Trickster Hunter.

Chapter 453 Egypt
“Your situation was exceptional… To be honest, your encounter broke the record that the ‘Gemini Balloons’ had never launched a preemptive attack on humans,” said Zhulong.

“If there’s a first time, there will be a second time… I don’t want to be the unlucky guy who breaks the record twice in a row,” Sun Hang said, pouting.

Although he suspected that Anna was most likely behind the Twin Balloons attack, he could not rule out the possibility that it was caused by his "special constitution".

Those mindless monsters, upon encountering Sun Hang, either avoided him like the plague or targeted him relentlessly, eager to kill him... Clearly, these monsters felt a great threat from Sun Hang. And when faced with a threat, the instinctive reactions of living beings (or rather, monsters) are twofold: to flee or to attack.

"What exactly am I?" Sun Hang wondered to himself.

Although Sun Hang had roughly guessed his origins in the small world of Chimera 17, the problem was that his true identity was still a mystery... All the clues were cut off at the Nameless Island Research Institute.

Sun Hang knew nothing about where the embryo came from, or how the three apes got involved with him.

He had hoped that the mainframe could find some clues, but in fact, all the relevant information had long been erased by the Three Apes... Just as Pei Zongjun said, all the files and materials related to the Nameless Island Research Institute that they could see now were replicas "copied" by Pei Zongjun based on the Sphinx's prophecy, and the original files no longer existed.

Sun Hang suddenly remembered the videotape from Tianfu City Shopping Center.

The ability of that strange object is to temporarily erase the existence of something from this world... Could it be related to the Three Apes, or rather, to those erased files?
Could it be that the reason that the videotape appeared in Sun Hang's sight was more than just a coincidence?
Where did those things that were erased go? Since they can return to this world, it means they didn't really disappear, but were "stored" in a place similar to a parallel space or a small world... If we call this place a "recycling station", then could the things that were erased by the three apes also be in this "recycling station"?

"Are you pondering the feasibility of a near-Earth orbit airdrop?" Zhulong's words suddenly pulled Sun Hang out of his reverie. "If you really intend to go to Egypt, I can help you contact Professor Ouyang... There are a total of four records of using near-Earth orbit airdrops to send hunters into the occupied zone. Apart from the first failed attempt more than sixty years ago, the subsequent three were all led by Professor Ouyang, and the success rate is currently one hundred percent."

“I have another question… If we use near-Earth orbit airdrops to send the hunters to such a far place, how will they get back?” Sun Hang asked.

“The same way,” Zhulong replied.

"Same way?"

"Hunters who perform such missions receive systematic training in launch vehicles and aerospace engineering. The drop capsules they use are reusable and compatible with various types of launch vehicles. Moreover, the drop capsules carry a sufficient amount of compressed fuel..."

"You mean, let them build their own rockets and fly back?" Sun Hang asked in astonishment. "I hope you're joking."

“I’m not kidding. That’s how the hunters who carried out those three extraterrestrial explorations returned.” Zhulong nodded. “However, it also depends on the landing point chosen in advance. Take my own experience for example. There was a rocket launch base of the old Siberian Federation 240 kilometers away from where we landed. We found a well-preserved launch vehicle there, made some minor modifications, and loaded the airdrop capsule onto it. As long as we could send the airdrop capsule into low Earth orbit, we could leave the rest to Professor Ouyang and his team.”

Do you think Egypt has a rocket launch site?

“Yes, the Siberian Plain helped them build a rocket launch base on the Sinai Peninsula. In addition, there is also a ‘space city’ in the New Cairo area…” Zhulong’s words suddenly stopped. He suddenly realized that even if Egypt once had a rocket launch base and a space city, they should no longer exist.

After turning the Nile Delta into a sea of ​​sand, the giant sand worms moved eastward and invaded the Sinai Peninsula... not to mention New Cairo.

Even though we cannot observe the actual situation in the occupied areas of Egypt now, we can tell from the old archives that Egypt after its fall simply did not have the conditions to launch carrier rockets.

“I need a vehicle, similar to the PFDA, but not a one-off,” Sun Hang said. “Or rather, a space shuttle that can break out of the atmosphere without relying on a launch vehicle and has the ability to travel back and forth. I think no one wants to see themselves with a one-way ticket.”

“The request has been recorded.” A voice suddenly sounded from Sun Hang’s hunter bracelet without warning. “This project has been given the highest priority. We are currently selecting project team members and mobilizing the necessary resources for the project. We will keep you informed of the progress.”

After saying all this, the bracelet's screen went out and returned to its original state.

"This is... the mainframe?" Zhulong pointed to Sun Hang's bracelet and asked.

"Uh... I guess so. By the way, Mastermind, have you been listening to my every move?" Sun Hang suddenly felt a little uneasy.

Although he had always known that the Hunter's Bracelet was a tool used by the Sky Pivot Tower and the Monster Research Institutes of various city-states to monitor their subordinate hunters, Sun Hang still felt a little uncomfortable at the thought that everything he said and did would be recorded by the mainframe.

Surely the mastermind can't be listening to its own private life?
When I have in-depth conversations with pretty girls in the future, will this guy suddenly make a sound and give some "guidance" like he does now?
Artificial intelligence may not have emotions, but Sun Hang does.

He suddenly had a strong urge to throw the bracelet away—with his current level of authority, even without wearing this broken bracelet, no one would dare to say anything to him.

"This agreement was already stated when the previous controller handed over the authority. If you feel that this is disturbing you, you can turn off this function at any time and turn it on again when you need me," the mastermind said.

"When was it noted?" Sun Hang was taken aback. "I've never heard of it."

"While scanning your body data."

Sun Hang then remembered that when the laser scanned his body, a holographic projection screen appeared in front of him, and many characters flashed across the screen—because at that time Sun Hang was focused on figuring out whether Pei Zongjun was alive or dead, so he didn't pay any attention to the content of those characters.

He initially thought the mainframe had generated those program statements during operation, but unexpectedly, it turned out to be a "user manual" left behind by Pei Zongjun after transferring control of the mainframe to him. Luckily, Sun Hang's words had triggered the mainframe's response mechanism; otherwise, he wouldn't have known he was being monitored by the mainframe.

"Temporarily disable the listening function," Sun Hang said.

"Okay, the listening function is now off. When you need to call me, simply tap the extra red button in the lower left corner of the bracelet screen three times to establish instant communication with me." After the mainframe finished speaking, its voice completely disappeared.

“Actually, I think it’s better to keep the listening function on,” Zhulong advised. “Elder Pei’s consciousness has already passed away, and the main brain is now just a super artificial intelligence. It won’t leak your privacy… It’s actually safer to keep it on, and the main brain can react immediately if there is any unexpected situation.”

"I'm just not used to being monitored 24/7," Sun Hang shook his head. "Whether it's a real person or AI... By the way, are you still going on vacation?"

“What’s the point of taking a break?” Zhulong gave a wry smile. “I’m going to find Professor Ouyang right now. He’ll definitely be selected by the mainframe for that project team… But I suggest you be prepared. Although the mainframe said it’s given the highest priority to this project, the spacecraft you want definitely won’t be built in a few months.”

"It will take several months..."

Sun Hang recalled what Pei Zongjun had told him, requesting that Sun Hang try not to leave the Xia State Federation during this period of time—if this period of time meant these few months, then it would just fulfill Pei Zongjun's last wish.

“In fact, for an exploration operation in occupied territory, a few months of preparation time is considered extremely short.” Zhulong shook his head helplessly. “In the past, the preparation period for such operations was measured in years.”

"Alright, go ahead." Sun Hang also got up and walked to the door.

"Where do you plan to go next? Stay in Chunming City or go back to Tianfu City?" Zhulong took out a key, inserted it into the lock, and turned to ask Sun Hang.

“I might go to Baikal, or rather, the ruins of Baikal,” Sun Hang said. “Pei Zongjun mentioned the Death Aurora to me, and I want to go there and take a look.”

“Baikal City… that’s true.” Zhulong nodded. “After the problems with Eternal Night and Chimera 17 were resolved, the most pressing issue for the Xia State Federation now is Baikal City… You should know that a strange city suddenly appeared on the ruins of Baikal City, right?”

"heard about it."

“Temporary designation 790, ‘Baikal’s Remains. The military’s exploration of this strange city has entered its fourth phase, and more than three hundred soldiers have died or gone missing inside Baikal’s Remains…” Zhulong said halfway through, then suddenly laughed self-deprecatingly, “Suddenly I feel there’s no need to tell you so much. The mainframe knows more details than I do. If you have any questions, just ask the mainframe.”

"Row."

With the creaking of the slightly rusty metal hinges, the scorching summer sun once again enveloped the two of them.

Zhulong turned up the collar of his trench coat, put his hands in his pockets, and glanced back at Sun Hang: "You're not heading to Baikal City right now, are you? If you're going back to Tian Shu Tower, I can give you a ride."

"No need, I'll just wander around Chunming City as I please," Sun Hang politely declined Zhulong's offer.

"Okay, then I'll head back first." Zhulong nodded and walked straight towards the parking lot.

Sun Hang also returned to the bustling commercial area—it was noon, and the chairs outside the restaurants were packed with people queuing. Waiters holding tablets were shouting numbers at the top of their lungs, but almost instantly their voices were drowned out by the crowd.

Sun Hang had seen what Tianfu City's most bustling commercial street looked like before the eternal night descended, but it was still slightly inferior to Chunming City.

This is the "center" of existing human civilization, the center in every sense of the word, without exception.

This is a three-dimensional city, with various sky bridges and suspended tunnels dividing the sky into countless cabinets of different sizes and shapes. As far as the eye can see, the most abundant thing is people.

After the first Monster War, the human population plummeted. The remaining Xia State Federation began to vigorously encourage childbirth, but even so, the population has not recovered. Coupled with the occasional monster attacks, even including refugees from other countries who poured into the Xia State Federation from the occupied territories, the current population of the Xia State Federation still has not caught up with the total population before the Monster War.

Looking at Chunming City now, Sun Hang had the illusion that the Xia State Federation had a huge population, so huge that it was almost overflowing.

"I'm a little hungry." Sun Hang pressed his stomach, a feeling of ravenous hunger taking over his mind... After his body was modified by the Tai Sui meme, Sun Hang shouldn't experience physical hunger. Hunger was more of a habit and a craving for food—the hunger he felt now was entirely simulated by his "wish-granting" ability.

Sun Hang opened his phone and started searching for nearby restaurants, but these luxury restaurants, where a meal could easily cost four figures, were either fully booked or had queues that stretched from lunchtime to dinnertime...

"There are so many rich people. People are scrambling to eat at places that cost hundreds or thousands of dollars a meal..." Sun Hang couldn't help but complain. He had finally decided to splurge and experience the so-called high-end dining, but it seemed that Chunming City was unwilling to give him the opportunity.

"It's not exactly peak tourist season yet... Oh well, let's just find a hole-in-the-wall restaurant somewhere." Sun Hang muttered. "If all else fails, we can go to Shaxian Restaurant or McDonald's... Surely a city as big as Chunming can have at least one of those two?"

(End of this chapter)