The System Arrived Four Years Early, but the Anomaly Is Still a Juvenile - Chapter 51

“No, I just think this thing is really fascinating. It reminds me of something else,” Shen Ge said as he took the Ghost Energy Canister from Deng Yuqi and clipped it onto his belt.

Deng Yuqi continued, “These Ghost Energy Canisters come in two types. Type A means the corpse of the supernatural entity used still retains some residual ghost energy. So even after you deplete the stored energy, it will automatically recover at a rate of 10% per hour. Type B, however, is made from corpses that have been completely drained of ghost energy and won’t regenerate. Be mindful when using them.”

“Got it,” Shen Ge nodded, then asked, “But I’m curious—if it recovers 10% per hour, wouldn’t it refill completely in 10 hours? If the canister already has some ghost energy stored, does the recovered energy overflow, or does it stop once it reaches 100%?”

Deng Yuqi explained, “Take the ghost rat, for example. Think of it this way—if we use a ghost rat’s corpse to make a Ghost Energy Canister, the ghost energy is inherent to the material itself. When we inject ghost energy from another entity, the ghost rat’s energy merges with the canister, while the stored energy comes from the other entity. So it can’t exceed 100%.”

“Generally, the residual ghost energy in the corpses used to make these canisters isn’t much, so Type A canisters are only useful for emergency top-ups in the beginning. I’m telling you this so that if you ever run out of ghost energy in a critical situation, that small recovery might just save your life.”

“I see,” Shen Ge nodded in understanding.

Deng Yuqi then handed him a pistol and a submachine gun while continuing her explanation. “Unfortunately, the process of making Ghost Energy Canisters is extremely complicated. So far, we’ve only had consistent success with Tier 1 supernatural corpses. The entire Special Response Division doesn’t even have a single Tier 2 canister yet. Maybe higher-tier canisters would have greater storage capacity and faster recovery rates.”

Shen Ge took out a pair of black gloves from the black briefcase and put them on. The moment he touched them, a system notification appeared before his eyes.

[Trait Equipment: “Ghost Glove” (Trait: “Unyielding”) — The wearer can grasp any target within sight. Unless the wearer releases their grip, the target cannot break free.]

So it was a trait-equipped item—no wonder Deng Yuqi had been able to catch the ghostly, soul-like entity that flew out of the possessed taxi driver.

Shen Ge felt like he’d just won an unexpected prize. After equipping the gas mask, combat knife, grenades, flashbangs, and other tactical gear, he opened the car door. Outside, a fully armed special forces team was already waiting.

“Director, Team One is in position.” Even without hearing the voice, the iron-hard physique of the man at the front made it clear—this was Feng Chengxiu.

Deng Yuqi stepped out of the car while issuing commands to various departments through her tactical earpiece, then led the team into the residential complex.

Inside the complex, Special Response Division operatives were already evacuating residents from the other buildings in an orderly fashion. The building where Cheng Shengnan lived, however, was Shen Ge and Deng Yuqi’s responsibility.

“Upon entering the incident site, Feng Chengxiu, your team will evacuate residents from the floors below the ghost space. Shen Ge, you’ll come with me to search for survivors within the ghost space.”

“Understood!”

“Got it!”

As soon as Shen Ge stepped into Cheng Shengnan’s building, a red flash crossed his vision, followed by an urgent system alert in his mind.

[Warning!]
[Host is about to enter a Tier 7 supernatural entity’s active zone. Floors 13 and above have been enveloped by a ghost domain, now classified as a high-contamination area. The environment within the contaminated zone has undergone unpredictable changes. Proceeding will expose the host to unforeseeable dangers… Host is advised to value their life and immediately leave the high-contamination zone!]

Oh?
No “certain death” or “near-impossible survival” warning?
Great fortune!

Without hesitation, Shen Ge strode into the building.

On the second floor, Feng Chengxiu’s team began knocking on doors one by one.

Cheng Shengnan lived on the 17th floor. The fastest way up would’ve been the elevator, but taking it at a time like this was far too risky. So Shen Ge and Deng Yuqi opted for the stairs.

When they reached the stairwell between the 12th and 13th floors, they encountered a “disconnection point.” Below it, the stairwell appeared normal, but everything above seemed to have vanished entirely.

From Cheng Shengnan’s earlier report, Shen Ge knew that the anomaly had started with the door disappearing, followed by the walls, ceiling, and floor.

As the vanishing zone crept toward her feet, Cheng Shengnan—though she remembered Shen Ge’s warning to “stay put and avoid unnecessary actions”—acted on sheer survival instinct. When the disappearing section reached her, she tentatively stretched out a foot to test the vanished floor.

To her surprise, her foot still met solid ground—it was only visually gone.

Fortunately, this was Cheng Shengnan’s second encounter with a supernatural event, so she had some experience. She immediately relayed this detail to Shen Ge.

Deng Yuqi concluded that this was an effect of the ghost space, while Shen Ge—thanks to the system—knew it was something more advanced: a ghost domain, capable of altering the environment itself.

After checking with a ghost energy detector, Deng Yuqi said, “The concentration is high—readings suggest between Tier 2 and Tier 3. Given the random-entry nature of ghost spaces, if we go in now, finding this ‘entrance’ again won’t be easy.”

“How have you handled situations like this before?” Shen Ge asked.

Deng Yuqi replied, “We use ghost energy equipment to breach the ghost space, gather survivors inside, then either find the entity’s weakness to dismantle the space or locate and eliminate it directly.”

As she spoke, she pulled out a telescopic baton, extended it to about a meter, and poked it into the seemingly empty space above the stairs.

The tip of the baton caused a faint ripple in the air where it touched the invisible boundary.

“Stay here. I’ll go in first and try to gather the survivors. If I can’t find a way to break the ghost space, at least you’ll still be outside to figure something out,” Shen Ge said.

“Technically, this is your first mission. I think it’s better if we go in together,” Deng Yuqi countered.

Shen Ge took a step forward, standing at the edge of the disconnection point before turning back with a smile. “Like you said—dealing with supernatural incidents isn’t about numbers.”

Deng Yuqi assumed Shen Ge was considering her position as Director, since she was needed to oversee operations outside. She didn’t realize that Shen Ge was dead set on obtaining the “Invisible” trait.

With that, Shen Ge slowly raised his gloved hands, pressing them against the empty air. As the space rippled, he carefully stepped forward.

This was Shen Ge’s first time voluntarily entering a ghost space. When his foot made contact with what should’ve been the next step, he cautiously took another upward.

When he looked back, Deng Yuqi was gone—and so was the stairwell. Instead, he stood alone in midair, thirteen stories up, with no building beneath him.

The entire structure had vanished, leaving only empty space. Shen Ge was now suspended in nothingness.