Lin Juan had never tried his method before, so he told Zhuang Yufeng honestly, “I’m not sure if it’ll work. I just want to give it a shot. If it doesn’t…”
“It doesn’t matter if it fails. These past few days, we’ve tried every trick in the book. We manage to suppress the contamination in their bodies on the first night, but by the next morning, the contamination levels spike right back to their peak. No matter what, we have to try something.”
Compared to heading to Lone Cry Mountain, Lin Juan’s approach was far quicker.
“Alright then, let’s go find an anomaly.”
The ability user who’d brought Lin Juan over had been trailing behind them the whole time. His ability specialized in defense, and he’d been specifically assigned from above to protect Zhuang Yufeng.
“There’s an anomaly sighted near Qi Family Bridge, about twenty kilometers out. It’s the closest one to us. Let’s head there.” Zhuang Yufeng checked the internal network for the latest anomaly incidents.
Lin Juan had no objections.
“I need to file a report first. Wait for me in my office.” Bureau Chief Liu was also there, and Zhuang Yufeng planned to brief him directly.
There was no rush at the moment.
Zhuang Yufeng’s office at the research institute was larger than the one at the first hospital. It was filled with various models, including human skeletons and some animal ones.
“Does Dr. Zhuang like these?” Lin Juan asked curiously.
Dr. Zhuang seemed so refined and scholarly, yet his private interests turned out to be something like this?
“Dr. Zhuang said it’s for research convenience,” the assistant replied while pouring tea for Lin Juan and Lu Mingxuan. Su Min had stayed behind in the ward to manage the contamination for now. “His ability lets him foresee that, in the near future, some ability users will start mutating toward animal or plant forms.”
Most ability users currently looked no different from ordinary humans, but those with excessive contamination would show varying degrees of mutation. As anomalies increased, even some ability users with normal contamination levels might undergo beastification or plantification.
Zhuang Yufeng was preparing ahead of time, so he wouldn’t be caught off guard like in his previous life when the first mutated ability user appeared and caused chaos.
That beastified ability user from his previous life had suffered a lot of mistreatment at first, nearly turning against humanity.
Not every ability user was willing to protect humans at all costs. Plenty stood against ordinary people for money or other selfish desires.
Having returned from the apocalypse, Zhuang Yufeng knew just how tough anomalies were to deal with. They had to unite every possible force to have even a sliver of hope.
Zhuang Yufeng arrived at Bureau Chief Liu’s office.
Bureau Chief Liu had already heard about Lin Juan. “Xiao Zhuang, I saw your request. Why the sudden urge to hunt down an anomaly?”
“It’s Mr. Lin’s idea.” Zhuang Yufeng explained Lin Juan’s proposal. “Whether it works or not, we have to give it a try.”
“You’re right. With anomalies, everything’s uncharted territory—no precedents. Any method is worth attempting. Go ahead.”
Bureau Chief Liu hadn’t interacted much with Lin Juan, but from their brief encounters—whether through his years of reading people or using his ability to observe—Lin Juan came across as passionate and caring toward the world.
Everyone at the Anomaly Special Affairs Bureau agreed that a person like him was best brought into the fold, which was why they’d extended the invitation for an official position recently.
At the same time, they’d prepared for rejection. Even if he didn’t join the bureau, they’d maintain friendly relations and try to keep him on their side.
In the future world, humanity would have to wrest survival resources from anomalies everywhere. The stronger their own forces, the better their odds.
Someone like Lin Juan, who could crush anomalies outright, was an invaluable talent.
No matter how you looked at it, it was best not to make an enemy of him.
Fortunately, Lin Juan’s attitude toward the Anomaly Special Affairs Bureau was friendly. Regardless of his reasons, when he needed something, the first people he turned to were them.
These thoughts flashed through Bureau Chief Liu’s mind, and he cautioned, “Put your heart into whatever Mr. Lin needs. It’s fine if it doesn’t pan out.”
“I understand.”
“Who’s so important that you’re going out of your way to butter them up, Chief Liu?” The inner office door swung open, and a wild, unruly red-haired man sauntered out.
He was dressed in a flashy, hip-hop style, looking bleary-eyed. He’d just returned from a mission, reported in, and was napping in Bureau Chief Liu’s office. Ability users didn’t sleep deeply anyway, and with voices outside, he’d half-heard the conversation in his drowsy state.
He hadn’t been in the capital for months—how had some big shot popped up in his absence?
“Act properly,” Bureau Chief Liu scolded. “Mr. Lin, Lin Juan. While you were away, several anomaly incidents in the capital were resolved smoothly with his help.”
The red-haired man ran a hand through his hair. “Lin Juan? That powerful, huh? I gotta meet him.”
Zhuang Yufeng’s attempts to dissuade him failed, so he had no choice but to bring the guy along.
On the way, he’d endlessly warned him: keep your temper in check, don’t piss people off right away.
Su Xingchen was the bureau’s sole S-rank ability user—flashy, arrogant, with overwhelming combat prowess. Everything about him was fine except his temper.
Only Bureau Chief Liu could keep him in line.
The rest of the bureau steered clear of him.
“Don’t worry, Little Yufeng,” Su Xingchen said carelessly, slinging an arm over Zhuang Yufeng’s shoulder. “If you and the chief think so highly of him, I’ll at least test his mettle.”
Zhuang Yufeng had a headache. “Don’t start a fight the second you meet him.”
“Got it, got it.”
They arrived at the office.
Zhuang Yufeng brought him in.
Lin Juan’s gaze was drawn to the red-haired man behind Zhuang Yufeng, captivated by that fiery red hair.
“Hey, I’m Su Xingchen.” Su Xingchen extended his hand proactively.
“I’m Lin Juan.” Not sure what was going on, Lin Juan shook it anyway.
“I hear you’re pretty strong…”
Before he could finish, Zhuang Yufeng cut him off sharply. “Su Xingchen!”
His expression was so grave that Su Xingchen got the weird feeling he’d get throttled if he said another word. He raised both hands in surrender. “OK, OK. Tell me about the anomaly at Qi Family Bridge.”
“What anomalous events happened there?” Through Zhuang Yufeng, Lin Juan had gained some understanding of the Anomaly Special Affairs Bureau in this world.
The Anomaly Special Affairs Bureau was a department dedicated to handling anomaly incidents. It had internal channels where local personnel could report anomalies via special networks. Minor, manageable cases were handled on-site; tougher ones got backup from headquarters.
“There,” Zhuang Yufeng’s face showed a hint of oddness, “the people at Qi Family Bridge say their water has gone missing. They want us to help find it.”
“Water?” Lin Juan was surprised. “How does water go missing?”
Water wasn’t some lifeless object?
“Stolen by someone?” It was the first time Lin Juan had heard of such a thing, and he was extremely curious. “How do you even steal water?”
“It’s probably not man-made. If it were, we wouldn’t need to get involved.” Zhuang Yufeng explained.
Lin Juan’s interest was piqued. Witnessing a bizarre event sounded intriguing, and he found himself looking forward to this anomaly hunt.
They were going to find an anomaly, but considering Lu Mingxuan was just an ordinary person, Lin Juan entrusted him to Bureau Chief Liu and set off for Qi Family Bridge with Zhuang Yufeng, Su Xingchen, and a few other ability users.
Qi Family Bridge was a small town with simple, honest folk. When the town chief heard they were there to resolve the town’s mystery, he was warmly welcoming.
“Our townsfolk have always made a living from farming. With national development these years, big cities offer more opportunities, so the young ones all head off to work there. Those left behind are mostly the elderly.” The town chief said.
Lin Juan noticed it too. Everyone they’d seen walking in was advanced in age—no young people in sight.
“Everything was fine until recently. Rainfall has been low, but our town has a small river connected to a major one, so water should have been plenty. But a week ago, for some unknown reason, the river lost more than half its water.”
“At first, no one thought much of it—just puzzled why the water had suddenly decreased. But then the next day, the day after… the water kept dwindling until now, only a dry riverbed remains, not a drop left.”
“We followed the riverbed upstream to find the cause of the missing water, but…” Terror crept onto the town chief’s face. “The upstream section still had water, but the downstream section was completely dry!”
Just from the description, Lin Juan couldn’t grasp why the town chief looked so horrified—until he saw it for himself.
The river was split in two by some invisible force: one side roaring with turbulent rapids, the other a cracked, drought-stricken wasteland littered with dead fish and shrimp.
The visual contrast was utterly devastating.
“Old Zhang, who’s great in the water, went down to check. No barriers blocking the flow. From the riverbed, he could reach right into the water wall. But there was a powerful suction from the water. If we hadn’t been cautious and tied a thick rope to him, with everyone pulling together, Old Zhang might’ve been lost inside.”
The town chief wiped his face. “After coming up, Old Zhang vomited nonstop. Even now, he occasionally spits up these transparent, squishy things.”
“He might be contaminated,” After seeing the starkly divided river, Zhuang Yufeng felt saving people came first. “Take us to see him later.”
From the town chief’s description, Old Zhang had likely been contaminated upon contact with the water.
“Has anyone else in town shown the same symptoms?” Lin Juan asked.
“Old Zhang’s wife, who’s been caring for him, has felt unwell these past couple days too. A bit nauseous.”
Lin Juan and Zhuang Yufeng exchanged a glance. “Let’s resolve this first, then head to Old Zhang’s place.”
They needed to figure out what kind of anomaly—and its contaminant—this was.
“I’ll go call some folks.”
The town chief phoned in some strong townsfolk, who tied thick hemp ropes around Lin Juan and Su Xingchen’s waists.
Su Xingchen fiddled with the rope at his waist. “No need for this thing.”
It ruined his look.
He had enough sense not to say it outright.
“Quit yapping. Get it tied and go down.” Zhuang Yufeng tied the final knot on him expressionlessly.
The two descended into the riverbed and headed toward the water’s edge.
The people on shore watched tensely, gripping the ropes tightly.
Their drop point wasn’t far from the water wall—they reached it quickly and stood observing the phenomenon ahead.
“Looks like just water.” Su Xingchen activated his ability and struck at it.
The water surface erupted in waves, drenching Lin Juan unexpectedly. As he opened his mouth to speak, he spotted a massive, transparent, pale purple spherical object slowly wriggling within the parted water.
“What is that?” Lin Juan’s eyes widened. “It looks like a giant water balloon full of water.”
