Chapter 80: Every Piece of the Puzzle Matters

Due to the urgency of the situation and a shortage of personnel, Qi Chen was forced to act alone, while each of the other anomalous operatives also had individual missions to undertake.

Riding the motorcycle provided by Fu Ying, the roaring wind howled in his ears. Qi Chen, who had never driven a motorcycle before, pushed the speed to a level he would never have dared imagine. He only wanted to complete his task as quickly as possible... so he could prevent further casualties.

At this moment, the greatest threat to City Three was not the first wave of regional anomalous incidents, but the mob riots spreading throughout the city. After thorough analysis by the Intelligence Division, it had been confirmed that the catalyst for this city-wide hazard was the candy. Qi Chen had shared everything he knew, especially about the middle-aged woman who had first distributed the candy long ago.

The highly efficient Intelligence Division immediately sprang into action, pulling surveillance footage with the technical department’s assistance and actually managed to pinpoint the figure of that middle-aged woman. About an hour before the candy incident erupted, she had entered the city’s largest shopping center, the Minsheng Mall, alone—and had not been seen since.

The preliminary deduction: she was either the source of the anomalous candy or carried an item with source-level anomaly. Qi Chen’s mission was to find her, for he was the only one who had seen her with his own eyes.

Along the way, Qi Chen witnessed countless scenes that defied reason—citizens affected by the candy, their eyes bloodshot, rampaging through the streets like mad zombies, screaming and crashing into everything. Every road was plunged into chaos.

Multi-car pileups now seemed trivial compared to scenes where more than a dozen vehicles collided in a tangled mass. Innocent people who had not made it home in time were chased and bitten by the red-eyed mob, their screams abruptly silenced as they were dragged to the ground. Others cowered helplessly in corners, trembling, heads buried, hoping not to be discovered by the crazed masses.

Yet amid the rampant disorder, some figures moved against the tide. Security officers from the various precincts threw themselves into the fray, doing everything in their power to restore order. Though armed with lethal pistols, they rarely used them, instead choosing blunt weapons or pepper guns to hold back the rioters. They did not understand the anomalous effect, only that their duty was to protect others, shouting orders to block off all main roads and dispatching teams to rescue the many injured from car accidents.

Qi Chen sped through this tableau, clearing obstacles ahead with force and pushing the throttle to its limit.

To City Three, they were all but tiny fragments of a puzzle, yet none could be spared if the picture was to be complete.

...

...

“Captain of Squad Three, Seventh Battalion, reporting to you, Sir!”

Outside Minsheng Mall, the squad leader on duty saluted Qi Chen as he screeched the motorcycle to a halt.

Qi Chen recognized him—it was the Special Operations squad he had worked with not long ago, during the purge of the anomalous hotel with the gentle man. He remembered that over half their members had been lost in that operation; fate had brought them together once more.

“What’s the situation inside the mall?” Qi Chen asked rapidly, heading toward the nearest blockade line.

In his view, the entire perimeter of the mall was cordoned off with bright red tape, and the ground near the blockade was stained with large patches of blood—evidence of the brutal clashes that had erupted during the lockdown.

The squad leader still reeked of blood.

“Reporting to you, Faceless Officer! Minsheng Mall has six exits, but due to anomalous effects, we could only block four... The remaining two are saturated with intense anomaly, and our men can’t operate near them,” the squad leader’s voice was strained.

Qi Chen caught the unease and frowned, “Where are the officers assigned to those blockades? Take me to them.”

The squad leader hesitated, then replied, “Sir... They’ve all entered the mall. And people from all over the city keep converging here—citizens with red eyes.”

Qi Chen did not reprimand him, for he understood that well-trained officers would only defy orders and enter the mall under the influence of the anomaly.

At that moment, his dedicated intelligence team relayed the latest information.

“Faceless Officer, our most recent intelligence confirms that all candy-affected individuals are unconsciously moving towards Minsheng Mall. We can further conclude the source of the anomaly is highly likely inside the mall!

“Connecting to the district security archives: Minsheng Mall was scheduled to host a large event today, and at the onset of the anomalous outbreak, about seven hundred people were gathered inside. Some managed to escape after the incident, but current estimates place roughly fifteen hundred people within the mall.

“These include thirty special operations officers and eighty-six missing security personnel.”

“Any recommendations for action?” Qi Chen steadied himself and consulted the analysis team, who had greater expertise regarding anomalies.

“Our summary of the candy anomaly’s mechanism is as follows: Phase one, victims consume the candy; during the latent period, those who have eaten it exhibit no symptoms. Phase two, triggered by either time or a unique stimulus, victims enter a state of extreme mania, pursuing pleasure with pathological fervor and attacking anyone within their sight. Phase three, victims unconsciously move towards Minsheng Mall; it remains uncertain if there are further phases.

“Our advice is: Faceless Officer, ensure you are not affected by the mall’s anomaly and organize as many citizens as possible to enter the mall’s interior!”

It was the safest course, for so far, the middle-aged woman was only suspected of being connected to the anomaly’s source; the true nature of the source was unknown. Yet the strangeness exhibited by Minsheng Mall was enough to signal the extreme threat lurking within.

At this point, stopping more candy-eaters from entering was victory.

Without hesitation, Qi Chen ordered the squad leader to take him to the two unsealed entrances.

Under the warm glow of the tower lights, dense crowds surged from afar, fighting and pushing toward the mall, like a flood breaking through a dam.

There were easily several hundred.

Qi Chen, however, was alone.

...