The neon lights of the bustling night-time pedestrian street flickered, and between the towering high-rises, traffic flowed endlessly as crowds bustled back and forth. The shops along the street were brightly lit, their dazzling array of goods neatly arranged in the display windows. However, this normally harmonious “night market” was shattered by a “monster” that fell from the sky.
Shen Ge was still fully encased in his Red Mist Battle Armor. Earlier, to evade the sky-filling bizarre mist tornadoes and flying debris, Little Seven had converted all the corrosive blood—except the part protecting Shen Ge’s body—into tentacles. As a result, right now he looked like some kind of mutated spider-octopus monster.
After a brief moment of silence, panicked screams erupted from the crowd. The sounds of running and cries for help rose one after another. Some people ran blindly into shops, while others stood frozen in place, completely petrified.
Although Da Jing had already experienced one bizarre disaster, most of those who went through it had either been turned into monsters by parasitic-type anomalies or had died in the catastrophe. The survivors, without hesitation, chose to leave this “dangerous” city.
Therefore, the majority of people on the street only knew about anomalies and strange individuals from the news, and the news, naturally, had been processed to a certain extent to avoid scaring children.
You could say most of the people here were experiencing a bizarre incident firsthand for the very first time. Anyone who wasn’t paralyzed with fear had a pretty strong psychological constitution.
At that moment, voices rose from the crowd: “Quick, call the Special Policy Department!”, “Report it!”, “Find the Anomaly Operatives!” Some people had already dialed the Special Policy Department’s dedicated reporting line.
On an adjacent street, pedestrians fleeing in panic caused a multi-car pile-up. A slightly overweight, balding, middle-aged man scrambled out of the driver’s seat, tumbling as he ran. Seeing the red monster in the distance made his scalp tingle. He thought to himself that he really couldn’t stay in this damn city of Da Jing any longer; he needed to move his whole family to Rong City tomorrow. If nothing else, that place had the Great Celestial Dynasty’s top-ranked duo of Anomaly Operatives, “Shen Tan,” stationed there, giving an immediate, absolute sense of security!
And that man was none other than Tang Laoya, whom Shen Ge had previously saved on the anomaly plane. Unfortunately, he had no idea that the monster before him was the very source of his “sense of security.”
For Shen Ge right now, the best solution was to leave the area immediately to prevent the chaos from escalating. But the memories flooding his brain were swelling his head to the point of exploding. Even moving a finger was difficult, let alone controlling the Red Mist Battle Armor to leave the city.
When they escaped the dream world, the Bizarre Stomach had devoured a large amount of dream fragments. Although the glowing dream fragments were still being “digested” by the stomach acid inside the Bizarre Stomach, the non-glowing fragments had already been completely fused with it.
The Bizarre Stomach, having been modified by Li Xiang, had fully integrated with the Red Mist Battle Armor. Any anomalies devoured by the Bizarre Stomach became “nutrients” for the armor. In other words, all those non-glowing dream fragments had been “eaten” by the Red Mist Battle Armor.
At that time, Shen Ge had poured all his Red Mist Anomaly Energy into the Bizarre Stomach. One had to remember, that was a world formed from the fusion of countless endings of Worlds 1, 2, and 3 collapsing into dream fragments. The sky was filled with fragments as numerous as stars; it was impossible to know how many the Bizarre Stomach had swallowed.
According to Little Seven’s monitoring during their escape from the dream world, the dream fragments digested by the Bizarre Stomach turned into “nutrients” absorbed by the Red Mist Battle Armor. The armor itself underwent bizarre and unpredictable “changes,” and even Little Seven was affected.
Now, not only could Shen Ge not control the Red Mist Battle Armor, but Little Seven, for the first time since its “birth,” actually experienced a system crash.
“Hello, hello, Special Policy Department? There’s an anomaly on **** Street. Its body looks human, but it has dozens of tentacles on its back…” At this point, the patrol officers on the pedestrian street had already started reporting to the Special Policy Department. They didn’t dare approach rashly because the tentacles on Shen Ge’s back were still flailing about wildly.
Right now, the corrosive blood tentacles weren’t controlled by Shen Ge or Little Seven. Instead, they had entered a strange state akin to “evolution” after the changes in the Red Mist Battle Armor. This was a time when defenses were weakest, so the corrosive blood tentacles had autonomously activated “defense mode.”
Fortunately, although the surrounding patrol officers had no combat experience with anomalies, they had at least received emergency training for encountering anomalous incidents and did not approach rashly, focusing mainly on evacuating the crowd.
Soon, sirens and emergency broadcasts pierced the sky over the entire block. The previously orderly street descended into chaos. Although the patrol officers were doing their best to evacuate, their personnel were limited. Besides, a panicked crowd was already hard to control, and some people tried to drive out of the chaos zone, which only caused even greater pandemonium.
“Little Seven…”
“Get… out of here.”
Shen Ge fought against his head, which felt like it was about to split open, trying to wake Little Seven. But after several calls with no response, he immediately realized that Little Seven must be having problems too.
A few minutes later, an anomaly patrol team in the vicinity received the report and rushed to the scene. The patrol captain took out an Anomaly Energy Detector and scanned the blood-red monster before him.
“Beep!”
“Anomaly Energy Value: 100!”
“1,000!”
“10,000!”
“This is bad, the Anomaly Energy intensity is still rising! It’s an out-of-control high-order strange being! Evacuate the civilians from the entire block immediately!”
“**** C11 Patrol Team requesting backup!”
“Requesting backup!”
The patrol captain was reporting to the Special Policy Department through the Anomaly Energy Communicator. Two Anomaly Warriors, armed with Anomaly Energy Guns, tried to pull away an unconscious civilian in front of the blood-red monster. But as soon as they got close, a corrosive blood tentacle swept over, smacking them with a “thwack,” sending them flying into a shop.
“Get back, stay away!” the patrol captain shouted urgently.
But the warning came too late. After the two Anomaly Warriors were attacked, the Anomaly Operatives on alert nearby immediately drew the attention of the corrosive blood tentacles.
“Watch out!” An Anomaly Operative, seeing a corrosive blood tentacle lashing toward him and his comrade, instinctively slapped his chest to activate his Anomaly Skin Battle Suit.
However, the activation speed of the Special Policy Department’s standard-issue Anomaly Skin Battle Suit wasn’t even one-tenth that of the Red Mist Battle Armor. Before it could even cover half his body, he was sent flying.
Another Anomaly Operative drew a black “wooden plaque” from his waist. Clenching it, he slashed, and the writhing decaying flesh within the plaque instantly extended and coalesced, forming a pitch-black Tang sword that chopped toward the corrosive blood tentacle.
Based on past experience, the moment an Anomaly Energy Blade struck an anomaly, the Anomaly Energy it released would tear at the target’s own energy, thus injuring the anomaly.
But this time, as soon as the Anomaly Operative executed his slash, the corrosive blood tentacle wrapped around the Anomaly Energy Blade. The black Anomaly Energy the blade hadn’t yet released was instantly absorbed by the tentacle.
With a “crack,” an Anomaly Energy Blade capable of easily slaying Rank 2 anomalies was effortlessly snapped in two by the corrosive blood tentacle.
By now, the surrounding team members had also heard the broadcast of the Anomaly Energy Detector in the patrol captain’s hand and immediately realized that the monster before them was not something their patrol team could handle.
For a moment, no one dared approach the blood-red monster again. Fortunately, it didn’t attack the unconscious civilians around it either. Seeing this, the patrol captain quickly ordered his men to set up a perimeter, cordon off the area, and then attempt to use anomaly equipment and tools to pull those unconscious people to safety.
After several attempts, the patrol captain confirmed that the monster seemed not overly aggressive. As long as they didn’t enter its attack range, it wouldn’t attack proactively.
The patrol captain hurriedly noted down these “characteristics” of the blood-red monster, reporting to headquarters while also requesting backup.
Under normal circumstances, Shen Ge would have had plenty of complaints to make, but right now, he was being tormented to the point of wanting to die by the chaotic memories in his mind. He could no longer even distinguish what were his actual lived memories, what were the false memories that arose after being tortured into insanity by Dr. Chen and others, and what was the “memory data” brought back when his stripped-away personality was sent into the dream world.
Shen Ge was just a “person.” He clearly lacked Little Seven’s powerful computational abilities. He simply couldn’t tell which memories were real and which were false; he was on the verge of being driven mad again by this massive “data.”
About another ten minutes had passed since the patrol team arrived. Based on the patrol captain’s report, the Special Policy Department directly dispatched an Anomaly Mech Squad from the 1st Division’s City Defense Unit. Accompanied by the distinctive sound of machinery hitting the pavement, a black Heavy Assault Anomaly Mech, escorted by troops, arrived at the scene.
The surrounding civilians had been evacuated, and the entire block was cordoned off. The black Heavy Assault Anomaly Mech slowly approached the blood-red monster to detect its Anomaly Energy intensity.
“Detecting a strong Anomaly Energy reaction! Preparing to commence fire assault!” The operator controlling the black Heavy Assault Anomaly Mech reported to the squad.
“The perimeter is secure!”
“Squad 1 in position!”
“Squad 2 in position!”
“Squad 3 in position!”
“Alright, Z-3, you may commence fire assault!” With the commander’s order, the shoulders of the black Heavy Assault Anomaly Mech went “clack-clack,” raising two rows of missile launchers. Then came a series of “whoosh-whoosh” sounds as missiles tore through the air, all flying towards the blood-red monster in the center.
Just as the missiles were about to hit the blood-red monster, the dozens of corrosive blood tentacles twisted together like hemp rope, then opened wide like a giant, bloodthirsty maw and swallowed all the missiles whole.
The next second, the corrosive blood “venus flytrap” swelled up like an inflating balloon. Then it opened its mouth and spat out a puff of black smoke, as if belching.
This scene completely stunned the surrounding soldiers. These were Anomaly-Penetrating Missiles, for heaven’s sake! Just one of them, with its explosive power, could blast a three-to-five-story building to rubble. Even a regenerative-type Rank 2 anomaly would be blown to smithereens, not even a scrap left behind.
And yet, not just one, but over a dozen of them had been swallowed by the monster in front of them, which then let out a very “satisfied” burp.
Good lord, what is this, some kind of Masked Freak?
At that moment, with a series of “clanking” mechanical deformation sounds, the front of the black Heavy Assault Anomaly Mech opened up, forming a massive Anomaly Energy Mechanical Capture Device. On either side extended mechanical arms, along with Anomaly Energy Laser Guns and an Anomaly Energy Blade.
A back-end team handled the data manipulation for the Heavy Assault Anomaly Mech, cooperating with the pilot and the AI to maximize their combined operational capacity.
However, the moment it entered the blood-red monster’s attack range, the corrosive blood “venus flytrap” dispersed again, turning back into dozens of corrosive blood tentacles that instantly entangled the Heavy Assault Anomaly Mech.
“Screeeech—”
“Screeeech!”
With a piercing sound of twisting metal, the Heavy Assault Anomaly Mech’s thick, sturdy mechanical arms were the first to be twisted like pretzels. Then its steel body was ripped and deformed. The internal defense mechanisms made from anomalous flesh and bone were instantly pulverized. The pilot immediately activated the emergency escape system, ejecting from the rear of the Heavy Assault Anomaly Mech and scrambling frantically back towards the troops.
The distant commander was dumbfounded. This was the Heavy Assault Anomaly Mech that had previously been able to fight several Rank 3 anomalies simultaneously, the ace unit of the Special Policy Department! And it had been obliterated by the blood-red monster in a single encounter!
How the hell were they supposed to fight this?
The commander of the Anomaly Mech Unit had originally wanted to take down the monster and claim the credit before the Special Policy Department’s Anomaly Squad arrived. But now, even their ace Heavy Assault Anomaly Mech hadn’t lasted ten seconds. Even if they sent the entire mechanical force in at once, they’d probably just end up with a pile of scrap metal in an instant.
Just as the commander hesitated—whether to continue pushing the mechanical unit forward or to just do his actual job of securing the perimeter and assisting the Anomaly Squad with containment—a screech of brakes sounded from behind. Several Special Policy Department Anomaly Vehicles stopped outside the cordon line.
Then, a full squad of Anomaly Operatives and Warriors disembarked. Leading them was none other than Department 2’s Captain-level Operative, Fang Mingyue.
The moment Fang Mingyue led her team into the secured zone, she spotted the blood-red monster on the street. With just one look, she froze in her tracks.
Although the Anomaly Operatives in Da Jing knew very little about the Red Mist Battle Armor, Fang Mingyue’s understanding of Shen Ge’s “trump cards” was second only to Cadres from Rong City like Deng Yuqi and Li Xiang. That was because she could be considered the Anomaly Operative who had partnered with Shen Ge the most times (as his accessory).
“Captain? Captain?” The team members behind Fang Mingyue couldn’t understand why their usually steady and cool-headed captain seemed “petrified” the moment she saw the monster, and they quickly tried to snap her out of it.
Fang Mingyue raised a hand, signaling the team to stop. She ordered the deputy captain to take the members and set up a watchful perimeter while she entered the encirclement first to assess the situation.
“Captain, that’s way too risky!” the deputy captain urged.
Fang Mingyue didn’t know precisely what state Shen Ge was in, but she realized something must have gone wrong. As one of the very few people privy to Shen Ge’s secrets, and not yet having determined whether he was completely out of control and posing a threat, she wanted to protect his secret as much as possible at this moment.
“Follow my command. The squad and all personnel on site are to immediately withdraw behind the cordon line. Do not advance until you receive my order!” Fang Mingyue said in a deep voice.
“Yes, Captain!” Although the deputy captain and others had their doubts, Special Policy Department regulations stipulated that the captain’s orders took precedence during a mission. Thus, they followed Fang Mingyue’s instruction and withdrew to the cordon line.
Fang Mingyue switched her unit communicator to silent mode, then took out the Anomaly Energy Communicator she shared with Shen Ge and tried to contact him.
“Shen Tan, can you hear me? Shen Tan?” Fang Mingyue tried calling out a few times but received no response from Shen Ge. As she got closer, one of the corrosive blood tentacles immediately attacked her.
Fang Mingyue’s skills were naturally far beyond those of an average Anomaly Operative. With a roll, she smoothly dodged the tentacle’s strike, activated her Anomaly Skin Battle Suit, and continued trying to call out to Shen Ge.
If Shen Ge was completely out of control, the only thing Fang Mingyue could do was try to lure him away from the urban area, because only she knew the true horror Shen Ge represented.
Shen Ge “out of control” could very well mean the outbreak of a Rank 4 or higher bizarre disaster… Yet, during those several “collaborations,” Fang Mingyue had seen Shen Ge effortlessly dispatch Rank 4 anomalies more than once!
“Shen Tan? Shen Tan?” Fang Mingyue was frantic with worry. On one hand, she was concerned for Shen Ge; on the other, she feared what would happen to Da Jing, and even the entire Great Celestial Dynasty, if he lost control.
“Fang… Ming… Yue.”
Just then, Shen Ge’s intermittent voice crackled through Fang Mingyue’s earpiece.
