Chapter Eight: Source Energy Wielder?

Lin Lei followed the direction of the source energy fluctuation and soon arrived outside a nearby residential area. It was the middle of the night, and naturally, there were no people around. Only a solitary streetlamp cast its lonely glow. Standing in the darkness, Lin Lei raised his brows slightly. The source energy fluctuation he had sensed was now gone without a trace.

His gaze swept the surroundings, but he found nothing unusual. Just then, a sudden flash from a car’s headlights illuminated the roadside not far away. “Hm? It’s nearly two in the morning, a car parked at the roadside… suddenly starts up…” Lin Lei’s heart stirred, and he couldn’t help but speculate, “Could the source energy fluctuation have originated from this car?”

He raised his brows, and taking advantage of the fact that the car had only just started and was still moving slowly, he dashed swiftly in front of it. In the darkness, his speed was even greater. However, as he reached the car, the bright headlights forced his Night Walker ability to dissipate. He didn’t mind, instead blocking the car with his arms spread wide.

“Stop!” As Lin Lei appeared, the car screeched to a sudden halt, then switched to high beams, and—rather than complying—began to accelerate in reverse!

“The person inside is nervous!” Lin Lei instantly realized. To immediately turn on high beams and reverse as soon as someone blocked the car clearly indicated trouble! The fact that the driver didn’t have the courage to ram him also meant he wasn’t some reckless criminal.

Lin Lei’s eyes narrowed as he rushed forward, braving the blinding headlights, and with rapid steps, leapt onto the car’s hood and swung his steel blade. With a single strike, he shattered the car’s window.

Crash!

The glass splintered with a loud noise, accompanied by a shrill scream, and the car screeched to a complete stop.

“Spare me, brother!”

With the window smashed, Lin Lei finally saw clearly the driver: a middle-aged man with a disreputable air, dressed in a leather jacket, his face bruised and bloodied. Glass shards had cut his face and scalp, and his screams were his own.

Seeing the man’s face, Lin Lei raised his brows slightly. He recognized him—or rather, had seen him once before. The man was the owner of the fragrant pancake stall Lin Lei had visited on the food street nearby a few days ago.

Seated in the passenger seat was a boy, about ten years old, with messy hair and delicate features. The boy glared fiercely at Lin Lei with large, wild eyes. He was the same street child Lin Lei had encountered before.

When the middle-aged man saw Lin Lei’s face, his expression turned grim. He glanced at the boy. The boy’s eyes were tense, sweat running down his face, and he shook his head slightly.

Lin Lei’s gaze shifted, and he noticed scattered gold and silver jewelry and bundles of cash on the front seats.

Trouble, indeed!

He waved his blade at the driver. “Get out of the car!” The man, thoroughly intimidated, obediently exited the vehicle.

Lin Lei jumped down, drew a pair of handcuffs from his waist, and cuffed the man, then pointed to the jewelry. “Didn’t you say you haven’t been involved in petty theft for years? Where did these items come from?”

Cuffed, the man wore a mournful expression, not daring to resist, and turned to the boy. “Officer, spare me! He did it, the money and the car have nothing to do with me… I know nothing!”

Lin Lei sneered, naturally not believing him.

At that moment, the boy jumped from the car, baring his teeth at Lin Lei, his canine teeth prominent, looking fierce. “Let… go of… Dad!”

Not only his appearance, but his voice was sharp and thin, and he seemed to have some speech disorder, struggling to speak fluently.

Lin Lei frowned and looked coldly at the man. “What’s going on here?”

The man quickly replied, “Officer, you know he’s not my kid! That day you asked me to feed him and take him to the shelter, so I sought him out, fed him, let him stay… I don’t know why he calls me Dad. Maybe his mind isn’t quite right…”

Hearing this, Lin Lei’s expression grew serious. He turned to the boy.

The boy seemed puzzled by the man’s words, glanced at Lin Lei, then at the man, his face full of confusion, but still repeated, “Let go… Dad!” This time, his voice was much weaker.

Lin Lei licked his lips, his expression becoming subtle. “You don’t seem like a compassionate person. Tell me, after all these days, why didn’t you take him to the shelter? Why keep him here?”

The man hesitated. “Officer, you might not believe me…”

Lin Lei’s eyes flashed. “Speak!”

The man continued, “This street kid, he… he has superpowers!”

Lin Lei thought, as expected.

This man always tried to shirk responsibility, and he didn’t seem like someone who’d shelter a street kid out of kindness—there had to be a reason! And the source energy fluctuation he sensed wasn’t false.

He glanced at the boy with a strange expression. To be honest, he couldn’t sense any source energy from the boy at that moment.

Lin Lei stepped forward and grabbed the man by the collar. “Tell me clearly—what superpowers does he have?”

The man winced in pain. “He’s… especially skilled at stealing things! And he can teleport me instantly…”

Lin Lei was stunned and about to question further when he suddenly sensed a surge of source energy emanating from the boy’s location.

A cold, childish voice sounded by his ear: “Let go… Dad!”

Lin Lei looked up in surprise, and saw that the boy was now holding a silver handgun.

Lin Lei instinctively reached for his waist, his lips twitching, “So it’s like that…”

Based on the man’s account, Lin Lei deduced the boy’s abilities were likely related to “space.” Without a doubt, Chen Fan would also realize this was an exceptionally powerful gift!

Faced with the dark barrel, Lin Lei showed not a hint of fear, meeting the boy’s gaze directly.

“You should have heard what the man just said… he’s not your father. He only fed and housed you because I gave him money to do so. He’s just using your abilities to commit crimes. You don’t need to treat me this way.”

Lin Lei watched the boy.

He noticed confusion flicker across the boy’s face again. Though the boy’s language skills were weak, he clearly understood Lin Lei.

Just then, the middle-aged man let out a shrill cry, “Kid, don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!”

Petty theft was a minor offense, and considering the boy was an awakened one, it might be easy to resolve later. But if someone was hurt—or killed—the consequences would be dire.

The man, though not a good person, understood that if things escalated, he’d be finished. That’s why, when Lin Lei blocked the car earlier, he didn’t dare ram him and instead reversed immediately.

At the man’s words, the boy finally obediently lowered the gun.

Lin Lei stepped forward, shook his head, and took the gun from the boy’s hand, raising a brow. “To fire a gun, you have to chamber a round first. Your attempt wouldn’t have produced a bullet, for example… like this.”

With a click, he chambered the gun.

The boy didn’t react, but the man behind Lin Lei was sweating profusely.

Lin Lei hadn’t been afraid—not because his body was strong, but because the boy hadn’t chambered a round. The boy had likely only seen guns before, knew their general purpose, but probably had never handled one. After all, he was just a child.

Seeing the boy’s lack of reaction, Lin Lei felt it wasn’t worth pursuing further. He ejected the bullet, held it in his hand, and took out his PDA with the other, immediately calling Li Xueshu.

“This is Lin Lei. Are you able to come over? I may have found a new source energy awakened one…”

Li Xueshu answered with a weary, resentful yawn. “Don’t you ever sleep? You’re bothering me with such a small matter? New source energy users are reviewed by Hochi, but he usually doesn’t respond after hours…”

“Contact Chen Ning first, have him bring some logistics people to help with the follow-up, and take the awakened one to the Investigation Bureau.”

Ever since Li Xueshu had told him he could reach out with any problem, Lin Lei’s first instinct was to contact her. In truth, he had underestimated his authority as an investigator. He could command and direct members of the Operations and Reserve Departments at any time. Not to mention the Logistics Department, which was mostly composed of ordinary people whom investigators could freely order.

Lin Lei managed a polite laugh, hung up, and then dialed Chen Ning’s number.