one pair who were simply kissing.
• The affected crowds abruptly calmed down, held hands, and began entering nearby buildings.
• Lu Xin saw a young couple step from a high-rise together and confirmed to Han Bing that they had previously been affected.
• Han Bing suspected the secondary-pollution group was developing a self-destructive tendency and that their mass deaths could create chaos, while Lu Xin tried to stop more couples.

Lu Xin and Han Bing traced the mass pollution events to a human-planned scheme linked to Qin Ran and the stolen oil painting, while Lu Xin tried to stop victims from leaping from rooftops. He saved several people but saw many others jump beyond his reach, leaving him overwhelmed by helplessness as a helicopter arrived.

• Han Bing explained that the gifted roses triggered pollution that intensified people’s emotions and led victims to suicide, and said the events were likely arranged by Ability Users outside the city.
• Lu Xin rushed to a rooftop, where he and Sister split up to pull three people back from the edge.
• Lu Xin knocked out a young man who wanted to die to prove his love for Nan Nan, while Sister restrained and then freed a middle-aged couple.
• Lu Xin saw people jumping from surrounding rooftops and realized that dozens or perhaps hundreds were beyond his reach.
• Han Bing tried to reassure Lu Xin that he could not save everyone, but he felt powerless as a helicopter’s rotors roared overhead.

Kid arrived by helicopter and used her influence to stop the people at Wanzhong Mall from attempting suicide. Lu Xin and Kid split up to respond to other Pollution Sources, and Han Bing was surprised when Kid spoke to him.

• Kid jumped from a helicopter, floated above Wanzhong Mall, and drew the attention of everyone who had been preparing to die.
• Sister admired Kid’s appearance, while Han Bing warned Lu Xin that looking at Kid for too long could alter his mind and make him love her or want to destroy her.
• Kid’s influence redirected the crowd’s attention, and the people at Wanzhong Mall hurried after her instead of continuing their attempts to die.
• Han Bing told Lu Xin that Pollution Sources were still spreading at Tianshui Plaza, Qing Street Bridge, and South City Qingmian Old Textile Factory.
• Lu Xin asked Kid to go to Tianshui Plaza while he headed for Qing Street Bridge, and Kid answered him before turning west.
• Han Bing reacted with astonishment that Kid had spoken to Lu Xin.

Lu Xin reached Qing Street Bridge to stop the contaminated crowd, but the Drunkard’s ability pulled him into her black-and-white illusion. He learned that she had the situation under control and left to deal with other areas.

• Lu Xin arrived at Qing Street Bridge, where armed forces struggled to hold back the growing crowd of contaminated people.
• Lu Xin entered a black-and-white animated world and saw the crowd acting out joyful and suicidal fantasies.
• The Drunkard appeared as a bald uncle in the illusion and told Lu Xin that people caught in her ability could neither escape nor die.
• The Drunkard shook Lu Xin’s hand and returned him to reality, where he discovered she was a schoolgirl who believed herself to be a sixty-year-old uncle.
• Han Bing explained the Drunkard’s self-perception disorder, and Lu Xin left the bridge after confirming that she had the crowd under control.

Lu Xin rushed to the southern High Wall after Han Bing reported an attack there, only to find thousands of silent, crying civilians gathered below it. Gecko had been defending the wall and warned Lu Xin that more than ten thousand people were crying at them.

• Han Bing told Lu Xin that civilians were attacking the southern High Wall and that many had escaped through it amid the chaos.
• Lu Xin rode toward the southern wall, where the surrounding streets were eerily quiet and dark.
• Lu Xin reached the wall and found a silent crowd gathered beneath it as City Patrol Army soldiers aimed their weapons at them.
• Lu Xin showed the soldiers his identification and joined Gecko atop the wall.
• Gecko told Lu Xin that more than ten thousand people were silently crying at them.

Lu Xin and Gecko arrived at Satellite City No. 2’s southern wall, where a growing crowd stood silently crying and staring at the guards. With no Pollution Source, core factor, or logic identified, they waited cautiously, unable to communicate with or disperse the civilians without risking an unknown reaction.

• Lu Xin and Gecko found a dense crowd of silent, crying civilians gathered beneath the southern wall, while the guards feared the crowd might suddenly act.
• Han Bing reported that the civilians seemed influenced by an unknown will, could not be communicated with, and had shown no clear mental-power fluctuations or signs of attack.
• Lu Xin asked about the abnormality’s core factor and logical chain, but Han Bing said the investigation had found nothing.
• Lu Xin and Gecko refrained from using weapons or trying to disperse the crowd because any action might trigger an unpredictable mutation.

With no Mental Monsters visible among the thousands of people crying beneath Qinggang City's southern wall, Lu Xin decided to investigate the crowd himself despite the danger. He entered the silent gathering and began testing how one of the polluted people reacted to him.

• Han Bing told Lu Xin that assistance had been requested from Main City and several Satellite Cities, but widespread pollution could delay the response.
• Lu Xin suggested asking Kid for help, but Han Bing warned that Kid's uncontrolled influence might trigger unpredictable changes before they understood the incident's logic chain.
• Lu Xin chose to investigate the crowd, reassured Gecko and Han Bing, and descended from the wall with Sister clinging to his back.
• Lu Xin entered the crowd and reported his observations to Han Bing while approaching an old man.
• Lu Xin waved his hand in front of the old man's eyes, and the man's pupils shifted as he stared at Lu Xin without moving.