Hunter of Mysterious Creature

...

Chunming City, Dubhe Tower.

Sun Hang always thought that the so-called "Dubhe Tower" was just a tall tower, but until he actually stood in front of this colossal structure, he realized that the difference between this "tower" and his expectation was really... quite significant.

Even when considering the entire history of human civilization, Chunming City is still unique in terms of urban scale.

Even if the entire city were divided into twenty-eight districts, the area of each district would far exceed that of a typical prefecture-level city... and the building complex named after the "tower" in front of him occupied more than eighty percent of the entire Mao Su District's space.

After taking a floating light rail for over half an hour, Sun Hang and Yang Qi finally arrived in front of a structure resembling a giant chimney.

"This is the main elevator of Dubhe Tower, codenamed 'Jade Pillar,' reaching up to 'Ziwei Palace' and down to 'Houtu'," Yang Qi explained to Sun Hang, "I'm really curious about what you encountered on Nameless Island... to receive an invitation to meet Mr. Pei..."

"You really want to know?" Sun Hang glanced at the conflicted-looking woman next to him and asked.

"I really do, but don't tell me," Yang Qi sighed, "If you violate the confidentiality agreement, you'd be punished, and I would be implicated as well."

"What are the punishments?" Sun Hang joked, "If it doesn't include execution, maybe we could give it a try?"

"Are you a masochist?" Yang Qi rolled her eyes at him, "As your direct supervisor, Dubhe Tower will eventually grant me access to read this information, unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Unless your direct supervisor is replaced by someone else, or simply incorporated into Dubhe Tower's ranks... then there would be no relationship between us," Yang Qi said.

"That's really heartless."

"Can't you use a more civilized metaphor?"

"That phrase is from a Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. If it's not civilized, then what is?" Sun Hang raised an eyebrow and retorted.

"... You should stop talking." Yang Qi rubbed her temples vigorously, "I'm afraid you'll give me high blood pressure at a young age."

The two accompanying staff walked to a door marked "Yimao" and entered a password of more than twenty digits on the keyboard.

A red laser shot out from above the door, scanning all four people, followed by a melodious female voice from a nearby speaker.

"Identity verification complete, permission granted."

Unlike those heavily synthesized AI voices, this female voice seemed sourced from a real person—it didn't even sound pre-recorded, containing faint breaths and a very natural inflection in the ending.

Sun Hang looked up at the most conspicuous camera, sensing that many were watching him through its lens.

He showed what he thought was a very polite smile towards the camera, then followed the two staff into the Jade Pillar.

The internal structure of Jade Pillar resembled a hollow bamboo, with each transfer platform like the bamboo's nodes.

Hundreds of lift tracks connected numerous transfer platforms, with various sizes of cabins moving along these tracks. Sun Hang even saw something resembling a dinosaur skeleton eerie creature bones, fixed on a special iron frame, gradually descending, passing through one bamboo node after another.

The transfer platforms were all movable, and when the skeleton descended, the platform would automatically make way, quickly restoring its original state after the large cargo passed.

Several field operatives leaning against the edge railing of a platform loudly shouted at the skeleton gradually fading into the distance—only then did Sun Hang notice that some "parts" of the skeleton had fallen off and landed on the platform where they were.

"Emergency! Cargo No. 206357 has been damaged! Please stop the transport immediately! Repeat! Cargo No. 206357 is damaged during transportation! Please stop immediately!"

A few seconds later, the announcement echoed within the Jade Pillar.

"Does this happen often?" Sun Hang pointed to the large iron frame below that had stopped, where a group of people in orange work uniforms approached the eerie creature bones, seemingly preparing to inspect both the transport device and the cargo itself.

"Uh... not often," the staff said, somewhat awkwardly, "after all, cargo of this size is quite rare..."

"If I'm not mistaken, that's the Beta-16 'Ancestor Yeti' skeleton, right?" Yang Qi spoke, "Isn't this thing the crown jewel of the Lake Baikal City Mysterious Creature Research Institute? How did you convince those people to hand it over to Dubhe Tower?"

"I'm not too sure about that," the staff said, "this project doesn't intersect with my work area."

Just as Yang Qi wanted to ask something else, a chamber capable of carrying up to eight people rose from beneath the platform, stopping in front of them.

"Please." The staff opened the chamber door.

These mobile chambers were essentially oversized elevator cars, but compared to typical elevator cars, they were far more luxurious.

Completely transparent outer bodies, leather sofa seats, and each seat equipped with a personal holographic display screen... there was even a small fridge under the sofa filled with various drinks and snacks.

Sun Hang couldn't help but think of the interior of those elongated luxury cars—could these chambers have been designed based on them?

Working at Dubhe Tower, the working environment is quite excellent... No wonder every graduate from prestigious schools tries hard to get in here.

"Please fasten your seatbelt," the staff reminded, "the maximum speed of Jade Pillar's mobile chambers can reach 75 kilometers per hour, and in emergencies, rocket propulsion can boost the speed to 140 kilometers per hour."

"That fast? Aren't you afraid it might go over?" Sun Hang asked while fastening his seatbelt.

"These mobile chambers can serve as escape pods when necessary, launching from the top of Jade Pillar," the staff explained, "the safety devices are equipped with parachutes and air cushions."

Sun Hang initially wanted to remark that if even those inside Dubhe Tower needed to rely on these chambers to escape, then there might not be any safe place left in Chunming City—but on second thought, even Celestial City Mysterious Creature Research Institute, occupying less than one percent of Dubhe Tower's area, housed so many mysterious creatures, the number and intensity held within Dubhe Tower must have reached an unbelievable degree...

From a certain perspective, Dubhe Tower is both the safest and most dangerous place in Chunming City.