Chapter 597: Going to the Capital

"How's the situation?"

Suwan saw the operating room lights finally dim, and the first to emerge was a hurried doctor; she immediately rushed over to ask about the situation.

As the frontline liaison for Yang Yichen's squad, she was supposed to move around with the team, but now she waited anxiously outside the operating room.

The reason was simple: Yang Yichen had indeed run into trouble.

But it wasn't a mishap in the game; after returning to reality, Yang Yichen raced nonstop to a residential area near the Three Rings and dealt with an Aberrant Species.

That person might have been a newly recruited player who hadn't reported to the officials, and suddenly turned into a monster at home.

Such incidents aren't isolated; in the early hours of today, many players across regions suddenly became Aberrant Species, bringing disaster into this world, and the riots caused by the Mutations in the game seem to have affected reality as well.

These Aberrant Species formed by real‑world Mutations are many times stronger than the previous ones.

Frontline combat personnel of the officials, especially those who have mastered Aberrant Arts, are in severe shortage; under high‑intensity work, Yang Yichen still dragged his multi‑wounded body to eliminate all Aberrant Species, and was finally pushed into the operating room.

"The surgery was a success; these players already have self‑healing abilities higher than ordinary people, and Special Ability Practitioners even more so. Just rest for a while until the wound fully heals."

The doctor briefly explained the situation to Suwan, and Suwan saw Yang Yichen being pushed out of the hospital bed.

Because Special Ability Practitioners have a unique constitution, the anesthetic given to them is also increased, but after being pushed out, Yang Yichen quickly regained consciousness.

"How's the situation now?"

Upon waking, Yang Yichen's first action was to ask Suwan about the current state.

"So far, the discovered Aberrant Species have mostly been dealt with; one team over there has taken care of the majority, and the situation remains within official control."

"Only... because last night many Aberrant Species appeared outside official control, and with the so‑called 'freedom of speech' abroad, rumors are already flying everywhere online."

If the officials hadn't stepped in, the current situation would only be more chaotic.

The existence of those monsters hasn't been a secret for long; in the past few days, the officials may issue a more formal statement.

Suwan roughly relayed the situation to Yang Yichen, and after saying that, she paused briefly.

"Maybe when you return tomorrow, you won't need to hunt the Aberrant Species outside anymore."

Yang Yichen raised his head, a bit confused, and Suwan had no intention of keeping it hidden.

"The officials have made contact with a civilian player organization, which can provide a large number of Rune weapons specifically to deal with those Aberrant Species."

With this batch of weapons, as long as trained units are equipped, they will no longer be powerless against the formidable enemies.

After Mutations, those monsters emit a special energy wave that renders modern weapons ineffective, so they must either kill the monster before it fully mutates, or resort to Rune weapons that share the same worldview system.

"Is it reliable?"

Yang Yichen frowned. A civilian player organization? At that moment, the first thing he thought of was Entropy Increase, since they seemed to have some connection with Yang Yixie in the game.

But now the officials are cooperating with the Church, and with Space Law Special Ability Practitioners involved, the amount of Rune weapons that can be transported at once is quite limited; does that player organization perhaps have a powerful Spatial Special Ability Practitioner?

"It should be reliable."

Suwan nodded; although the name of this civilian player organization hasn't been announced, the weapons have already been physically obtained and confirmed usable.

As for whether it's the 'renowned' Entropy Increase... even if it is, the officials might still choose not to announce it.

Mainly it's the group's way of operating...

It's just too weird.

Although Entropy Increase enjoys a good reputation among players—saving players captured by the Dome and publishing the Dome's human experiment data—the 'sketch' performed by Xiren Sheng and another wanted criminal is still too...

Fortunately, Yang Yichen didn't probe further; he just glanced at his hospital gown and then asked.

"Where's my phone?"

He looked around in a circle but didn't see his phone anywhere.

Suwan quickly took out her bag; because she had been busy with work, she had kept it on silent the whole time.

When she handed the phone to Yang Yichen, it was only at 12% battery, but as soon as he pressed to light the screen, Yang Yichen froze completely.

Suwan couldn't discern the situation, and saw Yang Yichen hurriedly trying to get up, so she quickly pressed him back down.

"The doctor said you need to rest properly."

"No, I can't rest."

The young man, usually gentle, showed a hint of panic on his face, immediately bent down to put on his shoes, and on his phone screen, messages from two people suddenly popped up.

【Mom: Then work well, don't push yourself too hard, and pay attention to rest.】

【Mom: If you have time, give me a call to report you're safe.】

If his mother Zhiruo's message already made Yang Yichen feel uneasy, especially as if his secret had been exposed, then the next thing Yang Yixie would do is rush to Shoudu, press a knife to his neck, and force him to reply.

【Xiao Zuzong: The video call wasn't answered in time】

【Xiao Zuzong: Where are you?】

【Xiao Zuzong: Where are you?!】

【Xiao Zuzong: Where are you!!!】

【Xiao Zuzong: Yang Yichen! If you're alive, call Mom back immediately, don't force me to buy a ticket now and rush to Shoudu!】

Yang Yichen put on his shoes while calling his mother Zhiruo; he didn't dare to start a video call. Yang Yixie didn't know how to log into his account to reply to his mother, but in his current state, how could he possibly appear on camera.

Yang Yichen, while waiting for the call to connect, quickly said to Suwan:

"Sorry, I'll bring up the main matter a bit later."

Before Suwan could ask why, the call connected, and Yang Yichen immediately placed the phone to his ear.

"Hello, Mom?"

Yang Yichen spoke cautiously.

"Xiao Chen?" the voice came through the microphone, a bit distorted, "Have you finished your work? I saw you were in a meeting early this morning..."

"I'm almost done being busy, just some follow‑up work, but after finishing today, I can rest properly for a while."

Now that the officials have a source of weapons, their pressure has indeed lessened a lot.

"I see, then you still need to pay attention to rest, understand?"

Alright, once I get home I'm definitely going to knock him out cold.

Upon hearing Yang Yichen's inexplicably childish reply, Zhiruo let out a soft laugh on the other end of the phone.

By the way, Xiao Xie's college entrance exam scores are out—he got 648. I discussed it with him and decided to let him return to the capital to attend university.