Chapter 505: The Strange Lord of the Strange Society

Apart from this information, Ye Qiyan also found some additional content on the tablet.

For example, conjectures about the cause of the Strange Species' appearance.

The humans of this world believe that the Strange Species emerged during the growth of civilization itself and the evolution of the world, accompanying the appearance of every single [item]. People developed various kinds of [beliefs] towards these [items].

These [beliefs] combined with [information], ultimately giving birth to the monsters known as the Strange Species.

However, this seems to be just a conjecture; the specific reason remains unknown.

"So... what exactly is the mission for this stop?"

"Caw, caw!"

The cry of the Demon Raven came from the sky.

Looking up, he saw it was already followed by a cloud-like mass of Corpse Crows, cleaning up the surrounding strange birds.

The Sky-Resonant Thunder Eagle followed beside the Demon Raven, looking exactly like a little sidekick.

They circled and descended, using their black feathers to point out a direction.

This meant they had found living people.

————

"Huff, huff... Run, faster, even faster! The main force of those Strange Species has been attracted by something, now is the only chance to escape!"

"No, I can't run anymore, you go ahead quickly! The attacks from these Strange Species are getting stronger and stronger. We must get the message to the First Research Institute, otherwise all our researchers will have died for nothing!"

Two researchers in white lab coats were being chased by a Strange Species with a traffic signal light as its main body.

The thinner and weaker of the two tripped and fell, throwing a data storage drive in his hand to the other person. He himself stayed in place and was caught up by the Strange Species.

The Strange Species opened its large mouth, revealing a tongue made of cables that coiled around him, dragged him into its mouth, and ground him to pieces.

The remaining one gritted his teeth, picked up the storage drive, and continued to run wildly.

Meanwhile, the Strange Species that had finished feeding sped up. The red light among its three red, yellow, and green signal lights flashed frantically.

The remaining man only felt as if his two legs were filled with lead and couldn't move.

"Damn it!"

He unwillingly closed his eyes, waiting for the moment of death to arrive.

However...

Swish, swish—

The sharp sound of cutting came from the direction of that Strange Species.

Boom—!

The Strange Species' body was sliced into four segments.

Eve stepped on the blade, treading on the corpse.

The diamond-shaped rabbit ears on her head twitched. She kicked the carcass aside, revealing the figure of the young man behind it.

"Sorry, I'm a little late. Are you hurt?"

A gentle voice, one that sounded inherently trustworthy, reached the researcher's ears.

His legs regained sensation, and he stumbled, falling to the ground.

The fear of nearly dying soaked his entire body in cold sweat.

The researcher swallowed his saliva and finally raised his head, looking up at the unfamiliar young man who now stood before him.

"You, who are you?"

Ye Qiyan extended a hand towards this man.

"I am the 'Different Color' from the Strange Society Research Institute, used to carry out secret missions."

Different Color.

This was also a name Ye Qiyan obtained after Lisette performed a brute-force hack on the information in that tablet.

Their information did not exist within the Strange Society; only a handful of people knew of their existence.

Possessing special abilities similar to the Strange Species, they served as hidden combat personnel outside the official roster, fighting against powerful Strange Species.

Wasn't this identity perfectly suited for him right now?

"Different Color? I actually get to see a Different Color... it's over... this city really is finished..."

Unexpectedly, this guy wasn't happy about Ye Qiyan's identity. On the contrary, a trace of pain appeared on his face.

Well, Ye Qiyan felt he might have somewhat misjudged the significance of this identity to others.

But it didn't matter. No matter what others thought, he was definitely going to play this role.

"Ah, sorry, Different Color, sir! I didn't mean to say such things on purpose! I, I was just too scared. After all, places where someone like you appears usually mean an S-class Strange Species is present... That's why I..."

S to D.

That was roughly how this world classified the Strange Species.

"Don't worry too much. I was just passing by by chance, preparing to leave. This city is not part of my mission. I just happened to save you; you simply had good luck."

[Bewitchment~]

"However, I just arrived in this city and don't know the situation here yet. Can you tell me what happened here?"

The demon's whisper echoed in the researcher's ear.

A flash of ashen gray passed through his eyes, and then, without any hesitation or doubt, he began answering Ye Qiyan's question.

"Different Color, sir, I am a researcher from Branch 43. We discovered that a special entity is being born among the Strange Species! This special entity is causing the originally scattered Strange Species to gather together.

This city itself is at the border between the safe zone and the uncharted domain, and it was among the first to be attacked. After the Strange Species appeared on a large scale, communications were cut off. We must convey this message to headquarters! We must defeat that special entity to preserve the embers of civilization from being extinguished!"

A special entity, huh?

Ye Qiyan called up the system interface, looking at the sand table inside the train car.

Ever since he could access level 9 stations, the usefulness of this sand table had been declining more and more.

It was the same now.

The light points displayed on it numbered in the dozens.

It was impossible to distinguish which one was that special Strange Species.

The reason for this situation wasn't hard to understand.

These light points were probably the most powerful Strange Species in the world right now.

It was just unknown which one was that special Strange Species.

"I see. So you plan to go to headquarters?"

"Yes, Different Color, sir, I was going to headquarters... If you happen to be heading in the same direction..."

Ye Qiyan put away his smile, instead putting on a thoughtful expression.

"This matter is very important. Coincidentally, I do need to go near headquarters. I will take you to headquarters."

"This! Different Color, sir, on behalf of humanity, I salute you!"

"I still don't know your name?"

"Sir, my name is Klik."

Taking one person out of this city wasn't difficult for Ye Qiyan.

Even fighting his way out directly would just waste some time.

However, these monsters that even Gluttony had no appetite for held no meaning for him even if he killed them all.

From Klik's mouth, Ye Qiyan also learned that the storage drive he was clutching contained the frequency of that special Strange Species.

Using this frequency, one could roughly locate its range.

He ordered the mech soldiers to return to the hangar and recalled the train back to the matrix.

This time, Ye Qiyan, for the first time in a while, only brought Eve with him, heading towards the exit of this city.