They say I'm a world-destroying anomaly.

"An anomaly has been detected. Please have the data team analyze it as soon as possible."

Immediately, Cheng Xu activated the communication device built into his protective suit and issued instructions to the personnel waiting outside the abnormal area.

So far, the act of "entering the laboratory" has not triggered any abnormal stress response, but the three still dare not make any rash moves. They patiently wait for the data team's reply while observing the internal environment of the biological laboratory.

The walls are slightly yellowed, and the frosted tabletops show signs of years of wear and tear, indicating that this laboratory has been in use for some time. However, overall, all facilities and equipment have been properly maintained.

Looking back, the silver-white metal door serves as a boundary, separating a clean laboratory on one side from a teeming ocean of wriggling fungi on the other, as if they were two completely different worlds.

The voice of the executor came through the miniature headset.

"Based on database comparison and analysis, the suspected abnormal device is the BIO-470 standard incubator manufactured by Senyang Corporation. It was purchased by the College of Life Sciences of Chengxing University in 19431 (New Star Calendar) for the purpose of culturing various space fungal strains."

Through the concise explanation on the other end of the headset, Cheng Xu finally understood that every year a large number of fungal samples exposed to cosmic radiation are sent to this laboratory for cultivation, and this incubator is a seedbed used to artificially create a growth environment.

"Is this anomaly caused by a mutation in space fungi?"

Fu Chen made a conjecture in the communication channel.

Sun Yin quickly agreed: "Very likely. It should be a product of a sudden mutation, similar to the 'Rampaging Ape-Man'."

A string of information flashed through Cheng Xu's mind—

Alert Level Anomaly [Rampaging Ape-Man], code C-7010, was originally a common brown-haired primate ape from the Kazu galaxy. For research purposes, it was placed in a small space station for three years and twenty-five days before undergoing a malignant mutation. Its physical functions, such as skin protection, muscle strength, and cognitive abilities, were greatly enhanced, and it developed indiscriminate high-intensity aggression.

When the Anomaly Management Bureau discovered it, the entire space station had already been wiped out by it.

Besides the "Rampaging Ape-Man," existing files contain numerous other anomalies caused by cosmic radiation, resulting in unique mutations. These anomalies are generally at a safe level and rarely exceed the alert level.

Like Fu Chen and Sun Yin, Cheng Xu initially thought of this possibility as well.

But recalling the fungus he had just seen, a subtle sense of unease lingered in his mind.

"Sir?"

Sun Yin's voice interrupted Cheng Xu's thoughts.

Cheng Xu's gaze sharpened as he realized that the three of them were still in an abnormal field, where new dangers could arise at any moment, making it an unsuitable occasion for deep thinking.

He made a decisive decision: "Team leaders, proceed with the first contingency plan and attempt to contain the anomaly. Personnel should monitor the fungal activity throughout the building and report any unusual activity immediately."

Now that we've already seen the anomaly, in the spirit of "since we're already here," we should give it a try.

Sun Yin took out the containment device, which was originally an iron-gray sphere. After being triggered and activated, it expanded and stretched into a mass of light gray gel-like substance that resembled both gas and liquid.

The device is based on the catastrophic anomaly A-028 [Boundless Black Hole]. After special processing by the Administration, it has become a standard piece of equipment used for the temporary restriction and containment of anomalies.

Due to its unique absorptive properties, it can shield the external impact of most anomalies for a certain period of time.

The specific shielding time depends on the target. Generally, a safe-level anomaly can be shielded for 12 to 24 hours, but if it is applied to a critical-level anomaly, the shielding time can only be calculated in minutes.

But just as Sun Yin had taken three steps after unfolding the device, a piercing alarm sounded in his ears.

"Fungal activity abnormal! Repeat, fungal activity abnormal!"

Cheng Xu turned around abruptly. The fungus outside the door was like waves in a storm, surging violently and tearing at the walls and the ground.

The enforcement personnel issued another warning: "The fungal cluster is too active and has begun to erode the building structure; the anti-gravity device's protective layer is under attack!"

Sun Yin reacted quickly, and before he finished speaking, he retracted the deployed containment device and retreated to his previous position.

"Let's go! Get out of here!"

Cheng Xu thought to himself, "It's not that simple after all." With a command, he, Fu, and Sun left the laboratory area, stepped back onto the fungal carpet, and closed the silver-white door.

Perhaps due to the earlier riot, the return journey was more difficult than the way there, so much so that the three of them had to use miniature stun grenades to clear a path before they could successfully exit the floating building.

Half an hour later, the sun had already set. After changing out of their protective gear and undergoing basic checks, Cheng Xu and the other two returned to the command center located on the top floor of the administration building.

The staff has preliminarily compiled the video data, supplemented with fungal activity data for the corresponding time period, and detailed information on gene mutation anomalies such as the "Rampaging Ape Man".

Cheng Xu glanced at the list of these unusual documents and walked straight to the head seat.

"Let me state my conclusion first. I believe that this anomaly is not a biological mutation caused by cosmic radiation."

He got straight to the point, paused for a moment to observe the crowd's reactions, and then continued his presentation.

"I have three main reasons for this judgment."

"First of all, the abnormalities of life forms such as the 'Rampaging Ape Man' caused by external factors have one thing in common: the abnormal effects only involve a single individual or a single species."

"Unlike the fungal tide that occupies the floating structures, it is composed of a large number of different strains of bacteria."

Immediately, a researcher with thick glasses raised his hand: "What if these fungi were affected by a single individual? For example, a certain strain released a large amount of substances that promote fungal growth?"

Cheng Xu nodded slightly to him: "This is the second reason for my judgment."

"If this is really the case as you described, then it's hard to explain why there are lethal rules, and it's also hard to explain why there is no fungal growth in the laboratory where the abnormal entity incubator is located."

The researcher with thick glasses suddenly realized: "Indeed, if it were truly caused by substances triggering the massive growth of fungi, it would be unreasonable for the death row inmate to die immediately after destroying unrelated experimental equipment due to the fungal rampage."

Cheng Xu held up three fingers:

"As for the third point..."

He spoke at a measured pace: "I just checked the data using my internal access to the Administration Bureau. The last batch of space fungal samples sent to the School of Life Sciences was more than twenty days ago."

"In other words, if it were truly caused by mutation, the fungal outbreak should have occurred back then, instead of dragging on until now."

Fu Chen and Sun Yin exchanged a glance and nodded in unison. Most of the other personnel present also showed expressions of approval.

During the time that just passed, the members of the top action team had realized, based on their own experience, the contradictions in the previous conclusions and discovered the logical inconsistencies in Cheng Xu's statement.

Cheng Xu's ability to explain things clearly and logically in a short time was somewhat unexpected.

Putting aside the fact that it was a terminal anomaly, the professional knowledge and problem-solving skills that this young man demonstrated were indeed genuine.

"So what do you think is the nature of this anomaly?"

Someone else asked a question.

Cheng Xu shook his head: "I have a few guesses, but I can't be sure yet. I need to get more information before I can make a judgment."

He stood up and gestured to Sun Yin, "Let's call it a day for now. Could you please send me a copy of the existing materials, Captain Sun?"

According to monitoring data, the fungal tide has temporarily stabilized after the recent riot.

Having experienced entering the field just now, Cheng Xu was convinced that the primary task at hand was to decipher the internal mechanism of the fungal tide.

Rushing back into the field is not very useful and may even be counterproductive. It's better to go back to your room, close the door, calm down, and carefully study the information.

Everyone present watched Cheng Xu leave. The moment the door closed, a collective sigh of relief rose and fell.

We've all dealt with safety-level anomalies countless times, but getting up close to terminal-level anomalies is a real test of your heart.

"Continue monitoring."

Fu Chen pressed his thumbs on his temples, while Sun Yin beside him kept wiping away sweat.

"Old Sun, is there any need to be so scared? He's still quite human, isn't he?"

"That's why I'm worried."

Sun Yin sighed: "Think about it, isn't that how all those novels are written? Like, the ancient gods don't know they are ancient gods at first, and after they realize it, they awaken and destroy the world, and so on."

"Tsk, stop talking, it's creepy. Let's eat first." Fu Chen waved his hand.

"Eating, eating... I'm so hungry, I'm so exhausted. Oh, and over there... "

"He said to just send a boxed meal to the room."

After all, the Blazing Fire Action Team were warriors who had emerged from blood and fire. After the initial tension, everyone quickly adjusted their mindset. Under Fu Chen's command, a small group of people continued to monitor the situation of the fungal tide, while the others focused their attention on Cheng Xu's movements.

Silent all night.

-----------------

The next morning, when Cheng Xu stepped into the command center, the first thing he saw was two pairs of huge dark circles under his eyes.

"Both captains worked hard last night."

He felt a pang of guilt—while he was fast asleep, his colleagues remained at their posts.

The two waved their hands repeatedly, saying, "Not at all, not at all. It's just part of our job."

Fu Chen and Sun Yin exchanged a guilty glance, keeping the words "Our job is mainly to monitor you" to themselves.

According to backend data, after having dinner, this dangerous individual in front of me spent the last twenty years reviewing the history and research records of the School of Life Sciences at Chengxing University until he fell asleep.

I wonder if they've figured out anything yet.

Last night, during their spare time, the Blazing Fire team discussed the cause of the fungal tide, but they didn't come to any decent conclusions.

Several experienced anomaly countermeasure experts in the team said that if the possibility of life mutation is ruled out, they really can't find a similar case that can be used to explain the source of the anomaly.

"Captains, I've basically figured out the nature of these fungi. Once the rest of you are here, I'll explain it to you in detail in about fifteen minutes."

After saying that, he walked over to the operative in charge of data collection and analysis and instructed him to retrieve the relevant information for preparation.

Not long after, the team members who had received the notification quickly arrived at the conference room, sat down in a row, and were sensible and well-behaved.

Seeing that most of the people had arrived, Cheng Xu took a sip of warm tea to moisten his throat and walked over to the virtual projection.

"Colleagues, last night I was thinking about two questions: Why does damage to experimental equipment in an abnormal environment cause fungal clusters to become stressed? Why is there no fungal growth in the laboratory where the abnormal organism is located?"

"At first, I was completely baffled and couldn't find the answers to these two questions, or the inherent connection between them..."

"Until I suddenly recalled that when I was in college, a senior student majoring in microbial cultivation once said something through gritted teeth—"

"Advanced microbiota can grow anywhere, but they will not grow in a laboratory."

The audience fell silent, and a look of realization dawned on Fu Chen and Sun Yin's eyes.

"This sentence is like a thread that instantly connects all the existing information."

Cheng Xu added, "I quickly remembered that the senior student had joked that there are many reasons why bacterial cultures might fail in the lab, including but not limited to the fact that you stepped into the lab with your left foot first today."

After a series of operations, he retrieved a series of relevant data.

"The laboratory where the anomaly is located mainly focuses on the breeding of space-mutated fungi. Data shows that due to the interplay of various randomness and uncertainty, the cultivation of this type of fungal community is extremely difficult."

"In other words, for students studying space-mutated fungi, successfully cultivating a pure target bacterial population is a matter of great luck."

The following information further supports my point of view.

"As can be seen from the charts, the success rate of research projects in this laboratory has been significantly lower than that of other research groups over the years. Moreover, the probability of students delaying graduation due to factors such as bacterial death and bacterial contamination is over 90%. The laboratory's happiness index ranked last among all universities in the survey."

"So is it possible that the resentment of generations of students who have difficulty graduating, accumulated over time, has converged on the medium of the fungal incubator, thus producing regular anomalies?"

Regular anomalies, unlike mutant biological anomalies such as the "Rampaging Ape Man," typically manifest their abilities as distorting certain natural laws. This "distortion" could involve amplification, reduction, alteration, or similar manipulations.

Cheng Xu paused for a moment, then pulled up a new image, which was the search page of a famous video website.

"Furthermore, I recall a recent trend on the interstellar network where netizens sent various bacterial communities they had unintentionally cultivated to various biological laboratories, leaving countless professionals bewildered. This could very well be the key trigger for shaping the nature of the anomaly."

"In summary, the underlying rule of this anomaly can be summarized as follows: it completely inhibits the survival of any fungi within the laboratory and significantly promotes the growth of fungi in a certain area outside the laboratory."

"That perfectly matches what my senior said."

After listening to Cheng Xu's analysis, Fu Chen clapped his hands and cheered:

"That makes sense! That completely explains it! No wonder you're a top student, your thinking is so broad."

Sun Yin couldn't help but glance at his captain. His captain's acting as a straight man was a bit too exaggerated.

But whether it was him or others, they all basically had a feeling of sudden enlightenment after the clouds had parted.

It's true that the team members are knowledgeable and experienced, but they have always focused on frontline combat, so it's hard for them to think from this perspective.

"Slap! Slap!"

After Cheng Xu clapped his hands twice, the noisy discussion gradually subsided.

He looked around and slowly said, "In order to verify this conjecture, and also to try to find a way to break the abnormal rules, I contacted a helper."

He'll be there soon.