The System Arrived Four Years Early, but the Anomaly Is Still a Juvenile
Chapter 64

At that moment, everyone present—including Shen Ge—shared the same thought:

“Great discovery. Now please never make another one again.”

If this guy kept tinkering like this, the SCD was bound to trigger a high-tier aberration incident sooner or later!

In the past, even one aberration incident per year was considered frequent, leaving few corpses for researchers to experiment with. But since Shen Ge joined the SCD, he’d brought in three aberration corpses in just one week, giving the Tech Division plenty of material to work with.

To push the limits of the Rat aberration’s regenerative abilities, Li Xiang had requested cross-research on multiple aberration corpses. The moment he got his hands on the octopus aberration’s blood, he’d rushed to conduct experiments.

And before that? He’d tried feeding the Cat aberration’s corpse to the Rat.

Li Xiang played the lab recordings from the past few days, revealing how the Rat had ballooned from the size of a house cat to that of a full-grown leopard in such a short time.

“My research shows that aberrations consume life force primarily to convert it into ‘anomalous energy,’ accelerating their own mutation,” Li Xiang explained. “Aberrations don’t just feed on humans—they prey on each other. Compared to the meager energy gained from eating people, devouring their own kind speeds up their evolution exponentially.”

“Before consuming the Cat aberration, the Rat was less than half a meter long (excluding its tail). After feeding on the Cat’s corpse, its body rapidly grew to 1.5 meters, with anomalous energy levels surging past 200% to 273%—the threshold for a Tier 2 aberration. In other words, the Rat has evolved.”

Before he could finish, Deng Yuqi massaged her temples and cut in: “Stop. Just stop thinking, Li Xiang. The Tech Division’s purpose is to develop anomalous equipment to help our agents combat aberrations—not to accelerate their evolution.”

“But cultivating a high-tier aberration means high-tier equipment, doesn’t it?” Li Xiang argued.

“In theory, yes. But we need to walk before we run,” Deng Yuqi countered. “Our branch currently has two pieces of anomalous gear. Let’s focus on quantity before chasing quality.”

“…Fine.” Li Xiang reluctantly nodded, shelving his plans to feed the Rat the Car and Brain aberrations’ remains.

Still, the discovery that “aberrations evolve faster by consuming each other” was alarming. If an outbreak occurred, flooding the streets with aberrations…

A chill ran down Shen Ge’s spine. So this is how the Invisible at Tom’s Mall grew into a colossal Tier 7 aberration in just four years.

The “survival of the fittest” among aberrations meant that as their numbers surged, it would only take one dominant predator to escalate into a catastrophe.

Deng Yuqi clearly realized the implications too, ordering Li Xiang to draft a detailed report on “accelerated aberration evolution” for headquarters.

…..

After leaving the Tech Division, Deng Yuqi turned to Shen Ge. “You needed me for something?”

“Yeah.”

“My office.”

“Sure.”

Once inside, Deng Yuqi first commended Shen Ge’s quick thinking and leadership during the recent operation. Then, she gently urged him to “consider the bigger picture”—to weigh national interests when handling future incidents.

Shen Ge shrugged. “I’ll save people, no problem. But asking me to sacrifice myself—or someone I know—for entitled idiots who act like it’s my duty to die for them? Hard pass.”

On his first day at the SCD, he’d genuinely tried to fit in. But the more he bonded with his colleagues, the more he questioned: Were their lives worth trading for strangers who’d never appreciate it?

Shen Ge lacked a soldier’s mindset. He didn’t grasp that “protecting civilians” was an unwavering creed—not a cost-benefit analysis.

This fundamental disconnect made assimilation impossible. Deng Yuqi sighed, recognizing the deadlock.

A person’s values are shaped by experience. She burned with curiosity about Shen Ge’s three years at Rongshan Psychiatric Hospital—what horrors had left him so detached from life itself? But the records had vanished in a fire, leaving her with no answers.

Knowing persuasion was futile for now, she changed the subject. “You said you had business. What is it?”

Leaning back with a casual smile, Shen Ge asked, “So… my test results came back yet?”

“Test results?” Deng Yuqi feigned ignorance.

“Come on, I’m not stupid. Eight vials of blood, nail clippings, hair samples—you think I’ve never had a physical?”

“We detected traces of the same anomalous energy in every incident tied to you,” she admitted, sliding a file across the desk. “We had to rule out infection or hidden anomalous gear.”

Shen Ge skimmed the report. As expected, both the hospital and Tech Division concluded the same thing:

Perfectly healthy. No traces of aberrations or anomalous energy. Just a slightly weak constitution.

“Huh. Guess I’m in better shape than I thought… Oh, by the way—at my clearance level, can I access the SCD’s past operation archives?”

“Yes. Ask Assistant Zhang to pull them for you.”

“What about files on human experimentation with aberrations?”

Deng Yuqi’s expression tightened. “No. Those are sealed by headquarters. All human trials are banned—access requires central authorization.”

“Fair enough.” Shen Ge returned the file and left to retrieve the operational archives.

…..

At the Operations Division, Feng Chengxiu and the team greeted him like an old friend—until Feng slung an arm around his neck with a grin that didn’t reach his eyes.

“Quite the show you put on yesterday, rookie. Leadership material, eh?”

“All thanks to the team’s cooperation,” Shen Ge replied smoothly, recognizing the setup.

“Since you’ve been training a while now…” Feng cracked his knuckles. “Time to test your combat skills. How about a friendly spar?”

A while? It’s been one day.

“Uh, Instructor Feng, maybe I should stick to basics—”

“Nonsense. Let’s see what you’ve got.” Feng dropped into a stance.

Friendly? Hardly.

This was a duel—one that might just end in a body bag.