Anomaly Barbecue Incident

Anomaly Barbecue Incident

"Heh!"

Han Ningning sharply drew in a breath and broke free from the illusion. She found that, in reality, she had followed the pitch-black footprints all the way to the end of the corridor!

At that moment, the Ghostly Smiling Face on the back of her head had vanished and hidden itself away.

She touched the back of her head. After confirming that she had returned to normal, she ran excitedly to Luo Mu's side. "Uncle Luo, am I okay now?"

"No."

Luo Mu said, "I've only temporarily suppressed the anomaly inside you."

"Is there no way to eradicate it completely?"

Han Ningning asked with a panicked expression.

"No. The anomaly on you is too powerful. However, it seemingly can't pose a threat to you. Otherwise, you would have long since been killed by it. Since this has happened, it means you have a great chance of controlling it!"

Luo Mu said.

"Control an anomaly?!"

Han Ningning was stunned.

"That's right. Once you control an anomaly, you'll gain its abilities."

Luo Mu said, "The anomaly within you is a five-star anomaly, extremely powerful. Our Anomaly Investigation Bureau is currently in need of young people with potential like you. If you want to control this anomaly, you can join our Investigation Bureau. We'll definitely do everything we can to help you."

After the Anomaly Game appeared,

many people were chosen by anomalies. Some died, while some survived.

Yet a tiny number of people not only survived against all odds, but also successfully controlled and mastered anomalies, gaining their abilities.

Once one possessed an Anomaly Ability, it was equivalent to gaining a superpower—perhaps even something stronger than a superpower.

Anomalies were extremely dangerous. Countless people died at their hands every day.

Thus, the state immediately established the Anomaly Investigation Bureau, gathering all capable people who had controlled anomalies and using anomalies to fight anomalies!

Han Ningning was deeply shocked after hearing this.

After all, the events of the past few days had already been enough to overturn her worldview.

What she had witnessed today had shattered her understanding of the world all over again.

She could not help thinking of Chen Yu.

Chen Yu's behavior had been very strange. Could it be that he, too, was entangled by an anomaly?

But she was not sure, so she did not mention it. She merely nodded to Luo Mu. "Okay. I'll join the Investigation Bureau."

There was nothing left for her to choose.

If she did not join the Investigation Bureau, the anomaly would keep haunting her.

Rather than being killed by an anomaly, she might as well try to figure out how to control one.

"That's great! As long as you can control this anomaly, our Investigation Bureau will gain another powerful general in the future!"

Luo Mu was thrilled upon hearing that. He hurriedly took out his phone and called the Director of the Investigation Bureau.

He explained everything from beginning to end to the Director, then concluded, "I've persuaded her. She's willing to join the Investigation Bureau!"

"What? A five-star anomaly? And she wants to join our Investigation Bureau?!"

The Director of the Investigation Bureau was overjoyed. "Wonderful! Bring her back as soon as possible!"

"Yes!"

After saying that, Luo Mu hung up. Seeing the lines of text that had appeared earlier on his phone, he could not help mocking them inwardly.

Although a five-star anomaly was indeed formidable, the phone's notification had exaggerated things far too much.

What did it mean by surviving and losing an opportunity to be a simp? It was nowhere near that serious.

The Anomaly Game seemed to have heard Luo Mu's thoughts.

"Buzz!"

His phone began to vibrate. Luo Mu, who had been about to put it away, frowned and took it out for another look.

[Five-star anomaly? Your vision is far too narrow.]

[The anomaly you encountered just now was a ten-star, bug-level existence.]

[Do you think you're lucky enough to encounter that kind of anomaly twice in a row?]

[You think too highly of yourself.]

[People should know their own limits. Think carefully—are you worthy?]

Seeing these notifications,

Luo Mu's face was filled with shock.

A chill instantly ran down his spine.

In other words, the anomaly the phone had just warned him about was not the Ghostly Smiling Face on Han Ningning?

It was another one?

Then where was it?!

Why had he not sensed it at all?

[The Anomaly Era Official Website is now open.]

[You may access the Anomaly Era Official Website through your phone to receive the latest information.]

Lines of notifications suddenly appeared on Chen Yu's phone.

This time, beneath the text was a button labeled [Official Website Entrance].

"Anomaly Era Official Website? They can even set up a website like this? Was it established by the authorities, or by a third party?"

Chen Yu was puzzled, but he tapped it open.

[Location services enabled.]

[The official website will prioritize anomaly information from your current city.]

Chen Yu looked over the website's contents.

Perhaps because he had obtained the Time Ghost Eye, Chen Yu could read at a glance. Very quickly, he found an entrance for a competition.

He tapped it and took a look.

[National—*Jiang City Ghost Controller Ranking Tournament!]

[Opens in half a month!]

Below it was a series of chilling descriptions.

[Little rats, if you can view the Ghost Controller Ranking Tournament, it proves that you have already become Ghost Controllers.]

[The anomalies you control possess abilities of varying strengths.]

[In the world of anomalies, the strong rule while the weak are ants. If the anomaly you control is sufficiently powerful, then congratulations—you are one of the lucky ones.]

[Once you enter the top ten of the Ghost Controller rankings, you will receive unimaginable rewards.]

[Look forward to it. Be surprised, little rats.]

Below that were comments from Ghost Controllers all across *Jiang City.

Some were even chatting and confronting one another in the live chatroom.

"Ghost Controller Ranking Tournament? This competition sounds pretty thrilling!"

"I encountered an anomaly and barely survived. I know exactly how terrifying anomalies are. I never imagined that someone could survive and even control one, becoming a Ghost Controller. Comparing people really is infuriating!"

"I heard the Anomaly Era game has been running for three days already. In just three days, quite a few powerful Ghost Controllers have emerged all over the world."

"Forget about other places. We haven't even figured things out in our own region yet."

"Several Ghost Controllers in *Jiang City have been making quite a name for themselves lately. I bet Lin Yu, Xue Ning, Wang Tianhao, and the others will definitely be on *Jiang City's rankings!"

"You mean Ghost Hand Lin Yu, Ghost Shoe Xue Ning, and Ghost Mirror Wang Tianhao? They really are among the best Ghost Controllers in *Jiang City. But another powerful Ghost Controller named Zhang Ao has appeared recently. No one knows what anomaly he controls, though."

"Who cares what it is? We're only here to watch the show."

"What will the rewards be? It says the rewards will be extremely generous."

"..."

A crowd of people discussed it frantically. Some of them had survived the Anomaly Game.

There were also a small number who had controlled anomalies.

"I'm interested in this Ranking Match, but I don't know whether my Anomaly Ability is stronger than other people's. If I join the competition, will it be dangerous?"

After pondering for a moment, Chen Yu directly exited the Ranking Match page.

Rather than taking risks, he would be better off steadily improving his Anomaly Ability step by step. After leaving the Ranking Match page,

Chen Yu saw another post.

The poster's ID was [Supernatural Investigation Bureau], and beneath the name were the words "Officially Verified."

"Supernatural Investigation Bureau? What is that? I've never heard of it before."

Chen Yu was thoroughly confused. He had never heard of such an organization.

He had yet to realize that Luo Mu was a member of the Supernatural Investigation Bureau.

After opening the post, he saw two large words in its main text: "Anomaly Bounties!"

Below them were all kinds of missions.

The missions were divided by difficulty.

Chen Yu scrolled down and saw the first mission.

[*Jiang City, Anomaly Barbecue Incident. Danger level: Low risk.]

[Detailed incident information: While preparing skewers for customers, the owner of a late-night barbecue stall mixes certain special meats into the skewers. Anyone who accidentally eats them may suffer a fatal attack.]

[Mission tip: This mission tests your eyesight. When eating barbecue skewers, pay close attention. If you smell a strange odor or the meat smells unusual, do not eat it.]

[Resolve the Anomaly Barbecue Incident. Reward: One million!]

Low-risk missions naturally came with relatively low rewards.

Below it was a photo.

The photo was extremely blurry and had been taken from a distance.

The photographer probably had not dared to get close to the barbecue stall at all.

The barbecue owner was fat, dressed in a work uniform stained black with grease, and was working vigorously.

Perhaps because the photo had been taken from too far away,

the barbecue owner's face seemed to have no facial features. His entire face was nothing but skin!

At first glance, it was rather terrifying.

"Damn, a barbecue version of the **Bun Shop? Looks like I should eat fewer late-night snacks from now on. I never expected eating supper to be this risky."

Chen Yu's expression could not help changing slightly.

What was wrong with this world? How could something so absurd happen?

He was not the only one complaining.

The comments below this bounty mission were full of complaining netizens as well.

"Damn, which barbecue place is this? Can someone tell me the location so I can avoid it?"

"Could every barbecue place have this problem? Will we still be able to eat barbecue in the future? Brothers, can someone with balls handle this mission?"

"If they served some other kind of stuff, fine, but can you even eat that shit?"

"One million? This mission is seriously difficult, okay? The reward is way too low! What if you accidentally eat it?"

"No, I have to sacrifice myself once. I'm taking the Anomaly Barbecue Stall mission!"

"Me too. A million is a million!"

After reading those comments, Chen Yu's frown deepened.

Could all these people have controlled anomalies?

Chen Yu browsed several more bounties.

To his surprise, he discovered that all these bounty incidents were closely tied to everyday life.

In other words, he could fall victim to one of them with a single careless mistake.

For example, one must never touch the last treadmill in the first row of a gym, or something would happen.

At an amusement park, if a group of little girls who all looked exactly the same appeared and greeted you, you absolutely could not respond.

And when walking alone at night, if a woman's voice suddenly called out and asked you to get a room, you absolutely could not turn around.

These were all low-risk missions, though there were medium-risk missions as well.

Their values varied, but none exceeded three million.

As Chen Yu continued scrolling, he finally stopped at one mission.

[*Jiang City, the collapsing *Jiang Central Hotel, Ghost Shadow Incident. Mission difficulty: High risk.]

[Detailed incident information: Every night, a certain hotel becomes packed with guests, but all of their shadows undergo mutations. Countless casualties occur within a single day.]

[Two Ghost Controllers have already gone to investigate, but neither has returned. Their lives and deaths remain unknown.]

[Mission tip: Watch the shadows! You must watch the shadows!]

[Bounty reward: Six million yuan + ten jin of gold!]

"*Jiang Central Hotel? It doesn't seem far away. And the reward is pretty generous. It's tempting."

Chen Yu's expression grew somewhat excited.

That reward was no small amount.

He was merely an ordinary high school student, receiving only one or two thousand yuan in spending money each month. If he completed this job, would he not instantly turn his life around and become rich and handsome?

However, Chen Yu did not know whether he counted as a Ghost Controller.

Because in his view, a Ghost Controller should be someone who had controlled an anomaly.

But Chen Yu's method was different. He had directly devoured anomalies, making them part of himself.

Although the Time Ghost Eye was extremely powerful, there might be existences even more heaven-defying than it.

Moreover, the second anomaly he had encountered, the Ghost Butcher Knife, had already been incredibly powerful. It had nearly drained Chen Yu's mental strength and taken his life.

Due to his preconceived notions, he had assumed that every anomaly in this world was as terrifying as the Ghost Butcher Knife and the Time Ghost Eye.

[This was an extremely dangerous mission. Several Ghost Controllers who didn't know their own limits had already died in it.]

[Do you have some idea in mind?]

[Please put that idea away. You're a useless piece of trash. If you go, there's only one path waiting for you: death.]

[It would be best if you gave up browsing this mission any further. Otherwise, It might set Its sights on you.]

[Once It sets Its sights on you...]

[Your name will definitely be written on the list of the dead.]

The game's prompt appeared once more.

The scarlet words were still filled with mockery, showing complete contempt for Chen Yu.

"Who are you looking down on?"

The more mocking the prompt on his phone became, the angrier Chen Yu grew. Since it wouldn't let him keep browsing, he was determined to browse!

With that thought, he directly scrolled down through the mission.

Below the mission was another video.

The scene in the video appeared to have been filmed from an overhead perspective.

Because countless people had been killed or injured in Jiang Central Hotel within a single day, no one dared enter the hotel anymore.

This video had been filmed by a drone.

In the footage.

Figures suddenly appeared in the once-empty lobby of Jiang Central Hotel.

Their walking postures were exceptionally rigid; they even marched in goose-step. But how could ordinary people possibly walk like that in daily life?

Something was clearly wrong!

Their facial features could not be seen clearly, but the shadows beneath them stood out with startling clarity.

Some were long, some were short, and some were twisting, like waterweed drifting with the current.

(End of chapter)