Shrouded Seascape

Chapter 1068: Anomaly

TW/CW: Animal Cruelty

"Damn it, control it! Control the power inside you! It's the same thing as controlling your hands and feet!

"Are you stupid? It's been so many days, and you still can't control it! I told you to guide it with your will! Ignore your own personality and thoughts—your own thoughts have nothing to do with your will."

Gao Zhiming took small bites of his hamburger while watching his big sister and Olivia in the nearby clearing.

The freckled young woman was crying fearfully while sitting on a stool amidst Anna's furious scolding. Tears that resembled mercury constantly fell down her eyes that resembled mirrors.

Gao Zhiming was young, and his big sister hadn't explained anything to him. He also couldn't understand the language they were using, but Gao Zhiming understood what was happening through the way they interacted daily.

The freckled young woman seemed to have absorbed the huge mirror and had obtained its special ability. His big sister needed the mirror's special ability, but the freckled young woman hadn't been able to master the ability despite his big sister's hands-on guidance.

A large hand pressed on his head, turning him back toward the table. "Stop looking and just eat your food."

The owner of the hand was Jackal.

Gao Zhiming's attention shifted from his sister to the gun in Jackal's hands. It was a small pistol with a silver finish. It had a distinct design featuring faint patterns etched on its surface.

What boy wouldn't want a gun? Gao Zhiming looked at it with envy. The pistol looked beautiful with its silver finish.

Gao Zhiming was reminded of the time when he and Little Sichuan had once found a broken plastic toy gun in a dumpster. They were so excited by the discovery that they couldn't sleep for several days.

Jackal placed the pistol in front of Gao Zhiming. Then, he looked at the boy and said, "This is yours now. Take good care of it. The High Priestess instructed me to teach you how to use weapons this afternoon.

"I'm going to train you according to the IMF's standard training."

"Mmhm!" Gao Zhiming was so excited that he forgot about his food. Grabbing the gun with both hands, he played with it for a while before commenting, "Wow, it's so heavy…"

Gao Zhiming raised the gun and started aiming at things nearby. Jackal saw that and promptly restrained him. "Rule number one when it comes to handling firearms—never point the muzzle at your colleagues."

In stark contrast to Gao Zhiming's delight, Anna was infuriated.

It had been a while since Olivia had absorbed the mirror's special ability. Once she had mastered the mirror's special ability, Anna would finally be able to alter Charles' memories, and she would have an extremely useful tool as well. ꞦἈꞐo͍ＢĚś

Having someone capable of altering memories nearby meant that Anna's future endeavors would become a bit smoother and safer. Erasing the memories of the enemies was far less likely to attract the IMF's attention compared to killing them and disposing of their bodies.

So far, however, all these remained as Anna's wishful thinking. Apart from dreaming about some "fairies" in the mirror every night, Olivia showed no signs of being able to use the Anomaly.

Anna opened a rusty dog cage and dragged out a puppy with one hand.

"Try it again!"

Olivia bit her lip upon hearing the puppy's whining. A tinge of reluctance marred her face as she asked, "Can we use rats instead? This puppy is so pitiful."

"You better hurry up, or you're going to be as pitiful as this dog!" Anna retorted, squeezing each word through her gnashed teeth.

Olivia took a deep breath and gathered herself. Moments later, she opened her mirror-like eyes and cast her gaze on the puppy.

In an instant, scenes appeared in the young woman's mind. She saw the streets through the puppy's eyes as it wandered; she saw the blue skies, a manhole cover, and a pile of yellow-looking food.

Unlike humans, the puppy's memories weren't dominated by visual memories. Instead, it was being dominated by olfactory memories—the delicious smell of food, the stench of garbage, and the unique scents of the other street dogs.

Olivia struggled to follow Anna's instructions. She attempted to use her will to alter a small portion of these memories. As soon as her will made contact with those memories, everything spiraled out of control. The memories spun rapidly and eventually compressed into something indescribable.

Of course, this all happened within the puppy's sea of consciousness. On the outside, the puppy yelped, and its head twisted sharply to the side, falling unconscious.

Eventually, the puppy awakened, but its behavior became abnormal. Its mouth was agape, and saliva was constantly dripping from it. Its limbs were twitching intermittently while its eyes were darting around in their sockets.

Olivia had ruthlessly annihilated the puppy's memories and cognition.

The sight convinced Anna that she absolutely wouldn't let Olivia anywhere near Gao Zhiming's memories.

However, Anna refrained from further scolding. This was Olivia's best performance since they started, and she was finally usable as an assassin.

Anna turned to the table and began eating her meal.

Gao Zhiming put down his gun and carefully pushed his french fries toward her.

Jackal glanced at Olivia in the distance and said, "High Priestess, she's still young, and I'm sure she hasn't received any special mental training. What she has achieved so far is already quite remarkable.

"According to the IMF, one needs at least two years of special training to wield mental-type Controllable Anomalies."

Anna swallowed her food and turned toward the tablet screen. "That's only because they weren't pushed to their limits and weren't desperate. If the water's already up to her neck, wouldn't she break her limits and instantly master it?"

Anna was reminded of the Explorers who had gone to the Core to search and retrieve the darkness. They had all fused with Anomalies, often more than one, and she had never heard of them going through a two-year training regimen.

Anna's anger actually masked a hint of worry. Olivia had absorbed a defective Anomaly, so it was unclear if her lack of progress was all on her or if it was all because there was something wrong with the Anomaly itself.

If it was the latter, practice alone wouldn't be enough for Olivia to master the special ability within her.

While pondering over the issue, Anna browsed many different international websites on the Internet.

Recently, there had been more and more reports of radiation accidents and random explosions all over the world. Anna smiled at the sight of them. Her contingency plan was working.

The fusion ritual that she had left with the vampires had inevitably been leaked, and the organizations hiding in the shadows due to generations of persecution were now making their own attempts in challenging the IMF's authority.

The IMF was surely going to be busy dealing with them, and it was great news.

After all, they were safer the busier they were...

Jackal noticed the news as well. Taking a sip of his cola, he turned to Anna and said, "High Priestess, if you still want to create a new religion or a group as a smokescreen, then I know one place that meets your prerequisites.

"Where?" Anna looked at Jackal.

"Subterranean London."