Their eyes met.
From an angle invisible to everyone else and only perceptible to these two Anomalies, Ren Yi's eyes, which had been slightly dimmed by a touch of frustration, suddenly lit up.
The slight impatience from his earlier wait vanished in an instant. The once-still aura around him became vibrant, locking firmly onto the pair of red dots within his shadow.
So that's how it is!
His previous confusion was swept away. He finally understood why his perception hadn't reacted, yet the Participants could see it with their naked eyes.
It was because his perception was three-dimensional, scanning for abnormal energy and physical entities in 3D space, whereas this Anomaly resided within the two-dimensional plane of the shadow!
Ever since seeing Ren Man use a shadow as a portable storage space to hold a chair, Ren Yi had developed a deep interest in such unconventional uses of shadows.
This ability didn't seem like a Rule-based power. Since his brother knew how to do it, was it possible for him to learn it too?
Unfortunately, Ren Man had never explained it to him in detail.
Now he had finally encountered an Anomaly with a similar ability. Once the Instance was over, he definitely had to have a good chat with it.
The residents in Auntie Lu's Instance really were a hidden collection of talented individuals.
Ren Yi offered a sincere compliment in his heart.
In the moment he dithered, the Anomaly in the shadow moved.
Its movement was faster than a normal human retina could capture. Ren Yi felt a blur before his eyes as the connection between his shadow and his legs was suddenly "severed."
The entire shadow rapidly contracted and deformed, taking the shape of some small canine creature, before sliding right between Ren Yi's legs.
His shadow had been stolen.
Ren Yi reacted quickly. Almost at the same moment the black shadow darted out, he had already turned around, violently thrusting the steel fork in his hand toward the shadow on the ground.
However, it was useless. The Shadow Anomaly was like a common optical phenomenon, naturally slipping away from beneath the steel fork.
The wondrous scene Ren Yi had imagined—of "forking the shadow" or "pinning the Anomaly"—did not happen at all.
The Shadow Anomaly glided toward a watermelon.
Meanwhile, within that two-dimensional layer of darkness, the Shadow Anomaly was actually a bit panicked.
It had heard from the Watermelon Patch that a Young Master brought by the Madam was conducting some experiment here by blending in with the Participants, so it wanted to come join the fun.
But as soon as it got close and lurked in the Young Master's shadow, it was caught red-handed when the Young Master suddenly looked down.
In that instant, out of a long-standing "work habit," it couldn't help itself and instinctively executed its standard procedure.
By the time it realized what it had done, it was already in too deep.
I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead... Did I just cause trouble? Will the Young Master be angry? How should I act to look like I'm working hard while still reasonably letting the Young Master go without messing up his plan?
The Elder Young Master said the Young Master's experiment was almost finished, so my acting shouldn't be too much of a problem... right?
At the same time, Ren Yi's thoughts were racing.
No, something is definitely wrong.
He stared at the seemingly useless steel fork in his hand, then at the watermelon not far away that the black shadow was about to reach.
According to the balance of the Instance formed by the confrontation between the Rules of the two worlds, a tool clearly issued to Participants and suspected of being used to counter a specific Anomaly could never be a mere decoration.
But the fact that the steel fork was ineffective against the shadow was real.
Then the problem lay with him. Either he was using the wrong method, or he wasn't hitting the right place.
He looked up slightly.
Originally, he had been standing with his back to the moon. After the Shadow Anomaly stole his shadow and fled behind him, he had subconsciously turned around to pursue it, meaning he was now facing the moon.
At this moment, the bright full moon filled his vision.
That's it. Why did it have to break away and run behind me? If it were truly immune to physical interference, it could have just stayed in my shadow and messed around; there would be no need to flee.
Ren Yi suddenly had an epiphany. He swung his arm back and slammed the steel fork into the ground behind him—the exact spot where his shadow should have appeared at that moment.
Although that spot was currently empty because his shadow had been stolen, the concept of "where the shadow should exist" was a physical reality.
"Awoo!"
The moment the steel fork hit the ground, a short, sharp cry of pain came from behind Ren Yi.
Ren Yi turned his head quickly.
He saw that at his feet, the black shadow that had been stolen and transformed into a beastly shape was now lying there perfectly fine, having returned to its normal humanoid projection as if it had never left.
Except that the pair of blood-red beady eyes on the shadow had surfaced again, filled with disbelief and looking somewhat... aggrieved.
Oh no, I accidentally got a bit too into character...
Ren Yi's expression stiffened with embarrassment. He immediately feigned a frantic look, let out an "Oops!" and hurriedly pulled the steel fork out of the ground.
At the same time, using his turn and arm movements as cover, he frantically mouthed the words "I'm sorry" at an angle the livestream cameras could never capture.
The Shadow Anomaly gave him a resentful look with its red beady eyes before slowly closing them, disappearing completely into the ground.
"Heehee, heehee."
For some reason, the giggling of the watermelons in the surrounding patch, which had seemed to grow tired earlier, suddenly became louder.
Ren Yi's cheeks felt slightly warm with embarrassment. He silently walked back to the large rock and sat down, wondering if he should buy something to apologize to the Shadow Anomaly after returning to the Alliance.
Regardless of whether the exchange just now happened because he was too heavy-handed, or because the other's acting was so stiff they almost blew their cover, or perhaps both.
It was, after all, a formal employee of this Instance under Auntie Lu's command, here to help with the "harvest."
By all rights, having injured a helpful colleague, he really ought to show some gratitude and apology.
Just then, a torrent of positive emotion, larger and purer than any before, descended without warning like a river breaking through a dam.
The amazement, admiration, excitement, and even a hint of fanatical worship contained within it were so intense they almost felt physical.
In the livestream, the screen was completely overwhelmed by a barrage of comments like "Insane!", "Holy crap, what a play!", "So that's how you use the steel fork?", and "Great God, take my knees!" The density was so high the footage was nearly obscured.
However, as Ren Yi bathed in this massive wave of emotional energy, there was no joy on his face.
What a waste.
He sighed inwardly. Although his progress bar would almost certainly be filled by the time this Instance ended...
It would be so much better if he had some way to preserve this energy—like making energy crystals or something.
Rate on N.U.
