Different Paths, Same Destination; Same Destination by Different Paths

After Bai Zuo finished taking care of everything.

Shen Yu had Bai Zuo walk some distance farther, until they reached a place without surveillance cameras, before he recalled the Character Card.

Shen Yu himself was still huddled in a corner. Looking at Zhang Lin lying unconscious outside, he began thinking about what to do next. This was the only person whose memory he hadn't erased using Bai Zuo's ability.

After all, someone had to spread the word about Bai Zuo's existence. If no one ever learned that the organization existed, where would he get Construction Points?

As for why Bai Zuo hadn't erased Zhang Lin's memories, perhaps he could make use of his Adaptive constitution.

Adaptive meant that certain people had a strong ability to resist contamination by the anomalous. After being contaminated, they gained even greater strength than others. People with this constitution were called Adaptives.

Perhaps others saw contaminated Adaptives as an even greater threat, but Bai Zuo's ability was Mind Control.

Bai Zuo needed powerful "puppets" like him.

So he'd left Zhang Lin's memories intact, hoping to make better use of this tool in the future.

Thinking it over, Shen Yu felt this was quite in character for Bai Zuo. It was exactly the sort of thing he would do!

Great! That settled it!

Shen Yu shifted position, decisively lay down on the ground, and "fainted."

He didn't forget to ask the system in his mind.

"System, does this count as containing an anomaly?"

"Ding! System scanning... Congratulations, host. You have successfully contained an anomaly. First-time anomaly containment: +10,000 Construction Points!"

"Congratulations, host. You have successfully contained a Wandering Soul-level anomaly: +1,000 Construction Points!"

"Construction Points balance: 1,000."

"First-time anomaly containment comes with a reward, too? That's a pleasant surprise." Shen Yu was overjoyed. His ten-thousand-point debt was wiped out, and he was free of debt at last.

"System, why didn't I get any Construction Points for playing Bai Zuo?"

"Host, to obtain Construction Points, you must first establish an organization, flesh out its structure and mission, and establish the concept of the organization. Then you must gain the public's awareness and acceptance of the organization you founded."

"Establish an organization!"

So that was how it worked! When Shen Yu had played the role of Bai Zuo, he'd made the idea of an organization vague, giving people the impression that there might—or might not—be an organization behind him.

More importantly, everything had happened so suddenly that he hadn't had time to think things through.

Since he hadn't even made the organization's existence clear, naturally he couldn't gain other people's recognition of it.

"Let me think. A containment organization's mission would probably be to contain anomalies. Its guiding principle would be that, to fight dangerous entities like the anomalous that defy common sense, we must use every possible means to achieve containment and protect humanity."

"Different Paths, Same Destination; Same Destination by Different Paths!"

"Then let's call it the Aberration Containment Association!"

"Congratulations, host. You have established the concept of an organization and successfully founded the Aberration Containment Association. You have received one Ten-Million-Level Company Acquisition Voucher."

With his eyes closed, Shen Yu opened the voucher the system had given him and read its description.

Ten-Million-Level Company Acquisition Voucher: Allows you to acquire, unconditionally, a company with a market value of ten million.

It was a pretty good reward. A free company was not to be sniffed at, and he needed one to serve as a cover for his plans anyway.

He hadn't been lying down long when—

Someone passing by finally noticed the people lying all over the place. After a scream, others soon came running over.

He vaguely heard someone calling emergency services and the police.

More than a dozen ambulances arrived and took everyone lying on the ground to the hospital for emergency treatment.

After receiving treatment, the passengers gradually woke up.

The officers and doctors questioned them, but their memories were hazy. They only remembered taking the bus to work, shop for groceries, or go to school. The driver had suddenly fallen ill along the way, and after that, they remembered nothing.

The passengers had suffered fractures and broken bones to varying degrees.

Judging by the scene, it looked more like the driver had suddenly fallen ill while driving, lost control of the vehicle, and caused the bus to crash.

Fortunately, none of the passengers were in life-threatening condition after receiving treatment.

The most seriously injured was Patrol Officer Zhang Lin, who had helped stop the bus.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

The shrill sound of a hospital monitor rang in Zhang Lin's ears.

He felt as if he'd been walking through darkness for a long time, following the sound until he saw a small light ahead. He walked toward it, and when he emerged into the light, his eyes opened.

A white ceiling came into view.

The equipment around him made Zhang Lin realize that he was lying in a hospital room.

He tried to sit up, but his whole body ached. It felt like he'd overexerted himself and then been beaten up. He couldn't move at all!

Just then, his colleague Sun Xin walked in. Seeing that Zhang Lin was awake, he excitedly ran out to call for a doctor. "Zhang Lin, you're awake? Doctor! Doctor! Zhang Lin's come around!"

Several doctors filed in and examined Zhang Lin with their instruments. "The patient is stable. Now that he's conscious, he should recover soon."

Sun Xin said, "That's great!"

"I..." Zhang Lin started to speak, but his voice was so hoarse that even he was startled.

Sun Xin quickly poured him a cup of warm water, put in a straw, and held it to his lips. "Here, drink some water first."

Zhang Lin drank the whole cup in one go. Once his throat felt less dry, he hurriedly asked:

"Brother Sun, are the passengers all right?"

"One of them was pretty badly hurt. The rest only have external injuries. They'll be discharged after a few months."

"What about the driver?"

"He was in the crash and still hasn't woken up. You were unconscious for a whole day, too. If you hadn't woken up, we would've thought you'd become a vegetable."

"Wait, a crash?"

"Yeah! The driver suddenly fell ill, causing bus 104 to crash. You were injured while saving the passengers. Once you're discharged, you'll definitely get a Second-Class Merit!"

How could that be!

Zhang Lin tried to sit up in agitation, but the movement pulled at his wounds. Grimacing in pain, he lay back down.

Sun Xin quickly held him down. "Hey! Don't move around. Lie still! The doctor said you can't move yet."

"Brother Sun! What happened with the crash? Why don't I remember it? And wasn't my arm bitten? How could I have been hit?"

"You were wearing a padded coat and your uniform. With all those layers, how could anyone have bitten you that deeply? The doctors said it looked like a tear. You were probably scraped by some part of the bus."

Watching Zhang Lin's shocked, disbelieving expression, Sun Xin suddenly remembered what the doctor had said. "Oh, right. The doctor also said you have a mild concussion. It's normal for your memories to get a little mixed up. Don't overthink it. Rest up and get better soon."