Guess Who We Ran Into?

Alright, his mind was still stuck on the idea of enrollment day involving registration procedures, collecting a student ID, finding his dormitory, cleaning out the dust, making the bed, hanging a mosquito net, and a mountain of other trivial chores...

In short, he owed a world of thanks to the Anomaly Web for its thoughtful service.

Speaking of the Anomaly Web, Lord Cha suddenly seemed to get a shot of adrenaline. He perked up instantly and scrambled onto a lower branch of the Wutong Tree, his tail swishing back and forth as he spoke to the tree in an excited tone.

"Wutong, Wutong, let me tell you—guess who we ran into inside the Instance this time?"

The canopy of the Wutong Tree shook gently, emitting another series of rustling sounds.

"What do you mean, a Human? Of course it wasn't a Human!" Lord Cha waved a paw, his tone carrying a hint of smugness. But as soon as the words left his mouth, he froze, a look of bewilderment crossing his face.

"Huh? How did you guess it just like that? You're way too good at this!"

While Lord Cha and the Wutong Tree were enthusiastically chatting about the events inside the Instance, Ren Yi suddenly frowned, remembering something.

"Uh, Lord Cha..."

He paused for a moment, then reached out and plunged his hand directly into his own semi-fluid chest, rummaging around for a bit.

A moment later, he slowly withdrew his hand, holding four keys.

The keys were pitch black, gleaming with a faint luster and looking somewhat ancient.

These were the four keys Ren Yi had taken from the fireplace mantel back in the Instance.

Due to the restrictions of the rules at the time, he could only take four keys from that spot.

Since the keys couldn't be destroyed and hiding them elsewhere didn't seem safe, Ren Yi had simply stored them inside his own body.

He had been in such a rush to leave that he hadn't thought about it until now.

"We left too quickly, and I accidentally brought these Instance items out with me. Here, I'm giving them back."

As he spoke, Ren Yi reached out to hand the keys to Lord Cha.

But at that moment, he noticed Lord Cha's eyes bulging. His mouth hung open wide enough to fit a fist as he stared at the keys in Ren Yi's hand with utter disbelief. He was so shocked he even forgot to wag his tail.

Beside them, the Wutong Tree's canopy suddenly drooped low, as if it were staring intently at the keys. The sound of the leaves rubbing together became rapid and sharp; clearly, she was also extremely surprised.

"H-How... how did you bring something from inside the Instance out here?" Lord Cha's voice rose in pitch, filled with panic and incredulity.

Ren Yi was startled by the reaction. A look of confusion crossed his face as he spoke apologetically, "What's wrong? I just forgot and accidentally brought them out. Will it cause any harm to the Instance?"

"No, there's no harm... but there's a problem, a huge problem!"

Lord Cha clutched his head with both paws, pacing anxiously back and forth on the branch. At this moment, Ren Yi could clearly see that the creature's mind was practically short-circuiting.

"Let me tell you, you know how some Anomaly Instances can produce things, right?"

Ren Yi, Zhang Qiuqiu, and Lu Zihan looked at each other. Their eyes lit up slightly as they nodded toward Lord Cha.

The output of an Instance itself was usually Energy Crystals produced by various Anomalies to increase their strength.

More special items, like the contract paper and pen owned by the casino owner, carried their own Anomaly rules and were extremely rare.

"Don't get any ideas!" Lord Cha saw the light in their eyes and quickly backpedaled.

"This Instance of ours isn't complete yet, and the facilities aren't perfect. It definitely can't produce anything, so don't even think about it."

Pausing, he calmed himself down and explained slowly.

"What I mean is, I don't know if you realize this, but aside from the items produced by the Instance itself, other props and objects inside an Instance generally cannot be brought out."

"Even if you do bring them out, it's usually not a big deal. If they haven't gone through rule certification and are forcibly brought into The Alliance, they either dissipate on their own or are directly destroyed by The Alliance's rules. They simply cannot remain."

Hearing this, Ren Yi nodded slightly, understanding the situation immediately.

It meant that these four keys in his hand, according to common logic, shouldn't exist outside the Instance at all. They should have dissipated or been destroyed long ago.

Yet, here they were, perfectly intact in his hand.

He looked at the keys, then up at Lord Cha and the Wutong Tree. His gaze was clear: So what's the deal with these keys? Care to explain?

"Uh..." Lord Cha was now completely stumped, his face practically screaming 'I have no clue.' He scratched his head, staring blankly at the keys in Ren Yi's hand.

Seeing that Lord Cha was being unreliable again and couldn't provide an answer, Ren Yi, Zhang Qiuqiu, and Lu Zihan all turned their gazes toward the Wutong Tree.

However, the Wutong Tree simply gave her canopy a gentle swivel, causing leaves to flutter down to the ground.

Alright, that was presumably the equivalent of a head shake.

So Wutong couldn't explain it either.

Seeing that even the Wutong Tree was at a loss, Ren Yi frowned slightly. He actually had a few guesses of his own.

But before he could verify his theories or take any action, an anomaly suddenly occurred.

Ren Yi felt his entire body stiffen, as if something invisible had gently tapped him.

The force wasn't great, but it carried an irresistible power. Under that force, his body instantly collapsed and deconstructed.

He plummeted from three dimensions into two, becoming flat like a piece of paper.

No, thinner than paper. Or rather, the very concept of 'thickness' had ceased to exist for him.

The scenery before his eyes shattered. The playground, the Wutong Tree, Lord Cha, and Zhang Qiuqiu's group all turned into white and green data streams. They flickered, jumped, and intertwined in a dense, dizzying mess.

Ren Yi could clearly feel that his state of existence was undergoing a world-shaking transformation.

This was completely different from when he switched between gaseous, liquid, and human forms. At this moment, his state seemed to have lost mass, volume, and all other physical meanings, becoming ethereal and vague.

To say he had no volume didn't seem entirely accurate, because he could clearly feel that he seemed to be occupying a bit of... storage space?

The sensation was bizarre, like being placed into an invisible container. There was no up or down, no left or right, no front or back—only endless data streams surrounding him.

Ren Yi didn't panic. Instead, he curiously felt out his current state.

There was no need to ask. There was only one existence with such immense power, capable of changing his form at will and pulling him into this kind of space.

The Anomaly Web.