Unusual Changes

Lately, for reasons unknown, incidents involving anomalous objects have surged.

Historically, the global frequency of discovered anomalous events hovered around 300 per year, with this particular region experiencing no more than 100 annually.

However, in the latter half of this year, over 150 anomalous incidents have erupted across the nation.

This figure represents a threefold increase compared to previous data for a six-month period, with the last two months being particularly intense.

Anomalous objects are incredibly diverse and bizarre.

Approximately 95% of them are minor items that are either never reported or remain undiscovered.

For instance, there was the ‘Shedding Bowl’ incident, and just two days ago, a turtle shell was recovered near the main bureau.

This shell was also an anomaly, compelling anyone who touched it to uncontrollably offer fortune-telling—and always with dire predictions, even for inanimate objects like doorposts.

Consequently, most anomalous objects were destroyed after a standardized procedure.

Only recently, with the mandate from above to prioritize containment, has the workload drastically increased.

After all, destruction requires no understanding of an object’s function, whereas containment demands thorough knowledge.

This is the primary role of the cats on their expeditions.

They identify unknown anomalies brought in, and if an object hasn’t been contained, they are dispatched for fieldwork.

As the saying goes, it is better to be safe than sorry.

The last time, a parasitic anomaly from the spiritual plane, which had unfortunately come into contact with Yun Juan, was completely eradicated by a furious Bai’s relentless assault, severing its future existence.

Had that anomaly not been effectively contained, who knew where it might have ended up?

While possessing corpses and drawing public attention would be troublesome, even a wider range of influence would merely make it harder to deal with.

However, if even reinforced concrete could be possessed, then there was no logical reason why various thermal weapons would be exempt.

Therefore, even if only to prevent the rare, high-risk anomalies within that 5% of dangerous objects, the establishment of branch bureaus everywhere was absolutely essential.

Bai was currently sifting through the numerous new ‘tag’ fragments that had accumulated in her Sea of Consciousness over the past two months.

These fresh informational snippets were extraordinarily challenging, being incredibly minute.

Her current task was to meticulously piece them together.

Fortunately, this activity differed significantly from a true jigsaw puzzle.

If connections weren’t correct, the fragments simply wouldn’t link forcibly.

Thus, with sufficient patience and her superior processing power as an information collective lifeform, Bai could succeed through trial and error.

Bai was nearing the end of her puzzle, yet just like last time, she couldn’t find any more correlating fragments after piecing together only a small portion.

[Unknown information: 3.9%]

Observing this system prompt, Bai tilted her fluffy head.

The Cat wasn’t particularly eager to actively seek out these erratic anomalies whose locations were unknown, yet an irrepressible curiosity compelled her to uncover the mystery of this ‘unknown information.’

Under such a fervent wish, Bai’s desire subtly altered her own informational vortex, disturbing the world’s swirling currents in a specific direction.

–In the chat group:–

[Wei the Cat: [Image] [Image]]

[Yun Juan: What is this? A movie?]

Initially, only Bai had ever used the image-sending function, leading everyone to believe it was some sort of administrator privilege.

However, during Yun Juan’s and Gao Xin’s recent vacation, Yun Juan pestered Bai and learned that it was not a privilege, but merely a technique.

After that, Yun Juan mercilessly spammed the group with photos of two cats cuddling, much to the chagrin of the cat-girls who were forced to endure the saccharine display.

Soon after, everyone else mastered the technique.

Today, the photos Wei the Cat sent to the group were either aerial or satellite images.

They depicted a deep blue ocean, with a colossal, distorted dark shadow faintly visible beneath the azure waves.

A nearby ship looked minuscule, less than half the size of the shadow.

It resembled a movie poster, only lacking text.

[Wei the Cat: Not a movie.][Wei the Cat: It’s an aerial photo.]

[Wei the Cat: Haven’t you seen the news these past two days?][Wei the Cat: The European one?]

[Gao Xin: I recall something.][Gao Xin: Was it about the recent joint military exercises between France, Britain, and Germany?]

[Wei the Cat: Exactly.][Wei the Cat: The ship in the picture is a British Navy destroyer, 152.4 meters long.][Wei the Cat: The dark shadow beneath it is their ‘military exercise’ target.]

[Yun Juan: Hiss…]

[Gao Xin: Hiss…]

[Chen Miao: Hiss…][Ten Thousand Whys: Hiss…]

[Wei the Cat: @Ten Thousand Whys Why are you hissing along?]

In short, there was a collective gasp of astonishment.

After Wei the Cat’s patient explanation, the cats finally understood the full scope of the situation.

As the cats had expected, this was a large-scale containment operation.

The target was a colossal octopus, codenamed ‘Kraken,’ which, when fully extended, could reach 500 meters in length.

Its active range was precisely in the North Atlantic, hence the designation.

A classic beast-type anomaly, even now, people hadn’t figured out whether beast-type anomalies appeared out of thin air or were mutated normal animals.

Regardless of how intelligent an animal prototype might be, once it transformed into an anomaly, it uniformly lacked intellect, operating solely on instinct.

This large-scale containment proceeded without a hitch.

No matter how enormous the octopus was, it was ultimately just flesh and blood.

Once it was blown apart and died, the giant octopus’s massive body disintegrated under its own immense weight, sinking to the seabed, impossible to salvage.

The surviving biological tissues were swiftly sent for examination—a disappointing yet logical outcome.

They were identical to a normal octopus, specifically a species known as the Giant Pacific Octopus.

Logically, such a vast creature shouldn’t be sustainable without a unique organizational structure or the ability to support such an immense volume.

But anomalies, by their very nature, defy logic.[Wei the Cat: I’m sure you also noticed during your recent expedition that the frequency of anomalous appearances has been abnormal.][Wei the Cat: Since the data from various continental branches isn’t fully public or interconnected, we lack comprehensive understanding of other regions.][Wei the Cat: However, this large-scale containment, unseen for a decade, is a signal—the anomaly outbreak might not be confined to us alone.]

The cats understood Wei’s implication—an outbreak solely within their own region could be dismissed as coincidence.

However, if the entire world might be experiencing outbreaks, then coincidence was no longer a plausible explanation.

Perhaps some significant change was on the horizon.

Wei the Cat had actually withheld some information.

Through a few discreet channels, she knew that in addition to the European hunt, the American branch had initiated a recruitment drive, clearly indicating a manpower shortage.

Simultaneously, the Australian containment object, the ‘Sundown Light Cone,’ had shown signs of agitation.

She couldn’t help but recall the joint organization’s announcement from almost half a year ago, a prophecy from the Akashic Records.

‘The world is about to undergo a major change… Could this be what it meant?’

The emergence of anomalies still defied any discernible pattern, with no end in sight.

A threefold increase in their frequency certainly constituted a momentous shift.

Bai looked up, not understanding what had put her usually cheerful companion in such a state of worry again.

Thoughtfully, Bai nudged closer to Wei the Cat, rubbing against her small hand, then retrieved a light brown jelly from her cat bed.

Wei the Cat stroked Bai’s head and accepted the jelly.

‘Where did this jelly even come from? It doesn’t even have any label or text.’

Bai conveyed a reassuring message, indicating that it was delicious and perfectly fine.

If Bai said it was fine, then it was fine.

Wei the Cat, not wishing to disappoint Bai’s good intentions, tore open the packaging and gulped it down.

‘Wait, this taste!’

The next moment, Wei the Cat’s pupils abruptly constricted, then slowly dilated, a clear and foolish smile spreading across her face.

She rolled and rolled, then hugged the table leg, gnawing and kicking.

Then she embraced Xuan Bai, licking and licking.

“Meow~”