Under normal circumstances, to resolve an incident of mental pollution, one must naturally identify its logic and core elements. As members of the Hazardous Contamination Control Unit, everyone is quite familiar with this process. However, it seems that sometimes this process isn’t absolute?<br><br>...<br><br>...<br><br>Holding onto this thought, the members of the investigation team, as well as the patrolling army standing guard nearby, all stared blankly, even somewhat helpless, at the battle by the lake between Lucas and the Spectral Fiend that defied common sense.<br><br>The most surprised was Ryan Quinn, who had been hiding by the shore, dumbfounded at the spectacle in the lake. He looked at the twisted and terrifying tree of human-like fruits under the red moon, feeling both fear and an eerie sensation, hitting his head forcefully: "What on earth is that?"<br><br>Then he watched Lucas, who was gradually ripping that tree of human-like fruits to shreds, feeling a nameless terror: "And what is that?"<br><br>...<br><br>...<br><br>Even if it was difficult to have a direct understanding of such a crazy and twisted battle, others could see it.<br><br>At this moment, Lucas was already gaining the upper hand. Those "human figures" at the top of the vines kept reaching out, desperately trying to grab him, but under Lucas's nimble and elusive maneuvers, they failed time and again. Instead, Lucas seized the opportunity to tear them apart forcefully, ripping them into pieces. The shadows at the top of the vines disappeared one by one.<br><br>Soon, many vines were left with only bare stalks, swaying weakly in the air.<br><br>As for Lucas, in this situation, he became more and more excited as he fought, with a gleeful spirit reflecting in his eyes. Having finished tearing the "human-like vines" at the top of the vines, he simply targeted those vines directly.<br><br>And in Lucas's eyes, he saw his sister becoming more and more cheerful. She simply jumped onto the vines, grabbing them with both hands, and took a bite with a "wow."<br><br>The vines trembled in pain.<br><br>Lucas was also frightened and apprehensive: "Don’t eat random things..."<br><br>"No, I want to eat!"<br><br>His sister ignored him, pulling off a mouthful with force, her teeth appearing sharp and sturdy at this moment.<br><br>"Swoosh swoosh swoosh..."<br><br>Finally, under his sister's frenzied attack, the vines shook violently, visibly trembling as if shivering. Just tearing its "fruits" only made it crazier. But now, as Lucas's sister devoured part of its body, it gave birth to a sense of fear.<br><br>Suddenly, all the vines contracted sharply and retreated towards the water pool. As Lucas's sister was holding onto one of the vines fiercely, the entity in the pool seemed a bit unwilling, simply abandoning this vine. The other vines retracted like a video of an explosion played backward, disappearing without a trace in an instant.<br><br>"This..."<br><br>Caught unprepared, Lucas suddenly saw this scene and was taken aback.<br><br>He subconsciously asked, "What happened?"<br><br>"Hmph!"<br><br>His sister’s disgruntled voice came from the side. She quickly devoured the abandoned vine, jumped to the side of the pool, stretched her head inside to look, saw no movement for a long time, angrily grabbed a handful of sand, and threw it inside.<br><br>Then she turned around and said to Lucas, "It got scared!"<br><br>...<br><br>...<br><br>"Scared?"<br><br>Lucas felt strange and absurd.<br><br>Could a Spectral Fiend also be scared?<br><br>He walked to his sister's side, looked at this small pool, and saw that it appeared to be an unnoticed deep pit in the lake. Although it was clear just now that a tree-like Spectral Fiend grew out of this pool, looking down now, there was nothing to see. Only in the dim red moonlight could he faintly see his own reflection...<br><br>"Is it over?"<br><br>Everyone around was watching the lake bottom that suddenly quieted down, finding it a bit hard to accept.<br><br>In the channel, Jane Chen's response was the fastest, the first to make a decision: "Clean up while you can!"<br><br>"Mr. Lucas, about the pollution source..."<br><br>Receiving the order, the three members of the investigation team quickly mustered their courage and approached.<br><br>After witnessing the scene just now, they were clearly a bit scared, but they forced themselves to remain calm and carry out the order.<br><br>"It's right below!"<br><br>Having just experienced such an intense battle, Lucas now appeared to be in an eerie tranquility.<br><br>He merely looked at that small pool and said, "But there shouldn’t be any more anomalies for the time being..."<br><br>The three investigation team members looked at each other, unable to comprehend how Lucas could switch to such a calm state so quickly.<br><br>It seemed as though that battle just now had nothing to do with him...<br><br>"Excavate the source of pollution, Lucas is responsible for monitoring."<br><br>Lucas heard Jane Chen’s voice in his ear, and he relayed the message to the three investigation team members.<br><br>“Yes!”<br><br>The three members immediately responded loudly, then quickly ran to the lakeshore to fetch shovels. Lucas noticed that they retrieved them by having the support team members place the shovels near the lakeshore, then the investigation team going to pick them up, ensuring no direct contact between the two sides. It seemed their discipline in this regard was very strict.<br><br>With the shovels in hand, the three investigation team members immediately began the excavation work.<br><br>Lucas stood guard carefully nearby to prevent any further mutations during the excavation.<br><br>His hand rested at his side, ready to grab his sister's hand at any moment.<br><br>However, whether it was because the Spectral Fiend underground was indeed as his sister said, scared, there were no further odd changes during the excavation. A pit was dug open, draining the water, and as they dug a meter and a half deep, one member of the investigation team whispered, "Found it."<br><br>As the wet earth was slowly cleared away, a human-shaped black object emerged from below, resembling a corpse.<br><br>Everyone involuntarily felt a little relieved in their hearts.<br><br>The incident started because Victor Qin killed Charlie Wong, so they initially suspected that this pollution source was related to Charlie Wong's remains. However, no trace of Charlie Wong's body was found where Victor Qin dumped it; only some fragmented tissue was collected. It could be theorized that other parts might have been eaten by wild dogs, but that obviously didn’t address everyone's questions.<br><br>Now that a body has been found, many issues could be explained.<br><br>"I'll do it."<br><br>Lucas took the rope, leaned down himself, and tied a knot around the corpse.<br><br>Then the three members of the investigation team pulled the corpse up with all their might, placing it on the mud beside it.<br><br>It was indeed a corpse, seemingly without any abnormalities. However, the three members of the investigation team remained tense, pulling a hose over to clean the mud from the corpse.<br><br>Lucas noticed his sister tilting her head, curiously examining the corpse.<br><br>Gradually, as the mud on its face and body was washed away, the clothes it wore began to emerge—a worn-out camouflage uniform with a belt tied around the waist. Although it was unclear how long it had been submerged in the lake, the body was quite intact, showing no signs of swelling, and even the face could still be recognized after the mud was rinsed away.<br><br>"This is..."<br><br>Lucas looked at the face, slightly frowning, feeling a sense of familiarity.<br><br>“Can you confirm the identity of the body?”<br><br>Jane Chen's inquiry came through the channel.<br><br>Lucas examined the face carefully, gradually feeling a chill down his spine.<br><br>Having just relaxed slightly after defeating the Spectral Fiend, his nerves suddenly tensed up again.<br><br>After careful identification, one of the investigation team members suddenly exclaimed.<br><br>His shout contained no actual words nor any specific meaning.<br><br>It was merely a reflexive scream due to excessive surprise or fear.<br><br>"Report immediately!"<br><br>Jane Chen's voice quickly echoed in the channel: "Is that body Charlie Wong?"<br><br>Amidst this urging, Lucas gathered his thoughts and replied softly, "No!"<br><br>Then he looked at the corpse on the ground, slowly answering, "It's Victor Qin!"<br><br>"How could it be?"<br><br>Jane Chen’s voice carried a trace of shock and confusion.<br><br>Yes...<br><br>How could it be?<br><br>Lucas pondered slowly, examining closely.<br><br>This corpse could clearly be identified as Victor Qin.<br><br>In both facial features and height, even the attire matched Victor Qin exactly.<br><br>Or rather, this was Victor Qin.<br><br>However, if the source of this enormous pollution problem beneath the lake is Victor Qin...<br><br>Then who is the one on the shore that has been following their investigation and monitoring all along?)
