Chapter 294: 290 The Witch

Unknowingly, spring had departed and autumn had arrived three times over. Fang Mu, as a heavily mentally Abnormal-polluted individual under supervision and a temporary worker for the Xuanmi Group, had spent three years safe and sound within An Fang's action squad.

For these three years, Fang Mu had been adapting to his own out-of-control sensory abilities every single day.

If one cannot resist and cannot control, then one can only adapt.

One still cannot underestimate the human capacity for habituation; although it was painful at the start, even if Fang Mu could not say he was now numb to the pain or unable to feel it, at the very least, he was already able to withstand the pressure most of the time.

At the same time, he had mastered his own unique method of ingestion. Since he could not taste flavors, he simply would not taste them; he would just gulp them down directly. Both meat and vegetables were blended into liquid food. Like this, he no longer needed to savor the texture of any food—he couldn't taste it anyway—and he ate many small meals to ensure he would not starve to death.

Despite this, Fang Mu had still thinned into a bamboo-pole-like figure. His frame was gaunt, and looking across a crowd, he was an extremely conspicuous outlier.

After living with An Fang's action squad for a long time, Fang Mu had not displayed any aggression; on the contrary, he was peaceful most of the time. Everyone slowly let go of their excessive wariness toward him. Although everyone still held a final line of defense in their hearts, as long as Fang Mu did not touch that boundary, the attitude most people held toward him now was actually no different from that toward a regular teammate.

Most of the time, Fang Mu was not permitted to leave the territory of the Xuanmi Group branch where he was stationed. Only when accompanying An Fang, and only after An Fang had applied and reported in advance and it had passed through layers of approval, could he go outside the branch, but he was limited to staying by An Fang's side.

This day was one of Fang Mu's rare times going out. He and An Fang's squad were going to investigate a case involving multiple mysterious disappearances of children in a certain place.

Fang Mu noticed that the squad members' expressions were serious and earnest, no longer showing the bit of self-comforting ease they usually could. He realized that something major might have happened.

However, Fang Mu had already grown accustomed to a style of conduct where he did not take the initiative to ask about anything. He just sat quietly in his seat, frantically drinking functional beverages, one can after another.

He was always hungry, yet he could never eat any food. While drinking these functional beverages could not fully maintain his daily intake, they could at least help a little.

On the road as the vehicle drove, An Fang, who was sitting next to him, suddenly spoke: "Among the children who disappeared this time, there is my niece."

"Oh." Upon hearing this, Fang Mu nodded. There was some surprise in his eyes, but other than that, there were no other emotions; it was incredibly flat.

Although An Fang knew that Fang Mu's mental state was abnormal and that the abnormal events that had occurred to him in the past had greatly reduced his empathy as a human being, seeing Fang Mu's reaction be so indifferent still made her feel annoyed and disappointed.

"So, in order to find my relative, I will do everything in my power, and I hope you can help as well," An Fang said to Fang Mu.

Just as her voice fell, Fang Mu immediately stated: "I will." He stared into An Fang's eyes, and although there was still not much emotion on his face, his tone and attitude were firm.

An Fang pinched the bridge of her nose. Even after spending three years with Fang Mu, she still could not understand him.

Arriving at the city where the incident occurred, Fang Mu followed An Fang's squad to visit relevant personnel and departments, which included the family members of those missing children.

"Little Fang, I really beg you, please, you must find Little Qin... She is still so small..." A pair of parents grabbed An Fang's hands, one on each side. One was sobbing uncontrollably, and the other was suppressing their own agitated emotions to bitterly plead with the younger sister who claimed to be an "Enforcer," their speech even becoming somewhat incoherent.

Fang Mu stood with his back to them, sitting in a corner, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible, wanting to become air.

This pair of parents, who were about the same age as An Fang and even younger than his own current appearance, were his father-in-law and mother-in-law.

Toward An Qin and her parents, Fang Mu had only ever felt indebtedness. Although for them, that tragic ending had not yet occurred, he truly had no face to face them.

Facing them, he felt only guilt and shame.

"Brother, Sister-in-law, I will definitely do my utmost," An Fang said solemnly to the couple before her.

The couple kept saying thank you, and then one by one they pleaded with and thanked every Xuanmi Group member present who was disguised as an Enforcer, and soon they walked over to Fang Mu's side.

Fang Mu could no longer pretend. He slowly turned around, but he kept his head low and did not look at their faces.

The couple did not mind; they only grabbed Fang Mu's cold, withered hands and made their plea once more: "Please, help us."

"... She will come back safely, I swear." Fang Mu hesitated for a moment, but still spoke to comfort them.

Upon hearing this, the couple seemed to find stability in their hearts; their emotions actually slowly calmed down, and they tearfully thanked him earnestly once again.

Soon, the investigation into the disappearance case had a lead.

The investigation results... or rather, the more likely deductive results, made everyone heave a sigh of relief. An Fang whispered to herself: "Thank goodness it's not that bunch of damned rats. If it's just a witch, then that's fine."

A witch does not refer to the old evil hag with magic powers in fairy tales; it is a type of Abnormal creature that truly exists. To be precise, the image of the witch in fairy tales is actually an image beautified from the actual "witch."

Yes, even though the witch in fairy tales is still described as very ugly, in reality, it is already dozens of times more beautiful than their true appearance.

Legend has it that humans who continuously consume only human corpses will slowly transform into a type of Abnormal creature. That type of Abnormal creature is now called a "Corpse Thrall." These Corpse Thralls shed their human form, becoming terrifying, beast-like, ugly, and detestable monsters. They fear sunlight, like to live underground, and most become crazed and savage due to an excessive obsession with human flesh. Only a small portion or sufficiently old Corpse Thralls can slowly recover enough intelligence to converse with humans.

Among them, that type of Corpse Thrall whose intelligence is not inferior to humans and who has studied sorcery, witchcraft, and magical texts, because they are mostly female Corpse Thralls, is thus named a witch.

Witches like to snatch children. Their purpose is not singular; it could be for food, it could be to perform some evil magic, and it is also heard that they kidnap children to cultivate them into new witches.

The danger of a witch is self-evident, but as Corpse Thralls are one of the few Abnormal creatures that humans can be confident in dealing with head-on, the danger of a witch, compared to other existences that are copper-skinned and iron-boned or regenerate endlessly, does indeed appear "less dangerous."

"You shouldn't have sworn that to my brother and sister-in-law earlier. Did you never think that you might break your word? If that happens, both sides will be the ones in pain," An Fang said, her psychological pressure having lessened, and she began to bring up other topics to divert her attention.

Fang Mu revealed an ugly smile: "I will not break my word. I am willing to, for them... I mean, the promise I made, I am willing to lay down my life for it."