The System Arrived Four Years Early, but the Anomaly Is Still a Juvenile - Chapter 185

Thud!

After Shen Ge smashed through the bizarre door, he discovered it was like a skeleton wrapped in a layer of skin, faintly emitting a strange black eerie energy. It was utterly peculiar.

Once inside, Shen Ge found the room much smaller than the main hall outside, but the smell of decay was heavier. Strangely, apart from some bloodstains, there were no corpses or rotting matter to be found.

Shen Ge searched the room, and Little Seven also conducted an eerie energy scan, but neither found anything unusual nor located the source of the decay.

By now, Shen Ge was fairly certain that this chaotic eerie space was most likely created by a Mutant, not an Eerie.

Compared to Mutants, Eeries had the advantage of being able to absorb not only the powerful eerie energy surging from the ground but also the faint eerie energy in the air.

Eeries mutated rapidly. Coupled with their ability to grow their eerie energy quickly by devouring their own kind, it was easy for a situation where the big fish eats the small fish to arise, leading to a high-tier Eerie developing in no time.

Mutants first originated from the Twelve Branches group. They used the crimson fleshy tumors from the Progenitor Eerie to absorb Eeries, then fused them with human bodies to create “Artificial Eeries.”

After becoming Artificial Eeries, the Twelve Branches could obtain the abilities of Eeries to a certain extent, but they needed to consume eerie energy regularly.

Even after fusing with the flesh and blood of the Progenitor Eerie and other Eeries, the human body still couldn’t withstand the erosion of eerie energy.

Therefore, after becoming Mutants, there were ultimately only two outcomes: either a short lifespan or becoming a monster completely controlled by the Eerie.

But Shen Ge knew that while Eeries were constantly “evolving,” Mutants were also “evolving.” Moreover, besides the Twelve Branches, there was now another organization – the Green-robed Ones.

Judging by the appearance of the parasitic Eerie “Human-head Balloons” in the sky, the rapid evolution of the Eerie disaster in Korea was likely related to the Green-robed Ones’ organization.

If their goal was truly just to create another Artificial Eerie King to share the overflowing eerie energy with the one in Japan, that would be one thing.

But the idea of an organization suddenly popping up claiming to bear the burden for all humanity seemed suspicious to Shen Ge. If these people had other intentions, even without considering two Eerie Kings, just two 8th-tier Eeries would be enough to control the entire world.

The Red Stamen leader, suspected to be from the Twelve Branches; the Green-robed Ones behind the Human-head Balloons; the situation in Japan replaying in Seoul, Korea.

Adding to that the “clone Mutant” Doo Yu-seong, and the events in Korea over the past month, this was undoubtedly a premeditated Eerie disaster.

“Sigh.” Shen Ge sighed. Regardless of the Green-robed Ones’ ultimate goals, if Mutant organizations kept messing around like this, humanity wouldn’t need Eeries to destroy itself; it could manage that on its own.

The key point was that these Mutants were like rats in the sewers. You knew they were annoying and carried many viruses, but you could never completely eradicate them.

Thud.
Thud.
Thud.

Just then, Shen Ge suddenly heard faint footsteps coming from upstairs. This struck him as odd because earlier, after being trapped in this eerie space, he had directly released the “Misfortune” disaster, summoning a “meteorite” to smash and collapse this building.

From the room Shen Ge was currently in, it was clear the six-story building was completely deformed. In theory, it was unlikely any ordinary person could have survived.

Intangible Eerie Domain!
Collapse!

Shen Ge directly used his ability on the ceiling. However, bizarrely, when the Intangible Eerie Domain spread out and clashed with the ceiling, a thick layer of black mist instantly seeped from the ceiling. It collided with the mental force creating the collapse, producing a visible shudder in the air – a distorted space!
Shen Ge couldn’t help but recall when he used “Collapse” on the room wall in the main hall earlier. He had immediately rushed into the gap created by the collapse wearing his Eerie-leather Boots. At that time, he had vaguely seen this black mist too. But before he could react, the black mist had “thrown” him back to the center of the main hall.

It seemed this really was a Mutant fused with the building. The walls, ceiling, and floor had all become the Mutant’s flesh and blood. Once Shen Ge attacked, the Mutant’s “immune system (eerie energy)” would activate defensively.

Then… what was the source of the footsteps?
Shen Ge felt that the “person” upstairs might be the key to resolving the situation here or finding a way out. Remembering the stairwell entrance buried under rubble in the main hall, he returned there.

He had Little Seven control the Rotten Blood Tentacles to move aside some of the rubble blocking the stairwell, then went upstairs.

Thud.
Thud.

After ascending, Shen Ge faintly heard the footsteps coming from the room on the right. He entered an “Intangible + Silent” state and moved towards the right-hand room.

With a swing of his Eerie-bone Hammer, he smashed the door open.

Inside the room, a man clad in Korean Eerie Response Team combat gear, his head crawling with densely packed parasitic Eeries, was pacing back and forth.

Shen Ge walked to the front of the man. From the remaining half of his face, he recognized him as Kang Dong-wook, the most talkative member of Park Chang-ho’s four-person team.

He was pacing aimlessly back and forth in the room. Dozens of palm-sized black Tóngchóng parasitic Eeries crawled on his head, eating from his head down to his body and internal organs.

By now, half of Kang Dong-wook’s body had been eaten away. On his left chest, his ribs and beating heart were visible. But apart from the heart, his other internal organs were almost completely devoured by the Tóngchóng parasitic Eeries.

The way his body and organs were being consumed reminded Shen Ge of the scene the Green-robed One had shown him by opening her clothes. According to her, she fed the parasitic Eeries this way, then transformed them into “nutrients” for cultivating a new Eerie King.

“…So after the Green-robed One died, their organization started considering using Eerie Response Team members from other countries as nutrients for the Eerie King?”

Shen Ge suddenly had the thought that while the Green-robed Ones’ organization might be a major antagonist, they probably weren’t on the same side as the Twelve Branches.

The reason was simple. The Twelve Branches guys always seemed to cause trouble in China – the Eerie disasters in Chongqing, Beijing, and Rong City were all their handiwork.

Added to their “grudge” with Shen Ge and the two attacks on the Rong City branch (though ultimately thwarted by Shen Ge), they had still caused significant losses to the Special Response Department.

On the other hand, while the Green-robed Ones’ organization initiated two “national-level” Eerie disasters far more severe than the three in Chongqing, Beijing, and Rong City, they targeted Japan and Korea, plus Florida in the US… all countries that didn’t have the best relations with China.

In a sense, this organization was quite… patriotic?
Jokes aside, Shen Ge couldn’t figure out how Kang Dong-wook had suddenly become “nutrients.” Was it related to the dark space?

Shen Ge recalled that in the dark space, if he hadn’t used his Eerie Domain to protect himself and Yoona, not only would Yoona have been lost, but even he had suffered several strange attacks.

It seemed that once dragged into the darkness by those eerie hands, one would end up like Kang Dong-wook.

Just as Shen Ge prepared to finish off Kang Dong-wook and continue exploring the upper floors, he suddenly noticed the parasitic Eeries on Kang Dong-wook’s body were burrowing into him, gathering near his heart and enveloping it.

Most of Kang Dong-wook’s head had been bitten off, blood and brain fluid flowing down from the gap. Bizarrely, he wasn’t dead yet, and his mouth kept muttering something.

“He’s just the top agent from China, what’s so great about him.”
“Heh, hehe. I could do it too.”
“If a country like China poured all its national power and all its eerie energy equipment on me, I could become the top Eerie Response agent too.”
“Pah, cowardly, fearful trash.”
“Ah, I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die.”
“Captain Park, Chanyu, where are you?”
“Ahhh!”
“Ah—”

Then, Shen Ge was surprised to see the parasitic Eeries in Kang Dong-wook’s chest cavity slowly turning into a black fluid, merging into his body.

Thump.
Thump.

The sound of Kang Dong-wook’s heartbeat grew louder and louder, starting to sound vaguely like the distinctive swallowing sound of an Eerie. Subsequently, the gaps bitten out of his body healed at a visible rate.

“Is this… becoming a Mutant?” Shen Ge didn’t immediately kill Kang Dong-wook. He wanted to see if this guy had some connection to the Mutant Doo Yu-seong.

After Kang Dong-wook’s body was fully repaired by the parasitic Eeries, his face took on a grotesque, terrifying, and twisted expression.

However, judging from his eyes and his incoherent muttering, he should have completely lost consciousness, becoming a Mutant controlled by the Eerie.

Shen Ge felt somewhat disappointed. Just as he was about to take the system points and leave, he suddenly noticed the “wall” opposite him becoming fluid-like, flowing, then turning into countless maggots that fell to the floor, forming a “hole in the wall.”

Three people walked into the room through the hole. The leader was none other than Doo Yu-seong, the Mutant Shen Ge had once met and sliced up.

The two behind Doo Yu-seong, one tall and one short, wore green robes identical to those of the Green-robed Ones in the underground facility in Kōjō City, Japan. Their faces were unclear, only a red glow visible under their hoods.

As soon as the three entered, Kang Dong-wook, now fully controlled by the parasitic Eeries, let out a low roar and lunged at them.

Doo Yu-seong snorted coldly, raised a hand, his arms enveloped in dense black eerie energy mist. They directly “mistified,” tightly binding Kang Dong-wook and dragging him before the trio.

“Tch, another failure?” Doo Yu-seong glanced back at the two Green-robed Ones behind him, asking in a slightly disappointed tone.

The taller Green-robed One said in a deep voice, “The conversion rate was never high. The probability of someone like Ye Jingwen becoming nourishment for an entire island is very low. If it fails, it fails. Recover the heart and find the next target. No. 2 woke up prematurely; we don’t have much time.”

His voice was hoarse, like a long-time smoker in his fifties or sixties. Judging by the voice, he was at least in his forties or fifties.

The other Green-robed One said, “Actually, that Park Chang-ho was good material. Who would have thought he’d stumble into the heart zone? If his will had been a bit stronger, he might have held on until the ‘seed’ sprouted. Unfortunately… he was a coward. Sigh, if he were just an ordinary coward, that would be one thing. But who knew he would find courage at the last moment and activate the newly developed eerie energy high-explosive bomb?”

This person’s voice was noticeably younger, and it was a woman. Her tone was filled with regret that Park Chang-ho had died too soon.

The tall Green-robed One sighed, “I shouldn’t have given the eerie energy high-explosive bombs to Korea. I originally intended them for you to use against the Chinese Eerie Response agents. I didn’t expect it to wake the ‘infant’ prematurely.”

Hearing this, Doo Yu-seong’s expression turned ugly. He couldn’t help but ask, “You… call this 5th-tier Mutant an ‘infant’? It’s already a hundred meters tall. How big would it be when fully grown?”

“Fully grown? If it can survive to adulthood, it would be at least an Eerie King like No. 1,” the tall Green-robed One said flatly.

The shorter Green-robed One asked, “Speaking of which, the Eerie Response agent China sent this time happens to be that guy named Shen Ge again. Even though he failed to stop Ye Jingwen from merging with the Eerie King last time in Japan, this time he was invited to resolve the Mutant incident… Besides, if it weren’t for him, Park Chang-ho’s cultivation wouldn’t have failed. Even if he isn’t our enemy, he always ends up hindering our plans. Should we find an opportunity to eliminate him?”

“You go?” the tall Green-robed One asked.

The shorter Green-robed One exclaimed, “Me? I’m just your assistant… That guy even survived the leader of the Twelve Branches. Sending me? Are you trying to get a new assistant?”

“Not a bad idea,” the tall Green-robed One nodded.

“…”

The tall Green-robed One stopped bantering with his companion and said to Doo Yu-seong, “Time is short. Recover the heart immediately. Find a way to put No. 2 back to sleep.”

“Understood.” Doo Yu-seong nodded. Just as he was about to use the eerie energy mist to explode Kang Dong-wook’s head and tear his body apart, two eerie energy high-explosive bombs silently detonated in the corner of the room.

The tremendous explosive force of the eerie energy high-explosive bombs instantly triggered a defensive eerie energy response from the room. Even the trio of Mutants were identified as “attackers.”

As the room transformed into maggots and attacked them, the two Green-robed Ones quickly retreated through the hole in the wall. Doo Yu-seong was a step slower; his feet were already caught by the floor, which had turned into wriggling maggots.

Then, several more “silent” explosions occurred. This time, besides eerie energy high-explosive bombs, there were conventional explosives and grenades.

Under the combined force of the explosions and a certain mysterious power, the maggot-transformed floor instantly collapsed, and Doo Yu-seong inside the room fell to the floor below.

This mysterious power was, of course, Shen Ge’s “Eerie Domain.” He first used “Silent” to control the explosives, giving them a silent surprise. Then, he used his Eerie Domain in conjunction with the explosions to collapse the room, making Doo Yu-seong fall to the lower level.

From the reactions of the two Green-robed Ones, Shen Ge deduced that even though they were inside the giant Eerie’s body, they hadn’t yet gained full control over it.

And they were indeed experimenting on Korean Eerie Response Team members, using parasitic Eeries on them to create “nutrients.”

Shen Ge could have directly ambushed Doo Yu-seong, but he was unsure of the two Green-robed Ones’ strength. If one escaped, his ability to turn invisible would likely be exposed.

These Green-robed Ones, like the Twelve Branches, were already like rats and cockroaches in the sewers, hard enough to deal with. If they learned of his invisibility and took precautions, or even ran away upon encountering him, they would be even harder to catch in the future.

So, Shen Ge took an extra step: collapsing the floor, pretending to attack the room from the main hall, and launching an assault on Doo Yu-seong.

As soon as Doo Yu-seong fell to the lower level, Kang Dong-wook, whom he had bound with his eerie mist hands, struggled violently. Then, with a “splat,” his head burst open in a bloody flower, sprouting a fleshy petal-like head that bit towards Doo Yu-seong.

While Doo Yu-seong was focused on dealing with Kang Dong-wook, a red figure suddenly charged in from the doorway on the right, decapitating him with a single slash.

Doo Yu-seong’s eyes widened in shock, his expression one of astonishment, as he realized his perspective had changed. His head tumbled “thump, thump” to the floor.

Shen Ge, clad in his Crimson Mist Battle Armor, appeared in the room. The Rotten Blood Tentacles quickly moved forward, binding Doo Yu-seong’s limbs and dragging him closer.

Shen Ge swung his Pig-butchering Cleaver, “thwack, thwack,” slicing open Doo Yu-seong’s body, successfully obtaining a second “heart.”

Just as he was about to move against the struggling Kang Dong-wook, two green figures dropped down from the large hole in the ceiling.

“Wait!”

It was the two Green-robed Ones.

Shen Ge’s gaze swept over them. Simultaneously, he reached out, and the Rotten Blood Tentacles, connected to the Eerie Stomach, grabbed the struggling Kang Dong-wook on the floor, dragging him to Shen Ge’s feet and binding him tightly with rotten blood.

The tall Green-robed One looked at Shen Ge and said, “You are Shen Ge, the Eerie Response agent from the Rong City branch in China, correct? You met our companion, Ye Jingwen, in the experimental facility under Kōjō City. She was the nourishment for Eerie King No. 1. You even had a transaction. In a sense, we are on the same side.”

The tall Green-robed One quickly mentioned several key points, trying to establish rapport with Shen Ge, even going so far as to say they were “on the same side.”

“Don’t say that. You know all about me, but I don’t even know your organization’s name. Even the person I ‘cooperated’ with in Japan, I only learned her name from you. Calling it ‘cooperation,’ but I feel you haven’t shown much sincerity,” Shen Ge said calmly.

The tall Green-robed One said, “Ye Jingwen’s condition was very unstable last time. No. 1’s awakening was also at a critical stage, so she didn’t have time to explain everything to you. How about this: let’s make a deal. Hand over the Mutant at your feet, and I will tell you everything in detail. How about it?”

Shen Ge said solemnly, “I’m curious. You aren’t concerned about your companion, Doo Yu-seong, but care about Kang Dong-wook, who just became a Mutant. Why is that?”

The tall Green-robed One was momentarily stunned. He hadn’t expected Shen Ge to pick up on the anomaly with just that clue, reminding him of the information Ye Jingwen sent back to headquarters before she died.

“I know making excuses to brush you off now would be a waste of time. This isn’t your first time meeting Doo Yu-seong, so I’ll be straight with you. It’s not a big secret anyway.”
“Doo Yu-seong is a new type of Mutant model our organization has been developing. You’re probably well aware of the two existing Mutant types: one is the ‘Artificial Eerie’ created by fusing the fleshy tumor hearts from the Progenitor Eerie with Eerie corpses into the human body. The other is using a special method to create a ‘symbiosis’ between parasitic Eeries and humans during the parasitic process.”
“The research institutes under the shopping mall and in the forest ravine are both our organization’s facilities, aimed at developing new types of Eeries.”
“Ye Jingwen probably told you that our organization believes once the ‘Reset’ descends, only a Mutant body might survive the apocalypse.”
“But currently, both Mutant models have significant flaws. The former requires long-term consumption of eerie energy, which the human body can’t withstand, leading to lesions. A decade is usually the limit. The latter is even worse; one misstep and the host is controlled by the parasitic Eerie, completely turning into an Eerie-like monster.”
“Doo Yu-seong was our attempt at a third method. We rescued him after he escaped from the military camp. We helped him get revenge, and he voluntarily participated in our research. This method involves having a new type of parasitic Eerie eat his brain. Then, this new parasitic Eerie, after parasitizing a human or corpse, can ‘share’ Doo Yu-seong’s memories once it becomes a Mutant.”
“Leaving aside whether the ‘clone’ is still the original person, the regret is that it not only has the ‘flaws’ of the previous two Mutant models but also a bigger drawback.”
“Every ‘clone’ believes it is the original and there is no concept of ‘coexistence.’ They are emotionally irritable, as if their anger is amplified, and can lose control at any time.”
“Moreover, the ‘Mother Parasite’ that produces them is very rare. This Mother Parasite for Doo Yu-seong only produced seven ‘parasitic Eeries’ before dying. The Doo Yu-seong you just killed was his fifth life. He still has two Eerie Parasites left, meaning he can revive twice more.”
“The ‘Mother Parasite’ inside Kang Dong-wook was originally intended to be cultivated into nourishment for Eerie King No. 2. If you destroy the ‘Mother Parasite’ already fused with his heart, we lose a chance to put No. 2 Eerie King back to sleep.”

After hearing the tall Green-robed One’s explanation, Shen Ge asked gravely, “If I recall correctly, Ye Jingwen said you and the Twelve Branches are not the same. She also mentioned that the methods of the Twelve Branches and yours for becoming Mutants differ. They become Mutants through the Progenitor Eerie, while you become Mutants through parasitic Eeries.”
“When I dealt with the Eerie at Deer Lake Water City in Rong City, I saw a large number of parasitic Eeries. Does that mean that Eerie disaster was also your doing?”

The tall Green-robed One quickly waved his hands, “Hold on. As Chinese people, we have our bottom line. No matter what, we cannot harm our own compatriots. The Eerie disasters within China have nothing to do with us.”
“Of course, although we are all human and should stand together against Eeries, to succeed, it’s inevitable that we need to conduct numerous inhumane experiments, filling the pit with countless lives. We are doing this for the future of humanity. Someone has to make the sacrifice, right?”
“As for why the Twelve Branches also possess parasitic Eeries… well, it’s… not that complicated. As a Chinese person, you probably know the Twelve Branches are also called the ‘Earthly Branches.’ We once shared a common goal and were one organization called the ‘Celestial Stems and Earthly Branches.'”
“Later, due to some changes and ideological differences, we ‘split.’ The leader of the Earthly Branches took the Progenitor Eerie’s corpse and renamed the group ‘Twelve Branches.'”
“If I remember correctly, they possess at least six different types of ‘Mother Parasites’ for parasitic Eeries. Besides the ‘Human-head Balloons,’ they have the basic types of parasitic Eerie ‘Mother Parasites.'”
“The incident in Rong City was their doing. Believe me, Chinese people don’t lie to Chinese people.”

The tall Green-robed One originally wanted to use this phrase to build more rapport with Shen Ge. Instead, upon hearing it, Shen Ge became even more wary.

“…”

Shen Ge was silent for a moment, then asked, “So, you’re creating this No. 2 Eerie King to share the burden for the No. 1 Eerie King in Japan?”

“Yes, and no. This matter… goes back to the origin of ‘eerie energy.’ Last time, Ye Jingwen’s condition was too poor, and there was no time to explain in detail. Hand over the Mutant Kang Dong-wook’s heart to me. I’ll have my assistant handle the No. 2 awakening issue, and I’ll stay here to explain everything to you slowly,” the tall Green-robed One sighed.

“I haven’t had much schooling, so don’t try to fool me,” Shen Ge’s tone was distrustful.

The tall Green-robed One repeatedly assured him, even swearing several oaths, finally declaring solemnly, “How about this: if I lie to you, may I be impotent for life!”

“…”

Shen Ge’s expression beneath his Rotten Flesh Armor nearly cracked. Finally, he raised a hand and threw Kang Dong-wook, bound by rotten blood, to the feet of the Green-robed Ones.

The two Green-robed Ones happily crouched down to extract Kang Dong-wook’s heart, not noticing that as Shen Ge retracted his Rotten Blood Tentacles, they lightly brushed past the “heart.”

The tall Green-robed One restrained Kang Dong-wook and had the shorter one cut out the “heart.” He instructed her to quickly go suppress No. 2’s awakening, while he stayed in the room to answer Shen Ge’s questions.

The tall Green-robed One briefly mentioned the group that first discovered the Progenitor Eerie, the establishment of the Haia Research Institute, finding the newborn Eerie King, but consequently pulling out the “stopper,” causing eerie energy from the depths to surge onto the surface. Then, Japan’s betrayal, the research of the Celestial Stems and Earthly Branches, and so on.

“Ye Jingwen probably told you that in the Haia Research Institute, there was a genius who discovered the secrets of the Progenitor Eerie and saw many astonishing things through the Eerie Eye. Actually, everyone in that team was remarkable. Someone else, through years of observing the deep eerie energy, discovered a startling possibility – the so-called eerie energy is likely the negative energy of the Earth itself.”
“From its birth to its repeated cataclysms, initially, the damage Earth suffered came from outer space, like meteorite impacts, solar flares, etc. Later, as civilizations emerged, the more developed the civilization, the deeper the harm inflicted on Earth.”
“Earth is like a person. When harmed, besides surface injuries, its ‘heart’ also suffers. With each destruction, the eerie energy inside Earth becomes more concentrated.”
“Just think about what humanity has done over the years.”
“…Huh.” Shen Ge was taken aback. After all this back and forth, it turned into an environmental theme, linking everything to the damage done to Earth.

The tall Green-robed One continued, “71% of Earth’s surface is water. Once polluted, water spreads very quickly. In recent years, pollution has intensified, the eerie energy inside Earth has become more concentrated, and more organisms are mutating. However, most of this negative energy comes from humanity. Now do you understand why humans are rejected by eerie energy?”
“Because what Earth wants to eradicate is humanity itself!”

Shen Ge immediately thought of an inconsistency: “But… according to the scenes seen through the Eerie Eye, Earth isn’t the only one. How do you explain the ‘cycle’ between the three planets?”

“Who knows? It might be reincarnation, or perhaps when Earth’s negative energy reaches its limit, it enters a ‘Reset’ mode, starting everything over, returning to a time before humans existed. However, as organisms evolve, even if humans don’t evolve, ‘fish people,’ ‘bird people’… might appear. It’s an inevitable manifestation of biological evolution,” the tall Green-robed One sighed.
“Think about the civilizations in legends – the skies, the cosmos, even Atlantis under the sea. They might not be fictional. Perhaps they were the ‘people’ born during Earth’s repeated resets, only to ultimately cause Earth to reset again and again due to the development of their civilizations.”

Shen Ge sighed, “So, you, the Celestial Stems and Earthly Branches… want to create Eerie Kings capable of absorbing eerie energy, using this method to delay human extinction, trying to find a stable Mutant model within that time, to survive Earth’s repeated resets.”

The tall Green-robed One said excitedly, “Who wants to die if they can live? Moreover, if we can solve the two major problems of ‘short lifespan’ and ‘being consumed by the Eerie,’ becoming perfect Mutants, we could not only, like the Progenitor Eerie, survive Earth’s reset and reach the next civilization, but could even become the guides for the next civilization. In a sense, we would be the ‘gods’ of the next civilization. Don’t you want to become a god?”

Shen Ge shook his head calmly, “No, I don’t. If I’m not mistaken, the ‘disagreement’ within the Celestial Stems and Earthly Branches arose precisely over this matter of becoming perfect Mutants and going to the next civilization… right?”

The tall Green-robed One was stunned, clearly not expecting Shen Ge to guess this layer. He said with a tone of frustration, “Those guys in the Twelve Branches are blinded by immediate interests. They only think about using the powerful strength of Mutants to manipulate the upper echelons of various countries from behind the scenes, enjoying short-lived glory and wealth…”
“Aren’t you also thinking about going to the next civilization and becoming ‘gods’ to be worshipped by the new civilization?” Shen Ge retorted with a slightly teasing tone.

“How is that the same?” the tall Green-robed One’s tone deepened.

“In my view, it’s the same. One of you wants to enjoy glory and wealth now, the other wants to enjoy it in the future. But no one has thought about completely eliminating the threat of the ‘Reset,’ allowing humanity to continue,” Shen Ge said flatly.

The tall Green-robed One was stunned by these words. Had they not considered what Shen Ge mentioned?
No, they had. In fact, the original purpose of creating the Celestial Stems and Earthly Branches was to completely resolve the two major threats of the “Reset” and Eeries.

When did it start to change?
Was it when the Earthly Branches guys successfully fused with the Progenitor Eerie’s flesh and blood hearts, becoming Mutants and gaining great power, attempting to control humanity?
Or was it in recent years when the Celestial Stems discovered that the surge of eerie energy was becoming more severe, Eerie incidents were becoming more frequent, and Eeries were growing stronger?

Both the Celestial Stems and the Earthly Branches were gradually moving away from their original purpose, step by step heading down a path completely opposite to their founding ideals.

As the tall Green-robed One fell into deep thought, Shen Ge suddenly interrupted him, “However, compared to the Earthly Branches, I prefer your side. Whether you just want to be gods in the future or not, at least what you’re doing now is, to some extent, slowing down the occurrence of Eerie incidents and benefiting humanity.”
“Right? We are different from those Earthly Branches guys,” the tall Green-robed One said excitedly.

“…” So easy to handle?

Shen Ge’s expression beneath his battle armor became somewhat strange. He could sense that both the Celestial Stems and the Earthly Branches, after becoming Mutants, their thinking had gradually detached from humanity. Often, one couldn’t expect them to think according to human logic.

But to continue extracting information from the Green-robed One, he had to go along with his words for now. Breaking off at this point was clearly unwise.

“I’m more willing to cooperate with you. But before cooperating, I have one more question.”

“What is it?”

“Give me the list of all researchers from the Haia Research Institute… Of course, you can omit the people from your ‘Celestial Stems.'”

“That’s it? Telling you won’t change…” The tall Green-robed One finished speaking and readily recited several dozen names to Shen Ge, even mentioning where they used to work and what they did.

“That’s all? Any more?” Shen Ge obviously hadn’t heard the name he expected, so he asked again.

“The rest are all our ‘Celestial Stems’ people. Didn’t you say I could omit them?”

“…” Shen Ge really wanted to say, “I was just being polite.”

But before he could continue coaxing the Green-robed One, the entire room suddenly shook violently. A wristwatch on the tall Green-robed One’s left hand beeped and flashed red.

“Not good! Failed to stop No. 2 from waking up!”

Shen Ge was taken aback, “How can that fail?”

“No time to explain! Come help!”

As he spoke, the tall Green-robed One took out a disc-shaped eerie energy device, opened a gap in the ceiling, and jumped up.

Shen Ge followed closely, simultaneously whispering to Little Seven, “Little Seven, transmit the surveillance footage from the ‘heart.’ Lock onto the ‘heart’s’ location.”

“Okay, Master!”

When Shen Ge handed Kang Dong-wook’s body to the Green-robed Ones, he had not only left tracking rotten flesh in the “heart” but also planted a surveillance device.

As soon as he finished speaking, Little Seven transmitted the footage from the “heart.”

…
…

While Shen Ge and the Green-robed One headed deeper, on the top floor of the building, in a pile of collapsed rubble, a hand burst through the stone heap, struggling to climb out of the pile of broken rocks.

“Cough.”
“Cough, cough.”

After emerging from the pile, Kwon Chan-yu leaned against the rubble, coughing violently and spitting out a mouthful of blood. He had likely suffered internal injuries from being hit by the collapsing ceiling.

After entering the dark space following Park Chang-ho, initially, Kwon Chan-yu was communicating normally with Kim Soo-jeong. But as he walked, he realized Kim Soo-jeong had gone silent. Puzzled, he noticed the hand on his shoulder not only lost its warmth but was getting colder.

Kwon Chan-yu called out a few times, but neither Kim Soo-jeong, Park Chang-ho, nor the talkative Kang Dong-wook responded.

Kwon Chan-yu immediately sensed something was wrong and stopped. When he listened, the people in front and behind him also stopped.

Bizarrely, the sound of footsteps walking could still be faintly heard in the dark space.

Kwon Chan-yu’s heart sank. He immediately decided to take out his eerie energy equipment, the Eerie-bone Cube. Normally, he used this device to trap Eeries, but today he decisively locked himself inside.

After hiding in the Eerie-bone Cube, the cold hand on his shoulder didn’t disappear. He didn’t dare move or ask if the hand still belonged to Kim Soo-jeong.

He could only hide in the Eerie-bone Cube and wait quietly, waiting for Park Chang-ho or other Eerie Response agents to call out and find him.

But instead of Park Chang-ho, he heard an explosion, followed by the whole world shaking, then a sensation of rapid falling as if thrown from a great height.

Park Chang-ho opened a corner of the Eerie-bone Cube to look down and indeed saw himself plummeting. He quickly took out the Eerie-leather Ball, wrapped the Eerie-bone Cube in it, and inflated it.

Protected by both the Eerie-leather Ball and the Eerie-bone Cube, Park Chang-ho fell from dozens of meters high. But he didn’t hit the ground; instead, he landed on the roof of a building.

Before Park Chang-ho could deactivate his eerie energy equipment to investigate what had happened, he saw the sky was a distorted scene of other city blocks. Then, a building exploded, falling like a meteor shower.

Park Chang-ho tried to roll the Eerie-leather Ball down the building, but an invisible barrier blocked him. The next moment, the collapsing building turned into a meteor shower, smashing the building he was on into rubble.

And so, Kwon Chan-yu was buried in the ruins.

“Cough, cough.” Kwon Chan-yu finally stopped coughing up blood. He quickly took out various recovery potions recently issued to Eerie Response agents from his tactical backpack and consumed them.

Reportedly, these were the latest potions from Korea’s Eerie Research Bureau. As long as it wasn’t a fatal injury like a damaged heart, even severe injuries could be alleviated to some extent.

Although Kwon Chan-yu relied on the two defensive eerie energy equipment, the Eerie-bone Cube and Eerie-leather Ball, to mitigate the crushing damage from the collapse, it also caused the two pieces of equipment to break. The Eerie-leather Ball was beyond repair, and the Eerie-bone Cube was reduced to its “skeleton.”

Kwon Chan-yu gasped for breath, looking up at the distorted sky. Some blocks were raining “human meat dumplings” madly. The sky was filled with Human-head Balloons enjoying their feast. Some balloons were stretched to almost five or six meters in diameter, their facial expressions becoming increasingly ferocious.

Clearly, now wasn’t the time to worry about whether his eerie energy equipment could be repaired, but whether he could survive and escape this hellish place.

Just then, Kwon Chan-yu faintly heard a series of “thud, thud, thud” heavy knocking sounds from within the building. With each sound, the entire building shook slightly.

Then, Kwon Chan-yu horrifyingly discovered that the surrounding floor and ceiling were wriggling like maggots. Some rubble and debris on the floor slowly sank into it as if encountering quicksand.

Boom!
Suddenly, the building Kwon Chan-yu was in “moved.” It was like a mountain giant buried underground slowly climbing out.

Kwon Chan-yu rushed to the edge of the rooftop, away from the “man-eating” floor, and looked out. Only then did he realize this wasn’t a building at all, but a giant Eerie.

Through the reflective glass of the building opposite, Kwon Chan-yu saw that this building was actually a “humanoid” Eerie, its limbs crouched on the ground, the building itself being the Eerie’s head.

Kwon Chan-yu also saw tanks