New Ability: Time Restart

"What the hell is this?"

Chen Yu stared in stunned disbelief. He was walking, yet his shadow's movements were completely different from his own. You do your thing, I'll do mine?

But at that moment.

Those bizarre shadows suddenly began stretching infinitely!

They spread beyond Linjiang Central Hotel, then most of them gathered together. Like creeping vines, they climbed over the walls, straight onto the hotel roof, then rushed toward the drones in the sky.

Meanwhile, Chen Yu was watching the video. Those shadows, like a 3D projection, actually broke free from the objects binding them and extended directly out of the screen!

Their target was him!

[I told you.]

[Why are you so good at getting yourself killed? Did you really have to read the mission?]

[Now look what happened. It has its eyes on you.]

Notifications kept popping up on his phone.

But Chen Yu had no time to care.

Because the shadow had already eerily crawled out of the screen, reenacting a shadow version of Sadako!

Chen Yu hurriedly activated the Slaughter Ghost Domain!

The moment the Slaughter Ghost Domain opened, everything around him suddenly slowed down!

Even the roar of cars speeding past outside stretched out endlessly, turning into a chaotic metallic symphony.

"Not bad!"

Seeing the shadow charging at him slow to a snail's pace, Chen Yu's lips curled into a smile.

That shadow was probably an anomaly.

He had already devoured the Ghost Butcher Knife and the Time Ghost Eye.

If he swallowed this shadow too, he would have three anomalies!

He licked his lips, then bit down on the shadow.

A terrifying pitch-black human face appeared on the shadow!

But because its speed had been slowed so drastically, even after being bitten, it could not manage a distorted expression.

After biting off a chunk of the shadow, Chen Yu began chewing.

It felt like he was eating modeling clay.

Chen Yu figured he was probably the first person in the world to eat a shadow.

In no time at all, Chen Yu ate the shadow clean.

"So? I've devoured the shadow. What Anomaly Ability did I get?"

Chen Yu asked with a smile.

[You have devoured Ghost Shadow.]

[Unfortunately, this was an infected clone of Ghost Shadow. You cannot obtain Ghost Shadow's Anomaly Ability.]

[After devouring Ghost Shadow and digesting it, you have successfully increased the upgrade experience of your Time Ghost Eye by sixty percent.]

The notification made Chen Yu pause slightly.

This was only an infected clone, not the main body?

Still, this devouring had not been for nothing.

The Time Ghost Eye was Chen Yu's trump card for survival. Only after it leveled up would he dare to do other things so boldly.

[You have been noticed by it, and you also attacked Ghost Shadow.]

[It hates you now. It wants revenge at any cost, and you have been forcibly assigned the Linjiang Central Hotel incident mission.]

[Of all things, why did you have to provoke that guy?]

[Wait, you easily severed its infected clone?! You even ate it?]

[Having eaten it and mastered two high-level anomalous powers, you look like a demon.]

[Maybe it is not that it has its eyes on you. Maybe you have your eyes on it?]

[Oh, Mr. Demon, may I mourn for it for a few seconds?]

The notifications on his phone swung between mockery and shock.

Chen Yu was beginning to wonder whether this thing had something wrong with its brain.

[Ding!]

[Homepage Notice: The Linjiang Central Hotel mission has been accepted!]

Whenever someone accepted a mission, a pinned post would appear on the homepage.

However, posts about low-risk missions being accepted would soon be buried beneath other posts.

But the Linjiang Central Hotel mission was a high-risk mission.

The instant it appeared on the homepage, the post's views soared!

[Holy shit, who was it? Someone actually dared to accept a mission like this?]

[Exactly. Did the person who accepted it not know that three Ghost Controllers had already died at Linjiang Central Hotel?]

[Thirty-five people died in one day, three Ghost Controllers vanished without explanation, and someone still dared to accept the mission? That's insane!]

[Who is this person? I'm so curious. I really want to see what they look like.]

Countless people began commenting wildly below.

The post's comments shot from zero at publication to several thousand in an instant.

And only a minute had passed.

Inside the Anomaly Investigation Bureau.

"Director, more than thirty people have already died at Linjiang Central Hotel. Three fairly capable Ghost Controllers also went missing after entering the hotel. That hotel is no simple matter."

A man hidden beneath a black robe spoke in a grave tone.

This man was Luo Mu.

Across from him sat a middle-aged man with a chiseled face. His expression was equally grim as he said, "What are you suggesting...?"

"With the Anomaly Game running rampant, those who can control anomalies are few and far between. I think we should withdraw this mission. It is simply too dangerous. We cannot let Ghost Controllers recklessly accept it and enter. If they go missing, it will be Huaxia's loss."

Luo Mu spoke after some thought.

Three Ghost Controllers had already died at Linjiang Central Hotel.

Ghost Controllers were not easy to find, and every death meant one fewer. Finding one was difficult enough, much less losing three at once.

If this mission remained open, more Ghost Controllers might go there to die.

The Director nodded solemnly, agreeing with Luo Mu. "Yes. Withdraw this mission for now. We can discuss it again once we find stronger Ghost Controllers. Contact the Investigation Bureau captain and have him arrange it."

"Yes."

Luo Mu nodded and was about to leave to make the arrangements.

But at that moment, someone suddenly knocked on the door. Then a man in an Investigation Bureau uniform rushed in, looking stunned and panicked. Panting heavily, he said, "D-Director... something terrible has happened..."

"Look outside. Has the sky fallen? Why are you panicking? Where are your manners? This is the Investigation Bureau!"

The Director rebuked him unhappily.

Luo Mu hurriedly handed the man a glass of water and asked, "What happened?"

Only after taking a drink did the man recover enough to speak. He anxiously said, "Director, someone has accepted the Linjiang Central Hotel mission!"

"What?!"

Upon hearing that, Luo Mu and the Director instantly could not stay seated. They slammed their hands on the table and stood up.

Seeing the Director react like that, the Investigation Bureau member secretly scoffed.

Weren't you just saying I was panicking? Why are you panicking too?

The Director said in shock, "Quickly, investigate who accepted the mission."

"We already found out."

The Investigation Bureau employee handed a document to the Director. "This is that person's information."

The Director took it, while Luo Mu craned his neck to look as well.

The paper contained the information of the person who had accepted the mission.

[User with no information.]

[Username: Nightfall.] "Nightfall? Who is that? Have you heard of him?"

The Director looked at Luo Mu and asked in surprise.

Luo Mu thought for a long time but could not recall anyone named Nightfall. He hurriedly shook his head. "Never heard of him. Could he be a newly emerged Ghost Controller?"

"You have not heard of him? Then he must be a nobody. Quickly contact the Anomaly Era Forum and have the forum people stop Nightfall from going to Linjiang Central Hotel!"

The Director said anxiously.

He cherished talent and naturally did not want to watch a Ghost Controller throw his life away.

"All right!"

Luo Mu nodded and immediately gave the order.

[Buzz!]

[Hello, Nightfall. I heard you accepted the Linjiang Central Hotel mission?]

A chat window forcibly popped up on Chen Yu's phone.

Chen Yu looked at the other party's ID and saw that it was a verified official account. He typed, "Yes. Is there a problem?"

[You should abandon this mission. Before you, three Ghost Controllers attempted to resolve it, but after entering Linjiang Central Hotel, they completely lost contact.]

[Perhaps they are already dead. If they were possessed by anomalies and revived, the anomalies would become even stronger. Linjiang Central Hotel would become even more dangerous!]

Chen Yu smiled. They would never guess that he was not going to Linjiang Central Hotel to complete the mission, but to devour Ghost Shadow.

After all, Ghost Shadow was a special anomaly. Once he obtained its Anomaly Ability, he would become much stronger.

Chen Yu said, "Don't worry. I'll be fine."

[Uh... perhaps you still do not understand how terrifying Linjiang Central Hotel is. Thirty-five people died there in a single day, and every one of them died horribly...]

Chen Yu knew the other party meant well and continued, "I appreciate your concern, but my mind is made up. I have to go."

[Uh, all right. Since you have already decided, I have nothing more to say. I can only tell you what I know.]

[The anomaly in Linjiang Central Hotel is called Ghost Shadow. Once you enter the hotel, do not pay attention to anything else. Just watch the shadows. It attacks through shadows.]

Chen Yu said, "Thank you. I'll be careful."

[Mm. I hope you can resolve this mission successfully, but to be safe, I'll hire someone to go with you. He is very strong and can slightly increase the chances of completing the mission.]

"Who?"

[Xu Ao from Bizarre Society.]

Bizarre Society was a civilian Ghost Controller organization. It was not under official jurisdiction and consisted of many elite local Ghost Controllers.

Xu Ao was considered one of Bizarre Society's strongest members.

Hiring Xu Ao required a considerable sum of money.

And Xu Ao was arrogant, always looking down on everyone else. His personality was also rather unhinged.

"Can we not hire anyone?"

Chen Yu hurriedly asked.

He had heard of people like that before. Xu Ao was a complete arrogant maniac. Why the hell would he want to hire him?

[No. He must go with you. Otherwise, we will close the Linjiang Central Hotel mission right now.]

"Uh... fine."

Chen Yu was helpless. He had not expected the other party to be so stubborn. After chatting for a while, the other party invited him to the Anomaly Investigation Bureau. He had to go, or they would close the Linjiang Central Hotel mission.

Chen Yu could only head over.

According to the map.

The Riverside Anomaly Investigation Bureau was more than forty kilometers away.

Then he checked the taxi fare.

One hundred and eighty?!

That was way too expensive!

"Damn, where am I supposed to get that much money?"

Chen Yu gave a bitter smile. Just then, his phone suddenly vibrated again.

When he opened it, he saw a message from his god-sister, Jiang Xinyue.

She was asking whether he had enough money for living expenses recently and whether he needed her to send him some.

This god-sister had grown up with Chen Yu since childhood. They had practically worn the same pair of pants growing up.

She was extremely domineering toward others, yet she was incredibly protective of Chen Yu, like a gentle older sister.

Almost all of Chen Yu's living expenses were sent by Jiang Xinyue.

Though Chen Yu was poor, he still refused. His sister already sent him living expenses every month, and he did not want to keep troubling her.

"All right, then. But if you run out of money, you have to tell your sister, okay? Sister loves you, mua!"

Chen Yu smiled bitterly.

This sister of his really did not understand proper boundaries between men and women.

After using all his living expenses to call a taxi, Chen Yu fell asleep in the car because the journey was so long.

He had a dream.

Perhaps it was because he had talked with Jiang Xinyue before falling asleep, but he strangely dreamed of her.

However, a shadow followed beside Jiang Xinyue!

That shadow was extremely strange. In the dream, Chen Yu somehow bit it.

In the end, he actually devoured it successfully.

And the notification said that it was a clone as well. The experience was added to the Time Ghost Eye, directly raising Chen Yu's Time Ghost Eye from level four to level five.

[Congratulations, your Time Ghost Eye has advanced to level five.]

[Anomaly Ability upgraded: You can now control the fast-forward and rewind speeds of the Time Ghost Eye.]

[A new Anomaly Ability has been added: Time Restart!]

[Time Restart Anomaly Ability description: You can create a save point at a moment you have experienced. When using Time Rewind, you may choose to rewind to the saved location.]

[Save point limit: Within 3 seconds!]

In other words, Chen Yu could create a save point three seconds earlier.

Three seconds later, he could use the rollback function again and return to three seconds later!

Previously, the Time Ghost Eye could revive him through time reversal, but only on the spot. If he encountered a special danger or ran out of mental energy, he might be unable to revive.

But if he created a save point beforehand and then rolled back, he could completely avoid any danger within those few seconds!

Three seconds.

For a person, it was neither a lot nor a little.

It was not much.

But it was not little, either.

Chen Yu believed that since the Time Ghost Eye could still level up, the number of seconds for saving and rolling back could increase in the future.

Just then.

The car jolted.

Chen Yu woke from his dream.

"Was that just a dream? Why did it feel so real?"

Chen Yu looked around in astonishment. He had not expected to fall asleep in the car.

And in his dream, he had encountered... something seemingly anomalous?

"But this... counts as an extra snack?"

"Not bad. I'll treat it as an afternoon tea dessert."

Just then.

[Buzz!]

The phone in his pocket suddenly began to vibrate.

He took it out and saw lines of scarlet text radiating an eerie aura appear on his phone.

[An unknown anomaly has just set its sights on you.]

[However, it has no intention of harming you. Instead, it carries a trace of goodwill.]

[There are actually anomalies with goodwill in this world? How astonishing!]

[Also, isn't it a bit too much to treat anomalies as afternoon tea desserts, my Old Baby?]

End of Chapter.