Strange Dream

Back at the subway station, just as he'd expected, the subway line near the Twilight Chapel had been suspended. The anomaly was right above the area near that line. After such a fierce battle, how could the trains possibly keep running?

Zheng Yichen found a nearby hotel and checked in. This time, he didn't use the Fishing Rod as a disguise. He simply opened his palm. The skin there rippled slightly, and a Black Short Rod quickly took shape. Once it had formed, it wasn't directly attached to his hand.

He could let go of it. As long as he held it, even without being physically attached, it was an extension of his own "mouthpart"—the kind that could suck blood.

Throwing it away was like having a mosquito's mouthparts cut off, but it didn't affect Zheng Yichen much. The only loss was the energy spent shaping it, which he couldn't recover. The discarded mouthpart would also "degrade" in a short time.

He'd tested it before. Less than ten minutes after it was detached, its surface became pitted, as if weathered away. Once it disappeared, all that remained was a little fine powder.

He thrust the Black Gun in his hand into the skull. The steady Azure Flame began to flicker violently, then went out in a matter of seconds, like a candle being blown out.

Zheng Yichen casually twirled the Black Gun in his hand, feeling for any changes in himself... But there didn't seem to be anything obvious.

He clenched his fist. His strength hadn't visibly increased, and he couldn't tell if anything had changed mentally. He simply smashed the now-empty skull apart, stuffed the pieces into a bag, then washed up and went to bed. He woke feeling unusually refreshed.

He hadn't broken his routine at all, and didn't feel even a little groggy when he woke up.

"Not bad." He took out his phone and opened Longcheng News. The reports on last night's events had already wrapped up. They didn't say when the anomaly had disappeared or provide any related details. They simply stated that a serious abnormal incident had occurred in that area the night before.

But the incident had been resolved, and all the injured had received proper medical care, and so on and so forth...

What Zheng Yichen was wondering was whether Longcheng might discover something after collecting so many Undead Creature remains the previous night.

To be honest, the world he lived in had a fairly advanced level of technology and an overwhelming amount of information online. But the sudden appearance of an Undead Creature invasion had made everything feel fantastical. And there was clearly more than one kind of anomaly.

Zheng Yichen had encountered George's world before. He hadn't gone wandering around, but judging from the clothes George wore and the weapon at his waist, the level of technology there probably wasn't low either.

Compared with Longcheng, that world had half-beast people in addition to humans? By Longcheng's standards, a being like George would count as an Abnormal Creature, too.

After washing his face and stretching, Zheng Yichen left the hotel and returned to the site of the battle. The traces of the fighting hadn't been completely cleared away. The Construction Team was busy there, and anything that couldn't be repaired was being demolished.

Some of the damaged ground had already been repaved with concrete. Unless something unexpected happened, the area would be back in use within three to five days. Before long, everything would look as if nothing had ever happened.

There weren't many people at the Twilight Chapel that morning. Zheng Yichen could see a few Hunters sleeping in, while a handful of nuns tidied up the chapel. One nun noticed him, but unlike the day before, she didn't come over to ask if there was anything he wanted to know.

Zheng Yichen looked around but didn't see Hunter Arno. He found a place to sit and started eating the breakfast he'd brought.

There was also a large bag beside him, packed with snacks. He'd come prepared today. Afterward, he could try using the chapel's storage service for whatever he didn't finish, then go buy a gun at the Gun Store Lewis had recommended.

The day before, he'd seen some Hunters buying guns here. Some even had old-fashioned Flintlock Guns that looked like antiques, all fancy and ornate. Zheng Yichen had resisted the urge to buy one, keeping in mind what the bartender had told him.

Hunters could trade with each other, but when you were a beginner, it was better to trade for things that looked useful but weren't, rather than weapons that were supposed to guarantee your safety.

A proper Gun Store might not have any top-quality firearms, but at least you could be sure that everything they sold met the standards for use. Guns and other weapons bought from Hunters might be top-of-the-line, or even the best of the best.

But beginners weren't likely to get their hands on those. They were far more likely to end up with defective goods. Zheng Yichen wasn't about to test his judgment just for the thrill of it.

After breakfast, he browsed his phone for a while, and soon felt himself getting lazy and even a little drowsy. The main reason was that the Twilight Chapel's overall color scheme was so dusk-like. Even though it was morning, spending a little time there gave him the strange impression that it was already evening.

He didn't feel any sense of danger there, so he simply laid his head down on the long table and dozed off. Once he woke up, he planned to head straight to the Gun Store and buy a gun.

While he slept there, he felt caught between sleeping and waking. He vaguely sensed other nuns passing nearby, but they didn't seem to be any of the nuns from the Twilight Chapel. On top of that, he could hear other people talking.

They were probably Hunters, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. It wasn't that they were speaking unclearly. Their voices were overlapping in such numbers that they all blurred together.

He wanted to wake up, but he remained stuck in that half-asleep state. At first, it wasn't so bad, but after a while, it became unbearable.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" A gentle voice sounded beside Zheng Yichen's ear. The moment it did, the weight of that half-asleep state lifted from him. He sat up abruptly and saw a nun standing in front of him, dressed a little differently from the others at the Twilight Chapel.

Her eyes were the same dusky orange as the others', but her hair was a rare creamy white, setting her clearly apart from the other nuns.

"Thanks, I'm fine." Zheng Yichen shook his head. His head felt a little heavy, and he didn't pay much attention to the nun in front of him.

"Would you like me to examine you?"

"?" Zheng Yichen took a sip of water and looked at the nun in surprise. Hadn't Hunter Arno said that the nuns here kept people at arm's length and were hard to talk to about anything beyond the usual topics?

The nun's reaction made Zheng Yichen briefly wonder if he was handsome and charming after all. Why else would she have started a conversation with him?

"Doesn't this place only treat injuries?"

"That's true, but we can examine you as well," the nun explained. "Some Hunters are affected by the remnants of parasitic abnormalities. A physical examination is the only way to detect that."

So the problems caused by an Abnormal Creature's parasitism didn't count as an illness here? Even so, Zheng Yichen still felt reluctant about getting examined.

"The Twilight Chapel has treated people affected by abnormalities. You don't need to be so resistant."

The nun's voice remained gentle and unchanged. Still, Zheng Yichen felt that if he hesitated any longer, she wouldn't ask again. She'd simply leave.

"How much does it cost?"

"Just two hundred for a basic examination."

That was affordable. Maybe he should give it a try? It seemed she'd mainly figured out that he was an Abnormal Creature. Since arriving in this world, he'd only had one examination, back when he first received his local identity. It had been a very simple check.

At the time, his body hadn't begun to wither because of his abnormal ability. Once the signs of withering appeared, he'd become reluctant to get checked. It was impossible to say he wasn't curious whether anything about him had changed.

"Your mental state is overly active. You're prone to having abnormal dreams when you sleep," the nun told Zheng Yichen after the examination.

"What about my body?"

"Your body is healthy."

Zheng Yichen watched the nun finish examining him without even seeming to plan to give him a report. He pressed on, "How long will this condition last?"

"Within six hours."

After leaving the Examination Room in the chapel, Zheng Yichen returned to his previous seat. It had taken less than five minutes... Two hundred? Fine. As for his overly active mental state, he didn't have any clear sense of it himself, and he had no idea that it could cause him to have abnormal dreams.

He'd recovered from that strange dream, and didn't plan to catch up on sleep there to ease his fatigue. He left his snacks at the chapel's storage service and headed straight for the Gun Store Lewis had recommended.

The Gun Store was in the Upper City. He hadn't planned on going there so soon, since it would take a while to get there from the Twilight Chapel.

This time, the subway ride went smoothly. There was no heavy fog today, only the thin mist people were used to.

Looking at the dazzling array of firearms in the Gun Store Lewis had recommended, Zheng Yichen raised his eyebrows. Besides selling guns, the place also had a Gun Club.

Some of the people chatting about information there seemed to be Hunters. Their conversations mainly revolved around various abnormal incidents.

"Did Lewis send you? What kind of experience do you have with guns?" The Gun Store owner sized up Zheng Yichen's build. He was in good shape, so the owner could recommend some big guns. With scrawny young guys, it wasn't nearly as satisfying to recommend firearms.

The heavier ones were too much for those guys to handle.

"I'm thinking of getting a membership at the Shooting Range."

"...That's too much hassle. My club has a place to practice shooting, too. But if you're a Hunter, a few real fights will teach you what you need to know." The Gun Store owner folded his thick arms and continued, "Since you haven't used guns much, you should use this type. It's a good fit for a beginner like you."

The Gun Store owner recommended a large-bore shotgun to Zheng Yichen. He was sturdy enough to handle the weapon's recoil, or the owner wouldn't have recommended it. He would've just handed him a lady's pistol to practice with.

"For everyday use, go with Birdshot. Against an Abnormal Creature, switch to buckshot or slugs. Once you get better at shooting, Slugs are a good choice, too. And this!"

As he spoke, the Gun Store owner took out a handgun... a Hand Cannon.