The Elusive Anomaly and a Fading Face

“What did you notice?”

Chu Annian leaned close to Bai Wanwan’s ear, her voice a soft murmur. Bai Wanwan, meanwhile, was still meticulously examining the stitching. It appeared rather crude, certainly not the work of a properly trained medical professional.

“Most likely, it’s because of the Lip-Stitching Hospital.”

Jian Yan spoke in a hushed tone. Beside her, Chu Annian nodded in agreement, a gesture of approval.

“It seems this will just be another cold case, then.”

Chu Annian sighed. Hearing her casual tone, Bai Wanwan couldn’t help but blink in surprise.

“You’re not going to investigate further?”

Bai Wanwan was taken aback. As an official organization dedicated to such matters, they should, by all accounts, pursue it to the very end.

She was still diligently researching, yet Chu Annian was already prepared to close the case?

“It’s not that we won’t investigate, but that we can’t. Some anomalies are simply too elusive. The best approach is prevention and avoidance, not investigation and engagement.”

Chu Annian shrugged. Her explanation made perfect sense, much like a treacherous mountain road that claims lives every year, yet cannot simply be demolished.

To prevent innocent deaths, moving the entire mountain was clearly impossible. At most, they could erect a few more warning signs.

“Moreover, the rules within each anomaly are distinct. To us, each anomaly is like a person with their own unique temperament.”

“Some anomalies are incredibly placid; you could dance inside them without any danger to your life.”

“Then there are those that, even with a mere symbolic probe, will be enraged. In such instances, the anomaly will devise every possible way to draw you in and ensure your demise within its depths.”

Every word Chu Annian spoke to Bai Wanwan was born from years of experience, paid for in blood.

Each recollection brought her pain, yet for newcomers, these paths forged by their predecessors were the most crucial intelligence they could receive.

Thus, she had to articulate it, time and again.

‘Perhaps one day, Chu Annian herself would sacrifice her life for a piece of crucial information.’

“Devise every possible way… to draw you in?”

Bai Wanwan instinctively turned her head. Across from the two elevators, that anomalous, extra elevator seemed to have reappeared.

Its doors yawned open, like the gaping maw of a demon.

Yet, as Bai Wanwan blinked, the extra elevator vanished into thin air, as if it had never existed at all.

“What if you really get entangled with a vengeful anomaly… how do you escape?”

A fine sheen of sweat had broken out on Bai Wanwan’s palms.

‘That elevator door just now was absolutely not an illusion!’

‘And no one else seemed to have seen it; only I did…’

‘This could only mean that the elevator door to hell was opening for me!’

“That rarely happens, right? Usually, there’s no solution. Either you neutralize the anomaly, or you die…”

Chu Annian, unaware of what Bai Wanwan had just witnessed, was currently preoccupied with how to write her upcoming report.

She was also thinking about handling Bai Wanwan’s onboarding and training.

Little did she know, the very newcomer she intended to mentor was slowly developing a dark, deathly pallor on her face!

“Wanwan… your, your face!”

Liu Hanzhi, standing nearby, noticed Bai Wanwan’s face. The ominous deathly pallor that had previously worried Liu Hanzhi was now vividly clear on Bai Wanwan’s features once more!

“But then again, if such a dangerous anomaly were to be overcome… the rewards should be quite substantial, right?”

Chu Annian muttered to herself, her voice barely a whisper, even drifting into a moment of fanciful daydreaming. ‘If only I could conquer this anomaly! Hehe…’