Su Jin walked over and looked at the empty space in front of the cold storage. Compared to the rest of the Cold Chain Park, where zombies were visible everywhere, this area was unnaturally clean.
Where there is an anomaly, there must be a demon.
Su Jin hesitated for a moment, then grabbed a headless zombie and threw it toward the open space.
The next moment, everyone’s eyes widened.
As soon as the zombie landed, it was immediately wrapped and enveloped by a sudden growth of small vines. Within moments, the headless corpse had completely undergone plant-transformation. A massive, blood-green vine appeared in the air, swallowed the plant-ized zombie in one gulp, and then vanished.
Su Jin couldn’t help but exclaim in shock, “It’s an anomaly!”
Jiang Chuan asked curiously, “What is an ‘anomaly’?”
Su Jin looked at the empty ground in front of the warehouse, a sense of dread growing in her heart. She took a few steps back before saying:
“It’s normal that you haven’t heard of anomalies, as we only learned about them recently, and they are quite rare.”
“We don’t have much knowledge about anomalies yet, but in general, they are non-human monsters, roughly categorized into a few types.”
“First are Rule-type anomalies. They can establish rules within their territory; once those rules are triggered, you die.”
“Second are Mental-type anomalies. They attack a person’s consciousness and emotions, amplifying fear, creating illusions, and some can even read minds or charm people.”
“Another type is the Devour-type anomaly. Taking the name literally, they can devour objects. I don’t know if they gain other abilities after evolving, as I said, we don’t know much about them. This vine belongs to the Devour-type.”
“The last type I know of is Artifact-type anomalies, such as dolls or mirrors.”
Su Jin finished and summarized: “In short, anomalies are more dangerous, troublesome, and harder to deal with than zombies and mutants. Ordinary attacks are useless against them. According to the data we’ve received from the base so far, anomalies can only be suppressed and purified; they cannot be killed.”
“At the very least, no one has been able to do it yet.”
Now she understood why the area in front of the warehouse was so clean—no zombies dared to come near. Other ability users might have come here in the past, but those people had likely already died at the hands of this anomaly.
Jiang Chuan silently digested this information. “Vice Team Leader Su, how did you come to know all this?”
Speaking of this, Su Jin showed a hint of pride. “Naturally, from the data obtained by the base. Our base is the strongest among the six major ones, so we naturally have access to more information.”
With that, Su Jin looked at Chao Xun with a serious expression. “Miss Chu, you heard what I just said. Anomalies are extremely formidable, and our physical attacks are basically useless against them. Moreover, I suspect this vine anomaly is at least S-class. We are no match for it; we should leave.”
In the face of everyone’s lives, the supplies in the three warehouses had to be painfully abandoned.
Chao Xun was currently recalling the massive blood-green vine she had just seen, a spark of excitement in her eyes. It looks not too bad, has some skill. It was barely worthy of becoming her little pet.
Hearing Su Jin’s words, Chao Xun asked: “What are the ranks of anomalies? Is S-class considered high?”
Su Jin replied: “Anomaly ranks start at S, then A, B, and C. There might be SS or SSS classes above S, but the most powerful one we have ever encountered was S-class.”
Fearing that Chao Xun was a newborn calf unafraid of a tiger, thinking she could pit her dual-element abilities against an S-class vine anomaly, she emphasized again: “Miss Chu, anomalies are truly different from zombies. Trust me, let’s evacuate now. As for the supplies inside, we will give them up.”
Chao Xun shook her head, a look of interest on her face. “No, I am quite interested in this vine anomaly.”
In her view, this so-called ‘anomaly’ was nothing more than a spirit-beast from the Immortal Spirit Continent. As long as one’s divine soul was strong enough, one could form a contract.
Su Jin frowned, thinking about how best to persuade this young miss. “Miss Chu, if Team Leader Lou were still here, he would also want you to leave. Escorting you safely back to the base is our mission; don’t let him or the Commander-in-Chief worry about you.”
“Only a powerful mental-type ability user can suppress an anomaly. Although we have one in our team, his rank is too low to suppress this one. If something happens to you in a moment, I fear we won’t be able to save you in time.”
Lou Lihan, currently floating in the air, also furrowed his brows. He could sense that this anomaly was extremely dangerous. Even when he was alive, he would not have been a match for it. Even if Xiao Xun had dual abilities, she couldn’t win against this.
“Xiao Xun, get away!” he shouted anxiously, yet no one could hear him.
Qilin, held by Chao Xun, sensed her excitement and became energetic as well. With a “meow,” it jumped off her and ran toward the open ground in front of the warehouse.
As soon as Qilin’s paws stepped in, numerous small vines appeared, attempting to wrap around it.
At that moment, Chao Xun sensed an energy fluctuation. The main body of that blood-green vine was about to manifest. Numerous earthen walls appeared beneath Qilin’s feet, helping it avoid the small vines. A second later, the blood-green vine appeared in the air, opening a gaping maw toward it.
Chao Xun moved. Before Su Jin and the others could react, her body soared into the air and appeared directly in front of the vine. Her fingers moved rapidly, weaving seals, and she cast a Divine Soul Imprint.
Contract established!
This blood-green vine anomaly became her spirit pet at that very moment.
Jiang Chuan’s expression changed drastically. He was about to rush forward to save her, but his jaw dropped the next second. He watched as the massive blood-green vine shrank rapidly, wrapping itself obediently around Chao Xun’s wrist.
“Xi—Sister Xun!” He wanted to kneel before her! This is too awesome!
Qilin meowed proudly and jumped onto Chao Xun’s shoulder.
Chao Xun toyed with the vine on her wrist, thought for a moment, and said: “From today on, your name shall be Qing Teng (Green Vine).”
The vine bent its leaves as if nodding.
Chao Xun curled her lips, feeling satisfied with this.
Jiang Chuan ran over, face full of excitement. “Sister Xun, what just happened? How did you suddenly fly like that? And this vine anomaly, why is it so obedient in front of you? You are too amazing!”
Sob sob sob, why was he, Jiang Chuan, so lucky? He actually had the fortune to follow such a true powerhouse like Sister Xun. Every time he thought Sister Xun was already formidable enough, he would be shocked by her power all over again.
Su Jin and the others watched the scene in disbelief, still seemingly digesting what they had just seen.
“Miss Chu, how did you do that? I have never seen anyone who could tame an anomaly.”
Chao Xun raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Well, you’ve seen it now. It is my pet, Qing Teng. From now on, it’s one of us.”