Recaps

A newcomer watched logistics staff carefully tend to a sleeping Contract Anomalist and learned that he was the Execution Department’s secret trump card, Absolute Boundary. The newcomer returned to the lounge, while Xu Zhou came back to Headquarters with several newcomers after an easy mission.

• A logistics staff member found the sleeping man on the sofa and summoned colleagues, who brought him a pillow, blanket, hot water, and snacks.
• The newcomer watched as the logistics staff moved the man without waking him and wondered how powerful he must be to sleep so unguarded.
• The newcomer followed the logistics staff and learned that the sleeping man was a Contract Anomalist known as Absolute Boundary, a candidate for the Execution Department’s executor role.
• The newcomer returned to the lounge without learning more about Absolute Boundary.
• Xu Zhou returned to Headquarters with several newcomers after leading them on a low-level mission, and they praised his strength and asked him to teach them.

Xu Zhou sensed that Absolute Boundary was a powerful Contract Anomalist sleeping in the rest hall, and news of his return spread among the logistics staff. The next morning, Absolute Boundary went to the training room, where Wang Qing teased him about his laziness as the newcomers listened.

• Xu Zhou sensed that his Ghost Hand feared the person sleeping on the sofa and led the newcomers away from the hall.
• Logistics staff circulated news that The One, an Executor candidate called Absolute Boundary, had returned and was sleeping in the rest hall.
• Absolute Boundary woke after a long sleep, left the lobby, and headed to the training room after breakfast.
• Wang Qing found Absolute Boundary lounging by the training room wall and joked that Absolute Salted Fish suited him better.
• The newcomers overheard Wang Qing and Absolute Boundary talking and became curious about Absolute Boundary's name and reputation.

Absolute Boundary visited Headquarters to see the new recruits, and Wang Qing suspected his return meant Headquarters was preparing an operation. The recruits’ overheard conversation sparked exaggerated rumors of an attack on Headquarters, while Contract Anomalists discussed what the real operation might be.

• Wang Qing ordered the newcomers to train harder and told Absolute Boundary that rigorous training could save their lives on missions.
• Absolute Boundary said he had returned from traveling in other worlds and had come to look at the newly recruited Anomalists.
• Wang Qing suspected Headquarters was preparing an operation because Absolute Boundary had been called back, but Absolute Boundary gave no details and left to sleep.
• The newcomers overheard them, speculated about Headquarters making a move, and spread rumors that enemies were attacking or that the Association was preparing a counterattack.
• Zhang Lin explained in the group chat that the attack rumors had grown from the newcomers’ overheard conversation, while Yang Yu suggested Headquarters might indeed be planning an operation.
• Yang Yu pointed out that new recruits could now handle low-level missions and Dungeons, and asked what operation would justify recalling Anomalists who were on leave.

Shen Yu reorganized the Anomaly Containment Association by appointing senior personnel to manage its departments and clear the overwhelming backlog of documents. With the organization’s structure taking shape, he decided to target several high-level Horror Game Dungeons to build its foundations.

• Members of the group speculated that Headquarters was preparing a major operation, but Xu Zhou and Du Jiashi received no reply when they tried to ask Bai or Bai Zuo about it.
• Shen Yu left the Character Card to sleep and found himself facing a growing mountain of reports and approvals that he could not handle alone.
• Shen Yu appointed Yu Lingwei Director of Supervision, Huai Du as her deputy, and several associated characters of Wang Qing, Fu Zhang, and Absolute Boundary to senior and departmental posts.
• The newly appointed leaders began processing documents, rapidly shrinking the backlog and filling out the Anomaly Containment Association’s management structure.
• Shen Yu decided to make a move against several high-level Horror Game Dungeons to strengthen the organization’s foundations.

Shen Yu discovered that the branch office in Abang'er Country had sent an SOS after coming under attack, and the Black Wolf Squad was dispatched because most Contract Anomalists were away. The squad arrived through a damaged teleportation device and began searching the building for survivors, reaching the emergency stairwell as the chapter ended.

• Shen Yu saw that the base point station in Abang'er Country had turned red and confirmed that its branch office was under attack.
• Headquarters sent Moji and the Black Wolf Squad to respond because most Contract Anomalists were on missions.
• Tracy found that damaged external wires had left the teleportation device with only two uses remaining.
• Moji ordered the squad to prioritize employee safety and search the building for survivors.
• The Black Wolf Squad detected survivors on the third floor, avoided the elevators, and entered the emergency stairwell with guns raised.

The Black Wolf Squad found the Yi Gui Company branch office devastated and watched surveillance footage of an unseen aberration killing people on the first floor. They rescued fifty-nine survivors and began escorting them downstairs, where the stairwell lights flickered as Moji entered.

• Tracy accessed the branch office surveillance footage and showed the squad how a blood-covered man and the two guards at the entrance exploded into sprays of blood.
• The footage showed employees fleeing through the building before the people left on the first floor also burst apart.
• The Black Wolf Squad cautiously reached the third floor, where the life detector located survivors hiding in employee break rooms.
• Moji forced open a break-room door, and the survivors recognized the Association emblem on the squad's uniforms.
• The squad gathered fifty-nine survivors and escorted them down the emergency stairwell, where the overhead lights flickered as Moji entered.

Moji and the Black Wolf Squad discovered that the stairwell was trapped in a Ghost Domain and tried to force their way through it. Blood from the walls contaminated several employees, and the chapter ended as footsteps approached from the stairwell.

• Moji noticed a flickering light with no power, and Tracy confirmed that its bulb remained lit after she removed it.
• Tracy’s detector alarmed, and the bulb exploded, so Moji ordered the squad to destroy the overhead bulbs and continue down the stairs.
• Moji realized they had descended several floors without reaching the first floor and threw a supernatural grenade to attack the Ghost Domain.
• Blood began dripping from the walls and lamps, splashing the employees and leaving dark-red marks that spread across their skin.
• Moji moved the group into the corridor, warned them to avoid the blood, and checked the contaminated employees as footsteps sounded from the stairwell.

Bai Zuo led the Black Wolf Squad and the rescued employees out of Yigui Branch, bringing along a suspicious man he had captured. The man guided them to a nearby building where the people behind the attack were waiting, and they mistook him for their returning scout.

• The Black Wolf Squad prepared to fight the figure approaching the stairwell until Moji recognized Bai Zuo.
• Bai Zuo introduced a suspicious, seemingly controlled man and led the squad and employees through the bloodied building.
• Bai Zuo noticed signs of a pulse in the walls and said he would take the group to watch a good show.
• The suspicious man’s twisted bones snapped back into place, and he led everyone out through the emergency exit.
• The conspirators monitoring Yigui Branch discussed their plan to lure the Weird inside and waited for their scout to return.
• The suspicious man entered the conspirators’ building, and they greeted him as the scout they had sent out.

A group who had lured a demon into a company tried to leave, but Xikuma—whose body the demon controlled—warned them that it was coming. The group became trapped in an endless stairwell as the demon pursued them.

• The leader learned that the demon had entered the company and ordered his group to withdraw after confirming the mission was complete.
• Xikuma blocked the exit and told the leader that the demon was there, while the others mistook his behavior for a dispute over the mission or payment.
• Xikuma remembered how the demon had tortured him, learned the group's secrets, and taken control of his body, leaving him trapped in agony.
• The group suddenly appeared on the fourth floor, and the leader realized the demon had targeted them and ordered everyone to run.
• The group fled down the stairs but could not reach the first floor, and the increasingly burdened leader fell behind as his underlings ran on.

Xikuma, controlled by the demon, choked Boss unconscious before the fleeing men realized they were still trapped on the fourth-floor stairwell. The monster began killing them, and Boss woke to see one of his men explode.

• Xikuma clung to Boss and accused him of getting Xikuma killed, frightening Boss into fainting.
• The fleeing men caught up with Xikuma and Boss, then realized they had been running in circles on the fourth floor.
• The stairwell lights flickered, and one man screamed that the monster was coming before running upstairs and falling back down dead.
• Another man began bleeding, exploded in front of the others, and splattered them with blood.
• Boss woke to the screams and saw one of his underlings explode into mangled flesh.

Bai Zuo and the Black Wolf Squad uncovered that the Hyena Organization had lured a Green Face Weird to attack the Yi Gui Company branch office, likely at the behest of commercial rivals. After ordering the employees moved to safety, Bai Zuo contained the Weird while the squad considered taking surviving attackers back to Headquarters for questioning.

• Moji and Tracy identified the attackers as members of the Hyena Organization and discussed how they had been hired to lure anomalies to the branch office.
• Moji realized that without Bai Zuo's investigation, the security personnel might have mistaken the attack for an ordinary anomalous incident.
• Tracy found that the branch office's success in the high-end market had badly hurt competing companies, giving them a possible motive for the attack.
• Moji suggested leaving some attackers alive and taking them to Headquarters for questioning, and Bai Zuo ordered the ordinary employees escorted to safety.
• Bai Zuo contained the Green Face Weird that the attackers had lured to the branch office.

The Logistics Department learned that Bai Zuo had uncovered Hyena's role in the attack on Yi Gui Company and prepared for the fallout. Bai Zuo questioned Hyena's boss, who claimed the group had taken the job for a huge payment but insisted he did not know who hired them.

• The Black Wolf Squad reported that Bai Zuo had discovered Hyena's people behind the base station attack, prompting the Logistics Department to warn its staff to prepare for trouble.
• Du Qiu and the logistics staff recognized Hyena as a ruthless organization and feared that its clash with Bai Zuo could lead to extensive cleanup work.
• Du Qiu expected the Anomaly Containment Association to retaliate against Hyena and worried that Bai Zuo might lose control and harm others.
• Bai Zuo questioned Hyena's boss, who said the group had accepted an online job with a twenty-million deposit and a three-hundred-million reward.
• Bai Zuo challenged the boss's claim that he did not know Yi Gui Company, pointing out that its power and backing were widely known.

The boss explained how he had used homeless people to lure a Green Face-class weird entity into Yi Gui Company for a bounty, and Bai Zuo tortured him to learn who had hired him. The employer refused to meet and threatened the boss, leaving Bai Zuo to decide what message to send next.

• The boss confessed that he had recruited homeless people as bait and directed them to Yi Gui Company, believing the company could not fight the weird entity.
• Bai Zuo cut the boss and demanded the employer’s identity, but the boss said he had received the bounty anonymously through Hyena’s internal network.
• Bai Zuo ordered the boss to contact the employer and arrange a meeting in exchange for the reward.
• The employer demanded photos and videos as proof, then promised to transfer the reward and refused to meet, warning the boss not to meddle.
• Bai Zuo leaned closer and began telling the boss what to say next.

Bai Zuo forced the boss to arrange a meeting for a transaction, then used Heart Gu to take control of him. The boss discovered his body was moving like a puppet as Xikuma dragged himself toward Bai Zuo.

• The boss sent Bai Zuo's dictated message and arranged to meet the other party at seven that night in K City.
• Bai Zuo brought out Heart Gu, and the boss praised the spider to win his favor.
• Bai Zuo ordered Heart Gu to get better acquainted with the boss, and it burrowed into his forehead and spun silk around his brain.
• The boss lost control of his body and saw Bai Zuo snap his fingers.
• Xikuma dragged his twisted body over to Bai Zuo like a puppet.

Bai Zuo left the Yigui Branch with Xikuma and the Boss, while logistics personnel sealed off the area and began recovering the remains. As they drove, local teenagers boxed in and insulted their car, and Bai Zuo ordered the Boss to chase them.

• The Boss's body followed Xikuma under someone else's control as Bai Zuo left with his two human tools.
• Logistics personnel sealed off the area, evacuated bystanders with a warning about a viral leak, and began cleaning the Yigui Branch and recovering the remains.
• Logistics personnel discussed the many deaths among Hyena's people and noted that those behind the bounty had not yet been found.
• The Boss drove with Xikuma in the passenger seat and Bai Zuo sprawled across the back seat playing a ranked match.
• A group of teenagers boxed in the Boss's car, insulted its occupants, and drove away when they received no reaction.
• Bai Zuo told the Boss to chase them, and the Boss's foot pressed down on the accelerator.

Bai Zuo pursued a gang of reckless street racers, survived their crash, and ignored his Supervisor’s calls until he won his game. Meanwhile, a hooded person in K City discussed buying confidential information about Yi Gui Company from a low-ranking Hyena member.

• Bai Zuo drove after the street racers as they blocked the road and taunted him, then several cars crashed while trying to evade him and an oncoming truck.
• Bai Zuo ignored Ji Wu’s calls during a game, eventually won after scoring a pentakill, and then spoke with his Supervisor about a mission at the branch office.
• Ji Wu demanded Bai Zuo’s location and said he was coming over, while the boss and Xikuma hoped he would rein in Bai Zuo.
• In K City, a hooded person questioned an associate about a Hyena member offering to sell confidential Yi Gui Company documents, and the associate said the seller might not know the company’s true identity.

Taren met with Hyena’s people to obtain information he believed came from a Headquarters logistics manager. During the exchange, he learned the documents contained a method for contracting Weird, leaving him stunned.

• Taren ended a call with associates who refused to join his risky plan and went to meet Hyena’s people.
• Taren reviewed the bloodstained employee ID and believed The One had been a Logistics Department manager at Headquarters.
• Taren watched three Hyena members enter a private room at Yate Building and sent a subordinate to meet their leader.
• The boss offered the subordinate a page from the documents, and the subordinate exclaimed that it described a method for contracting Weird.
• Taren knocked over his coffee and panted in shock after hearing what the documents contained.

Taren discovered that the documents described an Anomaly-Taming Art and became determined to obtain the full material and capture its owner. While Taren’s men stalled the boss with negotiations, they agreed on a price of ten billion, with five billion to be paid first.

• Taren and his subordinate realized the documents described an Anomaly-Taming Art rather than the Anomaly Containment Association’s method of contracting anomalies.
• Taren concluded the art had reached the Anomaly Containment Association after it destroyed the Anomaly Tamers, then decided to seize the information and its owner.
• Taren summoned more men and had his subordinate delay the boss while negotiating a purchase.
• The subordinate offered five billion in cash or ten billion by bank transfer, and the boss accepted ten billion with five billion paid upfront.
• The subordinate requested the boss’s account number and called to arrange the first transfer.

Bai Zuo used Heart Gu to control the boss and Xikuma while their real consciousnesses watched helplessly, letting Taren's subordinate believe the transaction was proceeding normally. As Taren waited for reinforcements and boasted about taking the Anomaly-Taming Art, Heart Gu's spider clone reached him and left him unable to move.

• Bai Zuo sent a Heart Gu spider clone toward the building where Taren was watching the transaction.
• The boss stalled Taren's subordinate with expensive food and wine while Bai Zuo's puppets gave him information.
• The boss and Xikuma realized their bodies were controlled, while Taren's subordinate believed he had successfully extracted intelligence.
• Taren told his subordinate to keep stalling until his reinforcements arrived, then laughed about claiming the Anomaly-Taming Art.
• A spider crawled toward Taren, and he became unable to move as it leaped onto his face.

Taren was trapped in his own body after a Weird spider crawled into his brain and took control of him. Using Taren’s voice, it contacted Buzewall and offered information about the Anomaly-Taming Art, leaving Buzewall scrambling to raise the money before the sellers withdrew.

• A spider paralyzed Taren, crawled into his skull, and trapped his consciousness while taking control of his body.
• The spider used Taren’s communicator to call Buzewall and claimed to have discovered the Anomaly-Taming Art.
• Taren explained that Hyena’s people held the information and demanded two billion, while he could only gather five hundred million.
• Buzewall agreed to find one and a half billion and asked how long Taren could delay Hyena’s people.
• Taren said they had at most ten minutes, and Buzewall set out to gather the money.

Bai Zuo used Taren to obtain fifteen billion from Buzewall in exchange for a sample of the Anomaly-Taming Art, then turned Taren’s armed ambush into a trap with his Ghost Domain. As spiders immobilized everyone in the building, Ji Wu arrived in K City and told Bai Zuo to wait for him.

• Bai Zuo sent Buzewall a partial photo of the Anomaly-Taming Art, and Buzewall transferred fifteen billion to Taren.
• Bai Zuo planned to put the money into the Anomaly Containment Association’s Sales Department for additional investment quota.
• Bai Zuo’s spider took control of Taren’s subordinate, who led Taren’s armed forces to the building and directed them toward Private Room Three.
• Bai Zuo’s Ghost Domain froze everyone in the building as spiders spread webs across the walls and ceiling.
• Ji Wu called Bai Zuo from K City and told him to stop and wait until he arrived.

Bai Zuo used Heart Gu to erase ordinary witnesses’ memories and incapacitate the armed troops, then learned that Headquarters had expanded the mission to expose everyone involved in the attack on Yi Gui Company’s branch. He and Ji Wu set out to find the people behind the scheme, while Bai Zuo reflected that human malice could strengthen Heart Gu.

• Bai Zuo stopped his psychic power, and the ordinary people forgot the Ghost Domain while Heart Gu burrowed into the armed troops.
• Ji Wu arrived at Yate Building and found the civilians unharmed, then followed the Heart Gu-afflicted troops to Bai Zuo in Private Room No. 3.
• Ji Wu told Bai Zuo that news of the attack on Yi Gui Company’s branch had spread online and that Headquarters wanted everyone involved exposed.
• Bai Zuo said his investigation had caught only disposable scapegoats, while the more influential people remained hidden.
• Bai Zuo summoned Heart Gu, remarked that human malice was no weaker than Weird, and left with Ji Wu to find the Chairman.

Bai Zuo and Ji Wu used Taren and Buzewall to uncover clues about the people targeting the Anomaly Containment Association, while public discussion of the attack on the Yigui Branch turned against Contract Anomalists. The investigation’s findings were sent to the Association’s elders as rumors spread online about Yigui Company’s success and its ties to Contract Anomalists.

• Buzewall grew anxious after transferring the money, then flew to meet Taren when Taren said their transaction was complete and the Anomaly-Taming Art was too valuable to upload online.
• Bai Zuo used Heart Gu to search a subordinate’s memories and learned that hidden figures relied on Taren and Buzewall to relay messages and handle their affairs.
• Ji Wu suggested reporting the investigation to the Association’s elders so they could decide how to deal with the people targeting the Association.
• Buzewall arrived and came under Heart Gu’s control, giving Bai Zuo more clues that he and Taren were expendable agents for people who could replace them at any time.
• Ji Wu compiled the intelligence and sent a report upward as online discussion blamed Contract Anomalists for failing to protect the Yigui Branch and questioned Yigui Company’s rapid growth.

Ji Wu and Bai Zuo saw online rumors blaming the Contract Anomalists for the deaths at Yi Gui Company, while Bai Zuo argued that suppressing the comments would not solve the problem. They went to meet Third Elder Canna Lily, who teased Bai Zuo upon arrival.

• Ji Wu read paid trolls’ accusations against the Contract Anomalists and said the critics were also after their special weapons and Contract Anomaly Arts.
• Bai Zuo refused to suppress the comments, saying they would persist unless the people behind them were dealt with.
• Ji Wu received word that an elder was coming and took Bai Zuo to the helipad to meet her.
• Canna Lily jumped from her helicopter, greeted Ji Wu, and teased Bai Zuo by pinching his cheek.
• Bai Zuo pulled away from Canna Lily’s hand.

Ji Wu brought Bai Zuo and Canna Lily to confront Taren and Buzewall, where Canna Lily tested the Heart Gu's control and confirmed she could not break it herself. After Bai Zuo released the two men, Canna Lily faced them with a pointed question about why they had opposed the Contract Anomalists.

• Ji Wu ushered Canna Lily away from Bai Zuo and drove her to meet Taren and Buzewall.
• Canna Lily tested her ability on Taren and Buzewall and found the Heart Gu's mental control too strong for her to undo.
• Ji Wu worried that the Elders' Council might try to strip Bai Zuo of the Heart Gu, while Bai Zuo ignored his warnings and played a game.
• Canna Lily asked Bai Zuo to release Taren and Buzewall, and he let them regain control of their bodies.
• Taren and Buzewall begged for mercy, and Canna Lily asked why they had dared to oppose the Contract Anomalists.