Chapter 111: The Aberrant (1)

[The host is about to enter the Punishment World.]

[The task is: survive.]

[Once the punishment ends, if the host survives, a new Conquest world will be activated; if the host fails to survive, the system will automatically unbind, and the host will become system operating energy.]

Yu Qian was still thinking about how the two fathers would react when the child suddenly vanished. Hearing the system’s voice, she looked up at the panel in front of her.

There was the familiar body data generation interface that appeared in every world, along with the target of the Conquest.

Upon hearing it was a Punishment World and the mission had changed from Conquest to survival, Yu Qian was surprised to see this panel was still there. On the original “Conquest” section, two words had appeared: 「畸人」—The Aberrant.

The red font carried an ominous feel, and there was no other information.

“A Punishment World. I thought you’d just throw me in without a choice, but I can still customize my body… and I can still use the bloodline potion?”

Yu Qian found it a bit strange.

The system said nothing. Yu Qian guessed that, because of her continued uncooperative attitude in the fourth world, it had decided to give up on her.

After all, the consequences of failure for this mission were steeped in malice.

Failing meant becoming energy for the system’s operation. It was hard for Yu Qian not to picture herself as a jug of diesel being poured into a diesel generator—

Yu Qian sighed. Suddenly, she pressed her hands together in prayer, not to ask for survival again this time, but hoping the two fathers from the previous world would one day find true love, have a real child of their own, and no longer grieve over a fake daughter like her.

As she clasped her hands, a faint golden glow flickered across her palms, outlining the vague shape of a lotus flower.

She lowered her hands and was about to start customizing her new body when the system suddenly prompted: [Punishment World body has been auto-generated. World opening—]

Yu Qian watched as the system space collapsed, her body suddenly falling downward. She could only silently flash a “harmonious and friendly” hand gesture.

In the year 3023, the horror world descended and gradually fused with the real world.

Countless terrifying and bizarre creatures—once thought to exist only in imagination—began appearing all over the globe like mushrooms after a rain.

Areas occupied by these horror entities slowly corroded the real world, and within these horror zones, all manner of strange phenomena grew and multiplied.

Alongside the horror world came the emergence of a system called Survival. It constantly bound itself to humans, issuing survival tasks.

Those bound by the system were forced to enter danger zones occupied by horror entities and complete missions to earn survival points.

At first, people were afraid and resistant. But after over a decade of adjustment, humans had come to accept this danger as part of daily life.

Many even believed that the horror world’s arrival and the survival system’s appearance were meant to select the finest humans and push human evolution. They enthusiastically entered horror zones, hunted the strange entities, and used system rewards to enhance themselves.

In the Gandong District, there was an S-class horror zone.

The biggest boss in this zone was called “The Aberrant” by players. She was a vengeful ghost with earthbound traits who had long made her lair in the Tian-shaped building.

Before the horror world arrived, the Tian-shaped building was just an old-style residential building in the old town of Gandong. It had six floors, was shaped like the Chinese character(田) and housed over a hundred cramped and crowded households.

It was once a well-known urban village tenement, home to a mix of migrant laborers, young workers struggling to find decent jobs in the big city, local residents who had been relocated back, street hustlers, and young women engaged in shady professions.

But after the horror descended, the Tian-shaped building became a ghostly ruin overnight. The residents vanished without a trace.

The horror entity born there, known as The Aberrant, had the appearance of a deformed woman—taller than the average woman, with long black hair, wearing a white dress stained with blood. In her hunting form, she could grow limbs like a spider and climb anywhere.

Her most terrifying feature was that those she devoured would become new horrors within her domain, joining her in hunting the humans who entered. She was also immune to many exorcism spells and tools, making her extremely difficult to deal with.

Over the years, the domain that was once confined to the Tian-shaped building had expanded, enveloping several surrounding blocks and turning them into horror zones as well.

“Has The Aberrant’s domain expanded again?”

A bespectacled young man stood on the roof of a residential building, looking out toward the domain boundary that looked like a pane of glass.

“It has. According to the Association’s report, her domain expanded by nearly a hundred meters this year.”

The woman beside him, with a gun slung over her back, spoke with a serious tone.

Both of them were from the official Association. They had been chosen to enter The Aberrant’s domain because its expansion was becoming too rapid.

But there was little they could do. An S-class horror zone was considered extremely dangerous, with an 80% mortality rate per entry, and had even experienced complete wipeouts before. The more people it consumed, the faster its domain expanded.

The most effective way to stop the rapid spread of a domain was to kill the boss inside. Doing so would not only yield generous rewards from the survival system but also shrink the domain.

Although domain bosses killed by players will respawn in their domains after a period of time, repeated kills weaken them. After enough defeats, the boss becomes vulnerable, and many horror domains have thus been downgraded from high-risk S-rank to A-rank, even C or D-rank.

But domain bosses aren’t easy to kill. The Aberrant, for instance, has existed for over a decade, and no player has successfully claimed her first kill.

This time, the Player Association went all out, sending a five-person team—each a five-star senior player—just to finally kill The Aberrant at least once.

“No idea how many people entered the domain this time. Based on past patterns, it should be between 30 to 60.”

The man codenamed “Teacher Wen” adjusted his glasses, one of his system tools, and shifted his gaze from the domain boundary to the center—the Tian-shaped building. Danger indicators kept flashing before his eyes.

The plain, grid-like old building was surrounded by nearby blocks, dull and faded like a blemish in a bustling city.

Row after row of windows sat dark. The outer walls were weathered and peeling, making it look long abandoned.

But Teacher Wen, who had been here once before, knew that when night fell, the building would “come alive.”

When alive, the building was filled with signs of life, as if the vanished residents still remained. Lights would glow inside. Clothes would hang from windows and hallways. The aroma of cooking would waft from a unit—yet not a soul would be in sight.

There were only low-tier horrors lurking in the corners, waiting to feast.

The woman who had been following Teacher Wen, codenamed White Eagle, held her sniper rifle system tool. Her voice was cold: “I hope fewer people got dragged in this time. Those casual players pulled in have wildly varying skill levels—most of them are useless and just get in our way.”

“What’s there to worry about? Our mission is to try to kill The Aberrant. We’re not here to protect those useless players.”

The man lounging by the rooftop edge, sorting his medical kit, chimed in.

His codename was “Nurse”—a young man with a cynical, rebellious air, more like a hitman or assassin than a medic.

Team leader Teacher Wen looked at the rapidly darkening sky and frowned. “It’s getting dark. Once Big Bear and Black Cat finish scouting, we’ll relocate. No rush to approach the Tian-shaped building tonight—we’ll observe the perimeter first.”

Scout Black Cat and melee fighter Big Bear were out searching for a good vantage point as per Teacher Wen’s instructions, clearing nearby ghosts along the way.

These minor ghosts were easier to deal with by day, unlike their ferocity at night. Unfortunately, in The Aberrant’s domain, daytime lasted only 4 hours, while night stretched a full 20.

Agile and petite, Black Cat walked along the rooftops as if on flat ground.

Muscular Big Bear moved below her in the alleyway, using his Guan Gong blade to clear low-tier ghosts darting from the shadows.

“This area’s pretty much clear. I’ll signal Teacher Wen and the others over,” Black Cat said.

“Got it!” Big Bear quickened his pace. “There’s a bit left—I’ll make a quick sweep.”

Turning a corner, he suddenly spotted a small figure near the dusty entrance of an old convenience store.

A little girl in a fairy dress, at most three or four years old, was squatting by the door with her head down, shoulders shaking.

“What the hell? A kid?” Big Bear blurted out.

The survival system usually binds people between adolescence and middle age, but occasionally it did something truly cruel—binding very young children or very old folks.

Such players were usually quickly killed by horrors in the domain.

Big Bear’s first thought was that this was an unlucky child player forced into a mission. But when the girl looked up at the sound of his voice, revealing a pale, though cute face, he hesitated.

Could this child be one of the domain’s ghosts?

Some horrors could disguise themselves as players, and many without detection methods had died that way.

But Big Bear had his own method. His Guan Gong blade was a system tool blessed by a Buddhist seal. Any horror that touched it would be burned.

The little girl, Qian, crouched there with black eyes streaming tears and a pouty mouth.

Hearing movement, she looked up and saw a tall, middle-aged man in a black tank top approaching with a blade. She hugged her legs and shrank toward the vending machine beside her.

“Don’t be scared, kid. Come on, grab uncle’s sword handle and stand up,” Big Bear said, turning his blade around and offering the hilt.

Qian didn’t move. She stared at him and cried softly, “I want my daddy, wuuu…”

Big Bear said, “Grab the hilt first. Uncle will take you to find your dad.”

Qian stared at the swinging hilt, which bore a golden dragon. After a moment, she reached out and stood up holding it.

When Big Bear saw her grab the hilt, the wariness in his eyes faded, replaced by a sharp, toothache-like inhale. He cursed, “Fucking system, binding such a tiny kid and dragging her here to die! Bastard!”

A moment later, Black Cat, having sent the signal to the others, saw Big Bear carrying a sniffling child over.

“Where’d the kid come from? A player that young?”

“Yeah, I found her over there. She’s maybe three, tops. No way we’re just leaving her.”

“…Our mission this time is tough. The association’s orders are to ignore other casual players, but whatever—ask Teacher Wen and the others when they get here.” Black Cat jumped onto the wall, distancing herself from the child. She was most afraid of kids, especially crying ones.

Big Bear sighed as he held the child.

Qian shook Big Bear’s sword. “I want my daddy.”

Big Bear said, “Alright, alright, don’t worry. We have to stay here for seven days. When it’s over, we’ll go back, and then you can see your dad.”