The System Arrived Four Years Early, but the Anomaly Is Still a Juvenile - Chapter 6

Shen Ge took a taxi back from the Eastern District to his apartment in the Central District.

The moment he reached the entrance of his residential complex, the System chimed in—

[Host has demonstrated remarkable wit and courage, venturing alone into the Eastern District—home to a Tier-7 Aberrant—and returning unscathed after securing a week’s worth of supplies! Reward: Double System Points x100, Random F-Grade Supply Item x1.]

[Extract rewards now?]

“No.”

Shen Ge wasn’t sure if extracting the reward would cause items to materialize out of thin air. With so many people around, that would definitely draw unwanted attention. Better to wait until he got home.

Carrying his bags, he walked into the complex. Just then, a friendly-looking security guard in his fifties or sixties, wearing a standard uniform and a warm smile, approached him.

“Xiao Shen, bought quite a haul today, huh? Here, have a tangerine—they’re really sweet!” The guard, affectionately known as “Old Wang” (the most popular guard in Tianjia Community), held out a fresh tangerine.

Shen Ge smiled and was about to decline when—

A flash of red light.

Then, the familiar, urgent warning blared in his mind:

[Warning! Warning! Warning!]
[Tier-5 Aberrant detected (Trait: Three Heads and Six Arms). Host’s current strength is no match. For the sake of your life, flee immediately!]

What the—?

A Tier-5 Aberrant?
Three Heads and Six Arms?

Shen Ge stared at Old Wang, whose face was still creased in a kindly smile. His mind reeled.

Old Wang… is an Aberrant?

“Thanks, Uncle Wang, but I don’t eat much fruit,” Shen Ge said casually, trying to refuse.

Unperturbed, Old Wang shoved the tangerine into one of Shen Ge’s bags. “Nonsense! At your age, you need more vitamins. Didn’t you just recover from being sick last week? That’s what happens when you skip fruit! Look at me—I’m in my sixties and can still throw a few punches!”

To prove his point, Old Wang swung his arms in a mock-combat stance—so fast that, for a second, Shen Ge almost saw six arms instead of two. Then, like a magician, the guard pulled another tangerine from his pocket. “Here, take one more. My hometown harvest. Extra sweet!”

“No, no, really—one’s enough!” Shen Ge protested.

Having lived in Tianjia Community for years, Shen Ge was used to Old Wang’s “bottomless pocket” routine, always producing fruit out of nowhere.

“Vitamins are important!”

“Really, Uncle Wang, I’m good!”

The two went back and forth like this until Old Wang, with the reflexes of a seasoned guard, finally stuffed the tangerine into Shen Ge’s snack bag.

[Facing a Tier-5 Aberrant’s assault, host remains unshaken, engaging in an extreme tug-of-war. Heroic and unstoppable! Reward: System Points x50.]

Shen Ge: ?

“Uncle Wang! Wait up!” Shen Ge set down the rice and water, then hurried after Old Wang with his snacks and instant noodles.

“You patrol the complex all day—you need energy! Here, have some Snickers!” Shen Ge grabbed a handful of chocolate bars and started stuffing them into Old Wang’s pockets.

“No, no, I can’t take these!” Old Wang clutched his pockets protectively.

“Take them! Take them!” Shen Ge targeted the other pocket.

Old Wang looked at the Snickers now filling his pockets, sighing. “Xiao Shen, I don’t really eat sweets…”

“It’s fine! Share them with the new guards! The store had a sale—I bought too many anyway,” Shen Ge said cheerfully.

[Host launches a counterattack against the Tier-5 Aberrant, skillfully parrying its retaliation. Extreme tug-of-war engaged—heroic and unstoppable! Reward: System Points x50.]

Heartened by the System’s prompt, Shen Ge tore open the instant noodles and shoved a few packs into Old Wang’s arms. “For night shifts! Keep these in the guard booth for when you’re hungry.”

Old Wang stared at the noodles, torn between amusement and exasperation. Another round of “no, you take it” later, Shen Ge bagged another 50 System Points and retreated victoriously, grinning as he carried his loot home.

Back in his apartment, Shen Ge dropped his bags and immediately checked his stats. After today’s exploits, his System Points had reached 501.

Breaking it down:

• 150 points from entering/exiting Tom’s Supermarket.

• 150 points from the “extreme tug-of-war” with Old Wang.

Total: 300 points—way faster than earlier “scaring cats and dogs” methods.

“As expected, ‘over-leveling’ is the fastest way to farm points,” Shen Ge mused. If not for the Newbie Protection locking him out of high-tier zones, he could’ve racked up points daily just by strolling through danger areas.

That said, while the “Old Wang maneuver” netted him 150 points, there was no “escaped danger” bonus afterward.

Even more puzzling: Despite Tianjia Community being Old Wang’s “spawn point,” the System only issued one Tier-5 Aberrant warning.

Is it because Old Wang doesn’t actually live here?
So the threat level is lower than his residence?

Shen Ge made a mental note to test this theory by visiting Old Wang’s neighborhood later.

“Oh right—there’s still one unclaimed reward!”

“Extract reward!”

[Drawing reward—]
[Success!]
[Obtained: ‘Healing Band-Aid x1 (F-Grade)’]

A soft glow later, a palm-sized bandage appeared on the coffee table. Hovering text explained its effects:

[Healing Band-Aid (F-Grade): When applied, rapidly heals wounds caused by sharp objects. Effective against most external injuries. (Healing time: 10 seconds.)]

10 seconds to heal a blade wound?

If not for the fact that this was his only one—and precious—Shen Ge might’ve grabbed a kitchen knife to test it out right then.

After storing the band-aid, Shen Ge booted up his laptop. Normally, this was when he’d be grinding through work revisions, but today, his mind was fixated on the System and Aberrants.

From the logs, while Aberrants were publicly exposed on January 3, 2027, they’d clearly existed long before.

In today’s hyper-connected world, big data was scarily efficient. Search a keyword once, and suddenly, every app bombards you with related ads—proof that “privacy” was already dead.

Shen Ge remembered his coworker Old Li complaining: After a late-night “research session” on certain adult sites, he’d wiped his history—only to wake up to ads for “realistic companions” and “interdimensional pleasure devices.”

Given that, recklessly searching “Aberrant” online would be asking for trouble.

Instead, Shen Ge browsed forums and subreddits, skimming posts rapidly to trick the algorithm into thinking he wasn’t seriously interested. He hoped sheer volume would eventually surface useful intel.

No luck. Instead of Aberrant clues, he found ghost stories—and despite his caution, the algorithm tagged him as a “horror enthusiast.” Soon, his feeds flooded with “paranormal investigation” livestreams and “scary tale” threads.

Before he knew it, the clock struck midnight.

00:03, January 4, 2024.

[Ding!]