"I feel like I've dug a hole for myself," Sun Hang turned off the TV. "This matter... is it urgent?"
"Extremely urgent," Yang Qi said. "More than three-quarters of the management personnel of Tianfu City participated in the flower offering ceremony, not to mention the representatives from the Federation Council... If they go missing for more than 48 hours, the entire Tianfu City will descend into chaos."
"Since this is such a significant issue, didn't the Federation send anyone over?" Sun Hang asked. "Assigning such a critical task to someone who's just joined as a Hunter... feels a bit absurd, doesn't it?"
"You are currently the only Hunter who can be dispatched in Tianfu City." Yang Qi said, "The reinforcement team's plane has already taken off and should arrive in about six hours... But no one can say what changes might occur in those six hours, we have to race against time."
"...Then what can I do? Right now I'm no different from an ordinary person. Even if you give me six hours, I can't find those missing people."
"That's not necessarily true. You saw those images on TV that shouldn't have appeared, which means you resonate with mysterious creatures... Once you reach the scene, this resonance will become even stronger, and that's our breakthrough point," Yang Qi said.
"Alright... But I can't guarantee that the resonance you mentioned will appear once I get there."
"We'll deal with that when we get there!"
The two walked out of the villa, and Yang Qi pulled a large black travel bag out of the SUV's trunk and tossed it to Sun Hang.
The bag was heavy, and the contents clinked with a distinct metallic sound.
"The gear prepared for you... I'm not sure which ones you'll need, so I packed some randomly," Yang Qi said. "These things should have been chosen by you, but we didn't have the time."
Sun Hang unzipped the bag, revealing a full set of high-end tactical gear, two carbines fitted with various expensive devices, several special magazines labeled differently, and a small titanium box containing six disposable syringes.
"In the box are drugs developed by the Mysterious Creature Research Institute. Three yellow ones are enhanced stimulants, primarily composed of adrenaline. I don't need to explain their effects, do I?"
"And what about the other three red ones?"
"Serums extracted and refined from mysterious creatures. After injection, they significantly enhance the Hunter's abilities. However, the enhancement level, direction, and side effects vary from person to person... They are still in clinical trial stages. Unless absolutely necessary, I don't recommend using them," Yang Qi said.
Sun Hang zipped up the bag and got into the car.
Yang Qi didn't let him drive. Instead, she jumped into the driver's seat, floored the accelerator, and exited the villa courtyard with a drift.
The back of the SUV scraped past the iron fence, sparking as it went.
"Do you know how to use a gun?" Yang Qi asked amidst her busyness.
"Kind of," Sun Hang lifted a carbine, aimed it out the car window at a vacant spot — the holographic sight was far more beginner-friendly than traditional iron sights that require aligning three points, and the safety and magazine release on the receiver were thoughtfully labeled in Chinese characters.
"But I reckon, for this mission, we probably won't need to use guns, right?"
"Not necessarily," Yang Qi shook her head. "Night will soon fall, and beasts tend to appear in the cemetery in the southern city at night..."
The SUV hadn't gone far when there was a dull thunk from the car roof, as if something had landed on it.
Yang Qi's expression froze for a moment, and then she opened the sunroof.
A lithe figure slipped inside the car through the sunroof.
"Night Slayer, you're not on the deployment list for this operation," Yang Qi said matter-of-factly.
"I know." Wang Xiyi glanced at Sun Hang, nodded, and said.
"What do you mean by this?"
"You think this rookie Hunter can accomplish this task?"
"He's resonated with that mysterious creature. He saw those missing people on his home TV screen," Yang Qi said. "My guess is that the creature causing this anomaly is a Class A or B, not the type you're adept at handling."
"So you're planning to send him to his death?" Wang Xiyi retorted.
"We're only responsible for preliminary investigation tasks, and it won't be too dangerous," Yang Qi said while driving. "Before the Federation reinforcements arrive, we need to understand the situation as best as we can, to save as much time as possible for subsequent actions... Frankly, I don't think relying solely on Tianfu City's resources will find those missing people."
"My presence doesn't really change things," Wang Xiyi leaned back comfortably in her seat, crossed one long leg. "If something arises that this rookie can't handle, I can still be your trump card."
"But you can no longer enter a beast-like state," Yang Qi frowned. "You might not return."
"If I can swap myself with a mysterious creature, it's not a loss," Wang Xiyi said carelessly. "It's better than letting those things cause more harm."
"You... fine, do whatever you please!" Yang Qi said helplessly. "But I'll report to the instructor, if he..."
"I'll take responsibility for everything," Wang Xiyi said.
After saying that, she reached out to Sun Hang: "Hand me those things."
"What things?" Sun Hang asked.
"The three red syringes," Wang Xiyi said.
Sun Hang thought for a moment and took out two.
"I need to keep one for myself, just in case I can use it," Sun Hang explained.
Wang Xiyi gave him a surprised look and said seriously, "Do you know the consequences of injecting that stuff?"
"I don't know, but at worst, I'll just die," Sun Hang smiled. "If I truly find myself in a desperate situation, being able to gamble on a chance is better than doing nothing."
"Interesting," Wang Xiyi stored the syringes. "Stronger than the last batch of cowards."
...
...
Yang Qi speedily drove the SUV, running through a dozen red lights, scraping who knows how many private cars before finally reaching the incident site half an hour later — the South City Cemetery.
Although the South City Cemetery is also located on the southern outskirts of Tianfu City, it's still a distance from the South Development Zone, which was destroyed by Bloody Mary — despite the name, the South Development Zone is actually southwest of Tianfu City. The South City Cemetery is slightly more to the east.
On the way here, Sun Hang had already seen photos of the South City Cemetery — the main area of the cemetery is built on a roughly 30-degree slope, with lush green vegetation interspersed with rows of white marble tombstones, and at the highest point of the slope, there is a sizable coniferous forest.
But now, outside the car window, there was only a barren wasteland of hills.