CHAPTER 48: CHAPTER 47: FACE-OFF WITH THE CULT (1)

As if it sensed trouble, the anomaly that looked more like a zombie snarled at him before throwing another brick down once again. He didn’t bother dodging this time and just hit it with the stick, turning it into dust.

"Seriously? You turned into an anomaly just to throw bricks? You could have done the same from your retirement home, you know?"

The anomaly shoved its hands into the cracked wall and tossed another brick at Zaen. At this point, he was starting to get pissed at Nishimiya. The Anomaly wasn’t ready to come down, and Zaen couldn’t hit him that high up without throwables.

"I miss my throwing knives..."

He had used them all up during the fight with the bus and lost them in the explosion later. Now, there was only one way to get them back.

"Overexpensive bullshit," Zaen muttered and opened the shop.

At that moment, Nishimiya sent another brick his way, which Zaen destroyed without sparing a glance.

[Purchase 5x Throwing Knives for 250 coins?]

"...yes, you corpo bitch."

[Confirmed. Items have been deposited in the player’s inventory.]

[Second purchase bonus has arrived!]

[10% discount deals have been added in the shop!]

[The shop will provide bonus rewards from the next purchase onwards.]

Zaen tilted his head after reading those words.

"...shouldn’t such bonuses be given after the first purchase?"

Was the shop seriously waiting for him to buy two things before giving him discounts and deals?

His mouth twitched, wondering about the things he’d do to the one who designed the system once he got his hands on them. For now, he’d have to make do with Mr. Nishimiya’s ghost.

The alleyway was dark, without a single light source. Naturally, anyone would have a hard time finding the accurate position of the anomaly who was stubbornly clinging to the walls.

The anomaly was using the narrow alleyway to its advantage. It had the higher ground, making it easier for it to attack others while they struggled to find and fight it in the dark.

It was probably in the task’s design to make the situation more challenging for other players. Unfortunately, darkness wasn’t the anomaly’s help when Zaen was around.

The anomaly snarled once again before throwing another brick towards him. However, this turned out to be a fatal mistake for the anomaly as the next second, a knife hit the anomaly in its shoulder. It lost its grip on the wall and tumbled down.

[Total damage dealt: 88]

[Camouflaged Anomaly’s HP: 92/180]

"Tsk, if only I had managed to hit the head instead, it all would’ve been over." Zaen shook his head before jumping as high as he could.

The enemies met in midair. It was then that Zaen finally got the first look at Mr. Nishimiya as an anomaly.

He looked weirdly... human. Unlike those diners of the restaurant. There were some similar characteristics between the two, but Zaen understood why no one would have noticed a camouflaged anomaly.

If they hadn’t met the person before the person turned into an anomaly, there simply wasn’t much of a difference in how a person looked. At most, they’d think the person was in an accident and had burn scars all over. At least those jagged, static-infested patterns looked like burns to him.

Even Zaen, who knew the thing in front of him was no longer human, got muddled for a second. He was supposed to attack and kill it, but he hesitated for a moment.

That moment of hesitation was all the anomaly needed to reveal its claws. Thankfully, Zaen snapped back into reality at the last moment, swinging the Boning Sword.

The sword connected with the side of the anomaly’s skull with such force that Zaen felt it crack in half. Even Zaen was thrown off balance and landed on his shoulder with a loud thud. He was hurt, but it was just a bump.

[Total damage dealt: 91]

[Camouflaged Anomaly’s HP: 1/180]

"What?"

Zaen couldn’t believe it. The boning sword should’ve dealt over 400 HP damage at least. Yet, the notification said it was 91? Not to mention, just the fact that he crushed the anomaly’s skull should’ve been enough to end it.

He was about to hit the anomaly again, but before he could, he felt someone was charging towards him. It was too late to block the attack, so he begrudgingly left the almost dead anomaly and jumped back to evade the attack.

"Look at this bastard," a masculine voice appeared from the other end of the alley. "He broke my barrier and almost killed our precious experiment."

Zaen’s ears perked up and, through his perception, he saw three more figures standing between him and the anomaly. Moreover, all of their silhouettes were pitch black. They weren’t anomalies, but they didn’t have any good intentions towards him either.

"...who are you?" he asked.

"People like you," this time a feminine voice replied. "The question is, who are you? You’re not one of us, but you don’t seem to be from the F.O.R.C.E. either. Yet, here you are fighting an anomaly."

"I’ll deal with you later," someone else spoke. "If you value your life, back away now."

Zaen was outnumbered. He didn’t know whether he could take all of them down without killing them. So, he complied with the man’s request, raised his hands over his head and backed off.

The 6’4" orange-skinned man who had attacked Zaen first stared a hole in him as the rest of the team went into action and restrained the anomaly.

Zaen watched them. They weren’t from the organization, but he didn’t know if they were ’evil’ or just a different organization that worked alongside F.O.R.C.E.

Regardless, I won’t let them take my things from me.

While the officers were busy, Zaen flung the knife at the anomaly. The orange-skinned man saw the knife flying in the anomaly’s direction. He tried to deflect it before it hit the creature, but wasn’t fast enough.

[Camouflaged Anomaly killed! Exp +100]

[Exp: 2,100/1,600]

"You bastard!" The man growled in rage before charging at Zaen, but Zaen just stood there smiling like a chill guy.