This Is Bad... He's Actually a Dead Man?

This is bad... He's actually a dead man?

Not only was Chen Yu unafraid, he even smiled and walked closer to the old woman, looking eager for her to sew a tombstone onto him.

[Uh...]

The old woman was even more dumbfounded. She had never expected Chen Yu to become more excited instead of backing down after hearing her words.

She could not help but look Chen Yu up and down. Having controlled an anomaly herself, she could clearly see the anomalous aura on him.

Was he really this insane?

What kind of anomaly had he controlled?

[Fine, I'll sew it for you... But you should take the corpse away. I'll waive the fee for this job. No charge...]

Chen Yu was simply too crazy.

Before figuring out what exactly Chen Yu was,

she did not dare accept anything from him.

"You don't want it? Then thanks."

Chen Yu did not waste any words. Since she did not want it, he would eat it himself.

Chen Yu walked directly to the Electric Wire Anomaly corpse, crouched down, and bit into it.

Rip—

A tearing sound rang out as Chen Yu bit off a large chunk of flesh.

He also picked up the corpse's head from the side, gouged out its eyeballs, and tossed them into his mouth.

As he slowly chewed, the juice from the two bursting eyeballs splashed across his tongue, savagely and violently sweeping over Chen Yu's long-dried taste buds...

An lv.8 anomaly tasted pretty good.

Chen Yu feasted heartily. In less than half a minute,

he had completely devoured the corpse.

[You have devoured an lv.8 Electric Wire Anomaly.]

[The Electric Wire Anomaly has been digested.]

The digested Electric Wire Anomaly turned into a stream of energy that flooded Chen Yu's limbs and body.

Whenever energy rampaged through his body, it was like the spinning lights of a slot machine, while numerous anomalies above it howled hungrily for food.

Beep, beep, beep...

As the spinning lights whirled rapidly,

they finally landed on the "Joker" in the very center!

Chen Yu had not felt excited in a long time.

[Energy has entered the Time Ghost Eye. Time Ghost Eye experience has increased by 10%.]

[Time Ghost Eye: lv.9, experience: 10%!]

"Hiss—"

Seeing Chen Yu cleanly devour an entire corpse in an instant,

the old woman sucked in a cold breath so sharply that she nearly inhaled her dentures into her lungs.

"All right, sew it for me now."

After eating, Chen Yu gentlemanly took out a tissue and wiped the blood from his hands and face.

It would have been better if he had not wiped it. One wipe merely smeared the blood more evenly across his face.

Seeing Chen Yu walk toward her with a face full of scarlet blood, bloodstains and bits of flesh still hanging from his mouth and clothes, and an eerie, leisurely air about him,

the old woman's face filled with terror.

Was he the ghost, or was she the ghost?

Why did it feel like the script had been written backward?

[O-Okay...]

After coming back to her senses, the contempt in the old woman's eyes had completely vanished, replaced by naked panic.

She had Chen Yu take off the Ghost Shroud and tell her his birth date and eight characters. She even drew his blood and threaded it through the blood vessels and needles used for sewing.

Chen Yu complied.

The old woman placed the Ghost Shroud on the table and began sewing.

For some reason, she sewed with exceptional care this time, afraid that Chen Yu would eat her too if he was dissatisfied.

More than half an hour later,

the old woman wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and spread out the Ghost Shroud. A blood-red tombstone had been sewn onto it, bearing Chen Yu's birth date, name, and date of death.

[It's sewn. Once you put it on, my Anomaly Ability will take effect.]

the old woman said.

"Thank you."

Chen Yu picked up the Ghost Shroud and examined it. He was very satisfied, and without hesitation, he put it on.

Once the Ghost Shroud was on him, the tombstone woven from Chen Yu's blood acted as a medium and immediately triggered the rules attached to it.

The rule was Chen Yu's designated date of death!

A force no ordinary person could resist descended upon Chen Yu.

It enveloped his entire body!

"All right, tha..."

Before he could finish speaking, Chen Yu's vision went black. With a thud, he fell headfirst to the ground and completely lost all signs of life.

[Buzz!]

[Number one on the Suicide Rankings, how did you die?]

[No zuo no die!]

[I thought you had some special method to defend against the intrusion of anomalous rules.]

[Who knew you'd just die outright? What a disappointment!]

His phone kept vibrating as mocking messages appeared one after another on the screen.

Unfortunately, Chen Yu was already dead and had no strength left to take out his phone.

Seeing this, the old woman gently shook her head and was about to deal with Chen Yu's corpse.

But at that moment,

an anomaly inside Chen Yu's body was instantly triggered. Deep-red markings began appearing in his still-open right eye.

Two clock hands, one long and one short, spun irregularly inside his eyeball before finally stopping at twelve o'clock.

Tick!

The Time Ghost Eye unleashed its power.

The functions Chen Yu had just lost began recovering violently, and his consciousness started to reform!

The old woman was about to deal with Chen Yu's corpse.

Then Chen Yu shot upright from the ground with a whoosh.

"G-Ghost!"

The old woman's face turned pale with fright, and she collapsed onto the floor.

Just moments ago, she had truly been unable to sense any signs of life from Chen Yu.

How had he recovered now?

At that moment, two forces were rampaging wildly through Chen Yu's body.

The first was the Anomaly Ability of the Ghost Shroud.

It was desperately protecting Chen Yu.

The other was the tombstone pattern that had just been sewn onto it!

Streams of powerful anomalous rule aura poured out from the pattern.

They were dragging Chen Yu's consciousness into an eternal abyss.

The Ghost Shroud resisted desperately.

Unfortunately, the Ghost Shroud's Anomaly Ability was weaker than the other side's.

The weights on the scale were ultimately lighter, and the balance began tilting heavily to one side.

The Ghost Shroud seemed unable to hold on any longer.

Chen Yu could also feel his consciousness gradually scattering and his body nearing collapse.

"Urgh..."

Chen Yu's eyes went unfocused, and he fell to the ground once more.

At that moment,

the Time Ghost Eye in his right eye suddenly flashed red.

When the Ghost Shroud could no longer hold on, it gave it a hand.

The Time Ghost Eye did not play by the rules.

The Ghost Eye stared fixedly at the Ghost Shroud.

Meanwhile, the clock hands began rotating clockwise.

Tick!

Tick!

Tick, tick!

The rotation grew faster and faster.

In the end, it spun like a rapidly turning waterwheel.

One month...

Two months...

Three months...

One year...

Two years... Three years...

The Ghost Shroud began undergoing a series of bizarre changes.

The anomalous aura around it grew stronger and stronger.

Normally, whenever Chen Yu used the Time Ghost Eye, even speeding up time over a small range consumed some of his mental power.

His limit might have been one hour, or perhaps one day.

But it could never have been three years!

Yet this time, Chen Yu did it!

When Chen Yu sensed the Ghost Shroud growing older and stronger, surprise appeared on his face.

The three-year time acceleration had drained all his mental power.

But at the same time, it had strengthened the Ghost Shroud and given it the power to contend with the pattern.

lv.9 Ghost Shroud!

The Ghost Shroud began radiating its power, continuously protecting Chen Yu from the invasion of the rules.

After the Ghost Shroud reached lv.9, the weights on the scale began increasing.

In the end, the pattern's rule power actually reached a stalemate with the Ghost Shroud's power.

Neither side gave an inch.

Chen Yu was caught somewhere between the living and the dead.

Truly neither dead nor alive!

His body temperature began rapidly fading, like a corpse refrigerated in a funeral home or morgue.

Yet his chest would rise and fall from time to time, proving that Chen Yu was still breathing and had not completely died!

Chen Yu regained a little consciousness. Then he controlled the Time Ghost Eye and accelerated the Ghost Shroud's time once more.

The scales of justice began tilting to one side.

Since the Ghost Shroud temporarily gained the upper hand over the pattern, Chen Yu's body warmed up again, and he eventually stood up once more.

Chen Yu was still in a half-dead state.

This way, he could block the invasion of most anomalous rules.

After all, the mediums of most anomalies only worked on the living, not the dead.

Even if someone pointed a gun at Chen Yu's head, he would not be afraid in the slightest.

Because he was a dead man now. Why would he be afraid of bullets?

"It worked. Thank you. I'll be leaving now. See you another day."

Chen Yu adjusted the Ghost Shroud on his body. The pattern sewn onto it was like an added decorative motif, making it look even better. Chen Yu was very satisfied.

With that, Chen Yu turned to leave.

[Hehehe... I never expected you...]

[to survive after triggering the killing rules of the anomaly I control.]

[But do you really think you're safe now?]

Just as Chen Yu was about to leave,

the old woman suddenly let out a sinister, eerie laugh.

Chen Yu frowned, unsure what she was plotting.

Just as he was about to speak,

the Ghost Shroud on his body began to undergo a strange change!

The tombstone patterns sewn from blood detached from the Ghost Shroud like tiny red worms with lives of their own. They began growing, multiplying, and spreading visibly before his eyes!

Before Chen Yu could react,

those thin red threads, as fine as hairs, drilled directly into every tiny pore of Chen Yu's skin!

"Cat hair?!"

Chen Yu, who had spent years petting cats, recognized it at a glance. These were definitely cat hairs!

Each of those anomalous cat hairs had a tiny head and a terrifying little mouth. After burrowing into Chen Yu's pores, faint swallowing sounds, like the buzzing of mosquitoes, overlapped one after another.

These cat hairs had actually entered Chen Yu's pores and begun absorbing the blood inside his body!

Every pore and every inch of Chen Yu's skin was filled with cat hairs like tapeworms.

At that moment, he looked like a man covered from head to toe in red fur!

But upon closer inspection, one would discover in horror that those red hairs were actually tiny worms!

"You used Ghost Sewing to stitch cat hair into my Funeral Shroud?"

Chen Yu turned around and glared fiercely at the old woman.

He had not expected this old woman, who looked so kind and benevolent, to be so sinister inside!

Stitching animal fur into a funeral shroud was a major taboo!

It was said that if the materials used to make a funeral shroud contained animal hide or fur, whoever wore it into the grave would be reincarnated as livestock in their next life, and even their descendants would be affected.

Though it was merely a folk legend, the Anomaly Era had made use of it.

That was how normal funeral shrouds were.

Ghost Shrouds were even more vicious!

Sure enough.

The Ghost Shroud, which had only just stabilized, began erupting with a powerful, terrifying, and violent anomalous aura, as though it could collapse at any moment!

The wrinkles on the old woman's smiling face bunched together, making her look like a twisted whirlpool.

[Since you came into my little shop, you have to leave something behind.]

[I think you should leave your life behind.]

Chen Yu was now a lamb awaiting slaughter.

Either he would die.

Even if he somehow survived against all odds.

The Ghost Shroud on his body would still be destroyed!

Once the Ghost Shroud was destroyed, Chen Yu would still be a lamb awaiting slaughter.

The old woman had assumed Chen Yu had only controlled this one anomaly, which was why she had used this little scheme to get rid of him.

A new-generation Ghost Controller,

dared to provoke an old-generation Ghost Controller?

What gave them the right?

[Buzz!]

[Friend, when you feel good, it feels as though every pore in your body has opened up, right?]

[Now every pore on your body has opened, and each one has a little living tube stuck into it. Doesn't that feel wonderful?]

[You really live up to your reputation for maxing out your suicidal skill points.]

[Misery, pain, wailing, fear, terror... aren't they spreading through your heart?]

[But it's already useless. You definitely won't escape death.]

[...]

The phone also began mocking Chen Yu at the most opportune moment.

Seeing Chen Yu's condition, Tong Jian grew anxious.

She hurriedly gave the Ghost Doll's head a light pat.

The Ghost Doll understood, and a force of curses spread from her body.

[Grandma, how old are you?]

[At your age, can you even stand up anymore?]

[You're already gravely ill. Hurry up and lie down, don't move around!]

[You can't stand up anymore, and your eyes are failing too. Hurry up and lie down without moving. Enjoy your old age in peace...]

As the Ghost Doll's curse appeared,

the old woman instantly withered after hearing those words. Her feet weakened, her legs trembled, and like an old person whose rotten wood-like body was about to decay, she plopped down onto the floor.

Her eyes could no longer see, and her body could not move either!

But the effect lasted only one second!

The Ghost Doll's level was completely inferior to Ghost Sewing!

The anomalous aura of level 9 Ghost Sewing suddenly spread outward.

It instantly isolated all those curses!

The old woman rose from the floor again, her eyes regaining their clarity!

"Hehe, a mere little anomaly thinks it can oppose me? You really think too highly of yourself..."

No matter how much the Ghost Doll talked, the old woman was no longer affected in the slightest. Instead, she smiled smugly.

Then, the old woman looked at Chen Yu, whose every pore was filled with red worms, and waited for his death.

Although Chen Yu was in excruciating pain, the corners of his lips still curved into a calm smile.

"You think these little tricks are enough to deal with me? You really think too highly of yourself."

Chen Yu returned the exact words the old woman had just said to Tong Jian.

The next moment!

With a thought from Chen Yu, one of the sleeping anomalies within his body awakened. It seemed extremely excited.

Because this was the first time Chen Yu had used its ability since controlling it!

A tiny flame emerged from Chen Yu's palm.

Once the fire touched the cat hairs burrowed into Chen Yu's pores, the cat hairs were instantly ignited!

Whoosh!

At first, it was only a tiny flame.

Then, like a wildfire sweeping across the plains, it directly ignited every cat hair covering Chen Yu's entire body!

At that moment, Chen Yu looked like a burning man who had walked out of hell!

The temperature around his body also soared instantly!

The Ghost Shroud protected Chen Yu, preventing his body from being harmed by the flames.

Fur was naturally highly flammable. Using fire against it was simply too easy.

In less than a few seconds.

All the cat hairs that had burrowed into Chen Yu's pores and sucked his blood were burned to ashes!

[H-How is this possible... Where did this fire come from? It can actually...]

When the old woman saw this scene, terror distorted her facial features.

She had thought Chen Yu only had one anomaly inside him.

But now, it seemed there was more than one!

"I came here to do business with you, yet you wanted to take my life. You're even more black-hearted than a dishonest merchant."

Chen Yu lightly shook his body.

The ashes left behind by the burned cat hairs began drifting through the air.

They scattered throughout the entire room, reaching every corner!

Ashes!

A medium!

When the ashes landed on the old woman.

The mighty power of Ghost Underworld Paper erupted in an instant!

The old woman, who had just been filled with fear, began to have the skin on her face crack and fall away inch by inch.

And beneath that skin was not muscle tissue.

But—

Paper!

Before she could even come to her senses.

Her entire body had already turned into a paper person.

And flames began burning from her lower body, raging fiercely!

In less than a few seconds.

Ghost Sewing was burned away completely.

Only a pile of paper ash on the floor proved that she had once existed.

After Ghost Sewing died.

The patterns on the Ghost Shroud did not disappear. Instead, they remained on the Ghost Shroud forever, without affecting its effects in the slightest.

The only difference was.

Without the rule power brought by Ghost Sewing, the patterns stitched onto the Ghost Shroud lost their killing effect.

Level 9?

Chen Yu coldly stared at that pile of paper ash and sneered.

Any anomaly on my body could crush you!

Chen Yu did not waste it just because it had been burned into ashes.

He crouched down and began scooping up the paper ash mouthful by mouthful.

"Mm... It's like eating cornmeal. It sticks to the teeth... Looks like I shouldn't burn corpses meant for eating into ash in the future."

Chen Yu commented as he ate.

When he had eaten Ghost Underworld Paper before, it had at least had some chewiness.

This stuff had no chewiness at all, and it choked his throat like raw flour.

[You have devoured Ghost Sewing.]

Chen Yu cleaned up every bit of paper ash from the ground.

A notification appeared.

Ghost Sewing transformed into a stream of energy that filled Chen Yu's limbs and bones.

After rampaging through his body once, it finally entered his Time Ghost Eye.

[Time Ghost Eye has gained energy.]

[Time Ghost Eye experience increased: lv.9 (10% → 90%)!]

It had directly increased by eighty percent?

Not bad!

Chen Yu was delighted.

[After devouring Ghost Sewing, you have obtained a new Anomaly Ability.]

[lv.9 Ghost Sewing.]

[Anomaly Ability: Sewing Effect. Sewing will serve as a medium. You may stitch any text or pattern onto another person. Once the stitching is complete, the medium is established, and the person or object that has been stitched will produce a corresponding effect.]

[Note: Due to anomalous rule restrictions, the corresponding effects you stitch will be limited.]

"It will be limited?"

Chen Yu frowned slightly.

The phone seemed to have guessed Chen Yu's thoughts.

[This is a rule restriction. If you stitch words onto a chair to make it become a person, the medium may be established, but the rule will not activate. Thus, the chair will remain a chair without changing in the slightest.]

[Likewise, if you want someone to die, you can directly stitch the words that he will die today onto him, but you cannot make him turn into a chair.]

"I see."

In other words, this Anomaly Ability could not turn one substance into another. The cat hairs from before had looked like tiny snakes, but they were still cat hairs.

It was just that when Ghost Sewing stitched them, it had presumably intended for those cat hairs to suck Chen Yu dry of blood.

This Anomaly Ability seemed rather special. It could be explored properly in the future.

Used well, it could catch enemies off guard. Used poorly, it might have no effect at all.

"Right, where did this cat hair come from?"

Chen Yu looked around, but did not see any feline animal.

He could not help crouching down and pinching up a clump of charred cat hair.

More than ninety percent of cat hair was protein, followed by amino acids. Once burned, it produced a distinctive foul smell.

Chen Yu spread out the Slaughter Ghost Domain.

Everything around him instantly turned black and white.

A thin medium clue extended in from outside the door and connected to the cat hair.

And from the cat hair, another medium clue connected to Chen Yu.

Naturally, every strand of charred hair on the floor had one. These medium clues occupied the entire room like a massive, densely woven spiderweb, trapping Chen Yu firmly within it.

Using the Slaughter Ghost Domain's ability, Chen Yu let his gaze pierce through the walls.

At last, he identified the source of the medium!

How could it be the Ghost Vacuum Cleaner?

The cat hair had been emitted from this Ghost Vacuum Cleaner!

Moreover, from the information he saw through the Slaughter Ghost Domain.

Chen Yu determined the Ghost Vacuum Cleaner's level.

Level 9, three-star potential.

Its level was exactly the same as Ghost Sewing's.

What shocked Chen Yu most was.

Aside from this especially obvious anomalous aura.

Chen Yu could also see several faint, barely discernible anomalous auras within Corner Bend Community!

Three!

He had not expected so many anomalies to be hiding within a single residential complex.

And they were all gathered in one house!

Was the whole family made up of anomalies?!

Chen Yu was somewhat surprised.

Chen Yu withdrew the Slaughter Ghost Domain and led Tong Jian directly toward the medium's clues.

Since an entire family of anomalies existed within this residential complex, quite a few people in the complex must have died at their hands.

After confirming the apartment number of that anomaly-filled household, Chen Yu began knocking on doors and questioning the original residents as he made his way there.

"Who are you looking for?"

A middle-aged woman with numerous curlers in her hair opened the door. A cigarette dangled from her mouth as she looked Chen Yu over curiously.

"Hello, Auntie. I'd like to ask whether the residents of apartment 315 have shown any unusual behavior lately. Has anyone died in their home?"

"No, haven't heard anything like that."

The old woman said.

"Have they had any conflicts? Fights or arguments, perhaps?"

"Nope."

The old woman returned to her normal tone. "That family is perfectly normal. They've never argued, and nobody's died. I heard the father works for a public institution, the mother is a public school teacher, and their daughter is still in high school."

Chen Yu frowned.

That family sounded rather warm and harmonious.

But why were there so many anomalies in their home?

Chen Yu asked, "I mean apartment 315. Could you have gotten it wrong? Or perhaps they argued and someone died, but you didn't notice?"

"I've lived here for over ten years. Every day, I sit at the entrance of the complex and chat with the neighborhood intelligence network. Nothing big or small in this complex can escape my eyes. There's no way I wouldn't know."

"Is that so..."

Chen Yu fell into thought.

That made the family seem perfectly normal.

But just then, the old woman continued, "Oh, right. There's an old man in their family. They're incredibly filial to him, but I heard the old man has something wrong with his head and isn't very sharp. Whenever he plays Chinese chess with someone, he sends out the general on the very first move."

"Alright, thank you, Auntie."

Chen Yu said goodbye to that resident and headed to the next home.

"What is it?"

After he knocked, a man opened the door and looked Chen Yu over.

"Hello, brother. I wanted to ask whether anyone in apartment 315 has died, whether they've had arguments, or if there's anything unusual about them."

"I only moved here recently, so I don't know the family you're talking about."

The man thought for a moment. "But I've seen them a few times. They seem like pretty nice people."

Chen Yu bade farewell to that household.

He continued asking around.

The answers he received were all nearly the same.

The mother was a public school teacher.

The father was a civil servant with a balding head.

Their daughter was very pretty and still in high school.

The family was usually quite warm, helpful, and fond of talking to people.

The more Chen Yu asked, the stranger it seemed.

How could an entire family of anomalies be so harmonious?

Had the Anomaly Era glitched?

Had all those anomalies turned over a new leaf?

With a face full of confusion, Chen Yu arrived at the door of apartment 315.

Knock, knock, knock.

Chen Yu gently knocked on the door.

"Just a moment!"

A somewhat elderly voice came from inside, and then the door opened.

A white-haired old man emerged from within.

Chen Yu froze slightly when he saw him.

Wasn't this the old man who had been threatened for directions by the Electric Wire Anomaly earlier?

"You are?"

The old man looked at him with confusion.

Chen Yu smiled. "Hello, sir. When I passed through the complex earlier, I saw someone bullying you. I've already taught that guy a lesson. He said he'll never bother you again. I came to see whether you were hurt."

Since this was the old man from before, they now had something to talk about.

At those words, excitement immediately appeared in the old man's eyes. "Thank you, young man! That guy was a terrible person. He even slapped me! But I'm not hurt. I'm fine."

He pushed the door fully open and stepped outside, looking at Chen Yu with gratitude.

"It was nothing. It's good that you're alright."

"Since you're here, dinner will be ready soon. Come eat with us."

The old man warmly invited Chen Yu with a smile.

"That wouldn't be appropriate, would it?"

Chen Yu laughed inwardly. He had been worrying over how to enter the house.

And now the opportunity had come right to him.

Still, Chen Yu could not simply agree immediately, so he pretended to be about to leave while actually inviting further insistence.

"There's nothing inappropriate about it. These days, there aren't many young people like you who stand up for justice."

The old man was truly enthusiastic. Seeing Chen Yu preparing to leave, he grabbed Chen Yu's hand and practically dragged him inside.

"Oh, there's a little girl here too. Little girl, come in and eat with us as well."

The old man invited Tong Jian too.

In the end, Chen Yu and Tong Jian entered apartment 315 together!

The apartment was not large, but everything was arranged with great order.

Though small, it had everything one could need.

It was nearly a hundred square meters, with the living room directly connected to the kitchen, bedrooms, and study.

A huge redwood table stood in the center of the living room.

Its color could no longer be described as redwood. It was practically the vivid red of fresh paint, making it exceptionally eye-catching.

A framed TV hung on the wall.

The framed TV was on, but there was no image at all—only flickering static accompanied by waves of electromagnetic noise.

Several other people were in the home, apparently occupied with their own tasks and entirely unaware of Chen Yu's arrival.

"Come, come, sit down."

The old man smiled and invited Chen Yu and Tong Jian to sit on the upholstered sofa.

The instant he sat down, Chen Yu felt his hand touch some strange hairs.

Those hairs seemed to have grown directly from the sofa.

They looked like...

Human body hair?

"Wait a moment. Dinner will be ready soon. My son is cooking."

The old man plopped down as well, then took out a remote and pressed a button to change the channel.

Even after changing channels, the television still showed nothing but static, with no actual picture.

Yet the old man watched it with great interest.

Chen Yu looked around the room.

The entire apartment was filled with an anomalous aura!

It made one feel as if they had fallen into an ice cellar.

A middle-aged woman in her forties or fifties was carrying a vacuum cleaner and repeatedly cleaning the room.

The floor had clearly already been vacuumed spotless, without a speck of dust.

Yet she continued cleaning, as if she wanted to suck the floor tiles straight into the vacuum cleaner.

In the kitchen, a pressure cooker was releasing steam. Plumes of smoke were being drawn away by the range hood. A balding man wearing an apron waited until the pressure cooker had finished venting, then opened the lid.

"It still won't soften no matter how long I stew it! I should've smashed the bones first!"

"This hair won't burn off no matter what! I should've peeled the skin off too!"

Upon seeing what was inside the pressure cooker, the balding man began cursing.

The daughter was reading at the desk in the study. Chen Yu's heightened senses allowed him to clearly see the book on the desk, as well as a painting beside it.

The painting depicted a bleeding corpse, rendered with the realism of a lifelike portrait. The artist was quite skilled.

It was just that the subject matter was rather horrifying.

The book she was reading was even more terrifying.

Its words were all bright red, and blood continuously seeped from between the lines.

A cat lay on the girl's desk, snoring as though asleep.

Compared to the others in the house, the old man watching static on the television could barely be considered normal.

Tong Jian said nothing. With the doll on her back, she sat on the sofa.

"Oh, right!"

The old man suddenly turned to Chen Yu, a kind smile on his face. "You helped me teach that bad fellow a lesson, but I still don't know your name."

"My name is Chen Yu."

"Chen Yu? A good name, haha."

The old man laughed, then continued, "You came at the right time. My son normally doesn't cook at home, but his cooking is superb. Today, he's making one of his specialty dishes. I only get to eat it once a month."

"What are you having?"

Chen Yu glanced toward the kitchen before asking.

"Stewed meat. It smells wonderful."

The old man smiled, even swallowing as though he could no longer wait.

Just then!

Bang!

The middle-aged woman, who had been continuously vacuuming the floor nearby, suddenly smashed the vacuum cleaner violently against the ground.

The sound was so loud that even Chen Yu was startled.

He turned and looked toward the middle-aged woman.

She pointed furiously at several cat hairs on the floor, then roared at the daughter reading in the study, "I told you I don't want to see cat hair in this house! What is this?! What is this?!"

The daughter turned around as well, her expression utterly blank. "Cats shed fur. That's normal. Can't you just vacuum it up? Why are you losing your temper?"

"You unfilial brat, you dare talk back to me?!"

The middle-aged woman had been perfectly fine before, yet a few strands of cat hair had driven her to this state, as though they had touched her reverse scale.

Seeing her daughter dare to argue, she raised the vacuum cleaner and mercilessly smashed it toward her daughter's head.

Bang!

The vacuum cleaner was hard. How could a human head withstand it?

With that blow, the daughter's head split open and blood spurted everywhere.

The daughter screamed and collapsed onto the floor. Blood gushed wildly from the hole in her head, instantly staining the floor red.

"I'll teach you to talk back! I'll teach you to talk back! I'll beat you to death!"

It was as though the daughter was not the middle-aged woman's biological child. She showed no mercy, striking almost exclusively at the girl's head. She had smashed a third of the daughter's skull inward, mixing blood with bone fragments and brain matter like some disgusting stew, yet she still refused to stop.

"Alright, alright, dinner's ready. Stop hitting her."

At that moment, the balding man emerged carrying a pot of soup.

"Forget it. I'll let you off today! If I see it again next time, I'll smash your head to pieces!"

Only then did the middle-aged woman stop. Yet she still did not put down the vacuum cleaner. Instead, she carried it toward the living room, dragging a trail of blood behind her as she went.

The daughter touched her blood-covered head, then stood up.

Strangely, despite having a huge portion of her skull smashed in, she acted as though nothing had happened and skipped toward the dining table.

She even looked eagerly from side to side, curious about what they would be eating today.

The sight of her head covered in blood and brain matter was truly something else.

Even Chen Yu was left somewhat dumbfounded.

A truly loving mother and devoted daughter. What a model family.

Those three really were anomalies!

He turned to look at the old man sitting beside him.

He wanted to see what expression the old man would have after witnessing this scene.

But unexpectedly.

The old man watched it all with a cheerful smile, muttering, "She was a little heavy-handed, but if you want to keep a cat, you have to take responsibility for it yourself."

The old man's smile was strange.

From the moment Chen Yu had first seen him, he had noticed that the old man seemed mentally unstable.

Now it appeared that he truly did have mental problems.

However, there were four people in this family altogether.

Only the old man was human.

The anomalies lived alongside anomalies.

The middle-aged woman, the old man's son, and his granddaughter were all family—his juniors.

As long as the old man remained human, they would maintain a balance.

The three anomalies formed an inexplicable balance.

You suppressed me, and I suppressed you.

It was similar to how Han Ningning had wanted to control a second anomaly and suppress the Ghostly Smiling Face inside her.

As long as the balance was not broken, nothing would happen.

No wonder this family seemed so normal to everyone else.

It turned out that the balance had never been disturbed, allowing the anomalies to maintain their own equilibrium.

And the point that could disrupt that balance was the sole human—the old man.

More accurately, it was the mentally impaired old man who kept this "family" functioning in harmony.

The old man was mildly senile.

At meals, he could barely hold his food steady with his chopsticks and sometimes did not even know how to put it into his mouth.

The middle-aged woman and the balding man were very filial, feeding him and picking up food for him.

Chen Yu realized something.

The old man seemingly did not know that his son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter were anomalies.

He had already integrated into their world.

The moment Chen Yu exposed this situation—

The balance would instantly be broken.

The old man might become an anomaly as well!

[Buzz!]

[What are you trying to do?]

[They're living perfectly well right now, and he's gradually moving closer to the world of his son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter.]

[You're not planning to do something "bad" again, are you?]

[You should give up on that idea. There are three anomalies here.]

[Three level 9 anomalies are more than enough to kill you instantly.]

[Besides, you can't save the old man. Give up.]

The phone notifications were full of mockery.

"Can't do it?"

Chen Yu sneered inwardly.

As long as he wanted to, what could he not accomplish?

With a thought from Chen Yu—

Several extremely sinister anomalous auras burst forth from his body.

All four anomalies awakened within Chen Yu at once.

Worried that he might be interrupted—

Chen Yu deployed the Slaughter Ghost Domain.

Everything around them turned black and white, while time slowed down infinitely.

After the immense power of the four anomalies erupted—

Chen Yu held three sticks of Ghost Incense in his left hand and two Ghost Candles in his right, while a thick callus appeared atop his head.

An ancient camera also hung from his chest.

In front of him stood a table splashed with red paint, upon which sat an empty picture frame.

The camera seemed to possess a will of its own as it flew into the air.

Click!

After a flash went off—

The Ghost Camera captured a complete photo of the family of four.

Once the Weird Photo developed the picture, Chen Yu placed it inside the frame.

The Ghost Incense was inserted into the incense burner.

The Ghost Candles were placed on either side of the photo frame and ignited without fire.

[First bow!]

Chen Yu bent at the waist.

[Second bow!]

Chen Yu stepped back and knelt.

[Third bow!]

Chen Yu moved forward and kowtowed!

This was the Memorial Jigsaw Anomaly that the Apocalypse members had once used together!

Back then, Apocalypse had needed five people working together to activate it, but now Chen Yu could do it alone!

Was he paying respects to the old man?

No!

He was paying respects to the old man and his entire family!

Immediately afterward, within the photo—

The harmonious family portrait began to undergo an eerie change.

The photo started to yellow and fade until it became impossible to tell who was who.

A cloud of black haze lightly enveloped the picture frame.

The pupils in the eyes of all four family members abruptly disappeared, replaced by blackness.

Dark red blood flowed from those pitch-black, pupil-less eyes, staining the photo before flowing directly out of the frame.

It dripped onto the floor.

"It worked!"

This was also Chen Yu's first time using the Memorial Jigsaw Anomaly's power.

The Memorial Jigsaw Anomaly was a combination of four anomalies. It was incredibly powerful, and after obtaining it, Chen Yu discovered that its abilities extended far beyond stripping anomalies from others!

It could strip away everything!

With another thought from Chen Yu—

Tearing marks appeared around the old man's body in the family photo!

It was as if an invisible pair of hands were quietly tearing away the portion containing the old man.

In the end, the old man in the photo was completely torn out!

The family portrait of four—

Instantly became a family portrait of three!

This anomalous balance was forcibly broken as well.

"Done."

A faint smile curled across Chen Yu's lips.

He then withdrew the Slaughter Ghost Domain, and all the anomalies inside him fell dormant once more.

Chen Yu had completed the Memorial Ritual within the Ghost Domain.

Everything around him had been slowed countless times over.

It looked as though Chen Yu had spent a long time performing the ritual.

But in reality, less than a second had passed.

However, due to the peculiar nature of the Anomaly Era—

They could still see everything clearly.

[Buzz!]

[What did you just do?]

[Did you use the Memorial Jigsaw Anomaly's power?]

[How did you do that? One person can actually use the combined power of four anomalies?]

[That's allowed? Who could possibly compete with you?]

The notifications on the phone seemed to have seen everything, and every word was filled with shock.

After Chen Yu completed the Memorial Ritual—

The old man, who had needed to be fed while eating, forced to drink water, and had remained dull and wooden all this time, suddenly had clarity return to his eyes.

"Ah! What are you doing?!"

In an instant, he screamed in terror.

That shout rang throughout Room 315.

It echoed endlessly through the room.

The balding man, the middle-aged woman, and the little girl all changed expression slightly before turning toward the old man in unison.

Their gazes became increasingly eerie and strange!

The instant the old man awakened from his dementia—

The balance had already been broken.

Because the medium entwining him was "dementia"!

Once the dementia vanished and the old man discovered that his family had become anomalies—

The anomalies inside them would fully awaken!

Previously, they had merely been in a partially controlled state.

After waking up, the old man retreated again and again in fright, his face filled with terror.

Once the balance was broken—

The three anomalies all fixed their eyes on Chen Yu.

[It was you who disturbed our sweet dream...]

When Chen Yu was targeted by all three anomalies—

[How unfortunate. Though you forcibly broke the balance, all three anomalies have set their sights on you.]

[Their sweet dream has been disturbed, and now you are their enemy.]

[Have you ever experienced being woken up when you were sleeping soundly?]

[That is exactly how they feel. Who says anomalies do not have morning tempers?]

[Next, you will have to endure their fury.]

[Cherish the last few seconds of your life.]

A chill spread from Chen Yu's body, making his spine turn cold.

Strands of cat fur emerged from unknown places. Like tiny living snakes, they shot toward Chen Yu and burrowed into his pores again, crazily sucking his blood.

"Again?"

Chen Yu had already experienced this move before.

The middle-aged woman was an even more violent maniac.

She glared viciously at Chen Yu, as if she wanted to swallow him whole and tear him apart.

The vacuum cleaner in her hand started instantly and began sucking violently.

The cat fur that had burrowed into every pore on Chen Yu's body was pulled to one side by the vacuum's suction. Some strands could not withstand the tremendous force and were torn out along with Chen Yu's flesh before being sucked into the vacuum cleaner.

"They can cooperate too?"

Feeling the intense pain coming from every pore in his body, Chen Yu could not help but pause in surprise.

The balding man was even more arrogant.

He suddenly carried a massive stew pot out of the kitchen.

The pot was stained with blood that had not yet dried, along with human hair clinging to its surface.

Clang!

Clang!

Holding a huge butcher's knife, he used the wall as a whetstone, sharpening the blade again and again as he approached Chen Yu with a mocking grin.

[Watch me chop off your head and stew a delicious pot of human head soup!]

Taking a closer look, Chen Yu found that these were all level 9 anomalies.

They were also old anomalies that had lived here for more than a decade!

The anomalous aura around them was clearly ancient!

[Ghost Recitation Book], [Ghost Stew Pot], [Ghost Vacuum Cleaner]!

After figuring out their abilities, Chen Yu no longer held back. A strange curve formed at the corners of his mouth.

He did not look like a lamb awaiting slaughter at all. Instead, he looked like a hungry wolf preparing to devour its prey!

The hunter and prey had switched places.

The two anomalies on his body awakened simultaneously.

His clothes first began to shimmer and distort before finally transforming into a pitch-black Ghost Shroud.

However, an eerie tombstone was embroidered upon the Ghost Shroud.

This was the level 9 Ghost Shroud.

Whoosh!

The next moment—

Chen Yu's shadow abruptly rose from the ground with a whoosh.

It had no head, creating an extremely horrifying sight.

The Headless Ghost Shadow slowly walked toward Chen Yu, then attached itself to his body.

Chen Yu's body turned pitch-black, with only his head exposed.

[I noticed something was off about you long ago, but what difference does it make even if you've mastered an anomaly?]

[You're just giving us an extra meal!]

Baldy and the Ghost Vacuum Cleaner walked toward Chen Yu.

A Ghost Shadow split from Chen Yu's body, then slipped into the shadows of Baldy and the Ghost Vacuum Cleaner.

The Ghost Shroud's defensive power caused all anomalous attacks and rules to vanish into nothingness.

The shadows of the Ghost Vacuum Cleaner and Ghost Stew Pot instantly sprang to their feet with a whoosh.

From an incredibly tricky angle, they gently removed the heads of the two anomalies before tossing them onto the ground.

The battle ended very quickly.

The whole thing took less than half a minute!

Chen Yu had dealt with the Ghost Stew Pot and Ghost Vacuum Cleaner.

If anyone else had witnessed this scene, their jaws would have hit the floor!

These were legendary lv.9 anomalies, for fuck's sake.

They were exactly the same level as Little Beauty Sewing.

And he had killed two of them at once!

[Buzz!]

[You... you actually killed two lv.9 anomalies, and at the same time?]

[I can hardly believe my eyes.]

[Wait, I never had eyes to begin with...]

[Can you get any crazier? Are high-star-quality anomalies really stronger than these old anomalies?]

[Is Anomaly Era really about to bring about a massive changing of the guard among anomalies?]

[I just hope you don't end up being a pawn too.]

[Perhaps the older generation of anomalies once had examples like this as well.]

The notification on his phone was not only shocked; it also revealed another piece of information.

Anomaly Era was undergoing a massive changing of the guard.

Whenever an era came to an end, it was always accompanied by bloodshed and slaughter.

Just like how Chen Yu had dealt with these two old anomalies.

Back then, had they also been like Chen Yu, effortlessly using their own rank to kill even older anomalies?

If that was the case...

Then after Chen Yu, would there be another massive changing of the guard?

On a chessboard, anyone could be a pawn.

"A pawn?"

The corners of Chen Yu's lips curled up slightly. "Being a pawn isn't my goal. My goal is to be the chess player who controls the whole game."

After Chen Yu killed the two anomalies.

The old man was so frightened that he nearly fainted. Pointing at Chen Yu, he cried out in terror, "You, you, you're a ghost..."

Chen Yu ignored the old man for the moment and instead looked at the little girl sitting to the side, who had not moved at all.

Her parents had been killed, yet the little girl's expression had not changed in the slightest.

If she had not shown an expression before, he might truly have thought that this girl, like Tong Jian, had a character setting with no family, no friends, and no background.

When Chen Yu looked at the girl, he froze slightly.

To his surprise, this little girl was actually the strongest of the three anomalies?

An lv.9 on the verge of entering Restart!

"Your turn."

Chen Yu gave the little girl an indifferent glance.

But the little girl suddenly took out a book and placed it on the table.

The book fell open.

It was filled with all sorts of colors.

It was nauseating, like a complex aggregate formed from the brain matter of tens of thousands of marine creatures.

The sloppy handwriting carried a sinister and terrifying aura, like the incantations muttered by an evil cult sorcerer of some unknown sect in a bizarre, obscure, and dark forest.

It was incomprehensible, yet it radiated a disturbing, malignant aura.

The crudely printed characters boxed in by horizontal and vertical lines sprawled and stretched wantonly in a hateful manner, like the most ancient and evil curse allegory on Blue Star. Stare at them too long, and one might descend into madness, into illusion, into chaos.

A revolting sensation surged into Chen Yu's mind.

The words on this page were like blasphemies against the gods. Such profound and chaotic characters should not have existed in a book taken out by a child.

The little girl looked at Chen Yu innocently and asked, "Big brother, how do you read this?"

The little girl pointed to a line of twisted and bizarre writing in the book.

This was a medium.

Once Chen Yu read it wrong.

It would trigger an anomalous rule.

Chen Yu would remain here forever, reading with the little girl.

"Oh, this? I know!"

Chen Yu smiled and picked up the bizarre book.

Rip!

Without another word, he tore it into pieces.

"How could you..."

Chen Yu did not give her a chance to catch her breath.

The Ghost Butcher Knife instantly appeared in his hand and carved a perfect arc from a tricky angle.

It beheaded the little girl in an instant.

The Ghost Butcher Knife was lv.9.

And the Ghost Book was also lv.9.

Though they were the same level, their potential was worlds apart.

Faced with that immense anomalous power, the Ghost Book could not resist at all.

It was easily dealt with.

[Buzz!]

[You really are a demon! You wouldn't even spare such an adorable little child.]

[Can't you just spend the rest of your life reading with her?]

[Wouldn't that be a good thing?]

The notifications began mocking Chen Yu.

But Chen Yu had no time to pay them any attention.

[You successfully killed the Ghost Book, Ghost Vacuum Cleaner, and Ghost Stew Pot.]

[The energy from killing anomalies has entered your body.]

Chen Yu felt a powerful force flood into his body and circulate through his limbs and bones.

In the end, it all rushed into his Time Ghost Eye.

[Energy has entered the Time Ghost Eye.]

[Time Ghost Eye level: lv.9: 90% → 100%]

[Time Ghost Eye has risen to lv.10!]

This increase not only greatly enhanced the Time Ghost Eye's Anomaly Ability.

It also brought up a series of notifications.

[The Time Ghost Eye has reached lv.10 and can undergo "Restart."]

["Restart" requires a "Restart" ritual.]

"Restart?"

This was what Chen Yu had been most interested in lately.

He asked, "How do I perform the 'Restart' ritual?"

[After performing the "Restart" ritual, your anomaly can become even more powerful.]

[You now need to prepare the materials for the "Restart" ritual.]

"Materials? What materials do I need to prepare?"

"Restart" could make an anomaly stronger.

Knowing how Anomaly Era worked.

These materials definitely would not be something he could find casually.

Sure enough.

[As a rat, you need to find a Ghost Hairpin.]

[Then use the Ghost Hairpin to pierce your own eyeball and undergo "Restart."]

Pierce his eyeball?

His left eye or right eye?

His right eye now contained the Time Ghost Eye, so there was no way he would pierce it.

Didn't he have the ability to devour?

After finding the Ghost Hairpin, he could simply eat it and make it part of his body, couldn't he?

"Then where is the Ghost Hairpin?"

Chen Yu asked.

The notification on his phone seemed as though it had heard his answer.

[It.]

[Is waiting for you at the Provincial Museum in Linjiang City.]

[...]

"The Provincial Museum?"

Chen Yu froze.

He had been to this museum once before, during a school-wide sightseeing trip organized by Linjiang No. 1 Middle School.

The Provincial Museum in Linjiang City was also one of the city's landmarks.

Chen Yu hailed a taxi and headed toward the Provincial Museum.

[Big brother, where are we going?]

[Are we looking for something exciting again?]

[I think I want it. I really want excitement! Can't it be more intense?]

[Ah... I can't take it anymore...]

The Ghost Doll behind Tong Jian let out a series of excited, crazed screams.

That thing was just like this. If one was not careful, it would start going insane.

Tong Jian pressed the Ghost Doll's head down and signaled for it to stop talking.

After the two of them and one doll got into the car, Chen Yu took out his phone and opened the Anomaly Era Official Forum.

There was a global search function on the homepage of the Anomaly Era Official Forum.

Because of the special nature of Anomaly Era, Chen Yu's phone was currently located in Linjiang City.

So once he entered words into the search bar, results from Linjiang City would appear on the first line.

Chen Yu entered the words [Provincial Museum], then tapped search.

[The network encountered a minor issue. Please refresh and try again...]

Chen Yu tapped refresh.

[Searching. Please wait...]

Then, one entry after another appeared on Chen Yu's phone.

They were museums from various provinces.

Among them, the Linjiang Provincial Museum title was at the very top!

[Linjiang Provincial Museum] (Danger, marked in red!)

At that moment, the words Provincial Museum had already been marked in red.

It was Chen Yu's first time seeing a post marked in red.

After he clicked into the post.

The body of the post displayed eye-catching crimson text.

[Danger! Anomaly Era has blocked this post for you. If you wish to continue browsing, please click "Continue."]

They were making such a big fuss over it?

Ordinary people would probably be frightened into backing out upon seeing a post that even the official Anomaly Era had blocked.

But Chen Yu went wherever the excitement was!

Without hesitation, he tapped Continue.

[The Linjiang Provincial Museum has fallen. Anomalies run rampant within. Unless absolutely necessary, do not set foot inside.]

Several striking red words proclaimed the danger.

Below them was a video.

Chen Yu tapped it open.

A female news reporter immediately appeared on the phone screen. Her face could not be seen, as she wore a mask, and her voice had also been specially processed.

[Here is a news report from the Anomaly Era: the Provincial Museum has been designated a major anomaly disaster zone. Civilians near the Provincial Museum have already been evacuated to safe zones under other pretexts.]

[According to Ghost Controller witnesses, multiple anomalies jointly attacked the Provincial Museum and stole something. Some also claimed they had heard the cries of an infant inside the Provincial Museum, along with the sight of an anomalous figure wearing a suit on top and beach shorts below.]

[After investigating, the Investigation Bureau's investigators had basically confirmed that it was the crying of the Ghost Infant and Yang Wei, who had once served as a squad captain in "Apocalypse"!]

[This anomaly incident was more dangerous than any mission currently issued by the Investigation Bureau, because the Provincial Museum had recently received a batch of ancient artifacts that had not been excavated long ago. They might have been infected by anomalous aura and turned into anomalies.]

[The Investigation Bureau issued a warning: this is not looking down on anyone, but if you lack the strength, do not set foot in the Provincial Museum!]

[Repeating: if you do not possess absolute strength, do not set foot in the Provincial Museum, lest you lose your life!]

[End of report.]

The video ended.

Ancient artifacts? Turned into anomalies?

It looked like this would be interesting.

After the car had driven for about half an hour.

They finally arrived.

Chen Yu got out with Tong Jian and headed toward the entrance of the Provincial Museum.

[Wow, is this a castle? So gloomy! So eerie, I love it!]

[Am I going to spend the night in there with big brother? No one will be able to disturb us, right?]

[That's wonderful. Can I take the initiative this time? Hehehe!]

The Ghost Doll seemed incredibly excited. As it spoke, drool actually began to spill from its mouth.

Tong Jian turned around and glanced at the Ghost Doll, and it hurriedly shut its wide-open mouth.

By then, the sun was already setting.

Dim, feeble sunlight spilled across the weathered walls, reflecting an ominous, ancient, suffocatingly heavy aura of cold eeriness.

Not far from the entrance stood a pandemic inspection desk that had once been used for visitors entering the museum. The chair was empty.

Yet there was a cup of milk on the desk, lamenting its neglect as it had toppled over, continuously making dripping sounds.

Above the entrance hung an ancient dark-green clock that looked utterly out of place.

Its hands had been permanently frozen at eleven thirty.

Everywhere exuded a sinister atmosphere.

Something unimaginably terrifying seemed to be lurking ahead.

Several figures were also standing by the entrance.

They were crowded together, seemingly preparing to enter the Provincial Museum.

But upon seeing Chen Yu arrive, they all stopped.

"See that? Someone else is here!"

"Anyone who comes here must be a Ghost Controller, right?"

"He even brought a little girl? What kind of combination is that?"

Several figures turned to look at Chen Yu and Tong Jian.

Their auras made it easy to tell.

They were all Ghost Controllers who had come after hearing of the place. Their auras were around Lv. 5 and Lv. 6. The one standing in the center had the strongest aura and was likely the core of the group, possessing the aura of Lv. 7.

The Lv. 7 Ghost Controller in the middle was named Zhou Tai. The anomaly he controlled was called [Ghost Resurrection].

[Ghost Resurrection] was a special kind of anomaly.

When faced with the threat of death, [Ghost Resurrection] would trigger its rule-based power and bring someone back from the dead.

It sounded incredibly powerful, even as miraculous as the Time Ghost Eye's time reversal.

But the price required by the two was worlds apart.

Every time [Ghost Resurrection] triggered, it reduced its controller's lifespan by five to ten years, depending on how severely they had been injured before dying.

The Time Ghost Eye, however, only consumed Chen Yu's mental energy.

Once lifespan was spent, it was gone.

Mental energy could be replenished after being consumed. That was the difference.

"There are only four of us. One more person means one more layer of security. I'll invite him to join us."

After saying that to the remaining team members, the Ghost Resurrection controller strode toward Chen Yu.

He looked rather arrogant.

Having controlled a Level 7 Anomaly, and one with high potential at that, he certainly had the right to be proud.

When he reached Chen Yu, he smiled and said, "Brother, you're here to resolve the Provincial Museum incident too, right? You should have read up on the Provincial Museum, right? This place has now been designated an extremely dangerous anomaly incident. It won't be easy to handle. I've formed a team with several Ghost Controllers,

and we're preparing to resolve this anomaly incident together. Brother, would you be interested in joining us?"

In his eyes, Chen Yu would definitely accept his invitation immediately.

After all, there was no way Chen Yu could resolve this anomaly incident alone.

Chen Yu had come here because he was looking for a team.

But what Zhou Tai, the controller of Ghost Resurrection, had not expected was this.

Chen Yu simply said flatly, "I refuse."

"Brother, you'd better think this through. This dungeon is extremely dangerous, not merely highly dangerous!"

"I refuse."

"You just won't listen, will you? I'm the captain of this team. The anomaly I control is a Level 7 Anomaly. Only by following me will you have a chance to survive. Once we obtain the rewards, we can split them evenly!"

"I refuse."

The other team members were dumbfounded when they heard that. This guy was way too arrogant, wasn't he?

Zhou Tai had personally invited him, yet he actually refused to join?

Having been rejected again and again, Zhou Tai could no longer keep his face straight.

His expression darkened. "If you go in alone, you'll definitely die!"

"Death? That word isn't in my dictionary."

After saying that flatly, Chen Yu took Tong Jian directly into the Provincial Museum, leaving everyone behind staring blankly in the bleak, chilly wind.

"You..."

After coming back to his senses, Zhou Tai glared furiously at Chen Yu.

"Big brother, forget it. I know you invited him because you didn't want him to throw his life away alone, but you can't wake someone pretending to sleep, and you can't save someone who wants to die."

"That's right. Since he wants to die, let him die."

"Who knows what he was thinking, refusing to join us. Going in alone—isn't that just courting death?"

"Kids these days are far too full of themselves. Do they really think they're invincible just because they control one anomaly? Do they even know what kind of place this is...?"

The other Ghost Controllers were also somewhat displeased.

Chen Yu had been far too arrogant.

[What kind of place? Isn't this big brother's cafeteria?]

[Do you want a bite of anomaly meat too? Big brother is a very nice person. If you're willing to become his underlings, he might consider giving you a piece of thigh meat!]

[But I advise you not to get any bad ideas about big brother...]

[Big brother, you see, as long as you don't provoke him, he won't trouble you.]

[But if you provoke him, he won't mind at all~ Because you'll become his food~]

Since the Ghost Doll was behind Tong Jian, it could see the angry expressions of the Ghost Controllers at the entrance. It made a few eerie remarks, warning them not to seek their own deaths.

"Food? Delicacy? What the hell?"

"Is that little brat saying this guy came here to eat?"

Several Ghost Controllers could not help but feel baffled upon hearing that.

He had come to the Provincial Museum to eat? And from that tone, he was planning to eat anomalies.

How was that possible?!

[Buzz!]

[Buzz!]

After Chen Yu entered.

Their phones began vibrating one after another.

Why was the Anomaly Era sending them a message at a time like this?

They took out their phones and looked.

[The four of you have a total of four brains.]

[You lost two, and the other two went looking for the lost ones.]

[Or perhaps you are inferior sperm that secretly slipped inside while the egg wasn't paying attention.]

[You still do not know that the fear in your hearts is merely his appetizer.]

[The things you fear most, he can eat one at a time in a single bite.]

[What right do you have to act arrogant in front of him?]

[And what right do you have to ask him and the one on him to become your teammates?]

[Know your place, you foolish things.]

Clatter!

Several crisp sounds rang out outside the Provincial Museum.

Their phones fell to the ground one after another.

Chen Yu pushed open the ancient doors and entered the Provincial Museum.

Museums had always been among the places with the tightest security.

So beyond these doors was only a partitioned area—the front lobby.

Tap!

Tap!

Tap!

Crisp sounds rang out from within the lobby.

They echoed continuously through the hall.

Chen Yu focused his gaze.

A desk stood in the middle of the hall.

There was a sign standing on the desk that read: Museum Security Post.

A security guard whose eyes had lost all clarity was eerily spinning a pen in one hand while holding a roster in the other.

He seemed rather bad at spinning pens. Every time he spun it, the pen would fall onto the desk.

Those earlier sounds had been made by the pen striking the tabletop.

[Buzz!]

[Since you have come to the museum, shouldn't you go through the museum procedures?]

[Look who this is—a security guard! Your favorite kind of person, because here, a security guard can guarantee your safety.]

[After the anomalous invasion, a Lv. 8 Anomaly Security Guard awakened within him.]

[Look, it is coming over. Will it protect you this time?]

As the prompt flashed on his phone, Chen Yu looked toward the Anomaly Security Guard. By then, it had silently arrived in front of Chen Yu, holding a pen and a registration sheet.

It curled its lips into a smile, and the smile tore its mouth apart, splitting all the way to the back of its head before stopping.

[Hello, guest. Please fill out the registration information for entering the museum.]

The Anomaly Security Guard's mouth twitched slightly. Its extremely long tongue swam within its mouth, and its voice sounded like a murmur emanating from its abdomen.

[It has already set its sights on you. It seems you have nowhere to run.]

[Look, those people are the ones who registered their information.]

[Hurry and join them.]

Following the prompt on his phone, Chen Yu looked into the distance.

Several people were wandering around the lobby.

Their eyes were vacant. Though lights illuminated the lobby.

They were wildly groping around with their hands as if they were blind.

Drool streamed continuously from their mouths as they muttered dreamlike gibberish, like walking corpses.

(End of chapter)