I Don't Agree to the Terms

Of course, some people would not be bound by social hierarchy.

This was also considered a project of creating artificial anomalies that Gu Shanhai had launched with his group; after a few more experiences, the group would gain the expertise to carry out anomaly projects independently.

Gu Shanhai wasn't a babysitter; it was impossible for him to watch over the group every day.

Then his thoughts shifted to the "Taotie" project, as he pondered how to proceed.

Because the "Taotie" project wasn't about literally capturing people and using them as experimental subjects, but like the previous "Shooting the Sun" project, it was carried out without the subjects being aware of it.

If he resorted to violence, how would he make the subjects serve him?

Just like Xia Zhang, who harbored feelings for the entire dynasty and everyone within it, all he needed to do was to find a way to reverse the lingering effects from the "Shooting the Sun" project, and then he would have an extremely powerful force at his disposal.

He had managed to shatter the sun; what more of other anomalies? Even if it was said that he specialized in targeting the sun, once the sun had become an anomaly, it was more powerful than Rein, the fusion of the Emperor and Human Dao's will, ranking just below the Sea of Information. Handling other anomalies was relatively easy for him.

Therefore, it was essential to employ a gentle and imperceptible method of persuasion rather than brute force.

After all, anomalies themselves are manifestations of rules, let alone those anomalies that have developed their consciousness.

One plan after another emerged and intersected in Gu Shanhai's mind, eventually forming various opinions and experimental guidelines.

After writing them down, he placed them on the desk and instructed an assistant to distribute them to other researchers for experimentation.

As for Gu Shanhai, once he had dealt with some matters at hand, he planned to visit the moon.

The sun had been too far and too hot for him, and even if he could reach it, he would definitely not go.

The moon, however, was different; it was closer and not as perilous.

He used the Five Elements Great Escape and arrived in an instant.

As Gu Shanhai's strength grew and as he integrated more Divine Skills, his Five Elements Great Escape became even more profound—at least enough to ensure that no strategy in the Daoist Soldier World could stop him.

His ability to escape was second to none!

And as long as he was within the Five Elements, he was nearly invulnerable to anyone weaker than him; however, if they were stronger, the damage was not immune but reduced.

Of course, there are exceptions in some special worlds.

Despite his increasing strength, Gu Shanhai did not become arrogant but remained very low-key.

After arriving on the moon, Gu Shanhai felt that the moon under his feet seemed strange, as if he was standing not on solid ground but on some sort of flesh.

From time to time, it even twitched.

"Doesn't it resemble another eye?" Gu Shanhai had a sudden insight, recalling this thought.

He had once perceived the sun as an eye, and now the moon seemed to exhibit a similar situation.

Some presence's gaze was upon this world.

He picked up a handful of soil to analyze; it wasn't flesh or a genetic structure, but ordinary inorganic matter.

Strolling on the moon, he soon reached the moon's shadow area—nothing too terrifying, just the reflection projected by the moon itself.

It seemed quite normal, but the problem was that this reflection was on the side facing the sun, rather than forming a shadow. Under normal circumstances, this reflection should be facing their planet, eventually resulting in a phenomenon similar to a lunar eclipse.

So upon a closer look, it was highly illogical.

Gu Shanhai scrutinized it carefully but couldn't discern any issues because the anomaly was still in the process of emerging, and it was impossible to observe any valid data.

It was just like the initial state of the sun, where he saw the existence of nine tentacles within the radiance, but they also seemed like a mere illusory shadow.

"What can be confirmed is that this thing seems to be trying to split off into a new moon. No idea what's the deal with this moon."

"Hopefully, Taotie can be successfully created before the moon's anomaly worsens."

Gu Shanhai pondered that if Taotie was created before the moon split and if Taotie swallowed the concept of the second moon, could the anomaly of the moon be brought to a halt.

This wasn't about erasing the anomaly but keeping it from fully anomalous, so it would remain forever in the process of emerging.

Gu Shanhai also thought about eradicating the anomaly, but there were few leads; at least in his view, a single anomaly couldn't erase the same anomaly. It would require the coordination of multiple anomalies.

For instance, the Shooting Sun taking action to subdue and Taotie consuming related cognitive concepts, and so on.

However, Gu Shanhai would not carry out anomaly eradication because, even for erasing a minimal risk anomaly, the price to pay would be enormous.

In Gu Shanhai's view, anomalies have levels of combative capability and danger, but in this world, there was actually no hierarchy among anomalies.

Gu Shanhai wanted to complete many projects, but there certainly wasn't enough time; all he could do was try his best and let the Thirteen Divisions handle the follow-up.

After touring around the moon and finding no gains, it was clear he had arrived too early.

"Judging by the degree of shadow, the anomaly's progression on the moon is probably only ten days to a month at most." Gu Shanhai estimated the growth of the shadow, noting that while the anomaly had grown so much in a month, it was all superficial; until it became substantial, it was merely a shell.

"The sun, the moon—what if other celestial bodies start having similar issues?"

Gu Shanhai knew that the spread of anomalies had to be suppressed and confined within a certain area; otherwise, if an anomaly developed in a hidden corner of the universe enough to reboot or destroy the whole world, then they would be done for.

"So we need a corresponding anomaly..."

A brand new artificial anomaly project was recorded by Gu Shanhai, with a priority level set at the same height as that of Taotie.

This artificial anomaly was called the Holy Land, which was also the name of the project plan, whose main purpose was to gather the birth of all anomalies on their respective planets.

Doing so indeed gathered risks, but alternatively, this also meant they could control these dangers and use them as a blade to protect themselves.

Otherwise, what if aliens got a hold of anomalies, or if self-aware anomalies weren't stopped in time and grew too powerful to resist?

So they had to keep all these dangers in their hands.

Whether it was Taotie, Holy Land, or even Shooting Sun, within the Thirteen Divisions, there was a unified grand project called "If I don't enter Hell, who enters Hell."

They intended to use the entirety of human civilization as a cage to suppress and control these highly dangerous anomalies.

As for the other twelve divisions, they knew a bit, but not much, because only a portion of people within the twelve divisions were selected to work there, and the secrecy was extremely high. They even employed an ability related to secrecy among anomalies for containment, to prevent the leaking of secrets.

"There's nothing much to see on the moon anymore, let's head back." After scouting, Gu Shanhai immediately left the moon.

This doesn't mean that the issue with the moon was over. On the contrary, Gu Shanhai planned to station Thirteen Divisions personnel on the moon to further observe it.

Now that they were aware of the problem, it needed to be resolved. Gu Shanhai might not be in the right state of mind to concern himself with the moon, but that didn't mean he would leave it be. It would be ideal for the Thirteen Divisions, and even the other twelve, to come together to monitor the moon and collect data.

Consider it business training for them; sooner or later they would have to face these challenges. Now, with Gu Shanhai backing them, it could prevent any serious loss caused by future mishaps.