PGVCW 65

Playing God in Various Catastrophic Worlds

Chapter 65: The Protective Escort

Ever since that fateful day, the members of the Rock Squad made it a strict point to keep Xia Wang'an tethered to their group wherever they went, terrified of letting her out of their sight for even a single second.

The rationale behind their vigilance was simple: upon arriving at the settlement, the young girl they had rescued had first made a remarkably extravagant expenditure on drawing implements, proceeded to craft a single talisman, and then calmly declared her intentions.

"I want to venture outside the base."

Qingyang had naturally asked, "What on earth for?"

With absolute serenity, Xia Wang'an had replied, "To locate an anomaly and test out my exorcism talisman."

The rest of the Rock Squad: "..."

How was that statement any different from screaming into their ears, "I am actively seeking an early death"?

At that exact moment, Team Leader Cheng Hu even entertained severe doubts regarding the editorial integrity of Early Childhood World Education. Why else would Xia Wang'an spend all her time studying the terminal only to arrive at such suicidal conclusions?

He tried reasoning with her, speaking with earnest gravity: "Anomalies are extraordinarily lethal."

Xia Wang'an countered calmly: "I am quite formidable myself."

Surveying the delicate skin and the utter absence of discernible muscle tone on her arms, Cheng Hu swallowed a mountain of unspoken objections.

Lifting the talisman she had just completed, Xia Wang'an persisted: "Besides, I believe my talisman is exceptionally potent."

He had certainly not forgotten that before putting brush to paper, the girl had spent hours furiously reviewing academic texts. Were humans raised in anomaly-controlled zones genuinely this audacious when courting oblivion?

From that instant onward, the Rock Squad unanimously resolved that someone must maintain constant proximity to Xia Wang'an. Otherwise, her fearless ignorance would likely drive her straight into the heart of an anomaly stronghold armed with nothing more than a strip of paper.

The Rules of the Wasteland

It wasn't that the Rock Squad was prone to prejudice; rather, despite this world bearing structural similarities to Blue Star, it remained entirely bereft of superhuman meta-capabilities.

On Blue Star, even a young child could never be dismissed lightly, as anyone might suddenly manifest unknown superhuman abilities. Within the anomaly-blighted world, however, baseline humanity possessed no inherent supernatural traits. Among mercenary units traversing regional bases like the Rock Squad, four out of five operatives were brawny physical combatants.

The sole exception, Qingyang, functioned as a martial specialist; though lacking the raw brute strength of her male teammates, her acute sensory reflexes, tactical velocity, and precise execution embodied a textbook assassin profile.

Listening quietly to this geopolitical exposition, Xia Wang'an accurately captured the core premise: "If humanity possesses no native supernatural capabilities, what entities do?"

Having lost faith in Early Childhood World Education, Cheng Hu personally assumed the responsibility of educating her, explaining with meticulous care: "Certain physical artifacts possess the inherent capacity to suppress anomalies. As I mentioned previously, during the initial onset of the apocalypse, sacred items consecrated within temples and Taoist shrines could actively restrain them."

"Later on, people discovered that consecrated relics weren't the only assets capable of this; miscellaneous items occasionally exhibited identical suppressive properties through unknown mechanisms. However, they cannot be wielded universally—only specific individuals can awaken them."

A visible trace of envy and longing colored his tone: "In common parlance, this phenomenon is designated as [Spirit Artifact Recognition]."

Xia Wang'an experienced an immediate epiphany: "Ah, spirit artifacts. Artifact refiners forge those routinely."

Having never encountered the concept of an artifact refiner, Cheng Hu merely offered a good-natured chuckle. "There are no artifact refiners here. These spirit artifacts are excavated directly from anomaly domains. The prevailing hypothesis suggests that ordinary objects subjected to intense anomaly miasma over extended epochs undergo spontaneous mutation into spirit artifacts."

At that, Cheng Hu's expression lightened slightly: "Because of this working theory, powerful mercenary factions actively hunt down anomalies. It serves a beneficial purpose—that is precisely how the density of anomalies surrounding regional bases is kept under control."

The ecosystem mirrored an invasive biological species multiplying uncontrollably across foreign terrain. Humanity initially stood entirely helpless against them until someone discovered that these invasive entities possessed surprising culinary utility, triggering an immediate surge of human harvesters that drastically decelerated the invaders' propagation rate.

Naturally, conducting such extraction operations demanded high-tier combat capability—a classification that firmly excluded mid-tier outfits like the Rock Squad.

Xia Wang'an fell into a contemplative silence. "While natural spirit artifacts do manifest, operating under your premise that high-tier teams unearth a dozen or two artifacts annually, isn't that volume statistically excessive?"

Even a certified artifact refiner operating within the Xia Kingdom could at most forge three or four master-grade spirit artifacts per annum.

She pressed forward with her inquiry: "What about the garrison guards? I heard others mention that base sentinels possess formidable power."

"Astute observation!" Praising her quick wit first, Cheng Hu elaborated: "Every settlement maintains a single sentinel, and the sentinels across all seven major bases are elite powerhouses who have achieved successful spirit artifact recognition."

Indicating the perimeter architecture, he gestured toward the upper battlements.

At the intersection of the fortified masonry, a solitary figure rested. Clad in advanced combat gear, she possessed slender flanks and elongated legs, assuming a commanding, open posture while cradling a longsword across her lap.

Xia Wang'an’s visual acuity far transcended normal human thresholds; the moment she directed her gaze upward, the sentinel seemingly registered the observation. Her previously closed eyelids snapped open, locking their line of sight downward.

Recognizing that the observer was merely an unthreatening young girl displaying idle curiosity, the sentinel of the Pangu Base slowly lowered her eyelids and resumed her meditative rest.

Sensing the lingering aura, Xia Wang'an murmured: "She is injured."

Cheng Hu blinked in surprise: "Huh? Who told you that? I only just learned of it myself."

"Word is that three S-rank anomalies converged on the perimeter two days ago, attempting to drag the entire Pangu Base into their synchronized pocket domain. The sentinel fought a three-pronged engagement; although she successfully eradicated all three anomalies, she sustained severe trauma."

The revelation cleared up his prior confusion regarding why Pangu Base—a major installation—had experienced persistent nocturnal anomaly incursions over the past twenty-four hours.

Those were three synchronized S-rank anomalies. To suppress them, not only was the sentinel critically wounded, but baseline garrison casualties had exceeded fifty percent.

"So we can tolerate minor nocturnal disturbances; more importantly, we are no longer pressured to execute a hurried evacuation. With this year's quota of S-rank anomalies accounted for, the Pangu Base can enjoy relative tranquility for the next half-year."

Xia Wang'an pricked her ears: "Why phrase it that way? Do S-rank anomalies manifest exclusively once per annum?"

"Pretty much. Every year, the seven major bases experience scheduled S-rank anomaly sieges—initially arriving as solitary threats, then scaling to two, and presently reaching three."

Cheng Hu’s tone carried a heavy, familiar resignation that Xia Wang'an recognized instantly. To baseline civilians, an S-rank anomaly siege equated to a planetary seismic event; yet mortals possessed zero agency to prevent geological catastrophes.

The sole mercy lay in the seismic recurrence operating on an annual cadence.

Xia Wang'an pressed: "Why once a year? Have the anomalies convened a centralized scheduling committee?"

"Who could possibly verify their internal logistics? Regardless of cause, they unfailingly execute a siege once every twelve months."

The Cosmic Star-Map

Xia Wang'an: [007, it appears to be them again.]

007 registered prompt agreement.

To populations isolated within a single catastrophic theater, an invariant annual recurrence might eventually masquerade as a normal systemic cycle. Yet to Xia Wang'an—who had traversed countless planetary dimensions—catastrophes never operated with clockwork predictability.

They materialized without warning, dissipated abruptly, and fluctuated wildly in scale; genuine disasters maintained zero fixed periodicities. If an event exhibited rigid regularity, it confirmed a singular underlying premise: the catastrophe was artificially orchestrated.

Xia Wang'an raised her gaze toward the azure firmament. Although the anomaly-ravaged world resembled a desolate wasteland, the absence of heavy industrial pollution preserved a striking crystalline blueness across the sky.

[I have never visited this dimension previously, nor have I logged its spatial coordinate node within my stellar navigational charts.]

Within the proprietary celestial navigation interface accessible exclusively to Xia Wang'an, every functional world maintained a definitive coordinate anchor—even if planetary dissolution had already concluded, archival traces remained discoverable through exhaustive sensory sweeps.

The survival metrics of indigenous human populations varied across domains, corresponding directly to the volume of faith power they could potentially yield. The critical variable lay solely in whether targeted coordinate checks revealed an already extinct civilization or an ongoing planetary collapse.

Yet throughout her past life, Xia Wang'an had never encountered coordinate markers corresponding to the Anomaly World.

It behaved as though its existential signature had been intentionally scrubbed from the astral network, ensuring external observers remained blind to the existence of a civilization languishing within apocalyptic turmoil.

In her prior existence, that administrative oversight had successfully concealed the realm. But in her current life, she had breached its perimeter.

[My intrusion will undoubtedly provoke intense displeasure on their part, will it not?]

They had expended exhaustive effort to cloak and isolate this planetary system in total secrecy, only for her to stumble uninvited across its threshold. Was the canonical "annual anomaly siege" genuinely an organic systemic rhythm?

Observing the Pangu Base operating at a temporary deficit of combat equilibrium, would the orchestrators truly let this strategic window pass unexploited?

Reaching up to trace the blade-shaped hairpin secured in her locks, a pure, unclouded smile blossomed across the young girl's features.

She addressed Cheng Hu with cheerful levity: "I have altered my strategic trajectory~"

"I no longer require field excursions outside the base perimeter; I shall remain stationed here within the Pangu Base indefinitely."

Cheng Hu wore the expression of a man whose conversational tracks had derailed completely. Wait, what just transpired?

Though her initial intent was precisely to keep her safely confined inside the compound, her abrupt ideological reversal left him utterly bewildered.

Despite his confusion, a palpable wave of relief washed over him. Among the five-member team, Cheng Hu functioned as the designated maternal worrywart—exhibiting an excess of protective instincts that drove him to shelter his personal circle beneath his administrative wings. Unwittingly, the delicate, otherworldly civilian girl who had gifted him a pristine fire-ham sausage had already been firmly integrated into his internal roster of protected dependents.

"Splendid, excellent—remaining safely inside the settlement is the superior choice. You can occupy yourself with reading materials or media entertainment... well, perhaps bypass visual displays and focus on literature. Once we liquidate our inventory freight, we shall procure a block of cornmeal and distribute it evenly across our five rosters."

His vocal cadence possessed a gentle, melodic patience reserved strictly for juvenile offspring.

Xia Wang'an accepted his protective posturing with casual familiarity. Within the Xia Kingdom, uniform communal behavior mirrored this affectionate baseline; the sole distinguishing variable lay in whether local provisions took the form of artisanal chocolate pastries or iced boba tea.

The Calm Before the Storm

Xia Wang'an settled into a routine of tranquil stillness within the Pangu Base.

While the Rock Squad aggressively marketed their cargo inventory, she remained seated nearby, engrossed in the Comprehensive Talisman Compendium. When the squad transitioned to logistical restocking, she reviewed the compendium. When the squad retired into deep somnolence, she continued studying the compendium.

Qingyang observed with amused affection: "If this were the pre-apocalyptic era, Wang'an's academic work ethic would guarantee her the national examination championship."

Xia Wang'an directed a gaze of deep personal warmth toward her companion, maintaining a polite veneer of modesty: "Actually, I share that identical self-assessment; I have consistently maintained rigorous review standards~"

Had advanced talismanic diagnostics not taken absolute operational precedence, she would have continued dedicating two mandatory hours daily to solving college entrance examination problem sets.

The Rock Squad operatives shared hearty, good-natured laughter, treating her statements as whimsical childhood banter. Following the apocalypse, educational institutions were among the first foundational structures to suffer total collapse, erasing structured schooling from generational memory; contemporary literacy baseline standards required merely basic functional reading ability. Within decades, the conceptual framework of formal national examinations risked fading into total myth.

Following their brief levity, the squad resumed commercial operations, cross-referencing legacy pricing models against prevailing Pangu Base economic indices.

Because local intelligence confirmed the settlement had recently survived a catastrophic military engagement, external trading units throughout the region experienced a psychological easing of tension, prompting widespread extensions of their scheduled layover durations within the Pangu Base.

Xia Wang'an balanced active study with patient observation.

As the adage observes, external adversaries frequently achieve superior situational comprehension compared to nominal allies. As a seasoned campaign veteran who had previously dismantled the core nesting grounds of the regional polluters, Xia Wang'an retained granular familiarity with their operational philosophy.

Planetary subjugation was executed not through abrupt lightning executions, but via systematic attrition—bleeding a civilization across protracted increments until total systemic failure permitted a decisive closing offensive.

Yet within the Anomaly World, the governing hierarchy had deployed a divergent tactical architecture. Cross-referencing operational logs retrieved via Cheng Hu’s terminal, confirmed S-rank anomaly populations exceeded two hundred distinct entities. Conversely, human defenders possessed precisely seven active sentinels.

The seven major regional bases were not established to accommodate pre-existing sentinels; rather, the emergence of seven distinct sentinels directly dictated the geopolitical formation of the seven major bases.

With an individual sentinel operating under a maximum combat capacity threshold of five concurrent S-rank suppressions, a coordinated offensive featuring the complete two-hundred-strong anomaly roster would result in the instantaneous, total annihilation of baseline humanity.

Yet despite holding overwhelming, asymmetric combat superiority, the predatory anomalies predominantly sequestered themselves within designated dead zones. Even following localized urban cleansing operations, they rarely mobilized en masse to actively exterminate surviving human population nodes.

Their offensive movements remained strictly governed by annual siege cycles.

[This operational cadence resembles less an effort to eradicate indigenous humanity than a systematic harvesting framework designed to calibrate and suppress human growth thresholds.]

Articulating her working hypothesis aloud, 007 chimed in with corroborating recognition: [Does the Host recall that they attempted an identical psychological conditioning protocol upon you?]

They refused immediate execution, choosing instead to systematically erode her cognitive stability, maintaining her in a perpetual state of nervous exhaustion and psychological fragmentation—until Xia Wang'an initiated a counter-purge.

Pausing mid-thought, Xia Wang'an recalled historical operational segments: [Confirmed. Evidently, this physical dimension holds high intrinsic value for their strategic networks.]

At minimum, the sector contained target resources actively coveted by the pollutant collective.

A knowing smile curved the corners of her lips: [007, shall we introduce a degree of organized chaos to their operations?]

[Exquisite!]

007 responded with exuberant vocalizations, humming a jaunty melodic line: [007 adores generating systemic disruption alongside the Host!]

The Pangu Base maintained an atmosphere of tranquil security.

Although the recent defensive engagement claimed numerous casualties, survivors within the Anomaly World possessed an institutionalized psychological numbness toward mortality. Bypassing prolonged grief processing cycles, the populace transitioned directly into collective celebration regarding the closure of the annual siege window, embracing the prospect of half a year of uninterrupted domestic stability.

Civilians surged back and forth across the avenues, resuming active commercial and logistical routines.

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