Chapter 32 Part 1

It seemed not to expect Lin Juan to be so brazen, and the weird froze in place.

Lin Juan still held the wooden hoe in his hand as he looked at it leisurely. “How about it?”

“That’s our house!” the weird shrieked. “Our children! They’re our children!”

“In that case,” Lin Juan spread his hands, “I’ll just have to take it myself.”

Gu Kai finally found his voice and swallowed hard. “Mr. Lin, you really want this house?”

That was a weird! A B-Rank anomaly!

And the hoe in Mr. Lin’s hand— just getting close let one feel the overwhelming pollution within it.

The hoe was entirely wooden, and from the severed vine roots, it was clear how sharp it was.

Regardless of where the hoe came from, its destructive power alone, enough to sever a weird, was astonishing.

“Of course.” Lin Juan picked up the hoe and twirled it around. His gaze stayed fixed on the weird hybrid formed from the Landlord Family, as if searching for the best place to strike.

Even without any human cognition left, the weird hybrid shivered under his stare, and its voice unconsciously softened.

Lin Juan wanted to test something. With a thought, the top of the wooden hoe in his hand elongated into a long-handled scythe, very much like the one the Grim Reaper wielded in anime. The difference was that this Death God’s Scythe was entirely made of wood.

With a swing of his hand, Lin Juan pressed the sharp scythe against the weird hybrid’s neck.

“Aaahhhhh!!!!!” The human face protruding from its neck let out a scream.

So noisy.

Lin Juan frowned. “Shut up!”

It was as if someone had hit the pause button—the scream stopped.

The human face on the weird hybrid’s neck gaped wide, screaming silently. Anyone could see the terror on its face.

Even knowing how powerful Lin Juan was, the ability users were still deeply shocked by the sight.

They had always been the ones threatened by weirds. They never imagined that one day, they would see a weird being coerced by a human.

It had to be said—it felt really, really good!

As they looked at Lin Juan again, their gazes filled with admiration.

A role model for our generation!

Lin Juan felt the burning gazes on him and almost thought a new weird had appeared.

Seeing that it was Gu Kai and the others, he was speechless. “Why are you all suddenly staring at me like that?”

“Mr. Lin—no, Lin Boss, are you taking apprentices?” Gu Kai’s eyes sparkled with stars. He wanted to one day face weirds with such perfect ease, too.

“Let’s deal with the matter at hand first.”

Lin Juan thought for a moment, then the scythe in his hand shifted form again, turning into a sturdy long rope.

In a few quick moves, he bound the weird hybrid. Lin Juan sighed inwardly: If nothing else, ever since coming to this world, his technique for tying people—er, tying weirds—had gotten smoother and smoother.

After binding the weird hybrid, Lin Juan turned around.

The instant he turned, Gu Kai stared at the bound hybrid with wide eyes.

Was he seeing things?

Hadn’t the wood rope split into two forked ends? The tips were soft at the bottom and hard at the top. While Lin Juan wasn’t looking, they whipped viciously at the weird hybrid several times.

A few muffled grunts sounded. Lin Juan turned back.

The forks on the wood rope vanished instantly.

“Did you hear any sounds?” Finding nothing unusual, Lin Juan asked puzzledly.

Sheng Tianzong and the others were checking the house, while You Chuyao held the children and examined them. Only Gu Kai had seen it.

“I saw that wood rope hit the bound weird,” Gu Kai said, his tone full of doubt.

To be honest, if he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he would have thought it absurd.

That scene earlier—if not at Lin Juan’s command—looked exactly like the weapon developing its own consciousness for revenge and venting.

The key point was, could weapons have consciousness?

No, wait—when did Mr. Lin bring a weapon?

They hadn’t seen any weapon in Mr. Lin’s hands when they entered, right?

Lin Juan looked at the bound lump and furrowed his brow.

The wood rope held the weird hybrid motionless, extremely obedient.

“Consciousness?” Lin Juan wasn’t surprised. This thing had appeared out of nowhere by his side and changed form at his whim—it clearly wasn’t ordinary.

Lin Juan decided to test it.

He walked over to the bound weird hybrid.

To prevent noise from the weird hybrid, the wood rope had thoughtfully plugged all the mouths on its body.

Lin Juan reached out, palm up.

Gu Kai had no idea what he was doing and watched curiously.

A slightly thinner branch slowly detached from the wood rope and tentatively crawled toward Lin Juan’s palm.

Very slowly, it placed the branch segment into Lin Juan’s open hand.

Lin Juan grasped it and praised, “Good boy.”

Gu Kai watched in astonishment as the wood rope swayed happily twice upon hearing the praise.

Gu Kai felt like all the shocks in his life didn’t add up to this moment.

“Let’s check out this cabin.”

Lin Juan spoke up. Sheng Tianzong and the others had come to investigate the 【Forest Cabin】 anyway, so they naturally had no objections.

“First, send Miss You and the two kids out. Does Doctor Zhuang have time?” The children couldn’t be delayed, so Lin Juan planned to send them out first.

“We tried earlier—the door wouldn’t open,” said the ability user who had tried to escort You Chuyao out.

“I’ll take a look.”

On the way back, they encountered no more anomalies and smoothly reached the front door.

The living room was still warm and cozy. On the dining table sat steaming food, with empty chairs as if waiting for guests to sit anytime.

Lin Juan placed his hand on the doorknob.

With a click, the door opened.

Outside, it was already deep night.

Two hours earlier, the support team sent by Director Liu had arrived. After some effort breaking through the shrub labyrinth, they reached the 【Forest Cabin】.

After a brief exchange with the ability users guarding outside, the leader selected ten high-level ability users and forced their way in.

Half an hour after entering, the first ability user lost contact.

One after another, all ten lost contact.

The people outside quickly reported the news. Director Liu asked urgently, “What about Captain Sheng and the others? Can’t reach them either?”

“All contact lost.”

Silence fell over the scene.

Lost contact was never good news, no matter the situation.

“Maybe the pollution inside is too strong and blocked the signal,” Zhuang Yufeng said after a long pause.

This often happened when facing weirds, especially powerful ones. And this was just a B-Rank anomaly. In the future, they would face even stronger A-Ranks, or the terrifying S-Ranks.

They had to accumulate experience through countless battles. Only then could they improve their survival rate against weirds.

It was brutal, but the only way.

Countless painful lessons in the future had taught humanity that there were no shortcuts on this path.

Director Liu issued the order for the third squad to break through.

With a B-Rank anomaly appearing in the densely populated Imperial Capital, they had to eliminate it before it caused a tragedy.

Time ticked by, and the 【Forest Cabin】’s pollution value remained high with no good news.

Just as Director Liu was about to issue a new order, the door to the 【Forest Cabin】 opened.

The ability users left outside gripped their weapons tightly and watched the opening door warily.

Lin Juan emerged first. Seeing the pitch-black sky and flickering lights, he let out a surprised “Eh?” “Captain Sheng, you sent so many people?”

“It’s Mr. Lin!” The ability users rejoiced upon recognizing him.

“Is Doctor Zhuang here?” Lin Juan called to the front.

“Here!” Zhuang Yufeng pushed aside the ability users shielding him and rushed forward.

“There are two kids with no signs of mutation yet. Check them over.” Lin Juan stepped out, followed by You Chuyao carrying the little girl, Gu Kai carrying the boy, the remaining two ability users, and Sheng Tianzong bringing up the rear.

Plus a segment of wood rope gripped in Lin Juan’s hand, which automatically dragged the weird hybrid without making him expend any effort.

As captain, Sheng Tianzong immediately reported what had happened inside the cabin upon exiting. Director Liu breathed a sigh of relief after hearing it.

Sheng Tianzong also learned that twenty more ability users had entered after them, and now only two remained reachable.

Sheng Tianzong contacted them and told them to hold position for now.

Lin Juan handed the two children to Zhuang Yufeng for treatment, then tossed the weird hybrid forward. “This is the Landlord Family. They’ve fused, and besides them, it seems they’ve fused with other fully mutated weirds. There’s a greenhouse in the cabin full of corpses.”

To figure out the specifics of the 【Forest Cabin】, they had to enter again.

“Mr. Lin,” Director Liu said gravely, “This is our first time dealing with a B-Rank anomaly, and we lack experience. Those unreachable ability users—could we trouble you to help find them?”

“No problem.”

They reentered the cabin, now with two more ability users in the team. They planned to search for the two reachable ones first.

According to those two ability users, after entering the 【Forest Cabin】, they hadn’t seen the warm living room layout that Lin Juan and the others had. Instead, they faced a deep, eerie corridor.

It was in dark tones, with wooden doors lining both sides, each marked with plaques from C-301 to C-344.

The ten who entered together walked down the corridor forever without reaching the end.

The captain stopped. “Just walking won’t work. Pair up, enter different rooms, stay alert for dangers, and keep in contact.”

“Yes.”

The captain and one team member entered the room marked C-344.

Pushing open the door revealed a room entirely built from different kinds of wood—tables, chairs, beds, all wooden furniture.

They went in and split up to search.

“Captain, there’s a letter here.”

The captain walked over. In the open drawer lay an unsealed envelope.

The captain took out the envelope. Inside was a wedding invitation stating the venue and time. At the bottom, in bright red font: If you see this invitation, you must attend the wedding at the specified time and place. Otherwise, bear the consequences.

The captain and team member exchanged a glance. Having dealt with all sorts of weirds, they knew this letter’s appearance was no coincidence.

“Captain, do we go?”

“Yes.” The captain answered without hesitation.

They had come to gather intel on the B-Rank anomaly 【Forest Cabin】. With a clue right in front of them, there was no reason to ignore it.

After discussing, they decided to check it out.

Pushing open the wooden door, they were surprised to find that outside was no longer the endless corridor, but a lush green meadow.

In the distance stood the landmark from the invitation.

They didn’t relax their vigilance despite the pleasant environment. Instead, they silently raised the danger level in their minds.

Thanks to their caution, when the first lizard-like weird appeared, they dispatched it easily.

Along the rest of the way, they encountered dozens more weirds, none high-level, and handled them without much trouble.

Until they entered the wedding hall.

Guests milled about, every face hidden behind masks. They seemed normal at a glance, but up close, one could see tiny, worm-like things wriggling under their skin.

Small, writhing black bugs moved beneath the skin. Staring too long made it feel like the bugs would burst out and swarm toward their eyeballs.

The team member blinked, suppressed his discomfort, averted his gaze, and continued observing.

He noticed every guest had these bugs under their skin.

“Captain,” the team member whispered, leaning close, “Could the other team members be here too?”

“Let’s look around.” The captain whispered back.

They searched and found nothing.

Meeting up again, they gave small shakes of their heads.