The System Arrived Four Years Early, but the Anomaly Is Still a Juvenile - Chapter 204

Although Liu Jiayi had been transferred to the Rong City branch for less than half a year, her relationship with Deng Yuqi and her “position” meant she was relatively familiar within the department. Even though Shen Ge hadn’t collaborated with Liu Jiayi, they were more or less acquainted.

So, when Shen Ge said he didn’t recognize her, Liu Jiayi initially thought he was joking. But then it struck her that since Shen Ge didn’t even recognize his own mother-in-law, he probably wasn’t in the mood for that kind of joke.

To ease the awkwardness, Liu Jiayi said with a smile, “Hey, Lao Shen, really? Still holding a grudge over that spiced egg I snatched from you last month?”

Shen Ge’s gaze sharpened. He looked around at the others and realized there were quite a few people he “didn’t know” — at least seven or eight.

Liu Jiayi seemed to sense the issue. She tentatively asked, “Wait, you’re not joking? You really forgot us? Did… did you get injured in the head inside the Anomalous Space?”

Cheng Shengnan also asked anxiously, “Were you hurt? Come on, let’s go to the infirmary for a check-up. If it’s just memory loss, that’s one thing, but we need to rule out any underlying problems.”

Shen Ge nodded. Based on his experience, it was impossible for anyone to interfere with his memories like this — not even the Mirror Specter. After all, if the other party truly possessed such an ability, the dangers Shen Ge faced in the Mirror World would have multiplied several times over. Not to mention, the specter had always wanted to devour his consciousness.

With such an overpowering ability, simply tampering with his memory would have significantly increased the success rate of the devouring, likely succeeding during the first consciousness invasion.

If it wasn’t an ability related to memory interference, then perhaps Shen Ge’s “head” had been severely damaged. He couldn’t be sure if he’d been injured in the Mirror World, as he had died inexplicably several times without even knowing how. In the real world, Little Seven had been protecting Shen Ge’s body in the Crimson Mist Armor, so there were no external injuries.

Realizing something was wrong with Shen Ge, “old acquaintances” like Feng Chengxiu and Wang Han, who had wanted to greet him, held back. Deng Yuqi instructed them to get back to work while she, along with Cheng Shengnan and a few others, accompanied Shen Ge to the infirmary.

On the way, Little Seven conducted a thorough examination of Shen Ge’s body through the Crimson Mist Armor and confirmed there were no external injuries.

After spending most of the day in the Medical Department undergoing tests, including blood draws and injury assessments, the conclusion matched Little Seven’s: Shen Ge was physically fine.

“Prober Shen’s body shows no abnormalities. Brain scans also show no signs of traumatic memory loss. If this is ‘amnesia,’ I believe the cause is not physical,” reported the head physician of the Medical Department. Having often collaborated with the Research Department, he was familiar with the strange abilities of Anomalies, hinting that Shen Ge’s issue likely stemmed from an Anomaly or the Anomalous Space.

Deng Yuqi looked gravely at Shen Ge. “Given that you said you weren’t injured in the Anomalous Space either, could it be the influence of an Anomaly with a special ability?”

Shen Ge thought for a moment, then shook his head, dismissing the possibility. In the Dream World, the strangest entities were undoubtedly the “Neck-Stretching Director” and the specters, but aside from her infinitely elongating neck and rubber-like limbs, she hadn’t displayed any other special abilities.

The only possibility was the final room filled with eyes, which also contained a “person” identical to Shen Ge. However, Shen Ge had “died” upon entering that room. This death didn’t lead to waking up elsewhere but instead returned him to the real world.

If there was anything peculiar about this Dream World experience, it was that “room of eyes.”

As Shen Ge pondered, Cheng Shengnan spoke up, “I’ve tallied the people Shen Ge has ‘forgotten.’ There are eight in total: my mother, Deputy Director Liu Jiayi of the Information Department, the Assault Team Captain of the Operations Department… Among them, Deputy Director Liu had the most collaborations with Shen Ge, followed by…”

Cheng Shengnan briefly summarized the situations of the eight individuals Shen Ge had “forgotten.” The one he collaborated with most was Liu Jiayi; the one he knew for the shortest time was Cheng Shengnan’s mother; the one he had the least contact with was the Assault Team Captain… Overall, none of these eight were low-level staff he’d only met once. Even the Assault Team Captain, whom he interacted with the least, was someone Shen Ge could name upon seeing.

Deng Yuqi asked, “…As the Deputy Director of the Information Department, Lao Liu is the one Shen Ge communicates with when he needs operational data. Their interactions have been frequent over the past few months. By the way, Shen Ge, do you remember who provided you with the route map when you went to Quanlong Mountain to retrieve the Yun’er sisters?”

Shen Ge frowned slightly. “Retrieve who?”

“?”

His counter-question took everyone aback. Cheng Shengnan pressed, “Shen Yun’er and Shen Xue’er. These sisters were assassins trained by the Red Stamen organization in Korea. When you were providing support in Korea, they were assigned to monitor you, but you managed to turn them and bring them back to the country. To demonstrate her loyalty, Shen Yun’er used her own body as a container to bring back a ‘Specter sample’ from a Korean research institute. You… you don’t remember any of this?”

As Cheng Shengnan explained, Shen Ge’s frown deepened. He realized he had some “impression” of these events, but the memories were blurry.

Seeing this, Deng Yuqi said solemnly, “It seems it’s not just those eight people from this morning… Shen Ge, do you remember Wang Fuchu, Shi Sijie, Qin Chunxi, Cao Ren… these people?”

Deng Yuqi listed eight names one by one, pausing after each. Shen Ge carefully searched his mind for the corresponding individuals. In the end, he found that among the eight names, only a couple evoked vague impressions; the rest were completely unfamiliar.

“What about Jiang Jian and Ning Dian?” Deng Yuqi asked further.

Shen Ge thought for a moment. “Two Anti-Anomaly fighters under Captain Feng’s command? I remember when they joined the department, I gave them a lift to the Operations Department. We chatted a bit on the way. What about them? How are they different from the names you just mentioned?”

Deng Yuqi pondered briefly, an answer already forming in her mind. “Including Jiang Jian and Ning Dian, these ten individuals are all ‘newcomers’ who joined in the past few months, listed in order from most recent to earliest. What they have in common is that they all had regular interactions with you; they aren’t the type whose names you wouldn’t even know.”

“Jiang Jian and Ning Dian were transferred to the department five months ago. Wang Fuchu and Shi Sijie last month. Qin Chunxi and Cao Ren the month before that… Besides them, the other people you forgot were all transferred or started interacting with you within the last four months.” Deng Yuqi continued, listing more names.

Everyone quickly discerned the pattern of Shen Ge’s problem: the “people” he had forgotten were all those he had met or started interacting with within the past four months. And beyond just “people,” Shen Ge’s memories from the past four months had also become blurry.

Shen Ge had previously noticed two types of memories in his mind: “clear” memories and “blurry” memories. Now, the events of the past four months had shifted into the “blurry” category.

Li Xiang summarized, “So, Lao Shen hasn’t completely forgotten these people. It’s more that his memories from the past four months have become fuzzy. The impact is greatest on memories of people, followed by memories of events. And these memories aren’t entirely gone; they’ve just blurred. With stronger cues, recall might be possible… But that’s not the main point. The key question is: why specifically the ‘past four months’?”

Li Xiang’s junior, Jiang Wenpei, nodded thoughtfully. “Exactly. Memory loss with a ‘fixed’ time limit — that’s a trope found in old-fashioned idol dramas, with plots like conveniently forgetting the female or male lead. But those plots hinge on ‘injury.’ Based on all the test results, Prober Shen hasn’t sustained any injuries. So, this ‘past four months’ might be a clue of some sort.”

Li Xiang nodded and looked at Shen Ge. “Lao Shen, how long were you inside the Anomalous Space this time? Four months? Or was there any experience related to the number ‘four’?”

Shen Ge shook his head as he thought. “This time in the Anomalous Space wasn’t particularly long. Excluding the unknown duration of unconsciousness, it was only a few days at most. Probably… about a week. I spent less time there than during the ‘unconscious’ period before going to Donghuan Lake, and memory loss didn’t occur then.”

“As for… ‘four.'” Shen Ge quickly replayed the events of his Dream World journey. If there was anything connected to the number “four,” it was only one thing:

He had “died” four times in the Dream World.

“Could it be that ‘memory blurring’ is the penalty for dying in the Dream World? Each death blurs about a month’s worth of memories?”

“Looking at it that way, the ‘penalty’ isn’t too severe… One month per death. Counting roughly, that’s over three hundred lives?”

Having identified the pattern of Shen Ge’s problem, the next step was verifying Li Xiang’s hypothesis. Comparing Shen Ge’s experiences with people and events from the past four months confirmed that he could clearly remember things from five months ago, but memories from the past four months were indeed fuzzy.

As for whether the memory blurring was related to “death” in the Dream World, that could only be verified the next time Shen Ge entered the Dream World. But just as Shen Ge didn’t know how to “escape” from the Dream World, he also didn’t know how to actively enter it.

The only entity with some understanding of the Dream World, the Mirror Specter, had been completely devoured by Little Seven using the Anomalous Stomach, leaving not a trace behind.

After this Dream World experience, Shen Ge decided that until he had thoroughly investigated the matter of the Specter Association, it was best not to use the department’s resources for the investigation to avoid alerting them.

After all, following this incident, aside from people like Cheng Shengnan who weren’t originally members of the Special Response Department, everyone else could potentially be “remnants” left behind by the Specter Association.

Given Shen Ge’s connection to the Rongshan Mental Hospital, if these “remnants” were still holding back, they were either plotting something or had known about Shen Ge from the moment he joined the Special Response Department, merely secretly observing and monitoring him.

By the time they left the Medical Department, it was already evening. Shen Ge stopped Deng Yuqi, who was about to leave. “Director, I recall that half a year ago, headquarters repeatedly ‘invited’ our branch’s probers and researchers for exchange and training?”

“That’s right. They specifically named you and Li Xiang, but when I asked, neither of you wanted to go, so I declined. Later, pestered incessantly, I sent Lin Yin instead… Those latest model mechanical arms she has were ‘exchanged’ from headquarters, weren’t they?” Deng Yuqi replied.

Shen Ge thought to himself: … I suspect it was less of an “exchange” and more of a “robbery.”

Since Shen Ge introduced a certain “bandit” ethos to the Rong City branch, the entire department, top to bottom, had cultivated the fine tradition of “stripping a layer off even when just passing by.”

When Lin Yin went to headquarters for the exchange, she was assigned to assist with an Anomaly incident. She took a liking to the newly developed Mechanical Kinetic Armguards. What was supposed to be “voluntary assistance” turned into “if you don’t give them to me, I’ll go back to the factory and tighten screws.” In the end, she actually managed to trade her own Anomaly-Energy Armguards for a pair of the latest Mechanical Kinetic Armguards.

Calling it an “exchange” was a stretch; it was essentially “robbery.” Shen Ge remembered this incident quite clearly.

Seeing Shen Ge deep in thought, Deng Yuqi asked, “Why the sudden interest in headquarters matters? Did you discover something?”

Shen Ge said, “I suspect that when Elder Fang investigated the infiltration issue of the Twelve Branches, he didn’t manage to eradicate them completely. That specter who looks exactly like me is the latest ‘specter’ from the Twelve Branches. They’ve mastered abilities similar to mine and… originated from the former Rongshan Mental Hospital.”

Shen Ge didn’t divulge everything about the Specter Association and the replicas. Instead, he used the “Twelve Branches” as a cover to gauge Deng Yuqi’s reaction.

Deng Yuqi’s reaction was within Shen Ge’s expectations. She showed only shock and confusion regarding the “Specter Association” matter. Unless she was an Oscar-worthy actress, she genuinely seemed unaware.

But regardless of whether she knew or not, Shen Ge had decided to personally root out the “remnants” of the Specter Association. Naturally, he couldn’t reveal his entire plan to Deng Yuqi.

“I’ve always said headquarters’ management approach is flawed. They think absorbing people into the department will eventually turn them into loyalists? Dream on! Just as humans look down on specters, specters don’t necessarily think highly of humans either. At the very least, the attitude displayed by those from the Celestial Stems and Earthly Branches so far has been one of ‘superiority’… I’ll investigate this matter personally and notify you as soon as I have any leads…” Before Deng Yuqi could finish, Shen Ge interrupted her.

“No. Even a former director like Elder Fang couldn’t completely weed out the ‘remnants’ of the Twelve Branches. I think it’s beyond your reach to investigate this effectively. The best approach is to arrange for me to go to headquarters for an ‘exchange,’ allowing me to personally investigate the infiltration issue of the Twelve Branches,” Shen Ge stated.

Deng Yuqi was taken aback. “You want to go personally? You always hated such troublesome matters before, always avoiding them. Why today…”

“They’re already enacting an ‘Alice Project.’ If we let this slide, you might not even notice the day they replace me.”

According to the Mirror Specter, Shen Ge’s “replica” project wasn’t successful. So far, including the Mirror Specter, only three remained. But to execute his own plan, Shen Ge couldn’t reveal everything. On the contrary, the more “serious” he made it sound, the more convenient it would be for his subsequent actions.

Even if, as a worst-case scenario, Deng Yuqi was also a “remnant” of the Specter Association, Shen Ge’s “heart-to-heart” would likely make the association lower their guard, making it easier for him to identify them.

“You have a point. It just so happens that the new Asian Anti-Anomaly Research Conference is coming up soon. Arranging for you to go to headquarters for an exchange is quite reasonable,” Deng Yuqi nodded, agreeing to Shen Ge’s plan.

In her view, Shen Ge’s reasoning was sound. Sending someone to investigate “remnants” — who knows if that person is a “remnant” themselves?
Shen Ge going personally was the safest bet. If he couldn’t find anything, it would prove the “remnants” were deeply hidden, and the branch’s subsequent actions and plans would need significant adjustment, at least to avoid the “remnants'” eyes and ears as much as possible. If he did find them, even better; with Shen Ge’s capabilities, he could permanently eliminate the threat.

After finalizing the plan with Deng Yuqi, Shen Ge returned to his quarters to rest.

“Back? Are you hungry? Want something to eat?” Cheng Shengnan asked.

Shen Ge shook his head, sitting on the sofa. “No need. I might have to go on a business trip to headquarters soon, possibly for a while.”

“Is it because of this Anomalous Space incident?” Although Cheng Shengnan wasn’t from the Information Department, many reports passed through her hands. She knew headquarters had invited Shen Ge multiple times. His previous refusals were due to finding it troublesome, so this proactive move was clearly related to the “memory blurring.”

Shen Ge nodded. “My ‘memory’ issue isn’t that simple. I need to investigate some matters at headquarters. While I’m there, try to keep an eye on some people here at the branch for me…”

Shen Ge then deployed a small Anomalous Domain, enveloping himself and Cheng Shengnan. He whispered a few names to her, causing her eyes to widen. “You suspect…”

“Correct. There are moles in the branch.”

“I understand.” Cheng Shengnan nodded with a grave expression.

Shen Ge discussed a few more matters with her before they turned off the lights and retired for the night.

The aftermath of the Donghuan Lake Anomaly incident, while not on the scale of an “Anomaly Disaster,” was still quite troublesome. Particularly the bodies of the suspected “future people” Shen Ge brought back from the Anomalous Space. When corresponding individuals were found in the real world, those corpses would undergo strange changes similar to the female specter’s condition.

However, Shen Ge didn’t need to worry about these matters. Deng Yuqi handled the cleanup arrangements, and Li Xiang’s Research Department dealt with researching the specters and corpses. Shen Ge simply needed to rest and undergo daily check-ups at the Medical Department to confirm the “memory blurring” wasn’t affecting his body.

A few days later, Deng Yuqi finalized the “exchange” arrangements with headquarters. Headquarters also attached great importance to the visit of the Great Celestial Dynasty’s top Anti-Anomaly Prober, even arranging a special flight for him.

But Shen Ge declined.

“You really want to take a commercial flight? Why not accept the special flight arrangement from headquarters?” Deng Yuqi was puzzled.

Shen Ge adopted a tone of “there are always villains plotting against me.” “Accepting headquarters’ arrangements is like boarding their prisoner transport. Every move would be under their surveillance. Secondly, such a good opportunity to ‘attract’ attention — I don’t believe the Twelve Branches would miss it.”

“Are you insane? Using yourself as bait?” Deng Yuqi frowned.

Shen Ge smiled. “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing. If the Twelve Branches truly had a way to deal with me, they wouldn’t only dare to scheme in the shadows.”

“While that may be true, it’s still too risky. And it’s not just specter organizations; anti-anomaly departments from other countries are also watching you…” Deng Yuqi expressed concern.

Shen Ge said confidently, “Don’t worry. I’m not afraid of them making a move; I’m afraid they won’t. It would be great to resolve everything at once, a permanent solution.”

Deng Yuqi was left speechless by Shen Ge’s immense “confidence.” But then again, given his abilities, he had every right to be confident.

Using oneself as bait would be perilous for anyone else. But for Shen Ge… whether they could even “bite” this “bait” was another question.

Shen Ge refused to have anyone from the department see him off at the airport. He took a taxi by himself. He didn’t even inform headquarters of his arrival time, simply buying a ticket to Dajing (likely Beijing) for the nearest flight.

However, during security screening, as soon as Shen Ge walked through the gate, the handheld scanner used on him and the baggage X-ray machine both blared alarms.

The urgent alarms startled the security personnel and alerted the airport police, who immediately surrounded Shen Ge.

“His bag contains firearms!”

“Quite a few of them!”

The female staff member operating the X-ray machine, having clearly seen the contents of Shen Ge’s bag, sounded somewhat shaken. Living in the Great Celestial Dynasty, when had she ever seen someone try to bring guns through security?
Several armed police officers immediately drew their weapons, aiming at Shen Ge. “Hands on your…”

“Don’t be nervous, don’t be nervous. I’m Shen Ge, an Anti-Anomaly Prober from the Rong City Special Response Department. I’m heading to Dajing for a pre-conference meeting of the Asian Anti-Anomaly Research Conference. As an anti-anomaly prober, carrying a few anti-anomaly weapons is quite reasonable, right?” Shen Ge spoke while retrieving his credentials and handing them over.

While the police verified his documents and were uncertain about his identity, they quickly reported the incident. Soon, the airport manager arrived with personnel to confirm Shen Ge’s identity.

“Prober Shen, our apologies, apologies! This is all a misunderstanding! We’ve verified with the Special Response Department. Since we weren’t informed of your official trip, no arrangements were made. Please follow me; you can board through this special channel…” The manager apologized profusely while guiding Shen Ge away, even thoughtfully having someone carry his luggage.

Shen Ge smiled. “This was my oversight. I should have reported carrying weapons, causing you extra work. Please forgive me.”

“Not at all. With anomalies running rampant these days, it’s thanks to heroes like you, Prober Shen, that we can live peaceful lives. Serving you is an honor,” the manager said.

Just then, Shen Ge’s phone rang. As soon as he answered, Deng Yuqi’s roaring voice came through. “This is what you call ‘traveling discreetly’ to headquarters?”

“Uh, I can explain.”

“Explain nothing! The Information Department received a report from the airport about someone impersonating an anti-anomaly prober attempting to board with a large cache of weapons. If I hadn’t been in a meeting at the Information Department by chance, Captain Feng and the others would have had to go arrest someone. Imagine their faces when they found out the person to arrest was you! Wait, what are you up to this time?”

Despite the complaining, Deng Yuqi quickly sensed something was off.

Leaving aside whether Shen Ge, in his current state, needed to pack weapons in his bag, he certainly knew they would be detected during security checks.

There was only one explanation for doing this… he did it on purpose!

Shen Ge replied with a smile, “I just wanted to see how many fish would take the bait. Turns out, there are many more than I imagined.”