After a night of research, Luo Shu had a rough understanding of what was contained within Site-33.
Though the number of memetic anomalies here wasn't large, not a single one was easy to deal with.
It was predictable that documenting these memetic anomalies would be a series of grueling battles—battles of the mind!
And for this kind of battle, Luo Shu was eager.
Compared to brawling with someone like Abel, a brute whose brain was practically made of muscle, he far preferred this kind of mental confrontation.
Ever since his first clash with Anomalous Item-035 (The Possessive Mask) in the mental realm, Luo Shu had realized that this kind of mental tempering strengthened his spirit and willpower.
The next night, after steadying his mind, Luo Shu entered Site-33 once more, heading straight for his first target.
His first objective was Anomalous Item-013 (Blue Lady Cigarettes), located on Sublevel 2.
As a Safe-class anomaly, Anomalous Item-013 was one of the rare, relatively low-risk items in Site-33.
The rest were mostly linguistic memes—variations of the same theme—such as suddenly speaking fluent French despite never having learned it.
Of course, linguistic memes couldn't exactly be called harmless. Those affected by them would, for the rest of their lives, only be able to speak the language imposed by the meme.
For example, if you were Chinese but unluckily infected by a Hindi meme, you'd be stranded in China, unable to communicate, forced to spend the rest of your days in India. Wouldn't that be a living hell?
In short, Sublevel 2 of Site-33 contained Safe-class memes, with Anomalous Item-013 as their representative.
According to the documents from Site-33's server, this wasn't the only facility containing Anomalous Item-013 (Blue Lady Cigarettes).
Anomalous Item-013 referred to a collection of 242 cigarettes, most of which were stored in Site-66, while a smaller portion had been transferred to Site-33 for research purposes.
This wasn't great news for Luo Shu.
If all of Anomalous Item-013 had been here, he might have chosen to burn the entire batch, neutralizing the anomaly and adding another entry to his Anomaly Buster Milestone.
But as things stood, he could only document it in the Anomalous Item Compendium and, at most, tag it with an Anomaly Buster debuff.
It didn't take long for Luo Shu to locate Anomalous Item-013 inside a secure locker on Sublevel 2.
The moment he picked up one of the cigarettes, he felt an overwhelming urge to smoke it.
Such was the insidious nature of memetic hazards—mere exposure was enough to tempt you.
It was said that anyone who smoked Anomalous Item-013 would come to believe they were a woman.
Because of this, all personnel responsible for its containment, research, and handling were female.
Documenting Anomalous Item-013 in the Anomalous Item Compendium was simple—just remove and return a cigarette, completing one cycle of deactivation/containment.
But Luo Shu wasn't satisfied with just that. He wanted to extract more from this anomaly!
Since Site-33 didn't house the entirety of Anomalous Item-013, making full neutralization impossible, he would settle for becoming its bane instead!
Luo Shu pulled out a lighter he had prepared earlier and, without hesitation, lit one of the cigarettes.
As he inhaled, his expression and posture began to shift subtly.
His gaze turned sultry, his stance more graceful, his feet unconsciously adopting a feminine inward turn.
Anomalous Item-013 had already warped his perception of his own gender.
After finishing the cigarette, Luo Shu returned the rest to the locker, closed the door, and absentmindedly tucked a strand of hair behind his ear before checking the Anomalous Item Compendium.
[Page: 137]
[Item No.: Anomalous Item-013]
[Item Name: Blue Lady Cigarettes]
[Class: Safe]
[Image: …]
[Description: …]
[Special Containment Procedures: …]
[Abilities: Feminine Soul. Though I have a man's body, I possess a woman's soul… No, in my eyes, I AM a woman! What? You see my ██? Impossible! You filthy pervert! Being a woman is wonderful!]
[Status: Successfully Contained]
[Interaction Log: Click to Play]
[O]
Luo Shu froze when he saw the description under Abilities.
What does this mean?
Was I not originally a woman?
He—no, she—looked down at her chest.
Hmm, quite voluptuous!
"Anomalous Item Compendium," you must be joking!
I've always been a girl…
Without a doubt, Anomalous Item-013 had completely overwritten Luo Shu's gender perception—even his vision had been deceived.
In his mind, he was now undeniably, irrefutably female.
This kind of subtle, insidious alteration was the most dangerous. His formidable willpower hadn't resisted because the meme didn't attack the mind or body—it merely twisted gender perception. Thus, his psyche registered no threat, no reason to fight back.
Even if he activated Malice Detection, there'd be no reaction.
Anomalous Item-013 bore no ill intent—it simply wanted smokers to know: "Being a woman is wonderful!"
With a sway in his step, Luo Shu left the containment chamber and moved on to the next unit.
Tonight's mission was heavy—he had to document over a dozen linguistic memes on Sublevel 2.
In Site-33, linguistic memes were contained in the form of infected individuals.
The units here held twenty to thirty people, each afflicted by a different language meme.
Though these memes lacked direct lethality, their threat was no less severe.
If left unchecked, a single linguistic meme could spread until Earth's linguistic diversity vanished, leaving humanity with only one language.
Superficially, this might seem beneficial—unified communication, no barriers.
But looking deeper revealed a horrifying outcome: the degeneration of mankind.
Multiple languages meant diverse cultures, varied futures. A single global language would inevitably erase histories, philosophies, and traditions, leaving only one narrow worldview.
Much like the so-called "inclusivity" of the New World, a nation that preached tolerance while brainwashing the world into its own narrow-minded arrogance.
Once that happened, humanity would become just as stubborn, just as unwilling to accept differing ideas.
Progress would halt. Innovation would die. The only goal would be suppressing competitors to maintain dominance.
After understanding the true danger of linguistic memes, Luo Shu became even more resolute:
He had to win this war against memes.
This world could not be ruled by any single meme.
Humanity must retain independent thought and will—only then could the world develop healthily.
If possible, Luo Shu would eradicate all memes.
But these linguistic anomalies weren't unique—they couldn't be permanently destroyed, only sealed.
And with only two uses per day of his Anti-Meme Sealing ability, he wasn't about to waste them on these.
This can wait.
Humanity's future wasn't his burden alone. Right now, his priority was growing stronger—strong enough to defeat the memetic faction led by "The Gods."