The system is four years ahead of schedule, but Weird is still a cub.

Cheng Shengnan seemed unaware that someone had entered, and continued to focus on analyzing the plan on the screen, making careful annotations.

Shen Ge stood quietly at the door, gazing at the figure that he had crossed worlds and time to return to.

Perhaps it was his gaze that was too intense, or perhaps it was the bond that transcended time and space that was too strong, but Cheng Shengnan's typing suddenly stopped.

She seemed to sense something, her body stiffened slightly, and then she turned her head.

Eyes facing each other.

In that instant, time seemed to be paused.

Cheng Shengnan's face was filled with a mix of emotions: focus, confusion, bewilderment, shock, disbelief... Countless emotions flashed across her beautiful face like a revolving lantern. In the end, everything was frozen in that uncontrollable ecstasy and the tears that welled up in her eyes.

“Shen…” She opened her mouth, but only managed to utter a broken syllable.

The next second she suddenly stood up, knocking over the chair next to her.

The data tablet in her hand slammed to the ground with a "thud," and the screen shattered instantly, but she didn't care about anything else. She rushed towards the figure she longed for at the door.

Shen Ge opened his arms and gently pulled her into his embrace.

That familiar fragrance and that soft touch finally brought him some peace after more than ten years of loneliness while he was wandering in another world.

The hug lasted a long time, and neither of them spoke.

In the room, only their hearts pounded like drums, and the sobs that could not be suppressed from the depths of their throats, expressing the endless longing that had accumulated over three years and was now overflowing.

After an unknown amount of time, when her emotions had calmed down a bit, Cheng Shengnan finally lifted her head from his embrace, her red eyes still brimming with tears.

She reached out, her fingertips trembling slightly, and gently stroked Shen Ge's face, as if to confirm that what she was seeing was not just a beautiful dream.

"It's good that you're back," she said in a hoarse voice.

She didn't care what great deeds Shen Ge had done to save the world; she just wanted to see him return safely.

Shen Ge smiled, took her hand, and gently kissed her fingertips: "I'm back."

His gaze swept over every detail in the room, and a warmth welled up in his heart like a rising tide, wave after wave crashing against his chest.

On the desk, besides the documents that represent the heavy workload, there is a silver photo frame sitting quietly.

Inside the photo frame is the only picture of the two of them together.

That day on the bustling pedestrian street, the scene of him awkwardly putting an earring on her was unintentionally captured by a street corner camera.

On the bedside table, the pair of small silver earrings were polished to a spotless shine, shimmering softly under the light, as if they had never left their owner's sight.

What made Shen Ge's heart tremble the most was the hand he was holding in Cheng Shengnan's hand.

On his ring finger, the pair of rings with a design that he found somewhat childish and comical were still firmly worn. After three years of handling, the silver surface had become warm and smooth.

All the details silently tell a story.

For three years, more than a thousand days and nights, she never forgot him for a single moment.

They slept peacefully through the night, their joy at their long-awaited reunion tinged with the tranquility of falling asleep in each other's arms.

The next morning, as the first rays of sunlight streamed through the heavy windows, casting warm patches of light into the room, Shen Ge slowly opened his eyes. Cheng Shengnan was already awake, lying on her side, gazing at him quietly, as if she couldn't get enough of looking at him.

After a quick wash, Cheng Shengnan served Shen Ge a hot breakfast. Although it was just a simple nutritious meal from the base canteen, Shen Ge found it to be more delicious than any of the delicacies he had ever tasted in "Iron Heart".

The two snuggled together on the sofa, enjoying this moment of warmth.

In the end, it was Shen Ge who broke the silence.

"Tell me," he gently stroked Cheng Shengnan's hair and asked softly, "what has the world changed in these three years?"

Upon hearing this question, the weariness that had just faded from Cheng Shengnan's eyes reappeared. She didn't hide anything, because she knew the man before her needed to know all of this. She tapped the personal terminal on her wrist, and a holographic projection unfolded before them.

“The biggest change after you disappeared came from the bizarre. They… began an unprecedented ‘evolution’.” Cheng Shengnan’s voice became serious and solemn.

On the screen, a series of shocking battle videos began to play.

“About two years ago, we discovered that higher-level anomalies were no longer simply beasts acting on instinct. Their behavior patterns began to show rudimentary ‘intelligence’.”

In the scene, a special operations team has clearly fallen into some kind of trap. They are lured into an abandoned city complex by a group of low-level cannon fodder-type monsters. Then, several monsters with "mimicry" abilities that have been lying in wait for a long time suddenly emerge from the shadows and launch an attack, coordinating perfectly.

"They learned to cooperate, ambush, and even, under the leadership of some powerful beings whom we call 'Deceptive Kings,' they began to form hierarchical 'clans' and 'nests.'"

The projection shifts, revealing the ruins of a city completely transformed into a den of flesh and blood. Countless bizarre creatures inhabit it, each with a clear division of labor, resembling a disciplined anthill.

"This is a flesh and blood nest built around a seventh-tier monster king, which was found during a search of the Amazon rainforest. It is also the only seventh-tier monster found in the world so far. Although there are no signs of the 'nest' spreading yet, it also means that the monster is evolving at an increasingly rapid pace."

"Rongshi and the Great Celestial Empire are still safe, but several serious bizarre incidents have occurred in the mountains of Yuzhou. We are no longer facing sporadic bizarre attacks." Cheng Shengnan drew a strategic map, which was marked with several huge red areas representing different groups of bizarre creatures.

Then, she switched the camera to a red area in the United States.

On screen, an overwhelming swarm of bizarre creatures launches a tidal wave attack on a human city. Flying creatures responsible for reconnaissance circle high in the sky, while heavily armored creatures, as large as small mountains, form the front line of meat shields, followed by countless turret-like creatures spewing energy or acid... They together form a true "legion of monsters."

Although the leader of this wave of strange creatures was only a fifth-tier strange creature, and the following cluster consisted of only second- and third-tier strange creatures, before the city was attacked, the international anti-strange organizations and the United States' anti-strange agencies had no idea where these strange creatures came from; they seemed to have emerged from underground.

Faced with such a bizarre and terrifying evolution, the United States was forced to change its strategy, which had been in place for several years.

“Within America, the anti-terrorist forces have begun a strategic retreat.” Cheng Shengnan pulled up a macro-level map of America, which showed only a few dozen blue dots surrounded by endless red areas, like isolated islands in a storm. “They abandoned most of the smaller cities and vast wilderness areas, concentrating all their forces around the super-cities with the strongest anti-terrorist forces, forming the current ‘anti-terrorist city-state’ system.”

The immense pressure to survive also spurred an explosive leap forward in human technology.

"The reason why our Rong City and the Great Celestial Empire have been able to temporarily suppress the invasion of the supernatural is largely due to the combined efforts of the soldiers fighting on the front lines and the logistics personnel. In particular, the research department, under the leadership of several 'geniuses,' has upgraded the supernatural equipment, enabling us to fight against seventh-tier supernatural beings." Cheng Shengnan's tone carried a hint of pride as she demonstrated Rong City's current military strength to Shen Ge.

On the screen, a unit composed of the latest "Azure Dragon" anti-mechs is conducting coordinated combat on the training field.

Their mobility, firepower, and magical shields were several times stronger than any anti-monster mech Shen Ge had seen three years ago. Above the city, a massive, invisible energy shield system protected the entire city like a miniature dome.

"More importantly, based on the 'characteristic' theory you left behind, Li Xiang and his team have successfully developed a variety of mass-producible characteristic-like weapons. Although their effects are far inferior to the original, they are enough to prevent us from being suppressed by high-level anomalies in terms of high-end combat power."

However, just as Shen Ge was feeling gratified by humanity's resilience and progress, Cheng Shengnan pulled up the last file that was classified as top secret, and her expression became more solemn than ever before.

"However, the conventional bizarre is not our most troublesome enemy right now."

The file opens, revealing an entry codenamed "Polluter" in blood-red font.

"This is a completely new type of humanoid anomaly with extremely high intelligence, or rather... a monster that has completely mutated and gone out of control. Their flesh and blood bodies are very weak, and they do not possess the high-speed healing of high-level anomalies and monsters. Furthermore, they almost never engage in direct physical destruction. Their weapon is erosion, mental erosion."

The footage shown was from surveillance video from the headquarters of the Kingdom of Thailand.

An employee who appeared no different from an ordinary person only had a brief conversation with those around him after entering a crowded cafeteria.

However, in the following hours, everyone who came into contact with him began to undergo physical changes without their knowledge, eventually transforming into a hideous monster that launched a devastating attack on its internal organs.

"They disguise themselves as humans and silently infiltrate human cities, spreading a 'corrosive plague' that we have not yet fully deciphered, infecting and alienating ordinary people, and even determined anti-deception warriors, in their sleep and without their awareness."

A hint of lingering fear flashed in Cheng Shengnan's eyes: "A year and a half ago, the Dajing headquarters experienced an extremely devastating internal purge because of this, with losses... far exceeding those of a large-scale battle on the front lines."

She turned off the projector, and the room fell silent again.

Cheng Shengnan raised her head and gazed at Shen Ge, her eyes filled with trust and expectation.

"Although human technology is constantly advancing, the speed of evolution is even faster and more bizarre. The situation of the war is far more severe than it was three years ago. In particular, the emergence of the 'Contaminated Ones' has made the entire war situation unpredictable."

She gently took Shen Ge's hand.

Yes.

Humans are "evolving," and so is the supernatural.

In any case, Shen Ge will not allow "reality" to become like the fragmented world.

After enjoying a brief moment of tenderness with Cheng Shengnan, Shen Ge did not indulge in it.

He knew that in this wartime world where every second counted, there were too many old friends to reunite with and too many situations to understand.

In the afternoon, Shen Ge went to the underground research base.

Before even reaching the door to the core laboratory, a familiar roar pierced through the wall and came through clearly: "Who's confused Type VII Strange Energy Stabilizer with Type VI again, like soy sauce and vinegar? Do you have a death wish, or do you want to send me to meet your ancestors ahead of time? Do you all want to blow up my laboratory?"

Shen Ge and Cheng Shengnan exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of helpless amusement in each other's eyes. That signature irritable voice could only belong to that man.

When Shen Ge pushed open the door with automatic access control, all the researchers in the laboratory looked up abruptly, and the noisy working environment instantly fell into an eerie silence.

A man wearing a white lab coat, with messy hair like a bird's nest and dark circles under his eyes, was standing with one hand on his hip and the other pointing at a trembling young researcher, cursing loudly.

It was Li Xiang.

He seemed to notice the strange thing at the door, turned around impatiently, and was about to scold, "What are you looking at? Have you finished your work?"

But the moment his gaze met that figure at the door, all his anger and all his words seemed to be choked and stuck there.

Li Xiang was stunned at first, then blinked incredulously, as if to confirm whether he was hallucinating because he hadn't slept for three days in a row.

Shen Ge only returned yesterday, while Li Xiang is conducting an important research project and has locked himself in the core laboratory, so he has not yet received this news.

The next second, Li Xiang dropped the data tablet in his hand and rushed up like a gust of wind. Without saying a word, he delivered a merciless punch to Shen Ge!

With a muffled "bang," a fist slammed into Shen Ge. Shen Ge didn't budge, instead sporting a smile.

"You little brat, you actually know how to come back?" Li Xiang's curse was several times louder than when he was cursing his subordinates, but his bloodshot eyes turned red at a visible speed.

"Do you know that I wasted three precious years of my youth researching some bullshit 'light chaser' just to find you? My Nobel Prize! My chance to be remembered for generations! All ruined by you, you troublemaker!" He cursed fiercely, but his eyes were completely red.

Shen Ge smiled and accepted his excited punch after their long-awaited reunion, patting him on the shoulder: "You've worked hard, Li the Great Genius. I brought you back some new toys, I guarantee they're more interesting than the Nobel Prize."

After Li Xiang's "warm hospitality," the two arrived at the strange creature laboratory located deeper inside.

The owner of this place—Jiang Peiwen, Li Xiang's childhood sweetheart and junior sister—the moment she saw Shen Ge, her eyes first flashed with great surprise, which then transformed into the reverence and curiosity of a scholar seeing a legendary "rare specimen".

"..."

Shen Ge looked at Li Xiang beside her with a subtle expression and couldn't help but ask, "Why do I have this feeling that she wants to dissect and study me?"

Li Xiang adjusted his glasses and calmly said, "Oh, you're not mistaken. She's made great progress in her research on weirdos recently and wants to test the effects of injecting that new type of weird energy inhibitor into you."

"Uh."

What a terrifying woman. (End of Chapter)