Hunter of Mysterious Creature-Chapter 425 - 57: Another Face_2

Jiang Yu felt as if she wasn't walking into a factory but crawling into the body of a monstrous creature.

"This is where they incubate those eerie creatures," Lilith said, unfazed. "The smaller sacs contain those tiny spiders from earlier, and as for the larger sacs… judging by their appearance, they seem to contain people."

"People?!" Jiang Yu instinctively turned to look toward the waste liquid pool.

"That's right, the 'assistant factory manager' should have also been incubated from these sacs." Lilith nodded.

"So… so if the rest of the sacs begin to hatch…" Jiang Yu felt an urge to retreat.

"Not yet," Lilith shook her head. "I can sense it; they are still some time away from hatching… otherwise, after we dealt with those monsters earlier, more would have emerged from the factory."

"How long is 'some time'?" Ling Xiao asked.

"At most a few hours, or as little as a dozen seconds," Lilith said, "From now on, we must seize every moment! You two follow me closely, no splitting up, no looking around. Keep your ears open and listen carefully for any sounds around—Ling Xiao, if anything goes wrong, use the rune stone I gave you without hesitation!"

After speaking, Lilith sprinted toward the stairs.

Ling Xiao and Jiang Yu quickly followed.

As Jiang Yu watched Lilith ahead of her, she couldn't help but wonder—why was Lilith saying they needed to hurry, yet she wasn't using her instant teleportation magic anymore?

Was she worried that the two of them couldn't keep up, or were there too many obstacles in the scene that would affect teleportation? 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Or could it be… Lilith's remaining magic reserves were running low?

Jiang Yu felt a bit uncertain.

During her time with Lilith, she realized that as a Hunter, she was really too inexperienced. Whether it was her experience, tactics, or mindset, none of it could be considered "adequate"… She couldn't bear to think about how, without Lilith, she and Ling Xiao would complete the upcoming tasks.

No… not completing the task. What she should be thinking about is how to leave this place alive.

Lilith stomped up the steel-structured stairs, her boots making clear sounds on the steel plates, and the sound echoed in the spacious factory.

Every time she ran a certain distance, Jiang Yu would glance up at the sacs hanging from the flesh membrane on the dome, fearful that the creatures inside might hatch and leap toward her.

"Don't watch them with your eyes; these things are eerie. You only need to sense their memetic fluctuations," Lilith's voice reached Jiang Yu's ears. "When they are about to hatch, the fluctuations will have very distinct characteristics. I think you should be able to feel them."

"Memetic… fluctuations? Feel?" Jiang Yu again fell into confusion, "How do I feel them?"

"Calm yourself; for the infected, everyone possesses this sense ability. Some people are stronger, some weaker… It's as natural as eating, drinking, no, it's as natural as breathing, an ability you were born with. Damn it, who is your direct supervisor? Didn't they teach you anything?"

"I… I don't have a supervisor yet," Jiang Yu replied. "I just recently became a Hunter."

Technically, Jiang Yu's direct supervisor was Sun Hang… But lately, Sun Hang had been too busy, and it's impossible he had any time to teach Jiang Yu the instinctive stuff that Sun Hang considered basic for the infected.

"Damn it, breathe… Try breathing, clearing your mind as much as possible. During the process, feel the 'other kind of breathing' from those eerie creatures… The frequency of memetic waves is like breathing; it's rhythmic. Once you find this rhythm, you'll naturally be able to sense their presence, got it?"

"I… I'll try."

As soon as Jiang Yu spoke, Lilith, running at the front, suddenly stopped.

"We're here," Lilith said.

In front of her was a tastefully decorated solid wood door, with a sign hanging that read "Reception Room" in gilded letters.

Faintly, the sound of a violin could be heard from behind the door.

"You two, step back a bit," Lilith said.

Lilith extended her hand and grasped the doorknob.

She gently twisted the doorknob—for some reason, she felt this action was familiar.

It was as if she had done it somewhere before.

But Lilith quickly dismissed the thought—twisting a doorknob to open a door is something ordinary people do countless times a day, so it's completely normal to feel a sense of familiarity.

The reception room door wasn't locked; the latch slid smoothly out from the keyhole. But when Lilith attempted to push the door, she felt resistance from behind, as if something was pressing against the door.

Lilith released the doorknob, stepped back two steps, then accelerated suddenly, kicking the door forcefully.

"Whoosh—"

With a sound like shredded rotten cotton, the door opened.

Only then did Lilith see, the entire reception room was covered in the same flesh membrane as the factory dome; it was this membrane stuck behind the door that blocked the gap and hinges, giving her that strange resistance.

The flesh membrane on the dome seemed thin, but once the distance was closed, it became apparent that its thickness was actually five or six centimeters. Laying this membrane across the reception room made it resemble a kind of Cthulhu-style soft upholstery.

"Flesh carpet, quite a sensation," Lilith sneered, stepping right onto it.

Under her feet, the flesh membrane squirmed and emitted a squelching sound.

"Alive, alive?!" Jiang Yu reflexively stepped back.

To crawl through the ventilation ducts, she and Ling Xiao had removed their boots, and now both were barefoot—for real, she didn't want to step barefoot onto the thick flesh membrane.

"Of course it's alive. If it was dead, how would it provide nutrients to those incubating eerie creatures?" Lilith said.

She spoke while moving to the center of the reception room.

On the center tabletop, there was a retro-style vinyl record player. As the round record spun, harmonious violin music accompanied by light piano notes echoed in the room, with faint harmony from woodwinds and brass instruments.

Compared to the "messy" reception room, the record player and its table were exceptionally clean—the sofas nearby were almost entirely covered in membrane, with dark red fluid staining the surface in patches of crimson and black, yet on the table and record player, not a single drop of blood or fragment of flesh could be seen.

"Strange… why is this room empty?" Lilith muttered to herself, "The creature's projection should be here, so why is it empty?"

"Could it have left?" Jiang Yu asked tentatively, "Or could it… could it be hiding in a corner, waiting to ambush us, like when it ambushed you before?"

"Ah… yes!" Lilith's tone suddenly changed, "I remember, I remember!"

"What did you remember?" Ling Xiao asked.

At some point, he had drawn the Godslaying Spear, aiming it at Lilith standing in front of the record player.

"It hasn't left, it's right here in this room," Lilith's voice had completely transformed into a hoarse male voice.

With her back to Ling Xiao and Jiang Yu, she slowly lifted her hair from the back of her head.

Beneath her deep red hair was a man's face.

Jiang Yu recognized this face—none other than the missing Director of Factory 105: Wu Zhiyuan!