King of Anomalies

As night fell, two golden full moons hung in the sky, and the sea was calm. A Five-Colored Parrot fell into the sea, seemingly swimming swiftly in the outer layers of the water like a fish.
"King of Anomalies... King of Anomalies..."
Bubbles burst on the surface of the sea, and faint murmurs of countless men and women, old and young, could be heard. The Five-Colored Parrot was enchanted by this sound, unable to resist swimming deeper, wanting to get closer, to hear more clearly.
Unconsciously, the Five-Colored Parrot sank deeper and deeper. The surrounding seawater became pitch black, devoid of light, but the murmurs in its ears grew clearer.
"King of Anomalies... King of Anomalies..."
Suddenly, a clear female voice cut through the countless murmurs: "I am the King of Anomalies... Ye Wu You!"
The deep sea was clearly pitch black, yet the Five-Colored Parrot seemed to see a ruined, dilapidated relic in that deep sea. For some reason, that relic had an immense gravitational pull on her, making her unable to resist sinking further, wanting to approach the relic...
"Meow!"
A low cat's meow, like a leopard's roar, exploded in Ye Yu's head. She suddenly woke up in her bed, only to realize she had just had that strange dream again.
The black cat stood by her pillow, its golden cat eyes filled with worry. "Are you alright?"
Wu Xi was, after all, a ninth-level powerhouse. As long as he could wake up, even severe injuries were nothing to him. After hunting several mid-level anomalies with Ye Yu to replenish his body, he had recovered eighty percent of his strength.
Da Luo flew to the head of the bed. "Is Your Majesty having a headache?"
Ye Yu rubbed her forehead. "I'm fine, my head doesn't hurt, it's just... I had that dream again."
Not long after the New Year, she began to have a strange dream. In the dream, she transformed into Da Luo, always attracted by some sound in her sea of consciousness, plunging into the sea without hesitation.
Three months had passed like this. At first, she only occasionally had this dream, perhaps four or five times a month. After waking, she would only vaguely remember the general dreamscape, but couldn't recall what she had heard.
Later, the frequency increased, and she would have this dream often. In the dream, she finally heard the murmurs in the sea clearly. It was countless people calling out the four words "King of Anomalies."
By now, this month, the situation had worsened even further. Not only did she have this dream every night, but as time passed, the depth she plunged into in the dream also grew deeper.
Da Luo had warned her before that the deep layers of the sea of consciousness were extremely chaotic and dangerous. Even a ninth-level powerhouse, once entering, could easily get lost within. Assimilated and absorbed by the sea of consciousness.
Although she didn't know what her current situation was, Wu Xi, as a Nightmare, confidently stated that she wasn't actually dreaming. In other words, her so-called 'dream' was actually her truly transforming into a Five-Colored Parrot, repeatedly journeying in the sea of consciousness.
In the dream she just had, she sank significantly deeper than last night. She feared that in a few more days, she would reach the edge of the deep layers of the sea of consciousness. This was undoubtedly an extremely dangerous situation for her!
However, the dream she just had did contain a bit more information than previous ones. Ye Yu described the dream to Wu Xi and Da Luo. "Ye Wu You... Have you heard of this person?"
Before, she had always thought that the repeated calls of "King of Anomalies" were for her, but in the dream she just had, it seemed not to be the case.
Who was Ye Wu You? Also a King of Anomalies? A dead King of Anomalies? Or a currently living King of Anomalies? If dead, that was fine. If alive... As the saying goes, one mountain cannot hold two tigers. Between her and Ye Wu You, naturally, only one could be the King of Anomalies!
But then again, why did this person also have the surname Ye? Although it was just a voice, somehow, as soon as Ye Yu heard the three words "Ye Wu You," she knew how they were written in her mind. Perhaps this was the mystical aspect of the sea of consciousness.
How strange, were they considered relatives? Did their old Ye family truly have a throne to inherit?
Wu Xi and Da Luo had never heard of the name Ye Wu You. They didn't care who this person was, only worried about Ye Yu's condition.
Wu Xi frowned: "Your situation cannot be prolonged."
Ye Yu nodded: "I feel the same way. There's no time like the present, so let's do it today."
She had always been afraid of death. The moment she realized this dream was dangerous, she began to think of countermeasures. Unfortunately, the sea of consciousness was even more mysterious and unfathomable than anomalies. Wu Xi knew even less than Da Luo.
For a time, the bird and the cat couldn't think of any solution. They could only speculate based on the characteristic that Ye Yu transformed into Da Luo in her dreams. The sea of consciousness was not a place ordinary people could enter at will. Even Wu Xi had only heard of it but never truly seen it. Ye Yu must have 'devoured' Da Luo, increasing her spiritual sensitivity, which is why she was attracted to the sea of consciousness.
Initially, Wu Xi's proposed solution was to make Ye Yu 'spit out' the bird. That day, Da Luo cried a mess, but still choked out an agreement. As a result, that night, Ye Yu still had the dream.
Good news: This time, she was finally not a bird in the dream, but had transformed back into herself.
Bad news: After falling into the sea, she immediately sank with a gurgle. If Wu Xi hadn't woken her up from the dream with a crucial cat's meow, she feared she would have sunk to the bottom.
Wu Xi then realized that Ye Yu and the sea of consciousness had formed an invisible connection. Even if Da Luo was 'spit out,' this connection couldn't be severed.
Da Luo, crying and whimpering, turned sorrow into joy. While shouting that the spirit was willing to live and die with the King, he excitedly bounced towards Ye Yu's figure.
Ye Yu, who didn't really want to die together, only wanted to survive: ...
Because she couldn't resist Da Luo's enthusiasm, Ye Yu reluctantly 'devoured' the Five-Colored Parrot she had 'spit out' again.
Wu Xi, on the other hand, proposed another suggestion: if Da Luo became a link between Ye Yu and the sea of consciousness, then they should find a way to increase Da Luo's strength. Perhaps there was still a chance of survival.
Wu Xi's original intention was to hunt other ninth-level anomalies with Ye Yu. Although those famous ninth-level anomalies were all tough targets, forcibly contained, he felt that with him and Ye Yu working together, these would not be a problem.
However, Ye Yu had other ideas. Recently, on the Anomaly Secret Records forum, someone posted, vaguely providing the location of a Villains' Association stronghold.
Ye Yu investigated and found that this person was a transcendent, bound to the Anomaly Secret Records through a random website at midnight. She didn't think an ordinary transcendent would knowingly provoke a dangerous anomaly.
So Ye Yu immediately guessed that this transcendent must have other motives, probably an undercover agent from another faction or something. Looking at the information she provided, Ye Yu vaguely guessed that this transcendent must be from the Shenzhou Investigation Team.
After all, her takeover of the Gold Hunter Group was very covert, and the Gold Hunter Group was not foolish enough to openly investigate clues about the Villains' Association. The only loophole she left was the investigation team's visit to Jinyang City. As long as someone in the archives searched her viewing history, they would know what she had been looking at.
Even if the Silent Council was interested in the Joyful Sect, there was no need to look at ten-year-old historical records. Only Ye Yu herself would be interested in this matter.
So this was a test. The Shenzhou Investigation Team was testing Ye Yu's position in the Silent Council, and also testing what level Ye Yu could achieve.
Ye Yu merely smiled faintly at this. Ever since Wu Xi woke up, her mood had been very good. She didn't care about these small tests from the Shenzhou Investigation Team. On the contrary, she was very grateful to the Shenzhou Investigation Team for providing free information.
*
Whether day or night, Ao City's largest casino was always brightly lit and bustling with noise. The first-floor hall had no reception, being the most open, capable of holding a large concert for several thousand people. But even such an open space was packed with people.
Some people moved through the crowd like fish, their nimble fingers slipping into others' pockets. Some stood in a corner, their eyes gleaming as they watched the gamblers, and upon spotting a fat sheep, exchanged glances with their accomplices and smilingly approached to rub shoulders. There were also those crying miserably at the casino entrance, cursing furiously, but in a blink, they were 'persuaded' away by fierce thugs.
Of course, the casino hall was mostly filled with gamblers at the tables. Each of them laughed freely, wildly slamming their betting chips onto the tables. They enjoyed the instant surge of adrenaline, experiencing heaven one moment and hell the next when the results were announced.
Everyone knew how massive this casino was, yet very few knew that it was actually one of the strongholds of the Villains' Association.
Several burly transcendents entered through a side door, their faces showing disdain as they glanced at the foolish gamblers, then quickly turned left and right to an hidden elevator, heading straight to the top floor.
Upon reaching the top floor, after being led by servants to a luxurious lounge, the transcendents were surprised to see the lounge almost full.
"Old Han? Why are you here?"
"Old Ghost, you're here too?"
"Old Seedling?"
The lounge was entirely filled with men, tall and short, fat and thin, their eyes holding a fierce aura that ordinary people lacked. This group discriminated against women, believing them to be mere tools for their gratification, and the old, weak, and sick as goats for them to oppress. They were true villains, engaging in arson, murder, robbery, and every conceivable evil. Backstabbing for profit among members was commonplace.
Precisely because of this, Villains' Association members harbored deep distrust towards other members. As the Villains' Association grew in scale over the years, many ordinary members only knew a few fixed teammates they regularly performed missions with, and did not know other members. This was their first time seeing so many Villains' Association members gathered together.
Counting them, there were over a hundred people in one lounge, and according to the servant, several hundred people had arrived today, filling up several other large lounges.
"What exactly is going on? Why such a grand mobilization?"
"The boss sent a message saying it's a big order."
"Yes, said it was a big mission, made me bring all my men."
"My side said the same thing."
Someone made a gesture. "Heard it's a big organization we can't afford to offend, just the deposit alone is this much! The deposit is already in the boss's hands. The boss said to distribute it directly to us. To boost our morale for the job."
"Holy cow, that much?!"
The eyes of those around immediately lit up. They were originally a bunch of villains who gathered for profit. Although they had received news that this mission's reward was generous, they didn't know that the deposit alone was this much!
"A big organization we can't afford to offend? What a joke, our Villains' Association is at its peak, what other big organization dares to compare with us?"
"Our Villains' Association is strong, but not the strongest. Not to mention the Shenzhou Investigation Team always chasing us, and the ancient Transcendent Alliance, even that new Joyful Sect and Silent Council can suppress us."
Some expressed agreement, while others looked on with disdain, feeling that some people always exaggerated, and rumors couldn't be fully trusted. To say those two organizations had ninth-level powerhouses, he would have to doubt if it was bragging, let alone the rumors being too exaggerated, even evil gods and the King of Anomalies were mentioned.
Although he had never seen high-intelligence anomalies, years of experience dealing with them made him clearly understand what anomalies were.
They were like Taotie, eating everything. They would devour all food that approached them, even their own kind if they got too close. They were not humans and did not have the habit of living in groups.
One mountain cannot hold two tigers, let alone such ferocious creatures. How could they coexist peacefully? And serve the King of Anomalies? Establish an anomaly organization? Absolutely nonsensical!
And that evil god was even more baseless, simply laughable. The Shenzhou Investigation Team Headquarters wanted to scare them, they should at least make up something more believable, right? Evil god appearing? Why don't you say aliens are going to drive spaceships today and capture them all?!
There were also some who, seeing so many people crammed together, felt an inexplicable unease. They always felt that something was amiss. Because the investigation team was chasing them so closely, usually their superiors would directly assign missions to them. Why today did they have to gather everyone before announcing the mission? This was truly abnormal.
If something unexpected happened at this moment, such as the sudden appearance of people from the Shenzhou Investigation Team Headquarters, wouldn't they all be captured?
The person next to him, hearing his worries, immediately burst into laughter, mocking his baseless anxiety. The Villains' Association was not an ordinary family. Hundreds of transcendents gathered together, and there was even a ninth-level powerhouse boss overseeing them. So what if the Shenzhou Investigation Team came? At most, they would abandon this stronghold. Hundreds of them charging together would ensure those investigators would never return!
What? You said the Shenzhou Investigation Team Headquarters had four ninth-level powerhouses? Although that was true, the four, Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise, couldn't be dispatched at will.
The data in the Shenzhou Investigation Team Headquarters, the anomaly cores, and anomaly remains were extremely important. If the Shenzhou Investigation Team were breached by an organization with ulterior motives, acquiring so many good things and understanding the abilities and weaknesses of ninety-nine percent of Shenzhou's transcendents through the data, it wouldn't be a problem to declare themselves king on the spot and directly announce their rule over all humanity.
Therefore, Black Tortoise voluntarily stayed within the headquarters for decades, never stepping out. No prisoner could compare to him. White Tiger, as Black Tortoise's partner, also rarely left the headquarters. Vermilion Bird annually guarded the Anomaly Science Research Institute. Only Azure Dragon ran missions everywhere. Shenzhou was extremely vast, with countless emergencies every year, keeping Azure Dragon constantly busy.
It was precisely because of this that, even if the Shenzhou Investigation Team hated the Villains' Association to the bone, they had never been able to completely eradicate them. Firstly, because the evil in human nature could not be completely eliminated; countless villains would spontaneously gather for profit, so the Villains' Association would always rise from the ashes. Secondly, because the Shenzhou Investigation Team, though seemingly massive, bore a heavy burden, and manpower was always insufficient.
This was why these cockroaches crawled out everywhere in the dark corners!
The villains themselves compared themselves to cockroaches without shame, but rather considered it an honor. They loved how the Shenzhou Investigation Team hated them so much, yet couldn't finish them off.
The previously worried person, hearing these words, gradually felt at ease. That's right, hundreds of transcendents gathered, and their boss was a ninth-level powerhouse. Even the Shenzhou Investigation Team couldn't chew through this hard bone of theirs. What else could happen?
After an unknown period, when everyone was starting to get a little impatient. The door to the lounge where the Villains' Association high-ranking members were seated suddenly opened. Everyone thought the boss had arrived and immediately turned to look. The first thing they saw, however, was a female 'person' whose entire body was intertwined with vines.
Everyone immediately stood up, alert.
"Who are you?"
"Where's the boss?!"
"Your boss is right here."
Ye Yu, standing behind Tu Si Zi, heard this and pushed the wheelchair in front of her forward. The wheelchair slowly slid into the lounge, bumping into a chair and stopping. The male figure who had been sitting with his head bowed tilted in the impact and fell to the ground with a thud.
"Boss?!"
This lounge was filled with high-ranking members, who naturally recognized their boss. The person standing nearby, his face pale, knelt down and tried to turn over the male corpse on the ground.
The corpse had been sucked dry by Tu Si Zi, leaving only skin and bones. However, his facial features were still vaguely discernible, and there was a very clear large hole in the right side of his chest cavity. Because the flesh and blood had not been completely sucked dry, no blood flowed out.
For these villains who licked blood from blade tips, such a wound should have held no threat, but after they clearly recognized the identity of the deceased, everyone gasped in cold air.
"Boss?!"
Someone immediately drew their weapon and aimed at the two women outside, while the smarter ones had already smashed the glass, preparing to jump out the window and flee.
What a joke, these two women could kill even a ninth-level boss, what could they use to fight them?!
But before they could escape, Tu Si Zi's countless vines had already filled the entire lounge. In an instant, this place became a living hell, with only the beautiful girl, whose lower body resembled a green mermaid's tail, standing quietly in place. She watched with great interest as they screamed in agony, gradually enveloped by Tu Si Zi's vines, followed by countless green cocoons collapsing one by one.
People in other lounges heard the commotion, opened their doors to investigate, and immediately saw this scene of hell. Villains naturally had little camaraderie. They turned pale with fear and immediately wanted to flee. But their path was blocked by a hazy singing. Countless people's eyes glazed over, and a thick, eerie fog billowed, filling every corner of the top floor.
The Black-tailed Merman was in no mood to play any anomaly games with them at this moment. He merely hypnotized them, then harvested from Tu Si Zi, Black Mirror, and Lan Ni.
Ye Yu initially thought of bringing out the shadows of her parents, but after thinking it over, she ultimately didn't. Her father and mother were good people; there was no need for them to have their hands stained with blood after death. So, she would do it herself.
Under pain and the threat of death, many people struggled and woke up from the hypnosis. They screamed, groaned, begged, and cursed in anger. The high and mighty transcendents now looked no different from those bankrupt gamblers.
"Ah!!!"
"Why?!"
"Help!"
Ye Yu stood in the corridor, countless poisoned daggers floating around her, exuding an aura of ten thousand swords returning to their master. They moved according to Ye Yu's will, attacking any villain who ran out of the lounge and escaped into the corridor.
The previously worried person finally understood before dying that his anxiety was not baseless; it was his sixth sense warning him. He had not guessed wrong; this was indeed a conspiracy, and someone truly wanted to capture them all!
He had indeed guessed correctly. The so-called "big mission" was, from the very beginning, Ye Yu controlling the Villains' Association boss, making him spread false information. The content was similar to: "A gold mine has been discovered in the village, everyone's lives are better now, the village has decided to distribute gold to everyone, come back quickly!"
To be honest, Ye Yu hadn't expected the effect to be so good. Should one say that people die for money, and birds die for bait?
Someone was severely injured and fell to the ground. Because thick fog filled his vision, he couldn't even see where the enemy was, only asking repeatedly in despair and unwillingness: "Why... why..."
Ye Yu lowered her eyes. She wanted to ask, Villains' Association, Joyful Sect, if you're going to rob, then rob, why involve ordinary people? Intentionally using transcendent abilities to create car accidents to hinder the investigation team's pursuit, what do they consider human lives to be?
But in the end, Ye Yu didn't ask. The Villains' Association engaged in blood-licking deeds, earning quickly and dying quickly, with rapid turnover of members. In ten years, even the boss changed four or five times. None had a good end.
This current boss didn't remember the robbery case involving the Villains' Association and the Joyful Sect ten years ago. Ye Yu forced him to look through the data and found that of the thirteen members involved at the time, five were killed on the spot by the investigation team, and two were taken back for investigation and sentenced to death. Six lucky ones escaped. Two died in anomalies, one directly degenerated into an anomaly after devouring its core and was dealt with by other members. One was killed when choosing a new boss, for siding with the wrong faction.
The two remaining members were both present today. Black Mirror specifically singled them out, and Lan Ni was slowly twisting the limbs of two cloth dolls in her arms.
They had probably long forgotten the tragedy they caused. Even if they remembered, begging her would be meaningless, because Ye Yu knew very well that these villains were only afraid, not regretful. They must have truly regretted not killing her back then.
So Ye Yu merely said indifferently, "The Villains' Association has committed so many evil deeds. Do I need a reason to kill you?"
What kind of reason was that? The dying man's eyes turned crimson with rage, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. He died of anger just like that.
Half an hour later, the singing and screams simultaneously disappeared, leaving only silence on the top floor. A strong smell of blood began to spread downstairs, and it was believed that someone would soon notice the anomaly and come to investigate.
The black cat man standing at the railing transformed into a human and walked to Ye Yu's side. Wu Xi had not made a move the entire time, not because he was too lazy to act, but because he knew Ye Yu did not want him to interfere. Today was the anniversary of Ye Yu's parents' death. And these people were the offerings she had prepared for her parents.
Having died once, his personality seemed to have matured a lot. He took Ye Yu's hand in his large one, pulling her onto the Line 712 bus that had long since stopped nearby.
"Let's go. I bought you the lemon cake you like."
Ye Yu, who had been staring blankly at the chaotic mess on the ground, heard this and squeezed Wu Xi's hand back, though outwardly she scoffed, "Hmph, do you have money, talking so big?"
Wu Xi: "Why wouldn't I have money? Yesterday, I was cleaning the house and found a hundred-yuan bill under the cabinet. That's enough to treat you to cake."
Ye Yu: "Under the cabinet... Wasn't that my money?!"
Wu Xi: "It wasn't in your wallet, so how is it your money? Money found on the ground is wild money! What I pick up is mine!"
Ye Yu: "What wild money? It's in my house, so of course it's my money. If you give me the money back now, I might even buy you a cold Coca-Cola."
Wu Xi: "Tsk tsk, I wonder who was crying and whimpering during New Year's Eve because of loneliness and cold, their tears falling into the hotpot. You made me lose sleep with your crying, so I had to stay awake and keep you company."
"You were so happy then, hugging me and kissing me frantically, even saying something about being family from now on, a loving family. Hmph, I didn't even mind your hooliganism! And now, only a few months later, it's 'your house,' 'my house' again."
Ye Yu: "Who cried? I didn't cry then!"
Wu Xi: "You just said you did, didn't you?!"
Ye Yu: "...Ahem, alright, I was wrong. This bill is indeed wild money. Since you found it in our house, it's naturally yours. So, shall we go eat cake?"
Wu Xi: "Hmph, what cake? I'll buy you a bag of spicy lemon potato chips. That'll get you excited."
The two chatted and laughed as they got into the car. As bus Line 712 vanished into thin air, Tu Si Zi and the other anomalies also disappeared. The surveillance screen, previously obscured by thick fog, became clear again.
People downstairs smelled something strange and came upstairs to investigate. The next second, a bloodcurdling scream pierced the sky. "Ah!"
In just one day, the news of the Villains' Association being completely annihilated by the Silent Council spread like wildfire throughout Shenzhou. Some applauded, while others shivered with fear.