The Only Player in 'Child of Stardust'

On the way, everything was calm and empty, not even a ghost in sight, yet the entire amusement park was bustling as if it were filled with invisible tourists.

This eerie atmosphere made Zhou Yuan's heart race; people fear the unknown the most.

If only a few zombies could jump out right now, at least that would tell him what kind of enemy he was facing, which would actually put him at ease.

No matter how terrifying zombies are, how many bullets can they take?

Soon, Zhou Yuan arrived at a plaza and abruptly stopped.

He saw a person.

To be precise, it was a blonde woman lying on the ground in a "big" shape.

The Eyes of Identification popped up a timely prompt:

"You've encountered a heavyweight ally; cling to her, and your journey will become safe and pleasant.

By the way, she's very hungry right now, so you can exchange food for something."'

Zhou Yuan squinted slightly and carefully observed, surprisingly finding that this blonde woman was dressed in a black suit, the same outfit as those extraordinary people he met while eating the other day.

Were they part of the same supernatural power organization?

While Zhou Yuan was pondering, the blonde woman suddenly sat up straight, looking at him in bewilderment,

"Who the hell are you, and how did you get in here?"

East Continent dialect?

Zhou Yuan's heart trembled; was this mission instance set in the East Continent?

He pondered for a moment and lied, "I got lost in the fog and wandered in."

"Who's buying that crap? Without some special means, you can't get in here."'

The blonde woman sneered, not believing his story at all, and coldly eyed Zhou Yuan, "Is the Yingzhou branch hell-bent on causing trouble?"

Zhou Yuan looked puzzled, the Yingzhou branch? What the hell is that?

Noticing the bewilderment flash across his face, the blonde woman asked, "You're not from the Yingzhou Control Bureau?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Scratching her chin thoughtfully, the blonde woman then asked, "Do you know who I am?"

"No."

"Chen Guangxi, or maybe Aurelia, ever heard of them?"

"Never heard of them." Zhou Yuan shook his head.

"Conclusion: A complete newbie."

Casting Zhou Yuan a sidelong glance, Chen Guangxi lay back down. She figured out his identity: a complete wild extraordinary person, utterly unaware of the Control Bureau, probably heard some inside rumors and came looking for an opportunity.

Seriously, is living not good enough for him?

Seeing Chen Guangxi lie back down and ignore him again, Zhou Yuan took the initiative,

"Can I ask a few questions?"

"No, stop bugging me; I need to conserve my strength." Chen Guangxi coldly refused.

Recalling the Eyes of Identification's prompt, Zhou Yuan thought for a moment and took out a steamed bun from his player inventory; he had bought it at the market,

"What if I say I have food?"

Swish!

Chen Guangxi sat up again, staring at the steamed bun in Zhou Yuan's hand with astonishment, "You have a spatial storage-type abnormal item?"

"It's a family heirloom." Zhou Yuan made up.

"Alright, what do you want to know?"

Chen Guangxi's attitude softened immediately, staring intently at the steamed bun, her eyes seemingly glowing green, like a wolf seeing food after days of hunger.

Seeing that she had no intention of killing him to rob his resources, Zhou Yuan relaxed, threw the steamed bun over to show his sincerity, "This bag is a gift for you."

Catching the steamed bun, her stomach growled loudly, proving her extreme hunger. But instead of unwrapping and eating it, like a magic trick, she made the steamed bun disappear.

"You also have a spatial storage-type abnormal item?" Zhou Yuan was shocked.

"It's standard equipment for Control Bureau investigators."

Chen Guangxi showed Zhou Yuan the ring on her hand, "Storage Ring made by the Alchemy Department."

Control Bureau, Investigators, Alchemy Department... Zhou Yuan silently noted these names and took out another steamed bun,

"My first question is, what is an abnormality?"

Chen Guangxi's expression became quite dramatic,

"Wow, there really are wild extraordinary people like you? Daring to run around without even knowing what an abnormality is, you really have a death wish.

Alright, I'll give you a Transcendents 101 class."

She sat cross-legged, cleared her throat, and said,

"An 'abnormality' is something that deviates from the norm. Without exception, they all possess inexplicable supernatural powers.

They can generally be divided into four categories: 'abnormal phenomena,' 'abnormal items,' 'abnormal creatures,' and 'abnormal areas.'

Abnormalities don't follow logic; there's no need to study why they are the way they are, because even the top scholars can't figure it out.

We just need to know that abnormalities are double-edged swords; they can change the world, and they can also destroy it.

Like this amusement park, it's a dangerous 'abnormal area' that one day went berserk and killed over a thousand people.

And I am an 'abnormal creature.'

"You?" Zhou Yuan was stunned.

Chen Guangxi pointed to her eyes, "Look closely."

Suddenly, Zhou Yuan realized he could see Chen Guangxi's face clearly.

His expression changed, astonished, because he realized that he had never really seen Chen Guangxi's features before; something had blurred his perception, causing him to subconsciously overlook it.

"10 points of perception, and yet it was obscured. Is this the quality of a true extraordinary person?" Zhou Yuan marveled inwardly, studying her.

Chen Guangxi had exquisite, defined features and shoulder-length blonde hair; she was quite a dashing ice-cold, ascetic style beauty. Her eyes were a pair of brilliant golden vertical pupils, like those of a mythical creature, both majestic and eerie.

Zhou Yuan's breath caught; this was...

"Are you a snake spirit?!"

"Damn it!"

Chen Guangxi couldn't hold it in, correcting loudly, "I'm a damn dragon!"

"You're a dragon spirit?!"

Zhou Yuan was shocked; did dragons really exist in this world?

"Damn it, not a dragon spirit, a True Dragon! An authentic True Dragon! And the most badass Golden Dragon at that!"

"But other than your eyes, you don't seem to have any other dragon traits."

"Of course not, I'm in human form right now; humans don't have horns or wings."

Chen Guangxi rolled her eyes, reaching out for more food.

Zhou Yuan tossed her another steamed bun, then took out another one, "Go on, then."

Putting away the steamed bun, Chen Guangxi continued her lecture,

"Talking about abnormalities, you can't ignore 'transcendence.'

Transcendence creates abnormalities; as long as transcendence exists, abnormalities will continually arise.

Transcendent powers have existed since ancient times, but they ebb and flow like tides, periodically renewing.

When the tide is high, it's when myths and legends abound, with abnormalities everywhere; when the tide is low, it's what's called the great severance, no transcendence, and abnormalities fall silent.

The most recent resurgence of transcendence was a hundred years ago, triggering an event you might guess."

A hundred years ago...

Recalling history, Zhou Yuan frowned suddenly,

"The Third War?"

"That's right." Chen Guangxi snapped her fingers, motioning for more food.

Waiting until Zhou Yuan had fed her again, she continued,

"Most people think the war broke out due to escalating international conflicts, but in reality, without the supernatural forces fanning the flames, the war would have waited at least twenty more years to break out.

It can be said that the resurgence of transcendence directly led to the outbreak of the Third War.

During this period, many national governments became aware of the existence of supernatural powers and extraordinary persons. As the war intensified, these powers were eventually deployed on the battlefield.

Thus, the transcendence community also refers to the Third War as the 'First Supernatural War.'

Outside the battlefield, some realized that the war might be influenced by some supernatural power. Thus, several countries secretly formed an authoritative organization to investigate the truth behind it.

Before a global nuclear war broke out, this organization successfully discovered the source of the problem, contained and sealed it, ending the war.

After the war, the Earth Federation was established and reformed that authoritative organization into an international body, concentrating global human and material resources to study the supernatural and combat 'abnormalities.'

That organization is now the 'Anomalous Control Bureau,' of which I am a member.

And the mastermind that sparked the war was named—"

"—Abnormal 001·War."