Chapter 76: Calling for Reinforcements

Bandage Proliferation was one of Mummy's two abilities.

When unleashed, the bandages around Mummy's body would spring forth to ensnare the opponent like an all-encompassing net.

This was a trapping ability, and it was the very same one that Mummy had once used to restrict Kim Garcia's anomaly of fear. In this situation, the ability was once again being used on a scarecrow.

If the nun anomaly had been in peak condition, it would've definitely been able to avoid the attack with its speed and agility.

However, in its weakened state, both its anomalic power and speed were severely compromised. In the face of the mass of oncoming bandages, it was unable to get away and was instantly tied up on the spot.

The ensnared scarecrow began to howl and shriek as it struggled violently, trying to escape from the bandages, which were as resilient as steel chains.

"Shae, can you still move?"

The scarecrow was struggling very forcefully, and it was only becoming stronger and stronger. The exertion that it experienced from unleashing that last attack was much like the exertion one felt after a 100-meter dash. It was extremely tiring directly after the event, but it wouldn't take long before a full recovery was made.

Only a few seconds had passed by, and Adam could already sense the movements of the ensnared scarecrow becoming more and more powerful.

"I can!" Shae replied as she stood up from the ground.

Having had her thoracic spine shattered, her posture was very strange. There was no way that a normal human would've been able to move with such severe injuries, but thankfully, she was no ordinary human in this form.

This time, no instructions were required from Adam before she began blasting fireballs at the gaps between the bandages.

One fireball was launched after another, and she was finally completely spent after blasting 14 consecutive Explosive Fireballs at the scarecrow.

In the face of the incessant string of explosions, Adam's bandages were completely blown to shreds, and the scarecrow's body was also destroyed alongside the bandages.

"Is it dead?" Shae asked, despite the feeble condition she was in.

"No. After the scarecrow was destroyed, I saw a plume of black smoke disappear into the ground. This is an anomaly capable of possession, and the scarecrow isn't its actual body," Adam replied while cautiously keeping an eye on his surroundings, and after momentarily contemplating the situation, he decided to leave. "Let's go back and recuperate."

"But we finally managed to damage the anomaly..."

"We still don't have a clear idea of exactly how powerful it is, and most importantly, we don't have a concrete plan to kill it," Adam countered, then called out to Kim Hee-cho. "Can you hear me, Hee-cho? If you can, then wake us up."

Kim Hee-cho acted very quickly, and soon, Adam's body in the real world was struck by a mild electric shock, causing him to instantly snap wide awake, and Shae also woke up at the exact same moment.

As soon as she opened her eyes, she immediately complained, "Why did you do that? It's not like I couldn't have come out on my own."

"We were in a dangerous situation, so I didn't want to waste any time."

In the final instant before they were brought out of the psychic world, Adam had sensed movement from the anomaly underground.

If he wasn't mistaken, then it was most likely planning to target the already wounded Shae. Not only were her defenses more fragile to begin with, she had greatly exerted herself with that barrage of Explosive Fireballs, and she was carrying severe injuries. If she had been attacked by the anomaly in that vulnerable state, there was a very good chance that she would've lost her life on the spot or been possessed.

"What do you think?" Howard asked after Adam's awakening.

Even though he had witnessed everything that had transpired just now, it didn't appear that either side had gained the upper hand during the recently concluded battle. In addition to that, he didn't know very much about adapters at all, so he wanted to ask Adam for his thoughts.

"The anomaly is very troublesome to deal with. Not only is it very powerful, its possession and fleeing abilities are also very problematic. The two of us alone won't be able to take it down," Adam replied in a truthful manner. "I'll need to call in some reinforcements."

"That would be best," Howard replied with a nod.

"Who are you going to call?" Shae asked as she turned to Adam with bloodshot eyes while massaging her own head.

"Hook and Nie Yiyi."

"I've heard of Nie Yiyi. She's one of the best senior students at our academy, right? I can understand why you'd call her, but what's the point in calling Hook?" It was clear that Shae didn't have a very high opinion of Hook. "He's going to be next to useless in battle. He can't even beat me in my base form!"

"It's true that he's not going to be very useful in battle, but he has outstanding tracking abilities. The most troublesome thing about the anomaly that we're facing is its ability to hide and flee, so we need his help. Just leave it to me. You should hurry up and get some sleep so you can recover your energy. If you had gotten some sleep the night before, you would've been even more effective in battle."

"Alright, I'll leave it to you then."

Having just sustained severe injuries to her psychic body, Shae was already struggling to fight her heavy eyelids. Given the opportunity now, she immediately made her way to a sofa off to the side, then laid down on it before falling asleep.

After that, Adam made a call to Hook.

"Hey there, Mr. Internet Celebrity, can I interest you in a mission?"

"Nope. I'm too busy right now."

Hook was looking in another direction while talking, clearly examining the follower statistics on his computer while speaking with Adam.

"Hurry up, I need your help. Just this one time."

"Alright, fine, but you have to help me shoot a video once we get back."

"What type of video do you need me for?"

"It'll be an interview, and you can tell my viewers how you fought those psychic mutants. While you're at it, make sure to hype up the part that I played in the story."

"So you just want me to help you attract more followers, right? Fine. I'll send you the address now, hurry up and get over here."

With that, Hook had been recruited for the job.

His second call was naturally made to Nie Yiyi.

"Hey, I've got a mission for you."

"What's the mission?" Nie Yiyi asked in a rather disinterested voice.

"Didn't you say last time that you value training experience over earning money? Well, it just so happens that we have a level three anomaly on our hands. It's very powerful, but not so powerful that it's completely out of our league, so it's a perfect opportunity for you to sharpen your skills."

"What's a level three anomaly?"

"It's an anomaly that's a little more powerful than you, so it's at the perfect level for training purposes."

"Alright, send me the address. I'll leave it up to you to split the money for the job."

"We'll take cuts based on the contributions we make. We're all friends here, so there's no need to go into too much detail."

𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

After ending the call, Adam sent the address to Nie Yiyi, and he was feeling a lot more reassured.

He stretched lazily before turning to everyone in the room.

"It's going to take a few hours for my friends to arrive, so you can all go do whatever it is you normally do. I'll take this time to get some rest as well."

"Alright, then we'll be leaving Li Qi to you."

"Don't worry, I'll look after him."

Adam took a glance at Li Qi as he spoke. At this point, Li Qi had already woken up and was sitting on the edge of the bed. The stiff fa?ade of feigned maturity that he normally wore on his face seemed to have cracked a little, revealing a bit of the childlike innocence underneath, most likely due to the fact that the anomaly in his heart had sustained some damage.

"We'll be counting on you then."

With that, Howard and Emma departed from the room, leaving only Adam, Shae, Kim Hee-cho, and Li Qi behind.

Kim Hee-cho was reading through the contract, while Shae had already fallen asleep, and Li Qi took a glance at Adam before approaching him.

"Can you really defeat the anomaly in my heart?" the young boy asked with a hopeful expression.

"You can count on me. Even if I can't defeat it, I can call up reinforcements. Two of my friends are coming over right now, and one of them is a short girl who's far stronger than I am. If she's given enough time to charge up her attack, she can take out that scarecrow in a single strike!"

"Really?"

"For sure! She can kill anomalies even more powerful than that scarecrow. Trust me, I wouldn't lie to you."

"I trust you!"