Hunter of Mysterious Creature

"Should we send someone to track it?" The colonel turned to look at the old director, "We can follow the tunnel that thing escaped through..."

"No..." the old director said in a low voice. It was at this moment that the colonel realized he didn't seem to care at all about the escaped creature, but instead had his full attention focused on that incredibly powerful Hunter.

"Professor," Song Yarong turned her head, speaking worriedly, "the latest test results show that the 'Night Slayer' infection process has increased by 6.5 percentage points, already very close to the danger threshold... Moreover, this trend hasn't stopped... Damn, now it's 6.6!"

"Close to the danger threshold?" The colonel's eye twitched furiously, "Does that mean she's about to completely transform into a creature?!"

"Yes." The old director gave a definitive answer.

"Then... do we have any way to control her?"

"If she fully transforms, the entire Celestial City will turn into a sea of fire." The old director said softly, "Her level of danger is equivalent to a nuclear weapon."

"Nuclear weapon? The Celestial City actually has such a dangerous Hunter?!" The colonel's eyes widened, "Why didn't we know about this earlier?"

"Because your clearance level isn't high enough," the old director said casually, "The 'Night Slayer' files are under the direct jurisdiction of the Dubhe Tower. Even I can't disclose her files to you without their approval."

"... What do we do now?" The colonel frowned, struggling to come up with a response.

"We should be thankful that her willpower is the strongest I've ever encountered among Hunters... No, among all the infected individuals I've encountered," the old director said, "She is enduring, she is fighting against herself... a self far more powerful than she is... I believe in her, and you should too."

"I want to believe in her, but once the situation gets out of control, the cost is unbearable for us!" The colonel waved his hands, almost hysterically, "What else can we do besides believe, Professor?"

The old director shook his head.

A light helicopter with the Celestial City Mysterious Creature Research Institute's emblem landed on the edge of the crater, and six special operations officers clad in armor like tin cans jumped out of the cabin with a pile of equipment.

First, they used liquid nitrogen to extinguish the residual flames burning in the pit. Then, one of them, with an air of noble sacrifice, strode up to the dazed Wang Xiyi sitting on the ground and injected a syringe into Wang Xiyi's arm.

At this point, most of Wang Xiyi's arm was covered in scales, leaving only a small patch of human skin visible inside the elbow. The hard tungsten steel needle slowly pierced through, and the preloaded inhibitor in the syringe was gradually pushed into Wang Xiyi's veins.

"The infection process is temporarily stabilized... but some of the memetic fragment mutations are already irreversible..." Song Yarong said, holding a tablet, after turning around.

"Irreversible... What does that mean?" The colonel couldn't help but ask.

"She might remain in this half-human, half-beast form, and in this state, it would be like constantly using the abilities that the creature's memetic brings her... It's only a matter of time before the infection process breaks through the safety threshold."

"How much time does she have at most?" the colonel asked.

"If we put her in liquid nitrogen to freeze, this state might be maintained for about four to five months," Song Yarong sighed, "but the cost is that she can never wake up again... Because once thawed, the memetic within her will become exponentially active."

"So... does she need to undergo that..." The colonel hesitated for a moment but still voiced his inner question, "that...'safe disposal'?"

Song Yarong glanced at him without speaking and instead turned her gaze to the old director.

"Bring her back first before we discuss further," the old director said.

"Won't it be... too dangerous?" the colonel asked, his eyes full of worry.

"Are you scared?" Song Yarong glanced at him disdainfully.

"That's not what I mean... I mean, right now, this place is the command center of the entire Celestial City. I'm responsible for the safety of everyone here. I can't ignore such a highly dangerous presence. If the situation gets out of control, you should know better than I do what will happen," the colonel said helplessly.

"We are not ignoring her." Song Yarong sighed deeply before continuing, "The safest way to handle the situation now is to bring her back to the institute. Only there do we have the means to safely contain her... Even to carry out the 'safe disposal' you mentioned, it can only be done there."

At this point, the special operations officers clad like tin cans had already moved Wang Xiyi into a massive "metal coffin," with only an observation window leaving space at the head position. The heavy lid was then lifted and they hoisted the metal coffin onto the helicopter.

"The special operations team has completed the initial containment of the target object, requesting return," the dull voice came from the communications device on the old director's wheelchair.

"Permission granted," the old director said calmly, "Keep monitoring her condition at all times and inject more inhibitors as necessary."

"Understood."

The colonel glanced at the screen, then at the old director before finally speaking: "How should we handle that creature? Since we didn't eliminate it this time, it will definitely retaliate... Celestial City will be constantly under threat, and all of our deployments against the Eternal Night will also be affected..."