Shen Ge’s silence made Fang Yaori’s heart leap into his throat. Although he had only known Shen Ge for about a day, whenever he was with his sister Fang Mingyue, he would always hear her talk about Shen Ge’s life story and his calm composure when facing high-level aberrations capable of destroying a city. It was as if there was nothing in this world that he found truly difficult to handle.
But now, Shen Ge was hesitating. This feeling was like going to the doctor, and the doctor, holding your test results, sighs before saying a word—it could scare a healthy person into thinking they have a terminal illness!
“Detective Shen, whatever it is, just tell me. I’m mentally prepared.” Fang Yaori forced himself to stay calm, gritting his teeth as he looked at Shen Ge.
However, Little Qi, who was actually controlling the Red Mist Battle Suit, knew best that the body wrapped in the rotten blood tentacles was trembling continuously because of fear.
Shen Ge thought for a moment, then said in a deep voice, “The aberrant cells that were dormant on your neck have awakened. As far as I know, once these aberrant cells awaken, they start to devour your own cells. If the aberrant cells are allowed to completely take over, you’ll turn into a flesh monster.”
Fang Yaori was stunned upon hearing this. If someone else had told him this a day ago, he would have scoffed and maybe even punched them.
But after a night of bizarre events, witnessing Shen Ge’s capabilities firsthand, and seeing the terror of aberrations and aberrants, his trust in Shen Ge had reached an unprecedented level.
“…”
After a moment of silence, Fang Yaori asked, “So… there’s really no way?”
Shen Ge sighed, “If we were at the Rong City branch right now, maybe the research department could think of a way to suppress the spread of the aberrant cells. But we’re trapped in the aberration space, and it might take a while to get out. I doubt there are the conditions here to stop your aberrant cells from spreading.”
Fang Yaori fell silent again, then said firmly, “Then… Detective Shen, don’t worry about me. Find a way to leave here first. If, I mean if, I really turn into one of those monsters, please kill me… Don’t let me go back to the real world to harm others. And also… also don’t tell my sister. Just pretend I’m missing.”
Fang Yaori’s words immediately made Shen Ge see him in a new light. At a time like this, telling the truth might not actually help Fang Yaori control the aberrant cells. After thinking it over, he said:
“Don’t be so pessimistic either. As far as I know, after humans receive aberrant cell transplants, they must activate the aberrant cells to gain aberrant power. In other words, those guys in the aberrant organizations are always on the verge of being consumed by the aberrant cells. If your willpower is strong enough, you might be able to withstand the devouring. As long as you hold on until we leave this aberration space, we can find a way to help you.”
Fang Yaori asked, “Really… is that possible?”
“Well, there’s no better option right now, is there? Just try your best to stay conscious. Tell me immediately if anything feels wrong with your body, and I’ll find a way to figure out how to get out of this aberration space as soon as possible.” Shen Ge said.
Fang Yaori nodded firmly, “Don’t worry, Detective Shen. I might not be as capable as my sister, but as a member of the Fang family, I won’t let these aberrant cells control me easily.”
As they were talking, Little Qi suddenly reminded him, “Master, did you forget about the things you brought back from the dream world?”
That’s right!
With Little Qi’s reminder, Shen Ge suddenly remembered that when he fell into a deep sleep at his mentor’s house and entered the dream world, he not only brought back quite a few living experimental subjects from Rongshan Psychiatric Hospital to the real world, but also some of Dr. Chen’s “antibody samples” and research materials.
If the “Supervisor Chen” Fang Yaori mentioned was indeed Dr. Chen, then the aberrant samples used might be from the same experimental protocol. Of course, confirming this based on just a name wasn’t reliable, but if Fang Yaori completely lost control, these “antibody samples” could be used as a last resort, a Hail Mary pass.
Shen Ge didn’t tell Fang Yaori this. He preferred to hope that Fang Yaori could control the spread of the aberrant cells through sheer willpower.
Fang Yaori had already undergone the aberrant experiment; it was irreversible. Rather than letting him be completely consumed by the aberrant cells and turn into a mindless flesh monster with no research value, it was better for him to rely on his own will to overcome them, thereby becoming something similar to those in the aberrant organization—a genuine “aberrant”.
Whether Fang Yaori later joined the Special Strategy Department as a research subject or became a “hidden combat power” for the Fang family, either outcome was better than turning into a flesh monster.
Shen Ge had Little Qi monitor Fang Yaori’s changes, then focused on detecting their surroundings, continuing to walk deeper into the corridor.
Gurgle.
Gurgle.
At that moment, a clear, eerie swallowing sound came faintly from the darkness.
[Warning!]
The sudden warning sound startled Shen Ge. Ever since he reached Tier 4, the system had rarely actively warned him.
If it was warning him now, did it mean danger was approaching?
Shen Ge instinctively became alert, but then heard the system in his mind continue:
[Detected powerful aberrant energy fluctuations from a Tier 5 aberrant. Based on the host’s current strength, forcing a fight would be more loss than gain. Analysis shows the winning rate is less than 30%. Please cherish your life, host, and flee immediately!]
Huh?
Shen Ge was taken aback. He clearly didn’t expect the system to pop up specifically to remind him, almost like it was cheering him on to go and take down the Tier 5 aberrant right away.
He’d fought through situations with a slim chance of survival before. A less than 30% winning chance practically meant it was in the bag, right?
Receiving the system’s “affirmation,” Shen Ge’s confidence soared. He immediately quickened his pace, heading towards the source of the swallowing sound ahead.
This system reminder wasn’t so much a warning to Shen Ge as it was a notification, telling him that the main body of the aberrant fused with the building was right at the end of this path.
So when he quickened his pace to the end and saw a blood-red “sliding door” blocking his way, he instinctively thought of the fused aberrant’s “heart.”
This door looked both disgusting and terrifying, like layers of peeled human skin piled together to form a thick barrier. The walls on the left and right were decaying flesh covered in nasty-looking fat.
Shen Ge immediately deployed his Intangible Domain and used “Collapse” on the fleshy door. The next second, the “door” in front of him began to warp violently.
This was the effect of the collision between the Intangible Domain’s aberrant energy and that of the “door.” Whichever side’s aberrant energy intensity prevailed would control the direction of the distortion.
With the aberrant energy supply from the Red Mist Battle Suit, forcing his way through with “Collapse” wasn’t impossible for Shen Ge, but it would likely consume unnecessary aberrant energy.
Shen Ge decided to first use some conventional methods to deplete the enemy’s energy. With his Bloodskin Backpack, he was essentially carrying a mobile arsenal. He had prepared various aberrant energy weapons and explosives, not to mention his little hobby of clearing out other countries’ weapon stockpiles.
Shen Ge took a rocket launcher from his Bloodskin Backpack and hoisted it onto his shoulder. This bizarre scene startled Fang Yaori, who had been behind him, steadfastly fighting the aberrant cells in his mind. His expression became rather peculiar.
He can carry a rocket launcher around with him?
Ever since the aberrant energy rocket launcher was developed, Shen Ge had grown particularly fond of it. It was much handier to use than aberrant energy pistols or submachine guns.
As they say, all fear stems from insufficient firepower. The advent of the aberrant energy rocket launcher had indeed given the Special Strategy Department a significant advantage in operations against aberrations. This was also a key reason why, in recent years, aberrant incidents abroad had become increasingly uncontrollable, while the situation in the Great Heavenly Dynasty remained under control.
With a “whoosh,” the rocket-propelled grenade streaked towards the fleshy door, trailing a long fiery tail. It exploded with a “bang,” sending a wave of fire and blasting a hole in the door.
Standing before the door, Shen Ge used a rotten blood tentacle to shine a flashlight inside. He saw a huge blood tumor occupying most of the room. This tumor pulsed like a heart, “thump-thump,” looking incredibly disgusting and visually impactful.
Fang Yaori then noticed some items inside the room corroded by the tumor and exclaimed excitedly, “Detective Shen, this, this is the interrogation room!”
But before he could finish, Shen Ge noticed the fleshy door, which had been blasted open by the aberrant energy rocket, was healing at a visible speed.
However, Shen Ge had never expected a single aberrant energy rocket to kill the fused aberrant’s heart. His expectation was merely to save his own aberrant energy, at most to “break the defense.”
Now, the rocket had clearly exceeded his expectations. The next step was to use his Intangible Domain’s “Collapse” to press the advantage!
Intangible Domain!
Collapse!
Shen Ge raised his hand, his domain rapidly expanding. A surge of powerful aberrant energy shot directly towards the hole created by the rocket. Simultaneously, Little Qi quickly directed the Red Mist Battle Suit to convert aberrant energy, continuously supplying Shen Ge with red aberrant energy to enhance the “Collapse” power and suppress the door’s healing.
Although the fused aberrant was rated as high as Tier 5, with aberrant energy intensity double that of Shen Ge, Shen Ge was at a critical moment, on the verge of breaking through to Tier 5, and was backed by the devastating power of the Red Mist Battle Suit.
Remember, Shen Ge had perfectly merged with the Progenitor Aberrant Cells, and the Red Mist Battle Suit was itself a product continuously upgraded based on those same cells. Just comparing aberrant energy intensity, the combination of the two was clearly greater than that of the fused aberrant before him.
Ten seconds!
In just ten seconds, not only had the fused aberrant’s rapidly healing door failed to shrink the hole, but Shen Ge had also forcibly opened it halfway.
Gurgle.
Gurgle.
Just then, along with the eerie swallowing sound, a twisted, hideous human face suddenly emerged on the surface of the tumor inside the room.
It opened a massive maw and lunged directly at Shen Ge, who didn’t dodge or evade, seemingly allowing the aberrant to bite him.
“Detective Shen!”
This move made Fang Yaori extremely anxious, wishing he could transform into an aberrant himself to tackle Shen Ge out of the way. But his strength wasn’t even enough to break free from the rotten blood tentacles, let alone help.
The ghastly face swallowed Shen Ge whole in one bite. But unfortunately for it, its biting force was far from enough to crush Shen Ge, and it couldn’t even breach the Red Mist Battle Suit’s defense.
The next second—
Pfft!
A spray of blood burst from the ghastly face’s mouth. Shen Ge had transformed into an octopus-like monster, holding a butcher knife in one hand and an aberrant energy dagger in the other. With Little Qi simultaneously controlling the other rotten blood tentacles, each wielding various weapons, and under the effect of his domain’s “Bullet Time,” he delivered over a hundred strikes in just a few seconds, exploding the ghastly face’s head from the inside!
Severely wounded, the ghastly face tried to retract back into the tumor. Little did it expect that Shen Ge had prepared a generous gift for it. As it retreated, it dragged a large pile of high-explosive aberrant energy charges back inside the tumor with it.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
With a series of explosions, the entire building shook violently. The tumor, already on the verge of collapse from Shen Ge’s repeated “Collapse” attacks, was now blasted from within, teetering precariously.
Shen Ge never gave his enemies a chance to catch their breath. The next second, he charged into the room, butcher knife in hand, hacking and slashing wildly, dicing and shredding the “heart tumor”!
[Host has killed a Tier 5 aberration. Reward: 1000 System Points, 3x F-tier supplies. Aberration corpse can be sold for System Points to draw various equipment and items.]
[Selling Tier 5 aberration — Value: 3000 System Points.]
That cheap?
It wasn’t surprising that aberrations and aberrants didn’t have a “unified price” in the system, but for a high-ranking Tier 5 fused aberrant to be worth less than some Tier 4 aberration was truly a bit embarrassing.
“Tsk, no wonder it just stood rooted like a mountain giant, only good for bluffing with its huge body.”
“Oh well.”
Shen Ge casually sold the corpse. Although this fused aberrant was a bit disappointing, it still contained remnants of Progenitor Aberrant Cells. Therefore, when the system absorbed it, it instantly made up for that missing “1%,” causing the system to successfully crash and enter an upgrade state.
But before Shen Ge could even check the system’s series of notifications, the entire building had already begun to collapse rapidly. Even with the Red Mist Battle Suit protecting him, he had to get out quickly to avoid being buried in the rubble.
At that moment, the ceiling and floor began to cave in continuously. Fortunately, this wasn’t Shen Ge’s first time dismantling a giant aberration or aberrant from the inside. He had experience. Relying on the Red Mist Battle Suit’s maneuverability and the advantage of his Intangible Domain, he directly adopted a “wall-phasing” tactic, charging all the way towards the periphery.
Boom!
Boom!
The collapse was faster than Shen Ge had anticipated. Just as he used “Collapse” to pass through the final wall, the entire building completely crumbled, like a sandcastle.
Landing in the courtyard, to avoid being buried by the debris, Shen Ge continuously extended rotten blood tentacles, grabbing Fang Yaori and swinging him towards safe areas.
“Master, the aberrant cells inside Fang Yaori seem to be affected by the aberrant energy fluctuations from the fused aberrant’s collapse. They’re starting to get out of control now!” Little Qi reminded.
Shen Ge was speechless upon hearing this. Of all times to lose control, it had to happen while they were fleeing for their lives. There was no sign of leaving the dream world yet, so obviously he couldn’t count on taking Fang Yaori out to find a way to stabilize his cells.
“Only one way left, a Hail Mary pass… Little Qi, inject him with the antibody samples!” Shen Ge said, using the rotten blood tentacles and the “No Release” effect of his aberrant gloves to climb onto the roof of a building in the dormitory area.
He placed Fang Yaori on the ground and released the rotten blood tentacles wrapping him. Fang Yaori’s face was now covered with black veins like a spiderweb. The blood tumor on his neck had spread to cover most of it, and he could clearly see the veins on his neck writhing like worms.
“Shen… Detect…”
“Save…”
“Me.”
