Faced with the miracle that had occurred within his own body, the Sheriff found it hard to believe. He repeatedly punched the air and hopped in place, feeling the surge of his newly acquired power.
"This is incredible..." he marveled. "Why don't you grant this ability to yourself? You could create so Anomalous Effects of your own, and then you wouldn't have to fear the Managent Authority anymore."
"I've tried, but..." Shi Rang's eyes lost focus for a mont. When he snapped back to reality, his brow furrowed. "No. Tampering with myself directly is far too dangerous. Besides, I have a safer thod."
"It's fine. I will be your greatest asset," the Sheriff assured him. "Give so ti. Once I've identified trusted confidants, I will recomnd them to receive your Tampering as well."
"There's no rush." The energy seed to drain from Shi Rang's face. "Take it slow."
Only then did the Sheriff notice the deep emptiness and profound confusion etched into that gaunt face.
Shi Rang wasn't exactly young, but no rule stated that a person had to beco hardened with age. He was a very simple man, entirely out of step with society. Yet, the burden pressing down on his shoulders was incredibly heavy, and the help he received was far too sparse. If one counted from his first encounter with the Stitched Walker, it hadn't even been a month. Shi Rang was striving to grow, becoming increasingly adept at navigating between various factions, but it still wasn't enough.
"Get so good rest, Shi Rang. Don't push yourself until you snap."
"I can't calm down. My mind is filled with a million different things—what should I do, Principal?"
The forr principal, now the Sheriff, thought for a mont, recalling what he used to do when he felt exhausted before all this madness began. "Pick a day to wake up at three or four in the morning, and just look out at the streets."
"I'll give it a try." Shi Rang offered him a friendly smile.
"See you later."
The Sheriff waved at him before leaping off the desk.
Landing nimbly, he tapped his toes against the floor. Like the legendary martial arts masters from the Second District's wuxia culture, a single step propelled him a couple of feet forward—and it only took half a second. This was the stride length of an ordinary human, but for soone who was currently only two milliters tall, it was akin to flying.
With every step, the surrounding scenery stretched into streaks of light like a warp tunnel, instantly snapping back to normal the mont he landed gracefully.
Feeling the raw power surging through his veins, the Sheriff gazed out the door with burning eyes.
The ti to bring order to the town had arrived.
He slipped through the crack under the door and returned to the Corridors.
To possess the strength and speed of a normal human while remaining at a microscopic size was truly a terrifying thing. Even more bizarre was the fact that the Sheriff could control it, gradually learning to unleash or rein in this power at will.
Shi Rang appeared to have done nothing at all. He hadn't even lifted a finger to accomplish this, yet the Sheriff's Anomalous Effect had been fundantally subjected to Tampering and elevated to a new level.
This kind of ability was practically divine.
Imdiately after, the Sheriff realized exactly why Shi Rang kept such a low profile. Because Shi Rang's physical body was far too frail to apply the ability to himself, he could only wait for soone trustworthy to share the secret and reap the rewards.
It was a blessing, but also a curse. The slightest misstep would bring about absolute annihilation.
The core mission of the Managent Authority was to prevent and control the proliferation of anomalies, yet Shi Rang's ability achieved the exact opposite.
This was a deeply buried secret that couldn't even be shared with the "New World Society." That group opposed the Managent Authority but was close to the Alliance, forever shrouded in a thick fog of mystery.
With an ability like this, becoming a villain would be incredibly easy. One could effortlessly beco the ultimate evil of the world, a herald of destruction and tragedy. But choosing to be a good person was infinitely harder, practically making oneself an enemy of the entire world.
Shi Rang had chosen the latter path.
In truth, he was walking along a mountain ridge as thin as a blade's edge. Both sides were sheer cliffs, with loose rocks constantly crumbling beneath his feet and plumting into The Abyss. If he tilted even slightly or took a step too wide, he would die without a burial place.
Being pulled into this tightly bound alliance was proof enough of Shi Rang's imnse trust in the Sheriff... as well as his own profound loneliness.
Whether for emotion, for profit, or for the future, the Sheriff was determined to repay that trust.
He knew very well that the loyal helpers Shi Rang so desperately needed were right here among the Mini-Humans.
Originally, the population of the Mini-Humans had numbered as high as nine thousand. Over a third of them were newborns birthed after they had been placed in containnt. With a pregnancy lasting only three days, multiple births per litter, infants who could sprint on the very day they were born, and reaching adolescence in less than a week, these native-born Mini-Humans gave the Sheriff a deep-seated sense of unease. However, there was no denying they made excellent helpers.
Their bodies matured rapidly, but the minds of these children were still those of toddlers. Their thoughts were immature and their actions pure. With a little guidance, they could easily be shaped into loyal confidants and comrades—almost all the ones capable of participating in combat were children like this, entirely trained by his own hand.
Of the seven hundred and ten Mini-Humans currently residing in the Villa, over three hundred were these newborns. They were far more adapted to a microscopic lifestyle and had perford exceptionally well during their escape.
Back when Facility 031 sounded the Containnt Breach alarm, he had taken Decisive Action and ordered an attack on the three guards passing by their Containnt Room. Later, he led everyone in transferring from the zombified guards onto the man who forced people to line up, ultimately jumping onto those monsters amidst the chaos...
The three hundred or so townsfolk who had followed him all the way to help Shi Rang still relied on the Sheriff. The number of new townsfolk was just slightly higher than that.
Even though he was essentially being ostracized right now, the hundred or so native-born Mini-Humans in the Law Enforcent Team were still firmly on his side.
If he sent out the call, all the native-born children ought to rally around him.
It would either be one hundred against six hundred, or three hundred against three hundred...
While deep in thought, the Sheriff squeezed through the gap beneath the empty room's door and scaled the towering suitcase.
The relocation of the town from inside the suitcase to the outside hadn't begun yet, and he could easily guess the reason why.
Dropping from the outer shell of the suitcase onto the inner lining, the miniature town unfolded before his eyes.
"The Sheriff is back!" A mber of his Law Enforcent Team, who had been keeping watch nearby, imdiately shouted upon spotting his figure.
The Sheriff pulled the brim of his hat low and signaled his subordinates to gather around him. Slowing down to the normal pace of the Mini-Humans, he waded through the small crowd of townsfolk—so familiar, so a bit foreign—who had gathered because of his arrival, making his way straight toward the center of town.
Fervent whispers broke out all around him.
"Don't call him the Sheriff! He's just a principal, a schoolteacher. The real Sheriff is Mr Williams!"
"What did that man discuss with you?"
"Let's disperse. The leader told us to ignore him..."
The word "leader" was precisely caught by his ears.
The Sheriff parted the crowd and forcefully grabbed the speaker by the collar.
"He's already crowned himself the leader?"
The captive kept a stiff face and remained silent, struggling in vain to break free.
The Sheriff yanked the man closer. Staring at his face, he searched his mory for a mont and recalled that back when everything was normal, this man had been a chef in the town—one of the new townsfolk.
He used to frequent that particular restaurant, even sitting at the counter to chat with the chef.
Things were certainly different now.
He abruptly let go. The chef instantly slumped to the ground, nervously rubbing his torn collar in panic.
"Let's go."
The Law Enforcent Team gradually assembled as mbers called out to one another. The native-born Mini-Humans ford a neat formation, hoisting their drills as they followed closely behind the Sheriff. Even the ones he had previously appointed to the combat airborne squad showed up. Before long, over a hundred native-born Mini-Humans belonging to his Law Enforcent Team had gathered behind him.
A solid wall of people had ford near the raised platform in the center of town, with mountain-like hulking figures sitting on the outermost fringes of the crowd.
Leader Jack was the first to spot the Sheriff, but with lingering fear from the Sheriff's previous violent actions, he kept his head buried and didn't make a sound.
The Sheriff rely shot the boy a glance. An old habit from his days as an educator brought a reassuring smile to his face, though he instantly masked it away.
He continued forward.
The majority of the townsfolk were clustered around the high platform. They parted like the sea to carve out a path for the Sheriff and his confidants, watching closely as he marched into the core area.
"...he used violent thods to attack our neighbors, our friends right here in town! And you're all just going to stand for it?"
The speech booming from the top of the platform paused as the squad approached.
The high platform was fashioned from a cut piece of a soda can pull-tab, which had been bent and shaped into a tiny square with Shi Rang's help. The self-proclaid "leader" from the new townsfolk leaned against the upright pull-tab, his eyes locked on the Sheriff as he climbed onto the stage.
The forr leader and the current leader stared each other down proudly on the high platform, under the watchful eyes of hundreds of people.
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