“Shen Tan!”
Hearing Shen Ge’s “response,” Fang Mingyue felt a surge of excitement inside.
To her, unless Shen Ge had already taken actions that endangered the world, she didn’t want to become his enemy unless absolutely forced to.
Partly, it was out of respect for Shen Ge; partly, it was because of his contributions to humanity. Fang Mingyue, who had acted alongside Shen Ge during several bizarre disasters, was the only one who knew just how much he had sacrificed.
This was also why Fang Mingyue ultimately chose to send her team away. She wanted to do her utmost to keep Shen Ge’s secret, unwilling to see this great Anomaly Operative end up labeled a “monster.”
Of course, Shen Ge had no idea he held such a high place in Fang Mingyue’s heart, nor that she thought so highly of him. After all, his past actions had, more or less, involved a certain amount of “personal motives.”
But while he was struggling against the exploding volume of information in his brain, he spotted this familiar face and immediately thought of using her to end this farce.
“Get closer… pretend to be taken hostage, escape… the city.” Shen Ge actually wasn’t much of a “threat.” He was nowhere near the point of “losing control.” He had simply lost mobility because his brain was severely affected, Little Seven had “crashed” for some unknown reason, and the Red Mist Battle Armor had automatically entered defense mode.
In fact, from the moment Shen Ge, this “blood-red monster,” appeared until now, aside from his terrifying appearance, the biggest damage he’d caused was smashing a crater into the concrete upon falling from the sky.
As for the injured patrol officers and Anomaly Warriors, they were simply struck and sent flying by the corrosive blood tentacles after entering the Red Mist Battle Armor’s defensive perimeter.
With Little Seven currently “out of contact,” Shen Ge could only rely on his own willpower to actively control the Red Mist Battle Armor and forcibly shut down its defense mode. But before that, he had to reach an understanding with Fang Mingyue, at least making her understand what he wanted her to help with.
Fortunately, as Shen Ge’s “trusted confidante,” her past experiences as his little shadow let her instantly grasp his meaning.
“Understood.” Fang Mingyue responded in a low voice, clearly knowing they had to make the act convincing. After fully encasing herself in her Anomaly Skin Battle Suit, she simultaneously activated several pieces of anomaly equipment.
“Captain!”
“Captain!”
The Anomaly Operatives keeping watch in the distance saw Fang Mingyue enter combat mode and all wanted to rush forward to help, but she stopped them with a shout.
“Follow the previous order, stay where you are… I’ve seen a similar anomaly before in a bizarre dimension; I have experience. Fighting it in the city could trigger a bizarre disaster. I’ll try to lure it away from the urban area.” As Fang Mingyue spoke, she was already charging towards Shen Ge.
Seeing this, Shen Ge, after failing to wake Little Seven once more, focused all his energy on disabling the Red Mist Battle Armor’s defense mode. As Fang Mingyue approached, he controlled the corrosive blood tentacles to mimic the earlier attacks on the Anomaly Warriors, only deliberately slowing them down to a speed where Fang Mingyue could either block or dodge without much trouble.
Wanting to make the scene look more real, Fang Mingyue deliberately took two lashes head-on, then dodged and closed the distance. Just as her Anomaly Capture Device was about to encapsulate Shen Ge, the other corrosive blood tentacles whipped toward her simultaneously.
The surrounding Anomaly Operatives and warriors felt their hearts leap into their throats. Just when they thought Fang Mingyue, with her sharp skills, would successfully capture the monster, the monster suddenly erupted. Then, like an octopus, it wrapped itself around Fang Mingyue, the corrosive blood tentacles binding her tightly.
“Captain!”
The Anomaly Operatives, disregarding Fang Mingyue’s earlier order to stay put, surged forward with weapons drawn. But Shen Ge, just as his consciousness was being swallowed again by the surging memories, granted Fang Mingyue temporary control authority over the Red Mist Battle Armor. This wouldn’t deactivate the full-body armor state; it would simply no longer hinder her movements.
Pretending to be controlled, Fang Mingyue rushed toward a nearby Anomaly Combat Vehicle. Although her teammates were charging over, they didn’t dare shoot rashly since she appeared to be under the creature’s control.
Fang Mingyue swept her arm, forcing her teammates back. With her other hand, she grabbed the vehicle door and pulled. She clearly underestimated the power of the Red Mist Battle Armor and nearly ripped the entire door off. Fang Mingyue froze for a second, then hurriedly jumped in, started the engine, crashed through the cordon, and sped all the way toward the suburbs.
“After them!”
“Quick, after them!”
“Call for backup!”
The Anomaly Operatives immediately scrambled into their vehicles to chase after Fang Mingyue. The commander of the Anomaly Mech Unit hesitated, unsure whether to follow. If he did pursue, he’d already witnessed the blood-red monster’s destructive power—the Anomaly Mechs were no match for it. If he didn’t pursue, he could conveniently shift the blame onto Fang Mingyue.
It was precisely because of Fang Mingyue’s “stubborn, unauthorized action” that the heavily surrounded monster had been let loose. In the blink of an eye, the commander had already mentally drafted his after-action report on how to phrase the incident.
Someone who could climb to that position certainly understood the art of “report writing.”
Fang Mingyue drove the Anomaly Combat Vehicle at high speed through the streets. Although the cockpit of an Anomaly Combat Vehicle was spacious, it was still a bit cramped with two people inside.
She glanced in the rearview mirror at the cars chasing after her, sirens wailing. Suddenly, she executed a stylish drift, crashing into a narrow alley. Like a scene out of a blockbuster car chase, she smashed through trash cans and debris before bursting out of the other end of the alley.
As the backup team for this bizarre incident, she naturally knew the Special Policy Department’s arranged blockade routes and evacuation paths inside out. She avoided congested areas and successfully got onto the elevated highway.
“Shen Tan, are you feeling any better?” Fang Mingyue asked.
Shen Ge was in so much pain he couldn’t even speak, let alone have the energy to answer Fang Mingyue’s question. Fang Mingyue could only rely on her driving skills to try and shake off the tails behind her.
But the Special Policy Department had extensive experience dealing with bizarre incidents, and besides, Fang Mingyue had chosen the controlled traffic routes to avoid jams. So reinforcements soon arrived, boxing her and the Anomaly Squad in from the front and back.
Fortunately, Fang Mingyue had chosen the elevated highway after careful consideration. Originally, she’d thought that if Shen Ge regained consciousness, once they passed the toll station on this leg of the highway, she could let him jump off the bridge directly. With his abilities, he naturally wouldn’t be discovered again.
But clearly, Shen Ge’s condition wasn’t sufficient to restore his mobility. So, Fang Mingyue decided to go with her backup plan—to stage a scene from Fast & Furious 13: Bridge Jump.
She expertly pressed a few switches on the Anomaly Combat Vehicle’s control console. Then, the front of the car underwent some changes.
“Shen Tan, according to the latest blockade route from the Special Policy Department, they plan to trap us on the bridge. The river that circles the city is up ahead. I’m planning to drive straight down into it. But I’m not sure if I can get us both out from the river bottom while you’re in your battle armor state. Can you deactivate the armor later?”
Fang Mingyue finished speaking, but Shen Ge’s side remained unresponsive. Just as she hesitated, a corrosive blood tentacle extended beside the control console and formed an “o.”
Getting Shen Ge’s affirmative reply, Fang Mingyue switched the Anomaly Combat Vehicle into submersible mode. Right before the transformation, she suddenly swerved into the guardrail. With a loud “bang,” the car flew off the overpass.
After plunging into the water, Fang Mingyue immediately steered the Anomaly Combat Vehicle for several dozen meters towards a small wooded area. Just as she was about to reach the shore, she quickly switched it back into combat vehicle mode.
“Shen Tan.” As Fang Mingyue’s words fell, she saw the Red Mist Battle Armor encasing Shen Ge begin to retract. As it did, she vaguely glimpsed what seemed to be glowing “scales” within the corrosive blood, but she had no time to investigate because river water was already pouring into the cockpit.
The reason Fang Mingyue switched the Anomaly Combat Vehicle back to combat mode at the very end was her worry that the higher-ups might discover she was helping Shen Ge escape. Though few people knew about Shen Ge’s Red Mist Battle Armor, clues always existed. If they saw her going to such lengths to help a “monster,” whether she got investigated was secondary; the real fear was that following the clues might uncover other things, rendering their long and arduous efforts completely wasted.
Fang Mingyue dragged the semi-conscious Shen Ge toward the shore. After getting out of the water, she carried him on her back into the woods. According to the Special Policy Department’s search progress, they would likely sweep the woods in about ten minutes; she had to get Shen Ge out of there fast.
After emerging from the woods, Fang Mingyue found a car. She stuffed Shen Ge into the trunk, peeled off her own wet clothes, wrapped herself in an old jacket she found in the car, and drove away.
…
…
Shen Ge felt as though he had been hit by the domain of some 2.5-brain combat robot. In an instant, his mind had been forcibly stuffed with a massive amount of information, nearly “overloading” him.
The key problem was that this information couldn’t be “digested.” Whenever Shen Ge tried to access it, the agonizing pain of his head about to split open tortured him to the point of wanting to die.
Shen Ge didn’t know how to deal with this “information.” He couldn’t read it, but he couldn’t ignore it either. Yet if he didn’t find a way to resolve it, he wouldn’t even be able to “regain” control of his body.
Fang Mingyue fled with him for an entire day and night before settling down in a building slated for demolition in the suburbs. Through Shen Ge’s communicator, she successfully made contact with Deng Yuqi.
Upon receiving Fang Mingyue’s message, Deng Yuqi’s side began arranging for people to bring Shen Ge back to the city without anyone noticing.
Until Shen Ge was picked up, Fang Mingyue had no choice but to continue playing the role of a “missing person.”
During this time, Shen Ge finally found a way to handle the massive influx of memories in his mind: he would use his Bizarre Territory to “hypnotize” himself, temporarily forgetting these memories.
Firstly, Shen Ge’s consciousness wasn’t fully awake. Furthermore, the overdraft of his body’s Anomaly Energy meant he couldn’t use his Bizarre Territory for the time being.
Just as he was at his wit’s end, he saw the wristwatch on his arm start moving on its own. And besides him, there was only one “non-human” who could control the Red Mist Battle Armor.
“Master, I’m back! Did you miss me?” Little Seven’s voice came from the watchband. Then, corrosive blood seeped from the watch, slowly gathering, until finally, it formed the shape of the corrosive blood monster right before Shen Ge’s eyes.
“Master, I think you could enter a jinxing competition. We were just joking in the dream world about pulling my battery, and before we even got out, my battery got pulled for real.”
“Luckily, I’m sharp. Before the Red Mist Battle Armor was drained of Anomaly Energy by you, I set aside a portion as backup ‘power,’ hidden in the core chip.”
“Although restarting the core chip and regaining control of the Red Mist Battle Armor took a little time, I succeeded in the end!”
“…”
Fang Mingyue was originally leaning against the wall, resting lightly. Hearing the commotion, she opened her eyes and instinctively drew her Anomaly Energy Handgun. But upon seeing the blood-red monster before her, she froze. “Shen Tan, you’re awake…”
Before she could finish her sentence, she saw Shen Ge slumped against the wall. Her expression tensed instantly, and she instinctively wanted to pounce forward and pull Shen Ge away from Little Seven.
Little Seven waved a hand and said, “Comrade Xiao Fang, we’ve fought side-by-side as comrades-in-arms. No need for such hostility when you see me.”
“You…” Seeing that the other party actually recognized her, and that its appearance was indeed the form Shen Ge took when wearing his battle armor, Fang Mingyue was utterly confused by the situation before her.
Little Seven briefly explained its situation, then added, “Have you forgotten that it was I who remotely guided you to rendezvous with the master inside the monster’s stomach?”
“You’re the battle armor’s AI?” Fang Mingyue suddenly remembered Little Seven. After all, she had been one of the witnesses when Little Seven was named.
“I have a name. I’m called Little Seven.” Little Seven stated its name with a serious tone.
Fang Mingyue hesitated, wanting to speak, and glanced at the semi-conscious Shen Ge beside her. She very much wanted to say, “Shen Tan, your artificial intelligence has become a spirit. Do you want to get up and take a look?” But she suppressed her urge to comment and asked curiously, “Then why were you… before?”
“Oh, because the master did something big this time, which caused my battery to be pulled. A small problem occurred, but it’s already been fixed.” Saying this, Little Seven’s arms transformed into slender corrosive blood tentacles—dozens of them—reaching toward Shen Ge.
Fang Mingyue said urgently, “Little Seven, what are you…”
Little Seven explained, “The master often complains to Director Li that the battle armor’s functions aren’t complete enough. He says even if it can’t dominate land, sea, and air, it should at least be equipped with all kinds of features. So, in the latest upgrade, Director Li added basic medical testing and treatment equipment to the armor. Simply put… the Red Mist Battle Armor can be considered a mobile emergency medical device.”
“…” Fang Mingyue had naturally heard of Li Xiang’s great name, but she couldn’t fathom how one would integrate medical equipment into a battle suit.
By then, Little Seven had finished its examination of Shen Ge and said, “The master’s body isn’t injured, but the condition of his brain is not quite right. It must have been affected by… something during that final exit, rendering his current consciousness unclear. Unfortunately, I can only test his physical condition. Without any external injuries, the medical tools are useless. We can only wait for Director Li to come to the rescue.”
As the intelligent AI constantly accompanying Shen Ge, Little Seven—even before becoming a spirit—knew what to say and what not to say. Even though Fang Mingyue was “one of their own,” it couldn’t explain the matter of the dream shards without Shen Ge’s authorization.
Fang Mingyue said, “I’ve already reported the situation to Minister Deng, and she’s arranged for people to pick up Shen Tan. My intention was to use our current location in the Da Jing suburbs to send him directly back to Rong City, but they want to bring him back into the city. That’s far too risky.”
Little Seven replied, “I believe the master would make the same choice if he were awake. That Director Chen you’re investigating—he was one of the leaders of the Monster Association back at the Rongshan Psychiatric Hospital. The master deduced they want to use this upcoming Asian Anomaly Research Symposium to achieve some goal, so they must be stopped.”
“They’re going to make a move at the Asian Anomaly Research Symposium?” Fang Mingyue asked urgently.
