The System Arrived Four Years Early, but the Anomaly Is Still a Juvenile - Chapter 46

Hearing the system’s notification, Shen Ge shot up from the rest chair, his exhaustion instantly forgotten. Had the system finally gotten its act together and decided to upgrade his rating?

He opened his panel and confirmed that the line “Rating: None” had indeed changed to “Rating: Tier 1.”

“Looks like Stallone’s basic combat training actually has some substance. Just half a day of learning and my system rating went up.”

That said, Shen Ge’s week of consistent training had already boosted his three base attributes by over a dozen points. Combined with his previously lacking combat skills, it was no surprise his rating had improved.

But more than the rating or attributes, what Shen Ge cared about most were the “evolved” traits—

[Traits:]

Silent: When activated, the user enters a soundless state, consuming 0.5% Spirit per second. Can be used simultaneously with other traits. By expending 10%-100% Spirit (scaling with the object’s noise level), the user can imbue an object with their spiritual energy, keeping it silent even after release for a limited duration.

Still: When the user remains completely motionless, they can manipulate their shadow to bind similarly immobile targets. The Spirit cost per second varies (10%-100%) based on the target’s tier, quantity, and distance (max range: 10 meters).

While using Still, the user can choose whether to pull the target into the Still anomaly space. Even outside the anomaly space, the binding effect remains active.

…

Shen Ge’s first reaction upon seeing the evolved traits? The descriptions got longer.

His second thought? Silent could now affect objects after release—meaning, with enough Spirit, he could practically slap a silencer on a grenade.

At first glance, it didn’t seem groundbreaking, but the tactical possibilities were endless.

For example, making a grenade silent after being thrown meant he wouldn’t need to expend massive Spirit to mute the explosion—just silencing its landing and rolling would be enough to give enemies a nasty surprise.

As for Still, being able to restrain targets outside the anomaly space without making them disappear opened up coordination with teammates.

Imagine Deng Yuqi or Huo Yu lining up a shot—Shen Ge could freeze the monster at the critical moment. As for exposure? Did I use an ability? When did I use an ability? Maybe the enemy just paused mid-battle to reflect on their life choices.

Overall, while the evolutions weren’t earth-shattering, they added significant tactical flexibility.

“System, if my rating improves again, will already-evolved traits evolve further?” Shen Ge asked.

[After achieving an official rating (Tier 1), each subsequent rating upgrade will grant 1 ‘Trait Evolution Point,’ allowing one trait to evolve.]

“Then why did two traits evolve this time?”

[First-time rating bonus.]

“Damn, what a waste. If you’d told me earlier, I’d have stockpiled ten or eight traits before hitting my first rating. Then I could’ve upgraded them all at once!” Shen Ge grumbled.

[…]

The system was speechless.

Did he think traits were cabbages at a farmer’s market?

“Now that I’m Tier 1, does that mean I can finally check out Tom’s Mall?” Shen Ge was still obsessing over that Tier 7 anomaly.

Based on recent experience, if the anomaly at Tom’s Mall would reach Tier 7 in four years, it had to be at least Tier 3 or 4 by now.

But this puzzled him—if a Tier 3 or 4 anomaly was already there, casualties should’ve occurred. So why hadn’t there been any reports?

With that in mind, Shen Ge decided to use tomorrow’s “patrol time” to visit Tom’s Mall.

…..

Once his break ended, Shen Ge headed to the firearms training room where Huo Yu was waiting to begin his first day of gun training.

Compared to physical and combat training, firearms were far less demanding on the body. But after an afternoon of basic combat drills, Shen Ge’s hands trembled like he had Parkinson’s. Huo Yu had no choice but to start with theory.

After the basics came practical application.

Huo Yu began by demonstrating handgun techniques.

*”The Glock 17 Gen5—standard model with a 17-round magazine, paired with 9mm Parabellum rounds, offers excellent sustained fire capability. Muzzle velocity around 370 m/s, theoretical rate of fire between 450 to 550 rounds per minute. It’s basically the AK-47 of handguns.”*

As he spoke, Huo Yu raised the gun, aimed, and fired—17 shots in rapid succession, every bullet hitting the bullseye dead center.

Shen Ge was impressed. No wonder he’s the department’s top sniper.

“Hey, while you’re at it, can you teach me that ‘gun-shaking’ technique?” Shen Ge asked eagerly.

“Huh?” Huo Yu looked baffled.

“You know, like in movies and novels—where you shake the gun mid-shot to make bullets curve? If you can’t bend bullets or spray wildly, can you even call yourself a shooter in this day and age?”

“…”

After a long pause, Huo Yu managed, “Lao Shen… maybe watch fewer movies.”

“What about gun-fu? Close-quarters gun combat?”

“That’s a real thing, but it’s part of advanced combat training. Though it’s not as flashy as you’d think. For example, with this pistol, if an enemy tries to use it in close combat, you just need to block this part—” Huo Yu demonstrated, “—and they can’t fire. Then you press here, pull this, twist that, and the slide comes off. Do this, then that, and the gun’s disabled. In real close combat, a knife or tactical blade is way deadlier than dual-wielding pistols.”

“That said, paired with the ‘Mozambique Drill’—two to the chest, one to the head—focusing on gunplay over melee, this ‘gun-fu’ is core training for any special operative.”

Shen Ge nodded thoughtfully. “Outside seven paces, the gun’s faster. Inside seven paces, the gun’s faster and more accurate. Got it.”

“…Yeah, that’s the gist.” Huo Yu’s expression was complicated. Now he understood why Deng Yuqi had patted his shoulder and solemnly advised, “Keep calm, and treat everything Shen Ge says as background noise.”

This guy’s thought process is on another level.

Under Huo Yu’s guidance, Shen Ge experienced firing a gun for the first time—and found it harder than expected.

First, the recoil. Even braced for it, the kickback left his arms aching. Then there was aiming. Movies really are full of crap—no way a normal person picks up a gun and instantly becomes a sharpshooter. Especially with the Glock 17’s rapid fire—Shen Ge quickly learned the joy of sending bullets skyward.

He also asked Huo Yu to teach him that gun-disabling move from earlier. Watching Huo Yu perform it fluidly, Shen Ge gave it a try.

He got shot seventeen times.

On the eighteenth attempt, he barely managed to keep Huo Yu from firing the first shot.

Two hours of firearms training later, Shen Ge’s “Parkinson’s” had worsened.

Fortunately, as it was his first day “on the job,” evening training was canceled. Feng Chengxiu and Huo Yu gathered some of the department’s operatives in the cafeteria to throw Shen Ge a “welcome party.”

Shen Ge stared at the massive bowl in front of him, filled to the brim with baijiu, and his expression turned uneasy. “Uh, Instructor Feng… we’re allowed to drink on duty?”

“Relax, these are all Team 1 guys. Team 2’s on watch this week, so we can have a little,” Feng Chengxiu said, sounding like he was using the party as an excuse to indulge.

Shen Ge eyed the bowl larger than his fist. “This… counts as ‘a little’? Instructor, do you have a different definition of ‘a little’?”

“Where I’m from, anything under three bowls doesn’t even qualify as drinking. Come on, everyone—to Shen Ge joining the Special Measures Department! Bottoms up!” With that, Feng Chengxiu downed the entire bowl in one go, then turned it upside down to prove it was empty.

Following his lead, the other operatives chugged theirs too.

Shen Ge had no choice but to follow suit. The burn of the liquor hit him hard—this was the most he’d drunk in years.

As Feng Chengxiu moved to refill his bowl, Shen Ge quickly waved him off. “Instructor, I really can’t handle more.”

“Don’t worry, we stop at three. Department rules—light drinking on rest days is fine, but never enough to affect work the next day. We take that seriously,” Feng Chengxiu assured.

“I—” Shen Ge swayed slightly, the room spinning.

Feng Chengxiu frowned. “No way, Xiao Shen. This is nothing. With your tolerance, even the dogs back in the Northeast would kick you off their table!”

Thud!

Shen Ge face-planted onto the table.

For a moment, the room fell dead silent.

“Instructor Feng… did you poison his drink?”