"Whoosh—"

When Lu Xin finally escaped the subway station, he found the surrounding area in utter chaos.

The block, which had seemed eerily deserted just moments ago, was now swarming with black jeeps and soldiers in full combat gear. They seemed to have materialized out of the ground, their heavy boots thundering against the pavement as they rapidly set up roadblocks, aimed rifles, and sealed off every escape route.

Distantly, he could hear shouts, gunfire, and the sounds of pursuit. Lu Xin’s heart pounded in alarm. Without hesitation, he darted along the walls, leaping from shadow to shadow, scaling the crumbling facades of apartment buildings with windows like hollow eyes. No one thought to look for fugitives climbing the walls—and his speed ensured he remained unnoticed.

Like a spider, he scaled building after building, covering several hundred meters in moments before leaping onto the ledge of a fifteen-story high-rise. From there, he peered back toward the subway station.

Every road was now swarmed with black-clad figures. The café, the station—the entire area—was completely locked down. cold sweat broke out on his back.

"Gege, how are you going to thank me?"

His sister’s voice echoed nearby. She crouched on a nearby rooftop, hugging her patched-up teddy bear, her messy hair falling over her face as her eyes gleamed with satisfaction.

"Thank me?"

Still shaken, Lu Xin snapped, "I almost got you killed, didn’t I—"

But the words died in his throat. The memory of their narrow escape softened him. "Thanks..." he muttered grudgingly.

"We’re siblings," she said with a grin, her hair obscuring most of her face. There was something uncannily endearing about her expression.

Lu Xin opened his mouth to praise her, but she suddenly looked up, eyes sparkling with anticipation. "So... about that toy?"

"Another toy?"

He gestured to the bear in her arms. "Isn’t this enough?"

"But it doesn’t talk!" she pouted.

Her voice turned dreamy. "I want one that talks..."

Lu Xin waved her off. "I’ll get you one with electronic sounds."

"No fun," she said, her smile turning eerie. "I want one that screams. The louder, the better."

He blinked. "Ever heard of a ‘scream chicken’?"

She deflated. After a pause, she huffed, "I’m not playing with you anymore."

"Hey—!"

But she was already leaping off the roof, her small body moving like a cat. Lu Xin craned his neck just in time to see her land gracefully on a power line outside the building. The wind tugged at her clothes as she swayed, waving at him with a smirk.

"Be careful, Gege. Someone’s watching you..."

"Who?"

"Nope~"

She giggled, crawling along the wire before disappearing into a shattered window on the opposite building.

"This brat..."

Lu Xin looked down at the dizzying drop. "Now how am I supposed to get down?"

...

...

Staying alert, he leapt across to the next building, then slipped down through crumbling stairwells, deliberately taking detours through collapsed power poles and half-demolished houses. After a few hundred meters, he emerged onto a quiet street, adjusting his clothes and slipping his hands into his pockets as he prepared to blend in with the crowd.

"Get in. I’ll buy you coffee."

The voice made him freeze.

He spun around—and saw a woman leaning against a jeep.

She wore a casual blazer, her short hair sleek under oversized brown sunglasses. Her lithe frame radiated a feral energy, making even her stiletto heels seem like weapons. The black jeep behind her looked like a steel beast, brutal and menacing.

Coffee?

Lu Xin’s mind raced. He was twenty-three—never been hit on by a woman like this. She couldn’t possibly be interested in him... which meant she was one of the soldiers who’d surrounded the station. Had she been watching him the whole time?

The offer didn’t feel hostile... but he didn’t trust it.

"Uh—how about something else? Not really in the mood for coffee."

She raised an eyebrow at his calmness—clearly a veteran at dealing with nervous men. Then she smiled. "Fine. Bar it is."

She opened the door for him.

He slid into the passenger seat, hands neatly folded in his lap. Despite never having ridden in a car before, he didn’t fidget or sneak glances at her. She didn’t speak either, focusing solely on driving.

Twenty minutes later, they pulled into a deserted street. She parked, led him through a dim underground passage, and stopped before a barred gate.

The bar wasn’t open yet. The interior was dark and silent. drowsy waiter opened the door without a word, set down a bottle of liquor and two glasses, then shuffled off to sleep.

Now it was just the two of them.

"Name’s Chen Jing. I’m not your enemy—but what happened today? That was my setup."

She slid a green ID across the table. Lu Xin glanced at it: Qingcheng Metropolitan Authority, Senior Agent.

His eyebrows shot up. Main city officials?

She poured the drinks. "Let’s just say I work for the department that handles ‘irregularities.’"

Lu Xin blinked.

She pushed the glass toward him. "Think of us as the official enforcers."

Ah. That made sense.

"After the Crimson Moon Incident, the reconstruction of the main cities and satellite towns, the extermination of the madmen outside the walls, the resistance from the Wilderness Knights and the Cult of Minds, the construction and maintenance of the walls—we handle it all."

"Now? Our focus is contamination in the five satellite cities."

"Contamination?"

Lu Xin looked up.

"Yes. Events beyond normal understanding—like what you saw in that café."

She slid a file across the table. "Read this."

The cover bore a single word: CONFIDENTIAL.

He opened it. The first page listed:

Target ID: D-Class Special Contamination Source – 036 Threat Level: Grade 1 Infection Type: Low (Contact-based / 90% transmission rate / 70% deep infection rate) Growth Potential: High Danger Rating: Low Target Characteristics: A Grade 1 psychic entity capable of infecting any lifeform in close proximity. No airborne transmission.

Can be eliminated by destroying its host body (still vulnerable to physical attacks).

Current observations suggest the entity retains no higher intelligence—only mimics pre-infection behaviors and simple speech.

Special Countermeasures: None

...

As Lu Xin read, Chen Jing lit a cigarette.

"The Crimson Moon Incident drove over 70% of humanity insane. Those of us who survived fled to the protected cities—but even here, some developed psychic mutations, affecting others around them."

"We call this... contamination."

"Contamination?"

The word felt familiar yet alien on his tongue. After the Collapse, pollution from destroyed factories and power plants had ravaged the land outside the walls. Even thirty years later, some areas remained uninhabitable.

But this wasn’t about toxic waste.

"Exactly," she said, exhaling smoke. "Like a disease—but for the mind."

"The café you entered? It had already infected fifty-two people."

Lu Xin’s throat tightened. "And if someone gets infected...?"

"They get sick."

Her answer was blunt, practiced.

"Normal contamination causes physical illness. Psychic contamination warps the mind."

"Effects vary. Some fall into suicidal depression. Others become violent. Some lose all ability to communicate. A few... develop an overwhelming urge to self-harm."

"In short? It’s a contagious mental illness."