Chapter 17

The Anomalous Affairs Bureau’s directly affiliated hospital received a batch of special patients.

These patients showed no obvious commonalities upon initial questioning, but every time Zhuang Yufeng purified them, their pollution values returned to peak levels after just one night. This had never happened before.

Zhuang Yufeng had a headache over this for several nights.

Along with several healing ability users from the Anomalous Affairs Bureau, they held an emergency meeting overnight but still couldn’t figure out the reason.

“The new investigation results are out,” Director Liu said as he entered with a file. “We tracked these people’s whereabouts over the past five years and found one commonality: they all passed by a remote primitive mountain range, Solitary Cry Mountain.”

“Solitary Cry Mountain?” Zhuang Yufeng tried to search his memory for any trace of Solitary Cry Mountain.

Unfortunately, he found nothing.

After his rebirth, relying on his previous life’s experiences, he had changed the outcomes of several weird phenomena events in a short time. But perhaps due to the butterfly effect, many events that hadn’t appeared in his previous life now occurred.

Zhuang Yufeng didn’t find it too strange. The world wasn’t static to begin with. Even a butterfly lightly flapping its wings could create a storm, let alone his not-insignificant actions after rebirth.

“What’s on Solitary Cry Mountain?” Sheng Tianzong, who was also at the meeting, asked curiously.

“We’re not clear yet. Our detection devices lose function once they enter a certain range. We sent in several drones, but found no anomalies,” Director Liu said, pinching his brow in headache. “We can only send people to investigate.”

It was an unknown place, highly likely harboring hard-to-deal-with weird phenomena. Sending ability users there required full preparation.

Director Liu immediately began making arrangements.

Zhuang Yufeng continued his ward rounds. Because it was unknown if the recurring pollution could infect ordinary people, these special patients were placed in isolated specialized wards.

When Zhuang Yufeng arrived, he heard noisy arguing outside. He stopped and asked, “What’s going on?”

His assistant went ahead to check the situation and soon returned. “It’s a patient’s family member making a fuss to see the patient.”

“Have Xiao Zhao go soothe them.” Xiao Zhao was a mental ability user whose supernatural ability [Sinking Dream] was often used by the Anomalous Affairs Bureau as a sedative.

“Yes.”

After handling the outside matter, Zhuang Yufeng turned toward the ward.

He routinely checked the patients’ pollution values.

As expected, even though they had dropped to safe levels the previous night, after one night, all the patients’ pollution values were rising, and the rate of increase was getting faster.

“Doctor Zhuang, when can we be discharged?”

“Yeah, I feel perfectly fine. No coughing, no fever, full of energy. Just some black lines occasionally appearing on my arm. It doesn’t affect anything. Why do we have to stay hospitalized?”

“I have an exam coming up soon. Doctor Zhuang, can I go back to school for it first?”

A chorus of voices rose. Zhuang Yufeng patiently listened and soothed them. “We’re actively looking into the cause of everyone’s condition. We already have some leads, so please don’t worry.”

After leaving the ward, his phone rang. Zhuang Yufeng picked it up and saw it was Lin Juan.

He answered: “Mr. Lin?”

“It’s me,” Lin Juan’s clear voice came through the phone. “Doctor Zhuang, could you help with something?”

What matter would prompt Lin Juan to ask for help?

Thinking of the other’s terrifying combat prowess, and then considering something even the other couldn’t resolve…

Zhuang Yufeng grew serious. “What is it? We’ll definitely help if we can.”

Lin Juan had helped them twice with major issues. Without needing to consult Director Liu, he agreed directly.

Hearing the gravity in the other’s tone, Lin Juan quickly explained, “It’s not anything too troublesome. I just wanted to ask if you know where any weird phenomena are.”

After thinking it over, Lin Juan felt that instead of blindly searching everywhere, the fastest way was to ask someone from the Anomalous Affairs Bureau directly.

If anyone knew the most about weird phenomena dynamics, it was the people from the Anomalous Affairs Bureau.

“Weird phenomena? Mr. Lin wants to find weird phenomena?” Zhuang Yufeng was puzzled. “May I ask if Mr. Lin can share the reason for seeking it?”

There was nothing he couldn’t say, so Lin Juan explained, “Someone I know grew strange black vines on her body. These black vines are very odd—they evade the host’s awareness. I want to find a fat and sturdy weird phenomenon to see if I can lure it out.”

Hiding inside a person’s body made it hard to deal with.

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Yufeng realized Lin Juan’s situation resembled that of the batch of special patients they had received. He quickly asked, “We have several patients here with the same condition. Is it convenient for you to bring the person over for confirmation?”

“I’ll ask her opinion.” Lin Juan always respected his employer’s personal wishes.

“Okay. If you’re willing to come, I’ll send someone to pick you up.” Zhuang Yufeng had a hunch that the tricky condition on these patients would soon be resolved.

Lin Juan didn’t hang up but moved the phone away slightly. He asked the girl sitting across from him, “I have a doctor friend who says they have several patients with conditions similar to yours. Would you be willing to go check it out?”

“Someone like me…?” Su Min had always thought she was the only one with this strange illness. Hearing there were others made her heart feel less panicked. She murmured, “I’m not the only case?”

In her moments of despair, she had even wondered if she had done something wrong and heaven was punishing her with this strange illness.

Only she could feel the pain. Everyone else couldn’t see it, thought she was lying, thought she had mental issues.

At first, her parents were willing to accompany her to hospitals for checks. After several fruitless visits, they grew exhausted and mentally drained by her, suggesting she see a psychiatrist directly.

Hadn’t she gone?

No, she had.

The doctor examined her, she took the medicine, but it had no effect.

She had approached Lin Juan this time with a last-ditch mindset.

Unexpectedly, he didn’t doubt her ravings at all and even told her others were experiencing the same strange thing.

“I’m willing to go!” Su Min said without hesitation.

Lin Juan relayed Su Min’s willingness to Zhuang Yufeng. Zhuang Yufeng asked for their address, and less than half an hour later, a black sedan that looked unassuming but was modified everywhere parked not far from the coffee shop.

Lin Juan stood up. “Lu Mingxuan, are you going?”

“I’m going!” After experiencing several weird phenomena events, Lu Mingxuan’s curiosity outweighed his fear. Besides, with Lin Juan there, he wasn’t worried about safety at all.

The three got in the car.

On the road, Su Min thought she would be very nervous, but strangely, her mood was unexpectedly calm.

It felt like the dust had settled.

Compared to her wild guesses in the unknown before, now at least she could find out what was wrong with her body.

They didn’t go to First Hospital.

Zhuang Yufeng waited for them downstairs.

Seeing Lin Juan get out of the car, he came forward. “Mr. Lin.”

Su Min got out a step behind Lin Juan. She stood in front of the completely unfamiliar building, her expression uneasy.

Ever since the sedan passed through a metal tunnel, Su Min felt like she had traversed to another world. As the car drove inside, the buildings outside had an extreme sci-fi feel. Unknown metals gleamed coldly under the sun, giving the illusion of arriving in the future.

Lin Juan was also sizing up the surroundings. He asked curiously, “Is this your Anomalous Affairs Bureau headquarters? I thought we’d go to First Hospital.”

They had met there the previous times.

“It’s not the headquarters; it’s the research institute,” Zhuang Yufeng said. “First Hospital has already been relocated. There’s weird phenomena pollution residue there, unsuitable for continuing as a hospital. Headquarters plans to renovate it for weird phenomena-related work.”

Lin Juan: “It looks so new here.”

Zhuang Yufeng: “It was just completed, barely usable. Many areas inside aren’t built yet. No time this time, but once it’s done, Mr. Lin is welcome to visit.”

The ability user following behind them was surprised to hear this.

This was the research institute with the highest secrecy level in the Anomalous Affairs Bureau—not some casual place you could visit just because someone said so. What was this Mr. Lin’s background to receive such serious treatment from Doctor Zhuang?

He had just returned from a mission and didn’t know about Lin Juan’s recent feats; otherwise, he wouldn’t have such doubts.

Zhuang Yufeng didn’t linger and led them to the direct elevator.

Those special patients had initially been placed with other polluted individuals at the new hospital, but due to their unique conditions, they were temporarily moved here.

The ward was spacious with excellent lighting. Warm sunset light spilled in. If not for the strange instruments in the room, it wouldn’t look like these people were hospitalized.

Zhuang Yufeng first had his assistant measure Su Min’s pollution value. Sure enough, it was at a precarious critical level.

“It’s caused by weird phenomena,” Zhuang Yufeng concluded. “Similar to our patients here. Miss Su, have you passed by Solitary Cry Mountain in the past few years?”

“I passed by once. Last holiday, I went on a self-driving trip with friends, and one route went near there,” Su Min recalled carefully. “Is it related to that place? But we didn’t go up there.”

There were often videos online about how dangerous Solitary Cry Mountain was. She and her friends were timid and didn’t dare approach.

“The only commonality we’ve found so far is that you all passed near Solitary Cry Mountain. We strongly suspect your unknown infection is related to it,” Zhuang Yufeng said.

“My friend passed by there too,” Su Min said in surprise upon hearing Zhuang Yufeng. “Will my friend…?”

“We’ll arrange for someone to check on your friend.” Zhuang Yufeng noted this down. When it came to weird phenomena, no detail could be overlooked.

Lin Juan wanted to find weird phenomena, but the research institute’s weird phenomena were all killed. Zhuang Yufeng informed him of this, and Lin Juan looked troubled. “Dead ones probably won’t work.”

“Why?” Zhuang Yufeng didn’t understand.

“Look, this thing parasites living people. If you bring a dead weird phenomenon, they definitely won’t take the bait,” Lin Juan explained his plan. “I want to use a fresh one with high pollution value to fish it out.”

The ability user who escorted them in grew more dazed the more he heard. They all avoided weird phenomena like the plague—how could someone use weird phenomena as bait? No, as fishing bait?!

This was way too unconventional!