Evans: "..."
A threat. A blatant threat!
Finally, the two sides reached an agreement.
However, before they could even toast to this freshly forged, fragile alliance, a much more severe and extremely awkward reality loomed before them.
How were they supposed to leave?
Outside... it was still flooded.
The crimson Red Tide surged majestically, stretching to the horizon and turning everything within sight into a dead zone.
The levee stood lonely in the middle of the water, like an isolated island that could be swallowed at any moment.
The two looked at each other in silence.
【Do you know how to get to that Deep Abyss?】 Ren Yi asked.
"Uh... north, I think?"
What was with that uncertain tone?
Fine, never mind the path for now; they needed to figure out how to leave this island first.
【Can you transform back into your True Form, turn into a boat, and sail us out of here?】
Ren Yi came up with a strange idea.
The corner of Evans's mouth twitched.
"No, I'm very weak right now. At most, I can revert a part of my body to its True Form. To fully recover, I'd need to consume at least a few Anomalies to return to the way I was."
He didn't seem to object to being a boat, though.
Then, Evans asked, "What about you? Can't you fly me away?"
Ren Yi sensed the air currents at high altitude; he could barely manage to fly.
The problem was that he had some "dead weight" with him now; carrying a load was out of the question.
So, he displayed an 【×】 to Evans.
Well, the exploration squad had met its Waterloo before it had even set out.
Somewhat speechless, Ren Yi pulled up his assessment panel and glanced at his current progress.
【Mission 1: Explore the world's truth. Progress: 29%】
Ever since he had squeezed the information out of the major Anomalies on the land ship, this progress had been stuck.
However, his gaze drifted downward and he suddenly noticed that another mission, which had shown no movement at all, had quietly changed.
【Mission 2: Obtain at least one item containing world rules. Current progress: 5%】
Hmm? When did this increase?
Actually, it was easy to guess.
Since arriving in this world, Ren Yi had only acquired one piece of unidentified filth.
That was the B-rank Anomaly, the Withered Claw, which he had snatched in passing.
Ren Yi hesitated for a moment, and his mist suddenly swirled forward.
Evans was stunned for a second, then realized Ren Yi's target wasn't him. He understandingly held out the Honest Gift in his hand.
A second later, a notification appeared on the panel as expected:
【Current progress: 10%】
Just as he thought! It was confirmed.
So, the so-called "Anomalies" in this world were special items containing world rules.
No wonder the Alliance had given such a baffling assessment metric.
It turned out that the world rules of this place were scattered among various strange existences.
And based on this progress, if one B-rank Anomaly provided 5%, then he would only need twenty of them to max out this mission.
Wait... should he really use the word "only"?
After being blasted by a nuclear bomb, Ren Yi felt that his acceptance threshold had significantly increased.
Besides, if a B-rank could provide 5%, then the progress provided by A-rank or S-rank existences would surely be astronomical, right?
At this thought, Ren Yi's mind inevitably strayed.
He suddenly split off a puff of white mist and tentatively wrapped it around Evans's arm.
Evans stood there blankly, letting the mist coil around him like a puppet, completely confused.
Unfortunately, the mission panel remained as still as stagnant water, showing no reaction.
Tsk. Why didn't the system recognize the will-incarnation of the mighty S-099?
Was it because he was a living being and thus didn't fall under the category of an "item"?
Fine, even if the assessment system wouldn't let him exploit that loophole, a thought grew stronger and stronger in Ren Yi's mind as he stared at the youth before him.
And that was: should he try to bring Evans back to the Alliance alive?
There were still too many things about him that puzzled Ren Yi.
Although Evans had confidently claimed earlier that he wasn't suited to return to the Alliance, "not suited" didn't mean "unable."
Worst-case scenario, if Evans really was a wild Anomaly, the Alliance's official containment and education methods were definitely much better than letting him grow wild here.
And if he wasn't... the Alliance naturally had more efficient and thorough "disposal methods."
But there was no rush for that now.
Just then, Ren Yi noticed out of the corner of his eye that the bright 【29%】 suddenly jumped, turning into 【30%】 without warning.
Immediately after, his perception was violently triggered by a sudden anomaly, and a waterfall of dense information flashed across his vision.
There was something there!
【Anomaly File: A-071】
【Alias: Undying Totem】
Ren Yi only had time to glance at the first two lines of the file before his perception instantly condensed on the surging tide before them.
The so-called A-071 had already made its entrance.
A palm-sized, drab-looking wooden cross drifted over, bobbing in the vast tide.
Finally, with a "thwack," it accurately struck the base of the levee where they were standing.
Evans clearly noticed the strange object as well. He raised an eyebrow in confusion, stepped forward, and bent down to fish it out.
"What's this?" The youth scrutinized the rotten wood in his hand and muttered, "Even the land ship was blown to smithereens, yet this thing wasn't destroyed?"
Ren Yi was stunned. His gaze, hidden within the mist, turned toward Evans with a strange look.
How was this possible? Sitting on the levee, and treasure just falls from the sky?
This heaven-defying luck... could Evans really be the protagonist of this assessment world?
However, before Ren Yi could finish marveling at the power of the protagonist's halo, the wooden cross in Evans's hand suddenly began to shake violently!
Large amounts of fleshy fibers suddenly burst out from the wood.
"What the—!"
Startled, Evans threw the eerily expanding mass of flesh onto the ground and stepped back warily.
The cross landed on the ground and suddenly stood upright, twisting left and right in a very human-like manner.
Then, the center of the cross acted like an eye, locking onto the person before it.
A thin, gaunt, innocent, and frail-looking youth.
Following that, it actually emitted a powerful voice.
"Hahahaha! Heaven hasn't forsaken me!"
"You little brat, consider it your bad luck."
"Today, I shall use you as the first step in my, the destined Wu Erhun's, revenge!"
Rate on N.U.
