Captain 014

"Think about it," Fang Zhiyi said, pointing at his head. "If you were an ordinary person brutally murdered, and your killer went unpunished, what could you do?"

"But, isn't that a matter for the Guard? As long as it's reported to the Guard..." Zhou Hao was still somewhat conflicted.

Fang Zhiyi smiled. "Ever since the anomalies invaded, the word 'fairness' has existed in name only. Otherwise, why would some people live in the dangerous wilderness while others live in heavily fortified safe zones?"

"The rule of law and fairness are built upon a stable environment."

Li Fei suddenly noticed two crooked rows of round holes on the twisted anomaly's arm. They were burn marks left by cigarette butts from when it was alive, only now they had grown larger and looked even more disgusting.

It wasn't until those students had died a tragic death that Fang Zhiyi finally grabbed the edge of the eaves with one hand, executed an agile flip, and landed steadily in front of the anomaly. The twisted anomaly had a terrifying face and was turning its head to admire its own masterpiece. Seeing Fang Zhiyi voluntarily step in front of it, it roared and lunged forward.

The two anomalies, one black and one white, finally moved. In a mere flash, they appeared by Fang Zhiyi's side.

"You have taken your revenge, and now it is time for your punishment," Fang Zhiyi said softly.

The anomaly's eyes were filled with madness and bloodlust.

Fang Zhiyi turned around. The Nuo-masked Wuchang sliced the anomaly cleanly from left and right. Its twisted body dissolved into black smoke, and soon, nothing was left but a pile of charred bones.

Watching Fang Zhiyi about to leave, Shen Yue suddenly shouted, "What exactly are you trying to do? Tell us! Captain!"

Fang Zhiyi paused and slowly turned his head. "Me? I am declaring war on humanity."

Not long after, Fang Zhiyi's name, stamped with the words "Extremely Dangerous," was presented to the high-ranking officials at headquarters.

This former captain of the Guardian Squad had now become a public enemy of humanity.

The Empire's hard-won stability was shattered once again. The original Guardian Squad had extremely high mobility, going wherever they were needed, because although the anomalies were dangerous, most of them operated within specific ranges, and many of their abilities had been documented.

But now, things were completely different. According to reports from the reconnaissance teams, the originally scattered anomalies were gradually gathering together, and they had even established a village similar to those of humans!

"How could he, a human, achieve this?" A high-ranking official's beard trembled with anger. "This is simply a disgrace to humanity!"

"That is not the main point right now. The issue is how we are going to win this war," another elder said slowly.

From the very beginning of the anomaly invasions, they had gradually risen to power. It was by mastering the manufacture of anti-anomaly weapons and mental potions that they had achieved their current status. If the landscape changed, everything they had built would go down the drain.

Gu Heng, however, smelled an opportunity in all of this. He had been cast out into the cold along with the Lin family, but he had never forgotten his ambitions.

Lin Wanxing, her belly already swollen with pregnancy, watched in panic as Gu Heng prepared to go to headquarters to volunteer his services.

"Don't go. If you go, what will happen to our baby?"

There was a hint of swelling and redness on her face, clearly from being struck.

Gu Heng impatiently threw her off. "Get lost! If you hadn't been so stupid as to fall for Fang Zhiyi's tricks so easily back then, would I have been targeted along with you? And that grandfather of yours!" He pointed at the black-and-white photograph. "He used to act so high and mighty every day, but when someone finally caught him by his weak point, he couldn't even put up a fight!"

"How... how can you speak of Grandpa like that? If it weren't for the inheritance Grandpa left behind, we wouldn't even have been able to get married here..."

"I talked about him, but I didn't talk about you, did I? We originally had a chance to turn things around. But you? Just because of your ridiculous bleeding heart, you thought he was pitifully wronged and ran over eagerly to warn him. And what was the result? We were permanently kicked out of the game!" Speaking of this, Gu Heng's anger flared up again, and he raised his hand to deliver another slap.

Lin Wanxing was left somewhat dazed by the blow.

"I... I just meant well..."

"Shut up! If it weren't for the fact that you still had some money, not even a ghost would want to marry you!" Gu Heng was completely blinded by rage. "Fang Zhiyi... no one knows him better than I do! This is the perfect, justifiable opportunity to get rid of him!"

At this moment, the outside of Baoli City was completely surrounded by an army of anomalies, leaving no way through.

All the members of the Guard stood on the defensive city walls, looking down at the wide variety of anomalies below, inexplicably dumbfounded.

"What do we do? What do we do?" The vice-captain paced around anxiously. Fortunately, Shen Yue and the others arrived.

"Where is your captain?"

The vice-captain acted as if he had found his backbone. "I don't know! He... he disappeared early this morning!"

Li Fei gritted his teeth. "That cowardly piece of trash."

"Stop talking and hurry up to gather everyone with weapons to prepare for battle!" Shen Yue glanced outside, finding it somewhat unbelievable. Although the anomalies were restless, they were still maintaining restraint.

She searched for that familiar figure, but to her disappointment, Fang Zhiyi did not appear.

"Captain... are you really going to stand on the opposing side?" she muttered.

Following a shrill, bizarre shriek, several anomalies surged toward the defensive wall. The Guard deployed their few remaining firearms, but all of their attacks hit a massive black leaf. The leaf then slowly unfurled, revealing the expressionless face of a beautiful woman staring at them, her eyes full of pity.

A vine quietly crept up the wall, and several panicked Guard soldiers screamed as the vine hurled them off the ramparts.

In almost a single encounter, the Guard was completely routed and actually began to flee.

Shen Yue still gritted her teeth, leading her team members in a desperate resistance, but just a few humanoid anomalies were enough to pin them down. They could only watch helplessly as those anomalies exuding a dangerous aura flooded into the city.

"Captain, something's not right!" Li Fei suddenly yelled.

"What is it?" Shen Yue slashed her blade to cleave an umbrella flying toward her. The next moment, the umbrella canopy suddenly looked as if it had been soaked in blood, and several streams of bloody mist crawled up her blade. Shen Yue had no choice but to let go of her sword.

"Since when did I become so strong? These high-level anomalies aren't even hurting me!" Li Fei continued to shout. The next moment, an anomaly pinned his blade down, and with a slight push, that sword was also thrown away.

"They're trying to disarm us!" Shen Yue was shocked. She didn't understand why these anomalies would choose to simply disarm them.

"Umm..." Zhao Lei's voice was as lifeless as ever. Li Fei and Shen Yue turned to look and saw Zhao Lei standing stiffly in place, with a hand resting on his shoulder.

"You coffin-dweller!" Li Fei shouted.

The Coffin Lady's face darkened. "Who are you talking about! I have a house to live in now! A big house!"