Boundary

"Whether they're Anomalies still needs to be verified," Yang Qi said. "Only after we find Anomalization Virus memes inside these wolves can we confirm that they've become a new type of Anomaly."

"You academic types are all crazy, aren't you?! Why are you still being so rigorous at a time like this?!" 0401 desperately pressed himself backward. "Is there any way to shake this thing off?!"

"My foot's already all the way down on the accelerator!" Yang Qi said rapidly. "If we want to throw this wolf off, I'm afraid I'd have to flip the car over!"

"I'll do it." Wang Xiyi was succinct. The next second, she rolled down the rear window and slipped out of the car from the side like an agile loach.

Her taut, long leg shot out in a flying kick, striking the wolf squarely beneath the jaw!

Even Sun Hang could not tell how powerful that kick had been. In any case, the wolf that Yang Qi had been unable to shake off was sent flying nearly ten meters into the air. It spun two and a half times before smashing heavily into the ground.

"Holy shit, that was insane!" 0401 stared blankly at Wang Xiyi as she returned to the cabin. "Is this the combat power of an Anomaly Hunter?!"

Sun Hang reckoned that it was fortunate 0401 had never seen Wang Xiyi in her beastified form... otherwise, he probably would not have dared sit in the same row as this "Humanoid Calamity."

In terms of raw destructive power alone, Wang Xiyi in her beastified state was likely already stronger than the vast majority of known Anomalies.

"Those wolves are still chasing us. Should we call for backup?" Sun Hang glanced at the rearview mirror. The red-eyed wolves were still relentlessly pursuing them... More and more parts of their bodies were mutating, and they were running faster and faster.

Before Yang Qi could respond, the mutated wolves abruptly stopped. They squatted there and watched the SUV drive farther away—as though an invisible barrier had blocked them.

"What's going on? Why did they stop chasing us?" 0401 asked in confusion.

"Because we've already driven out of that anomalous area from sixty-five years ago." Sun Hang raised his head. Pale moonlight streamed through the sunroof and spilled into the cabin.

On the elevated highway above the distant river valley, large vehicles with high beams on passed by from time to time. Even from several kilometers away, the sound of tires rubbing against asphalt remained clearly audible.

"We got out?" 0401 clung to the seatback and looked behind them. "The Blood Moon disappeared?"

"It's not that the Blood Moon disappeared. It's that we could only see it while inside that anomalous area." Yang Qi tapped the vehicle's central control panel a few times. "All right, the boundary point coordinates have been sent back... Night Fiend, how do you feel now?"

"I feel much better after getting out." Wang Xiyi also glanced at the moon, which had returned to normal. "That suffocating feeling of agitation is gone."

"Then... are we going back in?" 0401 asked cautiously.

Yang Qi took out a roll of wide duct tape from the glove compartment. After sealing several spots around the window where air was leaking in, she started the engine again. "Of course we're going back, but not the way we came."

The mutated wolves had vanished from sight, but no one could guarantee they were not lying in ambush somewhere, waiting for their prey to walk right into their trap.

With Wang Xiyi's abilities, taking on one wolf in a one-on-one fight would not be a problem. But once she was surrounded, without using her beastification ability, she would likely struggle to hold out alone.

What was more, those wolves were constantly mutating, becoming faster and stronger by the minute.

The SUV slowly drove along the boundary of the anomalous area, occasionally rolling over the line. Whenever the moon overhead turned into the Blood Moon, Yang Qi immediately yanked the steering wheel in the opposite direction and pulled the vehicle back out—making Sun Hang think of a widely circulated meme online.

The ocean, the waves, the beach, and a seagull stretching one leg out—constantly testing the boundaries of XX.JPG

"Attention, all units. Attention, all units," Yang Qi called into the communications channel as she drove. "There are multiple wolf packs in the operation area. They are highly aggressive, with an estimated total of around fifty wolves. Individuals within the packs display obvious mutations, preliminarily identified as anomalization mutations. If encountered, avoid combat whenever possible. Personnel safety takes priority above all else."

"Have we received any reports of other teams being attacked?" Sun Hang asked.

"Not yet." Yang Qi shook her head. "Those wolves seem to be fixated on chasing us."

"They smell an infected person the way sharks in the ocean smell blood," Wang Xiyi said. "My suggestion is to call for air support. Before these beasts mutate into troublesome Anomalies, use heavy firepower to solve the problem directly."

"I've already submitted the request to headquarters." Yang Qi nodded.

"Whew... hearing you say that makes me feel a lot safer." 0401 let out a sigh of relief. "It really proves that old saying: all fear comes from insufficient firepower... Just thinking about the large-caliber cannons on an armed helicopter gives me a sense of security."

"If you think that means you're safe, then you're still too young." Yang Qi gave a derisive snort. "Things like wolves, which you can see and touch, aren't scary at all. Even if they mutate under the Blood Moon's influence, they at least remain in forms we can understand within the limits of our knowledge... What is truly terrifying are things that stand right before your eyes, yet remain impossible for you to comprehend."

"Indescribable things, right? Why does that concept sound like something I've heard before..." 0401 muttered.

"It comes from the Cthulhu mythos created by Lovecraft," Yang Qi said.

"That name... was he Western?"

"Mm. American."

"Across the ocean, does America have Anomalies too?" Sun Hang searched his memories. His knowledge of that continent across the ocean was astonishingly sparse.

He only knew there was once a powerful country called America, but every piece of information related to America was blank. He did not even know whether that country still existed.

"More than just Anomalies... that place became a 'fallen zone' long ago." Yang Qi sighed. "The survivors all fled to the Xiazhou Continent over a century ago. Those who remained across the ocean were either dead or had already been assimilated into all kinds of Anomalies... The Xiazhou Federation is humanity's last spark of civilization."

The moment Yang Qi finished speaking, a piercing screech of brakes rang out—several shadowy figures had appeared dozens of meters ahead, wandering unsteadily beyond the reach of the headlights.