At the abandoned shrine, the surface of the cocoon turned from white to beige. The color continued to deepen until it had the same shade of brown as a scarred wound. After the discoloration stopped, a few minutes later, the cocoon suddenly cracked open. Thousands of pieces, the size of a fingernail, fell to the ground. The brown pieces were very dry, and they peeled off in a strangely orderly manner. None of them stuck to the man who was inside the cocoon.
This level three Anomaly had the appearance of a man in his thirties. He had a face with soft lines, medium length hair, and a rather studious appearance. He was wearing a newbie’s outfit.
After he stepped out of the cocoon, he moved his neck around with a blank expression. He was missing a right arm, and where the arm should be was a very clean stump. There was no flesh or bone protruding out of the stump; it was smooth cut surface that was glowing softly. Upon closer inspection, one could discern the isolated data moving on the surface.
“Tsk… It’s still the same,” the man grumbled rather annoyedly. He walked to the corner of the room and picked up the can from the ground. When his right hand entered the scenario, it was unable to be converted into a physical form from data form like the rest of his being. So, every time, he had to find his arm and reattach it back to his body after his body materialized.
There was a narrow pocket of space above the can, not dissimilar to a player’s inventory. But after the arm came through it, the space disappeared. This Anomaly’s right arm appeared to be luggage that he could not carry with him. Whenever he entered a new scenario, it would have to squeeze through the crack in space in its real form.
After he picked the arm out from the can, he connected it to his shoulder. When the two shining surfaces connected, the area around the right side of the Anomaly’s body started to distort. With any physical collision, the wall on that side of his body started to cave before the surface danced in the motion of a wave.
After the connection was completed, he tried to wave it around, and then, he looked like at his right arm and sighed. “This has happened so many times… but the time needed to convert and assimilate the data hasn’t even decreased by a second…”
He could sense the location of the arm when it was missing and instantly knew how long the body needed to readjust to the missing limb after the arm was connected.
To put it simply, this level three Anomaly needed some time before he regained his full strength. Currently, the arm looked like it was growing out of his body, and he still was not unable to apply it to its full strength.
“So painful.”
“So harsh…”
“Save me…”
Suddenly, a wave of groans appeared in the Anomaly’s ears. He frowned slightly and looked toward the voices’ source. The floor of the place was already filled with scary souls that were covered in blood.
The souls phased through the ground and the wall, like people sinking in deadly swamp. Some of them had only their heads showing, while others had half of their bodies poking through the ground. Their dirty hair was tattered over their faces that were as pale as paper. Their eyes were hollow. There were no pupils, and their mouths gaped weakly. They extended their hands, looking like they were trying to drag any other victims down into the depths with them…
The souls’ murmuring was not that loud; it sounded more like a pained victim crying out for help. However, that was why it sounded so scary…
The floor of the building was filled with so many of these souls that the Anomaly barely had a spot to place his feet. Soon, the souls reached out to pull him. A few hands grabbed his ankles, and some others struggled upward to pull on his shirt.
“The boss of this scenario is one proficient in illusions…” His eyes lit up as a small glow appeared in his pupils. “Humph… that’s quite cunning.”
The next second, he bent his knees slightly and made a bouncing motion. This jump that appeared not that purposeful allowed him to escape the grasp of the souls. He leaped while turning half a circle in the air before landing on the roof beam.
A gray Specter was hiding on the roof. This monster was similar to the one encountered by Feng Bujue. Before it could land an attack, the Anomaly used his left hand to demolish the monster with one hit.
A level three Anomaly could use a world-building different from the players to study the world of the scenario. They could convert the sight in their eyes into a half-data, half-reality state and sense things with a certain range. Therefore, illusion would not work on them; they were far less powerful than threats with actual strength and speed.
“This is strange… The level four hasn’t dealt with the boss?” As he thought, he lifted his feet. The tip of his feet poked through the roof easily. The shrine’s roof crumbled, and a powerful force created a large hole, one that was large enough for a man to easily fit through.
After leaping onto the roof, he was greeted by a blurry moon. Of course, for Anomalies, light was nothing more than a set of data. Even inside the dark shrine, he could see everything very clearly.
In the yard of the shrine, there was an old well. At that moment, by the rim of the mouth sat the head of the level four Anomaly.
“What kind of joke is this?” he mumbled to himself before leaping over. He soared through the air before landing firmly on his two feet. Walking to the head, as if he knew the head could still converse with him, he said, “What happened?”
“I… went… to the… other world…” The head spoke like a broken wireless radio.
Even though a level four Anomaly was the weakest among the ranks, theoretically speaking, it should be stronger than a scenario’ boss. Although not all scenarios were welcoming to Anomalies, like an Anomaly would never show up at the Pi Li World. So, it was correct to say that this situation was anomalous.
“My data… is… completely… destroyed…” He was unable to finish a complete sentence. “It placed… me… here… to… you…”
At that point, a creepy ghost claw reached out from inside the well and dragged the head down into it.
It was the first time that the level three Anomaly had encountered something like that. He initiated a series of logical analysis. First, he checked the players and GMs’ location; they were still on the way up the mountain, so obviously, this had nothing to do with them. Then, he tried to establish a data-level communication with the boss. The trademark of a level three Anomaly was that they could enslave certain bosses with low intelligence. That was why X-23 had managed to order Ashford’s mutant. However, this Anomaly failed.
“If you still don’t understand my intention, I will explain it to you in person.” Suddenly, a thick and far-sounding voice came out from the well. “I placed his head there to give you a clear warning. Do not try to make an enemy out of me.”
