Chapter 42: Harmony

If Bai Ge remained within the Thunderstorm Cloud, he could obtain ten thousand kilowatt-hours of electricity per hour, an efficiency only half that of the power generating units.

But… it was free!

Using the power generating units to acquire electricity required substantial funds from Bai Ge.

Yet, with the Thunderstorm Cloud now, he no longer needed them.

“Unfortunately, I must constantly agitate it, making it produce lightning repeatedly to achieve this charging rate. Otherwise, merely staying inside it, getting two thousand kilowatt-hours per hour would be considered decent.”

“Which means, I cannot use the Appendix to replace me for charging; I must personally remain inside it.”

To put it bluntly, it was like a “pedal-powered generator” where Bai Ge had to do the work himself.

However, the most important aspect of this cloud for Bai Ge wasn’t the lightning. As stated before, the actual electrical energy from the lightning was quite small; it just had high voltage and current.

The most important thing… was the matter.

Infinite water meant infinite hydrogen and oxygen elements.

Once Bai Ge acquired Controlled Nuclear Fusion Technology in the future, he could directly build a reactor within the Brain Hole.

Combined with this cloud, that meant a continuous supply of clean energy!

After quickly eating his fill at the hotel, Bai Ge took out his phone, intending to see where the nearest Containment Anomalies was.

To manifest Magnetic Field manipulation, he had created another Containment Anomaly.

This was unavoidable. Bai Ge acknowledged he had many shortcomings. To achieve his goal of containment without relying solely on the Brain Hole, using only his own abilities, he would need to train his body to an extraordinary level.

“Huh? Why are there so many more Red Dots?”

Bai Ge looked at his phone and was startled.

Dozens of additional Red Dots had appeared on the screen.

This clearly didn’t correspond to the expected number of Containment Anomalies.

“Most of these extra Red Dots are concentrated in one place in Australia… I understand now, these Red Dots aren’t the Containment Anomalies themselves!”

Bai Ge quickly deduced the reason: those likely represented anomalous effects derived from Containment Anomalies or the creatures they had created.

Based on Bai Ge’s experience freely setting parameters within the Brain Hole, Containment Anomalies could be absolutely anything.

For example, the Shadow Man Bow Tie – Bai Ge had never set such a characteristic within the Brain Hole, yet a Containment Anomaly had manifested it.

This meant the settings for Containment Anomalies weren’t randomly generated from parameters already existing within the Brain Hole.

What parameters a Containment Anomaly might possess was entirely possible, encompassing anything.

Therefore, it was very likely there existed a Containment Anomaly that was itself an anomalous item, and simultaneously capable of creating anomalous items.

Suppose there was a Containment Anomaly that could turn creatures into zombies. If the zombies were also supernatural entities, they would naturally appear as Red Dots on the electronic map as well.

But the two were different. Even though both were paranormal phenomena, one was the original Containment Anomaly, and the other was its Derivative, with completely distinct origins.

“Australia suddenly has so many Red Dots appearing; that place must be the headquarters of the Foundation, right? The Foundation used one Containment Anomaly to create many Derivatives? This organization is quite brazen…”

Bai Ge shook his head. He currently had no involvement with the Foundation.

He set his target on the scattered, isolated Red Dots.

A single Red Dot in a region indicated an isolated Containment Anomaly.

“Hmm, my home province actually has gained an additional Red Dot… Perfect timing. I was planning to go home anyway to get my visa sorted.”

Bai Ge smiled. He had his next steps clearly planned.

First, return home to handle the procedures for travelling abroad.

After that was done, the auction for the Spinel should have concluded. Grab the money from the sale, head straight to the United States to find his sister, and while there, use a United States Supercomputer to realize the Controlled Nuclear Fusion Technology.

Now that there was a Containment Anomaly near his hometown, it was the perfect opportunity to contain it while he was back.

…

The office of the Shanghai branch of the Harmony Department was simply an independent office space carved out within the compound of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

A tall woman walked in. Her eyes, shaped like almonds, bore no makeup, yet exuded a striking presence.

Especially her legs, which were extremely long – 1.3 meters from the waist down.

Dressed all in black, with her hair tied high in a ponytail, she walked in making intimidating steps with her boots. Short-statured men often felt a sense of inferiority standing before her.

“The Thunderstorm Cloud has been resolved, but it wasn’t us who did it. This is what he looks like.”

The woman directly handed a hard drive to someone beside her. Soon, footage captured by a Drone appeared on the large screen.

This was the second Drone’s footage, much clearer than the first. A strikingly handsome face was visible in detail.

“Group Leader Song Lan, have we identified him?” asked a staff member.

“We found no record of this person. His facial features aren’t in the national identity verification System,” the woman, Song Lan, replied.

This appearance was purely fictitious, concocted by Bai Ge.

In fact, it was so meticulously crafted that not a single person in the whole country shared it.

“Still, based on his appearance alone, a thorough investigation could find him. Shanghai is densely covered with electronic eyes,” someone pointed out.

Song Lan said, “I already sent people to investigate. He entered a restaurant not long ago, but by the time our agents arrived, he was gone.”

“Gasp! He navigated billions of volts of lightning effortlessly, flew through clouds, could retrieve objects remotely, appeared and vanished without a trace… even his face has no records… Could he be an Immortal emerging from some remote mountain forest…”

Song Lan interrupted, “Don’t speculate blindly. To date, all anomalous entities can be traced back no earlier than June. Including Containment Anomalies abroad, none predate the ‘Iron-Cutting Sword’. The prevailing theory among the department’s doctors is… that all Containment Anomalies appeared after the ‘Gentle Death’ incident. This is now a global consensus.”

“Speculating about him being some secluded Immortal is baseless.”

“However, we can give him a designation based on this.”

“Let’s call the humanoid Containment Anomaly ‘Tribulation Transcender’. We cannot rule out the possibility that he is a holder of a Containment Anomaly, though.”

Swiftly, Song Lan collaborated with her colleagues to compile the report, pairing the information with the image, and transmitted it to the department in the Capital.

Not long after, instructions arrived from the Capital.

“Group Leader Song Lan, the Capital instructed us to try our best to ‘recruit and pacify him,'” one person conveyed.

Song Lan chuckled slightly. “Naturally. Let’s be real, our department had absolutely no way to handle the Thunderstorm Cloud. Solving it would have required an enormous Magnetic Field generator – one large enough to envelop the entire storm cloud and capable of being deployed over a thousand meters high. Building such a device would take us three years. But if Shanghai had endured heavy rain for three years, the city would have been ruined.”

“So, the Tribulation Transcender actually did us a massive favor. However, being an uncontrolled Containment Anomaly, we still cannot just leave him unchecked in the outside world.”

“But you’ve seen the Tribulation Transcender’s capabilities. Using force to apprehend him would be exceedingly troublesome.”

Hearing this, someone couldn’t help but say, “No matter how powerful he is, he can’t stand against an army.”

Song Lan glared at him. “Compared to other Containment Anomalies, the Tribulation Transcender is, at least, human. We can communicate and resolve issues… Deploying the military for a forcible operation would be the most foolish action. Taking aggressive action without caution could easily result in a meaningless conflict – not only failing to catch the Tribulation Transcender but also provoking social chaos.”

For the time being, due to their relative weakness in force, their approach must prioritize harmonious resolution of problems, striving to minimize societal impact. Resorting to violence would be the absolute last resort.

Song Lan stated, “When weak, we need harmony. Only when we become strong, can we then ‘harmonize’ the Containment Anomalies.”

(Harmonize: Likely a euphemism for forcefully containing or neutralizing.)

“Notify all comrades nationwide: if the Tribulation Transcender is spotted again, prioritize cooperation and communication. Avoid conflict with him at all costs.”

“The Foundation’s terrorism has already caused enough difficulty for our nation…”

“We must not trouble the nation further.”

…

After finishing his meal, Bai Ge went straight into the restroom and changed into an ordinary-looking face and different clothes. He then left the restaurant and headed for the airport.

Upon arriving at the airport, he changed back to his original face and boarded a flight – just barely restored – back to Hubei (specifically, his home province in Central China).

He arrived back home the afternoon of the next day.

The moment he entered the door, a strong smell of chemical disinfectant assaulted his nose.

Bai Ge focused his eyes and saw it was his childhood friend, Shao Yuan. Shao Yuan had a key to his house.

Previously, Bai Ge would often return home to find Shao Yuan inside.

“Close the door properly, don’t let the smell out,” Shao Yuan called out urgently upon seeing Bai Ge return.

Bai Ge instinctively locked the door and asked, “What are you doing now? Don’t mess around in my house.”

Shao Yuan’s nickname was “the Veterinarian,” not because he liked treating animals, but paradoxically, because he liked experimenting on them.

Since studying medicine, he had dissected countless small animals. If environmental activists found out, they’d surely ransack his clinic.

Shao Yuan was sealing a plastic barrel. Bai Ge recognized it immediately as being made of polytetrafluoroethylene (a Teflon-like material).

“Did you use aqua regia? What are you dissolving? Animal remains?” Bai Ge detected the underlying scent beneath the disinfectant.

Shao Yuan had deep shadows under his eyes, as if he hadn’t slept well for several days. He said, “Human remains.”

“Huh?” Bai Ge was startled, confused.

Shao Yuan sighed, sat back down on the sofa, pulled a box out from under the coffee table, and opened it. Inside was full of cash.

“This is two hundred thousand. Keep it for our little sister!”

Bai Ge stared dumbfounded. He immediately ripped open the seal on the plastic barrel. It was almost full of murky, dark red liquid– raw sewage mixed with partially dissolved clothing.

“Holy shit! What did you do?!” Bai Ge was shocked. Shao Yuan was really dissolving a person in aqua regia!

Shao Yuan lay back on the sofa, seeming to finally relax fully now that Bai Ge was home.

He let out a long breath and said, “Didn’t do much… I dissolved a beast…”