"It's fine, that one was on me," Ren Man said in a calm tone, as if comforting him. "You can hit the next one."
Brother, if you're not there, I might not be able to win. Ren Yi looked sorrowful, feeling like he had missed a great opportunity to give his "enemy" a good thrashing.
"Brother, let's go home. It's dangerous out here," Ren Yi whispered, leaning closer to Ren Man. After what had just happened, he realized clearly that he was still far too fragile.
From the conversation between the high-level Anomalies, he could infer that things like mirrors were likely only a threat to "Cubs" like him or "children" like that little girl.
Ren Man nodded without a word and took his hand, leading him toward the electric scooter parked by the roadside. Once Ren Yi was settled on the back seat, he finally found the chance to ask the question weighing on his mind.
"Brother, I heard on the news that our awakening was presided over by a 'Heart Fiend.' So, is Dr. Lin the one responsible for the Awakening Ceremony for everyone in our year?"
Ren Yi still wasn't used to the term "Cub," so he deliberately used "everyone" instead.
Ren Man focused on driving the little scooter and shook his head upon hearing the question. "There are many Heart Fiends."
Oh. Ren Yi had a sudden realization. It turned out "Heart Fiend" was an Anomaly race rather than a specific individual.
In that case, were there also Heart Fiend Wangs, Heart Fiend Zhaos, Heart Fiend Ouyangs, Heart Fiend Shangguans...
"But hitting him was the right move," Ren Man added.
Ren Yi: "..." Ignoring his brother's instigation, Ren Yi's thoughts continued to wander.
"Brother, then what are we?" Ren Yi asked curiously. Since Dr. Lin and the others were Heart Fiends, he and Ren Man should have their own racial name, right?
Ren Man's body stiffened for a moment, and he fell silent. Ren Yi could feel that he seemed stumped by the question.
The scooter traveled steadily, the trees lining the road blurring past them.
After a long while, Ren Man finally squeezed out a sentence: "It's just us."
After another long pause, he added, "Do you want to pick one?"
Ren Yi, suddenly granted the right to name their race, was dumbfounded. "Then what did you do when you were a Cub, Brother? Who were your family members?"
"I grew up on my own," Ren Man replied very calmly.
Ren Yi froze, feeling a slight tightness in his chest.
Grown up on his own? Was it because the first individual of a race could only grow up alone? What about the Alliance? Did they not care?
He wanted to ask more details, like how Ren Man had grown up, why there were only two of them in their race, and what abilities they had.
However, Ren Man seemed to have made up his mind and shut his mouth completely. No matter how much Ren Yi asked, he wouldn't speak another word.
"Alright." Knowing his brother didn't intend to tell him, Ren Yi had to give up his questioning and changed the subject. "Then what about the mirror? Why are 'Cubs' attracted to mirrors?"
"Cubs' curiosity," Ren Man responded succinctly.
No, it really wasn't! I'm a victim! The mirror actively attracted me!
Fortunately, Ren Man seemed to sense his grievance and added a reassuring sentence: "You won't be once you've grown up."
"Was that little girl suddenly 'seeing' things because of the mirror too?" Ren Yi followed up.
"Yes. She probably saw her father using a mirror."
So high-level Anomalies "use" mirrors. Ren Yi silently made a note of this. As for what they were used for, Ren Man only replied with, "You'll know soon enough."
Ren Yi recalled what Dr. Lin had mentioned earlier and continued, "Dr. Lin said that little girl might get a 'mother'? What does that mean?"
"Our family won't," Ren Man said calmly and firmly. "Our family only has you and me."
Ren Yi fell silent for a moment, then plucked up the courage to ask, "Then... where did we come from?"
He had actually wanted to ask this for a long time. Since they weren't humans and didn't have "parents," there had to be a way they were "born," right?
Ren Man: "...I popped out of a rock."
"Brother, can you be serious for a second?" Ren Yi was helpless. He was clearly asking a very serious question!
"I am being serious," Ren Man said.
Ren Yi sighed, knowing he wouldn't get any more out of him. He leaned against Ren Man's back, and although he still had many questions, he felt strangely at peace.
It seemed some things could only be known after he had "grown up."
After returning home, perhaps out of guilt over the "mirror incident," Ren Man let Ren Yi lounge around for another day.
During the remaining five days, Ren Yi's life as an Anomaly was pushed rapidly along a strange growth trajectory.
On the first day, he "shattered" at three in the morning.
It wasn't broken bones; rather, his entire body began to crack into pieces starting from his chest, floating in the air like scattered smoke.
Without a word, Ren Man picked up the pieces of Ren Yi that were drifting everywhere, one by one.
Ren Yi realized once again that maintaining a humanoid form was truly a technical skill.
On the second day, building on the first day's progress, Ren Yi learned how to "float."
Yes, the flying ability that required at least three major realm breakthroughs in various fantasy novels was something Ren Yi obtained right after awakening.
Unfortunately, he could only hover in the sky like a cloud, and his speed was underwhelming.
Meanwhile, the main objective of the human-transformation plan still showed no progress.
On the third day, sensing the approaching deadline, Ren Yi was finally able to maintain a "semi-humanoid" form.
His upper body looked human, while his lower body looked like uninitialized data. After taking two steps, he would fall apart from the knees down, "clatter-clatter," dropping onto the floor.
Ren Man held him like a sack of grain and said, "Try again."
Fortunately, Ren Yi quickly developed a "Spider Leg Technique" using eight tentacles to move. To be honest, it was much faster than two legs.
On the fourth day, he was finally able to maintain a complete "humanoid" form.
He looked like a white silhouette with blurred facial features, but the outline was barely discernible.
He tried to mold his face, but the face in this form was soft, like kneading jelly.
"Brother, my face fell off!"
"It would be perfect for a haunted house," Ren Man commented dryly.
As a side note, Ren Yi had relayed Lu Zihan's summer job invitation to Ren Man, and Ren Man magnanimously stated that he could do as he pleased after reaching E-rank.
On the fifth day, Ren Yi saw "himself" through his perception.
No longer a mess of limbs, no longer a broken silhouette, but a clean-cut human youth with soft features and bright, spirited eyes.
Although his ears were still accidentally a bit too pointed, and a faint white mist rippled imperceptibly when he breathed.
Ren Yi took a deep breath and looked at Ren Man beside him. "Brother, I did it."
Ren Man gave an "mm" and reached out to pat his head.
The air was quiet.
Today was the day the awakening results were to be announced.
Ren Yi sat on the sofa out of boredom, refreshing his phone over and over again.
"Brother, what do 'food' items usually consist of?"
The previous educational post had mentioned that F-rank Cubs only needed to "feed" once to promote to E-rank and gain abilities, but every Anomaly's food was different.
"Some... energy," Ren Man said from beside him. He seemed to be in a good mood, and he talked a bit more, but the things he listed were each more in line with Ren Yi's imagination of Anomalies than the last.
"Follow certain rules to generate energy. Common ones are fear, pain, or the conversion of flesh and souls."
"However, the Alliance has collections," Ren Man said, tilting his head. "For the first time, don't worry."
So, the Alliance actually collected such abstract energy for Anomalies to absorb?
Ren Yi's lips twitched, realizing that the Alliance's tech tree was likely skewed in a way he hadn't imagined.
Rate on N.U.
