Chapter 663: Anomalies Among the Chaos
by xennovelWhat on earth is happening?
Meanwhile, in the underground base’s meeting room, everyone stared at the wall-mounted screen and murmured in disbelief.
The screen displayed not only various surveillance feeds but also an instantly updating graph.
On it, colored blocks in different hues slowly spread from various coordinate centers, much like colored balls thrown into a clear pond, rapidly tainting the water.
One side of the screen even showed calculations for the pollution radiation.
It currently read 70%, and the value kept climbing.
Yet, inexplicably, shortly after the overall pollution began, these steadily expanding blocks became erratic—their spread slowed, lost its regular pattern, and some even rapidly contracted.
At the same time, several mysterious green dots started appearing beside each altered block.
These green dots generated a different type of radiation that disrupted the overall process.
Despite reaching a 70% progress, the radiation level suddenly dropped to around 63%.
Immediately, the system auto-selected these anomalous feeds, enlarging them one by one on the screen. Detailed scenes from the corresponding locations flashed before the eyes of everyone in the meeting room, and the bizarre images evoked an indescribable strangeness—some even leaped up in shocked disbelief.
……
……
Scene 1: Flame City Western Diocese
A preacher standing on the red-cloth podium in the middle of the plaza was hoarse, with blue veins standing out on his neck, shouting slogans at the top of his lungs. Around him, groups of kneeling followers pounded their chests in rhythm.
Detector simulations even revealed rings of mental power radiating from him.
Yet the followers themselves were also exuding strange surges of mental power, countering his force.
The two pressures would occasionally collide and annihilate each other.
Caught between these forces, the believers alternated between fanatic zeal and utter confusion, as if trapped in a dilemma where every choice seemed equally good—their thoughts a chaotic mess.
It was as if the preacher was unleashing a tidal wave around him.
But that surge was halted by an invisible barrier.
……
……
From Flame City’s higher-ups, all eyes sharply turned toward the Hell Designer.
Non-ability users couldn’t grasp the significance, and even ordinary ability users were at a loss.
“Whisperer…”
The Hell Designer examined the screen carefully and remarked, “We deployed the orator; his talent for stirring the emotions of those around him makes him a natural under the spotlight. Among these meddling elements, there must be a Whisperer—a person with the capacity to subtly incite dark thoughts and alter others’ feelings without a sound.”
“But astonishingly, this Whisperer managed to incite so many people at once…”
“…Not a bad display of strength.”
After a brief pause, he commanded, “Dispatch the Mystery Investigation Department. Use detection instruments to flush him out.”
“Where the Whisperer’s influence spreads, his main body must be hidden.”
“…”
The secretary immediately jotted down his orders.
Scene 2: Flame City Broadcast Hall
Earlier prepared to put on a ‘performance’ for the whole city, the superstar had instead been found dying on stage, his figure grotesquely twisted in agony. In his place, a dancer in a red dress appeared—her face obscured, only her graceful movements visible. All the security personnel and the broadcast crew foolishly danced along with her.
Simultaneously, the pollution transmitted via the TV screen halted entirely and then rebounded.
About 7% of the drop in mental radiation was triggered by her.
“Dancer-type…”
The Hell Designer sighed softly as he observed, “Normally, dancer-types are among the most fragile ability users, barely able to handle more than five armed personnel on their own. Yet this one managed to break into our broadcast hall…”
“Looking for death?”
“Dispatch two squads from the Special Emergency Unit over. Blanket the area with heavy fire; casualties don’t matter.”
“…”
The secretary quickly recorded the orders.
Scene 3: A Street Somewhere
A chaotic crowd, like a tidal wave, surged from the other end of the street. Everyone appeared deranged—they clung to walls and the ground, their eyes bloodshot. Though their voices were absent from the footage, their howls were evident as they rushed through the street, lunging and biting anyone in their path. After a bite, the victim was promptly dropped.
Those bitten, after a moment of disorientation, would awkwardly rise and join the biting horde.
Their numbers were increasing geometrically, quickly overwhelming an entire city district.
Faintly visible among them was a convertible Jeep with a blonde, one-eyed girl sitting atop it.
“Zombie-type?”
Even the Hell Designer was taken aback; his body stiffened as he commented, “This is a very rare ability—turning individuals under one’s influence into copies with the same mental framework. In simple terms, they become secondary Pollution Sources that strictly follow orders, spreading the same type of contamination…”
“If conditions permit, he could even turn the entire city into wasteland madmen…”
“…”
The secretary beside him suddenly looked up, a trace of alarm in her eyes.
“Mark her as a priority…”
The Hell Designer said little more, his voice low as he ordered, “She should be easy to track, because our surveillance shows them in various forms. However, when encountered face-to-face, they all appear as complete replicas of a person.”
“So…”
After a brief pause, he continued, “Deploy the Day Church team. Use their parasitic devices to disrupt the clock.”
Scene 4: A Street on the East Side
This location wasn’t even decorated like Flame City. The footage revealed a brawl—a group of fighters, with ten on one side and a lone individual on the other. Most striking was that solitary figure, relentlessly beating everyone else.
He appeared slight and fragile, as if a gust could knock him down, yet the scene showed something bizarre—a light punch sent an opponent tumbling, rolling dozens of meters before stopping. After a hearty laugh, onlookers clutched their heads in pain.
Even more startling, a group of around thirty or forty frenzied followers charged into the scene, seemingly intent on grabbing them. But that skinny, monkey-like man simply turned and punched them, sending the group sprawling simultaneously…
This scene was so surreal, it felt like a silent comedy.
Everyone exchanged puzzled looks: “What is this?”
The Hell Designer’s face grew steadily stern as he murmured, “Mark this one too.”
“But avoid getting too close to him…”
“…”
“What?”
Those around him wore expressions of confusion, unable to decipher what was happening.
“Madman-type.”
In a low voice, the Hell Designer explained, “This person suffers from delusions, believing himself to be a supremely powerful superhero.”
“The kind who thinks a single punch could shatter the moon…”
“…”
Even amid the gravity of the situation, someone nearly burst into laughter, “And yet you don’t find that terrifying?”
“It sounds almost harmless…”
The Hell Designer shot him a disapproving glance and said gravely, “But he not only influences himself—anyone within a certain range will also start believing he’s a superhuman. So when he punches you, it might physically feel like a light tap, but mentally, it’s as if you’ve been hit by a speeding train…”
“And you still find him amusing?”
“…”
An eerie silence fell over the group.
The Hell Designer sighed deeply, “Spider, Puppet, Wish, Madman—these are the most dangerous in close combat.”
“And among these, the Madman-type is universally recognized as the strongest.”
“But…”
He paused, a cold smile creeping back onto his face, “These ability users are almost helpless against long-range attacks. Dispatch a sniper unit—just one long-range bullet can end his life. And of course,” he added after another pause, instructing the secretary, “remember, it must be a one-shot kill. Once he gets close, it’s over…”
“…”
Scene 5: Downtown Street
A man in a tuxedo, wielding a violin, frantically drew the strings as sweat dampened his forehead. Nearly a hundred ecstatic women clustered around him, cheering wildly. Their mental state was clearly abnormal; they were on the verge of reaching the optimal level of mental radiation, yet somehow that final step always eluded them.
His violin playing grew faster and louder, but he couldn’t push their mental state any further.
It seemed that some unseen entity was relentlessly devouring his mental power.
At first glance, no one appeared to be there. However, when specialized cameras switched to a mental radiation detection mode and stuttered at a high frequency, a hidden figure could be seen amid the intertwined sea of mental power—a figure lurking on the second floor of a nearby building, brandishing a suona and gleefully playing.
The Hell Designer offered no comment; everyone understood this mode.
The secretary immediately dispatched the Emergency Unit.
Scene 6: Nuclear Power Station in the City Center
This scene showed nothing but a solitary tank charging into the power station, unleashing a hail of gunfire.
“Whizz…”
The Hell Designer froze in astonishment while watching.
He was even at a loss for words.
But no explanation was needed as everyone understood the gravity of the scene.
After a brief moment of shock, everyone leaped up, shouting, “Quick! Send someone to stop it!”
“Has he gone mad?”
“Does he intend to go down with us all?”