Chapter 126: Chapter 126 Have you ever seen the moon? (Request for full subscription, add more for Arturia Artoria)
Qi Xinzhu looked at Lu Luo, as if seeking his opinion, while Lu Luo furrowed his brows.
"Li Xiaomin, are you still conscious?"
Realizing her own condition, Li Xiaomin suddenly clutched her stomach and glared at Lu Luo with her blank white eyes.
She seemed to remember something important and struggled to open her mouth, attempting to say something to Lu Luo.
"Moon!"
After using all her strength to utter that word, Li Xiaomin’s white eyes rapidly turned black, and intense Dark Energy radiated from her body.
Lu Luo closed his eyes and, before she completed her mutation, twisted her neck.
The surrounding guards also witnessed this scene, and fear and chaos had already begun to spread.
"A second Exotic Species! Are we going to be killed by Exotic Species? Is East Ring University doomed?"
Encountering Exotic Species inside the Wall was different from encountering them outside; seeing a hundred Exotic Species beyond the Wall wouldn’t be considered unusual.
But if a concentrated outbreak of Exotic Species occurred within the Wall, especially human mutations into Exotic Species, and in a densely populated environment like a university, the consequences would be unpredictable.
The guards were not Hunters. Some indeed possessed the qualifications of a Transcendent, but many guards were just ordinary people who were somewhat stronger—slackers, essentially.
Asking them to face Exotic Species was impossible, but Lu Luo lacked manpower, so he still needed to calm them.
"It’s too early to discuss these things. Even if Exotic Species have appeared, didn’t you see? We can resolve it quite easily."
The guards looked at the body at Lu Luo’s feet and asked uncertainly, "Is that really true?"
"Of course. I am a very strong Transcendent—the strongest on earth, known as ’Second Path.’"
Lu Luo reassured the guards, but his expression was not as optimistic when he was with Qi Xinzhu.
Now they could only hope that other dormant female students wouldn’t undergo mutations if that anomaly wasn’t mentioned.
"Lu Luo, am I really useless?"
Only now did Qi Xinzhu realize how useless she was.
Faced with Exotic Species appearing inside the Wall and the presence of lurkers—a truly complex situation—neither her abilities as a Healer nor her Holy Radiance offered the slightest help.
She had been unable to prevent the mutations of both Wang Le and Li Xiaomin! Holy Radiance was completely ineffective against mutations.
Lu Luo glanced at Qi Xinzhu. He really wanted to say, "To be honest, you are indeed useless."
But after a moment’s thought, he decided against it. More Exotic Species might appear, and Qi Xinzhu’s combat capabilities were not to be underestimated; she was still somewhat useful.
"Don’t be so self-deprecating. Everyone has their role. It’s just not your time to shine yet.
Let’s wait for the people from Academic Affairs to bring back all the students who’ve experienced haunting incidents. After everyone from Dormitory No. 5 is gathered, we’ll discuss other matters."
Lu Luo placed the bodies of Li Xiaomin and Wang Le in an isolated area.
Even though they had mutated into Exotic Species, Lu Luo had no desire whatsoever to devour them.
He carefully examined the condition of the two bodies.
Both were Deformed Species, their human forms completely altered and distorted. Aside from Dark Energy, they possessed no other energy affiliated with Exotic Species.
Qi Xinzhu, standing nearby, couldn’t help. Such instances of ordinary humans suddenly mutating into Exotic Species were exceedingly rare.
Lu Luo was not a doctor, nor was he skilled enough to be a coroner. For an autopsy report, they could only wait for Han Shiyu.
However, for now, he could perform some basic analysis of the mutations.
"Exotic Species mutations always have a cause, and each type has specific conditions.
Generally, individuals become Deformed Species due to Dark Energy erosion, physical weakness, or the injection of an Exotic Species virus.
The intensity of Dark Energy in the Fourth Ring is not high, so Dark Energy erosion can basically be ruled out.
That leaves physical weakness and Exotic Species virus invasion.
The condition of both female students was very poor; their weakness was undeniable. However, mere weakness and mental collapse, given the Dark Energy Level of the Fourth Ring, should not have been enough to cause mutation.
So there must be some circumstances we don’t know about but could have anticipated affecting these people."
Watching Lu Luo speak with such confidence, Qi Xinzhu felt a genuine admiration. He could always find clues in such bewildering situations.
And somehow, Qi Xinzhu found that whenever Lu Luo was analyzing a problem, he seemed particularly attractive, even more so than usual.
"Circumstances we don’t know about but could have anticipated?"
Lu Luo was unaware that Qi Xinzhu was staring at him, still engrossed in the causes and consequences of the incident.
Qi Xinzhu keeps staring at your face. That damn woman only slows down the host’s progress in getting stronger!
Huh, someone’s staring at me. Lu Luo’s initial reaction was a touch of smugness.
And could Qi Xinzhu be considered just any woman? The entire success and fortune of Circle Studio rested on her.
"I’m about 90% sure that these people have likely come into contact with Exotic Species, which is why they’re having such a collective reaction."
Hearing this conclusion, Qi Xinzhu was even more astonished.
"Contact with Exotic Species? Specter Species?"
"It shouldn’t be Specter Species. In high Dark Energy concentration zones outside the Wall, Specter Species might be able to induce mutations.
But within the Wall, their power is insufficient to cause ordinary people to mutate into Deformed Species."
Lu Luo’s conclusion made Qi Xinzhu frown.
"They’re just ordinary students; people like them wouldn’t even be able to get an exit visa for travel beyond the Wall.
And they live at school all the time. Where would they encounter Exotic Species?"
The problem Qi Xinzhu raised was precisely what puzzled Lu Luo.
Normally, if Exotic Species were discovered, the Hunter Department would handle them proactively. Various armed organizations also eliminated some, much like Circle Studio did.
And if ordinary people encountered Exotic Species, their first reaction would absolutely be to flee; this has been a fundamental part of education in the Wasteland for centuries.
This kind of large-scale, collective contact would be very difficult—almost impossible—to achieve silently and without notice.
"Hmm, so this Exotic Species likely possesses strong concealment abilities and a degree of self-preservation, allowing it to assess dangerous situations.
It’s been hiding somewhere, perhaps even in a crowded place. There aren’t many locations that fit such conditions."
After Lu Luo’s analysis, You Xiaoqi, Ding Peng, and Gu Fangyi arrived one after another. Han Shiyu also came over, yawning.
Although she was a school professor and part-time school doctor, Fang Gan had no authority over her here.
"I’ve heard. What happened?"
Han Shiyu was very powerful; her presence alone was a stabilizing force.
"Two girls mutated. Their bodies are over there. Could you examine them for me?"
"Okay, I’ll go now."
Han Shiyu got straight to work, doing Lu Luo a considerable favor.
Meanwhile, the members of Circle Studio had formed a circle around Lu Luo and begun discussing how to handle the situation.
They had already gained a general understanding of the incident before arriving, so as soon as You Xiaoqi and Ding Peng got there, they cut to the chase.
"How do you plan to deal with those female students who’ve experienced hauntings?"
Lu Luo turned to look at Ding Peng, not immediately grasping the implication of his words.
"First, gather them, isolate them, and then observe the situation."
"These people are just ordinary individuals. Keeping them around will only create a huge hidden danger.
Rather than just observing them, it would be better to act decisively and eliminate the potential threat for good."
Ding Peng shot him a fierce look, his meaning self-evident.
You Xiaoqi, standing nearby, said nothing. Both she and Ding Peng were Hunters, and they were most familiar with such methods commonly used by Hunters outside the Wall.
Compared to their ruthless decisiveness, Zhou Kai, Gu Fangyi, and Qi Xinzhu felt differently.
Zhou Kai and Gu Fangyi were waiting for Lu Luo’s decision. Although they would obey Lu Luo’s choice, they would never inwardly approve of such methods.
Qi Xinzhu, however, completely disagreed. This was inside the Wall, and the Wall represented humanity’s last line of defense.
Her principles didn’t allow such arbitrary killings within the Wall, even if they were ordinary people.
Everyone was waiting for Lu Luo’s answer; the decision still rested with him.
Lu Luo pondered for a moment, then shook his head.
"Leaving other issues aside, just considering that we’re inside the Wall, there are rules here. Whether considering the Alliance or the Church, since we are within the Wall, we must abide by the Alliance’s regulations.
And Alliance law wouldn’t permit us to kill indiscriminately. Executing these students without understanding their identities or situations would only bring trouble; that’s the first point.
Second, in terms of benefit, these individuals themselves are of immense intelligence value. They definitely hold information about the Exotic Species behind this.
If we hastily dispose of all of them, we lose our source of intelligence for this incident.
This would leave us unable to trace the cause of their transformation into Exotic Species and unable to deal with the true mastermind.
If the mastermind isn’t dealt with, such incidents will continue to happen.
As for the third point, neither the others nor I can subjectively accept such slaughter.
To put it simply, I don’t want to kill innocents indiscriminately like this."
This was the first time Lu Luo had such a significant disagreement with Ding Peng. He didn’t judge them, as Hunters, for choosing to use the rules of the outside world.
But at least for now, he couldn’t accept killing dozens of civilian female students based on a mere possibility.
Moreover, Circle Studio was his, Lu Luo’s, not a Hunter organization, and it was important to keep priorities straight.
Ding Peng and You Xiaoqi exchanged glances and finally nodded.
"Alright, you’ve made some good points. We weren’t thoughtful enough. We accept your first and second points."
Ding Peng’s words also clearly implied he didn’t accept Lu Luo’s third point.
Lu Luo wasn’t angered by this. Such ideological differences couldn’t be reconciled overnight.
...
The sky gradually darkened. On a typical night inside the Wall, it wouldn’t be frightening.
But today was different. Many knew that Exotic Species were highly active at night, and the haunting incidents in the girls’ dormitory had all occurred at night.
Lu Luo and the others methodically began to guard Dormitory No. 5.
With help from the Academic Affairs Office, more people were available, and tasks were completed much faster.
Under Fang Gan’s arrangements, all female students from Dormitory No. 5 were recalled, except for two who were off-campus and couldn’t be contacted immediately.
"Student Lu Luo, everyone is here. What should we do next?"
"First, isolate the girls who’ve reported eerie experiences and establish a safe zone."
At a time like this, Lu Luo certainly wasn’t going to discuss human rights or freedom with them.
That these people were still alive and safe was already due to Lu Luo’s efforts. If they had really been handed over to the Hunters, even Ding Peng’s proposed method would have seemed merciful by comparison.
Out of the 240 female students in Dormitory No. 5, 26, including Wang Le and Li Xiaomin, claimed to have seen the anomaly.
These 24 remaining girls were now arranged in one corner of the dormitory, while the other 200-plus students were on the opposite side.
The beds were grouped together yet individually spaced, arranged in an orderly, dispersed fashion. Lu Luo required everyone to stay on their beds.
This bed arrangement was intended to isolate the 24 girls as much as possible, while also giving the 200-plus students on the other side room to flee instantly if necessary.
Lu Luo did this because he couldn’t be sure if, among the remaining 200-plus girls who claimed to be fine, there were any still concealing something.
"What’s next? Do we wait?"
Ding Peng and You Xiaoqi were curious about what Lu Luo would do. How would his methods differ from theirs, and what kind of results would they yield?
"No, waiting is not the best option."
"So, should we question them? Didn’t you say earlier they might be susceptible to being triggered?" Ding Peng questioned.
"Correct. Waiting isn’t a good option, and questioning them rashly is even worse."
The deaths of Wang Le and Li Xiaomin were largely related to his questioning.
Lu Luo knew he couldn’t continue to question the remaining girls so recklessly.
Rash questioning would only accelerate their mutation and cause the situation to spiral out of control.
Yet, as Lu Luo looked at the 24 terrified girls huddled in the corner, he felt that even if he didn’t ask, they weren’t far from mutating anyway.
"Li Xiaomin said ’moon’ before she died. What does ’moon’ mean? The actual moon? If it’s the moon, it shouldn’t be visible in the Wasteland sky. That would require specific conditions, which complicates things."
Lu Luo recalled that the previous two times he’d seen the moon, it was because Qiao Xing’s Slash Strike had parted the dark clouds in the sky.
"Could it be Qiao Xing? Impossible! Qiao Xing’s movements these past few days had been very simple, just back and forth between two locations.
Could these women have encountered a master comparable to Qiao Xing? Ludie? Also unlikely. Ludie was probably focused on breaking through to the Gold tier at that moment."
Unable to reach a conclusion, Lu Luo decided to put the ’moon’ matter aside for now. He had to question these female students quickly and gather any potentially useful intelligence.
"So how can I get the information I want without mentioning that anomaly and triggering them?"
Standing before the 24 girls, Lu Luo already had a rough plan.
"Good evening, everyone. I’m going to ask you some questions. I understand that certain things are terrifying, and I’m very concerned for your safety.
So, my request is simple. During my questioning, you don’t need to give detailed answers. Just reply with ’yes’ or ’no’. That’s all.
If you understand, please nod now."
Some of the 24 girls were still terrified, while others had calmed down slightly by then. They knew Lu Luo was there to help them.
They nodded one after another, and Lu Luo began his questioning.
"Have you seen the moon?"
"No."