Chapter 576: The Source of the City's Anomaly

The eerily bizarre sound accompanied by a grinning corpse, Zhang Jie felt his thoughts collapse with just a glance; he barely had time to warn Zhang Yan before he raised an even more bizarre smile.

"No.... no! Little Jie!"

Zhang Yan tightly shut her eyes, hugged her head and crouched on the ground, the last scene she saw replaying over and over in her mind.

"Look at me! Look at me, big sis~"

"Why... won't you open your eyes?"

It was Zhang Jie's voice....

"Don't... don't do this!"

Everything happened too fast, leaving no time to react; Zhang Yan didn't know what to do, nor what she could do, she could only pray that this was a nightmare.

But... how could that be? She clearly saw Zhang Jie had already seen that anomaly; she watched his body begin to twist eerily, while she could only crouch, head in hands, like a coward.

The contamination level was rising....

Zhang Yan felt her thoughts beginning to grow chaotic... her body going numb....

"Will I die too...."

The noisy, sharp sounds around her were fading; she could no longer tell whether Zhang Jie's voice was among them.

Her consciousness was sinking... then it surged back up quickly!

Zhang Yan snapped her eyes open, her thoughts gathering; what met her gaze was a pristine white ceiling.

"What happened?"

She rubbed her eyes, sat up, her head feeling dazed.

Those earlier scenes began to rush back like a tide—the anomaly, Zhang Jie's shout, the last glimpse of his distorted figure....

"Little Yan! You've finally woken up!"

She stepped into a warm embrace—it was her mother.

"I thought you..."

"Mom! Where's Zhang Jie! Where did Zhang Jie go!"

Saying that, the other's face, which had been bright with surprise and excitement, suddenly faded, replaced by deep sorrow.

"He... he... is still in a coma."

"Where!"

"......"

"The ICU..."

"No good, the contamination level won't drop; it's already spiked to 20%."

"Cut the talk! Save him!"

Zhang Jie's eyes were tightly shut, lying on the hospital bed, his expression pained, but his body had stopped twitching.

By his bedside hung something resembling an oil lamp, its warm flame burning, constantly dispelling the black gas continually welling up from Zhang Jie's body.

That was a Soul Lamp, capable of guiding people through highly contaminated areas, dispelling bodily contamination, and also usable as emergency equipment to lower contamination.

And the Soul Lamp's fuel is not electricity, not lamp oil, but...... the soul of an investigator.

"Turn up the setting."

"No, Teacher! If you do that you'll...."

"Ignite!"

The Soul Fire's flames began to burn brightly, flickering uneasily, as if foretelling someone's death.

"Contamination level stabilized!"

"Inject Compound 77!"

"Sedative!"

Various medicines were continuously injected into Zhang Jie's body; the situation finally began to stabilize, though only on the surface.

The Soul Lamp was snuffed out, as if keeping it lit another second would cause trouble, but clearly the investigator didn't care.

"Phew, now he'll live two years less."

"Teacher, why would you... you're practically about to retire...."

"Look at the long term; this child is worth it."

He pointed at the real-time contamination monitor, his face grave.

"Look at his contamination level; since being stabilized it's been steadily dropping."

"And don't forget, he became like this because of what he came into contact with."

In this world, ordinary people are the most fragile; contacting an anomaly, even the lowest‑grade one, means certain death.

Interestingly, Zhang Jie not only made contact, he directly violated the taboo, yet the result was merely that he went mad for a short while.

Because when you see that agonizingly twisted anomaly, your contamination level is already maxed out; aside from the Anomaly Bureau personnel, no one can cope with them.

Even the Anomaly Bureau staff cannot stare directly at it, let alone a child.

"Could it be...."

"He's a zero‑contamination individual; saving him is tantamount to saving countless others."

"Moreover, this little guy's father is my adopted son."

"???"

Meanwhile, Zhang Yan had pretty much figured out the whole story; what she saw was real, Zhang Jie faced the anomaly head‑on, she became entangled, all of it true.

And just as she was about to be contaminated, Zhang Shu noticed the commotion here, donned his custom holographic glasses, and came to slaughter those ordinary people infected by the anomaly.

Yet when facing the twitching Zhang Jie, the eldest son of the household ultimately couldn't bring himself to strike; he merely restrained him, awaiting rescue.

Fortunately, Zhang Jie finally calmed down; only the contamination on his body kept climbing, and he has now been sent to the emergency room.

Brother, you're already... an investigator?

Well, I guess so—I'm a border patrol officer.

Dad had always high hopes for Zhang Shuo, constantly taking him to train his will and his skills, and he lived up to expectations; at the age of fifteen, about to turn sixteen, he became a field operative of the Abnormal Bureau.

This is my fault; you came looking for me, and I failed to protect you.

Zhang Yan shook her head. Arguing about who's right or wrong is something that can never be settled; she just wants to know if her brother is okay.

And.... how the hell did these damned things appear!!!!

Brother..... the authorities said the city is the safest place, right! Why... why did those things appear so easily!

Zhang Shuo fell silent for a moment, exchanged a glance with his mother, then sighed.

Xiao Yan, this world isn't as safe as you imagine, you know—where do those anomalies come from?

They aren't anomalies that came out of the forbidden zone, nor are they some overlooked, unprocessed anomalies; they're people, just like us.

Some people inherently have contamination values, and when those values reach a certain level, they invert into anomalies—that's what you're seeing.

Zhang Yan:...

The origin of this accident actually came from a parent who was picking up a student; he.... was overwhelmed by life's pressures.

Contamination values are important, but what happens when they blow up—something the authorities have never said, and dare not say.

Originally, controlling contamination is a difficult matter; emotion and will are the biggest factors.

If it were made public, human civilization would probably....

Come quick! Xiao Jie's out of the emergency room!

Dad's voice came from outside; the three paused, then all walked out together, while Zhang Yan, barefoot, stumbled as she ran out.