For this search and rescue mission, both the Exploration Corps and the Hunters’ Guild had sent their best people. However, the operation presented a host of practical difficulties.
First off, the “ghost rats” — which everyone had initially assumed were the culprits behind the incident — hadn’t actually fled the area. Instead, they’d burrowed underground nearby and gone into hiding.
Second, there was that “giant whale” lurking in the sky. In other words, two high-level anomalies were concealed within the Sector 3 Defense Line.
Both of these high-level anomalies had gone to ground out of fear of the sleeping Ghost King. But the low-level anomalies that had been stirred up by the recent ghost incident were now roaming freely through the streets. This meant that before the joint rescue team could even begin their mission, they’d first have to contend with a whole neighborhood full of low-level anomalies and the infected.
To tackle this problem, Deng Yuqi had dispatched three reconnaissance squads two hours earlier to scout the distribution of anomalies and the infected throughout the sector.
The group was busy devising a detailed plan while awaiting the scouts’ return, but Shen Ge had already used his system to scan the surroundings. Judging by the red dots on his [Map], the joint rescue team was facing a pretty high level of danger.
Shen Ge figured he’d wait for the rescue operation to kick off, then find an opportunity to break away from the group and take care of those high-level anomalies himself. This would serve a dual purpose: on one hand, it’d “relieve the pressure” on Deng Yuqi and the others; on the other, it’d let him test whether his earlier idea for escaping the dream world was feasible.
Just then, two of the three reconnaissance squads sent to scout the surrounding anomalies returned.
One of the squad leaders walked over to the sand table map and began marking the intel they’d gathered. “To the north of Sector 3’s defense line, centered around the Penguin Building, the main thoroughfares are clogged with the infected. There are also anomalies hiding in the surrounding buildings. We’ve detected ghost energy reactions up to Tier 4, so it probably won’t be easy to cut straight through the Penguin Building.”
Tu Doubi stared at the markings on the sand table, pondering for a moment before saying, “There are a lot of infected, but their reaction times and mobility are severely limited. Is there any chance we could use a decoy tactic to lure the infected off the main roads and let the main rescue force slip through? After all, even a swarm of infected isn’t as big a threat as a Tier 4 anomaly.”
The squad leader shook his head with a sigh. “Probably not. The road conditions on the main arteries are complicated, with a ton of abandoned vehicles and the two previously decommissioned defense lines. A decoy tactic would be hard to pull off. Plus, it might end up drawing out the anomalies hiding in the surrounding buildings, and then we’d be caught in a pincer attack… that’d make things even worse for us.”
Just then, Deng Yuqi had a sudden thought. She pulled a map from a filing cabinet and spread it out. “If I remember correctly, the city overhauled its drainage system ten years ago to prevent flooding. The sewer network was expanded so much that it even connects to the subway stations. Maybe we could cut through the subway instead.”
Tu Doubi nodded in agreement. “Exactly. Even if we run into infected or anomalies in the sewers, any fighting down there won’t be loud enough to draw the monsters above ground down on top of us.”
Someone then raised a concern: “But hold on… isn’t our mission to rescue survivors? Since the ghost incident broke out in Sector 3, the survivors are most likely hiding somewhere within this sector. If we bypass the outer perimeter and head straight for the center, what if we miss survivors holed up in buildings along the way?”
Deng Yuqi had clearly already thought this through. Pointing at the Penguin Building in the central zone, she explained, “That building was the initial epicenter of the ghost energy spike we detected. We suspect the most dangerous anomaly is hiding there. Given the current distribution of anomalies and monsters across Sector 3, with the limited manpower we have, it would take us two or three months — hell, maybe even longer — to complete a full search and rescue.”
“So here’s my plan: we split into three teams and advance toward the center from three different directions. Once we breach the Penguin Building, we’ll plant high-explosive charges at key structural points on the ground floor and bring the whole building down. The collapse will create enough noise that — even if it doesn’t wake the high-level anomaly inside — it’ll definitely draw the attention of all the low-level anomalies and infected wandering around Sector 3.”
“After that, whether we continue our rescue efforts or the survivors hiding out make a run for the shelter, the difficulty level will drop significantly.”
Everyone mulled it over and quickly agreed that Deng Yuqi’s “decoy plan” was viable. Compared to setting decoys from the outer perimeter and slowly advancing inward, this approach would save a huge amount of time.
Even though Shen Ge was “highly regarded” by Deng Yuqi and the Exploration Corps in this world, he was still essentially a “newcomer.” He didn’t chime in during discussions, but instead quietly cross-referenced the plan with his [Map] to check the monster distribution around them and confirm whether the plan was feasible.
In truth, no matter which route they chose, there were still plenty of hidden anomalies and infected lying in wait. The best they could do was avoid the high-level anomalies hiding in the old buildings.
Thirty minutes later, the joint rescue team, having finalized their plan, split into three groups. Group One, led by Deng Yuqi, would take Subway Line A toward the Penguin Building. Group Two, led by Tu Doubi, would take Subway Line B. As for Fang Mingyue and Shen Ge’s squad — they were assigned to make their way through the flood-control sewer system.
Shen Ge wasn’t sure if Fang Mingyue was just unlucky or if he was the unlucky one, but according to his [Map], they’d drawn the most troublesome route of the three.
Not that those few Tier 3 anomalies in the sewers posed any real threat to Shen Ge — his plan was to find a chance to break away from the group anyway. But dragging a bunch of dead weight around with him would only slow him down.
Fang Mingyue noticed that Shen Ge had been quiet ever since the assignments were handed out. She assumed he was worried about how dangerous the sewer route might be, so she puffed out her chest confidently and said, “Don’t worry, Shen Ge! No matter how tough or perilous the road ahead, I’ll never leave your side, and I definitely won’t let you fall before I do!”
“?”
I get what you’re trying to say, but why does that sound so weird?
And, sister, where exactly are you getting that confidence from?
Fang Mingyue had no idea that what was troubling Shen Ge wasn’t the danger in the sewers, but rather figuring out the best opportunity to knock her and the rest of the team unconscious, stash them somewhere safe, and then go solo into the Penguin Building to take out that high-level anomaly.
Whether it was because the “giant whale” was still watching from the sky or because of some other anomaly’s influence, the sky at dawn was hazy and overcast, with thick fog pressing down as if it were about to collapse. Everyone walking under it felt an oppressive weight on their chests, as if they could barely breathe.
The outer perimeter of Sector 3’s defense line had been reinforced with iron mesh and railings erected along the outer walls, supplemented by barricades of abandoned vehicles and rubble to keep the surrounding anomalies and monsters at bay.
According to the exploration team, this line had been modified multiple times over the years to adapt to the appearance of anomalies, with several previous defense lines already abandoned. As long as the final line held, the shelter would remain safe.
The cold morning wind swept through the silent streets, kicking up layers of dust that had settled there for ages. The main roads were completely choked with abandoned vehicles. The mindless infected, their heads crowned with fleshy, flower-like appendages straight out of a Parasyte manga, would bump into the cars, stumble back a few steps, and then repeat the motion over and over again.
After two days of “collaboration,” Shen Ge had gotten a good read on Fang Mingyue’s team. While they weren’t as capable as the Special Tactics Department in the “real world” — not even reaching the level of elite ghost investigators, let alone squad leaders — they made up for their lack of strength and equipment with their wealth of experience dealing with anomalies.
In this post-apocalyptic world, the fighters still on the front lines had been through years of brutal “survival of the fittest,” honing their skills at the edge of life and death countless times.
They didn’t have much ghost-energy equipment, but they made clever use of anomaly carcasses — things like ghost-skin suits, bone armor, and so on.
Though these makeshift items couldn’t compare to proper ghost-energy gear in terms of effectiveness or utility, they still played a significant role when dealing with low-level anomalies and the infected.
The reason Shen Ge had thought they were “weak” earlier was because they’d run into a ghost domain the moment they stepped out. It was like a squad of seasoned soldiers stepping out the door only to get frozen solid by an archmage’s Ice Nova — no amount of experience could save you when the enemy’s magic attack ignored physical defense.
“Five hundred meters ahead, on the right side of that storefront, there’s a maintenance access point for the sewer system. That’s our best entry point for navigating toward the Penguin Building,” said the soldier in charge of reconnaissance and route planning, pointing to a spot on the map.
Fang Mingyue raised her ghost-energy binoculars and took a look. “Good news: the number of anomalies and infected on this street isn’t too high — probably less than a hundred, from what I can see. Bad news: based on the energy readings from these binoculars, there’s likely a Tier 3 anomaly hiding somewhere.”
The binoculars Fang Mingyue used were also “ghost-energy” models, but their accuracy in detecting ghost-energy intensity was nowhere near that of Shen Ge’s ghost-energy detector.
Of course, since Shen Ge’s detector was a “next-generation” high-tech product, he’d handed it over to the Corps for research the moment he joined. Even with the researchers working overtime, they couldn’t possibly have produced any results in such a short time.
So, not even Shen Ge — the detector’s original owner — let alone Deng Yuqi, the deputy commander of the Exploration Corps, was qualified to bring one along on this mission.
“Qi Ying, Zhao He — take a few people and break through on the right. Keep it quick. Shen Ge, your task is a bit tougher — we’ll push through on the left together and try to make as much noise as possible to draw the main force over. Look here, from this point to here, we should be able to lose them. The rest of you, advance through the middle and make for the entry point as fast as you can.” Fang Mingyue spread the map out and delegated the tasks.
Shen Ge was about to say he could handle it all by himself when suddenly, the anomaly hiding in the collapsed store across the street seemed to catch the scent of humans. With a furious roar, it burst through the rubble with a deafening crash and crawled out of a hidden pit — revealing itself to be a massive ghost cockroach.
“Heh, Terra Formars, is it?” Shen Ge muttered, instinctively thinking of that manga about muscle-bound cockroach monsters on Mars.
Fang Mingyue wasn’t nearly as composed as Shen Ge. The moment she saw that ghost cockroach, her face went pale. “Damn, a Tier 3 anomaly spotted us! All units, listen up… execute Plan A immediately!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Yes, sir!”
Fang Mingyue had prepared several contingency plans before the rescue operation began, and every team member had memorized each one. The instant she called out “Plan A,” they all snapped into action.
“Hey, wait — what about Plan B?” Shen Ge tried to stop Fang Mingyue, wanting to tell her to just gather the team and charge straight ahead — he’d handle the rest.
He’d brought it up with her on the way over, but she’d brushed him off with: “Shen Ge, I get it — with great power comes great responsibility. But we’re a team. We can’t keep piling everything on your shoulders. You need to learn to trust your teammates.”
The first half of her spiel was worth ignoring, but the second half… Shen Ge had heard that one before. From Deng Yuqi, from the “real” Fang Mingyue, even from Cheng Shengnan. They’d all told him to ease up on the burden and let his teammates share the load.
But Shen Ge was just used to handling things on his own. He’d always been a lone wolf, preferring to see a job through from start to finish himself, rarely considering passing it off to others.
Maybe that was why he was constantly on edge. During the Dong’an Lake incident, he’d been so paranoid that he’d fallen right into the trap set by his doppelgänger, getting pulled into the dream world and trapped in an endless cycle of death.
“Huff.”
Shen Ge stared up at the oppressive, overcast sky and let out a long breath. He couldn’t help but think that he’d really become the “Chosen One of the Grind.” Even as the top ghost investigator in the country, he was still trying to outwork everyone.
“Sigh.”
Maybe it was time to start grooming some successors. Then he could follow the Minister’s example — sit in an office and just give orders.
In the brief moment Shen Ge had zoned out, Fang Mingyue had already charged at the ghost cockroach with her weapon drawn.
She was fast, but what she hadn’t anticipated was just how tough and dexterous the cockroach’s antennae were. They lashed out at her like whips.
Fang Mingyue reacted quickly, pulling a dagger strapped to her calf and stabbing at the incoming antenna. But with a harsh clang, the blade struck the antenna like it had hit solid steel. Not only did she fail to stop the attack, but she was sent flying backward, crashing into a dead tree trunk nearby.
Fortunately, her ghost-skin suit absorbed most of the impact, so she wasn’t seriously injured — though she was still pretty banged up.
Fang Mingyue was a squad leader in the Exploration Corps. While her combat skills weren’t necessarily top-tier within the organization, after years of life-and-death struggles, there were only a handful of people in the Corps who could actually beat her.
She scrambled to her feet the moment she hit the ground, then used her agile movements to engage the cockroach in a hit-and-run battle, luring it through the cluster of buildings and causing it to smash through several storefronts.
This certainly made a big commotion, successfully drawing in the surrounding anomalies and infected — but it also trapped her in a pincer movement.
As sharp as Fang Mingyue’s reflexes were, she was now panting heavily. But what worried her most wasn’t being surrounded — it was that Shen Ge had seemingly “disappeared.”
