Chapter 574: Influence, Shaping, Cognition

The investigator stared at the shocking 0.1%, unable to come to his senses for a long time, then he quickly scanned Zhang Shuo and Zhang Yan with lightning speed.

The infection value remained absurdly low.

Do you have anything on you that can shield against the contamination?

Among the three, only elder brother Zhang Shuo's mind worked the fastest.

Yes, our parents also belong to the Abnormal Bureau.

Then that's correct.

Hurry back, you have nothing to do here.

Zhang Jie ultimately did not go look at that bloody scene; along the way, the three of them no longer had the atmosphere they had just had.

Brother, what exactly is that thing?

A kind of anomaly, something that assimilates anyone who sees it.

Zhang Jie shivered all over; the young him felt for the first time the danger and malice of this world.

How did those investigators kill them?

I don't know.

Rules and rules, anomalies and anomalies—these things are still beyond their reach.

How could these things appear in the urban area, how could such an incident happen—no one can know.

Zhang Jie only knew that his mother had come to pick them up....

Night....

Late at night, with people quiet, the day's events had passed; cicadas intertwined, seeming to tell Zhang Jie that this world wasn't actually so terrifying.

At an age when Zhang Jie should have fallen asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, he now suffered insomnia.

His mind was in turmoil; he didn't know what he was thinking, nor what he should think about.

Those words "look at me" turned, at this moment, into the most terrifying echo, endlessly reverberating in Zhang Jie's mind.

Look at me? Look at me?

Zhang Jie:......

Look at me!!!

No matching.

Only then did Zhang Jie realize that, at some unknown time, that voice from his mind had descended into reality, right beside his window—those heart‑rending "look at me" utterances, like a death‑calling ghost, lingered without end.

Outside the drawn curtain, a figure suddenly appeared, twisting back and forth as if suffering from some illness, appearing to be in great pain.

Can't look! Can't look....

Zhang Jie covered himself with the blanket, forcing himself to stay calm.

But.... the sound of knocking on the window suddenly rang out, and the other party had no intention of letting him go.

The next moment.....

Zhang Jie jolted awake; the surroundings were utterly silent, with no sound at all.

His thoughts gradually returned, and Zhang Jie realized he had been dreaming.

But.... that thing still seemed very real.

This time, Zhang Jie truly suffered insomnia, until the next day's sunrise, when that frightening voice also ceased to sound.

Zhang Jie's heart was full of peace, and he finally drifted gently into sleep.

On the second day, as soon as you arrived in class you felt an unusual atmosphere—several classmates' seats were empty, and the others in the room kept discussing something.

Yesterday, not only did they encounter the anomaly, Zhang Jie glanced at his desk mate—a strangely cute little girl, somewhat socially awkward, but who liked to lean her arm on him during class.

Today.... she also didn't come....

I believe many classmates already know what happened yesterday; I feel deep sorrow about it.

The teacher knows that many of you are children of Abnormal Bureau staff, and you therefore know quite a bit about forbidden knowledge.

But I want to say that the ordinary class directly opposite our building yesterday.... had no survivors....

A cry of alarm rang out; the youngsters still didn't grasp how serious the impact of this incident was.

So the school decided to roll out the abnormal biology awareness curriculum indefinitely; from now on, you will also study this course, learning everything about anomalies.

Zhang Jie listened, unconsciously recalling yesterday, when after they returned, his mother and father had a heated argument.

But the disagreement wasn't about their misfortune; rather, Father decided to heed the investigators' summons and go to the source of this anomaly to investigate.

Meanwhile Mother thought Father was out of touch, pointing out that he was already the father of three children, and if he died the family would fall apart.

But Father only said two sentences.

The country and the people need me.

Besides, I believe in our children; even without my protection, they will still be the most outstanding.

Those words alone silenced Mother, but Zhang Jie didn't understand—what could be more important than his family, more important than his life?

He doesn't understand now, but he will someday.

E‑level contagious anomaly: painful distortion; it makes anyone who gazes upon it assimilate, becoming the same distorted beings. Its hallmark is continuously emitting identifiable speech and incessant writhing, with no attack power and no cure.

E‑level lethal anomaly: rainbow‑shaped; the main body looks like a rainbow, but its colors are flesh, fresh blood, venous blood, skin, and hair—five hues. It rapidly devours the bodies of those it touches, turning them into rainbows....

After one lesson, Zhang Jie had gained some understanding of these things, and compared to other kids he was among the calmest.

Some were so frightened that their contamination value spiked by 1% instantly, they began babbling on the spot and were rushed to hospital.

This world.... is very dangerous.

At age seven: similar to the previous incident, nothing like it happened again—or perhaps it did, you don't know—but overall, humanity's adaptability remains strong; after over a year, everyone's mood has returned to normal.

Your father also came to no harm; he returned and brought back a generous bonus.

Your mother wept with joy; the two of them were like dry tinder meeting flame, not emerging for a whole day, while lunch and dinner were both made by the elder brother—who knows whether after a while you'll gain more younger siblings.

And your sister has also returned to her demon pill form; within three days she'll be tearing off roof tiles, if she catches you up a tree she'll snatch bird eggs, if she catches you on the ground she'll blow up dung—in short, there's nothing she can't do.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the Ultimate Overseers also submitted an application for Containment Object No. 7, shining 【something】 onto that weird meat ball.

Love? Reformation? Resisting contamination? Shaping personality? Shaping cognition?

What the hell is this thing?

Looking at that meat egg that looked like an ice‑cream snowball, this Ultimate Overseer was simply speechless.

You want me to reform something like this? Are you serious, kid?

Judging by the results, we probably lost this bet.

So what do you suggest we do?

Try it; if it doesn't work.

Then destroy it.