Chapter Thirteen: Blade Draws Blood, Heads Fall to the Ground

The moment he laid eyes on that ancient guillotine, its blade mottled with rust, the Gentle Man instantly realized that this sudden anomalous event was far more severe than he had anticipated.

At first, he had thought it amounted to, at most, a strong community-level anomaly—at worst, it might barely reach the regional threshold.

But upon seeing that the ropes originated from the ancient guillotine, the Gentle Man, with his keen perception as an anomalous walker and years of rich experience, was able to determine that, for the time being, the spiritual pressure emanating from this guillotine had already reached the hundred-person level—a Category D anomaly.

This was the standardized classification for anomalous strength throughout the entire Alliance, using the mental fortitude of a normal person as a baseline. Category E anomalies corresponded to the strength of ten people; Category D, to a hundred; and so on, increasing incrementally up to Category S.

The previous building anomaly had been ultimately defined by the Anomalous Incidents Department as E+—that is, somewhere between ten and a hundred in strength.

The Alliance classified anomalous threats into four levels: disaster, city, regional, and community—simple and straightforward.

“Calling headquarters, this is Gentle Man.

“A sudden anomalous event has occurred on Peace Avenue in Community Nineteen. The source is an ancient guillotine; no special domain has formed—this is a free-type anomaly, with an initial estimate of D-level spiritual strength.

“Threat currently stands at strong community level, with a high probability of escalating to regional!

“Request immediate deployment of a special operations team. The block must be sealed off as quickly as possible—no more civilians can be allowed to enter the affected zone!”

Taking out his communicator, the Gentle Man reported everything he had observed in an orderly fashion. The rest would have to be handled by those coordinating from the rear; as someone on the front lines, his duty now was to do everything possible to minimize the anomaly’s impact, and to discover, if possible, the underlying principles of its capabilities.

This, after all, was the work of those who walked the front lines against anomalies.

“How are these anomalous ropes triggered?” The Gentle Man posed the question to himself; it was, in his mind, the key to cracking the current event.

To resolve an anomaly, the most crucial step was to decipher its abilities and triggering conditions—only then could one proceed methodically to neutralize it.

Clearly, the most obvious starting point at present was to deal with the strange ropes binding the necks of so many passersby.

Anomalous powers could be triggered in many ways, but most were quite conventional—distance, for example.

Just as anomalous walkers, when wielding their own powers, were limited by projection range, so too did anomalies possess a sphere of influence—what could be called the anomalous domain.

Setting foot within the domain could trigger powers that brought disaster. Some particularly unusual domains could even induce spatial aberrations in the real world—such as isolation from the outside.

With this realization, the Gentle Man’s gaze swept over the pedestrians ensnared by those grayish-white ropes, his mind quickly calculating and deducing the guillotine anomaly’s area of effect.

“The farthest affected pedestrian is thirty meters from the guillotine. Considering the time it takes to be dragged, the domain could extend to fifty meters,” he thought. Taking into account his own distance from the guillotine, the Gentle Man arrived at a preliminary conclusion.

Now, a choice presented itself: should he remain where he was, staying relatively safe while pondering the guillotine’s abilities, or should he step directly into the suspected domain and experience the anomaly head-on?

“Senior!”

Qi Chen’s voice suddenly rang out behind him. Having chased all the way here, he had just arrived on the scene.

“Stay right there! Don’t come any closer!” The Gentle Man raised a hand to halt Qi Chen’s advance, turning his head to direct the newcomer’s gaze toward the ancient guillotine standing firmly on the ground.

As a fellow anomalous walker, Qi Chen could see the guillotine as well, and instantly noticed the strangeness in the air.

All around, every pedestrian in sight was in extreme peril, their necks bound tightly by those grayish-white ropes.

“They seem to be able to see the ropes and the guillotine themselves?” Qi Chen blurted out what he was thinking. From his observations, many passersby were glancing back in terror toward the guillotine.

“You’re right; this anomaly appears to possess a physical manifestation,” the Gentle Man confirmed, then shared his earlier deductions.

But after relaying the intelligence, the veteran abruptly changed his tone.

“You stay here at a safe distance and guide the special ops team when they arrive. I’m going into the domain to investigate the guillotine’s abilities firsthand!”

Qi Chen wanted to object, but seeing the unwavering determination in the Gentle Man’s expression, he found himself unable to utter the words.

He understood what the Gentle Man was thinking—for had he himself not entered this fog-shrouded world because of a single act of courage?

“Let me go in, Senior! Your experience is greater—you can guide me!”

The Gentle Man grinned, his broad palm landing gently on Qi Chen’s shoulder. “That’s all the more reason I should be the one to go, isn’t it?”

Suddenly, a scream of terror pierced the air, and both men whipped around toward the source.

One pedestrian’s anomalous rope had abruptly tightened, yanking them with a violent force straight to the guillotine’s side.

The blade glinted in their wide, terrified eyes. As the rope pulled again, the person was dragged helplessly to the ground, their fragile throat resting squarely on the guillotine’s block.

With a chilling snap, the unmanned guillotine fell of its own accord. Though its blade was mottled with dark red rust, it was disturbingly sharp, slicing cleanly without the slightest hesitation.

Crimson instantly stained the blade, the mingling of fresh blood and rust lending the entire guillotine an even more sinister aura.

All who were being dragged by the ropes witnessed this horror.

Instantly, the street erupted in cries of utter despair—ordinary citizens collapsed to the ground, drained of strength, allowing the invisible force to drag them away; others clawed madly at their own throats, but as they were just regular people, unable to touch the ropes, they only tore bloody welts into their own skin.

“The ropes are dragging them faster!” Qi Chen, sharp-eyed, noticed another change. “Those whose emotions are breaking down are being pulled toward the guillotine even more quickly!”

He instinctively wanted to rush forward, but suddenly his feet felt mired. Glancing down, Qi Chen was startled to find that the solid ground beneath him had turned strangely soft—as if he were sinking into a swamp.

Meanwhile, the Gentle Man had already dashed headlong into the domain of the guillotine’s anomalous power.

“Qi Chen, get ready to organize and analyze the intel I send you!”

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