DIM Chapter 10

“Suddenly, they all disappeared?”

“Yes, yesterday evening, all the anomalous codes vanished,” replied the head of the Cybersecurity Department.

The bright office lights illuminated the expressions on everyone’s faces.

“First, it was Xinhai City, then other cities, and finally other provinces. In about half an hour, all the anomalous codes were gone.”

“We suspect the original code was damaged, leaving no foundation for the subsequent anomalies.”

The technical team paused, then added in a joking tone, “Or perhaps it encountered something even more powerful and had to retract its secondary codes to concentrate its strength.”

Dealing with such a troublesome anomaly was already difficult enough. If there was something even stronger than it…

Fei Shilan instinctively glanced at Lin Lin.

The man, with a black ring on his finger, rested his chin on his hand, his eyelids half-closed, his gaze lazy and distracted. He even had the leisure to pop a small white pill into his mouth.

While everyone else was on edge, Lin Lin seemed completely unfazed. Fei Shilan sighed.

“All secure cities have now reopened their networks, and devices are functioning normally. The memory cleansing of relevant personnel is also proceeding in an orderly manner. Congratulations, everyone. We’ve safely overcome this crisis once again,” the director said, leading a round of applause.

“However,” he continued, “while there’s no longer a threat to lives, many people have suffered brain damage due to asphyxiation, and some are still in critical condition. We’ll need a significant amount of compensation funds.”

After memory cleansing, everyone would believe the deceased had simply died of sudden illness. In such cases, how would the compensation reach the families of the victims?

“For those with employers, we’ll contact their workplaces to distribute the compensation. For those without, we can arrange investments, insurance, or even lottery winnings. We’ll need the assistance of the Public Security Bureau for this.”

Anomalous incidents often involve a wide range of issues, far beyond what the understaffed Anomaly Investigation Bureau can handle alone. Thus, cooperation between the two agencies has become commonplace.

The two organizations are not hierarchical. The Anomaly Investigation Bureau originally started as a small team split off from the Public Security Bureau. As anomalous incidents became more frequent, it gradually expanded and became independent, with potential for further growth.

“However, I believe that since we haven’t located the original code, we can’t be certain the danger has been eliminated. We should maintain a high alert level until we find and destroy the original code, only then can we return to normal life,” said Qiu Yongwen, head of the Public Security Bureau.

As someone from the orthodox Public Security Bureau, he wanted to completely eliminate the threat and restore a safe environment for society.

But he didn’t understand the supernatural world.

Danger is everywhere, and anomalies are ever-present. Being able to return to normal life is already a rare achievement. Delving deeper into the causes could lead to even greater dangers.

In this world, knowing what is happening is enough, there’s no need to know the ‘why’. The more you know, the closer you are to madness. This was a lesson learned from countless bloody cases.

The Anomaly Investigation Bureau’s seemingly passive attitude, in Qiu Yongwen’s eyes, is actually a result of their extensive experience with anomalous events. They know all too well the immense power of the entities they face.

If the original code of the anomaly was already gone, how could a mere human be stronger than whatever subdued it?

“We’ll continue searching for traces of the original code, but the immediate priority is reconstruction and calming the public’s emotions. What do you think?” Director Chen said cheerfully, steering the conversation.

As the primary responsible unit, Qiu Yongwen had no reason to refuse.

After a moment of thought, he glanced at the distracted white-haired man and slowly nodded. “Since you put it that way, we’ll leave it to you, Director Chen.”

After the meeting, Qiu Yongwen stopped Lin Lin.

“Captain Lin.”

The white-haired young man, hands in his pockets, looked at him lazily. “Hello, what’s up?”

“Do you have time for dinner tonight? I owe you for saving my son last time. If it weren’t for you, I’d be burying my child at my age,” Qiu Yongwen said with a chuckle.

Lin Lin politely declined, “Not tonight. I have a flight back to the capital.”

Watching Lin Lin’s carefree back, Qiu Yongwen’s smile faded.

At home, a teenager was watching TV in the living room. When Qiu Yongwen returned, the boy eagerly asked, “How did it go, Dad? Did he agree?”

“He’s heading back to the capital on official business. No time,” Qiu Yongwen said, hanging up his coat.

“If only you could pull some strings for Captain Lin. I heard he’s just a team leader,” Qiu Yizhi said, disappointed. “He saved my life. I really should thank him properly.”

Qiu Yongwen hesitated.

He wanted to tell his son that while Lin Lin might be just a team leader on paper, in reality, even Director Chen didn’t dare interrupt him during the meeting.

Your father is leagues below him. How could I possibly ‘pull strings’ for him?

What could I even offer? Shine his shoes?

I’m not even worthy of that!

Qiu Yongwen changed the subject, patting his son’s head. “How’s school going?”

“Don’t worry about my studies,” Qiu Yizhi smiled, revealing two dimples.

But then he frowned. “But Jiayang has been obsessed with online games lately. His grades are slipping, and he’s been hanging out with some shady characters.”

Qiu Yongwen paused. “I’ll talk to him.”

“Jiayang is your son too. You should care more about him!”

Qiu Yongwen sighed. “Ah, it’s my fault.”

—————-

By 7 AM, when the next shift colleague arrived, Ruan Zhou hadn’t had a single customer, which was disheartening for someone just starting the job.

His colleague was extremely thin, with protruding wrist bones, sunken cheeks, and a sallow complexion. His clothes were dirty, and he looked severely malnourished.

The Fuqiang Convenience Store had three employees working in shifts to keep the 24-hour store running.

Li Juan had mentioned she also lived in the employee dorm, but Ruan Zhou had never run into her.

As for this man, he probably didn’t live in the dorm.

“Hello—” Ruan Zhou greeted him.

But the man didn’t respond, didn’t even look at him. He went straight to the storage room, changed into his uniform, and then started restocking the shelves with a shopping basket.

After making a round in the store, the man came to the cash register, his eyes vacant. “Did you not sell anything last night?”

“I sold a pack of cigarettes,” Ruan Zhou quickly pointed behind him.

The man’s expression darkened. “That’s not enough. If you don’t sell more, you’ll be… eaten.”

His voice was so low it was almost a whisper.

Ruan Zhou didn’t catch the last part, only hearing that his sales were too low.

Do convenience stores have sales quotas now?

How competitive!

“Why are you still here?” The man gave Ruan Zhou a cold look. “Don’t delay my work.”

What a cold worker.

After finishing the accounts, Ruan Zhou glanced at the man again. He was struggling to move heavy items onto the shelves, his spine almost piercing through his tank top. The large jar in his hands looked like it could fit his entire head.

Ruan Zhou changed his clothes, left his things aside, and went up to the third floor.

He checked his phone—no new messages.

Of course, the only “person” who could send him messages had already been blocked.

Ruan Zhou lay down on the bed and quickly fell asleep.

Downstairs, the emaciated convenience store clerk continued to struggle with the heavy items.

7 AM was peak morning rush hour, but the Fuqiang Convenience Store wasn’t near any office buildings, making it hard to attract customers.

After organizing the shelves, the clerk stood behind the cash register.

He tried to force a smile, but his sallow face, with barely any flesh on it, made the expression look shrivelled.

Outside, the sound of motorcycles approached.

Three young men, seemingly returning from a night out, stopped by the store.

They laughed and joked as they entered.

Though it was just an ordinary convenience store, the variety of goods was astonishing, and the prices were surprisingly low.

One of the young men looked up at the corner of the ceiling and signaled to his companions.

A punk¹ with heavy smoky makeup walked up to the cash register, glanced around, and said, “Give me a pack of Huazi.”

The shrivelled clerk slowly replied, “We don’t keep them on the shelves. Wait a moment, I’ll get them from the cabinet.”

The punk nodded, and as the clerk bent down to retrieve the cigarettes, he glanced back at his friends.

The other two quickly found blind spots in the store, covering each other as they stuffed their oversized jackets with expensive items—alcohol, chocolates, anything they could grab. In just a few minutes, their jackets were bulging.

As the clerk was about to stand up, the punk added, “Actually, I want a whole carton of Huazi.”

The clerk bent down again to fetch the carton.

The two boys continued to stuff more items into their jackets, while the punk kept the clerk distracted.

But just as they were about to leave, the clerk called out, “Customers, you haven’t paid for the items in your arms.”

The three boys’ faces turned pale.

“What are you talking about?!” The punk shoved the clerk, causing the carton of Huazi to fall to the ground.

“Two bottles of red wine, four boxes of chocolates, one can, two boxes of candies, and many other small items.”

The boys were stunned. How did the clerk know? They had hidden everything so well!

“Did you not plan to pay?” The clerk’s shrivelled smile disappeared, replaced by an expressionless face that was somewhat unsettling.

The two boys who had stolen the items quickly fled, leaving the punk behind.

“Will you pay for them?” The clerk stiffly turned his head, his voice calm. “Two cartons of cigarettes, plus the items they took, total 2,040 yuan. Cash or qr?”

How did this guy know the exact amount? They had hidden everything so carefully!

The punk’s lips trembled, but instead of pulling out cash, he drew a gleaming silver dagger.

With a swift motion, he stabbed the clerk.

Blood soaked the dark green apron, turning it a muddy brown.

The punk glanced around, confirming there were no cameras, then quickly left, not forgetting to take the two cartons of Huazi with him.

Meanwhile, the clerk lay on the ground, his brown teeth stained with blood, smiling as he watched them leave.

This smile was infinitely more genuine than the shrivelled one he had worn while working.