“Target locked. Initiating scan now.”
“‘Weirdo,’ artificial trait ‘two heads and four arms,’ artificial eerie sequence 14, current rating 3, total eerie energy 1773%, number of eerie energy equipment worn: 3.”
“[Eerie Bone Gloves]”
“[Eerie Bone Dagger]”
“[Eerie Skin Coat]”
“Detected a ‘teleportation device’ on the target. Host, please proceed with caution.”
If Shen Ge remembered correctly, when he first met Fang Yaori, he had scanned him, and the other party’s eerie energy intensity had just surpassed a thousand, meaning he had only recently entered the third tier.
He hadn’t expected that after successfully surviving one episode of the Weirdo cell rampage, his eerie energy intensity had increased by nearly 800%, bringing him close to the strength of a fourth-tier Weirdo.
“Detective Shen, is there something wrong with me?” Fang Yaori saw Shen Ge staring at him without speaking and his heart, which had just settled back down, leaped into his throat again.
Shen Ge looked at the Eerie Bone Gloves on Fang Yaori’s left hand and asked, “Those gloves of yours… did Director Chen give them to you too?”
Fang Yaori was taken aback, not expecting Shen Ge to suddenly ask about the Eerie Bone Gloves. He said, “Yeah, these gloves, the dagger, and this leather coat I’m wearing inside—Director Chen said they were the standard three-piece set for elite anti-eerie agents… Wait, don’t tell me there’s something wrong with this equipment?”
As he spoke, Fang Yaori made a move to take off the Eerie Skin Coat, but Shen Ge stopped him. “No need. Although this three-piece set is standard equipment for the Twelve Branches members, it should be harmless to the body. What surprises me is that he would go to such lengths to think about you, his experimental subject.”
Fang Yaori felt Shen Ge’s words sounded a bit strange, as if giving him things was a waste of resources. Although reluctant, he told the truth: “Actually… Director Chen didn’t give me these three items willingly. I found them by chance in the lab, and he just gave me a rough idea of their functions. Last week, when the lab was clearing out the warehouse, I took advantage of the warehouse keeper’s distraction to grab a set for fun…”
“Wait, you took these yourself? They didn’t give them to you voluntarily? And these equipment pieces are also stored in a dedicated warehouse at the Second Special Policy Department’s research institute?” Shen Ge was startled. If that was true, wouldn’t it mean the Second Special Policy Department had been completely infiltrated by the Weirdo organization? Otherwise, how would they dare store Weirdo equipment so openly?
Fang Yaori explained, “No, not the Second Special Policy Department’s research institute. It was that secret research institute near the base we went to before.”
“So, did you take the teleportation device yourself too?” Shen Ge asked.
Fang Yaori was stunned. “Teleportation device? What’s that?”
This question also left Shen Ge stumped. At the same time, a crucial piece of information suddenly flashed through his mind.
“Xiao Qi, scan Fang Yaori for any items containing eerie energy!” Shen Ge immediately commanded.
“On it, Master!” Xiao Qi responded and immediately extended several rotting blood tentacles toward Fang Yaori. The action scared the other party so much he jumped back.
“De-Detective Shen, I, I I I don’t have that kind of hobby!” Fang Yaori said nervously.
Shen Ge’s expression darkened. “Shut up. Stand still and don’t move.”
“…”
It was no longer a question of whether Fang Yaori dared to move; Xiao Qi didn’t give him time to react. It bound him with the rotting blood tentacles and searched him, quickly finding the teleportation device hidden in the inner layer of the Eerie Skin Coat.
“What’s this?” Fang Yaori looked at the fingernail-sized thing found inside his coat and asked curiously.
Xiao Qi used its rotting blood tentacles to deliver the teleportation device to Shen Ge. “Master, the device has been active. It seems like the other side was collecting coordinate information.”
Hearing Xiao Qi’s words, Shen Ge’s scattered fragments of information instantly became clear. He had never understood why Director Chen chose Fang Yaori.
Now it seemed plausible that the Weirdo organization had known Shen Ge would come to the capital for an exchange and had deliberately arranged an eerie incident to bring him into contact with the “pawn” Fang Yaori.
Considering Shen Ge’s relationship with Fang Mingyue, upon seeing Fang Yaori being tricked into becoming a live Weirdo experiment, he would likely not just stand by and do nothing.
So whether Shen Ge took Fang Yaori back to the Rong City branch or kept him by his side, this teleportation device, capable of collecting coordinate information, would become key to obtaining intelligence on Shen Ge.
This explained why Fang Yaori could easily leave the research institute and effortlessly obtain the Weirdo three-piece set belonging to the Twelve Branches!
However, Director Chen probably never expected that Shen Ge’s dream world would “lose control” at just the right moment, dragging both him and Fang Yaori into it. Inside here, even if the teleportation device successfully collected coordinate information, there was no way to transmit it out.
To verify his speculation, Shen Ge took the teleportation device and activated it. Sure enough, the expected “white light” did not appear.
“Xiao Qi, can you crack this thing? Once we leave here, try to collect their coordinates,” Shen Ge said.
Xiao Qi wrapped the teleportation device in its rotting blood tentacles. “Got it, Master.”
The suspicions surrounding Fang Yaori were now resolved. The only remaining question was why Dr. Chen, originally from the Weirdo Association, was involved with the “artificial eeriness” and “Weirdo equipment” of the Twelve Branches. But this question could wait for now. The priority was figuring out how to leave the dream world.
“Detective Shen, what was that thing anyway?” Fang Yaori couldn’t suppress his curiosity and asked again.
Shen Ge said, “The reason you could freely enter and leave the research institute and easily obtain the Weirdo equipment is that Director Chen put a tracker on you. If they wanted, not only could they locate your position, but they could also immediately ‘teleport’ you back to the lab.”
“What? There’s such a thing?” Fang Yaori was stunned. After all, a word as magical as “teleportation” he had only encountered in games.
Shen Ge said, “Luckily, we were pulled into this eerie space, which severed the connection to the teleportation device. Otherwise, after obtaining my coordinates, they might have teleported you back without me noticing.”
“Uh, so being trapped in this eerie space turned out to be a good thing? But, Detective Shen, do we have a way out of here?” Fang Yaori asked.
Shen Ge opened the [Map] and saw that with the death of the fused Weirdo, the smaller red dots around them had all disappeared, apparently having fallen back into “slumber.”
However, Shen Ge had a general guess about the “key” to the dream world. He just needed to verify his hypothesis, and perhaps he could gain the ability to actively enter and exit the dream world.
“Let’s go. We’re heading back to the city.” To test his theory, Shen Ge had Fang Yaori drive back to the Ping An Hotel.
Under the pitch-black night sky, the capital had become a dead city. The surrounding buildings, alleys, and streets were packed with monsters that had become parasitized hosts, mechanically repeating the actions they had performed when human.
In the distance, the iconic spire of the “Doomsday Capital” pierced the clouds.
“De-Detective Shen, is this… still the capital?” Fang Yaori looked at the “familiar streets” transformed into an apocalyptic scene, even forgetting to step on the gas. The car slowly decelerated until it stopped.
“Yes, it is. It’s just that due to the influence of the eerie space, it’s showing what the capital might look like in the future if destroyed by eeriness,” Shen Ge explained roughly.
“And those monsters…” Fang Yaori looked towards the parasitized hosts in the alleys beside the street. The sound of the car had already drawn their attention, and they were slowly shuffling towards the vehicle.
The street ahead was clogged with abandoned cars, making it difficult to continue driving. Shen Ge simply had Fang Yaori get out, then used his rotting blood tentacles to wrap him up and leaped onto a distant building rooftop.
“To leave this eerie space, the exit is inside that spire,” Shen Ge said.
Fang Yaori looked at the gloomy spire in the distance and swallowed nervously. As long as he could leave this eerie space, it didn’t matter if it was a haunted tower or the gates of hell; he was willing to go through it.
Thanks to the mobility of his Red Mist Armor, Shen Ge didn’t find it troublesome to carry Fang Yaori. Along the way to the spire, he even used the surrounding parasitized hosts as excellent training dummies, letting Fang Yaori practice using the Eerie Bone Gloves and Eerie Bone Dagger to eliminate them, getting him accustomed to a Weirdo’s combat style.
At first, Fang Yaori was terrified. The moment he faced a parasitized host, his legs went weak. If Shen Ge hadn’t had Xiao Qi give him a hand with the rotting blood tentacles, even these lowest-level parasitized hosts could have easily torn him apart.
Later, Shen Ge simply started throwing Fang Yaori directly into groups of monsters. This “Garp-style” training method quickly helped Fang Yaori master his combat techniques.
Although Fang Yaori wasn’t particularly skilled, he was still a “third-tier Weirdo.” His physical attributes far exceeded those of these parasitized hosts, who were eliminated during the initial, unsuccessful infection stage.
Coupled with the assistance of the eerie energy equipment, dealing with them wasn’t too difficult.
Shen Ge was willing to spend some time “cultivating” Fang Yaori for two reasons: first, he didn’t want to waste such good resources; second, in case something unexpected happened inside the spire, this guy could at least rely on his own strength to protect himself.
The two made their way to the vicinity of the spire. Shen Ge had been here before and was used to the environment and monsters, but when Fang Yaori saw the disgusting fleshy vines crawling all over the outer wall, dozens of meters high, he immediately felt like retreating.
But Shen Ge gave him almost no time to think. He wrapped Fang Yaori in his rotting blood tentacles, channeled Red Mist eerie energy into his Eerie Skin Boots, and pushed their capability to the maximum.
Then, transforming into an octopus monster with his rotting blood tentacles, wielding multiple weapons, he charged into the horde of monsters, fighting his way to the dark entrance of the spire.
Fang Yaori was dumbfounded by Shen Ge’s god-of-war-like demeanor. As a third-tier Weirdo, he struggled to handle three or five parasitized hosts, yet these monsters were like weeds before Shen Ge, mowed down in swathes.
At that moment, Fang Yaori gained a profound understanding of the phrase his sister Fang Mingyue often uttered: “The Great Xia Empire’s number one eerie investigator.”
Arriving at the spire’s entrance, Shen Ge fully donned his full-body Red Mist Armor and also wrapped Fang Yaori from head to toe in his Rotting Blood Armor, instructing him, “Inside is a multi-layered eerie space, a world of pure darkness. Don’t panic once we’re inside. I’ll guide you forward. Don’t respond to anything you encounter, even if you ‘hear’ me talking… unless I actively release you from the armor’s restraints. Understood?”
Wrapped tightly in the rotting blood tentacles, Fang Yaori couldn’t speak, so he just nodded to show he understood.
Then, he felt Shen Ge “drag” him into a strange, eerie space.
The moment he entered, Fang Yaori felt a very bizarre sensation, as if the air in the entire space was compressed. An overwhelming pressure made it hard for him to breathe.
The air was thick with a strong stench of decay, a mix of the unique odor of eeriness and rotting corpses, nauseating enough to make one want to vomit.
But Fang Yaori couldn’t do anything about it. This feeling left him momentarily hopeless.
Fortunately, Shen Ge had been here before and was prepared for the conditions inside the spire. Following the method he used last time to leave the dark space, he had Xiao Qi lock onto the area with the most intense eerie energy fluctuations. Then, he expanded his own eerie domain and, using the mobility of the Red Mist Armor, dragged Fang Yaori as he “flew” towards the upper levels.
Soon, Fang Yaori felt like he had crashed into a violent tornado, his body swaying in the air like a kite with a broken string.
He was glad he remembered Shen Ge’s words: no matter what happened, as long as the rotting blood tentacles didn’t actively release him, he should just stay put and wait.
Fang Yaori gave up any struggle, letting the rotting blood tentacles drag him along.
Bang!
Fang Yaori felt himself slam into a wall. Fortunately, the rotting blood tentacles absorbed most of the impact.
But even so, it felt like his bones were about to shatter from the collision.
“Ah—”
Fang Yaori cried out in pain, only to find the rotting blood tentacles binding him had loosened. He looked up and saw Shen Ge standing nearby. They were now standing in front of a pitch-black wall. Shen Ge was using a lighter to examine the “wall.”
Rubbing his numb arm from the impact, Fang Yaori stood up. He followed the light from Shen Ge’s lighter and looked at the wall, noticing it had very textured patterns.
He initially thought these patterns were unique decorations, but upon closer inspection, he realized they weren’t “patterns” at all—they were a diagram of vascular pathways, like a branching tree.
“Detective Shen, what is this?” Fang Yaori asked, puzzled.
Shen Ge didn’t answer. Instead, he directly took out his Eerie-Exterminating Revolver and fired several shots at the doorknob on the wall. Pfft, the bullets pierced the doorknob. Immediately, black blood seeped from the knob, which then retracted as if the living organism had reacted to the attack.
“Step back,” Shen Ge said, then kicked the door open.
As soon as the door opened, Fang Yaori understood why Shen Ge had told him to step back. The spacious office behind the door was filled with disgusting tumors everywhere.
These tumors seemed to sense the commotion at the entrance. They all burst open, and disgusting Weirdos crawled out from within, shambling towards the two.
But unfortunately, before these monsters could get close to the entrance, Shen Ge set them all ablaze. Before Fang Yaori could even recover from his shock, the roaring fire filling the room suddenly extinguished. It was as if Shen Ge was a god of fire, capable of controlling combustion and extinguishing within a specific area at will.
Fang Yaori was extremely curious. The question “How did you do that?” was on the tip of his tongue, but he didn’t dare ask it again. Considering the bizarre and terrifying abilities Shen Ge had displayed along the way, he realized this was no longer something a human could achieve.
After all, Shen Ge was the Great Xia Empire’s number one eerie investigator. If he were a “Weirdo,” then the very heavens of the Great Xia Empire would come crashing down!
