The System Arrived Four Years Early, but the Anomaly Is Still a Juvenile - Chapter 81

The gap in the stone pillar looked like a slash from a knife—as if someone had taken a blade to their thigh, slicing off a chunk of flesh. Black blood gushed out, thick and viscous, instantly pooling on the ground.

[Warning!]

[Host has entered a zone highly contaminated by a Tier-6 anomalous entity. This area is infested with numerous low-tier anomalies roaming in search of living beings to devour! Higher-tier entities can now detect the host’s presence through acute olfactory senses. Host has been marked! For the sake of survival, evacuate immediately!]

“Buddy, I’ve been in here for three hours. Isn’t your ‘warning’ a little late?” Shen Ge had been wondering why the system had remained silent despite him wandering through this anomalous space for so long. Now, the alert finally came through—with the kind of delay that would leave a corpse cold before it even registered.

Moreover, the anomaly here, No Exit, was already at least Tier-4. Whether the system’s warning referred to it being Tier-6 now or four years from now made little difference.

As things stood, No Exit was the highest-tier anomaly Shen Ge had faced since activating the system.

Anomalies developed their Traits starting from Tier-1, but it wasn’t until Tier-2—when they awakened their Anomalous Space—that these Traits manifested noticeable effects.

Take the black cat Soundless, for example. Back when it was just a Tier-1 anomaly without an Anomalous Space, aside from its own lack of sound, its Trait had no real impact. If Shen Ge hadn’t killed it and let the system absorb it, Soundless’s Trait would’ve simply passed to another newly spawned Tier-1 anomaly.

By Tier-2, an anomaly’s Anomalous Space, combined with its Trait, could unleash abilities far more potent than those of ordinary Tier-2 entities.

For instance, the Phantom Car and Formless—while the former’s Anomalous Space merely dragged Shen Ge into a desolate sub-realm, the latter’s space could render half a building transparent, fully leveraging its Trait.

Though Shen Ge hadn’t yet encountered a Tier-3 anomaly (or one with a fully realized Trait), he could infer from experience that an Anomalous Space’s power leaned heavily into its Trait.

And now, things were even worse—because No Exit had already evolved to Tier-4, meaning its Trait was fully awakened.

The black blood continued to spill from the stone pillar’s wound, creeping toward Shen Ge. He calmly sidestepped, crouched down, and flicked open his lighter, holding the flame to the dark liquid.

“Tch. Not flammable.” His tone carried a hint of disappointment. Not that he was actually worried about setting the place ablaze—himself included.

Putting the lighter away, he pressed a button on his anomalous-energy-resistant suit. As he neared the black blood again, the display on his right arm flickered, confirming the liquid was indeed a manifestation of anomalous energy.

“Am I inside the anomaly’s stomach?” Shen Ge scanned the oppressive surroundings. If he’d been teleported straight into No Exit’s belly, then the whole “no way out” thing made sense.

Well.

If that were the case, there was one other way out—but it was disgusting enough that Shen Ge promptly dismissed the thought.

Stepping around the spreading black blood, he approached the stone pillar, holstered his gun, and drew the butcher knife sheathed at his waist.

“Ha!” With a shout, he swung the blade.

“Condensed blood guards fate’s decree,
The hidden blade strikes suddenly.
Like ice that melts without a trace,
Calm as water, formless grace.”

“Behold—Glimpse of the Frozen Blade!” Shen Ge leaped into the air, bringing the knife down in a ruthless overhead slash.

The sharp blade cleaved through a chunk of the “wall” (or rather, flesh), sending more black blood gushing out. Shen Ge repositioned and kept hacking.

His logic was simple: if he really was inside the anomaly’s stomach, then every person raised on classic tales knew exactly what to do when swallowed by a monster.

Turn its insides upside down.

Make it puke you out.

Within minutes, the once meter-thick stone pillar had been stripped down to its “skeleton”—a white, bone-like “reinforcement” stretching from floor to ceiling.

The butchered “flesh” left behind a pool of black blood nearly three centimeters deep. Stepping in it felt like wading through glue, the yellow protective suit’s boots now caked in a thick layer. Each foot felt like it was weighed down by ten-kilogram sandbags.

Gurgle.

Gurgle.

From the dark corridor ahead came a sound like frogs croaking—or perhaps something swallowing.

Shen Ge raised his rifle, peering through the thermal scope. In the shadows lurked a cluster of dark-red shapes.

Quadrupedal. Canine.

“Anomalies?”

He knew the only “creatures” in a place like this were corrupted anomalies. But he wasn’t about to leave. Instead, he gripped the butcher knife and swung at the exposed “skeleton.”

One strike.

Two.

Whether it was the knife’s sharpness or Shen Ge’s 1.27x average human strength, the bone pillar snapped after two blows.

BOOM!

The entire underground parking lot trembled violently. Stone pillars collapsed one after another, chunks of ceiling crashing down.

Gurgle.

Gurgle.

The swallowing sounds grew louder. Then, from the darkness, emerged a pack of dog-like monsters—each at least two meters long, their bodies coated in thick, mud-like sludge.

A dozen of them.

“A dozen anomalies… If I dragged all of these back, would Li Xiang start calling me ‘Daddy’?” Shen Ge muttered, staring at the horde of Tier-1 Mud Hounds.

Then—

Formless + Soundless.

Time to go.

Even the mightiest tiger couldn’t fight a pack of wolves. Handling one or two anomalies was tough enough, let alone an entire pack.

Shen Ge activated his invisibility and retreated from the black blood, trying to put distance between himself and the hounds. But he’d overlooked one critical detail.

Hounds.

Dogs.

With keen noses.

Just like in the garbage room incident, the Mud Hounds couldn’t see him—but their heads swiveled in unison, tracking his movements by scent. The moment his mental energy ran out, they’d pounce.

[Warning!]

[Host remains in a Tier-6 contaminated zone. Multiple low-tier anomalies are present, actively hunting living prey! Dozens can now detect the host via scent. Host is marked! Evacuate immediately!]

“Shut up. I’m not blind.” Shen Ge kept his eyes on the pack. Tier-1 anomalies could still be killed with firearms.

Letting them go wasn’t his style.

Struggling through the quaking ground, he sprayed the frozen-device nozzle at his boots, flash-freezing the sludge. A sharp kick shattered the ice.

Next, he cracked open an anomalous-energy canister, inhaling deeply. Instantly, his mind cleared, mental energy replenished.

While Formless + Soundless couldn’t completely hide him, it at least kept the hounds from attacking outright.

Time to go on the offensive.

“Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation—Manual Edition!” Shen Ge pulled out two Molotovs, channeled mental energy into them, and activated Soundless before hurling them.

WHOOSH!

The bottles shattered amidst the pack, flames erupting.

Anomalies felt no pain, but the fire forced the Mud Hounds to expend massive amounts of energy to regenerate. They let out grotesque gurgles, scrambling to escape the inferno.

Shen Ge wasn’t about to let them.

The moment the flames engulfed the pack, his shadow stretched forward.

Deactivating Formless + Soundless—

Activating—

Immobilize.

Area lockdown.

Only for a few seconds, but that was enough to ensure the fire took hold.

As the effect ended, Shen Ge’s mental energy drained, dizziness washing over him. The parking lot’s violent shaking now felt like a rollercoaster.

He hastily inhaled more anomalous energy, the nausea fading.

Gurgle.

Gurgle.

Without Formless + Soundless, the burning hounds zeroed in on him. Shen Ge backpedaled, firing his rifle.

Then—frag grenade.

BOOM!

Flashbang.

BOOM!

Incendiary.

WHOOSH!

No holding back now. He hurled every explosive he had, unloading his entire arsenal alongside sustained gunfire.

If this didn’t wipe out the pack, he was dead. Without Feng Chengxiu or the squad to cover him, survival depended on sheer firepower.

As his “rapid weight-loss program” lightened his load by several kilos, the barrage of explosives sent charred corpses flying. A cascade of system notifications followed, giving Shen Ge the surreal sensation of grinding mobs in a game.

[Host has slain a Tier-1 anomaly. Reward: 50 system points.]

[Host has slain a Tier-1 anomaly. Reward: 50 system points.]

[…]

Thirteen notifications.

650 points in minutes.

And that was just the kill rewards.

[Sell Tier-1 anomaly corpse? Price: 200 points.]

[…]

Was that even a question?

Sell.

Shen Ge rushed to the corpses, selling each one to the system. Thirteen bodies: 2,600 points.

Added to his existing 771, his total now stood at 4,021.

“Now this is how you farm! A few more waves like this, and I could empty the gacha pool!” Shen Ge grinned, half-hoping No Exit would spawn another round.

Then—

Gurgle.

Gurgle.

As if answering his call, more Mud Hounds oozed from the wreckage.

“…Okay, maybe I shouldn’t have tempted fate.”

His options were now limited to shooting or stabbing.

Anomalies here were practically free. No wonder No Exit had reached Tier-4 in months.

This wouldn’t be the last time. Given that these anomalies originated from animals, Shen Ge suspected the higher-ups would soon crack down on pet markets.

Otherwise, every outbreak would spawn another high-tier entity—and no amount of elite agents could keep up.

Gurgle.

Gurgle.

The new pack charged. This time, Shen Ge stood his ground.

Fifteen meters.

Thirteen.

Ten.

Some entered his Formless Domain range, but he waited, biding his time to strike them all at once.

He still had twenty anomalous-energy canisters—more precious than grenades—so efficiency was key.

Five meters.

Three.

Shen Ge pivoted, delivering a whip kick to the lead hound’s head. It felt like hitting a soggy sandbag.

The hound crashed into another.

The rest entered his domain.

Just as one lunged for his leg—

Formless Domain: Collapse.

CRACK!

The ground beneath the hounds shattered like glass, dropping them into the void.

At the same moment, the parking lot’s last pillars gave way. The ceiling caved in.

As debris rained down, Shen Ge reactivated Formless Domain above him—

Then, with a powerful leap from his anomalous-energy boots—

He phased through the collapsing ceiling.

The world blurred. His invisibility faded.

But instead of the dim yellow office building, he found himself outside.

Under a black sky.

A blood-red moon.

A desolate, post-apocalyptic streetscape. Rusted cars. Crumbling buildings.

“…Dongyu Village?” Shen Ge scanned the area. He stood in the middle of a ruined street.

“Only a few months since the outbreak, and it’s already like this? Or… am I still trapped in No Exit’s maze? Is this all an illusion?”

“If this is Dongyu, where’s the black fog-shrouded building from the briefing?” He saw no sign of it.

Meaning he was still lost in the labyrinth?

Just then—a woman’s scream echoed from a dilapidated building ahead.

“A survivor?”

An agent?