Chapter 1099. New Discovery

If they weren't from the IMF, then it would be great for Anna.

The commotion was huge, but the IMF had yet to send anyone. This meant that they weren't actively monitoring the Indian Ocean, or at the very least, they weren't monitoring it closely.

The shackles binding Anna's mind vanished at this realization.

𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

The fact that she could now create as many Fhtagnists as she could meant that her group was bound to become larger. Of course, once bitten, twice shy—Anna would definitely not let the same thing happen again.

She was going to go about it as carefully as possible, and her group had to be kept an absolute secret.

How about the materials she needed for the conversion ritual? Anna had long set her sights on the pirates lurking around Somalia. No one would really care even if those desperate people ended up disappearing.

As for whether their friends would avenge them, that was even less of a concern.

Anna could just catch them all together.

The recent battle had allowed Anna to earn more than just financial profit; she had also obtained an Anomaly in the form of a withered and pitch-black three-fingered claw.

The finger was only the size of a human palm, and it looked like a monkey's paw.

The three-fingered claw was that square-faced man's weapon. Anna had made sure to pick it up before leaving that doomed warship.

Anna picked up the claw and tapped it lightly toward the wall. A beam of purple light shot out from the claw and collided with the wall. The flat and smooth wall immediately started withering as if it were a flower.

That must be a lethal attack. What about the next one?

Anna folded the middle finger and raised the pinky finger. Then, she aimed it at a teacup on the table.

Pop!

The teacup transformed into a stack of used tissues. She tapped toward it once again, and the tissues transformed into a mouse.

Anna had no living creatures on hand, so she couldn't do any experiments on how the light just now would affect living beings. However, the fact that her opponent had used that light against her meant that it couldn't be good for living creatures.

Hmm... This thing's abilities sure are special.

Anna imagined what she could do with this weapon on hand. If the Anomaly's side effect wasn't that terrifying, it would surely be a useful long-range weapon for Anna. In other words, allowing Li Lu or someone else to absorb this powerful Anomaly would be a pity.

Having tested two fingers out of three, Anna decided to test the final finger.

Anna tapped the air with the final finger, and her surroundings instantly dimmed.

Moments later, obscure and incomprehensible chantings echoed from the bed, the door, and just about everywhere.

A colossal monster with a round shell on its back manifested slowly before Anna. Its shell was covered with yellow-brown filth, and more than a dozen grotesque-looking forelimbs flailed inside the shell.

Anna's heart began to beat rapidly in the face of the bizarre monster. Her heart was actually trembling in fear.

I'm afraid? I'm afraid of this thing?

A cluster of green corrosive flames instantly engulfed Anna, but the flames failed to provide a sense of security to her mind. Instead, her heart began to beat faster and faster as the seconds went by.

Just as Anna was about to attack the monster in front of her, the bizarre scene faded slowly. The monster in front of her became smaller and smaller until it eventually transformed into a mouse on the table.

What on earth is this thing?

Anna looked down at the Anomaly in her hand and found that the final finger, which was supposed to be pointing forward, had twisted and was pointing at herself.

The sensation just now was brought upon by the special ability of that final finger.

Okay, now I know what this thing is and its side effect.

Anna dispelled the idea of using it as a long-range weapon. The Anomaly could suddenly turn on its wielder, after all.

It was a good thing that the side effect had triggered on the final finger. Had it triggered on the first finger, Anna would have ended up killing herself.

Anna stood up and stretched lazily.

Well, that's it. This commission somehow managed to meet my expectations, albeit just barely. Ah, right, there's also the reward from that fat guy. That's still some money.

As a hunter, Anna had accumulated a large sum of money through shady means.

However, one could never have too much money. With that in mind, Anna walked toward the door with the intention of looking for her employer.

Wait

. Anna grabbed the doorknob but stopped before she could twist it. Something popped up in her mind, causing her to stop in her tracks. W

hy did that Anomaly's influence on me weaken all of a sudden?

Anna sensed that something was amiss.

She had no recollection of whatever had happened while she was under the influence of that personality plague, but one thing was for sure—Li Lu, Jackal, and the others couldn't have dealt with such a dangerous Anomaly.

Anna gathered the others and asked questions, but they all shook their heads at her questions. Apparently, they weren't surprised that Anna managed to free herself from that Anomaly's influence.

After all, she had always been a mysterious figure in their eyes, so it wasn't strange for her to have some tricks up her sleeve that gave her freedom from that Anomaly.

However, Anna knew that if she had some viable tricks up her sleeve against that Anomaly, she would have used them before the Anomaly could take control over her.

Why would she wait for the Anomaly to take control over her before making a move?

Anna walked up to the deck and questioned the crew, who were busy with the clean-up. Then, she stood quietly on deck and made her own deductions about what had happened.

Anna also had Olivia cross-check everyone's memories. With Olivia's help, Anna managed to reconstruct the scene and examine it closely for anything strange.

In no time, Anna noticed something amiss. Earlier, the crew members had raised their guns and fired upon them indiscriminately, yet not a single bullet managed to pierce both her and Gao Zhiming.

That was strange.

Someone or something had to have been protecting them, and they were the ones who had weakened the influence of that personality plague on her.

Is it him?

Anna glanced at Gao Zhiming beside her, but she didn't get any response. She then turned to Jackal. If Charles had left any contingency plans, there was a chance that Jackal was involved in one of them.

While Anna was stewing in her own doubts, Tobba was busy gnawing on a piece of shortcake in Li Lu's arms.

Just as Anna's gaze landed on Tobba, the latter seemed to have sensed something, prompting him to look up abruptly. The food in his mouth sprayed everywhere as he exclaimed, "Wook! Shoowing swar!"

The people on the deck looked up at the same time, and they all saw a black meteor streaking across the sky. The pitch-black meteor left behind a long tail of light before plunging into the distant sea.

***

Charles made use of his human fleshly body to stare at his offspring who had just returned from the Core. He listened to her talk about what she had seen and heard up above.

The offspring standing before Charles looked like a three-headed, feathered serpent covered in black hair. She looked absolutely miserable, and some of her bones were even exposed to air.

The offspring didn't look like her father at all, but among those who were sent to investigate the Core, she was the only one who came back alive. Perhaps her survival was tied to the fact that she had no eyes.

Charles couldn't completely believe her words, so he split open the Feathered Serpent's skull and devoured the three brains within.