Hunter of Mysterious Creature-Chapter 403 - 45: Yin Xiang’s Jinx (Part 2)

Yang Qi took the tablet and projected these photos onto the large screen.

In the photos, the exterior of the No. 105 factory’s four buildings appeared undamaged. Hundreds of boxes of recently delivered raw materials were piled on the open space in front of the buildings, with two forklifts parked nearby.

In the loading area of the factory, two semi-trailer trucks were parked side-by-side, their refrigerated containers open, and several large foam boxes were piled on the nearby ground—these should be the newly produced "FL09" reagent, currently being loaded onto the trucks... However, for some reason, in the middle of loading, the workers vanished.

This is a very serious act of negligence. The "FL09" reagent must be stored at a low temperature of minus thirty-five degrees Celsius, and the time from the production line to the refrigerated container should not exceed ten minutes for the reagents in the insulated foam boxes... The reagents in these numerous large foam boxes piled at the back of the truck should now all be completely wasted.

Not only did the workers loading the trucks disappear, but the entire factory compound was deserted—workers, technicians, security personnel, truck drivers, all disappeared without a trace... 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

No living people, nor any bodies.

Yet, no signs of combat or struggle can be found in the entire compound, those forklifts loaded with goods left in the middle of the road, documents scattered on the ground, the security booth with its door wide open... It all seems to indicate to everyone: No. 105 factory was operating normally just a second ago, and then, the next second, everyone on their posts inexplicably vanished from the world.

"Where are the people..." a researcher muttered.

"Can we get the drones to fly inside the factory to take a look?" Yang Qi asked.

"It’s impossible to fly in... the entire No. 105 factory comprises enclosed workshops, all the doors are shut... I’ve tried to hack into the security system of the workshop using a drone, but it failed," answered the technician controlling the drones. "The only way now is to use the weapons mounted on the drones to blow the doors open... should we really do that?"

"Not yet." Yang Qi raised his hand, "Don’t startle the snake before catching it... where is the ’Red-haired Witch’ now?"

"She has just received the command and is rushing to No. 105 factory; she’s expected to arrive in ten minutes."

"The 1st Mechanized Infantry Battalion of the 51st Division is ready." said the military representative, "They can depart at any time!"

"The 67th Field Team has also reached the base of the 1st Mechanized Infantry Battalion of the 51st Division!"

"Have them set out immediately!" Yang Qi commanded, "Also, synchronize the intelligence from the drones in real-time with all the units involved in this operation!"

...

...

Celestial City, Southern Suburb.

Base of the 1st Mechanized Infantry Battalion of the 51st Division.

Vehicles of armored cars and tanks sped out of the camp, raising dust as high as four to five meters. Those bipedal tactical mechas used rocket boosters to leap over the camp’s outer walls and followed the convoy closely alongside in hovercraft mode.

In the sky, dozens of drones maintained relatively stationary positions with the convoy, aside from that, every once in a while, a few new drones were deployed to join this formation.

In the off-road vehicle at the center of the convoy, Yin Xiang gripped the steering wheel tightly. The expressionless Ling Xiao and the somewhat nervous Jiang Yu sat silently in the back seat.

"Why don’t you say something, you’re making me nervous." Yin Xiang glanced at the tactical mecha sliding past outside the car window, then glanced at the two in the rearview mirror, complaining in a low voice, "Initially, it felt boring when there was nothing, but now that there’s something to do, I’m freaking anxious..."

"Is this your first time participating in such an operation?" Ling Xiao asked.

Although it was framed as a question, the entire sentence was delivered with a statement tone, without a hint of query or rhetorical emotion.

"Of course not! The first time I participated in an operation, I was with Sun Hang! Back then, both of us were just temporary investigators, without even official positions, pure cannon fodder... Damn, the fact that I’m alive today means I’ve damn hard luck."

"Sun Hang... he became a Mysterious Creature Hunter after that mission, right?" Jiang Yu couldn’t help but ask.

"Yes, but only later did I find out that Sun Hang was already an infected person at that time, the hospital just hadn’t detected it, and he didn’t have any obvious symptoms himself... Wait, that’s not right, he was indeed a bit strange back then..."

"What was strange?" Jiang Yu asked again.

"During that operation, we encountered a blood mist that made people lose control of their bodies. The sheriffs all got caught, but Sun Hang was fine... Oh, not only was he okay, but wherever he walked, the blood mist would disperse, as if it was avoiding him... I didn’t pay much attention to it at the time, but thinking back now, was this his special ability?"

"In that mission, was it Sun Hang who eventually took care of the mysterious creature?" Jiang Yu continued to ask.

"No, apart from giving that cultist a couple of big slaps, Sun Hang did nothing." Yin Xiang shook his head, "The one who dealt with that mysterious creature was Mr. Wang... Unfortunately, I ran fast and didn’t see the specific details, I only remember a strong hot wind coming from behind, pushing me to the ground like a dog eating dirt."

"Mr. Wang... Is that the hunter with the codename ’Night Slayer’? Her name... seems to be Wang Xiyi?" Jiang Yu said.

"Yes. Speaking of which, didn’t you guys go into the Surrendered Area with her to find Sun Hang? Can you talk about what you encountered in the Surrendered Area?" Yin Xiang asked.

"Regarding the matters inside the Surrendered Area, we’ve all signed non-disclosure agreements, so we can’t disclose anything." Ling Xiao said mercilessly.

"Alright, alright... All top-secret stuff." Yin Xiang patted the steering wheel somewhat helplessly, "You two are seasoned guys, after all, one of you is also the only Mysterious Creature Hunter in our convoy... If a mysterious creature really does appear and the army can’t handle it, I’m afraid you’ll have to take action."

Although Ling Xiao received the "Godslaying Spear," because of its special nature, Sun Hang hadn’t reported this matter yet, hence Ling Xiao’s current identity remained as an external field agent of the Celestial City Mysterious Creature Research Institute, not a Qualified User of mysterious creature equipment.

"If even the army can’t handle it, I’m afraid..." Jiang Yu worriedly touched the quiver leaning beside him, "I only know archery. I can’t handle mysterious creatures that even cannons can’t kill, I... I..."

"Be confident, maybe this mysterious creature isn’t afraid of cannonballs, only arrows?" Yin Xiang said with a smile, "Anyway, having a hunter on the car gives me peace of mind."

"There’s another hunter." Ling Xiao mentioned, "Codenamed ’Red-haired Witch,’ she set off for the destination before us. I’ve heard from others she’s very strong."

"A seasoned hunter, it seems there are some ranks or something... I’m not too sure, so long as she’s strong." Yin Xiang smacked his lips, "Hopefully, by the time we arrive, the ’Red-haired Witch’ has already dealt with the mysterious creature, and all we need to do is clean up the battlefield, that would be ideal!"

Just as he finished speaking, the voice of Yang Qi came over the intercom beside the driver’s seat: "Attention all units involved in the operation! The advance hunter ’Red-haired Witch’ has lost contact with the command center, and the drones haven’t captured her image!! All units must remain vigilant! Report any clues to the command center immediately!"

"That’s bad!" Yin Xiang suddenly looked alarmed, "I’ve jinxed this ’Red-haired Witch’ to her doom!!"