The System Arrived Four Years Early, but the Anomaly Is Still a Juvenile - Chapter 140

Once the branch alarm sounded, non-combat departments like Research and Logistics immediately responded. Key protected individuals like Li Xiang had safe rooms prepared in every laboratory for them.

As soon as the alarm blared, Li Xiang swiftly sealed and contained the anomalous corpse he was studying, then rushed into the safe room with the other researchers and assistants.

After the last attack on the Special Measures Department, Deng Yuqi had ordered the construction of safe rooms throughout the department to ensure the safety of researchers and non-combat personnel.

The safe room doors were made of special materials that could withstand ordinary artillery shells. The rooms were equipped with power generation, air purification systems, and stored enough food to sustain three to five people for seven days.

But just as Shen Ge had guessed, the Twelve Branches’ target was indeed the research building. While one group outside stalled the operations team to prevent reinforcements, many Twelve Branches “Ke” members seized the opportunity to enter the building.

Just as these “Ke” were about to unleash carnage, a red blur shot down the hallway. Shen Ge’s Anomaly Leather Boots in his “Red Mist Form” allowed him to concentrate power in his feet, achieving cannonball-like speed.

Using his momentum, the butcher’s cleaver in Shen Ge’s hand flashed coldly, cleanly slicing off a “Ke” member’s head and arm in one stroke.

[Host’s divine might vanquishes a Tier 2 anomaly (Characteristic: Two Heads, Four Arms). Reward: 100 System Points, Random F-grade Supply x1.]

These Twelve Branches lackeys were as easy to mow down as grass for Shen Ge in his “Red Mist Form”—they were essentially delivering system points and supplies.

At 600% anomaly energy, his fully-powered state could last about thirty minutes. Not just these “Ke,” even if a few more ranked captains showed up, it wouldn’t be enough for Shen Ge to kill.

The researchers in the building were the branch’s “treasures.” Shen Ge didn’t dare risk their lives to save a bit of anomaly energy.

So, he went all out the moment he entered, clearing the entire hallway in the blink of an eye.

“Ah—”

A scream came from a laboratory up ahead on the right. Shen Ge immediately rushed toward the sound. Two “Ke” members with guns had charged in through the main door and were about to shoot several researchers and assistants cowering against the wall. With a crash, the window shattered, and a red figure appeared in the center of the lab.

The “Ke” members opened fire at the sound, their bullets hitting the newcomer.

Shen Ge raised his arms, each forming a round shield to block the bullets. He stomped down—

Bang!

The floor cracked under his foot as he shot toward the “Ke” like a red blur. Bang! Bang! Two impacts later, the shields smashed the two men into the ground.

The “Ke” struggled to get up, but Shen Ge attacked both sides simultaneously. The one on the left had half his body swallowed by the bloody maw formed from the Anomalous Stomach, while the one on the right was cleaved from the forehead down to the neck by the butcher’s cleaver.

Double kill!

“Get to the safe room!” Shen Ge, hearing hurried footsteps outside, knew more “Ke” were coming and urged the researchers by the wall to seize the chance to enter the safe room.

Hearing Shen Ge’s voice, the researchers and assistants felt much relieved. They helped two terrified young women who could barely stand into the safe room.

Shen Ge fought his way from the lab to the research building’s entrance, killing every “Ke” who had broken in. The battle outside the building was also nearing its end.

With Deng Yuqi, Lin Yin, and others assisting, the operations team easily dealt with all the invading “Ke,” capturing three alive. Only Old Wang managed to escape.

After arranging cleanup, Deng Yuqi held an emergency meeting with department heads to assess casualties and damages.

Cheng Shengnan compiled the report. The statistics surprised everyone present.

The Twelve Branches had sent one ranked captain, “Si” (Snake), and twenty-three ordinary “Ke” members to attack the branch. “Si” had lost two heads to Shen Ge and fled. Eleven of the twenty-three “Ke” were killed by Shen Ge, the remaining twelve were dealt with by Deng Yuqi and others, with three captured alive.

On the branch’s side, when the alarm sounded, most non-combat personnel had moved to safe rooms. Only a few assistants, too far from safe rooms, sustained minor injuries. The operations team had over twenty injured, six seriously, but none fatally.

“What were they trying to achieve, raiding the research building? Targeting researchers or stealing anomaly energy equipment?” someone questioned.

According to Tu Doupi, the Twelve Branches seemed to have figured out the patrol routes and timing, Just avoid the patrol teams.

Fortunately, the branch had enhanced its surveillance, with 24/7, all-angle monitoring of every corner, which detected the Twelve Branches members infiltrating the research building.

“Regardless, minimizing casualties this time is excellent. As long as we continue strengthening information monitoring, we needn’t fear their return,” said the head of the Information Department, Luo Baoguo’s direct superior.

Many agreed. In their view, minimizing branch damage, successfully repelling the Twelve Branches invasion, and capturing three alive constituted a “major victory.”

Just as two operations department leaders were about to make grand closing statements, claiming credit for the rapid response, a dissenting opinion was raised.

“It’s not that simple. Have you forgotten the Twelve Branches infiltrated headquarters two months ago? If they could hack headquarters’ system, ours is even easier. From Xiao Tu’s account, I feel… they let us discover them on purpose.” The speaker was none other than Shen Ge, who had the highest kill count in the battle.

If anyone else had said this, there would have been opposition. But it was Shen Ge speaking, so even the operations leaders wanting to “claim credit” fell silent.

Monitoring was the Information Department’s responsibility. Shen Ge’s words clearly doubted their capabilities. The Information Department head couldn’t stay seated. “Investigator Shen, headquarters’ system was breached because of an insider. The Twelve Branches alone couldn’t breach it. Besides, our system is the latest from GF Tech, top-ranked globally. It couldn’t be breached so quickly.”

The Information Department head spoke confidently. The system had taken three years to develop and a year of testing, inviting world-class hacker teams to attempt breaches, all failing perfectly.

Shen Ge glanced at him. “Did you watch the combat footage?”

“Yes,” the Information Department head nodded, puzzled by the question.

Shen Ge said, “After the initial infiltrators were discovered, they shattered all lighting fixtures on the right side. Then the others teleported in. The footage shows the Twelve Branches, led by Old Wang… by ‘Si,’ appeared from the shadows then.”

“So, if they have that ability, why didn’t they have snipers Ambush at the commanding heights around the branch initially, take out all lighting simultaneously, and teleport in separately? A feint attack on the main building to draw defenses, then a sneak team to raid the research building?”

“Taking out a few lights is easy. I believe even Sniper Team Leader Huo could do it with a couple of snipers, right?”

Sniper Team Leader Huo Yu, named by Shen Ge, nodded in agreement, briefly explaining the lighting fixture positions and the difficulty and time required for simultaneous sniping.

In short, with the ability to teleport from shadows, Shen Ge’s proposed attack plan was entirely feasible.

Seeing the Information Department head’s awkward expression, Shen Ge added, “Besides, Director Li, have you forgotten Luo Baoguo is still under internal investigation?”

“…”

Right. Luo Baoguo was at the banquet, colluding with Lü Xianze’s group, who were backed by “12.” It was hard to guarantee information hadn’t been leaked.

Moreover, patrol information was coordinated between Operations and Information Departments, with daily route and timing arrangements. The fact that the Twelve Branches avoided Tu Doupi tonight spoke volumes.

Shen Ge’s rebuttal silenced the Information Department head. But after much discussion, no one could figure out what the Twelve Branches were playing at.

To Shen Ge, it felt like they were delivering points.

The meeting lasted until 11 p.m. Deng Yuqi dismissed everyone else, keeping Shen Ge behind. They had been discussing the “system” earlier, interrupted by the Twelve Branches attack.

“During the fight, I thought of something. While Cheng Shengnan was compiling casualty reports, I had her contact headquarters for a file.” Deng Yuqi handed a report to Shen Ge.

Shen Ge looked at it. It was about the Special Measures Department’s anomaly energy equipment research data, including some on the “Anomalous Eye” he brought back from headquarters.

Since Shen Ge took the “Anomalous Eye” secretly, headquarters thought it was stolen by the Twelve Branches, so the report had little data.

But that wasn’t the point. The key was under “Categorized Research Projects,” there was more than one “eye”-related “Anomalous Eye.”

One data entry for an “eye”-type anomaly energy equipment that “caused loss of vision upon direct contact” was why Deng Yuqi showed Shen Ge this report.

This “eye” equipment’s effect was precisely “Anomalous Eye (Invisible).”

Only two people in the entire department knew Shen Ge had the “Anomalous Eye (Invisible)”: Li Xiang and Deng Yuqi.

When Deng Yuqi helped Shen Ge requisition equipment during the Yu Zhou incident, she had seen the list from headquarters and vaguely remembered such an item.

Later, when Shen Ge handed the cleaver and Anomalous Eye to Li Xiang for research, Deng Yuqi didn’t think much of the equipment’s effect initially, as similar effects weren’t strange for anomaly energy equipment, like standard-issue Anomalous Leather Gloves or Bone-Cleaving Knives.

But after Shen Ge partially revealed his system, and they concluded the “system couldn’t create rewards from nothing but transferred them from elsewhere,” they thought of the Anomalous Eye.

So, Deng Yuqi had Cheng Shengnan contact headquarters for the data. Sure enough, the “Anomalous Eye (Invisible)” entry was marked “stolen.”

Moreover, the report showed the research update for the “Anomalous Eye (Invisible)” was a year ago. Headquarters had made no new progress, so it was transferred to the Yu Zhou branch. It had been sealed for a year by the time Shen Ge drew it.

“You mentioned earlier that the ‘****’ military vehicle storage factory confirmed a missing tank during inventory. Are tanks inventoried daily?” Shen Ge asked.

Deng Yuqi shook her head. “From the report, the ‘****’ factory likely stores ‘substandard’ items, meaning those on the verge of repair or scrapping. You know, due to recent Special Measures Department issues, reorganization has reduced training over the past two years. The number of ‘phased-out’ tanks is considerable. The one you transferred had probably been scrapped for a long time.”

Shen Ge was silent for a moment. “No wonder both the previous K2 and this 99A felt odd, with limited ammunition. Including earlier drawn equipment, most had a ‘dated’ feel. It seems I only draw weapons and equipment that have been ‘scrapped’ for a certain time.”

Deng Yuqi said solemnly, “What you drew in Korea was Korean, in Dajing it was the 99A… In Yu Zhou, the ‘Anomalous Eye,’ in Dajing, the ‘Anomaly Energy Magazine’… It feels like besides being ‘scrapped,’ there’s also a ‘distance’ factor to what you draw.”

Shen Ge placed the butcher’s cleaver on the desk. “This is the first anomaly energy equipment I drew. Its characteristic is ‘Indestructible’—incredibly hard. Li Xiang tried various methods to melt it into armor but failed. It’s never been damaged in combat.”

“I’m certain the Rong City branch has never seen this equipment since its establishment. But the anomaly energy equipment you draw might not all be from the Special Measures Department. Remember, the Twelve Branches also research anomaly energy equipment. Moreover, if your father was one of the first anomaly researchers, it’s plausible he buried a piece of anomaly energy equipment where you lived for decades?” Deng Yuqi said.

Shen Ge said, “That’s possible. But my point isn’t whether the cleaver is from Rong City. Combining the tags of being long-neglected, scrapped, and having a certain distance… if I save up system points and do a draw near the Haiya Research Institute, what do you think?”

“Not a bad idea.” Deng Yuqi marveled at Shen Ge’s “brainstorms” always hitting the mark.

“So, how many system points do you have now?” Deng Yuqi asked.

Shen Ge said, “2753. 1100 were from the Twelve Branches ‘Ke’ just now.”

“Killing them gives rewards too?” Deng Yuqi asked, surprised.

Shen Ge nodded. “100 system points per kill, 500 for selling a corpse, plus a special recovery item.”

He took out the “Internal Injury Healing Pill.”

“Wait, this isn’t…” Deng Yuqi found the pill familiar. After a moment’s thought, she remembered where she’d seen it.

“You’re right. This is what I first gave Li Xiang to research. He later successfully developed it combining self-healing anomaly rat insects.” Shen Ge briefly explained his and Li Xiang’s research and his theory about the system “overdrawing” the future to Deng Yuqi.

Deng Yuqi felt her CPU was overheating. The information she received tonight was too much; just the “system” alone would take ages to investigate.

Deng Yuqi thought “overdrawing” future rewards sounded metaphysical, but with the system itself being real, it wasn’t that far-fetched.

Rubbing her forehead, feeling her brain was fried, she waved her hand. “Let’s not talk about that now. You said killing Twelve Branches members counts as rewards?”

“Right. In the system’s judgment, although Twelve Branches members are ‘artificial anomalies,’ they still count as anomalies. ‘Ke’ are Tier 2. Tier 2 rewards are 100 for killing, 500 for selling. The ranked captains are judged as Tier 5. Oh, and this judgment involves a time difference.”

Shen Ge, worried Deng Yuqi wouldn’t understand why ranked captains were Tier 5 yet weaker than Tier 3 or 4 anomalies, explained the time difference.

Now, Deng Yuqi’s brain was truly overloaded.

“I feel like you’ve added a decade of work for me tonight. How long will it take to investigate all this?” Deng Yuqi said helplessly.

“It’s fine. You’re either working overtime or on your way to work overtime anyway. Whether I add to your workload or not, you’re still work overtime. No difference,” Shen Ge said calmly.

“Get out! Don’t make me drag you into overtime with me!” Deng Yuqi snapped.

Shen Ge quickly made his escape. Peeking back into the office, he said, “By the way, investigate the Twelve Branches and ’12.’ I have a feeling tonight’s events aren’t simple.”

Thud!

The response was a thrown file folder and Deng Yuqi’s roar. “Who’s the chief here, you or me? Since when do you assign me work? Get back here and work overtime! You’re in charge of the Twelve Branches investigation now!”

“Sure thing!” Shen Ge agreed readily.

After all, solving the “Twelve Branches” was his top priority.

But what puzzled Shen Ge most was the “motive” behind the Twelve Branches’ raid tonight. It felt like except for delivering points, it was meaningless.

They had the ability to infiltrate stealthily but made a loud “battle.” Even if it was reconnaissance, losing so many personnel was unnecessary.

Shen Ge thought it over but couldn’t figure it out, so he stopped trying.

Returning to his dorm, he took a shower. Cheng Shengnan didn’t get back until almost midnight; her overtime frequency at the Special Measures Department was even higher than Shen Ge’s.

“Tired after a long day?” Shen Ge asked, holding the freshly showered Cheng Shengnan, who was drying her hair, as they sat on the bed, his lips near her ear.

“Actually, it’s okay. I don’t have to do many things personally now. Reviewing files, fetching data for arrangements—it’s easier than before,” Cheng Shengnan replied.

“Until the Twelve Branches are fully resolved, situations like today will happen often. You must get to a safe room immediately, understand?” Shen Ge adviceed.

Cheng Shengnan nodded, threw the towel on a chair, and said calmly, “I’d be more touched if you didn’t grope me while saying that.”

“Heh, no way.”

“Heh, men.”

“By the way, any plans for your day off tomorrow?” Shen Ge asked.

Cheng Shengnan replied, “The research department has a new batch of standard anomaly energy equipment ready. Logistics has a distribute meeting. Probably another meeting.”

“…”

Shen Ge said with a straight face, “Quit already. Your boss is too inhuman.”

Cheng Shengnan laughed. “A certain leader was just complaining to me that she could have gone back to sleep at 1 a.m., but thanks to a certain investigator, she has to work all night. Apparently, you added a year’s worth of work for her.”

“Not that exaggerated, three to five months at most. Anyway, forget that unreasonable boss. Let’s talk business.” Shen Ge rolled onto the bed with Cheng Shengnan.

“Hey, my hair’s still wet.”

“It’s fine. We’re going to the bathroom later anyway.”

“Jerk!”

…

…

They “worked overtime” until 3 a.m. before sleeping. Cheng Shengnan was exhausted and sore, not wanting to move a finger, and fell asleep deeply in Shen Ge’s arms.

After two hours of exercise, Shen Ge wasn’t sleepy but instead very alert, still thinking about “12” and the Twelve Branches’ attack on the Rong City branch last night.

After the Dajing anomaly disaster, the Twelve Branches lurked in Rong City, creating “12.” In just two months, they colluded with Lü Xianze’s group. Shen Ge felt there must be some connection.

The bounty poster found in the “12” database even made him feel the Twelve Branches were looking for revenge.

Not to boast, but if the Twelve Branches eliminated him, the “hidden danger,” dealing with the Rong City branch would be half as difficult.

“What are they trying to do?” Shen Ge lay with his eyes closed, tapping his forehead, trying to connect the clues.

Lü Xianze trying to recruit him might be a feint to lower his guard. Or, if he really cooperated, it would achieve the Twelve Branches’ goals.

But currently, Shen Ge had no reason to seek far and wide for what is close at hand, abandoning the Special Measures Department where he had “absolute say” to cooperate with Lü Xianze.

The Special Measures Department had more power and strength than Lü Xianze’s group. As for having a chief above him… that wasn’t a worry either, as Deng Yuqi often sided with him.

Deng Yuqi knew Shen Ge had many secrets and hid things from the Special Measures Department. But her principle was “judge by actions, not intentions.” Regardless of Shen Ge’s thoughts, as long as his actions served the country and people, he deserved her unconditional support.

It was also because of their six months of interaction and Deng Yuqi’s sincerity that Shen Ge chose to reveal some of his cards, seeking deeper “cooperation.”

So, given Shen Ge’s relationship with Deng Yuqi and his prestige within the Special Measures Department, being recruited by Lü Xianze now would be idiotic.

Then, knowing Shen Ge wouldn’t cooperate and might round up Lü Xianze’s group, weren’t the people at the banquet self-destructing?

What good did that do the Twelve Branches?

“The branch has started thoroughly investigating the people at the banquet. The chief reported to headquarters, and a task force was formed. Higher-ups are also arranging personnel transfers.”

“If the Twelve Branches were sincerely cooperating with Lü Xianze’s group, there was no need to expose them.” In Shen Ge’s view, At least Lü Xianze and Luo Baoguo were valuable and shouldn’t have appeared at the banquet.

“Why did they believe a few million could buy me?”

“…Wait, if Lü Xianze is ousted, and the replacement sent from above is a Twelve Branches plant, couldn’t they use that as a breakthrough to seek cooperation and investigation with the Rong City branch?”

“No, the most important position is Luo Baoguo’s!”

“The Rong City branch was built by the chief. Those with any power have at least four or five years of seniority. If not for the anomaly exposure raising the Special Measures Department’s status, Luo Baoguo wouldn’t have wavered. And even then, he wasn’t foolish enough to reveal all he knew.”

“If Luo Baoguo is ousted, headquarters would likely seize the chance to send someone, not let the chief promote from within.”

“So, headquarters might already be infiltrated by the Twelve Branches. This person is just high-ranking and well-hidden, not uncovered during the Dajing anomaly disaster!”

“Ah! I see!” Shen Ge felt all the clues connect suddenly. He seemed to understand the Twelve Branches’ plan.

In his excitement, Cheng Shengnan patted his chest and murmured, “What are you muttering about in the middle of the night? Aren’t you tired?”

Shen Ge was taken aback. He’d been investigating “12” all night the night before yesterday and slept maybe an hour or two.

He investigated all day, dealt with the Twelve Branches attack at night, and the two hours of physical exertion early this morning were negligible… But it had been almost two days. Why was he still so energetic?

Recalling now, Shen Ge noticed changes in his body. It wasn’t that he couldn’t sleep; he could if he wanted.

But as long as he focused on something, he didn’t need sleep.

“Tsk,Could it be that with higher mental power, one really becomes more energetic?” Shen Ge had been adding his daily rewards and drawn free points to mental power lately. It was now 613%, at Tier 3 anomaly level, indeed not low.

A rare worry arose in Shen Ge’s heart. Since the system was confirmed related to anomalies perhaps even being an anomaly itself…

What if devouring too many anomaly corpses “fed” an anomaly king inside him? That would be stimulate (stimulating)!

…

…

The investigation into the banquet attendees lasted three days. The Rong City branch cooperated with the task force, quickly uncovering Lü Xianze’s group and their secret collaborators.

But after hearing Shen Ge’s “inference,” Deng Yuqi persuaded the task force to delay ” closing the net ” with the excuse that bigger fish were still out there.

She and Shen Ge needed to investigate those slated to replace the ousted officials, rooting out the Twelve Branches’ hidden agents.

This investigation indeed uncovered two.

One was a key figure meant to replace Lü Xianze.

After confirming the targets, the Rong City branch held an emergency meeting. Deng Yuqi’s stance was that while Lü Xianze’s position could be appointed from above (as the Special Measures Department’s reach didn’t extend to the central government), Luo Baoguo’s position must be filled internally, rejecting headquarters’ appointment.

Deng Yuqi argued with headquarters again over this. Headquarters felt she wanted to monopolize power in Rong City, building a personal faction.

The argument lasted two days. Headquarters was unwilling to relinquish the crucial Information Vice-Director position.

Of course, whether it was headquarters or the infiltrated Twelve Branches member unwilling was unclear.

But Elder Fang’s investigation had progress. Per Elder Fang’s advice, Deng Yuqi should stall to buy time.

With Elder Fang’s guarantee that “if the infiltrator isn’t found, he’d personally appoint a trustworthy person,” Deng Yuqi finally agreed.

In the following days, Deng Yuqi focused on investigating the issues Shen Ge raised, while Shen Ge continued investigating the Twelve Branches.

At 1 a.m., Deng Yuqi, buried in reports, was interrupted by a knock.

“Enter.” Deng Yuqi set down her pen.

The office door opened. Cheng Shengnan, in professional attire, entered with a stack of files.

Deng Yuqi glanced at her phone, surprised. “Oh, it’s so late. You’re still not off work?”

Cheng Shengnan replied, “Just finished a meeting with headquarters at 11. Then had another with Elder Fang’s investigation team. They hit some snags. To avoid alerting the enemy, Elder Fang decided to proceed with the plan discussed with you—sending a ‘trustworthy’ person to fill the Information Vice-Director role. Here’s their file. Elder Fang said they’re an ‘acquaintance’ of yours.”

Deng Yuqi took the file and frowned.

The person was her less-than-friendly “relative,” Liu Jiayi, an anomaly investigator injured in the Dajing disaster, temporarily transferred to desk duty.

Although they didn’t get along privately, Deng Yuqi had to admit Liu Jiayi was indeed suitable for the role at this juncture.

“Okay, I’ll contact her tomorrow.” Deng Yuqi filed the document away.

Cheng Shengnan nodded and stood to leave. “Chief, anything else you need?”

“No, you can clock out now.”

“Alright, you should rest early too.”

“Okay.”

Cheng Shengnan left Deng Yuqi’s office. Besides the patrol team, the main building was mostly empty.

But Cheng Shengnan was used to overtime. She skillfully headed to the elevator, took it down, and exited the building.

The night air was chilly. Cheng Shengnan stretched instinctively. She thought she’d be working until 2 or 3 a.m., so when Shen Ge offered to wait, she told him to go prepare a late-night snack at the dorm.

Thinking of the snack, Cheng Shengnan felt hungry. The main building was right in front of the dorm area—a ten-minute walk, not far.

As Cheng Shengnan stepped off the stairs outside the main building, she sensed something wrong. It was too quiet around the anomaly energy building.

Even with no traffic or pedestrians on nearby streets, the absence of even the patrol team was alarming. Cheng Shengnan immediately grew alert.

She hesitated for a second, then sprinted back into the main building. Running back to the dorms would take ten minutes, but reaching Deng Yuqi’s office took only two or three.

Shen Ge had told her if something seemed wrong and he wasn’t around, she must find the chief, Lin Yin, or others immediately.

Cheng Shengnan always remembered Shen Ge’s advice. Choosing the safer option upon re-entering the building, she without hesitation slapped the alarm panel by the door.

Woo—

Woo—

Woo—

Instantly, the Rong City branch’s piercing alarm blared.

Cheng Shengnan kicked off her high heels, running barefoot toward the elevator bank. Just then, the hallway lights began flickering off one by one with a series of pops.

In the darkness, Cheng Shengnan saw a faint figure flash in the corridor. Without a second thought, she turned and dashed for the stairs.

“Chief!”

“Chief!”

Cheng Shengnan yelled for Deng Yuqi as she ran upstairs.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Gunfire erupted from above and below, especially loud outside the main building. Clearly, the Twelve Branches had struck again.

Cheng Shengnan’s heart tightened. Shen Ge had been saying for days that the raid felt strange, like they were rushing to die.

It was so unlike the Twelve Branches’ style that he had the inspection team help him turn the battle zone upside down, searching for hidden traps.

Finding nothing, Shen Ge remained uneasy, staying mostly at the branch lately.

And now, the Twelve Branches had indeed struck again!

As Cheng Shengnan burst from the stairwell into the hallway, before she could shout “Chief!”, a ranked Twelve Branches member emerged from the shadows.

“Yin” (Tiger).

Damn!

Cheng Shengnan knew she was in trouble. She was no match for a ranked captain. But she wouldn’t go down without a fight, sprinting desperately toward Deng Yuqi’s office.

“Yin” was faster. Just as he was about to catch her, a gunshot rang out. Bang! Deng Yuqi stood at her office door, gun raised, hitting the character on “Yin’s” hood.

Seeing Deng Yuqi, Cheng Shengnan sighed in relief. Her legs were jelly, but she couldn’t give up. She had to reach Deng Yuqi.

Once in the office, she could hide in the safe room.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Deng Yuqi ran toward Cheng Shengnan, firing expertly. Each shot hit “Yin’s” head precisely.

“Yin’s” head jerked back with each hit, but it didn’t stop his charge.

Deng Yuqi emptied the magazine, tossed the gun, and tapped her left shoulder. Click, click. Mechanical sounds echoed as her left arm was encased in a mechanical gauntlet.

She pulled Cheng Shengnan close, ducking her head under “Yin’s” grasping hand, and threw a punch with her mechanized left arm.

Bang!

Powered by the mechanical arm, Deng Yuqi’s full-force punch would feel like being hit by a car to a normal person. But against “Yin’s” abdomen, it felt like striking sponge, the force dissipating instantly.

Looking closer, the flesh on “Yin’s” stomach seemed to writhe, bulging out and enveloping Deng Yuqi’s arm.

Deng Yuqi’s expression changed. She tried to pull free, but another arm grew from “Yin’s” body and slammed into her shoulder.

Deng Yuqi felt a massive impact, sent flying back into Cheng Shengnan, who was running toward the office.

Thud!

They collided and tumbled to the ground.

Cheng Shengnan, as the cushion, felt her bones rattling. Deng Yuqi, physically stronger, got up first despite the direct hit.

Deng Yuqi helped Cheng Shengnan up as “Yin” attacked again, now in “three heads, six arms” form.

Seeing this, Deng Yuqi pushed Cheng Shengnan without hesitation. “To the safe room!”

She dodged “Yin’s” attack, donned anomaly gloves from her pocket, and sidestepped, landing several punches on “Yin.”

Deng Yuqi’s fierce assault forced “Yin” back despite his six arms. In moments, they exchanged over ten moves, buying time for Cheng Shengnan to reach the office.

“Close the door!” Deng Yuqi shouted.

Cheng Shengnan gritted her teeth, shut the door, and pressed the safe room switch on the wall while calling Shen Ge.

Bang!

Suddenly!

The office door burst open. Deng Yuqi was thrown in, crashing to the floor.

“Yin” reappeared in the doorway, his appearance utterly transformed. He stood at least three meters tall. His three heads seemed fused with demons, twisted and grotesque.

He looked like an mutated anomaly head, with a bulging forehead resembling bone forming a “王” (king) character.

His six arms were thick as thighs, unlike before—a muscular monster overall, like a black-muscled Hulk with three anomaly heads.

“Three Heads, Six Arms” anomaly form—Yin Tiger!