Bang!
He opened the door to his home.
His wife stood at the entrance, radiating the grace of a virtuous woman and devoted mother.
"Darling, you're back! Have you eaten? Would you like me to feed you?"
Fang Xiu, seemingly indifferent to his wife's sweet charm, acted as though he were a weary office worker returning home after a long shift, using his exhaustion as an excuse to avoid his duties.
He took a hot shower for himself and immediately lay down in bed, ready to sleep.
Though he said he was going to sleep, his mind was consumed with the study of his spiritual abilities. He was desperate to grow stronger, for only through strength could he uncover the secrets of Qingshan Mental Hospital, unravel the truth about anomalies, and take revenge on his wife, making the world's anomalies experience suffering.
That night, he researched for hours, but made little progress, for he knew almost nothing about his spiritual powers. All the information he had was passed down by Wang Zhiteng, who had learned it from his cousin. Therefore, only a few fragments of useful information had come his way.
Helpless, he fell into a deep sleep.
...
...
Green Vine City Investigation Bureau.
This was a department almost unknown to ordinary citizens. No one knew what its purpose was, nor where it was located.
Yet, this low-profile and secretive organization held great prestige within the realm of spiritual practitioners in Green Vine City.
For it was the special department charged with guarding anomalies and protecting the safety of the entire city.
The bureau was formally known as the Global Anomaly Event Joint Investigation, Strategic Defense, Offensive, and Logistics Support Bureau, abbreviated simply as the Investigation Bureau.
Headquarters of the Green Vine City Investigation Bureau, Conference Room.
A group of people sat around the conference table.
Among them were men and women, some in formal attire, others in casual clothing, and even some in peculiar outfits. Despite their differences, they shared one thing in common: they were all relatively young, in their twenties or thirties.
The oldest among them was probably the middle-aged man seated at the head of the table. Dressed in a black suit, his dignified demeanor spoke of authority, even without a word.
"We will now commence an emergency meeting," the middle-aged man said directly. "I'm sure you all know by now. Five hours ago, an anomaly appeared at Bai Liu Academy in the development district. Currently, the affected area is the sales office of Bai Liu Academy, and no signs of spreading have been detected."
The others reacted with varying expressions.
"Anomalies have been happening more frequently lately," one person said, with a serious expression.
"Heh, isn't that a good thing? For us spiritual practitioners, the more anomalies there are, the faster our powers grow."
"Hmph, don't be so boastful. Watch out, you might end up dying at the hands of an anomaly."
"You wanna fight?"
"Scared of you!"
The middle-aged man, Wang Dehai, looked at the bickering group, his face expressionless. Clearly, he had grown accustomed to the chaos of these people.
Wang Dehai was the head of the Green Vine City Investigation Bureau, but he was not a spiritual practitioner—he was an ordinary man.
Yet, this ordinary man was tasked with overseeing a group of spiritual practitioners.
This was common in most city investigation bureaus. Due to the high mortality rate among spiritual practitioners, most were assigned to combat roles, not management. No one wanted to waste the resources of a spiritual practitioner on mundane administrative tasks.
Furthermore, because spiritual practitioners were often affected by the malevolent powers of anomalies, many developed odd personalities, some even becoming violent.
For all these reasons, spiritual practitioners could not hold the position of bureau head. However, there were team leaders among the spiritual practitioners, who assisted the head in managing the bureau.
"Enough!" Wang Dehai slammed the table and shouted loudly, "Anyone who disregards meeting discipline again will have their spiritual material rations cut in half next month!"
In an instant, the room fell silent. Clearly, all the spiritual practitioners cared deeply about their spiritual materials.
As spiritual practitioners, with extraordinary physical abilities and capabilities beyond the norm, they could easily earn money, so their financial needs were not high.
However, spiritual materials were a necessity for them; they were tied to their very lives.
This was also a key factor in how the Investigation Bureau managed to retain such a large number of spiritual practitioners—after all, not many were willing to risk their lives without a significant incentive.
Seeing the room calm down, Wang Dehai collected himself and continued.
"Xiao Lin, bring up the surveillance footage from around Bai Liu Academy."
"Yes, Director Wang."
A young woman, dressed in a practical outfit with gold-rimmed glasses, swiftly began operating the computer. She projected the footage onto the screen in the conference room.
Everyone turned their attention to the screen, which displayed the surveillance footage around Bai Liu Academy. There was no footage from inside the academy.
To be precise, it wasn't that there was no footage—the internal cameras seemed to have been corrupted by some kind of anomalous force, causing them to malfunction.
The footage began to flicker.
It showed the main road leading to Bai Liu Academy.
The road was empty, save for the trees on either side swaying in the wind, making a rustling sound.
"Fast forward."
Secretary Xiao Lin quickly sped up the footage.
"Stop."
The footage froze, and began playing.
In the next moment, the air on the main road twisted, and two figures suddenly materialized out of nowhere.
It was Fang Xiu and Zhao Hao.
"These two are the survivors who made it out of the anomaly at Bai Liu Academy. The more attractive one is Fang Xiu, and the less fortunate-looking one is Zhao Hao. Both worked at the sales office of Bai Liu Academy. Xiao Lin, read their files."
Xiao Lin immediately opened a folder and began reading aloud.
"Fang Xiu, age 20, male, a local from Green Vine City, an orphan, graduated from..."
"Zhao Hao..."
"Upon investigation, their backgrounds appear ordinary. Before entering the Bai Liu Academy anomaly, they were likely just regular people."
"What do you think?" Wang Dehai asked the group.
A young man in a studded leather jacket scoffed. "If ordinary people can survive an anomaly, it probably isn't that dangerous. It's probably only a D-level anomaly. We could just send anyone to handle it."
"I don't think so," a man in a suit with gold-rimmed glasses retorted. "Look at Fang Xiu in the surveillance footage. He's far too calm. This is not the expression of an ordinary person who survived an anomaly—there's no joy of having survived, nor fear of the creatures. His calmness is abnormal.
If he was an ordinary person, he's likely a spiritual practitioner now, having awakened in the anomaly."
The young man in the studded leather jacket remained dismissive. "If a newly awakened spiritual practitioner can survive an anomaly, it probably only rates as a C-level danger. Someone with more experience should handle it."
"Never make judgments about an anomaly you've never encountered. Perhaps the danger level is much higher. These two might have only survived because of luck."
"A newly awakened spiritual practitioner surviving an anomaly? It can't be that dangerous..."
"Shut up!" Wang Dehai roared, glaring at the young man in the leather jacket.
He felt a headache coming on, wondering why he ever decided to consult this group.
With a sharp decision, he said, "Shen Lingxue, Li Wenhao, you two go check on Fang Xiu and Zhao Hao. Investigate whether they've become spiritual practitioners, assess their abilities, the degree of mental contamination, and whether we need to recruit them into the bureau. Also, evaluate the danger level of the Bai Liu Academy anomaly."
"Understood, Director Wang."
"Got it."