They say I'm a world-destroying anomaly.

Chapter 7 Emergency Meeting

Inside the dark ellipsoidal space, cool white neutral light diffused down from the dome.

At the center of the space was a suspended, deep ring of dark energy, within which flowed starlight resembling a miniature Milky Way. Information flowed, summoned, or vanished within the ring like water.

Twelve suspended seats are evenly arranged around the ring, each seat containing a figure.

This is the confidential conference room of the Anomaly Management Bureau, located in a spacetime fold in some corner of the universe, existing as an independent dimensional bubble. Attendees arrive here via holographic projection.

"I will now chair an emergency response meeting."

One of the figures stood up, his voice sounding slightly old and tired; it was Ke Bo, the director of the Chengmingxing branch.

Within the dark energy ring in front of each seat, a vortex appeared and quickly rose, converging into a virtual screen dotted with mottled light spots.

Half of the attendees were high-ranking officials from the Chengmingxing Branch, and the other half were representatives from the General Administration. Hu Zhou, Fu Chen, Wen Mu, and others were all present.

Some people were solemn and focused, while others looked puzzled. Clearly, this meeting had not been announced in advance and was convened hastily.

What happened?

"S-009, namely the suspected terminal anomaly [Cheng Xu], completed his first field mission at 1:37 PM today and returned to Chengmingxing Branch."

At 1:58 p.m., Cheng Xu returned to his office and had a verbal exchange with Hu Zhou and others before starting to write an action report.

"At 3:47 PM, the action report was completed and sent to Hu Zhou for review."

The twelve virtual screens displayed a timeline, allowing attendees to clearly see Cheng Xu's movements and the full text of his action report.

Hu Zhou keenly noticed that Fu Chen and Wen Mu, who were sitting next to him, changed their expressions. Even though the holographic projection had been blurred to some extent, he could still see their chests heaving violently.

Why? Is there something wrong with this timeline and report?

Hu Zhou's doubts resurfaced, and Kober's voice rang out again.

As he narrated, another parallel timeline appeared on the virtual screen.

"After Cheng Xu returned to the branch office, Fu Chen was responsible for handing over and storing the abnormality he brought back."

"At 2:41 p.m., the temporary containment and detection procedures for the anomaly were approved, and the anomaly was temporarily contained in containment room 1116 in containment zone D."

"At 3:41 p.m., no abnormal phenomena were observed within one hour after the temporary containment of the anomaly."

"At 3:46 p.m., Wen Mu, director of the branch's anomaly research center, arrived at the containment room and met with Fu Chen to prepare for in-depth testing."

Hu Zhou's gaze suddenly shifted to Fu and Wen, recalling the change in their expressions just now.

"What did those two see? The timing is close to the report submission deadline. Could it be related to Cheng Xu's report?"

Kopper paused for a few seconds before continuing his story.

"One minute later, at 3:47 PM, Fu Chen, Wen Mu, and two researchers witnessed a high-dimensional spacetime turbulence in containment chamber 1116 of Zone D, accompanied by deep space distortion, which lasted for about three minutes."

These words were like a bombshell dropped in the conference room.

"How could spacetime turbulence occur within the containment zone?!"

"The timing is exactly the same, don't tell me it was caused by that terminal anomaly."

"What happened to the anomaly he brought back? How is it? Was it destroyed by the spatial distortion?"

In an instant, the conference room was filled with astonished questions and speculations.

As one of the department heads who spoke at the beginning said, there was a spacetime turbulence in the containment zone. Each word of that sentence was understandable, but when put together, it sounded a bit too niche.

Kober remained silent, quietly observing the chaotic scene.

He only spoke again when the noise subsided and all eyes were on him.

"There is no doubt about its authenticity. The relevant departments of the branch office have detected this small-scale spatiotemporal turbulence and are currently verifying various parameters. Everyone will be able to see the report tomorrow."

"As for whether this matter is related to Cheng Xu, and the current status of that security-level anomaly, please let Captain Fu Chen explain it to us next."

Given that Wen Mu's verbal expression ability was close to zero, Kober chose to let Fu Chen, who had personally experienced and participated in the entire event, narrate the story.

Fu Chen nodded and stood up.

"Everyone, Director Wen and I witnessed that spacetime turbulence firsthand."

"After the turbulence subsided, containment chamber 1116 returned to normal, showing no signs of the time-space distortion that had occurred."

"The security-grade anomalous containment object is also intact in its original location."

Another gasp of surprise rippled through the room.

Hu Zhou couldn't help but interject, "Captain Fu, you're not trying to tell us that this spatial turbulence just came for a stroll and didn't cause any problems, are you?"

"Of course not. Don't worry."

"I participated in the on-site experimental testing process after the anomaly was brought under control at Chengxing University. You can turn to that part of the report; its characteristics are completely consistent with Cheng Xu's description."

Fu Chen pointed at Wen Mu: "After the spatial turbulence, Director Wen and I moved the anomaly to another containment room for testing."

As he spoke, he swallowed, but his voice remained hoarse.

"After testing, we found that the characteristics of this anomaly... have changed."

"Logically speaking, without any activity inhibition, any fungus placed within its sphere of influence will grow rapidly."

"But when we put in a common fungus, we found that the strain was fine, and the field did not seem to be affected."

"The branch office has limited resources available in a short period of time. We have only tested 37 fungal samples so far, and 35 of them could not be promoted to grow."

"The only two things that can be abnormally affected in the field are Cyclone Agaricus and Iridescent Trichophyton—both of which are common edible fungi."

Everyone paused for a moment, then simultaneously flipped to the last page of the action report displayed on the virtual screen.

[If the impact of the resentment incubator is smaller, for example, only effective on edible fungi, it can prevent the overgrowth of gut flora caused by stimulation.]

If that's the case, the cafeteria will have an endless supply of mushrooms (laughs).

Hu Zhou felt as if a thunderclap had exploded in his ears, and the piercing white noise drowned out his consciousness, leaving only the two sentences on the screen in front of him in his entire sensory field.

A few hours earlier, when he first saw those two sentences in the report, he simply smiled and didn't take them to heart.

Because he knew very well that once an anomaly occurred, it could only be destroyed to disrupt its internal mechanism, or its influence could be suppressed through other means; its attribute rules could not be directly changed.

Every recorded anomaly in interstellar society follows this ironclad rule.

But today, that ironclad rule has been broken.

Hu Zhou was almost certain that it was Cheng Xu's report that caused the spacetime turbulence and abnormal changes.

Otherwise, it would be difficult to explain the astonishing consistency in time, and even more difficult to explain the fact that the abnormal changes completely matched Cheng Xu's "joke".

The others didn't react much better than Hu Zhou, and the conference room fell into an eerie and oppressive silence.

"Everyone should know what this means."

Kopper broke the silence.

"This report is probably much more significant than we realize. Let's all read the action report carefully a few more times, and then share our opinions."

After a long while, Hu Zhou was the first to raise his hand.

"Regarding the 'black mist' mentioned by Cheng Xu in his report, which he saw during the containment of anomalies, has there been any precedent for this?"

"No," Wen Mu replied immediately.

Hu Zhou then looked at Fu Chen: "Old Fu, when you were doing the tests at Chengxing University, none of the others could reproduce the black aura, right?"

Fu Chen nodded: "Yes. Even Cheng Xu himself couldn't recreate it."

Hu Zhou pondered for a moment: "My personal guess is that this phenomenon is not an abnormal characteristic of the incubator, but rather an ability of Cheng Xu himself."

"Based on the details in the action report, he saw many scenes in the black mist that led to the formation of resentment, and these resentments directly gave rise to new anomalies."

"We often say that we should look beyond the surface to see the essence. Does Cheng Xu's ability to see the black aura mean that he can directly see through the anomaly to its true nature?"

Everyone fell silent.

"Whenever a new terminal anomaly appears in the world, our understanding of anomalies will be overturned."

Hu Zhou said quietly.

Everyone present had heard this phrase before—because it was the summary of terminal anomalies in the "Interstellar Anomaly Atlas".

"On the bright side, at least the terminal anomaly we are facing has not shown any destructiveness, which is already very fortunate."

The speaker was Fu Chen.

Thanks to his experience spending time with Cheng Xu these past few days, he was the one who adjusted his mindset the fastest among everyone present.

"That's true."

The crowd's expressions softened slightly.

In the past, every occurrence of a terminal anomaly brought about a galaxy-level catastrophe. Thinking about it this way, the fact that Cheng Xu was currently harmless reassured everyone considerably.

Kober clapped his hands lightly:

"Fu Chen is right. It's a good thing for us to get to know Cheng Xu better."

"I will now make the following arrangements and deployments:"

"Captain Hu Zhou, I have approved your application for early promotion that you submitted this afternoon. Please follow up on the process tomorrow."

"Promoting them ahead of schedule is the only thing we know that can generate a strong emotional response from the subject. We must complete it tomorrow and observe their reaction."

Hu Zhou said it was no problem, and Kober then looked at Wen Mu:

"Director Wen, we'll have to trouble you to lead a team to verify that anomaly that has been altered in nature."

Wen Mu maintained his aloof and taciturn demeanor: "Okay."

"Please have the General Administration send a few experts in writing to analyze this action report word by word, dig out information, and build a deep profile of Cheng Xu."

"No problem, I'll report to the director as soon as I get back."

A man who appeared to be a secretary greeted Kober.

"If there's nothing else, let's adjourn the meeting. Please keep us informed of any further developments regarding this matter," Kober instructed.

"Yes."

One by one, everyone disappeared, leaving only Kober alone.

The old bureau chief stared blankly at the empty conference room, lost in thought. After a long while, his figure disappeared, leaving only a heavy sigh.

"I hope everything goes well."

The next day, when Hu Zhou placed the official document issued by the General Administration and three copies of the contract on Cheng Xu's desk, the latter could hardly believe his eyes.

Cheng Xu knew that the Bureau of Abnormal Affairs was efficient, but he never expected that he would be informed of the approval for formal appointment the day after submitting the action report.

"Your physical examination is ready. Remember to print out all the necessary documents on the intranet before going to the examination center."

The surprises Hu Zhou brought to Cheng Xu were clearly not limited to his early promotion.

"After completing the routine inspection, you can take seven days off. The previously promised branch office bonus will also be deposited into your account today."

After saying that, Hu Zhou smiled on the surface, but in reality, he was tense and observing Cheng Xu's reaction.

The next second, Cheng Xuteng stood up and tightly grasped Director Hu's hands.

"Thank you for the organization's recognition, and thank you Director Hu for your guidance and help. From now on, the Administration Bureau is my home, and its affairs are my responsibility. I will definitely work harder in the future to live up to this trust and continue to contribute my strength to the Administration Bureau!"

Hu Zhou shuddered, barely managing to maintain his composure thanks to the immense willpower he had forged through countless life-or-death experiences.

After the emergency meeting, he made his first contact with the source of the anomaly. He had considered countless possibilities and rehearsed countermeasures in his mind, but he never expected that this ultimate anomaly would be so grateful right from the start.

What's going on here?!

Cheng Xu's gaze was very sincere, but the psychological impact on Hu Zhou was far greater than any other time he had faced an unusually dangerous situation.

Everyone else in the office was stunned, too afraid to move, their eyes filled with the terror of "I've never seen anything like this before."

"You're welcome. Your performance since joining the company has been outstanding, which is evident to everyone. You deserve it. Keep up the good work."

Hu Zhou tried his best to control his facial muscles, playing the role of a "reliable superior" in his response.

Cheng Xu nodded vigorously.

Compared to his previous life's leader, who was utterly incompetent, obsequious to superiors, bullying subordinates, useless at everything, and a master at shifting blame, Hu Zhou was practically the perfect leader.

Compared to the company in my previous life that exploited the surplus value of its employees and forced people to work overtime for no reason, the Administration Bureau is much more humane.

His gratitude was heartfelt, but he had no idea how much horror his actions had caused the other person.

"By the way, Director, I'm thinking of going on a trip during the holidays. Just let me know if you need anything."

Cheng Xu packed his things, said goodbye to Director Hu and his colleagues, and headed straight to the medical examination center.

After confirming that Cheng Xu had left the office building, Hu Zhou plopped down in a chair, unable to come to his senses for a long time.

"Captain, are you alright?"

The operatives, disguised as colleagues, surrounded them.

Hu Zhou looked up at the sky, his gaze blank, his lips moving, and finally he uttered a weak, feeble sentence:

"Tell me, am I the first person in interstellar history to have their hand shaken and thanked by a terminal anomaly?"

"Come on, Lao Hu, I think you're almost scared out of your wits. Don't let yourself have a seizure."

"I'm perfectly fine, aren't I? Stop crowding around me and go about your own business. He just said he's going on a trip, so we need to notify the director to send someone to accompany him. Old Yu, could you get me a glass of water?"

"You need my help to get water?"

"Do you think I don't want to go by myself? My legs are a little weak right now, I can't stand up, so you'd better hurry up."

"...Alright then."