Oh dear. He had been caught pretending to sleep.
What sharp powers of observation.
In truth, Song Zang really had only just woken up. He had regained consciousness the instant Yin Chen opened the car door and merely wanted to keep his eyes closed for a little longer.
Since Yin Chen had seen through him immediately, there was no point continuing the act. Song Zang shook his head lightly and lazily opened his eyes.
Before his hazy vision could fully clear, however, half his body suddenly lifted into the air and then dropped again just as quickly.
Yes, Yin Chen had grabbed him by the collar and shoved him firmly against the soft backrest of the car seat. No matter how one looked at it, the movement was rather rough.
Yin Chen really was fierce. One hand clenched Song Zang’s already crumpled tie while the other gripped his slender shoulder. Scorching body heat seeped rapidly through their clothes, and his expression was cold and sinister, as though he might crush Song Zang’s fragile throat in the very next second.
“Why did you ask him for help instead of me?”
Yin Chen stared at him, narrowing his long eyes as he repeated the question slowly in a low voice.
The thoroughly confused Song Zang had plenty of questions of his own.
For example, why couldn’t everyone simply enjoy playing their roles together and maintain a pleasant facade of harmony?
And more importantly, what are you even losing it over?
“You’re so mean…” After a brief silence, Song Zang abruptly softened his voice.
When in doubt, cry first.
A tear slipped onto the back of Yin Chen’s tense, cold-pale hand, making his fingers twitch.
Song Zang did not notice the subtle reaction. He simply continued crying with great dedication, his eyes misty with tears and the tip of his nose turning red.
Soon afterward, he suddenly felt the terrifying pressure surrounding him ease.
Yin Chen released the crumpled tie. After several seconds of silence, he forced down his temper and somehow produced a handkerchief as if by magic, then wiped Song Zang’s tears rather roughly with a sour expression.
When he was done, he folded the handkerchief neatly, still wearing that same unpleasant expression, and tucked it back into his breast pocket.
“Stop crying. Cry again and I’ll kill you.”
After doing something that was clearly rather gentle, Yin Chen still insisted on adding a vicious threat.
“Then kill me.” Song Zang’s eyes reddened further as he shamelessly pushed his luck and looked even more aggrieved.
Yin Chen closed his eyes. Faced with that expression, he simply could not bring himself to unleash his temper.
He stared helplessly at Song Zang for several seconds, sat upright… and then, astonishingly, crushed the handgun at his waist with his bare hand. Apparently, he had decided to redirect his rage toward something else.
The sharp bang of the weapon breaking made Song Zang flinch, and he immediately became wary of whatever Yin Chen might do next.
But just when their emotions and conflict should have reached their highest point, something distinctly wrong appeared.
A dark-red sphere dropped from the shattered energy chamber of the handgun and rolled twice across the carpet in the back seat.
No matter how one looked at it, its texture did not belong to anything produced by modern technology.
The internal structure of this supposedly specialized anti-anomaly weapon was clearly unreasonable.
Even the tiny broken components scattered around it were coated in strange, stringy mucus.
Yin Chen bent down, picked up the red sphere, and examined it. The moment he squeezed it, he realized that the texture was wrong as well.
It was a soft sphere that felt remarkably similar to an eyeball, yet was absolutely not an eyeball.
Staring at it for too long caused an indescribable dizziness, followed by an inexplicable wave of nausea.
Song Zang no longer had the attention to spare for keeping up appearances. Sitting upright, he asked quietly, “Who manufactures these special weapons?”
“The Dragon Nation government oversees production, the Guangming Consortium provides the funding, and we handle the technical side,” Yin Chen answered in a low voice. He stared thoughtfully at the sinister sphere.
Dragon Nation’s weapons technology was far more advanced than anything in the real world. Firearms did not require constant reloading and instead relied on fixed charging stations.
After a single charge, a weapon could fire roughly five thousand short-range energy beams, each extremely powerful and highly effective.
—At least, that was how it was supposed to work in theory.
But now, a problem inside an ordinary firearm suggested that something might also be wrong with the charging stations, or perhaps even the entire weapons-manufacturing process.
How had something this obviously strange gone unnoticed until now? No one could say for certain.
Song Zang privately suspected that it might have quite a lot to do with the Director of the Anomaly Containment Agency being a useless fraud who had built his entire reputation on deception.
“Yin Chen, what are we supposed to do with this thing?” he could not resist asking softly.
“Let me look at it a little longer.” Yin Chen lowered his eyes in thought.
“Oh. All right.”
The two leaned their heads together and studied the red sphere for quite some time.
Then Song Zang watched with his own eyes as Yin Chen lifted the hem of his coat and produced another three handguns of different models from behind his waist, along with two timed remote-control grenades…
All of them had been hidden under the loose white coat and were completely invisible from the outside.
Doesn’t carrying that many weapons hurt? Does this gloomy, vicious student of mine have some kind of pathological fear of insufficient firepower?
Song Zang fell silent and struggled to suppress his thriving curiosity.
Yin Chen frowned and crushed another handgun. Sure enough, there was another strange sphere inside, covered in sticky, unidentified fluid.
This one did not fall onto the carpet. Yin Chen caught it steadily, tore the sphere in half, squeezed out the sticky, jelly-like clot inside, and handed half to Song Zang. “Want some?”
Huh?
Song Zang’s heart jolted. He could not shake the feeling that Yin Chen had suddenly decided to test one of his secrets again, so he quickly shook his head with a pale face. “I-I don’t think I need—mmph.”
Before Song Zang could finish his affected refusal, Yin Chen impatiently stuffed half the “jelly” directly into his mouth.
His warm fingertips brushed Song Zang’s cool lips and trembled almost imperceptibly.
The delicate sensation of skin brushing skin was strangely subtle.
Song Zang noticed none of it. He was too busy chewing carefully and analyzing the taste. The thing was surprisingly chewy and required some effort to eat.
Although it wobbled visually like jelly, its texture in his mouth was faintly grainy, with surprisingly complex layers of flavor—slightly sweet, slightly gamey, almost like eating raw horse tongue…
Wait.
Since losing his memories, Song Zang had definitely never eaten anything as ridiculous as horse tongue.
Yet the lingering familiarity inside his mind told him that perhaps he really had eaten it before—and remembered it quite vividly.
【You consumed anomaly fragment: Dragon Eyelid. Resistance +10.】
Dragon… eyelid?
Both this and Dragon-Tongue Incense began with “Dragon.” Could this strangely textured thing somehow be connected to the incense?
Song Zang: (munching excitedly!)
After working hard to finish the springy, resilient half of the jelly, his blue screen began rapidly refreshing with countless notifications.
Before long, he had somehow eaten his way to more than three hundred additional points of Resistance. The efficiency was genuinely excellent.
Song Zang became so excited that he forgot everything around him, chewing with even greater enthusiasm until his right cheek bulged slightly.
He completely failed to notice the strange look on Yin Chen’s face. After withdrawing his hand, Yin Chen thoughtfully rubbed his fingertips together, and the corners of his lips lifted almost imperceptibly.
The precarious atmosphere between them relaxed once again.
At that moment, Ning Yan also hurried back, his hair covered in dust. He stood outside the car holding a scanner in a rush, only to poke his head inside and immediately see the two of them squeezed together in the car.
Ning Yan froze, and his gaze gradually became meaningful.
Song Zang was still struggling diligently with the jelly. Realizing that his image in Ning Yan’s mind was becoming increasingly impossible to explain… he simply gave up explaining and continued chewing.
Before Ning Yan could begin the standard contamination scan, Yin Chen suddenly pulled open the car door, snatched the scanner from his hand, and smashed it down violently.
The Team Two combat personnel who had gathered around stared in shock, frozen in place and unsure what to do. Yin Chen, meanwhile, appeared completely unconcerned about whether he had shattered his assigned character setting. He merely stared expressionlessly at the wreckage on the ground.
The scanner broke apart under the impact.
Crack—
The device split cleanly in half. No mucus leaked out this time, but… a perfectly rounded steel sphere still dropped from inside and rolled forward across the ground, making the staff hurriedly dodge aside.
“007, break it open.” Yin Chen glanced at Ning Yan.
“Oh, right. Okay.”
With Ning Yan’s physical strength, tearing open a thin steel casing with his bare hands was not particularly difficult.
Only after pulling it apart did he discover that something filthy really was living inside—and it was still alive.
The interior of the metal sphere was intricately constructed, like a complex sponge full of cavities. The creature nesting inside the “sponge”… was soft-bodied and vaguely resembled a slug, winding through the hollow nest while making wet squelch-squelch sounds.
A damp, fishy odor immediately spread through the air.
“Urgh—”
One of the NPC researchers who witnessed the entire process covered his mouth. Looking at the scanner he carried every day and could barely bear to put down suddenly made him nauseous.
Ning Yan held the two halves of the sphere and examined them, his brows knitting as his tone turned serious. “Does Dragon Nation’s advanced weapons technology really come from scientific R&D, or does it actually come from the power of anomalies?”
The question was sharp enough that Song Zang’s expression also turned alarmed. “If nobody has noticed all this time, could the staff gradually have their perception altered by anomalies… or even end up completely controlled by them?”
After all, anomaly researchers believed that once an anomaly became sufficiently powerful, it would naturally develop intelligence. Whether that intelligence was strong or weak, and whether it could threaten human survival, remained unknown.
The problem exposed before them demanded an immediate solution.
Leaving Lan Yu Heng and Zhang Ming Shen behind to continue their “secret” investigation at the Fog Barrier site, Yin Chen brought the rest of the personnel back without hesitation.
Song Zang also acted decisively. He ordered the Agency’s firearms specialists to report immediately and dismantle every handgun and scanner currently being used by staff.
The disturbance caused by Fire Thirst that morning had barely subsided before equipment-quality problems erupted at noon. With one incident following another, even the normally calm atmosphere of the Agency became restless.
As the Agency’s highest-ranking leader, Song Zang needed to remain on-site and keep everyone steady, so he personally supervised the entire dismantling process and did not even have time to eat lunch.
In the end, Ning Yan went to the cafeteria and brought food back for Song Zang. His survival instincts were strong enough that he also brought Yin Chen an identical meal.
Yin Chen had actually wanted to go buy food for Song Zang himself, but Song Zang simply tugged on the hem of his coat and said, “I’m scared,” which immediately convinced Yin Chen to stay voluntarily.
Seeing Yin Chen’s visibly softened and pleased expression, Song Zang suddenly understood.
—Apparently he had a white-knight complex and especially liked protecting the weakest person around.
If Song Zang needed Yin Chen’s help in the future, pretending to be pitiful and asking nicely would probably produce outstanding results.
Yin Chen had no idea just how badly Song Zang had misunderstood him. At the moment, he was perfectly calm and diligently performing the duties of an assistant.
For example, bringing tea and water, adjusting the room temperature, and cleaning up the Director’s tray after he finished eating…
Eventually, every firearm and scanner had been dismantled.
Only the few devices Yin Chen had personally broken open showed abnormalities. Everyone else’s weapons were normal inside, containing nothing more than ordinary precision energy-core structures.
The discovery that the dangerous weapons and detection equipment had not been completely replaced by anomalies allowed some of the gloom hanging over the researchers to dissipate.
Thank goodness the Agency itself had not been entirely corrupted. Otherwise… if all the previous judgments of “no contamination” had been false, both the Agency’s credibility and its safety would face an enormous crisis.
However, while his subordinates visibly relaxed, Song Zang’s expression became even worse, and he secretly tugged at Yin Chen’s coat.
Because he could clearly see that the precision core inside the final scanner did not exist at all.
The mechanical specialist responsible for dismantling it held absolutely nothing in his hands, yet calmly cupped them around an imaginary sphere and displayed the “component” to everyone around him. The NPCs gathered nearby—even Ning Yan—relaxed in relief.
But there was genuinely nothing in his hands!
This was one of the most typical symptoms of anomaly contamination—cognitive distortion.
Song Zang hesitated for a long time before asking Yin Chen for help in a trembling voice. “D-do you notice anything strange? I still feel like something isn’t right.”
“Yes. Several people here have gone insane.” Yin Chen handed him a cup of warm pu’er tea and looked coldly toward the mechanical specialist, though his own tone remained perfectly calm. “Teacher, I recommend putting all of them on extended leave and suspending them from duty until they recover.”
“Huh? Who’s gone insane?”
Ning Yan looked completely baffled. After reading the explanation Song Zang secretly typed and sent him, his expression immediately changed.
Without drawing attention, he went to the break room and drank an enormous cup of strong coffee, forcing himself to wake up and concentrate. Only then did he finally realize what was wrong.
Ning Yan’s Resistance was not particularly low, so he was capable of recovering on his own. Ordinary NPCs, however, were another matter entirely.
This kind of sudden cognitive distortion could not simply be pointed out verbally. Saying it aloud might even trigger severe backlash and create even greater chaos.
For now, all they could do was pretend nothing was wrong and quietly remove the employees who believed themselves to be perfectly normal.
“That’s terrifying. Why is this happening?” Ning Yan let out a soft hiss, his scalp prickling at the sight of their bizarre behavior.
“No idea.” Song Zang sighed and silently drank his tea.
Ning Yan thought for a long moment, then raised another concern. “There are countless different kinds of anomalies. Their methods of contaminating humans could be completely different too. How could one handheld scanner possibly determine whether someone has been contaminated?
“There have to be gaps in the system. What if some anomaly has an especially unusual contamination method that just happens not to show up on the scanner?”
“You make a very good point, Officer 007.” Yin Chen refilled Song Zang’s tea. “So from now on, before officially beginning work each day, every employee will have to complete a common-sense check.”
“A-a common-sense check?”
“Correct. Anyone who answers even one question incorrectly must leave work immediately, rest, and receive treatment.”
As Yin Chen spoke, he shot Song Zang an urging glance. His meaning was obvious—Issue the order.
Song Zang felt like a powerless puppet emperor being held hostage by an all-powerful regent. He could only nod obediently without objection.
As for the so-called common-sense questions, they truly were extremely simple.
Ning Yan became enthusiastic about writing them and quickly volunteered several especially idiotic examples—
Do apples grow on trees or underground?
What do vegetarians generally not eat? 1. Meat; 2. Vegetables.
When brushing your teeth in the morning, what should you put on the toothbrush? 1. Toothpaste; 2. Sulfuric acid.
And which country is Dragon Nation’s Anomaly Containment Agency located in?
…
Despite how absurdly obvious these questions appeared, people actually answered them incorrectly.
With one hand resting on the handgun at his waist, Ning Yan seriously checked everyone one by one. Anyone who gave a wrong answer was immediately taken away for isolation and mandatory rest.
The recreation rooms that had once existed as employee benefits quickly filled with confused, aggrieved staff members.
They did not even understand what they had answered incorrectly.
After recording this bizarre cognitive distortion on camera, everyone discussed it briefly and decided to begin with the simplest, most direct approach.
—Send the video to the Dragon Nation government and the Guangming Consortium, demand an explanation, and question them formally.
Song Zang contributed his own email account. The title of Director was still extremely useful. Not long after the messages were sent, both sides responded remarkably quickly and with very cooperative attitudes.
The Guangming Consortium was the first to offer a sincere apology.
Next, in order to protect the Anomaly Containment Agency’s legal rights and the safety of its employees and property, the board convened an emergency meeting and decided to reduce next quarter’s 【non-anomaly-related】 financial support to Dragon Nation’s Military Supply Department. They also strongly demanded that the department immediately investigate and rectify the problem…
The players stared at the email, then at one another.
Just what kind of organization was the Guangming Consortium? How could it speak to an official Dragon Nation Military Supply Department in such a commanding, overbearing tone?
Only a few minutes later, a representative from the Military Supply Department also apologized. By the time Song Zang received the apology email, compensation had already arrived at the entrance of the Agency.
—Two full truckloads of expensive Dragon-Tongue Incense, along with free repairs and maintenance for the firearm charging stations.
Yin Chen personally went to the entrance to receive the two shipments of Dragon-Tongue Incense and supervise the charging-station maintenance. Under his stare, the technicians trembled and worked with extraordinary diligence.
No abnormalities were found inside the charging stations.
That at least counted as good news.
The generous material compensation was only one part of the matter, however. The actual problem remained unresolved.
No one could yet explain why strange pieces of what appeared to be anomaly anatomy had appeared inside firearms and scanners supplied specifically to the Anomaly Containment Agency.
The two parties under investigation both claimed they were “confused and deeply shocked” and promised to begin immediate internal investigations. It would clearly take some time before they could provide the Agency with a definite answer.
“Xiao Ning, what do we do now?” Song Zang rested his chin on one hand and looked troubled.
“It’s fine. We wait for their reply.”
Before Ning Yan could answer, Yin Chen’s voice came from the doorway.
Yin Chen had changed into yet another pristine white coat. His now thoroughly decorative glasses hung casually from the edge of his pocket, and he carried a plate of afternoon snacks.
He gave Ning Yan a cool glance, but when his gaze shifted toward Song Zang, his voice quietly softened by several degrees. “I just finished checking the storage rooms. The remaining weapons are all fine. The Agency can operate normally.”
God, when his mood is normal, he really does look dependable, Song Zang could not help thinking.
“Eat something, then let’s keep working, Teacher.”
Song Zang stared for a moment before accepting the plate.
It smelled wonderful. Freshly baked cranberry cookies.
⸻
Nothing else happened that afternoon, and the unsettled Anomaly Containment Agency finally returned to something resembling stability.
The staff suffering from cognitive distortion had been temporarily isolated and were receiving cognitive therapy in shifts, preventing any further panic.
Acting in the Director’s name, Ning Yan personally questioned them about their movements over the past several days. Song Zang himself, meanwhile, was buried beneath a mountain of documents awaiting review and signature.
The Director’s position came with tremendous authority, but it was genuinely exhausting.
Fortunately, Yin Chen helped him deal with the workload. Although he also looked impatient, he was extremely practiced at sorting out which documents were important. As expected of a veteran player who had survived countless instances, he seemed to know at least a little about everything.
By the time they mechanically finished dealing with an endless stream of official business, darkness had already fallen.
Song Zang put away his fountain pen and official seal, then went downstairs for a walk and some fresh air. By coincidence, he also got to taste the employee cafeteria’s freshly roasted chicken supper, making the evening remarkably leisurely and pleasant.
Compared with Tianhai City, an ordinary, proper instance like this was much more comfortable. The pace was slower, and at least it did not throw too many major disasters at them within a single day.
By the time they had eaten their fill, it was already midnight. Everyone should have gone to rest, but Ning Yan did not leave immediately.
He was not entirely comfortable leaving Song Zang alone with Yin Chen. Half joking, he insisted that his role required him to protect the Director at close range and refused to go.
The moment Yin Chen heard this, his expression became terrifyingly dark. The two stared at each other in silence, the tension between them seeming intense enough to produce sparks at any moment.
Song Zang stood pitifully squeezed between them, bewildered and caught in the middle.
Sensing Song Zang’s faint struggle, Yin Chen finally broke the silence and said calmly, “Teacher has me to protect him. There’s no need for you to stand here getting in the way.”
“Hey, Assistant Yin, that’s a little unfair. When exactly have I ever gotten in the—”
“Who almost had his perception fooled by an anomaly at noon?” Yin Chen’s lips curved faintly, his tone dripping with sarcasm. “Your Resistance may actually be lower than Teacher’s.”
Ning Yan choked and suddenly had no idea how to respond.
“Teacher, what do you think?” Seeing the advantage shift in his favor, Yin Chen immediately dragged Song Zang into the battlefield.
Remembering the delicious snacks he had eaten that afternoon, Song Zang’s heart softened. He quickly stepped in to mediate. “Xiao Ning, you’ve been working all day too. Go rest early. Assistant Yin is here with me, so I’ll be fine.”
“Then… Director, make sure you get proper rest. I’ll continue protecting you as soon as I return from my mission tomorrow morning. Things have been unsafe lately. You’re not planning to leave the Agency tomorrow, are you?” Ning Yan gathered his courage and asked.
Hearing that, the mockery in Yin Chen’s cool phoenix eyes became even clearer. Without hesitation, he lied smoothly, “Forget it. Teacher and I are going out together. You’re not allowed to follow.”
Song Zang: Huh?
When did I ever say I was going anywhere with Yin Chen? Where are we going? What does that even mean?
Although Song Zang could not understand it at all, he did not contradict Yin Chen outright.
Yin Chen’s temper seemed poor, his preferences strange, his mood unpredictable, and he was both powerful and frightening. More importantly, his Resistance was clearly above 1,000, so Song Zang could not easily fool him.
Starting a fight at the very beginning of an instance would also be inappropriate, which meant Song Zang had no accurate way to judge the difference between their strength.
For the time being, then, one course of action seemed available—stay away from him.
Keep as much distance as possible, avoid making Yin Chen angry, and perhaps allow him to take a few minor liberties now and then if necessary.
Unfortunately, Song Zang still had not figured out how to avoid him, so for now he could only go along with whatever Yin Chen wanted.
With that thought, Song Zang secretly gave Ning Yan a reassuring look.
After all, no matter how unpredictable Yin Chen might be, he surely would not hurt his own teammate for no reason…
Only after repeatedly confirming that Song Zang truly was not being coerced did Ning Yan “reluctantly” stop pestering them and return to the quarters reserved for specially assigned police officers.
Song Zang and Yin Chen also had their own staff accommodation: a small courtyard residence divided into front and rear suites, with a rather pleasant environment.
After parting with Ning Yan, the two walked toward the staff quarters together with an extremely clear division of labor.
Yin Chen carried the documents they had not finished reviewing that day, the Fog Barrier photographs and investigation materials Lan Yu Heng had sent, and Song Zang’s new thermos.
Even Song Zang’s white coat, which he temporarily did not need to wear, hung over Yin Chen’s arm.
Song Zang carried absolutely nothing. Whenever he tried to help, Yin Chen simply refused.
With no other choice, Song Zang could only walk beside him in embarrassed silence.
“Teacher, I created a group chat for the Special Operations Group. If anything urgent happens, you can tell us there. Zhang Ming Shen and Lan Yu Heng are both elite employees of the Agency. You can trust them.”
Yin Chen suddenly spoke softly, opening the thermos as he did so and handing it to Song Zang.
“All right. Thank you for the trouble.” Song Zang understood the implication and took a sip. It contained warm, sweet milk.
“By the way, Teacher. You had a fright today. Would you like to stay with me tonight?”
The suggestion made Song Zang pause midstep. He looked up, but Yin Chen’s sharp profile was submerged in the darkness, making his expression difficult to see.
“…No, thank you.”
Unable to understand what strange scheme Yin Chen might have in mind, Song Zang thought it over and still refused the ambiguous invitation without hesitation.
Noticing the slight discomfort on Song Zang’s face, Yin Chen’s thin lips curved. “All right. What would you like for breakfast tomorrow?”
He… did not get angry?
Song Zang relaxed slightly and answered softly, “Dumplings.”
“All right.” Yin Chen agreed readily.
Ning Yan had no idea that because of this brief conversation, Yin Chen would drag him out of bed shortly after five in the morning to roll dumpling wrappers…
Simply because no matter how hard Yin Chen tried, he could not make a single intact handmade dumpling, while Ning Yan was a northerner who enjoyed cooking.
Unfortunately, Ning Yan could not refuse either. He and Song Zang got along well, and his current position was essentially that of the Director’s personal security officer, which meant he had to handle all kinds of miscellaneous and exhausting tasks.
Meanwhile, Song Zang, who knew none of this, returned to his spacious, quiet bedroom after separating from Yin Chen.
He was not particularly sleepy. After taking a nap in the car earlier, he was still full of energy.
More importantly, he was finally alone. Simply being out of Yin Chen’s sight made him breathe a quiet sigh of relief.
Song Zang rolled up his sleeves and thoroughly searched the bedroom from inside to out.
For the moment, he found no hidden doors or further secrets. The only unusual discovery was buried deep inside the wardrobe: three cases of hundred-yuan bills, three cases of gold bars, several sets of expertly forged identification documents, and household registration booklets.
This fraud had prepared his escape route remarkably well. The moment the situation became impossible to control, or the truth behind his stolen reputation was exposed, he could simply grab his things, flee overseas, and live comfortably for the rest of his life…
While quietly destroying the forged documents, Song Zang suddenly discovered something strange.
The Director’s personal seal in his pocket was gradually beginning to behave abnormally.
Whenever Song Zang touched one of the fake official stamps on those forged documents, the ordinary-looking little object would secretly twitch several times. When Song Zang took it out and held it in his hand, that strange sense of “life” became even stronger.
Song Zang could even feel its eagerness. It seemed desperate to replace the inferior counterfeit marks on the documents.
If it had emotions, then it was alive.
Song Zang tossed the documents aside and carefully examined the seal in his palm. It immediately began pretending to be dead again.
“All right, all right. I’ll look you up.”
It was late at night, the surroundings were quiet, and Song Zang had nothing else to do, so he had plenty of patience.
He opened the Agency’s several-hundred-page Catalog of Recorded Anomalies and began reading through it entry by entry. Sure enough, inside the top-secret entries requiring senior clearance, he found a clue.
The little object had an extremely straightforward name: 【Director’s Seal of the Anomaly Containment Agency】. Not only was it an anomaly, it was also an extremely unusual A-rank anomaly.
The seal’s terrifying abilities were clearly listed:
- Whenever the seal’s owner uses it to stamp any clause, contract, or similar document, every provision stated within that document must take effect and absolutely cannot be violated.
- Anyone who violates the document will have their body forcibly controlled by the seal and compelled to carry out the stated provisions.
- Anyone who deliberately violates the terms more than three times will be judged by the seal as 【nonhuman】 and forcibly executed.
…Strict.
The crucial point was that this seal had also been stamped onto the original copy of the Anomaly Containment Agency: Employee Rules.
Whenever the Agency hired new personnel, the list of names had to be submitted to the Director in advance for approval and stamped with his red seal.
No wonder the Agency’s senior employees were so obedient. Even those who possessed powerful abilities behaved with astonishing order and showed an almost excessive degree of compliance.
Any rebellious employee who refused to listen had probably already been secretly murdered by the seal and died under mysterious circumstances.
Song Zang suddenly understood the correct way to deal with this anomaly: either destroy the seal with overwhelming force or become its owner.
Because the Director of the Anomaly Containment Agency was technically not an employee. He was a leader who stood outside the Agency’s rules.
Ordinary administrative procedures and regulations had no actual power over the appointment or dismissal of the Director.
Only the person who possessed the seal could become the Director in the truest sense.
That sounded rather free, but the loophole lay precisely there—if someone wanted to seize power, all they had to do was steal the seal without violating any existing rules, then make legitimate use of the anomaly’s ability to achieve their goal.
In that case, if Yin Chen secretly stole his seal, wouldn’t he be able to replace Song Zang directly and take everything for himself?
Expressionless, Song Zang put the seal back into his pocket and decided that from now on, he would hide it inside his pajamas and sleep with it pressed against his body every night.
A powerful sense of danger washed over him. Song Zang tossed and turned in bed, becoming even less capable of sleeping.
He began carefully reviewing everything that had happened that day.
There was undoubtedly a mole inside the Agency, and someone genuinely wanted him dead. But where should he begin investigating? And who had planted the mole in the first place?
“That’s right—my Title bonus!”
Song Zang’s eyes lit up as he suddenly remembered the new ability his Mask had gained after upgrading.
He summoned his blue screen and tentatively tapped the Special Title surrounded by the pale-gold ring.
【Would you like to activate the Detection function now?】
【Detection commencing: 3, 2, 1…】
The blue screen flickered for a moment before displaying an unfamiliar identification photograph.
The man had straight, heroic brows, bright eyes, and a slightly square face. He looked like an upright, imposing middle-aged officer.
Song Zang had never seen him before, but judging from his uniform and shoulder insignia, he was probably a high-ranking officer in the Dragon Nation Police Bureau.
The insignia bore an intricately crafted golden dragon chasing the moon, making it particularly striking.
Song Zang took a photograph with his phone and sent it to Ning Yan. “Do you know him?”
Ning Yan apparently could not sleep either and replied almost instantly.
【007: A bad guy?! Give me a minute. I’ll investigate right now.】
【007: Holy shit. That’s my boss’s boss’s boss… He’s the Deputy Commander of the Dragon Nation Police Bureau, Long Jian Feng. He was promoted a few years ago. He’s a seriously powerful figure—in Dragon Nation, his status should be roughly equivalent to yours as Director.】
Indeed. Even his name sounded like something belonging to a righteous hero.
Song Zang carefully studied the high-definition photograph of Long Jian Feng. There was not the slightest hint of villainy anywhere on his face. He looked genuinely upright and honorable.
Who would have guessed that behind the scenes, this man was also a consummate liar?
Ning Yan curiously asked why Song Zang was investigating Long Jian Feng, but Song Zang vaguely brushed him off without explaining much.
Unfortunately, the Detection function had not identified the mole inside the Agency, but this was still important information.
Being someone who lied constantly did not necessarily prove anything. But after thinking about it carefully, having a Deputy Commander of the Dragon Nation Police Bureau who lied constantly… was certainly something worth guarding against, and it also suggested that the Police Bureau itself might not be especially stable.
Song Zang memorized Long Jian Feng’s face, turned off the light, and prepared to sleep, only to be awakened once again by a message notification.
As a genuine top-tier player, Lan Yu Heng was still energetically working in the field.
At three in the morning, the remaining Fog Barrier around the Dragon-Tongue Incense factory finally dissipated completely. By an extraordinary coincidence, she encountered someone unusual and immediately sent a voice message to their small group chat.
“Boss, I caught a player over here. His mental state is obviously abnormal.”
Immediately afterward, she sent several close-up, high-resolution photographs.
Song Zang listened to the message, opened the images, and focused carefully. His pupils contracted slightly.
“…Wang Shu?”
Yes. The longer he looked, the more the man resembled Wang Shu—the same Wang Shu whom Xie Chun Ye and Lin Wen Jing had thrown off the bus together, only for him to somehow survive.
If the shape of his brows, eyes, and nose had not remained unchanged, Song Zang might not have recognized him at all.
The Wang Shu from before had clearly been a plump, heavyset man. Under Lan Yu Heng’s camera, however, he looked completely different.
Both his appearance and his overall state had changed beyond recognition in the month since they last saw him, as though he had secretly undergone hundreds of rounds of liposuction.
Wang Shu was now terrifyingly thin, little more than skin and bones.
He wore no shirt. His cheeks were hollow, and every rib stood out clearly beneath his skin, making him resemble a terminally ill patient who had suffered years of severe malnutrition.
Even stranger, his left hand was completely gone and had not regenerated after leaving the game instance. Only a small lump of flesh remained, hanging awkwardly beside his shoulder and swaying when he moved.
Complicated, sinister patterns had been painted across his protruding cheekbones in bright-red pigment. His gaze was razor-sharp, and even while crouching on the ground with his hands cuffed, he carried a faintly condescending air of laziness and brutality.
That demeanor somehow looked familiar.
Song Zang thought for a moment, then realized that the more he looked, the more Wang Shu resembled that… shirtless man who had ridden a motorcycle along the dark mountain road in the middle of the night to “pick up cargo.”
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