Chapter 266: Chapter 266: Wow, That's Amazing!
"Team Leader Lin, you've truly worked so hard, running around eliminating anomalies. On behalf of the entire nation, I thank you for your selfless assistance."
The BOSS looked at the smiling young man before him with sincere gratitude.
Because of his appearance, dealing with the anomalies across the country had become much easier.
Lin Fan sipped his baijiu and said, "It's not hard at all. I love traveling around and seeing the beautiful scenery. I really enjoy it."
The surrounding people were moved. They looked at Lin Fan with respect. They hadn't felt this way before, but now, they truly admired him. Even someone made of iron couldn't withstand such frequent flights. He practically had no time with his feet on the ground.
And now, Lin Fan's words were like comfort, as if he hoped they wouldn't overthink things.
What a good person! For our country to have such a figure was truly a national blessing.
Lin Fan, swirling the baijiu bottle imprinted with the words "Special Supply," said, "I particularly like this drink. I've never had it before. It has a sweet taste, and it's quite uplifting."
Everyone stared at Lin Fan in astonishment, then at the bottle on the table. It wasn't that they hadn't seen people who could drink, but they hadn't seen anyone drink like this.
In just the few minutes they'd been talking, Lin Fan had finished eight bottles by himself. The thought was terrifying.
The BOSS chuckled. "If you like it, we'll prepare it for you. Drink as much as you want, but do so in moderation. Too much can be harmful to your health."
The baijiu, which was quite strong for them, was being called a "drink" by Lin Fan. The thought was astonishing.
"Thank you." Lin Fan expressed his gratitude. The drink's packaging was exquisite, clearly expensive. He felt a little embarrassed to have drunk so much.
The BOSS asked with concern, "Do you have any other needs?" As the commander-in-chief, the overall leader in dealing with the anomalies, he now treated Lin Fan like a treasure.
"Needs? No." Lin Fan shook his head. He didn't need anything.
The BOSS, observing Lin Fan's expression, fell into deep thought. Truthfully, he wanted to ask Lin Fan if he needed a spouse. After all, such high-intensity work was exhausting, and suppressing physical needs wasn't healthy.
If Lin Fan hinted at any such desire, he would absolutely find a way to resolve it. No matter what kind of woman, a match could be made.
The BOSS, after some thought, decided to be straightforward. "You're single now. How about letting the organization introduce you to a wife?" As the BOSS, he was truly worried about Lin Fan.
He had noticed a serious issue: Lin Fan seemed to have no desires. He wasn't interested in anything, like material possessions or power.
He held the greatest authority, able to mobilize all departments in any city he visited. But so far, he hadn't exercised this power once, not even a single notification.
Every time, he arrived, eliminated the anomaly, and left for the next location, repeating the cycle endlessly.
"I have a wife," Lin Fan said.
The BOSS was surprised. "Where is she? I've never seen her."
"She's not here." Lin Fan thought of Mu Qing, his expression filled with longing.
Seeing Lin Fan's expression, and considering the information he had gathered, the BOSS understood. Lin Fan's wife had likely been killed by an anomaly.
"Let's not talk about that. Let's talk about something else." The matter was clearly painful for Lin Fan, so he didn't press further, feeling a pang of sympathy.
At the same time, he noticed another important detail: Lin Fan always maintained a smile.
The BOSS started to fill in the blanks, a scene forming in his mind: Lin Fan, tears streaming down his face, watching his wife die. His wife, caressing his face, smiling, saying, "Promise me, always keep smiling. I want you to always be happy." And from then on, he always kept smiling.
Unconsciously, the BOSS was moved by the scene he had imagined, tears welling up in his eyes. It was so touching.
Knock, knock!
At that moment, someone knocked on the door.
"Come in."
"BOSS, this document just arrived. A group of students studying in Pugu sent us a message. They hope we can bring them back." A middle-aged man entered.
The people in the meeting room exchanged glances, surprise evident on their faces.
Come back? What were they thinking?
The BOSS said, "Shouldn't those who were supposed to come back have already returned? When the borders were closed, it was announced. Why do they want to come back now?"
The middle-aged man replied, "Yesterday, an evil spirit anomaly appeared in Pugu's central city, causing countless casualties."
"Oh, because an evil spirit appeared, they want to come back. When the anomalies first appeared, everyone was called back. Those who chose to stay abroad were supposed to be responsible for their own safety. Now that they're facing danger, they want to return. That's something I hadn't anticipated." The BOSS had long foreseen this situation.
"Send them a message: Everyone must be responsible for their choices. They were given the opportunity, and they missed it."
The middle-aged man said, "Yes, sir." He had already known this would be the outcome. When the anomalies first appeared, this very man had said that all citizens abroad must be recalled because when the anomalies fully erupted, there would be no resources to rescue anyone. And the dangers they would face would be far greater.
"Is there anything I can help with?" Lin Fan asked.
The BOSS waved his hand. "It's nothing. Just some minor matters."
Pugu. Central City. Inside an apartment.
In the pitch-black room, Wu Kai shivered under the covers, his phone's light illuminating his face. He didn't dare look outside. This place was becoming a ghost town.
Walking on the streets meant inexplicably having your head bitten off. The scene was terrifying. Now the streets were eerily quiet. No one dared to go out. Some families, lacking food, tried to sneak out to steal some, only to die tragically on the streets.
He had seen it with his own eyes. He longed for someone to come and rescue them.
Then, he saw the arrival of the great Pugu warriors. He was about to cry out for help, but witnessed the most horrifying scene: dozens of heads bitten off simultaneously, leaving behind headless corpses.
Now, clutching his phone, he looked at the group chat. The people in this group were all compatriots who had remained in Pugu.
"My dad told me he's putting pressure on them. Someone will come to take us back home."
"Long Shao, awesome!"
"Long Shao, keep us updated!"
"Sure, sure."
"Long Shao's dad is a big shot, very influential. He'll definitely find a way to get us back."
Perhaps it was the emergence of hope, but the oppressive atmosphere in the group chat lightened considerably.
Wu Kai breathed a sigh of relief. As long as someone came to rescue them, everything would be fine. Then, another message popped up in the group chat. He eagerly wanted to know what it said, but as he looked at the screen, his vision went black, and he nearly fainted.
"How is this possible?" Wu Kai was so shocked he couldn't believe it. He immediately covered his mouth, not daring to make a sound.
By now, the group chat was in an uproar.
"Have they abandoned us?"
"Why would they do this? We just want to go back. Why won't they come and save us?"
"Long Shao, is there any other way?"
"I'm going crazy."
They had thought their country would come to their rescue. But after seeing Long Shao's message, they were utterly despairing.
"Long Shao: There's only one way now. There are over sixty of us students here, along with many other compatriots living here. If we create enough public pressure online, we can force them to come and save us."
After hearing the situation from his father, he was dumbfounded. He wanted to slap himself. Damn it! If he had known it would be like this, he would have returned home no matter what.
Night.
Lin Fan was in his room, watching TV and chuckling. The movie was funny, and he was in a good mood.
"This is interesting."
He picked up his baijiu and took a long swig.
The BOSS knew Lin Fan liked baijiu and had arranged for an unlimited supply. He just couldn't understand why Lin Fan called baijiu a "drink."
Perhaps he truly couldn't get drunk.
The night breeze wasn't strong. The white curtains swayed gently in the wind.
Lin Fan was engrossed in the television when suddenly the picture became fuzzy, the screen filled with static.
"Huh?"
He picked up the remote and pressed the buttons. Nothing happened.
What was going on?
Lin Fan wasn't good at fixing machines. He picked up the room phone to call someone to fix the TV.
Suddenly, the picture returned.
"Huh! It's working again."
But the image was strange, not what he had been watching before.
"I didn't change the channel. How could this be showing?"
Lin Fan was a curious person. He wanted to explore the truth behind anything strange, to figure out what was going on.
Soon, the image became clearer. Under the moonlight, the moon in the sky was bright. A dry well. But even with the bright moon, the surroundings seemed dark.
"What a strange image."
Lin Fan stared intently. He noticed a pitch-black crow perched on a branch by the well.
Whoosh!
The image flashed, as if someone had zoomed in.
The well was much closer now. Lin Fan was curious. He also noticed the temperature in the room suddenly drop, the curtains billowing without a breeze, much more dramatically than before.
Slowly, a pale hand reached out from the well, fingers like a chicken's claws, gripping the edge. Gradually, half a body emerged, head bowed, long hair obscuring the face. A long white robe.
"Why is she crawling on the ground? She's not an animal," Lin Fan muttered to himself. The figure crawled with both hands and feet in a strange posture. In the blink of an eye, her head filled the entire screen.
Long black hair filled the screen, motionless.
A moment later, a pair of pale hands appeared in the frame, parting the black hair to reveal an eye – an eye entirely white, without a pupil, staring coldly at Lin Fan.
Anyone seeing this would be terrified. Even if they weren't scared to death, they would be hysterical, screaming.
But at this moment, Lin Fan wasn't afraid. Instead, he was curious about the situation. He felt like the eye was looking directly at him, with a distinctly unfriendly feeling.
He moved closer to the TV, only a few inches away. He didn't do anything more, didn't say anything more. He simply stared back at the eye.
A staring contest.
Ten minutes. No reaction. Neither of them spoke.
Half an hour. No reaction.
An hour later, the white eye in the television blinked.
"I knew it was a real eye. If it can blink, it must be real." Lin Fan said.
Then, he reached out and touched the screen.
But something unexpected happened.
He didn't feel the texture of the screen. Instead, he touched a cold, slimy eyeball. He retracted his finger, finding it coated in a white, viscous liquid.
"This…"
Lin Fan looked shocked. He wasn't stupid. At this moment, he realized something was wrong. A television couldn't do this.
"You're a living person." Lin Fan said loudly, as if he'd discovered a great secret.
Click!
A pale hand suddenly grabbed his wrist.
"Come in and keep me company…" A gloomy voice echoed.
The anomaly tried to pull Lin Fan inside.
But… it couldn't move him.
"I'm sleeping here tonight, so I won't be going with you. You can come out and see me." Lin Fan grabbed the pale arm and pulled. With a slight effort, he pulled the figure out.
"Huh?"
After pulling the figure out, he found the television had returned to normal. He touched the screen, tapping it. Tap, tap…
"That's amazing!" Lin Fan was like a child who had just come down from the mountains, fascinated by everything.
"How did you do that?"
"The screen is perfectly fine, but you came out of it. That's incredible!"
He stared at the figure in astonishment, truly amazed. He had never seen anything like it.
Turning to look at the white-robed, long-haired woman, he found that… she had somehow positioned herself like a spider, clinging to the wall, limbs bent, neck twisted, staring ominously at Lin Fan. Then, her limbs moved, skittering quickly across the wall.
Lin Fan's gaze followed her movements, his eyes darting back and forth.
Because he had killed so many anomalies recently, Lin Fan carried a scent that made them resent him. So, he had become a target for anomalies, though he didn't know it himself.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone