With Shen Ge’s mindset of “since I’m already here, I might as well go in and take a look,” it didn’t matter if it was a “Four-Headed, Eight-Armed” creature inside—even if it were a Thousand-Armed Guanyin, he would still have gone in for a stroll.

“Although the system only warned of a Tier 6 anomalous entity, ‘Four-Headed, Eight-Armed,’ there’s probably more than just one high-tier anomaly here.” Shen Ge scanned the area with his Anomalous Space Detector. There were eight layers of overlapping anomalous spaces here, but after multiple encounters with the core members of the Twelve Branches, he had never seen them possess abilities related to anomalous spaces.

“Could it be that this ‘Four-Headed, Eight-Armed’… is also trapped in the overlapping anomalous spaces?” Shen Ge wondered. If the leader was trapped, would the Twelve Branches’ trump card—teleportation—still work?

This time, however, Shen Ge wasn’t worried about the enemy escaping. If they could teleport, he had a teleporter of his own. With his “Formless + Silent” abilities activated, he could follow the leader through the teleportation and potentially wipe out the entire Twelve Branches in one go.

Ever since the Twelve Branches had intruded into his home, Shen Ge had been determined to eliminate them entirely. He never left potential threats unchecked.

Holding the detector in one hand and a flashlight in the other, Shen Ge stepped into the hall.

The first-floor office of the headquarters was much more spacious than the Rong City branch. To the left was a counter resembling a police station’s front desk, and to the right was a guidance reception area. Most of the space was empty, and judging by the deserted desks at the counter, this area was largely for show. After all, the likelihood of anyone “reporting” an anomalous event in person was close to zero.

Sweeping his flashlight across the room, Shen Ge saw disfigured corpses scattered everywhere, overturned tables and chairs, shattered counters and windows, and bodies stuck in window frames… Moving past the guidance reception area, he entered a spacious office zone.

The Rong City branch had a similar area, primarily responsible for monitoring the city through the Tianwang surveillance system. Once an anomalous event was detected, it would be reported to the operations department. However, Rong City’s monitoring area had only a dozen or so stations, relying mostly on the Tianwang system’s early warning function for defense. The headquarters was different. As the most important city in the nation, Daijing required more than just the Tianwang system for security. It was equipped with hundreds of manual seats for both manual and AI double-checking.

While the outer hall showed signs of chaos during the evacuation, the office area was eerily tidy, as if it had been completely unaffected when the headquarters was overrun.

At that moment, many of the Hundreds of seats were still occupied by people in uniform work clothes. Their white shirts were stained with blood, and from the back of their necks down to their waists, there was a vertical bloody gash.

Shen Ge shone his flashlight on the corpse closest to him, frowned, and sensed something was off. He walked toward the body.

Putting away the Anomalous Space Detector, he attached strange gloves and tried to lift the body slumped over the desk. With a light tug, the shoulder “sank” inward, and he easily pulled the body upright.

“The weight is wrong.” Shen Ge immediately realized something was off. It felt less like a corpse and more like a hollow shell.

“Well, well, ‘Pudu Cihang,’ is it?” Shen Ge checked several other bodies and found that all the staff had been reduced to empty shells.

The entire office area was filled with a nauseating stench of decay, making anyone want to vomit.

The internal organs, bones, and flesh of these bodies had been completely devoured, leaving only the skin. Based on the dried bloodstains, they had been dead for a long time.

“Could the anomaly this time be a centipede demon?”

Given the situation on the first floor, the likelihood of survivors at the headquarters was very low. After all, he had been in the blocked area for quite some time, and there were few survivors in the open areas, let alone at the epicenter of this anomalous disaster.

Just as Shen Ge was about to leave, he heard a faint sound, as if it were coming from the hollow shell in front of him.

After a moment’s thought, Shen Ge placed the flashlight on a nearby table, pressed the shell onto the desk, and pried open the bloody gash on its back.

With a rustling sound, dozens of black beetles, each about three fingers wide, crawled out of the body—twenty to thirty of them.

Shen Ge tossed the shell aside to prevent the beetles from crawling onto him and grabbed one of them.

“Little Seven, what is this?”

The black watch on Shen Ge’s left wrist extended two carrion tentacles, wrapped around the black beetle, and after a “scan,” replied, “Master, this is a type of carnivorous beetle from the Southeast Asian jungles. Its scientific name is ‘Black Shell Beetle,’ but in our country, it’s also known as ‘Tóng Chóng.'”

“Rumors say the process of raising Tóng Chóng is extremely complex and cruel. Insect eggs are fed to pregnant women, and as the pregnancy progresses, the eggs decay and directly consume the fetus. The larvae suck dry the body’s fluids and organs, causing the host to rapidly lose moisture, becoming desiccated and hard like tree bark or stone. The larvae then slowly grow into black beetles inside the body.”

“Decades ago, Tóng technique, poison, and black magic were known as the three major dark arts of Yunnan. To make this dark art seem more terrifying, locals spread rumors that Tóng Chóng were formed from the resentment of pregnant women. The more tragic the death of the mother and child, the greater the resentment, and the more powerful the Tóng Chóng.”

“In reality, these black beetles are simply parasitic organisms. The larvae feed on flesh and blood, parasitizing animals and humans. Any creature with flesh and blood can be used to cultivate Tóng Chóng.”

After Little Seven finished, it crushed the black beetle and dropped it to the ground.

While Little Seven was explaining, Shen Ge checked a few more bodies. Some contained not only black beetles but also black maggot-like worms.

The anomalous energy of the black beetles was close to 1, while the black worms showed no detectable energy.

Shen Ge couldn’t help but recall the previous parasitic anomaly and marveled at the Twelve Branches’ fondness for insects—one type turned people into anomalies, while the other directly devoured them.

At that moment, It seems that I smelled the breath of life on Shen Ge, the Tóng Chóng hidden within the hollow shells began to crawl out. A large swarm of larvae and beetles emerged from the bodies, covering the entire office area in a densely packed area. A sweep of the flashlight revealed a tingling scalp scene!

Shen Ge raised his hand, and the strange armor released a large burst of anomalous black fire, burning the black beetles with a crackling sound, like firecrackers.

Boom!

With a strange noise, the floor in the center of the office area bulged upward, and a large-sized “Crypt Lord” emerged from underground.

[Warning! A Tier 2 parasitic anomaly has appeared in this area. Host, prepare for combat!]

“I knew there’d be a big one.” Shen Ge ignored the system’s warning, accustomed to the system only alerting him when anomalies were right in his face.

Thud!

Thud!

The anomalous beetle, resembling a Crypt Lord, sensed Shen Ge’s life breath and immediately turned around, crashing through rows of desks as it charged toward him.

Shen Ge jumped up with the help of his Strange Leather Boots, landing on the Crypt Leader主’s back. Surprisingly, the forceful stomp with the momentum of his fall didn’t stop the anomalous beetle.

Shen Ge quickly lowered his body, dodging the black spikes thrust by the anomalous beetle, and reached out to grab one, using the “unrelenting” trait of the Strange Gloves to hold on tightly.

The anomalous beetle retracted its spike, nearly pulling Shen Ge off balance. Just as he steadied himself, another spike thrust toward him.

Shen Ge raised his hand, and clang!—the spike struck the Condensed Ghost Shield.

“Little Seven, the butcher knife!”

As soon as Shen Ge spoke, Little Seven used its Carrion Tentacles to draw the butcher knife from Shen Ge’s back and handed it to him. Swish! A flash of blade light later, the right spike was severed, spraying black liquid that was blocked by the Strange Shield.

Holding onto the other spike, Shen Ge turned on the anomalous beetle’s back, plunged the butcher knife into its carapace, and sliced downward.

The carapace split open under the butcher knife, and like squeezing a soft persimmon, a large cluster of black worms gushed out from the wound.

Whoosh!

A sweep of anomalous black fire later, the office area, originally filled with the stench of decay, was now filled with the aroma of roasted insects.

While slicing open the carapace with the butcher knife and burning the worms with the strange armor, Shen Ge quickly killed the anomalous beetle by leveraging the complex layout of the office area.

[Host, with your wit and bravery, you kill the Level 2 monster single-handedly with great dignity. Reward: 100 system points, random F-grade supply x1.]

[Sell Tier 2 anomalous corpse? Price: 500 system points.]

“Yes.”

Shen Ge had already accumulated 10 F-grade supplies along the way without claiming them. His system points, Plus the 3rd level weird 1500, now totaled 6023.

After some thought, Shen Ge decided to try his luck with a draw. His anomalous energy cans were long depleted, and he only had one mental apple left. It was necessary to claim all 10 F-grade supplies.

“Claim rewards!”

[Rewards being drawn—]

[Draw successful!]

The 10 F-grade supplies included three mental apples, two bottles of internal injury recovery pills (6 pills total), three band-aids, and two hemostatic bandages.

Next was the draw. Shen Ge was aiming for free attribute points since his mental strength had already reached 436%, only 164% away from the 600% needed to advance to Tier 3.

Drawing free attribute points wouldn’t be a loss. Drawing explosives, Molotov cocktails, or other throwables would also be useful. If he were lucky enough to draw a trait equipment, the system would be crying.

“Ten draws!”

Ding ding ding ding ding—

After the first ten draws, Shen Ge only got 6% free attribute points, two instant noodles, two bottles of water, one box of “Smiling Milk,” one Glock 19 pistol, and one Uzi submachine gun.

The second ten draws: 7% free attribute points, one instant noodle, one box of “Funeral Cola,” one box of “Black Bull Energy Drink,” one MK14 sniper rifle…

The third ten draws…

After fifty draws, Shen Ge looked at the mountain of instant noodles beside him and felt an urge to curse. This system, even if it were an anomaly, must have been made from the bebellion bones of anomalies.

When he was hungry and wanted instant noodles, he got weapons and equipment. Now that he wanted free attribute points, he got the minimum “pity” rewards.

If only Shen Ge knew where the system was hidden in his body, he would definitely dig it out and Whipping the corpse three thousand times!

“Last ten draws, system, can you please be more useful? I used to suspect you were the Anomaly King, but now it seems I overestimated you—you’d be lucky to be a Tier 3 anomaly!” Shen Ge complained helplessly.

“Ten draws!”

Ding ding ding ding ding—

[Congratulations, Host! You drew “Free Attribute Points (2%).”]

[Congratulations, Host! You drew the weapon “Type 95 Assault Rifle x1, Magazines x5.”]

[…”Free Attribute Points (2%).”]

[…”Free Attribute Points (2%).”]

[…”Free Attribute Points (2%).”]

After five draws, he got four free attribute points and one assault rifle. Shen Ge’s mood finally improved. Looking further down, his spirits lifted entirely!

[…”PF98 120mm Anti-Tank Rocket Launcher” x1, rockets x3.]

[…”Gatling Gun” x1, bullets x5000.]

[…”Free Attribute Points (2%).”]

[…”Instant Noodles” x2 (boxes)]

[Congratulations, Host! You drew the trait equipment “Anomalous Energy Magazine (Trait: Infinite)”]

With a flash of white light, besides instant noodles and weapons, a palm-sized piece of black “pork belly” appeared before Shen Ge.

Picking up the “pork belly,” Shen Ge examined it. It somewhat resembled the black carrion of his anomalous energy armor, but the pork belly was a solid piece, unlike the armor, which more like minced meat.

[Anomalous Energy Magazine (Trait: Infinite): Can be used as a magazine attached to pistols, submachine guns, assault rifles, or sniper rifles to generate “anomalous energy bullets.”]

[Pistol and submachine gun bullets consume 0.5% anomalous energy per shot, assault rifles consume 1% per shot, sniper rifles consume 5% per shot.]

[Current Anomalous Energy: 100%/100% (recovers 1% per second)]

Shen Ge picked up the Type 95 assault rifle, ejected the magazine, and tried to attach the anomalous energy magazine to the gun. The moment the pork belly touched the interface, it slowly morphed into the shape of a magazine and fitted snugly.

Shen Ge aimed the gun at the wall ahead and pulled the trigger. Bang! A black anomalous energy bullet shot out, easily piercing through the wall and disappearing into the darkness.

Shen Ge held down the trigger, firing at the ground not far away until he depleted his anomalous energy. The ground wasn’t riddled with bullet holes but was instead “blown” into a large crater. Most miraculously, the edges of the crater were covered in black anomalous energy, continuously “corroding” the ground.

“The power is greater than the original rifle, with better penetration, and most importantly, it has the erosive effect of anomalous energy. It’s a shame I sold the Crypt Lord’s corpse, otherwise I could’ve…” Shen Ge felt a twinge of regret but then remembered the pangolin skin in his blood Leather backpack.

He took it out, threw it on the ground, and shot at it with the gun. The anomalous rat skin, which even the Black Bone Dagger struggled to pierce, was easily punctured with a single shot.

“Tsk, tsk, interesting.” With this anomalous energy magazine, Shen Ge would only need to carry one gun on missions from now on…

Wait.

Shen Ge suddenly thought of the revolver he had confiscated from “酉.” He removed the anomalous energy magazine from the Type 95, took out the revolver, and wondered whether to remove the cylinder or simply press thecarrion into it. As he fiddled with the pork belly, the carrion spread over the entire gun.

The specially made silver revolver instantly turned into a black carrion revolver.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Shen Ge fired three shots at the desk ahead. The anomalous energy from the magazine dropped from 67% to 30%.

10% anomalous energy per shot?

What surprised Shen Ge wasn’t just the energy consumption but also the fact that the black bullets fired from the anomaly-slaying revolver acted like armor-piercing rounds, disappearing into the darkness without a trace, leaving only three black bullet holes in the desk and wall.

“I need to find an anomaly to test this gun properly.” Shen Ge put away the anomaly-slaying revolver, slung a Type 95 assault rifle over his shoulder, and packed some throwables and Molotov cocktails. Just as he was about to leave, his gaze fell on the three PF98 120mm anti-tank rockets.

It would be a waste to leave the rockets and the pile of explosives and Molotov cocktails behind. After a moment’s thought, Shen Ge decided to use them to set a trap in the outer hall.

While Shen Ge was busy at the headquarters, the other eight war zones, with the efforts of the headquarters and branch support, had managed to control the spread of anomalous events. Except for the fifth war zone, which still had overlapping anomalous spaces, the anomalous disaster crisis in the other war zones had essentially been resolved.

However, the headquarters wasn’t letting its guard down. It maintained a first-level alert status, Blockade of Haicheng District. Elite soldiers, Cooperate with helicopters and drones, continued their search, while tank and armored units advanced in a carpet-like manner, assisting various departments in eliminating anomalies.

With the headquarters compromised and the underground containment area unavailable, anomalous corpses had to be gathered in open areas, guarded by some anomaly investigators and elite soldiers.

With 10 hours left until the international anomaly organization’s arrival, the headquarters established a second blockade in the fifth war zone. While troops searched the other eight war zones for hidden anomalies and parasite, it was announced that the anomalous disaster in Daijing had been temporarily resolved, cutting off any chance of “external aid.”

Two hours after lifting the outer blocked area, a joint team led by Deng Yuqi encountered two small squads of mercenaries outside the fifth war zone.

After putting up a fierce resistance, the two mercenary squads were surrounded by Daijing’s forces and chose to retreat into the overlapping anomalous spaces of the fifth war zone.

Following the Yuzhou incident, the Special Response Department was well aware of the complexity and terror of overlapping anomalous spaces. Thus, they didn’t rashly send anomaly investigators in. Instead, they held an emergency meeting and formed a team led by Deng Yuqi, Elder Fang, Liu Jiayi, and other elite anomaly investigators. They distributed anomalous energy equipment among themselves, and the seven of them entered the fifth war zone.

Due to the unpredictable nature of anomalous space entrances and exits, the seven anomaly investigators were inevitably separated upon entry. However, they were all familiar with the fifth war zone’s terrain and Each of them moved closer to the headquarters.

Shortly after the seven-person team entered the fifth war zone, the open area temporarily storing anomalous corpses was attacked by the Twelve Branches’ “Engraving” squad.

The headquarters had anticipated that the Twelve Branches might cause trouble and had already set a trap. Choosing an open area made it easier for helicopters, drones, and tank units to cooperate in surrounding and eliminating the Twelve Branches’ members.

With the cooperation of Daijing’s anomaly investigators, they successfully killed the Twelve Branches members, and captured three alive.

At the same time, Shen Ge, inside the headquarters building in the fifth war zone, entered the underground research facility through the safe evacuation passage around midnight.

[Congratulations, Host! You’ve survived another day in a world overrun by anomalies. Reward: 1% freely distributable attribute points, 10 system points.]

[April 15, 2028. After the combined efforts of the combat squad and the “AI” detection team, the location of the “Formless” entity was finally confirmed. The head of the Special Response Department ordered all personnel to assist your elite combat squad in carrying out the siege. However, the Formless’s strength far exceeded expectations, nearly wiping out the entire army in an instant.]

[Even with anomalous energy equipment for protection, the elite combat squad suffered over half casualties facing countless Formless tentacles. Luo Chenguang sacrificed himself covering your advance. With your teammates’ cooperation, you successfully entered the bombed-out ruins of Tom’s Supermarket and located the Formless entity using the “No Escape Domain.”]

“That’s it?”

Again?

Just as Shen Ge was about to make complaints the system for being a cliffhanger, hiss— the hatch to the underground experimental area ahead opened.

The white floor was stained red with blood. A black anomalous dog, nearly three meters long and as bulky as a bear, was voraciously devouring corpses on the ground.

Shen Ge whistled. The black anomalous dog immediately noticed him, let out a growl accompanied by a chilling swallowing sound, and charged.

Shen Ge calmly took out the anomaly-slaying revolver, aimed at the dog’s front leg, and pulled the trigger. Bang! A black anomalous energy bullet shot out!

The bullet struck the front leg, splat! creating a bloody hole. The bullet didn’t stop there—it continued forward, piercing through the dog’s hind leg, then through a second metal hatch in the distance, disappearing from view.

The penetration was terrifyingly powerful!

“Speaking of penetration, it’s strong, but it seems hard to test its limits this way.” Shen Ge sighed, then aimed the revolver at the dog’s head.

Bang!

One shot pierced through the head, through the body, and into the wall before vanishing.

However, anomalies felt no pain. Mere “penetration” wasn’t enough to kill it. In other words, compared to “penetrating bullets,” “explosive bullets” would likely be more effective.

“I wonder if Li Xiang can modify a gun to fire explosive rounds using this anomalous energy magazine.” Shen Ge put away the anomaly-slaying revolver.

He raised his hand, using the weird stomach to morph into a massive mouth that bit down on the anomalous dog’s head. Sidestepping, he raised the butcher knife and slashed down several times, severing the Tier 2 anomalous dog’s head.

After selling the dog’s corpse, Shen Ge headed deeper into the experimental area.

At that moment, he faintly heard gunshots coming from deep within the experimental area. Without hesitation, Shen Ge activated his “Formless” trait.

Plus today’s survival bonus of 1% free attribute, along with the free attributes from the 60 draws, Shen Ge’s mental strength had broken through the 503% mark, only 97% away from advancing to Tier 3.

This time, after obtaining the trait enhancement points for advancing to Tier 3, Shen Ge planned to consider “Silent” and “Immobile,” attempting to create another anomalous domain.

[Warning!]

[Warning!]

[Warning!]

[A Tier 6 anomaly (trait “Four-Headed, Eight-Armed”) has appeared ahead. This area is covered by an anomalous domain. Proceeding further will certain death. Host, cherish your life and evacuate immediately!]

Boom!

Before Shen Ge could react, the wall in front of the experimental area collapsed. A massive red anomaly, half its body crushed under the fallen wall, was revealed.

On the other side of the wall stood a man with four different faces, a topless, and eight blood-red arms!