Trickster Hunter.

Chapter 201 Permanent Buffet

"There's an old saying that 'luck is also a part of strength', isn't it?" The humanoid shadow laughed, "Looking at the 'chosen ones' in history, they certainly had extraordinary abilities, but without the blessing of luck, they would not have been able to stand on the top stage."

"So...what do you mean?" Sun Hang glanced at the other person and drank the second cup of Coke.

"Old Li has already talked to you about establishing a strange creature research institute in Tianfu City, but after our discussion, we decided that it is not enough to just train researchers... You must have come into contact with those hunters in the upgrade trial. In your opinion, how powerful are these hunters who have not experienced much actual combat?"

"With all due respect, I will rely on your defense."

"For the inland areas, peace has lasted too long... Even if there are occasional invasions by strange creatures, they rarely cause serious impacts." The humanoid shadow sighed. "From the perspective of the federal government, this is a good thing. Their responsibility is to maintain the stability of the federation and reduce unnecessary panic as much as possible... But from a long-term perspective, this has caused people to gradually lose their sense of crisis. Many new generations born after the war have no clear understanding of the threat of strange creatures."

The "post-war" he mentioned naturally refers to the great war between human civilization and monsters.

In that war that lasted for decades, two of the world's three major political systems: the Siberian Federation and the United States, were successively destroyed by strange creatures, and only the Xiazhou Federation became the only remaining spark of human civilization.

No one knew why those strange creatures stopped their attack - but no matter what, after that, the Xiazhou Federation barely had a period of peace.

People gradually healed the wounds brought by the war, all walks of life began to return to normal, and social order was re-established... In this land of more than 9 million square kilometers, people's lives seemed to have returned to the way they were before the monsters appeared.

There is a phrase that describes it very well: in times of peace, forget the danger.

"So, you're going to change your plans?"

"Yes, not only research talents, but even monster hunters must undergo a lot of practical training." The humanoid shadow said, "So, your academy will not only recruit college entrance examination students from all over the country, but will also serve as a top-notch hunter training base."

"...What do you think those parents would think if they knew that the school their children were applying to was not only under the shroud of Eternal Night, but also had a group of dangerous infected people as alumni?" Sun Hang rolled his eyes. "The application rate is worrying."

"So I found you." said the human-shaped shadow.

"What's the point of looking for me... You might as well go find 'Bao Si', her ability to charm is more useful than mine." Sun Hang said.

"Let me introduce myself again. I'm the current No. 1 person in charge of Tianshu Tower, Pei Zongjun." The human-shaped shadow stood up and extended his hand to Sun Hang.

Sun Hang hesitated for a moment, then held the hand made of the holographic projection, and said, "Tianfu City registered hunter, Sun Hang - should I say that?"

"Yes now, but not in the future." Pei Zongjun shook his head, "From now on, you will be the person in charge of Tianshu Tower No. 2, Sun Hang."

"...Those whose rankings have collectively dropped by one place have no objection?"

“This is the result of our joint discussions.”

"Not only you, but also so many researchers and monster hunters... Do you think they will really recognize my identity?"

"I believe you can."

"I don't believe it." Sun Hang waved his hand. "Don't make big promises to me. Why don't you think about how to increase the enrollment of this college? According to the current trend, I doubt that even a classroom may not be fully occupied when the new semester starts."

"It's simple. We have already thought of a name for this academy."

"what is it call?"

"'Tianshu Tower Comprehensive Talent Training Base'." Elder Pei said, "It is no longer an independent college, but a direct unit of Tianshu Tower. Enrolling is equivalent to joining Tianshu Tower. As long as you successfully complete your studies, you can directly join any project team in Tianshu Tower that you are interested in, and obtain the lowest level of researcher level three."

If it were in the past, Sun Hang might have sneered at this, but after Yang Qi repeatedly emphasized to him the value of Tianshu Tower researchers, Sun Hang finally understood why those who studied weird things would flock to Tianshu Tower...

Pei Zongjun's decision, to put it another way, is like if you complete nine years of compulsory education, you can directly become an academician of the National Academy of Sciences...

Not to mention students from poor families, even children from wealthy families have an extremely terrifying attraction.

Professor Li previously said that graduates could be admitted to Tianshu Tower, but now the condition has changed from graduation to admission.

"What about the monster hunters... Do you think they would give up the chance to be big stars in the safe inland cities and run to the bitter cold borderland to fight monsters to the death? I think most people would be reluctant, right?"

"In the future, the rank-up trials will be cancelled and replaced by the 'Eternal Night Trial'." Pei Zongjun said, "Every trial will be an actual battle."

"So, what role do I need to play in this plan?" Sun Hang was a little confused. "I can neither teach nor train hunters. You can't let me be a mascot, right?"

"We need a strong enough combat force to take charge of this training base." Pei Zongjun said, "The burden on your shoulders is heavy."

"...Yes, I can. Then, what about the reward?" Sun Hang asked, "You can't let me work for nothing, right?"

"I know that with your personality, ordinary false reputation, authority and other things are not very attractive to you." Pei Zongjun said, "And I will not use the rhetoric of patriotism to kidnap you..."

"You make it sound like I'm a very selfish person..." Sun Hang couldn't help but complain.

"This is not selfishness, but reason." Pei Zongjun shook his head. "War requires brave and fearless young people, but it also requires calm... even cold-blooded decision makers. In the eyes of decision makers, human lives are just cold numbers... and what they have to do is to control the loss of this number to the smallest possible extent."

"What you said seems to be contrary to the test I took when I became a hunter..."

"That test theory is already outdated."

"...So, what is the actual reward?" Sun Hang asked, "I am not interested in fame and power, but I am also not very interested in wealth...Money is something that only needs enough to spend."

"So what are you interested in?"

"I am more interested in my lost memories." Sun Hang stared at Pei Zongjun's projected eyes and said, "I am a person with no ambitions. My only goal at this stage is to regain those lost memories."

"Unfortunately, I can't do anything about this matter." Pei Zongjun shook his head, "However, I can give you another reward that you can't refuse."

"A reward I can't refuse?" Sun Hang smiled, "Tell me about it." "You are infected with the meme of Taotie, so you can devour the memes of other weird creatures or infected people and use their abilities for your own benefit." Pei Zongjun said, "I can open the weird creature containment area of ​​Tianshu Tower to you, and you can choose the object to devour... How about this reward, you should not be able to refuse it."

"Buffet?" This word immediately popped up in Sun Hang's mind, "A five-star buffet?"

"I wanted to refuse, but you..."

"But I gave you too much? Hahaha!" Pei Zongjun said with a smile. Sun Hang was a little surprised that the number one figure in Tianshu Tower could follow his joke...

In his opinion, people of this status probably don't have much time to surf the Internet.

"It's indeed a lot." Sun Hang nodded, "Aren't you afraid of being bankrupted by me?"

"That depends on how big your appetite is." Pei Zongjun said, "I'll remind you in advance that even a glutton may suffer from indigestion... Don't think of becoming fat in one bite. The containment area will be open to you forever, so you can take your time - take as much as you need, and eat small meals frequently."

"I see. This isn't a buffet. This is a lifetime buffet entitlement, right?"

"You are right to understand it this way."

It has to be said that the reward offered by Pei Zongjun was indeed very attractive to Sun Hang.

Although he had no idea how many strange creatures the Tianshu Tower housed, he could be sure based on the "rumors" he heard from others that there must be a lot of good things in the tower... As for permanent opening, this was an even more extraordinary privilege.

This is not only a good opportunity to gain experience, but also an extremely rich skill library... Many of the monsters' skills may seem useless when taken individually, but when the abilities of several monsters are combined together, a very wonderful "chemical reaction" will occur, creating an effect where one plus one is greater than two or even greater than three, four, five, six, or seven.

"make a deal."

……

……

Nine o'clock in the evening, VIP reception area, Jiachen District, Tianshu Tower.

Sun Hang had just finished brushing his teeth and was about to watch TV before going to bed, when the phone on the bedside table suddenly rang.

"Strange, does Tianshu Tower also have room service?"

Sun Hang picked up the phone, and Yang Qi's voice rang out on the other end of the receiver.

She spoke quickly, a hint of anxiety in her tone.

After listening for dozens of seconds, Sun Hang frowned.

"What's going on? Yang Lian and Ye Xuan are seriously injured? Old Wang is permanently sealed... What does it mean that once the seal is lifted, there is a high probability that it will need to be rendered harmless?"

"Wang Xiyi's condition is much worse than we imagined. She has been moved into a perpetually frozen coffin... It is very likely that she will never wake up again." Yang Qi said.

"Why are you telling me now?"

"Because my communication restrictions were just lifted, Tianfu City immediately told me the news." Yang Qi said, "I plan to return to Tianfu City immediately. Do you want to go back with me?"

"Our house has been robbed, so of course we have to go back," said Sun Hang.

"Home?" Yang Qi was slightly startled, "You and Wang Xiyi..."

"It's just gaming terminology." Sun Hang said immediately, "Are there still flights to Shuzhou?"

"Because of the Eternal Night, all civilian flights to Shuzhou have been suspended. I have just applied to the Tianshu Tower, and they will arrange a special plane for us, which will take off in three hours."

"understood."

……

With a slight vibration of the seat, the plane rushed out of the airport runway and slid silently into the night sky.

"Look, these are pictures taken by drones, but because the monster has the ability to shield electronic surveillance, we can only capture some shots of it when it is not activating its abilities." Yang Qi handed the tablet computer to Sun Hang, "And these pictures were restored by professional painters and AI based on the descriptions of eyewitnesses at the scene. Now it can be basically confirmed that when the monster's body emits a milky white fluorescence, its figure will disappear from the surveillance screen... Not only the monster itself, but also its symbiotic offspring have this ability."

"The upper body of a human, the lower body of a spider, and the tail of a scorpion... Did they give it a name?"

"The temporary name is 'C33 Chimera 17'." Yang Qi said.

"C thirty-three?" Sun Hang was a little confused. "Didn't they say that this strange creature appeared for the first time? Why is the serial number so early?"

"Cing Thirty-Three is not a single weird creature, but a general term for a special type of weird creature."

Yang Qi tapped the touch screen with the pen in her hand and continued, "'Chimera' is a monster in ancient Greek mythology that has a lion's head, a goat's body, and a snake's tail. This name is also used to refer to those 'stitched monsters' that are made up of the limbs of multiple known creatures. The strange creature that appeared in Tianfu City this time is the seventeenth 'Chimera' discovered, so it is called 'Chimera No. 17'."

"Then the Sphinx in Egypt is also a chimera? Which chimera number is it?"

"Whether the Sphinx really existed in history is still in doubt. Currently, all numbered 'Chimeras' have eyewitness records." Yang Qi said, "In the bait operation two days ago, Wang Xiyi severely damaged Chimera No. 17. According to the data observed on the scene, Chimera No. 17 abandoned its original body and escaped underground... Therefore, the next time it appears, it may look completely different."

"There is one thing that puzzles me. Old Wang should be very clear about the consequences of using that ability... Why would she rashly use her ability to this extent when she couldn't guarantee that she could kill the target?" Sun Hang looked at the big pit burning with blue flames in the picture. "Although she has some self-destructive tendencies, she wouldn't be so crazy, right?"

"The teachers and others have also speculated about this, and finally came to the conclusion that as an infected person, Wang Xiyi felt a fatal threat from Chimera 17, and it was the meme in her body that prompted her to choose the tactic of mutual destruction."

(End of this chapter)