The headquarters of the Extermination Squad was originally the consulate of a certain country in the early last century in Haidu City.
Xiao Jinyu walked in the vintage corridor, his shoe soles pressing on the century-old wooden floor, making creaking sounds. However, when he pushed the door to the adjacent room, he only saw Sexy Samba, with no sign of the other dancer.
Zhao Hen stood up. “You’ve recovered?”
Xiao Jinyu nodded gently. “Where’s Ele… Xu Qi?”
Zhao Hen said, “As early as yesterday, the Dreamer had retraced and restored his memories. He and Captain Luo have already gone to Zhongdu by car; they are bringing back ‘Zhang Haixiang.’ However, they may not return until tomorrow. That faceless person has been locked in a sunless warehouse for a long time, suffering severe internal damage. He is currently undergoing treatment at Zhongdu Hospital.”
Tomorrow, “Zhang Haixiang” will be brought back to Haidu.
Also tomorrow, the Dreamer will make a complete restoration of the memories of Xiao Jinyu, Su Jiuzhou, Xu Qi, and Zhao Hen at the coffee shop.
The Dreamer’s ability is unique; she can extract memories from different people or directly create and enter another person’s dreams. Then, these become her own. After a successful “extraction,” she can choose to transfer these “memories” to anyone, but whether extraction or transfer, there must be a medium—
A77, the Dreamer herself.
With the Dreamer’s help, Xiao Jinyu and Zhao Hen only need their memories extracted from each other to assist in capturing the real Zhang Haixiang. Their mission in Haidu City can already be considered complete, but they did not leave immediately.
Zhao Hen said, “I have already applied to the Logic Research Institute. Later, they will send someone to take us to meet Huo Lanxu.”
The young man’s figure trembled slightly as he looked towards the burly man beside him.
Zhao Hen’s hands were in the jacket pockets, and his calm and distant gaze silently fell on the brass clock in the corner of the wall. Compared to other advanced users known to Xiao Jinyu, Zhao Hen might not be particularly clever, but he was decisive and enthusiastic, always willing to take the lead no matter what happened. Xiao Jinyu rarely saw Zhao Hen wearing such a profound expression.
“She killed 138 innocent citizens in Zhongdu… the captain said that although he’s too busy to personally come, I have to take care of this on his behalf.”
Xiao Jinyu: “Mm.”
…
Among those 138 innocent citizens, there was one—his mother.
Xiao Jinyu entered the underground prison of the Logic Research Institute for the first time.
It is said that every Logic Research Institute in China is equipped with an underground warehouse mainly used to store pollutants. When illegal users are apprehended, a certain level of the warehouse is occasionally requisitioned as a temporary underground prison.
So, the primary purpose of the underground warehouse is to store pollutants, with the incidental detention of criminal users.
Zhao Hen said, “According to the captain, after the theft of the Haidu City’s tribunal, the committees of the nine major cities in China have now decided to build another underground prison separately to detain pollutants and criminal users.”
Xiao Jinyu remained silent.
This policy should, of course, be implemented, but it felt somewhat like closing the stable door after the horse had bolted. The Court of Judgment had already been stolen, and the thought of establishing an additional underground prison wouldn’t bring back what was stolen.
Certainly, such thoughts were hindsight.
Constructing an underground prison requires a considerable amount of manpower and resources. Moreover, underground prisons are strictly guarded, with dozens of cameras continuously monitored 24/7. No one could predict in advance that a prisoner would escape under such conditions, nor could they anticipate the theft of the Court of Judgment.
“Ding-dong—”
In the dim and narrow earthen corridor, the elevator slowly stopped on the 30th underground floor.
A young researcher in a white lab coat walked at the forefront, Zhao Hen followed behind him, and Xiao Jinyu brought up the rear.
Xiao Jinyu quietly surveyed the surroundings.
The thick and tranquil soil, like a swamp, silently swallowed all the sounds and air from the external world on the surface. The entire world was covered by an endless expanse of soil, underfoot, overhead, in front, behind—everywhere was the breath of life that could isolate pollution. The massive breath of life enveloped three small humans, the stifling and oppressive feeling pressing heavily on their hearts.
“Users tend to have some special reactions when entering the underground environment,” Zhao Hen, noticing Xiao Jinyu’s furrowed brow, explained, “The breath of life is most effective in isolating pollutants, but it can also suppress logic chains to some extent. Our logic chains will be suppressed here but it isn’t as significantly suppressed as the polluting ability of pollutants. It’ll be okay once you get used to it.”
“Mmm.”
“We’re here.” The researcher pushed open a damp soil door.
The sudden brightness inside the door caused all three to squint their eyes involuntarily. It felt like something had grabbed their throats, and Xiao Jinyu cleared his throat. He opened his eyes with difficulty, and the first thing he saw was the glass cage standing in the center of the cell. Then, the black figure lying silently on the iron bed in the corner of the wall.
Holy Sacrifice…
Huo Lanxu.
At that moment, a gust of intense cold wind seemed to sweep Xiao Jinyu and Zhao Hen’s ears.
On the snow-covered streets of the icy night, more than three thousand people softly sang, the stench of blood filling their noses. Some were crying, some were shouting, and more were voices of despair looking towards the sky.
Zhao Hen took a sudden step forward.
He turned back, “Xiao Jinyu?”
The young man’s slender figure was half-shrouded in the candlelit shadows, his head slightly bowed, making it hard to see his face. The thin fingers hung quietly on both sides of his body, and after a while, he raised his head, his eyes clean and bright.
“Let’s go.”
…
In comparison to the complex emotions of Xiao Jinyu and Zhao Hen, Huo Lanxu, confined in the glass cell, did not pay attention to the sudden appearance of the two “visitors.”
She closed her eyes, hands devoutly clasped in front of her chest, her bones sharp and eerie, exuding a strange sense of holiness.
Xiao Jinyu never imagined that this was Huo Lanxu.
There was no fierce and ruthless appearance, no sharp and extravagant display—she looked like an ordinary woman.
Too ordinary.
Ordinary enough that in any city street, one could find many such delicate and slender women.
“She’s Huo Lanxu?” Zhao Hen asked incredulously.
The researcher pushed his glasses and nodded, “She is Holy Sacrifice Huo Lanxu. She has been in our Haidu City underground prison for over half a month. Even before she came in… she sustained some serious injuries, and later, due to experiments, she suffered new injuries. She’s very weak now, lying like this in bed every day, not opening her eyes or speaking. You can take a look at her left arm.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Xiao Jinyu and Zhao Hen looked as directed.
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Xiao Jinyu’s gaze paused on the thick needle on the woman’s withered arm.
It’s difficult to describe such a feeling. Clearly, the woman before them was a ruthless murderer, her hands stained with the blood of countless people. However, Zhao Hen really couldn’t connect this powerless-looking woman with the executioner who brutally killed over a hundred citizens in Zhongdu.
Doubt crept in.
But he knew that this doubt wasn’t sympathy; it was his inability to fathom how a devil could commit such acts.
Xiao Jinyu and Zhao Hen didn’t stay in Huo Lanxu’s cell for too long.
Throughout, Huo Lanxu never opened her eyes to look at the two.
As they left the cell, Xiao Jinyu frowned slightly, and his steps paused for a moment.
Zhao Hen noticed his anomaly and looked at him, then exclaimed, “Xiao Jinyu, why are you bleeding?”
The young man remained calm. He nonchalantly took out a sharp little knife from his pocket and said, “I’ve always kept this small knife in my pocket for self-defense. When my fingers hit it in the pocket just now, the sheath accidentally opened, and I got scratched.”
The cut was fine and shallow, healing quickly, and the oozing blood dried up rapidly.
Without dwelling on it, Zhao Hen, suppressing his voice, asked the researcher about Haidu City’s plans for dealing with Huo Lanxu as they walked away.
Xiao Jinyu’s left hand was in his pocket, and his right hand, with a small cut, hung straight by his side.
He turned back, looking at the woman in the glass cell.
No one knew that at this moment, seven shimmering and rotating logic factors were entwining around his right hand, constantly dancing!
… Very well, it seems that when simulating a user’s logic chain using the Fourth Perspective, the original user does not sense anything.
Indeed, besides wanting to see the killer who caused his mother’s death with his own eyes, another reason Xiao Jinyu came to Haidu City and wanted to look at Huo Lanxu was to experiment with whether the Fourth Perspective would make the original owner of the logic chain aware.
Currently, Xiao Jinyu has used the Fourth Perspective to fully understand the operational patterns of two logic chains.
The first is White Garden, and the second is Holy Sacrifice.
White Garden has long been dead, making it impossible to detect Bai Yuanzi’s reaction.
So, he could only start with Huo Lanxu.
The Fourth Perspective itself is not about stealing someone else’s logic factors; it’s the use of one’s own logic factors to simulate their behavior.
Now, Xiao Jinyu is completely sure that Huo Lanxu has no idea that he is using the “Holy Sacrifice.”
Every action in the Fourth Perspective will go unnoticed by third parties.
In his cool and bright pupils, colorful dots rapidly rotated.
Xiao Jinyu calmly gazed at the woman lying on the iron bed. After a while, he closed his eyes, turned around, and left.
His mother was already dead. This woman didn’t just kill his mother; she also killed 137 innocent people. He had no right to impose punishment on her behalf for the other 137 innocent victims.
She would receive the punishment she deserved.
Very quickly.
The fleeting murderous intent vanished in an instant.
Xiao Jinyu and Zhao Hen were unaware that when they left the earthen cell, the woman on the iron bed suddenly opened her eyes. She looked at the spot where Xiao Jinyu had stood just now with contemplation. She clearly sensed that, for a brief moment, the young man had wanted to tear her apart. Such a compelling aura of killing couldn’t be hidden.
But he restrained himself.
Why did he want to kill her?
…
Huo Lanxu closed her eyes, no longer pondering the question.
This question was indeed meaningless; there were many people who wanted to kill her.
Very, very many.
After returning to the Extermination Squad headquarters, Xu Qi sent a message, stating that they had just arrived in Zhongdu and were about to head to the Zhongdu headquarters.
After replying to Xu Qi’s message, Zhao Hen said to Xiao Jinyu, “Currently, the Haidu City User Committee is busy with two things. One is the escape of Zhang Haixiang and the theft of the court of Judgment, which is of utmost importance, and almost everyone is dealing with it. The other is the disappearance of Piggy Shampoo, as I mentioned to you before.”
Xiao Jinyu asked, “Is there a shortage of people handling the Piggy Shampoo disappearance case?”
Zhao Hen sighed and said, “Because he is a Level 5 user and has always followed the rules, the Extermination Squad specifically investigates his missing case. If it were a Level 3 or 4 user, maybe they wouldn’t bother much. Users have powerful abilities, many private grievances, and incidents of users killing each other due to personal grudges are not uncommon. Many times, the victim may not be a good person, and the killer may not be a bad person. The User Committee can only investigate but can’t fully control.”
The world of users is chaotic.
With powerful abilities that don’t belong to humans, many behaviors intolerable by current morals and laws can occur.
Zhao Hen added, “I hope we can find Piggy Shampoo soon. There’s been too much turmoil in Haidu lately, and they’ve been trying to investigate, but there hasn’t been much progress. I heard from Xu Qi that Piggy Shampoo’s mother can only hold on for another ten days at most.”
Xiao Jinyu was stunned, “Hold on for another ten days?”
“Yes, I mentioned it to you before. Piggy Shampoo took the task to capture the Holy Sacrifice to save his mother. Unfortunately, she has late-stage lung cancer, and even the country’s top saintly doctors have no way to save her. Unless there’s a truly effective therapeutic logic chain.”
A genuine therapeutic logic chain refers to one without side effects.
While the special ability of the Ivy seemed to alleviate terminal illnesses to some extent, it was all a deception. It constantly released massive logic factors, subtly enhancing the physical qualities of the surrounding humans, bringing them closer to becoming users. However, it couldn’t cure terminal illnesses.
If the Ivy really wanted to cure someone’s terminal illness, that person would turn into a polluter and die from the ability to contact too many pollutants before the Ivy completely cured them.
Zhao Hen sighed, saying, “Ten days. Piggy Shampoo’s ID is still on the Grow Some Brains APP leaderboard, but maybe he’s already dead, or maybe he’s still alive. Who knows if we can find him in ten days and let him see his mother for the last time.”
“The progress of the investigation of Piggy Shampoo’s disappearance case, how is it going on in Haidu?”
“Progress of the investigation?” Zhao Hen looked at Xiao Jinyu in surprise. Looking at the young man’s calm and composed face, he suddenly remembered something. His lips moved slightly, and Zhao Hen said, “Your mother…”
Xiao Jinyu lowered his gaze, “They can only come back from Zhongdu City tomorrow. Tomorrow, Dreamer will be able to organize the visual data she extracted.”
Zhao Hen suddenly became energetic; he straightened up and said, “Right, helping with the investigation is also good; otherwise, it’s solely waiting for nothing. Moreover, you have the Fourth Perspective. With such a good logic chain, it’s very useful for searching for residual logic factors in the air and finding missing users! What we can’t find, you can just see it, right?!”
Xiao Jinyu: “…”
He wanted to tell the other party that currently, all the cases he solved were not resolved by seeing logic factors…
But Zhao Hen was full of vitality.
He was always willing to help others.
Without wasting time, Zhao Hen sent a message to Xu Qi.
Xu Qi quickly commanded his subordinates to hand over all the information on the Piggy Shampoo’s disappearance case to Zhao Hen and Xiao Jinyu.
Xu Qi didn’t expect that by bringing two high-level users from Zhongdu City, they would also help investigate the Piggy Shampoo’s disappearance case.
Is there such a good thing?!
Although Zhao Hen said that most of the manpower in Haidu City was used to investigate the Zhang Haixiang case, Captain Luo did not completely ignore the Piggy Shampoo’s disappearance case. The Extermination Squad only learned about Piggy Shampoo’s disappearance the day before yesterday. Today, they already had all the video data from hundreds of cameras in the hospital and had all eight team members watch it.
The team members didn’t expect such a good thing. Currently, most of the advanced users of the Extermination Squad in Haidu City were sent to search for Zhang Haixiang. The only one in charge of managing the Piggy Shampoo case was a Level 3 user and seven Level 2 users.
The Level 3 user quickly moved all the video materials to Zhao Hen’s room. He adjusted the computer, set the video to 3 minutes and 12 seconds, and pressed the play button.
“It’s here, please take a look. November 30, 2046, 4:15 AM.”
In the blurry video footage, only a narrow and quiet hospital corridor could be seen.
Almost all lights were turned off. In the dim corridor, a small figure carrying a thermos silently walked towards the end of the hallway.
“Next is this surveillance angle.” The blond-haired team member quickly switched to another video. “This surveillance captured Xiao Sinian, also known as Piggy Shampoo, carrying a thermos into the boiling water room. Unfortunately, there is no surveillance inside the boiling water room, so we don’t know what he did inside.”
Zhao Hen watched all the videos, furrowing his brow. “Is this all?”
Xu Qi said they had gone through more than a hundred hours of video data.
The blond team member looked embarrassed. “…this is all. In other videos, there is no sign of Piggy Shampoo.”
Xiao Jinyu raised his eyes. “Are you saying he mysteriously disappeared in the boiling water room?”
Xiao Jinyu had seen hospital boiling water rooms before. They were usually set up in the inpatient department, one on each floor. Inpatients could use them to pour hot water, and some even had microwaves for heating meals.
However, without exception, these boiling water rooms were mostly dead ends.
In other words, apart from a door, there were walls on three sides. No windows, and certainly no other doors. The only way out was the door at the entrance.
Blond team member: “Yes, after he went into the boiling water room, he never came out again.”
Xiao Jinyu narrowed his eyes. “The video is detailed down to every frame. Have you scrutinized them all?”
“Of course. The frame rate of this video is 24 frames per second. We carefully examined every frame, and there was no abnormality, no appearance of any suspicious individuals.”
“Even if there were no suspicious individuals, Piggy Shampoo disappeared from this footage…” After a moment of contemplation, Xiao Jinyu asked again, “Any traces of video tampering?”
“No. None at all. It hasn’t been tampered with.”
How did a living person disappear right under the surveillance, without leaving any trace?
Suddenly, a lightbulb flashed in Xiao Jinyu’s mind, and he looked at Zhao Hen, “Zhao Hen, I know that users have physical abilities beyond ordinary people. Is there any user whose body speed can exceed 24 frames per second?”
Zhao Hen: “I know what you’re thinking. Videos are not continuous; they consist of individual frames. When a person’s eyes see more than 16 frames per second, they experience visual persistence and perceive the frames as continuous. If someone’s body speed exceeds the video frame rate, they won’t appear in the footage.”
The dark-skinned guy shook his head, “Exceeding 24 frames per second, I don’t know if such a person exists. Captain definitely can’t do it; he can’t reach such terrifying speeds. But there are many Level 5 users and even Level 6 users above the captain. Whether a Level 6 user can achieve this, I don’t know. But in any case, Piggy Shampoo definitely cannot reach such terrifying speeds.”
The atmosphere grew heavy.
In other words, Piggy Shampoo’s disappearance was definitely not him leaving the boiling water room on his own; he was undoubtedly taken away by someone.
And the speed of this person surpassed 24 frames per second!
Xiao Jinyu remained silent for a moment. He took out his phone and found a name.
After careful consideration, he pressed a button on the screen.
The next moment, a reply came.
[Su Jiuzhou: It’s possible.]
Xiao Jinyu’s gaze froze.
[Su Jiuzhou: 24 frames per second, I can do it. But in China, there are no more than six people who can.]
Staring at the words on the screen, Xiao Jinyu suddenly wanted to ask: Since there are no more than six people in China, Colonel Su, it seems you are one of the powerful users in the top six in China. Then the question arises, who is A09, the Judgment Spear Su Jiuzhou…
Xiao Jinyu emotionlessly deleted the long string of text.
When Xiao Jinyu woke up from the hypnosis of the Dreamer, Su Jiuzhou had already left Haidu. This Level 6 user was always busy, and Xiao Jinyu didn’t know where he was at the moment.
The young man raised his head, “It seems the video footage is meaningless; we can go to the hospital and check the scene.”
The blond team member said, “We carefully examined Haidu Affiliated Hospital inside and out yesterday and found no clues. But I agree; we can go back to the scene. Perhaps you two can discover new clues.”
Zhao Hen also agreed, “Your logic chain is very suitable for a walk around the scene.”
Xiao Jinyu: “…”
Maybe you don’t need to be so confident in the Fourth Perspective.
No time to waste, the blond-haired team member led Xiao Jinyu and Zhao Hen, and the three of them headed to Haidu City Affiliated Hospital.
On the way, the blond-haired team member smiled and said, “My last name is Jiang; full name is Jiang Wentao. You’re quite impressive, Mr. Xiao. I heard you awakened your logic skill just last month, and now you’re already a Level Three user, B07!”
Xiao Jinyu paused slightly, whispering, “Thank you.” He wasn’t quite accustomed to such praise.
Jiang Wentao didn’t pay much attention either. He said, “Haidu Affiliated Hospital is quite close to our headquarters, just four subway stops away. Your help is much appreciated. When the captain assigned this task to me, she specifically mentioned that I must find Piggy Shampoo within a week, or I’ll be in trouble.” He made a serious face, “I’m just a Level Three user; even a Level Five user has gone missing. What can I do…”
Zhao Hen chuckled, “Your captain is just saying that. When she finds time, she’ll definitely lend a hand.”
Xiao Jinyu nodded subtly.
The intentions of Luo Sheng were crystal clear. She truly needed to deal with the Zhang Haixiang case and couldn’t investigate the Piggy Shampoo disappearance. However, within a week at most, she would surely find time to personally visit the hospital and trace Piggy Shampoo’s whereabouts.
Seven days was the time limit she set.
“We’re here, just ahead. Take a look.”
In the pitch-black night, a towering building stood against the dim moonlight, catching their eyes.
The three left the subway station, heading towards the inpatient department of Haidu Affiliated Hospital.
The cold evening wind pierced through their clothes, and Xiao Jinyu couldn’t help but adjust his scarf. He looked up at the tall building standing in the night. With the lights gradually illuminating each floor, it resembled tiny fireflies decorating a dark canvas.
After displaying the special investigation credentials, the three smoothly entered the eighth-floor oncology department.
“Tip Tap-”
Most of the inpatients had already gone to bed early, and after nine o’clock, very few ventured out of their room doors.
The loud footsteps echoed along the long corridor, leading to the end where the water room was located.
Jiang Wentao: “This is it.”
Zhao Hen took a quick look around. “No cracks on the walls or floor, no bloodstains, and the stains are just normal accumulations over the years. There doesn’t seem to be anything suspicious.” Generally speaking, at this point, one would either conduct a more detailed carpet search or seek chemical analysis from researchers at the institute. However, Zhao Hen turned back, smiling, “Xiao Jinyu, it’s time for your expertise.”
Xiao Jinyu: “…”
Jiang Wentao was also very curious.
The Fourth Perspective, capable of seeing logic factors in the logic chain!
Although its uses were peculiar, seemingly more than just simple “sight,” the ability to see logic factors alone was enough to captivate attention.
The blind self-confidence these two displayed in the Fourth Perspective made Xiao Jinyu sigh deeply.
After much contemplation, though his fair complexion remained unchanged, Xiao Jinyu gently nodded. He raised his right hand and quickly swiped across his eyelids.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes.
In the narrow and silent water room, dim yellow light descended slowly, and Xiao Jinyu stared quietly at the confined space.
He didn’t feel that he could see any traces of logic factors.
So, he casually looked around.
However, within just three seconds, the calm expression on the young man’s face suddenly froze.
Zhao Hen’s relaxed demeanor also vanished instantly, and he stood up straight. “What’s wrong? Did you see something?”
Jiang Wentao, astonished, asked, “Did you really find a clue?”
Xiao Jinyu didn’t answer them.
His clear eyes gradually widened, as if someone had pressed the pause button. With a shocked and stunned expression, he stared fixedly at a certain point in the air. The next moment, he turned and walked away, leaving the water room.
“Xiao Jinyu!”
“Mr. Xiao!”
Xiao Jinyu didn’t stop.
He walked along the corridor, took the elevator, and went to the next floor, the orthopedics department.
He then went to the sixth floor, gynecology, the fifth floor, internal medicine, the fourth floor, the operating room…
At the moment he briskly ran out of the hospital building, the cold evening wind blew against his chilly forehead, making him shudder.
Behind him, Zhao Hen and Jiang Wentao hurriedly caught up.
“What’s going on!”
Xiao Jinyu slowly turned around. He looked at the dark hospital garden outside the door, then raised his head, gazing at the silent and towering building.
“Boom–”
The strong wind struck the glass, making a resounding noise.
“Everything, it’s all logic factors.”
Zhao Hen’s lips parted in surprise. “Everything… what?”
Xiao Jinyu fell silent for a moment. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, there was only a cold and calm demeanor in his eyes.
“This hospital is amiss.” On every floor, in every corner, attached to every person…
“Everything, it’s all logic factors.”
The author has something to say:
Fourth Perspective: Ha! Saying I can’t see logic factors, huh? Saying I’m useless, huh! Here’s a big move for you! ╭(╯^╰)╮ !!!
illusion?
I don’t think so
I think the person who kidnapped piggy shampoo is the same person who took the person who have been in prison and also took judgement court.
I think it’s all releted 🤔
Thank you for the chapter!
I wonder how everything will be connected and Xiao Jinyu’s connection in what’s happening…🤔