Chapter 21: Containment Anomalies
Chapter 21: Containment Anomalies
When the police arrived, the Shadow Man had already been locked in a secret room.
Soon, the botanical garden was filled with police; the theft of Danmu was too significant an event.
Since Danmu had been confirmed to possess exceptional heat resistance, it had become a national treasure-level exotic flower.
The research had just begun when it was stolen, dealing an enormous blow to both the city and the province.
Despite the grave situation, the police were skeptical after hearing the security guards’ description.
Because it sounded utterly absurd.
A Shadow Man? Had they watched too much Conan?
Researchers and doctors who had heard the news kept arriving, their concern for Danmu obvious.
Immediately they asked: “How was it stolen? I rushed over right after hearing—was it really stolen? Was the culprit caught?”
“Well… he was caught… You’ll understand when you see,” the head security guard responded with a bitter smile.
Led by him, a group of police and doctors entered the room where the Shadow Man was temporarily detained.
The room had no windows. Inside, several guards encircled a shadowy figure wrapped in dozens of layers of rope. Besides Bai Ge’s initial bindings, the guards had added more…
Upon seeing the Shadow Man, the police and doctors felt dizzy, as if dreaming.
Several officers frantically scratched their heads—none had ever witnessed such a bizarre occurrence.
Without seeing him in person, one would never believe such a ghostly being existed!
The police leader, nearly distraught, asked: “What kind of specter is this? Even Africans aren’t this dark!”
This wasn’t a Black person—it was like living ink!
The doctors were horrified too, but they showed more courage and stepped forward to touch him.
“He’s real! And warm…”
“But there’s no heartbeat or breathing sound.”
“Exactly, Doctor. Besides talking, he makes no noise with any action.”
“What?”
A doctor widened his eyes, then suddenly took out a small hammer and struck the Shadow Man’s arm.
There should have been some impact sound, yet there was none—complete silence.
“Impossible! Sound comes from vibrations. If something emits no sound, it means its molecules aren’t moving…”
“How could molecular motion cease? Wouldn’t that require Absolute Zero?”
“But he has body temperature! And the hammer produced no noise either.”
His silent actions deeply unsettled the scientists.
Even if the Shadow Man didn’t vibrate, shouldn’t the hammer? Or the air?
There should have been some sound.
Yet it hadn’t happened. Instantly, the scientists gazed at the Shadow Man like a living treasure.
Their intense stares made him recoil.
“What are you planning?”
“You’re Human, right? How did this happen?” Bai Ge stepped in to ask, since he too was curious.
The Shadow Man glared hatefully at Bai Ge—the one responsible for his capture.
He still couldn’t process losing to Bai Ge.
But noticing the researchers’ expressions, which mirrored those directed at a lab rat, he faltered.
“I am Human!”
“I’m just a thief, not a monster. Don’t experiment on me,” the Shadow Man said dejectedly.
No longer defiant after being caught, he hastily declared himself Human.
He then shared his story:
Yesterday morning, he’d felt a strange sensation, and instantly transformed into this form.
His strength now let him lift 500 kilograms—a thousand jin of force.
His body was pitch-black, retaining color only in his eyes, even under light.
His mouth had enlarged, with strikingly white teeth, and he had no joints. Yet, he could exert force regardless of limb contortions.
He was blade- and bullet-proof—weapons left no damage—and explosives couldn’t harm him. He could even place his hand in fire.
He left no footprints anywhere, even in mud, and had no fingerprints.
Combined with his silence, this made him virtually invisible in the Darkness.
He also revealed he stored items inside his stomach, since he lacked internal organs, but could only access them through his mouth.
The knife and homemade bomb earlier had been swallowed beforehand.
His near-immortality meant mutual destruction tactics only killed others—not him.
Danmu, too, was “eaten” but stored internally.
With these traits, the Shadow Man was effectively a super-assassin.
His claim of invincibility held weight.
His only misery: he couldn’t revert to normal.
“What choice did I have? I became superpowered but monstrous! Hearing Danmu here could control fire, I decided to try…”
He defended himself:
Recent online buzz claimed Danmu made users breathe fire, extended lifespans, or was an elixir herb…
Hoping to regain his form, he’d acted impulsively after reading such reports.
“Really, I intended to serve my country! With enhanced powers from Danmu, the nation would need me…”
“Don’t talents like me deserve special treatment?”
He rambled while everyone stared, perplexed.
Bai Ge sighed. Obviously cornered, the Shadow Man switched tactics—pledging national service to win leniency.
“Um…”
The researchers looked at the police, who were equally clueless.
They’d never faced this!
He looked inhuman, yet spoke perfect local dialect.
Seeing their hesitation, the Shadow Man blurted: “I demand to see senior officials! I belong in the capital! I’m not ordinary—I’m immortal!”
Shouting, he snapped his leg ropes and stood up.
With his strength and immunity to joint strain, he violently tore through several layers.
Fortunately, the numerous ropes binding his upper body, even reinforced with steel wires, rendered his Herculean strength useless against them.
“Hmm?”
Bai Ge slid forward, sweeping his leg casually, and instantly toppled the Shadow Man.
The Shadow Man clenched his teeth, glaring at Bai Ge, utterly powerless despite his fury.
His skills were simply too rudimentary; all that brute strength amounted to nothing against Bai Ge’s prowess.
Luo Wendi chuckled beside them. “You bragged so much about yourself, and yet here you are, caught.”
“I…”
The Shadow Man was tongue-tied. He was baffled himself; he was clearly several times stronger than Bai Ge, yet somehow got beaten so easily.
He kept boasting about his superpowers, only to be subdued by an ordinary person. It was intensely awkward.
He felt too embarrassed to keep spouting nonsense about serving the country now.
He also knew very well that with Bai Ge present, escape was impossible.
Seeing Bai Ge effortlessly floor the Shadow Man, the crowd finally took notice of this stranger.
“Who is this?”
Luo Wendi stepped in smoothly. “He’s my friend, Bai Ge. He’s the one who caught the Shadow Man.”
Having witnessed Bai Ge’s skill, Luo Wendi’s attitude changed drastically; he openly claimed friendship now.
Meanwhile, the security guards chimed in. “This young man is incredibly skilled! He definitely knows martial arts! I saw the Shadow Man couldn’t even stand up against him.”
“You caught him? Thank you so much! If the Danmu had been stolen, we’d have been utterly lost on how to explain it!” A doctor shook Bai Ge’s hand enthusiastically.
Even the police officers regarded Bai Ge with deep respect. Most ordinary people would be petrified just seeing the Shadow Man; who’d dare confront him?
Bai Ge simply smiled in response.
His absolute confidence stemmed from one truth: while the Shadow Man seemed frightening, every single movement betrayed him as an ordinary person.
Bai Ge possessed sublime combat instincts. Just one glance at the Shadow Man’s running posture told Bai Ge everything about his strength.
Although Bai Ge hadn’t known what special abilities the Shadow Man might possess, the fact that he chose flight over a confident approach was telling.
That alone gave Bai Ge ample confidence to test him.
“So, yesterday morning then…”
The Shadow Man transformed yesterday morning.
Yesterday at dawn, Bai Ge had spent the entire night researching the Brain Hole’s traits, resulting in over a dozen waves of anomalous Energy escaping.
The Shadow Man’s many peculiarities were almost certainly manifested during that specific window.
“So, how do we handle him now?”
One doctor suddenly asked, “Could it be another case like that?”
Another doctor quickly queried, “Dr. Little Wang? Are you talking about… the sword?”
Dr. Little Wang nodded. “Exactly. Both are anomalous cases. Both equally bizarre.”
Bai Ge’s eyes immediately flickered. “A sword? What sword?”
Dr. Little Wang hesitated. “Best not to ask. It’s… not really something I can talk much about.”
Bai Ge pressed suddenly, “The sword that cameras can’t capture?”
Dr. Little Wang’s eyes widened. His expression instantly confirmed the truth.
Bai Ge smiled. It had just been a probe. The only strange sword he was aware of lately was that one.
Unexpectedly, it really was the infamous haunted sword from the online rumors.
Hearing this, the police captain recalled too. “Ah, that sword! I heard the rumors about it being haunted. Wait… Dr. Wang? Is it truly haunted?”
Dr. Little Wang shook his head firmly. “That’s nonsense! No such things as ghosts exist! It’s… just an unusual scientific phenomenon. I handled that sword myself; perfectly normal still. Please don’t spread unfounded rumors.”
Nobody bought the police captain’s explanation now.
Not with an inexplicable Shadow Man standing right here. How did that fit into known science? There was certainly no current explanation.
Bai Ge remained outwardly calm, but inside, waves churned.
From Dr. Little Wang’s fleeting micro-expressions, it was obvious things weren’t remotely as he claimed.
Bull about it being ‘scientific’… So, that thing I saw online was actually true.
Calculating back… the day I took the Danmu… that would be the day after college entrance exams finished…
If that sword is an Anomalous Trait realization triggered by my Danmu…
That means… I’ve realized far too many traits! The escaped powerful Energy surges must number at least twenty!
The world might seem normal on the surface… but underneath? Who knows how many inexplicable things have appeared!
The Shadow Man… the haunted sword… what else?
Could each of those twenty Energy escapes have created twenty Containment Anomalies?
From what I understand… isn’t this exactly like SCPs? Weird traits, baffling modes of origin… If I had to find a parallel, it’s only in those ‘Foundation’ stories I’ve read…
Bai Ge’s thoughts went to the ‘Foundation’, that fictional online entity dedicated to containing supernatural phenomena.
It began as a chain-story project online, featuring extensive logs of the impossible: unexplainable items, unexplainable phenomena, unexplainable locations…
Things endowed with bizarre Anomalous Traits, impossible to grasp rationally. Those were Containment Anomalies.
Entities that fundamentally shouldn’t exist in our Reality.
Yet here they were, undeniably manifesting before Bai Ge.
What exactly is this mysterious Energy? It exists within my Brain Hole… yet it doesn’t truly belong to me.
It unlocked my Brain Hole’s potential… yet spins away uncontrolled, passively twisting Reality beyond it…
It’s as if… it’s using my Brain Hole to seed the world with Containment Anomalies.
The origins of this mysterious Energy remained largely unknown to him.
But that didn’t stop him from grasping one dangerous truth.
The emergence of Containment Anomalies… threatens to profoundly destabilize this entire world.