The System Arrived Four Years Early, but the Anomaly Is Still a Juvenile - Chapter 129

The next second, the person who leaped off the overbridge dove into the massive, eerie black mist of the gigantic anomaly like a diver, vanishing without a trace.

This couldn’t help but make Shen Ge wonder. Although prolonged inhalation of this anomalous black mist was necessary to cause physical mutation in humans, it didn’t rule out the existence of parasitic anomalies that could directly harm or parasitically mutate the human body. Moreover, according to Li Xiang’s research report, the “non-mutative” premise was based on low-level anomalous energy.

The higher the rating of the anomalous energy, the greater the probability and speed of it causing mutations in humans. This was why, even when facing low-level anomalies, the Special Response Division required protective suits.

The relentless research into anomalous energy protective suits in Dianzhou was precisely aimed at dealing with anomalies rated Level 2 and above.

For this guy to dare dive directly into the anomalous black mist of a Level 3 anomaly and “swim” in it—even without a system warning—Shen Ge guessed he was most likely one of the Twelve Branches.

Now he had to go take a look!

Shen Ge charged toward the moving gigantic anomaly. This behemoth, nearly 30 meters tall, was only at Level 3 anomalous energy. If it were allowed to continue growing, wouldn’t it become an island if released into the sea?

With each step the gigantic anomaly took, the ground shook violently. Those shop-style buildings, two or three stories high, seemed as flimsy as paper in front of it.

The closer Shen Ge got, the more it felt like he was watching a live-action monster from a tokusatsu film destroying a town. The thunderous sound of each step, the collapse of buildings—this immersive terror could only be felt by those near the gigantic anomaly.

“Could this thing’s original form be an elephant?” The thought flashed through Shen Ge’s mind, but reality was clearly different.

Anomalies were mutated from animals, and increased size was common after mutation. For example, anomalous rats could become larger than cats, and anomalous cats could grow to the size of leopards.

With each subsequent evolution, their size could change further.

But even the largest anomaly Shen Ge had previously encountered, “No Exit,” achieved its enormous size only after merging with a building.

For this anomaly to already be so massive at Level 3 was far too unusual.

Moreover, Shen Ge had reviewed the map of Haicheng District before entering the lockdown zone. Haicheng District didn’t have a zoo, making it unlikely for an animal like an elephant to appear.

What it originally was no longer mattered. What was important was finding a way to claim those 1,500 system points and, in passing, take care of the Twelve Branches member.

When Shen Ge was about twenty meters away from the gigantic anomaly, he snapped his fingers and chose to deploy the full-functionality, full-body attachment-type combat armor.

Although this would consume a significant amount of anomalous energy, climbing this behemoth required the anomalous glove “No Release,” which was essential.

To defend against the Level 3 anomaly’s anomalous energy, the full-body attachment-type armor capable of blocking anomalous energy erosion was also indispensable. Add to that the anomalous leather boots for enhanced mobility, the anomalous shield for strengthened defense…

Engaging a member of the Twelve Branches of unknown depth in an unknown area, conserving anomalous energy would undoubtedly be gambling with his life.

This was the first time Shen Ge had deployed the armor in its full-functionality mode. Without needing to snap his fingers to change the armor’s attachment form mid-process, he could access all the armor’s functions at once, making it incredibly convenient to use.

“I really need to find a way to capture a few more high-level anomalies and have Li Xiang solve this energy charging issue sooner,” Shen Ge thought to himself.

Shen Ge felt the vibrations from the gigantic anomaly’s steps, gauging the distance between them to avoid being squashed into a pancake the moment he entered the anomalous black mist.

He took out the black bone dagger and gripped it tightly, took a deep breath, listened carefully for final adjustments, and then leaped with all his might, maximizing the jumping power of the anomalous leather boots as he plunged into the black mist.

Thud!

The next second, Shen Ge felt as if he had crashed into a thick, mist-shrouded city wall. The body hidden within the anomalous black mist was much closer than he had anticipated, and he collided with it completely unprepared.

However, the full-body armor absorbed most of the impact, and Shen Ge was unharmed. Reacting quickly, he gripped the dagger with one hand and reached out with the other, trying to grab onto something hidden within the anomalous black mist—like the leg hair or fine fur of an elephant?

The black bone dagger in his hand, held in a forward thrusting position, pierced into the black mist in front of him. At that moment, Shen Ge realized that aside from the large cloud of black mist enveloping the gigantic anomaly, there was another layer of anomalous black mist covering its body surface. This was the most common defensive method of anomalies, so it wasn’t surprising.

However, his hand probing into the anomalous black mist found nothing to grab, as if touching something smooth, hard, and stone-like.

Fortunately, the black bone dagger had exceptional armor-piercing capabilities; otherwise, he wouldn’t even be able to “hang” onto this leg. The anomalous leather boots had a maximum jumping height of 8-10 meters, meaning Shen Ge’s current position was less than a third of the way up the gigantic anomaly’s height. Climbing to its back was proving more troublesome than expected, and Shen Ge felt a headache coming on.

Shen Ge tried having the anomalous stomach transform into a giant mouth to bite upward, but unfortunately, it couldn’t bite through the anomaly’s body, which was enveloped in anomalous black mist.

“If only I had two black bone daggers,” Shen Ge thought, feeling somewhat helpless. He pulled out the dagger and jumped down from the anomaly’s body.

After landing, Shen Ge quickly ran and leaped forward, overtaking the gigantic anomaly and running into a nearby high-rise residential area.

Based on the direction the gigantic anomaly was moving, he judged its general path and rushed toward a tall building facing the street. He ran all the way to the sixteenth floor, broke open a door, stood by the window to check the gigantic anomaly’s position.

The gigantic anomaly was still approaching. Shen Ge stood in the center of the living room, timed it perfectly, and leaped fiercely, jumping down from the 16th floor.

At that impact speed and force, if he failed to land on the gigantic anomaly’s back and hit the ground directly, even with the full-body attachment armor, he would undoubtedly be severely injured or killed.

“Woo-hoo~! Liftoff!”

Clearly, the person involved didn’t think it was dangerous.

“Little Seven, prepare for landing!”

“Received, Master!”

Shen Ge plunged into the black mist. The full-body attachment armor underwent subtle changes, with rotten flesh rapidly stacking in front of him to prevent him from being shattered to pieces upon impact with the anomaly.

Simultaneously, a rotten flesh tentacle extended forward.

“Master, 3 meters left!” Little Seven’s extended rotten flesh tentacle touched the anomaly’s back and immediately relayed the information to Shen Ge.

Shen Ge timed it perfectly, landed, rolled to dissipate the force, flipped his hand, drew the black bone dagger, and stabbed it into the gigantic anomaly’s back. He gripped the dagger with both hands but still slid a considerable distance.

The gigantic anomaly had a bloody gash sliced open by the black bone dagger, but the next second, it was covered and healed by the anomalous black mist. Its regeneration speed was likely even faster than that of the anomalous rats in the underground containment room.

After stabilizing himself, Shen Ge attempted to stand up.

The gigantic anomaly’s massive body made for significant movement with each step, but standing on its back wasn’t as difficult as imagined.

“Little Seven, stay alert.” With the system currently down and unable to rely on its warnings, the pitch-black anomalous black mist severely limited visibility. Relying solely on his own judgment was clearly unreliable.

“Received, Master!” Little Seven shifted some of the rotten flesh covering Shen Ge’s left arm, forming several tentacles to probe the surroundings.

Shen Ge still wore the anomalous bracer on his left arm, so even with some rotten flesh moved away, he wasn’t completely defenseless.

In the anomalous black mist where you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face, Shen Ge could only carefully move forward, relying on Little Seven’s tentacles to feel the way.

Three minutes.

Five minutes.

Ten minutes.

After advancing a distance, the originally smooth back gradually developed hard, stone-like “pillars.” With Little Seven’s warning, Shen Ge knew about these pillars in advance and even tested their hardness with the black bone dagger. They were much harder than the anomaly’s back shell.

Shen Ge held his breath, listening to every movement around him. Suddenly, amidst the enormous noise of the gigantic anomaly’s steps, he faintly heard a “ding, ding, ding” sound coming from directly ahead.

Shen Ge immediately instinctively activated “Intangibility + Silence.” At that moment, a faint red glow appeared in the black mist ahead.

“Little Seven, return,” Shen Ge said.

Little Seven immediately retracted its tentacles and covered Shen Ge’s left arm. Shen Ge then slowly approached the red light. As he got closer, he saw a pillar somewhat similar to the ones he’d seen before, but this one was emitting an eerie red light. In front of it stood a lantern.

Within the range illuminated by this leather lantern, the anomalous black mist was actually dispersed, revealing an area about three to four meters wide.

A man wearing a black hoodie with the hood up was using a strange mechanical tool to tap and knock on the red-glowing pillar.

Shen Ge moved closer for a look. The unshaven half of the face visible under the hood revealed a middle-aged man. The character “酉” (yǒu/Rooster) was embroidered on the hood.

“Well, another one I haven’t seen before.”

Shen Ge circled “You” twice, observing him carefully. Under the influence of “Intangibility + Silence,” the other party was completely unaware of him, still focused intently on tapping the red pillar.

Two minutes later, “You” tapped a small hole into the red pillar, then took an iron chain from his pocket, threaded it through the pillar, and made a loop.

“You” pulled the chain fiercely. The “ground” suddenly shook violently. The gigantic anomaly let out a piercing roar and actually stopped moving.

“This thing can control the gigantic anomaly?” Shen Ge moved closer to look but couldn’t see anything special about the iron chain.

Then, he saw “You” manipulating the chain like reins. The gigantic anomaly seemed to be struggling, its entire body shaking violently.

“Gulp.”

“Gulp.”

Each time the gigantic anomaly made a deafening swallowing sound, it was like a thunderclap striking right beside Shen Ge, nearly deafening him.

“You” held onto the chain tightly, took out the instrument he had used to drill into the red pillar earlier, and began tapping the red pillar again, over and over.

Ding.

With each tap, the gigantic anomaly would let out an earth-shaking swallowing sound. “You” would then pull the chain again, trying to control the gigantic anomaly.

This stalemate lasted about ten minutes. As the gigantic anomaly roared, cracking sounds came from within the surrounding black mist.

A stone pillar beside Shen Ge suddenly “shattered,” transforming into a hard-shelled anomaly resembling a stone pillar, like a beetle, and began moving toward “You.”

Shen Ge had just been wondering how a behemoth like the gigantic anomaly would respond if someone attacked it on its back. Now it had started “spawning (offspring).”

These newly born Level 1 anomalies slowly converged on “You,” their hard-shelled arms extending octopus-like tentacles to ensnare him.

“You,” with one hand gripping the chain tightly, used another hand to pull out a silver Colt Python revolver and fired at the pointed, armored head of one of the charging anomalies.

Bang!

The muzzle of the silver revolver erupted with an anomalous “red” light. Hitting the beetle anomaly’s head, it exploded like a bomb, shattering the carapace to pieces!

The revolver held six rounds. “You” used six shots to eliminate six anomalies. Even though these anomalies were just newly mutated “cannon fodder,” this firepower was far stronger than a typical assault rifle.

“Tsk tsk, that’s a nice gun.” Seeing the gun’s terrifying power, Shen Ge had already mentally tagged it as his future property.

However, although the revolver’s power was impressive, its six-round capacity was a major limitation. “You” wrapped the chain around his arm, holding it tightly.

Simultaneously, two more arms emerged from his clothing. One picked up the red leather lantern at his feet, and the other began loading red bullets.

Shen Ge moved close to “You” and carefully observed the bullets in his hand. Rather than bullets, they looked more like bullet-shaped “bugs,” squirming even as they were loaded into the gun.

“So it’s another method of using anomalies to fight anomalies.” Shen Ge straightened up and took a step back to avoid being accidentally hit when “You” fired.

After “You” finished off the beetle-like, hard-shelled anomalies, he saw him pull the chain with one hand while using the mechanical device to tap the red pillar with another.

The gigantic anomaly was still trying to struggle, but as “You” pulled the chain repeatedly, its movements gradually subsided. Finally, it seemed to squat down with a “boom.” Even Shen Ge felt the sinking sensation. Then, the gigantic anomaly became completely still.

“You,” using all four arms, pulled the chain. You could tell he was straining even his facial muscles. After several pulls, like someone breaking a horse, the gigantic anomaly let out deafening swallowing sounds and stood up again.

At that moment, Shen Ge was surprised to see the surrounding anomalous black mist rapidly being absorbed by the red pillar, gradually revealing the anomaly’s form.

From its appearance, this anomaly somewhat resembled an elephant, or more precisely, a combination of an elephant and an octopus. Its body was covered in thick, elephant-like skin, with red spikes all around its head. Its trunk resembled an octopus tentacle, looking utterly disgusting.

Shen Ge and “You” were standing right on the back of the anomaly’s neck. This upright red pillar was also slightly different from the other surrounding spikes.

Since “You” was already working on this red pillar when Shen Ge found him, it was unclear whether he had hammered it into the elephant anomaly’s body or pulled it out.

Under “You’s” control, the gigantic anomaly slowly turned around and began walking back in the direction it came from.

“Is he planning to use this gigantic anomaly to break through the blockade line?” Shen Ge saw “You’s” intention and naturally wouldn’t let him continue.

“You” was still focused on controlling the gigantic anomaly, completely unaware of the impending danger.

“Hey, what’s the fare for hitchhiking on an anomaly?” Shen Ge’s slightly teasing voice sounded behind “You,” startling him so much he immediately drew his gun and fired backward.

Bang!

The shot missed. Shen Ge’s figure appeared on the other side. He was now in a state where the armor had completely receded, holding no weapons, calmly staring at “You.”

“That gun has six bullets. You killed five anomalies earlier, and now you’ve fired another shot… Friendly reminder, you’re out of ammo.” Shen Ge looked at “You” pointing the gun at him, completely unruffled.

“You’s” red arm immediately reached into his pocket. The moment it went in, his expression changed dramatically!

“Looking for this?” Shen Ge opened his hand, revealing a handful of red bullets.

“When did you take those?” “You” asked in shock.

Shen Ge smiled and pocketed the bullets. “Just now. My ‘Flying Dragon Cloud-Grasping Hand’ is pretty good, don’t you think?”

“Impossible!” Even while focused on controlling the gigantic anomaly, and even when surrounded by the newly hatched beetle anomalies earlier, “You” had been constantly aware of his surroundings. There was no way the other party could have stolen the bullets without him noticing.

“You’re… Shen Ge from the Rong City Branch?” “You” narrowed his eyes, clearly recognizing Shen Ge.

Shen Ge smiled slightly. “Want an autograph?”

“…”
“You’s” eyes flashed with hesitation, but the next second, he reached into his other pocket. Then, his whole person was stunned.

“Looking for this?” Shen Ge took out a white remote control about three fingers wide and waved it in front of “You.” Then, he pulled out the mechanical device “You” had used to tap the red pillar earlier.

“Oh, and this too.”

“And a set of keys.”

“A walkie-talkie?”

“Hey, my ‘Flying Dragon Cloud-Grasping Hand’ is pretty good, right?”

Shen Ge displayed the items he’d pickpocketed from “You” one by one like treasures, then tossed them into the blood-leather backpack. He also took out “戌’s” (xū) head.

“Oh, by the way, do you guys still want this thing? If not, I’ll find a place to bury it. Carrying it around for so long and you never came to take it back. So boring.” Shen Ge complained.

“…”
“You’s” expression changed drastically, his gaze darkening. Clearly, Shen Ge’s actions had shaken him mentally, making him realize why the organization had labeled Shen Ge as “dangerous.”

This guy was unfathomably, ridiculously strong!

Even during internal sparring within the Twelve Branches, no one could steal something from him without him noticing, let alone strip him clean of everything on his person!

How did he do it?
“You” had no time to ponder how Shen Ge did it. Now the teleporter was in the other’s hands, his equipment was in the other’s hands.

He couldn’t run, and fighting… might not be winnable either.

But clearly, “You” didn’t plan to just wait for death. He suddenly released the chain in his hand. The gigantic anomaly went berserk instantly.

Its massive head swayed left and right, smashing the surrounding buildings to pieces.

Shen Ge grabbed the chain “You” had released and tried to imitate his earlier method to tame the gigantic anomaly, but it struggled even more violently.

“Hey, isn’t this a bad time to think about running?” As soon as Shen Ge spoke, he suddenly reached out. “You,” who had been about to jump off the anomaly, felt his body sink. The next moment, half his body was buried within the gigantic anomaly’s body. No matter how he struggled, he couldn’t break free.

“What is this?” “You” was shocked. He couldn’t figure out how Shen Ge possessed such a bizarre ability. Was it some kind of anomalous energy equipment?

“Hey, how do you operate this thing?” Shen Ge asked, holding the chain.

“Do you think I would…”

Before “You” could finish, Shen Ge raised his hand. The anomalous stomach flew out and bit directly at one of “You’s” hands, then quickly retracted, tearing the hand right off.

“What were you saying just now? The sound was too low; I couldn’t hear clearly.” Shen Ge shook his hand and tossed “You’s” severed arm aside.

“You wish…”

Splat!

With a spray of blood, Shen Ge manipulated the anomalous stomach to tear off “You’s” second hand.

“I heard you have six hands. Hurry up and bring out the other four limbs, or I’ll have to go for the head!” Shen Ge said with a smile.

“I’d rather die than…”

Shen Ge reached out again. The anomalous stomach transformed into a giant mouth and bit toward “You’s” head. This time, however, he didn’t tear the head off like he did with the arms. Instead, he had the anomalous stomach secrete anomalous gastric acid, slowly digesting “You’s” head.

“Ah—”

“Ah!!”

“Ah!!!”

“You,” trapped within the anomalous stomach, let out heart-wrenching screams. As the sounds grew weaker, his head was gradually completely corroded by the anomalous stomach.

Shen Ge retracted the anomalous stomach. With one hand holding the chain to prevent being thrown off by the wildly struggling gigantic anomaly, he walked up to “You’s” body and kicked it with his foot.

“Hey, stop playing dead. I know you still have two heads left. If you want to keep dragging this out, I’ll let you taste some more anomalous gastric acid.”

“You’s” neck bulged with a red tumor, which “popped” open, slowly growing a completely different-looking young man’s head.

“Tsk tsk, even though it’s not the first time I’ve seen this, it still feels amazing.” Shen Ge sighed.

“You” glared at Shen Ge angrily. “What do you want?”

“First, tell me how to stop this thing. Then we can slowly discuss what comes next.” Shen Ge waved the chain in his hand and said.

“Grab the chain. There’s a ring buckle in the middle. Put your hand through the ring, then pull the chain while tapping the red anomalous crystal with the mechanical device.” “You” said through gritted teeth.

Shen Ge bent down, picked up one of “You’s” severed arms, and had Little Seven use the rotten flesh to control this hand and put it through the pull ring on the chain. “Borrowing your hand. You don’t mind, do you?”

“…” I mind.

“You” was now furious but didn’t dare speak. No wonder “戌” had been defeated by this guy, and “亥” (hài) had failed to retrieve “戌’s” remains from him. This guy was as dangerous as the files said.

Shen Ge didn’t know what “You” was thinking. Following “You’s” method, he successfully controlled the gigantic anomaly, making it sit down.

“Tell me, where did you get this chain? It can actually control a Level 3 anomaly.” After gaining control of the gigantic anomaly, Shen Ge sat down casually and asked “You” like they were old friends chatting.

“You” replied, “The Beast-Locking Chain and the Red Anomalous Crystal are single-use anomalous energy equipment. By driving the Red Anomalous Crystal into the anomaly’s body and using the Beast-Locking Chain and the control hammer in your hand, you can restrain the anomaly. However, it can only follow simple commands. Moreover, over time, the anomalous energy within the Red Anomalous Crystal will deplete, and the anomaly can break free from the Beast-Locking Chain’s restraint.”

“I see. How long does it usually last?” Shen Ge asked.

“You” replied, “At most two to three hours. Depending on the anomaly’s rating, the higher the level of the restrained anomaly, the shorter the control time.”

“Your organization’s standards are quite high. You can actually develop such high-end anomalous energy equipment. What about this anomaly-killing gun? Is it also your technology? Can it be mass-produced?” Shen Ge asked again.

“You” snorted coldly. “Don’t even think about it. Starting from most Level 2 anomalies, the only way to deal with anomalies is to use things from the anomalies themselves. Simply put, only anomalous energy can harm anomalies. These bullets, the Red Anomalous Crystal, they are all based on anomaly corpses. Where would we get so many high-level anomaly corpses to manufacture them?”

“That’s true. Headquarters must have spent a lot of money on this, right?” Shen Ge asked casually with a smile.

“You” said coldly, “Are you an idiot? Can anomalous energy equipment be developed just with money? The bullets fired by this gun are each made from the flesh of a Level 3 anomaly. Do you think you can buy a Level 3 anomaly’s corpse with all the money in the world?”

“What’s there to fear? It’s our Special Response Division headquarters, after all. Never mind the number of people, but there’s definitely plenty of money. If one billion isn’t enough, then ten billion. Surely they can research it, right?” Shen Ge said with a laugh.

“You” frowned, looking at Shen Ge with confusion. “What nonsense are you spouting? What does this have to do with your Special Response Division?”

“Stop pretending. Even though we’re on different lines, the underlying connection is at least the same. You don’t expect me to whisper ‘Long live the Twelve Branches’ in your ear for you to believe me, do you?” Shen Ge said seriously.

“You” sighed. “Trying to fish for information is pointless. I believe ‘戌’ has already told you: if you want to know about the organization, you must join it.”

“I did join. Isn’t it that no one has taken me to headquarters yet?”

“Do you think I believe that?”

Their eyes met. “You” could see Shen Ge was trying to fish for information, and Shen Ge could see this guy, like “戌,” had no intention of saying much about the Twelve Branches.

“How about this? Let’s make a deal. You tell me how you can merge with anomalies and still live well, and I’ll let you go. How about that?” Shen Ge asked with a smile.

“You” also smiled. “Do you think I’m that stupid?”

“Then we’ll have to use some methods. Our ancestors left behind many inventions of wisdom, such as these torture techniques…” Shen Ge took out the butcher knife and squatted in front of “You.” The smile on his face gave off a very dangerous feeling.

As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Ge placed the butcher knife against “You’s” nose.

“Ah!!!”

“Ah!!!”

…
…

Jing University.

“Captain Feng, your driving skills have gotten worse! Can’t you drive more steadily!” Wang Han sat at the machine gun position, firing the machine gun at the parasitized individuals whose heads had sprouted man-eating flowers and tentacles along the way.

It wasn’t that Feng Chengxiu intentionally drove like this; it was just that the number of anomalies and parasitized individuals at Jing University was truly substantial.

Avoiding the parasitized individuals’ blockades while preventing charging into groups of anomalies required this “swaying left and right” movie-style driving technique.

Seeing that they couldn’t break through, Feng Chengxiu could only drive into a teaching building.

The first-floor lobby of this teaching building still had many parasitized individuals roaming around. Deng Yuqi and the others got out first, while Wang Han continued to operate the machine gun, providing covering fire.

Despite Fang Lao’s advanced age, he wielded a horse-cutting sword with great skill. With a flash of the blade, the terrifying heads of the parasitized individuals were instantly severed.

Deng Yuqi’s combat ability was also quite good. Aside from a pair of black anomalous gloves, she wore a pair of black mechanical bracers on her arms, greatly enhancing her strength.

One punch, and the parasitized individual’s head shattered like a smashed watermelon.

With Fang Lao, Deng Yuqi, and the elite soldiers of Team 1 working together, they quickly cleared the teaching building of all parasitized individuals.

Then, hearing gunshots from below, calls suddenly came from upstairs: “Is that the police? Are you here to rescue us?”

Over a dozen students ran down from upstairs, looking excitedly at Deng Yuqi and the others.

“We are a survivor search and rescue team. We will report your location to the command center, and soldiers will come to evacuate you later,” Deng Yuqi said.

“Really? That’s great, that’s great! We’re saved!”

“Thank you! Thank you!”

“We’re saved, we’re saved.”

These students were extremely excited. Previously, the lobby had been occupied by parasitized individuals, and they had hidden upstairs, not daring to make a sound. They had been starving for two days, not daring to venture down to find food.

Hearing the gunshots now, their first thought was that the army and police had arrived. These people’s arrival meant they could leave this terrible place.

When Feng Chengxiu and the others learned these students hadn’t eaten for two days, they shared some of their compressed biscuits and water with them.

While Deng Yuqi was learning about the situation at Jing University from these students, faint gunshots came from afar.

Fang Lao listened carefully and analyzed, “Judging from the direction, the gunshots seem to be coming from the area designated as the Fifth Sector. It sounds like they’re heading toward us.”

Feng Chengxiu said, “Could it be like us? They tried to break into the Fifth Sector but were blocked by the anomalies inside and had to enter through Jing University?”

Deng Yuqi’s team had encountered an anomalous space blocking their attempt to break into the Fifth Sector from the Sixth War Zone. The streets there were piled high with abandoned vehicles.

Deng Yuqi was worried that if they got out of the vehicle and entered the anomalous space, they might be teleported to different locations. Dividing their forces in such a situation was clearly disadvantageous, so she considered trying to detour through Jing University to reach the headquarters’ location.

“Very likely. Should I go provide support?” Fang Lao asked.

Feng Chengxiu quickly said, “Let us handle it.”

“Hahaha! What, starting to worry about an old man already? Don’t worry, this old man’s body is still strong and sturdy!” Without waiting for Feng Chengxiu to refuse, Fang Lao picked up his sword and walked out of the teaching building.

“I’ll go with Fang Lao. You take the students upstairs, inform them of the situation here, and teach them some basic survival skills while they wait for rescue,” Deng Yuqi instructed.

“Yes!”

Feng Chengxiu and the others took the students upstairs. Deng Yuqi and Fang Lao left the teaching building. Many parasitized individuals loitering nearby immediately noticed the movement and began converging on them.

Deng Yuqi and Fang Lao fought their way from the teaching building entrance to the sports field. There, they saw a team of over twenty people, orderly formed into a tactical squad advance formation, pushing forward.

From their uniforms, equipment, and tactical formation, Fang Lao immediately recognized them as a team from headquarters.

“Hey! Over here!” Deng Yuqi took out a small flare gun and fired a signal flare toward the edge of the sports field.

The team saw the signal flare and immediately began fighting their way toward Deng Yuqi and Fang Lao. The two also fought their way over to meet them.

Most of the thousands upon thousands of parasitized individuals on the sports field were students from the university. With each swing of his sword, cutting down these young people in their university attire, their heads transformed into anomalies, Fang Lao felt as if he were cutting his own heart. These should have been the future of the nation, the pride of heaven, yet because of an anomalous disaster…

“Grandpa!” A familiar call snapped Fang Lao out of his anguish. Following the sound, he saw that the leader of the team was actually his granddaughter, Fang Mingyue!
“Mingyue, it’s wonderful that you’re safe!” Not long ago, Fang Lao had received news that headquarters was in trouble and his granddaughter Fang Mingyue was missing. He had been extremely worried.

Later, hearing that Fang Mingyue had been rescued from the lockdown zone, he disregarded his family’s objections and resolutely accepted the headquarters’ assignment, all to swap places with Fang Mingyue.

His old bones breaking was one thing, but Fang Mingyue was still young; she couldn’t die in the lockdown zone.

But shortly after arriving at the lockdown zone, he heard that Fang Mingyue had entered the lockdown zone again and, after coming out, brought shocking news!
A parasitic anomaly had appeared in the lockdown zone, parasitizing hundreds of thousands of civilians in Haicheng District in just over a week!
Before Fang Lao could even speak to Fang Mingyue via walkie-talkie, she had entered the lockdown zone again with another search and rescue team.

At that moment, Fang Lao finally understood that Fang Mingyue was no longer that stubborn little girl but had grown into a true warrior!

Fang Lao completely abandoned the idea of “swapping” Fang Mingyue out. Instead, like her, he once again picked up his sword to fight for the country and its people!

“Grandpa, Sister Seven, why are you here?” Fang Mingyue asked.

Deng Yuqi explained their situation to Fang Mingyue and mentioned that besides them, several other search and rescue teams had also entered the lockdown zone.

Fang Mingyue said excitedly, “That’s great! With everyone’s help, we can definitely resolve this major Jing City anomalous disaster. Ah, right, Sister Seven, I also encountered Sister Jiayi in the Fourth War Zone. After discussing with her, she is trying to enter the Fifth Sector from the Seventh Sector, while I detoured through Jing University.”

Fang Lao heard this and said joyfully, “Xiao Liu is out too? That’s great! Old Liu and the others thought she was trapped in the headquarters research institute.”

Deng Yuqi said expressionlessly, “Don’t worry. As the saying goes, ‘The wicked live a thousand years.’ How could Liu Jiayi die so easily?”

Fang Lao laughed heartily upon hearing this: “Hahaha, Xiao Qi, what kind of thing is that to say? I remember you and Xiao Liu are cousins, right?”

“Who’s cousins with her.” Deng Yuqi clearly didn’t want to acknowledge this relationship and directly changed the subject: “The commotion here is getting bigger. The surrounding parasitized individuals are being drawn over. Let’s first retreat to another teaching building further away. If there are no survivors inside, we can clear out the gathered parasitized individuals, which will also draw fire away from the survivors in the other building.”

“Good idea! Let’s do that!” Fang Mingyue agreed.

Then, everyone followed Deng Yuqi’s plan, clearing a path to another teaching building. It turned out this building also had dozens of students, even more than the previous one.

Seeing this, Fang Mingyue asked Deng Yuqi and the soldiers to escort the students to the other teaching building where Feng Chengxiu and the others had already reinforced the doors and windows. She herself said she would go out and try to lure away the surrounding parasitized individuals.

“Mingyue, it’s too dangerous for you to go! Let me handle it!” Fang Lao said.

Fang Mingyue said, “Grandpa, let me do it; I’m familiar with this. These parasitized individuals are especially sensitive to sound. I have a way to lure them away.”

Saying this, Fang Mingyue had a soldier hand her a bag. Opening it, she revealed a large speaker that could be carried on the back.

“This is?” Fang Lao and Deng Yuqi’s expressions became very strange when they saw the suona in Fang Mingyue’s hand and the large speaker on her back.

Fang Mingyue said with full confidence, “This is a method Investigator Shen taught me. As long as I play the suona and amplify the sound through the speaker, I can attract the parasitized individuals.”

“Uh, Shen Ge taught you this method? Are you sure it works?” Deng Yuqi’s expression was subtle; she suddenly had doubts about this method’s… reliability.

Fang Mingyue nodded seriously: “Of course. Investigator Shen is omnipotent; the methods he teaches are sure to work.”

“Aren’t you tired playing that? If you want to use sound to lure away the parasitized individuals, wouldn’t it be better to just go to the school broadcast room?” Deng Yuqi asked.

Fang Mingyue said, “That works too. Sister Seven, do you know where the broadcast room is?”

Deng Yuqi called over a student and asked, but the answer was that the broadcast room was at least two blocks away. She could only give up.

Fang Mingyue, carrying the suona and the speaker, went outside the teaching building. As she walked toward the sports field, she began playing the suona. This time, it was still “Chuang Jiang Ling” (General’s Command).

Hearing the music from outside, Deng Yuqi said with a subtle expression, “Well, Fang Lao, I didn’t know Mingyue was so multi-talented.”

“…Actually, I didn’t know she could play the suona either. She plays quite well. In a few years, she might even be able to play a tune for my send-off.” Fang Lao.

“…”
For a moment, Deng Yuqi didn’t know how to respond to that.

After Fang Mingyue successfully lured the surrounding parasitized individuals to the sports field, Deng Yuqi had the soldiers escort the students from this building to the neighboring one. Meanwhile, she and Fang Lao searched the surrounding area, trying to gather all the students from the nearby buildings.

After leading thousands of parasitized individuals to the large sports field with the music, Fang Mingyue used her anomalous leather armguards and anomalous bone staff to climb over the fence and escape.

Several hours passed. Through this method, they found quite a few surviving students.

The teaching building now gathered several hundred students. The soldiers had emptied their emergency rations, and supplies were starting to run short.

Just as Deng Yuqi and the others were discussing whether to go to a nearby convenience store to find food for the survivors or continue searching for survivors, the soldier on guard duty ran in panicked.

“Report!”

“Several anomalies have come from the north, including one particularly large one. They’ve charged into the playground and are devouring the infected. One has already begun to mutate!”

Fang Mingyue had long since reported Shen Ge’s suspicions to headquarters, so the soldiers were aware that if anomalies consumed large numbers of the infected, it would accelerate their mutation.

“This won’t do. We can’t let them keep feeding. If we end up breeding several high-level anomalies and they create a spatial overlap, forget about reaching the Fifth War Zone—we won’t even be able to get out of here,” Fang Mingyue said grimly.

After a moment’s thought, Deng Yuqi ordered, “Captain Feng, your team stays here to protect the students. Everyone else, with me—we’re going out to hunt these anomalies!”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“Yes, ma’am!”

As the group exited the teaching building, they found the situation on the playground far more chaotic than anticipated. The anomalies were devouring the infected at an alarming rate. One had already completed a second-stage mutation, and there were signs of a distortion space beginning to form.

The only thing they could do now was to prevent the anomalies from consuming any more.

“Attack!”

“Attack!”

Deng Yuqi, Old Fang, and Fang Mingyue, though not heavily equipped with anomaly-energy gear, were highly capable fighters. Working together, dealing with a few first-stage anomalies wasn’t overly difficult. The real challenge was the thousands of infected still swarming around them.

As they fought desperately against the anomalies and the infected, a low, rumbling vibration began to grow audible, and the ground started to shake beneath their feet.

“Is it a high-level anomaly?” A wave of dread swept through the group. This was terrible news. They hadn’t even dealt with the smaller threats yet, and now a major one was arriving. How were they supposed to fight this?

“Stay focused! Deal with the enemies in front of you!” Old Fang bellowed, his horse-cutting sword cleaving through the head of a first-stage anomaly hound before he split its body in two, saving a soldier nearby.

“The vibrations are getting stronger,” Fang Mingyue noted. “Something big is definitely heading our way. Seven, you and Grandpa lead the team toward the teaching building in the other direction. I’ll head the opposite way and try to draw the monsters on the playground away by making noise.”

“No, it’s too dangerous for you to go alone!” Deng Yuqi objected.

“It’s the only way right now!” Fang Mingyue insisted.

After a brief pause, Deng Yuqi said gravely, “Old Fang, take the soldiers and retreat to the eastern teaching building. We can’t lead the monsters to the students. Mingyue, you try to lure them westward. I’ll head to the broadcast room!”

“Alright, let’s do it!” Fang Mingyue agreed with a nod.

The team immediately split up to execute Deng Yuqi’s plan. But just as Fang Mingyue reached her designated spot, before she could even raise her suona to play, a burst of singing echoed from the distance.

“That set-saddlin’ man, so mighty and strong! His gallopin’ stallion swift as the storm! Across the boundless plains he freely does roam, his heart as vast as the earth, his spirit home!“

The tune was wildly off-key, so discordant that even the most tone-deaf would cringe—it was that exaggerated!

“It’s Investigator Shen! That’s Shen Ge’s voice!” Fang Mingyue exclaimed, her spirits lifting instantly at the sound.