Hunter of Mysterious Creature

"We need a sufficiently strong combat force to oversee this training base," Pei Zongjun said. "The burden on your shoulders is heavy."

"...Can do, but what's the reward?" Sun Hang asked. "You can't expect me to work for free, right?"

"I know with your personality, things like superficial fame and authority don't hold much appeal," Pei Zongjun said. "And I won't use rhetoric about patriotism to coerce you..."

"The way you're saying it makes me sound like I'm really selfish..." Sun Hang couldn't help but retort.

"It's not selfishness; it's rationality." Pei Zongjun shook his head. "War needs brave and fearless hot-blooded youth, but more importantly, it needs sufficiently calm... even cold-blooded decision-makers. In the eyes of decision-makers, human lives are just cold numbers... and what they must do is keep the loss of those numbers as minimal as possible."

"Your way seems to contradict the tests I underwent when I became a Hunter..."

"That testing theory is long out of date."

"...So what's the real reward?" Sun Hang asked. "I'm not interested in fame and power, and I'm equally uninterested in wealth... As long as there's enough money to spend, it's fine."

"So what are you interested in?"

"I'm more interested in my lost memories." Sun Hang stared into the projected eyes of Pei Zongjun and said, "I don't have high ambitions; my only goal at this stage is to recover those lost memories."

"It's a pity; I can't help with that," Pei Zongjun shook his head. "However, I can offer you another type of reward that you can't refuse."

"A reward I can't refuse?" Sun Hang chuckled, "Let's hear it."

"You're infected with the Taotie's memetic pattern, which allows you to devour other mysterious creatures or infected individuals' patterns, turning their abilities into your own," Pei Zongjun explained. "I can open the Dubhe Tower's Mysterious Creature Reception Area to you, letting you choose your targets to devour... How about this reward you surely can't refuse, right?"

"A buffet?" The word popped into Sun Hang's head immediately. "A five-star buffet?"

"I was thinking of refusing, but you..."

"But I'm offering too much? Hahaha!" Pei Zongjun laughed—Sun Hang found it a bit unexpected that the top figure at Dubhe Tower could play along with his joke...

In his understanding, people in such positions likely have little time to surf the internet.

"Indeed, offering quite a lot." Sun Hang nodded. "Aren't you afraid I'll eat you dry?"

"That depends on how big your appetite is," Pei Zongjun replied. "I should warn you, even the Taotie can suffer indigestion... Don't think about getting everything in one go; the reception area will be permanently open to you, so you can take your time—take what you need, small portions, more meals."

"I get it, not a single buffet, but lifetime buffet access, right?"

"If you understand it that way, you're not wrong."

It's undeniable that the reward offered by Pei Zongjun was indeed highly attractive to Sun Hang.

Although he was unclear about how many mysterious creatures were contained in Dubhe Tower, just based on the numerous "rumors" alone, he could conclude that the tower held plenty of good stuff... As for permanent access, that was an extraordinary privilege.

It's not just a good opportunity to gain experience, but an incredibly rich skill library... Some creature abilities might seem redundant individually, but when several abilities from various creatures are combined, a truly extraordinary "chemical reaction" can occur, producing effects greater than 1+1, even more than three, four, five, six, or seven.

"Deal."

...

...

9 PM, Dubhe Tower Jiachen District, VIP Reception.

Sun Hang just finished brushing his teeth, ready to watch some TV before going to bed, when the phone on the bedside table suddenly rang.

"How odd; does Dubhe Tower have room service?"

Sun Hang answered the phone, and Yang Qi's voice came through the receiver.

Her tone was quick, carrying a hint of anxiety.

After listening for a few dozen seconds, Sun Hang's brows furrowed.

"What's happening? Yang Lian and Ye Xuan seriously injured? Mr. Wang permanently sealed... What do you mean once the seal is lifted, it likely needs harmless treatment?"

"Wang Xiyi's situation is far worse than imagined; she's been moved into the Eternal Freeze Coffin... It's very likely she'll never wake up," Yang Qi said.

"Why am I only hearing about this now?"

"Because I was just now relieved of communication restrictions; the Tianfu City headquarters immediately informed me of this," Yang Qi responded. "I plan to return to Tianfu City at once; will you join me?"

"The house has been robbed, of course, I need to go back," Sun Hang said.

"House?" Yang Qi paused slightly. "You and Wang Xiyi..."

"Just gaming slang," Sun Hang quickly replied. "Are there still flights to Shuzhou?"

"Due to the Eternal Night, all civilian flights to Shuzhou have been stopped. I just applied with Dubhe Tower, and they'll arrange a special aircraft for us, departing in three hours."

"Got it."

...

As the seat slightly vibrated, the plane raced off the airport runway and quietly slipped into the night sky.

"Look, these are videos shot by drones, but because this creature has the ability to block electronic surveillance, we could only capture some footage when its ability wasn't activated," Yang Qi handed the tablet to Sun Hang. "And these pictures were reconstructed by professional illustrators collaborating with AI based on eyewitness descriptions. We can now basically confirm that when this creature emits milky white fluorescence, its figure disappears from surveillance footage... Not just the creature itself, but even its symbiotic offspring possess this ability."

"Human upper body, spider lower body, scorpion tail... Have they named this thing?"

"Temporary name is 'Beta-33 Chimera 17'," Yang Qi replied.

"Beta-33?" Sun Hang was puzzled. "Didn't they say this creature appeared for the first time? Why is its serial number so early?"

"Beta-33 isn't a single creature but a generic term for a special type of mysterious creature."

Yang Qi tapped the pen lightly on the touchscreen and continued, "'Chimera', in Ancient Greek mythology, is a monster composed of a lion's head, goat's body, and snake's tail. The name has also been used to refer to those 'stitched beasts' made by piecing together limbs from various known creatures. The mysterious creature appearing in Tianfu City this time is the seventeenth discovered 'Chimera', hence the name 'Chimera 17'."

"So the Egyptian Sphinx also counts as a Chimera then? What's its number?"

"It's still uncertain whether the historical Sphinx truly existed; currently, any 'Chimera' with a number has been sighted," Yang Qi explained. "In an ambush two days ago, Wang Xiyi severely damaged Chimera 17, and based on observed data, Chimera 17 abandoned its original body and escaped underground... Therefore, the next time it appears, it might be completely different."

"Something bothers me, Mr. Wang should know the consequences of using that ability... Why would she recklessly push her ability in a situation where the target couldn't be assuredly killed?" Sun Hang looked at the picture of the blue flame-burning pit. "Though she has some self-destructive tendencies, she's not crazy to this extent, right?"

"Regarding this point, the teachers speculated and finally concluded that—as an infected individual, Wang Xiyi sensed a lethal threat from Chimera 17, and it was the memetic pattern within her that urged her to choose a self-destructive tactic," Yang Qi said.