The System Arrived Four Years Early, but the Anomaly Is Still a Juvenile - Chapter 200

Shen Ge pondered for a long while, finally identifying a crucial issue. The foundation of “Tiangan’s” series of conclusions lay in “their means to observe the three planets on a deeper level.” However, whether it was the Special Response Department, Li Xiang, or even Shen Ge and Deng Yuqi who had also observed the Primordial Anomalous Eye, the scenes they saw were observed from a “cosmic” perspective.

“You said ‘Tiangan’ has a method to observe Earth-2. What is it?” Shen Ge asked.

The Mirror Anomaly shook its head. “I don’t know. Don’t forget, I’m just a combat operative, not a technical one. A lot of intelligence is beyond my reach. However, I once overheard a researcher mention the ‘Second Anomalous Eye.’ Humans have two eyes, let alone anomalies. So, having a second or even third Anomalous Eye capable of seeing more information isn’t strange, right?”

“I only know that ‘Tiangan’ believes Earth-2 is replicating Earth-1’s trajectory. But Earth-2 discards the dross and keeps the essence, eliminating the undesirable developmental paths of Earth-1, thus steering Earth-2 towards a perfect world. Unfortunately, it failed. Yet, Earth-2 isn’t completely dead; it’s hanging on by a thread.”

“In the scene witnessed by the Primordial Anomalous Eye, the three planets form a triangle, with a ‘black hole’ of intertwined red and black mist at the center. In fact, according to ‘Tiangan’s’ speculation, it was originally supposed to be a straight line passing through that black hole, with Earth-1 and Earth-2 at either end, forming ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ sides.”

“Through years of observation, ‘Tiangan’ arrived at a startling conclusion—just as there must be yin for yang, positive for negative, everything has two sides. This world… also has its two sides. Earth-1 is one side, and Earth-2 is the other.”

“Earth-1 continuously evolves, attempting to create a perfect world. Earth-2 eliminates the undesirable developments of Earth-1, seeking a perfect world from the opposite direction. However, perhaps influenced by the central black hole, both the positive and negative developments failed.”

“This failure led to the complete death of Earth-1, while Earth-2 teetered on the brink of withering. But for some reason, Earth-2 suddenly split into two. The original straight line turned into a triangle, allowing the three planets to ‘avoid’ connection with the central black hole.”

“Combining this with the Primordial Anomaly’s ‘sudden appearance,’ Tiangan suspects it was either the people from Earth-1 who defeated the Primordial Anomaly, or the Primordial Anomaly itself, unwilling to accept the ‘outcome’ of Earth’s withering. They thus used some method to send the Primordial Anomaly to Earth-2, causing it to split.”

“This might be the reason the Primordial Anomaly ‘suddenly’ descended upon our world. Due to its intervention, a new positive and negative side was born.”

“It’s just that Earth-2’s situation is too complex. Even after the split, it couldn’t restart. It wasn’t until Earth-3 connected with Earth-1, influenced by some force, that continuous restarts began—up to the 1,009,320th restart… However, the results of these 1,009,320 restarts were all ‘outcomes’ that had already occurred on Earth-2. This might be an issue left over from the split, or an influence that people on Earth-1 couldn’t change.”

“Therefore, our 1,009,320 ‘worlds’ were destined to fail from the start. Restart was a foregone conclusion. Hence, Tiangan set their sights on the next civilization, attempting to enter the restarted world early. Using the power obtained from anomalies, they aim to intervene in Earth’s evolutionary process prematurely, nipping anomalies in the bud.”

“As for Earth-2, having lost the ability to restart, even after entering its apocalypse, it didn’t restart. It’s merely ‘lingering on in a steadily worsening condition.’ However, Tiangan’s observations found that due to the overlapping of ‘outcomes,’ it has become disordered, transforming into a completely twisted space.”

“In fact, throughout countless evolutions, there was no concept of ‘Anomalous Space,’ only Anomalous Domains mastered by high-level anomalies. The Anomalous Space of our 1,009,320 ‘worlds’ exists because of the Primordial Anomaly. When the anomalous energy emitted by its cells collides with that of other anomalies, it causes spatial distortion, causing our world to overlap and twist with the worlds of Earth-1 or Earth-2.”

Hearing this, Shen Ge suddenly noticed something off. Initially, listening to the Mirror Anomaly explain the ‘reason’ for Earth-3’s birth and how Earth-2, having lost its restart ability, became a twisted world under some influence, he thought the other was going to say Earth-3’s “Anomalous Space” connected to Earth-2. But it was actually connected to both Earth-1 and Earth-2 simultaneously?

“Why is it connected to both? How do you differentiate between them?” Shen Ge immediately voiced his confusion. Connecting to one versus two was fundamentally different.

“Why say it’s connected to both simultaneously? This is also merely an ‘inference’ made by Tiangan. First, based on the ‘triangular connection’ inference: because Earth-2 split into two, giving birth to Earth-2 and Earth-3 connected simultaneously, the Primordial Anomaly became the medium connecting the two.”

“Second, based on research on ‘Anomalous Space.’ As the Special Response Department’s most outstanding anomaly investigator, apart from the anomaly disasters in Europe and America last year, you’ve experienced major events in Asia. I believe you’ve also noticed distinct differences in the ‘Anomalous Spaces’ we enter.”

“There are spaces with disordered time, disordered space, and even chaotic worlds with multiple disordered elements mixed together. ‘Tiangan’ believes this reflects the ‘current state’ of Earth-1 and Earth-2. Earth-1 is in apocalypse, so when you enter an Anomalous Space that’s a completely apocalyptic world, it’s connected to Earth-1. If it’s a completely disordered world, then it’s Earth-2.”

“It’s just that after the original Earth-2 was split, it spiraled completely out of control. The twisted space drawn into could be from Earth-1 or Earth-2. This is why the time in each Anomalous Space entry shows significant jumps. Due to the uncontrollable nature of the twisted space, Tiangan’s research became difficult. That is, until they discovered you. You hold the ‘key’ to opening this door, even able to enter and exit the twisted space at will.”

Shen Ge frowned upon hearing this. The “key” discovered by Tiangan was clearly his characteristic ability. From initially being able to cause collisions and distortions between his characteristic-created Anomalous Domain and Anomalous Space, to now being able to stably enter and exit the Anomalous Space at will with people or objects without even deploying his domain.

Shen Ge’s characteristic ability comes from the System. Based on the intelligence he now holds, it’s almost certain the “System” is the Primordial Anomaly, or a part of it.

Precisely because of this, Shen Ge possesses the “key” to mastering the Anomalous Space.

“If the Anomalous Space is caused by the multiple twisted outcomes of Earth-2, why did you say the Anomalous Space is the ‘Dream World’?”

Shen Ge didn’t linger on the topic of the key. Even though he told Deng Yuqi and Li Xiang about the System for “research” purposes, his characteristic and Anomalous Domain remain his trump cards, never mentioned to anyone.

“This is a term mentioned in the research files on you by Tiangan and the Anomaly Association. I only came across this file by chance while investigating you after learning of your existence and the reason for our birth in South Korea. Otherwise, did you think the Anomaly Association just pampered you with good food and drink during those years at Rongshan Mental Hospital? I imagine they dug out quite a few secrets from you in those three years.”

“If you want to know the truth about the Anomaly Association, going to headquarters and rooting out the Anomaly Association members who integrated with the research department and hid within is probably the only way.”

Hearing this, Shen Ge’s mood sank considerably. Regardless of whether the Mirror Anomaly’s words contained an element of “stirring trouble,” if it were confirmed that the Anomaly Association still existed within headquarters, then everything from his “discovery” to joining the Special Response Department, even Deng Yuqi’s unconditional “trust,” would become highly suspect.

There are only two ways to investigate the Anomaly Association’s “remnants”: one is to search for clues within the “Dream World,” the other is to investigate at headquarters.

But that’s for later. The most important issue now is finding a way to leave the Dream World.

Unaware of Shen Ge’s thoughts, the Mirror Anomaly just wanted to quickly resolve the other’s doubts so Shen Ge would “release” him from here.

“Regarding the ‘secrets’ of the Anomalous Space, Tiangan, the Twelve Branches, the Anomaly Association, the Special Response Department, and even the anomaly departments of many countries know. They just didn’t expect the Twelve Branches to use Primordial Anomaly cells to create twisted worlds when orchestrating a series of anomaly disaster events, expanding the immature Anomalous Domains of anomalies—for example, the Yu Zhou incident.”

“And you, as an anomaly perfectly fused with Primordial Anomaly cells, also possess this ability. Moreover, you can even ‘control’ this ability.”

“Tiangan is already investigating whether your ability is related to the Dream World. As your original self, let me give you some advice… Your situation dictates that you cannot trust anyone. Otherwise, you’ll only fall into the abyss!”

Shen Ge raised an eyebrow, speaking with interest. “Should I be touched? A ‘replica’ who was trying to kill me just moments ago is suddenly showering me, the original, with such concern? Don’t think I don’t know the little schemes hidden in your words. Knowing you’re about to die, deliberately causing trouble for me?”

“We’re all wolves here, no need to pretend to be rabbits with tails tucked. Half-truths in the intel you revealed—this trick wasn’t just used by your superior, Fatty Xin. Someone in a book had a girl with the surname Huang use it over a decade ago. Trying to play the sympathy card to survive? Then find another chance to come after me? If it were you… would you leave behind such a huge hidden danger?”

Shen Ge snorted coldly, then raised his hand. Fighting through the discomfort of depleted mental energy, he made a grasping motion in the air. The Mirror Anomaly was crushed into a pulp within the ever-compressing space.

Before death, the Mirror Anomaly could only curse and rage helplessly. He never imagined Shen Ge could be so ruthless—discussing the Anomalous Space one moment, then immediately resorting to slaughter the next.

The sudden change even caught him off guard, leaving him unable to prepare any resistance before the contracting mirror world turned him into a mess of flesh and mud.

Shen Ge’s sudden move to kill the Mirror Anomaly had two simple reasons. First, he saw that this guy had embedded many issues related to anomaly organizations within what could have been explained in a few sentences. The “personal grievances” mixed in were self-evident.

As Shen Ge said, the Mirror Anomaly, perhaps realizing his inevitable death, aimed to create a few enemies for Shen Ge, the big boss. Even in death, he wouldn’t let the Anomaly Association and Tiangan-Dizhi, who created him, off the hook.

Second was the Mirror Anomaly’s “goal”… Shen Ge tried to think from the replica’s perspective.

Although being someone’s “replica” is unsettling, it’s not like the words “replica” are carved on one’s face. There are plenty of similar-looking people in the world; they aren’t all replicas.
Plus, as Shen Ge’s replica, with the “anomaly” characteristic, becoming a superhuman is no issue, right? Becoming a “Homelander” type?

Whether joining the authorities, anomaly organizations, or hiding on some street as a friendly neighbor—as long as he didn’t provoke the original personality, it would be a perfect “Bio-Alice” script.

But the Mirror Anomaly chose the most radical option among many—challenging the original, even wanting to devour and replace him.

If he were “soft-hearted” and let him go, it would be equivalent to planting a ticking time bomb beside himself, unsure when it would explode!

Of course, the most important reason was that Shen Ge was still trapped in the Dream World. Whenever he “died” and his consciousness weakened, the Mirror Anomaly would try to devour his consciousness. This major hidden danger alone meant he couldn’t be left alive.

As for how many more secrets the Mirror Anomaly held, how much intel he knew about the Anomaly Association, Tiangan-Dizhi, and other anomaly organizations—it wasn’t important.

As Shen Ge said, the Mirror Anomaly, Fatty Xin, and even the previous green-robed Ye Jingwen—who knew how much truth was in the intel they spoke? Shen Ge initially listened patiently only to sift for credible information within the “large framework” of their narratives.

After all, to construct a “large-scale lie,” the overall framework needed to be somewhat persuasive. This was also why Shen Ge hadn’t been overly resistant to Tiangan’s people; both sides wanted to extract information from each other.

Currently, combining intel from Tiangan, the Twelve Branches, and the Mirror Anomaly, Shen Ge could confirm the “reality” of the mirror world and the Anomaly Association. Compared to the “half-truths” from the first three, Shen Ge trusted the intel obtained by the Anomaly Association within the Dream World more.

Based on the above, the “truth” Shen Ge pieced together first confirmed that the System was the Primordial Anomaly. Secondly, the Primordial Anomaly came from Earth-2 and was also the “culprit” that caused Earth-2 to split into Earth-3. This aligned with various organizations’ claims that the Primordial Anomaly “suddenly appeared.”

Roughly, as “Tiangan’s” research indicated, Earth-1 and Earth-2, as “positive and negative sides,” influenced by the central black hole, gave rise to anomalies, causing both planets to head toward destruction simultaneously.
Earth-1’s withering was irreversible. Some individual or group on Earth-2 used the Primordial Anomaly to split Earth-2 into two,衍生出 (giving birth to) Earth-3.

Originally, Earth-2 could make some adjustments based on Earth-1’s evolution, constantly restarting and developing towards a perfect world. But since Earth-2 and Earth-3 were originally one, these adjustments had significant limitations, rendering the “outcome” of the 1,009,320 restarts predestined.

However, Shen Ge felt the biggest flaw in the “truth” told by the Mirror Anomaly was that this world was Earth-2, yet he emphasized the Anomalous Space was the multiple outcomes of Earth-2.

Simultaneously, this world, like a dream, was manipulated by Shen Ge’s consciousness. It was no longer as simple as the “key” mentioned by the Mirror Anomaly.

Setting aside the limited mental energy issue, Shen Ge was essentially this world’s “master,” able to create things from nothing with his consciousness.

Was this really just a “dream”?
But none of this was important. What mattered was that the Anomalous Space was formed by the overlapping, twisted “outcomes” of Earth-2. Therefore, the first step was to determine the connection between the Anomalous Space and the Dream World. If connected, then the rules of the Anomalous Space might also apply in the Dream World.

For example, defeating the boss causes the maintained space to collapse. Or finding the “boundary” and creating spatial distortion with his Anomalous Domain to exit.

After depleting his mental energy, Shen Ge felt dizzy and disoriented. The spinning sensation grew worse until everything went black and he passed out.

However, without the Mirror Anomaly trying to devour his consciousness whenever it weakened, Shen Ge had an especially peaceful “sleep.”

After an unknown period, Shen Ge gradually woke from his groggy state. Opening his eyes, he found himself awake again in the children’s room filled with terrifying toys.

“Strange, is this a death reset? Did I die during the coma, or did I trigger some ‘restart’ mechanism?”

Currently, even “death” caused Shen Ge no discomfort. On the contrary, his drained mental energy was “full,” making him feel refreshed.

But Shen Ge didn’t believe it was that simple. If “death reset” had no penalty, he could just recklessly expend mental energy against anomalies and wait for the reset.

While pondering, Shen Ge got up and opened the bathroom door. The “ink painting” on the right was still covered with red cloth, but the Mirror Anomaly’s figure was gone from the mirror.

The bloody bathtub behind the shower curtain was also “drained.” Shen Ge checked the entire bathroom and found all blood-related items had disappeared.

But Shen Ge knew he had only used the Dream World’s power to “expel” the Mirror Anomaly, not truly “kill” him.

Outside the dream, Little Seven was currently controlling the Crimson Mist Armor manipulating Shen Ge’s body. Though the battle situation was unknown, Shen Ge’s current “safe and sound” state indicated the Mirror Anomaly hadn’t won yet.

But he couldn’t rely entirely on Little Seven to hold on. Shen Ge believed he must take the initiative, find a way to leave the Dream World quickly.

“Earlier, the replica worried about my contact with the Headmistress. Was it because she held some secret, or because he feared I’d obtain the Dream World’s power from her?”

“From the conversation with the replica, he seemed very surprised I could master dream power. So, he likely thought I couldn’t defeat the Headmistress.”

Since the Twelve Branches’ appearance, anomaly organizations had sprung up like mushrooms. Shen Ge was accustomed to filtering useful intel from the garbage information these “Huang girls” spewed.

As a “designer,” he was good at grasping details, analyzing them to obtain the information he wanted.

For example, Shen Ge next planned to go to the “classroom” to find the Headmistress. Through her, he could determine at least two key pieces of information:

First, whether the Dream World reset with his death resets. Second, what secret about the Headmistress made the replica so wary!

Thinking this, Shen Ge opened the left door again. With a grating creak, he reappeared at the classroom’s back door.

The dim classroom had only a dozen or so desks, but this time, only a few identically dressed and looking little boys were listening to the Headmistress’ lesson.

Shen Ge, still in his ten-year-old form, first hypnotized himself for strength. Then, he materialized a two-handed Filial Piety Sword, “Fire’s Joy,” and performed a spinning whirlwind for the Headmistress on the podium: “Old thief, take my Unlimited Blade Works!”

The composition was overly complex. Shen Ge aimed this sword at the Headmistress’s “Neck-person Legend” neck, but her reaction was faster. Instantly elongating her neck, she coiled it towards the greatsword, entwining around the blade, bringing her face close to Shen Ge’s in a “close-up kill.”

“…Old woman, you’re truly ugly!” Shen Ge twisted the sword, then hooked. Several chains suddenly extended from the blade, binding the Headmistress’s neck and restraining her body.

Initially, Shen Ge wanted to try simulating his characteristic and Anomalous Domain powers through dream power but found his mental energy couldn’t sustain it, like simulating superpowers.

So he settled for the next best thing—”materializing” cold weapons.

Although the “Unlimited Blade Works” line was mostly a joke, materializing cold weapons consumed negligible mental energy for Shen Ge. If he had Lin Yin’s physique and combat skills, he might truly unleash Unlimited Blade Works’ power.

The Headmistress twisted her neck, trying to break free from the chains, her wrinkled, old face sinisterly glaring at Shen Ge.

“Found… you.” As the Headmistress spoke, the few “San Zai” in the classroom also turned to stare at Shen Ge.

“Found… you.”

“Found you.”

“Found you!”

These San Zai faces were twisted and ferocious. Compared to the hot-blooded little boy Shen Ge first met, they seemed possessed by vengeful spirits.

Shen Ge slammed Fire’s Joy onto a desk, crooking his finger provocatively at the Headmistress and others. “Come on then. I can take on ten!”

As he spoke, Shen Ge raised a hand. Several “flying guillotines” extended from the ceiling, accurately landing on the heads of the Headmistress and the San Zai.

Thud—
Thud—
Thud!

With sprays of blood, the few San Zai in the classroom were the first killed by the flying guillotines. Blood gushed from their necks, spilling all over the floor.

But the guillotine stuck on the Headmistress’s neck made strange noises, then shattered. The Headmistress’s head expanded, like when it swelled to fill the ventilation pipe earlier.

“Tsk, seems the materialized cold weapons aren’t strong enough.” While Shen Ge pondered how to deal with the Headmistress, she attacked first.

“Who said you could move?”

Just as the chains on the Headmistress shattered, a loud clang echoed. Two iron boxes resembling coffins materialized out of thin air, encasing the Headmistress inside.

“Iron Maiden. Suits you!”