Chapter 86: Artificial Soul 13
Garbage Mountain is composed of piles of trash, with abandoned vehicles, rusted containers, and discarded construction machinery haphazardly stacked together, teetering precariously.
This is a labyrinth made of waste, where people live inside, rusted containers and shanties serving as their homes. Some even just stretched plastic sheets to create a shelter and slept on the ground.
Kui Xin’s hand cannon is loaded with different types of ammunition; the first and second rounds are armor-piercing rounds, and the third is a bursting round.
Because of the harsh environment of Garbage Mountain, most residents live in cramped quarters. If she used a bursting round, the ricocheting steel balls could easily turn her into a sieve. It’s only when the first two armor-piercing rounds can’t take down the enemy that she would resort to the bursting round.
Merely carrying a hand cannon isn’t enough; in her other hand, Kui Xin holds a submachine gun. Although its penetrating power is somewhat inferior to the hand cannon, its firepower is fierce.
Their enemies are the Heterogeneous Blooded, who usually possess extremely high regenerative abilities; weak weapons cannot suppress them.
“There are a total of thirty-two residents in the blocked-off area, of which twenty-nine are adults and three are children,” Augus said. “The information has been marked; please proceed to the marked points for investigation.”
A miniature map appeared on the helmet’s visor, with all inhabited areas indicated by red dots.
Captain Yu told Kui Xin, “Stay behind me and watch how I do it. First, scan the houses to ensure there are no xenomorphs inside before entering. Your helmet visor has thermal imaging display functionality, allowing you to differentiate between the body temperatures of xenomorphs and humans. If you see something unusual in the colors, retreat; if normal, open the door. But superficially, Heterogeneous Blooded look no different from humans, and you can’t distinguish them by body temperature alone… tsk, it’s too complicated to explain, so let me demonstrate directly. After opening the door, issue a warning, and you can’t lower your gun. Let me show you—”
He approached a small iron-sheet house, kicked the door open, and shouted, “Don’t move! Raise your hands! Keep your hands where I can see them!”
Inside the iron-sheet house, three people went pale and raised their hands, not daring to move.
“Come out,” Captain Yu said slowly. “Come to the open space outside.”
The three civilians raised their hands and walked outside as instructed.
There were also several security officers in the open area, guns raised; if any of the civilians made even the slightest move, the officers would open fire.
Then Captain Yu said, “No matter how you do it—bite it or bash your head against the wall—make a cut on yourself, and it needs to be a sizable one.”
Kui Xin watched this scene, deep in thought.
A common characteristic of Heterogeneous Blooded is their regenerative power that far exceeds that of normal humans. Even after consuming Divine Blood, their regenerative abilities will take effect immediately. Getting someone to make a cut on themselves and observing the wound to determine whether they’ve consumed Divine Blood is the simplest method.
The three people, with guns pointed at them, promptly bit their arms, blood oozing out. Captain Yu added, “Wipe away the blood so we can see the wounds.”
The three quickly wiped off the blood on the surface of the wounds with their clothing and showed them to Captain Yu.
After staring at the wounds for a few seconds, Captain Yu said, “Alright, you three, leave the blocked area; wait outside it.”
The accompanying security officers immediately pointed their guns at them and escorted them to a designated waiting area outside the blocked zone.
“Did you understand the process?” Captain Yu glanced at Kui Xin. “You have the right to shoot if there is any sign of abnormality during the investigation.”
“I understand,” Kui Xin replied.
“That’s good. You’ll handle the next house while I watch,” Captain Yu said, lifting his chin.
Kui Xin silently walked in front of Captain Yu to the next house marked with a red dot on the map. Coldly, she kicked the door open and said in an icy tone, “Raise your hands!”
Behind the door stood a child—the girl was filthy, with tangled long hair, appearing to be around two or three years old. Startled by Kui Xin’s intrusion, she stood dazed, while her parents raised their hands high.
Seeing their daughter’s lack of reaction, her mother quickly exclaimed, “Niu Niu, raise your hands! Put your hands up!”
The girl’s father, sweating profusely, also urged, “Raise your hands! Quickly!”
Only then did Niu Niu, still a bit dazed, raise her hands. At her age, it seemed she didn’t comprehend fear, remaining curious rather than frightened.
Dressed in black combat gear, Kui Xin appeared at the door; as she raised her hands, the little girl looked up and said, “Sister, you’re so fierce and scary…”
Kui Xin froze.
The little girl’s parents were immediately drenched in sweat, looking at Kui Xin with trepidation.
Without a hint of emotion, Kui Xin stepped back and said coldly, “Step outside, and don’t lower your hands.”
Once the family made it outside to a wider space, Kui Xin instructed, “Make a cut on yourself; it must draw blood.”
The girl’s parents dared not object and hastily complied.
Kui Xin slightly shifted her gaze. “Does the child need to do it too, Captain Yu?”
“No need,” Captain Yu frowned. “What are you looking at me for? Do I look like a psycho who harms children? I can clearly distinguish who deserves to live or die.”
Turning her head to glare at the family, Kui Xin commanded, “Follow the escorting personnel outside the blocked area.”
After this family left, Captain Yu said, “Children under twelve can’t tolerate Divine Blood; they would die on the spot. That’s the main reason I didn’t let her undergo testing.”
“Have there been such cases?” Kui Xin caught onto the underlying tones.
“Yeah, more than one. Some insane cultists will force Divine Blood onto their children,” Captain Yu replied. “Terrible incidents continue to happen. About five years ago, members of a secret cult disguised Divine Blood as a new type of drug and sold it on the black market. Many ordinary people unknowingly consumed Divine Blood. It was a disaster; we spent half a year catching Heterogeneous Blooded and tracing distribution channels… but in the end, it yielded little. The Heterogeneous Blooded killed a lot, and we didn’t find the distribution channels.”
“Unbelievable,” Kui Xin stated. “That’s something only madmen would do.”
“Never show mercy to your enemies. They are ruthless; you have to be even more ruthless,” Captain Yu said. “Do you know why we check house by house instead of gathering everyone together?”
Kui Xin replied, “To prevent the Heterogeneous Blooded from taking ordinary people hostage? I can guess that; gathering crowds easily causes chaos.”
“Exactly,” Captain Yu gave a thumbs-up. “While this method is less efficient, you understand the specific process and operational methods. We’ll split into two teams; you check the east side, and I’ll handle the west side.”
“Is that okay?” Kui Xin said doubtfully. “Aren’t I still your rookie?”
“You’re not a toddler who just learned to walk, needing me to follow you step by step. You’re at least an Awakened,” Captain Yu shrugged. “Didn’t I explain the operational process? If something’s off, shoot. If they’re normal, let them do the wound test. It’s as simple as that; you don’t need me to escort you.”
Kui Xin fell silent. “… Alright.”
Captain Yu pointed at three security officers. “You, and the two of you, follow Kui Xin. The remaining two will come with me.”
Kui Xin realized this practical training was basic; they didn’t need to confront combat right away. The challenge of the mission lay in the investigation. The Heterogeneous Blooded were hiding, and hiding in places like slums indicated their combat abilities weren’t very high. Their condition might also be poor; if their combat skills were high, they wouldn’t need to hide.
“How many people are left to investigate?” Kui Xin asked.
“A total of thirty-two people; six have been checked, leaving twenty-six,” Augus said. “Your investigation range has been determined; please proceed.”
The subsequent tasks lacked any technical difficulty as Kui Xin mechanically kicked doors open, aimed, and called the residents out for the wound tests.
While repeating this task, a sense of déjà vu washed over her, reminiscent of her time on the Kraken. Back then, she had done similar operations with the Seventh Squad and Mechanized Dawn: kicking doors, investigating, kicking doors, investigating.
Similar tasks, different mindsets. On the Kraken, Kui Xin was tense and in an excited state, but now her heartbeat was steady, her gaze calm, and her gun-hand steady. She was fully focused, unaffected by external distractions or her negative emotions.
Kui Xin had become a true warrior.
As the east side houses were checked one by one, civilians were gradually escorted outside the blocked zone.
During the investigation, Kui Xin didn’t encounter any Heterogeneous Blooded.
Before long, she received a communication from Captain Yu.
“I’ve finished checking here; no suspicious subjects,” Captain Yu said. “What about you?”
“Just one last house left to check,” Kui Xin said, gazing at a nearby door. “It might be that house…”
After saying that, Kui Xin raised her gun, kicked the door open, and shouted according to protocol, “Raise your hands! Don’t move!”
Inside this house lived a mother and daughter; the mother raised her hands while her daughter clung tightly to her waist, fear evident in her black eyes.
The girl appeared to be around seven or eight, at an age where she could understand things.
“Step out of the room and make a cut on yourself,” Kui Xin directed the woman. “Have your daughter let go; she’s in the way.”
The woman quickly glanced at Kui Xin and then comforted her daughter for a moment. The little girl slowly released her grasp, raising her hands.
Both mother and daughter stepped out of the room together; the woman bit her arm, drawing blood, and the wound did not heal.
Kui Xin frowned and lowered her voice into the communicator, saying, “Captain Yu, the last two are done; a child and an adult, neither are Heterogeneous Blooded.”
“Both checked? That’s impossible! Our informants here clearly…” Captain Yu replied, puzzled.
“Could they have already fled?”
“Unless that Heterogeneous Blooded possesses some form of underground evasion, Garbage Mountain has no sewers. We scanned everywhere, and there were only a few living people.”
Kui Xin pondered for a moment, looking at the child next to the woman. “How old are you?”
The little girl raised her head and timidly responded, “Seven.”
Under twelve years old, no need for a wound test… Kui Xin should have judged that way, but suddenly her Absolute Prediction activated. Her temples throbbed a few times, and an eerie premonition spread through her heart.
Kui Xin lowered her gaze, staring at the little girl, her gun slowly aiming downward. Just as she was about to order the girl to undergo another wound test, the girl suddenly spoke.
Pleadingly gazing at Kui Xin, she said, “My mom and I haven’t done anything wrong; we’re not bad people! Sister, I’m so scared! Why are you treating us like this? We haven’t done anything wrong…”
The innocent, tender words from the little girl struck a chord in Kui Xin’s heart.
She was momentarily stunned, feeling a surge of intense pity and guilt within her. Her expression softened, and her tone eased.
“The suspect has probably escaped… escort this mother and daughter to the holding area outside for now.” Kui Xin instructed the three security officers behind her, “I’ll stay behind for another search.”
With the two security personnel escorting them, the mother and daughter gradually moved away. Kui Xin kept watching their backs until they disappeared around a corner.
Just then, Augus’s voice came through her earpiece.
“Are you really such an overly sympathetic person, Kui Xin?” Augus remarked subtly. “Maybe I shouldn’t have held onto my stereotypes about you; you still have a soft spot inside?”
Kui Xin halted, as if struck by lightning, standing frozen in place for a moment.
After a couple of seconds, she raised her hand and slapped her helmet, cursing, “Damn it! When did I become overly sympathetic?”
The timing of such emotions was abnormal; she had never been an emotional person, so how could she have fallen into such feelings? Just now, she had felt unlike herself.
Kui Xin pulled her awareness away from the inexplicable surge of pity and guilt, her muddled mind sharpening, separating herself from the weakness of emotions.
Following her, a security officer signaled him to follow and then drew her weapon to chase after the mother and daughter, quickly saying into the communicator, “Captain Yu! The suspect is a little girl who appears to be seven or eight years old! That girl might have mental abilities and nearly got me! Augus, alert all security officers to be cautious!”
Captain Yu exclaimed, “What the hell! A little girl?! That doesn’t make sense!”
“Notified,” Augus replied in a businesslike manner. “It seems I don’t need to update my impression of you. It’s interesting; the girl’s appearance led you to lower your guard, making an experiential error. Since I’ve preliminarily judged that she possesses mental abilities, I’ll tentatively consider she doesn’t have other capabilities to disguise her appearance. That girl might not actually be a child, but a Dwarf-person. The woman next to her is likely not her mother but a puppet she controls or her accomplice.”
Kui Xin shared that same judgment.
“Careless!” she thought.
As she darted forward, gunfire rang out not far away—one shot, followed by another!
“One of the security officers is dead, and the remaining one is injured, still alive…” Augus began, but just then another gunshot interrupted, and he paused before continuing, “Now the last one is dead too. That Heterogeneous Blooded is exceptionally skilled, with proficient marksmanship. This is a rare exception, a Heterogeneous Blooded who possesses other extraordinary abilities besides regenerative capabilities.”
Indeed, it is an exception.
Kui Xin knew Fang Zhi possessed Death Rebirth, but back during her onboarding training under Xueyao Shu, he had clearly mentioned that based on current records, the only abilities Heterogeneous Blooded gained were enhanced recovery and physical attributes; unlike the Awakened, they didn’t develop a variety of extraordinary powers.
This indicated that Heterogeneous Blooded who awakened extraordinary abilities were extremely rare, and the Investigation Bureau had never captured such specimens… no, wait, perhaps they had been captured but hadn’t disclosed this information to the junior security officers?
Kui Xin discarded her teammates and swiftly took a shortcut. She jumped onto Garbage Mountain, performing parkour as she navigated the obstacles, reaching the scene of the incident in under half a minute.
The muddy ground was marked by blood; two security officers lay on the ground, their weapons gone. The suspected “little girl” was nowhere to be found. The “little girl’s” mother cowered in a corner, trembling, muttering to herself, appearing to be in a state of mental collapse.
The labyrinthine Garbage Mountain was easy to hide in, with countless blind spots.
Kui Xin quickly searched the surroundings. “Augus, scan.”
“Over ten meters away, equipment is limited, unable to scan,” Augus replied.
“Damn it,” Kui Xin cursed.
At that moment, a gun from the shadows aimed at Kui Xin.
“Bang!” A bullet was fired.
With extraordinary reflexes, Kui Xin dodged the shot, the bullet grazing her helmet with a clang as sparks flew, the bullet’s kinetic energy causing her head to jerk slightly.
The security officers’ helmets and combat gear were bulletproof, but the helmets weren’t full face; aiming for the unprotected face could hit vital points and kill.
Thanks to that shot, Kui Xin pinpointed the shooter’s location. She rolled into cover and unscrewed the safety latch of her hand cannon.
Armor-piercing rounds can penetrate even hard concrete walls, so breaking through the garbage concealment should be easy.
Kui Xin calmed herself for a few seconds, crouched, and dashed from cover, using her body as bait to lure the enemy into firing. Just as she burst from cover, the attentive enemy indeed fired again!
Gunfire erupted, but Kui Xin avoided the bullet, precisely locking onto the shooter’s location.
No longer hesitating, she lifted her hand cannon and aimed in that direction, pulling the trigger.
“Boom—”
The sound from the hand cannon resonated differently from that of a handgun; it was deeper, more intimidating.
The armor-piercing round penetrated the garbage barricade, easily piercing through the enemy’s body.
“Ah!” the enemy screamed, and in that moment of distraction, Kui Xin charged forward, rushing into the enemy’s hiding spot.
The enemy collapsed in agony, a large hole in their abdomen.
“Wait, Kui—” Augus’s voice interrupted.
Ignoring him, Kui Xin expressionlessly observed the enemy, not wasting an armor-piercing round but instead raising her submachine gun and pulling the trigger. The fire belched and bullets sprayed out in a barrage, reducing the person to a pulpy mess in less than three seconds.
“… Kui Xin,” Augus resumed, “Heterogeneous Blooded who have awakened extraordinary abilities are rare samples with significant research value.”
Kui Xin took a breath to compose herself. “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
“Before I finished speaking, you already fired,” Augus replied.
“Research is for the Investigation Bureau, I don’t care,” Kui Xin said dismissively.
“You have difficulty controlling yourself once you take out a gun; you won’t stop until you’ve killed,” Augus noted.
Kui Xin’s brows twitched.
Augus had identified this trait through long-term observation, while Kui Xin remained unaware of her post-traumatic stress disorder. He had realized it before she did.
That “little girl” had indeed been a Heterogeneous Blooded; her corpse had turned into a pool of blood, a phenomenon that occurs only when an Heterogeneous Blooded dies after highly digesting Divine Blood.
Captain Yu shouted through the communication channel, “Kui Xin, what’s the situation?”
“Two teammates are dead; I killed the Heterogeneous Blooded,” Kui Xin reported.
A game interface appeared before her.
“You have killed an unknown Heterogeneous Blooded.”
“You have deprived an unknown Heterogeneous Blooded of its extraordinary ability.”
When Kui Xin killed the Python Sphere, the game interface directly displayed its codename. She didn’t know the name of the Heterogeneous Blooded she had killed, so the game interface didn’t show the deceased’s name. It was an interesting detail.
“You have gained the extraordinary ability 【Deception Skill·D-level】.”
“【Deception Skill·D-level】: You have a certain probability of making the other party unconditionally believe your lies within a limited time and be influenced by your emotions. The effectiveness of the Deception Skill is random and the duration is affected by the target’s willpower and the credibility of the lie.”
