The time was just past 12:30 AM, and Loshu was in the midst of his final Unobservable period for the day, which would last until 1:00 AM.
Facing a crowd of hostile humanoid anomalies, Loshu didn't bother hiding. Instead, he stood boldly in the center of the crossroads, watching them.
Barbie was visibly struggling to control her rage, her form flickering ominously.
Loshu was curious—what would happen if she truly broke through to Level 5?
One thing was certain: if she did, she'd be confined to Area-13, never again allowed to leave Mount Olympus.
If circumstances allowed, Loshu would have loved to trick her into crossing that line.
But for his own safety, he held back.
Morale among Achilles' Heel was low. "Cupid's" death had shaken them.
As Level 3 reality benders, they knew they weren't much stronger than him.
If "Cupid"—with the first-strike advantage—had been killed, what chance did they have?
"White Eyes", in particular, was cowering in the back, refusing to take point.
In contrast, the grotesquely deformed members of "Flawed Beasts" were brimming with confidence.
One dog-faced operative sniffed the air excitedly.
"I smell him! He's on this floor!"
Loshu almost laughed.
Yeah, I'm right in front of you.
The group marched past him, heading straight for Anomaly-CN-722's unit.
Loshu stood directly in their path, yet they walked around him without a second glance.
The dog-faced operative even sniffed aggressively near him, declaring, "The scent's strong! We're getting closer!"
Assured of his invisibility, Loshu moved on to his next target.
The Second Keter: Anomaly-CN-825 (Zmey Gorynych)
This anomaly was classified as Keter because it could not truly be contained.
At its core, it was a bacterium lurking in the ocean.
Its horror lay in its infection:
Anomaly-CN-825-1: Victims transformed into feral monsters attacking all life in sight.
10 Anomaly-CN-825-1s could fuse into Anomaly-CN-825-4, a massive egg-like structure.
Within 5–10 minutes, the egg would hatch into Anomaly-CN-825-3—a three-headed draconic beast resembling Slavic myth's Zmey Gorynych.
All known Anomaly-CN-825-1/3/4 instances had been destroyed, but the bacterium itself remained.
Site-CN-02 housed neither the bacterium nor a live specimen—just the skeleton of an Anomaly-CN-825-3.
Of little threat or value, the skeleton had long been studied into irrelevance.
The real prize was an ancient bamboo slip (Anomaly-CN-825-5) containing records of the anomaly.
Due to its age, the text was only partially deciphered.
Regardless, this was the easiest Keter-Class acquisition in Site-CN-02.
After watching Achilles' Heel and "Flawed Beasts" leave, Loshu entered the unit.
Two guards armed with flamethrowers and incendiary grenades stood watch, ready to burn the slip if stolen.
But Loshu walked right past them, took the slip from its safe, and put it back—all unnoticed.
Antimemetics truly were his favorite ability.
The Anomaly Catalog updated:
[Page: 72]
[Item No.: Anomaly-CN-825]
[Item Name: Zmey Gorynych]
[Object Class: Keter]
[Abilities: Biological Weapon Modification Technology. A military bioweapon from ██████, designed to exterminate intelligent species via bacterial infestation. In ancient times, this bacterium reached Earth and nearly wiped out humanity before being suppressed by the Chinese ██████ Emperor. Now, it has resurfaced in Earth's oceans. With this, you could end the world.]
[Status: Deciphered]
[Historical Footage: Click to Play]
[O]
Loshu stared at the entry, stunned.
The only part he fully grasped was that Anomaly-CN-825-3 (the three-headed dragon) was an alien bioweapon using humans as hosts.
A planet-killing xenobiological weapon—straight out of a sci-fi villain's arsenal.
He had no intention of using it.
In fact, after some thought, he decided to destroy the bamboo slip to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands.
Grabbing a flamethrower from one of the guards, he reduced the slip to ashes.
But the Catalog's entry remained unchanged.
The bacterium was already in the ocean—burning the slip changed nothing.
Fortunately, modern military technology was far superior to ancient times, making Anomaly-CN-825-3 manageable.
The real threat was mass infection—but so far, the bacterium's spread seemed slow and contained.
With less than 20 minutes left, Loshu moved to the final anomaly he could record.