Chapter 87

Chapter 87

Dawn Bureau Border Division.

Meng Liqun passed the cafeteria and re-entered the strawberry shed to check on the seedlings. In just two days, two strawberries had already blushed crimson, promising ripeness within days.

A team member was also admiring the strawberries, murmuring to himself. Meng Liqun didn't need to strain to know he was praising the plants.

Ever since Meng Liqun had picked three ripe strawberries, everyone else felt their own berries had immense room for improvement. Colleagues would frequently drop by to fuss over them. Meng Liqun suspected they spoke more to the strawberry seedlings than they did during work hours.

Then again, their work primarily involved dealing with anomalies, which required little conversation.

As they chatted, alarms suddenly blared outside. After a brief pause, another alarm sounded, then a relentless, unbroken chain of alerts.

Meng Liqun and the others in the strawberry shed rushed out.

“So many alarms—how many anomalies have appeared?”

A colleague nearby sounded shocked. Since the alarm system's installation, such a continuous barrage had never been heard. Judging by the sheer volume, at least ten anomalies had emerged.

But the colleague had underestimated the scale. By the time they emerged and retrieved their weapons, the alarms had grown so rapid it was overwhelming.

“Could there be a large rift nearby?” a colleague whispered.

Meng Liqun swiftly secured his weapons, placing a satchel of explosives in the most accessible spot, his face impassive as he listened to the alarms.

The bracelet on his wrist vibrated. Glancing at the issued command, he immediately led his team out.

With the rescue teams fully deployed, only a handful of administrative staff remained at the Dawn Bureau.

But even as clerical personnel, they weren't defenseless. After the security teams departed, the remaining staff armed themselves and held their positions, providing crucial intelligence support for the rescue teams.

Arriving at the anomaly concentration, Meng Liqun immediately deployed explosives.

With such a massive number of anomalies, there was no room to consider capturing any for research. The priority now was to inflict maximum casualties.

“Captain Meng…”

A team member gasped, calling out to him in disbelief.

Meng Liqun quickly glanced over, seeing the member’s face frozen in shock and uncertainty.

“Captain, look over there—is that… Lin Ying?” The member swallowed hard, pointing towards a female anomaly standing motionless, cradling a child.

From that distance, Meng Liqun could clearly see the child was not an infant, yet an umbilical cord extended from its navel, connected to the female anomaly.

Though bizarre, Meng Liqun had encountered enough anomalies not to be overly shocked—until he recognized the female anomaly’s face.

“Lin Ying?” he blurted out.

Due to the threat of anomalies, rescue teams sometimes pursued them across borders. While this was unthinkable in peacetime, after anomalies appeared, Xia State’s rescue teams would cross lines to eliminate future threats. Naturally, they had come to know some foreign nationals, and Lin Ying was one of them.

But she had been human. Even with only a few encounters, Meng Liqun was certain of it. So how had she become an anomaly?

No, it must be an anomaly mimicking Lin Ying. Meng Liqun instinctively speculated.

Unlike the other anomalies, the one resembling Lin Ying remained eerily still, simply holding the child, showing no reaction even as the other anomalies battled the rescue team.

“Captain, look at that one—” Another team member spotted a familiar face, this time sounding less shocked and more bewildered, tinged with fear.

Anomalies were terrifying, but the team had grown confident that with effort, they could reduce them to mere nuisances, too afraid to cause significant harm.

But humans turning into anomalies? The implications sent a chill down their spines.

Meng Liqun looked and saw another familiar face, then another. Any lingering hope in his heart vanished completely.

“Photograph the evidence and send the intel back immediately,” Meng Liqun ordered sharply, raising his weapon to fire as an anomaly charged, leaving no room for distraction.

Soon, the report reached Dawn Bureau headquarters from the border.

The assistant’s expression tightened upon reading it, and he immediately sought out Zhao Zhangyan.

Zhao Zhangyan was still reviewing recent strawberry yields, a contented smile on his face.

They had tested the seedlings’ output—each plant yielded about ten strawberries. While not a large number, each strawberry enhanced strength slightly, and ten combined offered a decent boost.

However, the effects couldn’t be stacked indefinitely.

Chiding himself for being greedy, Zhao Zhangyan was interrupted by the assistant’s grim expression.

“Director, this is a new report.” The assistant carefully handed over the document.

Zhao Zhangyan noticed the assistant’s tense expression, his heart sinking. He knew it was bad news, but even with mental preparation, the smile vanished from his face as he read the report.

“To the research institute,” Zhao Zhangyan declared, heading out.

Meanwhile, the institute had also received the news. At first, the photos didn’t seem alarming, but after reading the accompanying explanation, their expressions drastically changed.

What was the relationship between anomalies and humans?

The institute had been researching this for a long time. Based on information from Ying Yuanxing’s livestreams, they theorized that anomalies emerged from human consciousness as seeds.

But the research wasn't very deep; after all, even anomalies didn't ponder their past selves. Anomalies were anomalies, fundamentally different from humans.

Yet now, on Blue Star itself, humans were becoming anomalies…

“Are we certain these are transformed humans, not anomalies disguising themselves?” Mr. Zhou asked, looking at the report.

“The teams are still securing the scene. Some rescue team members recognized them, but haven't confirmed absolutely. The implications were too severe to delay reporting,” a staff member explained.

Everyone knew such a significant report ideally needed proof, but if humans could turn into anomalies, not reporting it immediately to prepare other regions of Xia State could lead to a massive disaster, even a minute’s delay.

After all, Xia State’s current stability was maintained by rescue teams actively apprehending anomalies and protecting citizens. But if the number of anomalies exceeded the Dawn Bureau’s containment capacity, chaos would ensue.

Of course, the most terrifying aspect was the phenomenon itself: humans could become anomalies.

Xia State’s high-level officials were also in an uproar over the news, first urging confirmation of its authenticity, then debating whether to disclose it if true.

Public disclosure would cause panic, but such news couldn’t be suppressed. If a Xia State citizen transformed into an anomaly in public, the government’s hard-won sense of security would instantly collapse, leading to widespread fear. One could even say this crisis was greater than the initial anomaly outbreak.

Back then, the enemy was singular: anomalies. The solution was clear: strengthen oneself, protect citizens, and eliminate anomalies.

But now, humans themselves could become anomalies, for unknown reasons. This meant society was riddled with countless ticking time bombs, and no one knew when they might explode, when they might affect them, or if they themselves might be one of those bombs.

“Let’s promote remote work for now.”

Until the results are finalized, this is the best we can do—prevent large gatherings, keep people separated as much as possible. That way, even if something happens, the impact won’t be too severe.

When the directive was issued, many businesses were puzzled. However, the government’s order was firm, so employees who could work remotely quickly transitioned to working from home.

The internet buzzed with discussion. Some were curious about the sudden change, but most felt relieved—after all, who wouldn’t prefer working from home over staying in the office?

...

“Lin Ying?” Meng Liqun called out tentatively, looking at the detained Lin Ying. She showed no reaction, silently cradling her daughter instead.

It was the daughter in her arms who seemed to respond to the name, her eyes rolling about before settling on Meng Liqun.

A pair of unnaturally bright eyes set in a sallow, thin face—the eerie sight made his blood run cold.

Meng Liqun glanced at the other familiar faces among the captured. Compared to other anomalies, these possibly human-converted anomalies were strangely docile. Unless physically threatened, they remained passive, even when confined.

But the Dawn Bureau wasn't taking risks. Who knew what abilities these anomalies possessed? They were placed under maximum security protocols.

“Captain Meng, the plane is ready. They’ll be transported soon,” a team member reported. “What do you think their condition is?”

“I don’t know. Let’s wait for the research institute’s findings. Whatever the truth is, the nation will make an announcement,” Meng Liqun replied grimly, his gaze on the anomalies tinged with sorrow.

Even if they weren’t Xia citizens, they were still humans from Blue Star. Seeing them transformed into anomalies for unknown reasons filled Meng Liqun with a sense of shared vulnerability.

“Let’s hope they can figure it out,” the team member muttered.

Soon, the anomalies were loaded onto the plane and flown to the research institute. The moment the plane landed, researchers swiftly transferred them to containment rooms.

“Director, what now?” a researcher asked Mr. Zhou.

With ordinary anomalies, they had countless experimental methods. But these were humans turned into anomalies—and they had received Meng Liqun’s report that these human-turned-anomalies were not very aggressive, quite docile, and even responded to names. Could they still treat them as mere monsters?

“Retrieve all their identity information. Also, bring some food—see if we can get them to speak. Anomalies also have their own consciousness,” Mr. Zhou said after a moment of silence.

The researchers knew Mr. Zhou had ultimately softened, otherwise, he would have ordered different experimental methods.

However, this leniency also brought relief to many researchers. After all, until the cause was understood, no one could be certain they wouldn’t become anomalies themselves.

If they were the ones transformed, they’d hope not to be treated cruelly by humans.

Of course, the main reason was that these anomalies were very compliant and hadn't harmed anyone. If they had tried to eat people, others would not have had this attitude.

As long as they hadn't harmed anyone, others still held a glimmer of hope—that these human-turned-anomalies were different from ordinary anomalies.

In addition to the research institute’s actions, Ying Yuanxing also received the news.

Learning that Blue Star humans could turn into anomalies stunned Ying Yuanxing.

When the Dawn Bureau asked if he had any leads, he drew a blank—he’d never encountered such a thing before.

But Ying Yuanxing understood why the Dawn Bureau asked. The situation was dire, and they were desperate.

Ying Yuanxing considered consulting the Weird World Consciousness but remembered its concentration on maintaining the world core. Interrupting it was out of the question.

Instead, Ying Yuanxing thought for a moment, then turned to the internet and posted:

*‘Planning to write a novel about human-anomaly romance. The anomaly, fearing the human’s short lifespan, tries to turn them into an anomaly. How to make it realistic and not seem made-up?’*

Though blunt, many anomalies replied—most ridiculed the premise, saying romance between humans and anomalies was absurd due to fundamentally different values.

But a few offered suggestions.

One reply caught Ying Yuanxing’s attention:

*"Turning humans into anomalies is extremely difficult. I’ve never tried, but here’s a theory: Humans need extreme emotions—obsessive fixation is the foundation of some anomalies. Plus, sustained saturation to anomalous energy might rewrite their biology. Even then, the outcome isn't certain. Something else is missing, though I’m not sure what."*

The replies beneath ridiculed the user for treating it like reality and trying to turn humans into anomalies.

But Ying Yuanxing saw merit in the theory.

Take himself—he wasn’t sure about extreme emotions, but he *had* died once. The moment of death could’ve created that obsessive state, though he couldn’t recall now.

As for anomalous energy exposure, his daily use of game skills and consumption of large amounts of anomalous food seemed to align with what this netizen said.

As for the remaining factor, Ying Yuanxing suspected it might be the anomalous core.

*‘What if the anomaly regrets turning the human and stops midway? How to restore them believably?’*

The user quickly replied:

*"Heavy concentrations of contaminated anomalous food. The anomalous energy will dissipate, but the impurities may result in debilitation. Not sure if they can be fully purged."*

After that, the user stopped replying and moved on to other posts, clearly having lost interest in the topic for now.

Ying Yuanxing read the reply and, without hesitation, immediately sent the information to the Dawn Bureau.

He couldn’t test it himself, but the reasoning held water. Worth a try.

The research institute acted immediately.

Contaminated anomalous food was expensive and hard to acquire, but researchers understood that the key ingredient in this remedy was the impurities, not the anomalous food itself. Given this, water from the Aquatic Anomaly Zone could be used.

Soon, water containing impurities was prepared. Considering the uncertainty of the impurities, some seaweed was specifically added. Once the anomalous energy was cleared, the seaweed could be eaten to remove the impurities.

“Lin Ying,” a researcher called from outside the containment room. Lin Ying, seated inside, immediately snapped to attention and hurried to the window, gazing expectantly.

“Here’s your meal today.” The researcher placed a bowl of rice sprinkled with dried fish flakes and a shrimp soup on the ledge. “Eating this might help you recover.”

Lin Ying completely ignored the latter part of the sentence, focusing only on the researcher’s mention of food.

Seeing Lin Ying’s reaction, the researcher sighed. He had tried talking to her, but she had shown no response, at most reacting slightly to her name after repeated calls.

Oh, and she reacted strongly to food. As long as there was food, she became incredibly docile.

Honestly, if not for Lin Ying’s appearance and the umbilical cord connecting her to her daughter, no one would guess she was an anomaly.

He glanced at the meal on the ledge, hoping it would work. The rice was cooked with water from the anomaly zone, and the shrimp soup was also made with it.

If it worked, regardless of why humans turned into anomalies, at least they would have a solution.

As the researcher turned to leave, Lin Ying reached out and took the bowl and soup, happily beginning to eat.

Compared to when she first arrived at the institute, her eating habits had improved. At least she no longer simply poured food into her mouth but used a soft spoon to scoop it in.

As Lin Ying ate, she suddenly remembered something and put some food into her daughter’s mouth.

Her daughter, caught off guard, was fed several mouthfuls of rice and soup, then covered her mouth, refusing to eat more.

Lin Ying didn’t force it, continuing to eat, but increased the energy transfer through the umbilical cord.

After finishing her meal, Lin Ying lay back on the bed, staring blankly ahead, lost in thought. This was her usual habit, but this time, for some reason, her eyes felt an indescribable weariness. She blinked repeatedly, and finally, her eyelids drooped, not opening again.

“Is she sleepy?” The researcher monitoring her was pleasantly surprised. After all, anomalies didn’t get sleepy. If Lin Ying was showing this behavior, did it mean she was turning back human? The researcher immediately reported the observation.

“What about the others?”

“They’re improving too. One person who had been pacing nonstop in the holding room without showing any signs of fatigue has now slowed down significantly. Looks like they’re tired too—ah, they’ve stopped walking and are sitting down to rest.”

“Good, good. Keep observing closely.”

Upon receiving the update from the research institute, Zhao Zhangyan hung up the phone in delight and let out a long sigh of relief. With a solution in hand, he could finally relax a little—though he wouldn’t fully relax until these individuals fully recovered and the cause behind humans turning into anomalies was understood.

However, recalling the information Ying Yuanxing had relayed, Zhao Zhangyan felt the cause wasn’t hard to guess.

JoyBuy app.

Exploiting emotions to obtain anomalous coins, leading to extreme emotions and even obsessions. The infusion of anomalous energy, humans exchanging emotions for anomalous coins—and anomalies could also produce anomalous coins. Were the coins humans exchanged truly free of any physical contact?

Zhao Zhangyan didn’t want to suspect Salvation Game, but the possibility cast a shadow over his mind.

If Salvation Game was the culprit, things would get really bad.

After all, humanity’s primary defense against anomalies was Salvation Game. If Salvation Game itself was compromised, how many people would still have faith in resisting anomalies?

This wasn’t just about losing an ally—it meant gaining a hidden, colossal enemy.

Meanwhile, Salvation Game looked troubled. The JoyBuy app had been created to help humanity resist anomalies. Even before Ying Yuanxing emerged, Salvation Game had planned this, but human participants in the anomalous world could obtain too few resources. Even with all the work put into developing a shopping app between worlds, it might not help much.

Moreover, maintaining JoyBuy was costly, so Salvation Game had delayed its launch. It was only after recognizing the immense potential of Ying Yuanxing’s farm that the JoyBuy app was finally introduced.

As for the anomalous coin exchange, it was set up because of the importance of anomalous coins to participants. After all, relying solely on the coins participants earned to bring stuff over from the anomalous world was ineffective.

Additionally, this system helped humans expend some extreme emotions. While Salvation Game didn’t believe the complete absence of emotions could suppress anomalies, excessive extreme emotions caused suffering for humans and affected Salvation Game as well. This solution was a win-win.

But now…

Shut down the anomalous coin exchange feature on JoyBuy?

Salvation Game considered the idea but immediately shook its head. No—if this feature were removed, humans would have no anomalous coins to purchase products. Even if Ying Yuanxing’s goods were cheaper, Salvation Game knew Ying Yuanxing also needed anomalous coins to obtain seeds.

Expecting Ying Yuanxing to provide them for free was impossible—he couldn’t afford that much.

Furthermore, after checking around the world, Salvation Game noticed that half-human, half-anomaly cases only appeared in countries where citizens were heavily exploited. In Xia State, where emotional exchange for anomalous coins was practiced moderately, such cases were barely any.

Though Xia State did have a few instances, they were clearly outliers—after all, with such a large population, a few odd cases were expected. But in other countries, these cases appeared in batches.

Letting Xia State suffer for the sake of foreign issues was unacceptable to Salvation Game.

In truth, when Salvation Game first awakened, it didn’t favor any country. But over time, experience had led it to start leaning certain ways.

As Salvation Game figured out what to do, Xia State, upon confirming the remedy could restore humans turned anomaly, immediately held a press conference to announce the news.

People freaked out.

What? Humans could turn into anomalies?

Before shock could turn into fear, they quickly learned that, with Ying Yuanxing’s assistance, the research institute had already found a solution—and they breathed easier.

“Hearing the press conference, I almost thought I was still dreaming.”

“The beginning gave me chills—thank goodness the nation has a solution. Otherwise, this would’ve been terrifying.”

“If it weren’t for the official announcement, I’d have thought this was some fake news. Humans can actually turn into anomalies?”

“The key is they can turn back. If it were just the first part, it’d be pure horror.”

“Bet they knew about this for a while. They’ve kept it from us for so long—wonder how much longer they’d have hidden it if there wasn’t a fix.”

“To the idiot above—I’d roast you, but I’m afraid you’d enjoy it. News like this needs verification first. And if they announced it without a solution, the country would’ve gone to shit.”

“Agreed. Without a solution, just hearing the first part would’ve made me too scared to leave my house. Who knows who might turn anomaly? Even if the state says they’re docile, they’re still anomalies.”

“Though the state did keep it from us, I’m glad they announced it now. Otherwise, I’d be a nervous wreck.”

“Quickly wrote down what to look for in humans turning anomaly. Suspect my neighbor might be one—calling the rescue squad right now. Early detection, early treatment.”

“Wow, spotted one in my area too. Fits what they said—really quiet. Gonna get the rescue team over right away.”