The System Arrived Four Years Early, but the Anomaly Is Still a Juvenile - Chapter 75

Evening.

Shen Ge was helped to the cafeteria by Wang Han and Ma Chao, his hands trembling so badly he couldn’t even hold chopsticks. For the first time, he experienced the joy of eating straight from the plate with his face.

The sheer brutality of today’s training far surpassed his first day in the department. Back then, his exhaustion had been due to sudden high-intensity exercise after years of inactivity. But now, after half a month of continuous training, he was in an even worse state—proof of just how grueling the regimen had become.

The real kicker? As they were leaving, Section Chief Chen had looked almost disappointed, as if Shen Ge still had the energy to run another ten laps. Never mind that he was already sprawled on the ground, completely spent.

Wang Han, watching Shen Ge “wash” his plate with his face, chuckled. “You’re doing alright, Lao Shen. They say Instructor Feng was trained by Section Chief Chen back in the day. Back then, guys were so wrecked they had to lie in bed gnawing on steamed buns for dinner. Some even needed IV drips.”

“You know how Instructor Feng got his nickname ‘Devil Muscle Man’? It was from Section Chief Chen’s training!” Ma Chao added. Though he hadn’t experienced Chen’s era firsthand, the legends were infamous.

“Absolute devil,” Shen Ge muttered, utterly lifeless.

There was no way he was going home tonight. After dinner, Wang Han and Ma Chao hauled him back to the dorm.

The thought of enduring this every day made Shen Ge want to never move a muscle again. He collapsed onto the bed and passed out.

[Ding!]

[Congratulations, Host! You’ve survived another day in this world overrun by anomalies. Reward: 1% freely distributable attribute points, 10 system points.]

Unconsciously, midnight had passed. Hearing the system’s chime in his mind, Shen Ge sat up and began his daily ritual of catching up on the “logs.”

[January 22, 2028. After the organization was absorbed into the Special Measures Department (SMD), everything—from daily routines to training—had to be restructured according to SMD regulations. Previous resource allocation, field exploration, and collection missions were suspended pending new directives. However, since you had been promoted to field team leader within the organization, you were allowed to form your own exploration squad. The leader submitted your information under this role.]

[After the merger, you became a team leader in the SMD.]

A team leader?

“What’s different about being a team leader in the SMD?” Shen Ge wondered. Currently, the department only had two field teams—Team 1, led by Instructor Feng Chengxiu, and Team 2, led by Yu Tiexiong.

Both Feng and Yu were instructors and team captains. Aside from having more responsibilities, there didn’t seem to be anything particularly special about the role.

Too exhausted to overthink it, Shen Ge faceplanted into his pillow and fell into a deep sleep. Waking up at midnight to read the logs had become as routine as a pre-sleep bathroom trip.

The next morning, Section Chief Chen was already waiting in the operations room. The moment Shen Ge arrived, the hellish training resumed, leaving Wang Han and Ma Chao shuddering just from watching.

They used to call Feng Chengxiu “Devil Muscle Man” behind his back, joking that his training was torture. But compared to Chen’s regimen? Child’s play.

And so, Shen Ge’s new life began—days spent grinding through brutal training, nights spent reading logs and sleeping. Within half a month, his stats had improved significantly.

The only regret? Failing to locate a Tier 3 anomaly in the first week. It was his first mission failure, costing him a week’s survival rewards. The next weekly task didn’t appear until the following week.

Losing out on 7% free attribute points was a shame, but the lost system points weren’t a big deal.

[Shen Ge]
Rating: Tier 1
[Base Attributes (Baseline for a healthy adult male: 100%)]

• Strength: 127%

• Agility: 117%

• Constitution: 121%

• Spirit: 220%

[Traits:]

• “Silent”

• “Motionless”

• “Formless”

[Abilities:]

• “Formless Anomaly Domain (Type I)”

[Equipment:]

• Butcher’s Knife (Trait: Unbreakable)

• Black Gloves (Trait: Unyielding)

[Items:] — Omitted
[System Points: 751]
[Freely Distributable Points: 6]

While the present-day Shen Ge suffered under “hell training,” the future Shen Ge wasn’t faring much better. After the organization’s absorption into the SMD, standards were raised to military levels.

Judging from the logs, the future Shen Ge was also undergoing relentless training under an instructor’s guidance.

The future SMD had uncovered the organization behind the captured woman and was preparing to extract her. That moment would be the future Shen Ge’s best chance to infiltrate the enemy.

As the linchpin of the operation, he was required to rapidly improve his combat skills—at least to the level of an elite agent.

“Sigh. It’s like this now, and it’s like this in the future. Is this the Special Measures Department or the Torture Department?”

……

February 7th.

Early in the morning, furious banging shook Shen Ge’s dorm room door.

BANG!
BANG!
BANG!

Yesterday had been a rare day off. Feng Chengxiu had dragged Team 1 out for drinks, and even Section Chief Chen had downed a few bowls.

Still groggy from the hangover, Shen Ge felt like he’d barely closed his eyes when the knocking jolted him awake. He fumbled for his phone under the pillow—5:21 AM.

“Who the hell is it this early?” he grumbled, opening the door to find Wang Han and Ma Chao in full gear.

“Today’s supposed to be a day off,” Shen Ge groaned, rubbing his temples.

“Something’s happened in Yu Zhou,” Wang Han said. “Headquarters called an emergency meeting at 6 AM. All elite agents are required to attend. The director sent us to wake you.”

“Yu Zhou? What happened?” Shen Ge asked.

“Details are scarce,” Wang Han admitted. “But from what I heard… Yu Zhou tried to cover up an anomaly incident. It spiraled out of control—now it’s escalated to a Tier 4 event. They can’t contain it anymore.”

“…So now that they can’t handle it, they’re begging headquarters for help?” Shen Ge scoffed.

“You’ll probably get the full picture at the meeting,” Wang Han said.

“Alright, give me a minute.” Shen Ge nodded, changing into his training gear before following them to the operations department.

Inside, Feng Chengxiu and the others were already geared up. As Huo Yu and other officers arrived, Section Chief Chen motioned for Shen Ge’s group to follow him to the video conference room.

Before they even entered, they could hear Deng Yuqi roaring into the phone.

“They didn’t want to? Then why the hell did they let it get this bad? What were they doing earlier? Now that they’re scared, they’re begging for reinforcements? Well, they can beg someone else—I’m not sending my people! Take my damn life if you want! Bunch of useless cowards, embarrassing us in front of the whole world!”

“Don’t you dare pull rank on me! If I gave a damn about rank, I wouldn’t be in Rong City! And don’t give me that ‘we’re family’ crap—where was this ‘family’ when they were hoarding anomaly equipment? Now that they’re in trouble, suddenly we’re ‘family’?”

“……”

Deng Yuqi’s tirade echoed through the office. Outside, Chen and the others stood awkwardly—unsure whether to enter or not.

SLAM!

She hurled the phone down and barked at the door, “Get in here!”

Chen cleared his throat and led the group inside.

This was Shen Ge’s first time seeing all of Rong City’s department heads gathered in one place. Aside from Chen, Feng Chengxiu, and Xiao Zhang—familiar faces—he didn’t recognize half of them.

“I assume you’ve all heard by now,” Deng Yuqi said coldly. “Yu Zhou is dealing with a Tier 4 anomaly incident. Headquarters has sent footage. We’ll discuss the details after you’ve seen it.”