Chapter 72: Phantoms

Before he even finished his second cigarette, the roar of a helicopter filled the air. The powerful wind from the propellers whipped up dust, and the searchlights from the chopper beamed down on the ground.

Luo Yajun sat cross-legged, smoking his cigarette, and casually waved at the helicopter as he sat in the spotlight.

Soon, armed agents surrounded him. The leader of the group was Xiang Xuantong, the captain of the action team from the Jiangdu branch.

Luo Yajun knew this guy. He smiled and waved, saying, "Relax, I'm not running anywhere, and I'm not here to cause trouble. The guy you're looking for is right there."

He pointed to a figure lying on the ground, its head smashed beyond recognition. Xiang Xuantong looked where he pointed and frowned.

"What is that?" he asked, not "who," because whatever it was didn't even look human.

"It's me," Luo Yajun said nonchalantly. Then he shrugged at Xiang Xuantong's confused expression.

"It's a long story, probably best told back at the base. I can't walk much anyway, so give me a ride. I need to talk to Professor Miyazaki... there's something he should see."

He held up his hand. Under the shocked stares of everyone, his hand transformed into the shape of a gun.

"I don't know what's happening to me," he said with a smile, "but I bet the professor will find this interesting."

With Luo's full cooperation, they took him back to the base after a series of medical exams and psychological evaluations.

As expected, Professor Miyazaki was very intrigued and rushed over to see Luo with an eager look on his face.

But before they could test his new abilities, the higher-ups were more concerned with something else—the infection that caused all this.

Luo Yajun briefly explained the situation. In short, he used to be a regular guy before working at the madhouse.

But one day, he split in two—half of him stayed at the madhouse, and the other half turned into a constantly grinning maniac who spread joy wherever he went.

Then one day, the madhouse worker chopped up the happy guy, and that was the end of the story.

Luo explained it simply, but what he said shocked the agents at the Ninth Office.

They weren't too concerned with Luo's backstory; that was Professor Miyazaki's or the psychologists' job.

What they cared about was the fact that another individual had split off from a special agent's body.

"I warned you this could happen," Professor Miyazaki reminded them at a meeting. "I told you a long time ago that it was possible for someone to give birth to a new spiritual entity."

"But you didn't say that this new entity would be some kind of monster," Chairman Li Changcheng pointed out.

"True," Professor Miyazaki replied, "but this is the first time it's happened. I did say there would be unexpected mutations.

See, that's exactly what happened. These split-off spirits become new individuals. They may carry the memories of the original person and are born from the deepest, darkest parts of the human heart. I call them 'Phantoms.'"

The meeting room buzzed with concern. A new name made everyone uneasy because naming something often means accepting its existence, and that more of these "Phantoms" could appear in the future.

"What we know so far is that this Phantom, separated from Luo Yajun, has strength beyond the human body's limits, even stronger than anything we've seen among special agents or infected people.

It can weaponize parts of its body, though we still need to test this more.

Also, those infected by it might be remotely controlled by the original body, and there's a high chance that multiple spiritual bodies could fuse into a giant monster. But we're not sure if these are common traits for all Phantoms. We'll need to observe further..."

"Hold on a second," interrupted Minister Hercules from the Operations Department. "You just said 'all Phantoms'? Does that mean..."

"Oh, right," Professor Miyazaki said, adjusting his glasses. "I think the appearance of this Phantom marks a new stage in the infection.

We're likely going to see more of them."

…

Chu Cheng logged off as Batman and took a moment to catch his breath.

What Detective Luo said made sense. Sometimes there's a reason why good people can't step up.

Not everyone can handle the fear of the unknown, and doing the right thing often comes at a cost. You have to decide if you can handle the consequences before you make a choice.

But as Batman said at the end: "That's why I'm here."

Now, Chu Cheng had moved beyond that dilemma. He didn't have to risk himself anymore or worry about hurting those close to him. He could act without hesitation, facing the fear of nothingness head-on.

A symbol, after all, can't be destroyed.

This mission made Chu Cheng realize his limitations, even though Batman's vast resources helped him pull off some classic moves.

The tanks, submarines, and fighter jets had powerful firepower, and they were effective this time, but he also saw the limits of heavy weaponry.

For one, the wide range of destruction made it too easy to accidentally harm innocent people.

If the battle had taken place in a crowded city instead of a remote area, the collateral damage would have been catastrophic. It works well against giant monsters, but not so much against superhuman, agile foes.

Take this mission, for instance. Even with the element of surprise, Luo Shiyuan managed to escape under fighter jet firepower. If Chu Cheng hadn't scouted the area beforehand and predicted Luo's escape route, the guy might have actually gotten away.

He realized they still needed strong heroes.

So, it was time to draw from his favorite Hero Pool.