Hunter of Mysterious Creature-Chapter 397 - 42: 3 Days, 9 Missed Meals (Part 2)

"Take it easy on the road." Sun Hang quickly stepped to the boundary between the rain and the dry area, but he paused for a moment before stepping into the rain.

"This next section is likely the hardest. We could trigger Chimera 17’s reactive response at any time," Sun Hang turned to the exorcist following him, "So my advice is to act separately. I have a high hate value and am carrying the mimetic samples of Chimera 17. I should be their primary target. You shouldn’t follow me."

"Then... what should I do?" the exorcist asked.

"Just leave the way you came in," Sun Hang said.

"I... I didn’t trigger Chimera 17’s reactive response when I came in," the exorcist said, looking innocent.

"...That’s probably because I attracted all the firepower," Sun Hang sighed helplessly, "We’ll do it the usual way. I’ll charge out first. Once Chimera has shot a few energy flows and enters a cooldown period, you can come out. Understand?" 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Before Sun Hang could finish speaking, a blazing white energy flow suddenly shot over his head, illuminating a large area.

This energy flow shot directly into the rain, headed far away.

"Huh? What’s going on?" Sun Hang looked in the direction of the energy flow in confusion, "At this point, could there still be a complete Hunter team approaching this way?"

Then, the second and third energy flows were also fired. After three energy flows were shot, Chimera 17 once again fell into a "cooldown period" lasting several minutes.

"Three energy flows, three different directions?" Sun Hang’s internal question mark grew larger, "Which teams triggered the reactive response? I’ve already done my part. Why are you arriving late to die?"

Very soon, Sun Hang’s confusion was resolved.

Dozens of large military drones wobbled into his view. Beneath these large drones were either mounted seating carrying full-armed soldiers or suspended disassembled collection equipment components, flying like moths to a flame toward the giant cocoon.

Under the influence of strong radiation, the electronic components of the drones became highly unreliable. In just a few seconds, Sun Hang witnessed several drones crashing—fortunately, the soldiers on board were equipped with parachutes, preventing severe casualties.

"What’s happening?" Sun Hang quickly walked up to a soldier who had landed, grabbing his arm to ask.

"We were ordered to come as reinforcements!" the soldier, while cutting the parachute cords tangled around him with a knife, said in a muffled voice, "The higher-ups demanded that we deliver the latest batch of collection equipment to the target area at any cost!"

"Saturation reinforcement?" Hearing this, Sun Hang roughly guessed the decision of the command unit—probably the earlier chain of energy flow shots made the headquarters realize the existence of a "cooldown period" in Chimera 17’s reactive response, thus deciding to use human sea tactics, sacrificing lives to draw Chimera 17’s fire, buying enough opportunity for the Hunters.

Sun Hang didn’t know how many soldiers had lost their lives in the previous wave of three consecutive shots.

These people boarded the drones with the determination to die... serving as cannon fodder to attract fire was their entire value.

"Do you have an internal communication channel? Tell everyone that the mission is complete. Evacuate, evacuate now." Sun Hang waved, the flash of a Liquid Metal Blade helped the soldier cut all the parachute cords, "There’s no need for needless sacrifice."

"The mission is complete?" The soldier was initially happy but then showed a difficult expression, "The interference within the radiation area is too severe, making long-distance wireless communication nearly impossible. I can only notify nearby comrades."

"Then pass it verbally, using each person’s terminal as a relay station, the message can eventually be spread out," Sun Hang patted the soldier on the shoulder, "Go, hurry, don’t let those lives be in vain."

Though the mission was complete, the sacrifice was not in vain—for Sun Hang and the team’s efforts opened a withdrawing window lasting several minutes.

"You, and you, follow her!" Sun Hang pointed to the exorcist, "Don’t follow me. The mimetic samples collected are on me, and when Chimera 17’s skills are back, it will likely target me alone!"

In the first hunt of Chimera 17, everyone knew that it could seize human memories by devouring human brains... Those eliminated Hunters had clearly exposed the "Insecticide Plan." With Chimera 17’s intelligence, it could surely understand the importance of the mimetic samples on Sun Hang.

"The samples are on you?" The nearby soldiers were shocked, "Then we should definitely follow you. Protecting the samples is the top priority!"

"If you follow me, won’t it just mean more deaths?" Sun Hang couldn’t help but curse, "Are you able to block the energy flow for me, or can you deal with the mysterious creatures blocking the road? Isn’t it better to save as many lives as possible?"

"But... but... that’s the order..."

"Screw the orders." Sun Hang cursed, "I order you as the Captain of the First Squad, stay away from me, as far as possible. Besides, I’m commandeering this!"

Saying this, Sun Hang jumped onto a newly air-dropped hover bike, and cranked the throttle to full.

...

Sun Hang’s hunch was right. Shortly after he exited the dry area, a repeated string of energy flows followed him... Fortunately, before each energy flow was fired, Sun Hang’s intuition would send him a premonition, allowing him to narrowly avoid attacks that could vaporize both him and the bike.

Finally, just a few seconds before the fourth wave of energy flows could cool down, Sun Hang managed to drive out of the energy flow’s maximum range.

He turned back, only to see an energy flow land roughly a kilometer away, while the following two energy flows were fired haphazardly elsewhere.

It was a fury of impotence.

With its primary target out of range, those left to suffer were those who hadn’t yet managed to evacuate.

Who knows if the exorcist and their group had been hit by an energy flow.

"I hope they’re safe... I should have brought that shotgun," Sun Hang muttered.

Sun Hang reignited the hover bike’s engine, and the concrete base of Observation Post 7, like a solitary island, was finally in sight. The platform was densely packed with hazmat-suited figures, with dozens of large drones hovering above, illuminating the area with high-lumen searchlights, making it as bright as day.

As Sun Hang’s hover bike approached, a large group came forward on vehicles to meet him.

A familiar figure descended from the sky, landing on the back seat of the hover bike.

"Encounter any danger?" Wang Xiyi hugged Sun Hang’s waist and asked.

"Not too bad, just dealt with Spiritual Body Type Mysterious Creatures. Fortunately, a Hunter with the right specialty showed up, or else it’s uncertain if the mimetic sample could have been collected," Sun Hang replied.

"Spiritual Body Type Mysterious Creatures? That Hunter with the matching specialty... could it be the ’Exorcist’?" Wang Xiyi wondered, "I remember she was with the Eighth Squad."

"You know her?"

"We’ve crossed paths and chatted once," Wang Xiyi nodded, "She... reminds me a little of the old me."