Trickster Hunter.

Chapter 461 Modifying the Container

"Are they... considered human?"

“I’m not sure what your exact definition of a human is, Mom, but in my opinion, their essence is very different from that of humans,” Anna replied.

"Do you know their origins?" Sun Hang asked again. "Mastermind, do you know what the modified container is?"

Chunming City can be said to be under the absolute control of the Tian Shu Tower. If even the main brain does not know the origin of the modified container, then this problem is probably quite serious.

"No relevant data found." The AI's reply sent a chill down Sun Hang's spine.

“A modified container, as the name suggests, is a device that modifies the human body to become a container capable of withstanding an excessive amount of negative emotions,” Anna said. “Mom, you should know that if an ordinary human were to carry such strong negative emotions, they would have long since become a monster. But a modified container will not—it can withstand hundreds or even thousands of times more negative emotions than an ordinary person. For me and the guy in your car, it’s like a large bag of portable and long-lasting compressed biscuit tins.”

Sun Hang turned to Xue Yue and asked, "Don't you think those two people in the car next to us... look delicious?"

Xue Yue shook her head, a hint of doubt in her eyes as she looked at Sun Hang.

"She doesn't seem to think so."

“Who would eat canned food if there was fresh food? Even monsters are picky eaters,” Anna said. “The negative emotions stored in these two modified containers have long expired and are no longer fresh… Unless I’m really starving, I wouldn’t even bother eating them if they were given to me for free.”

"So the question is, who modified them?" Sun Hang asked again, "Humans, or monsters?"

"I don't know," Anna answered readily. "But Mom, don't you think it's a bit too much of a coincidence that these two things appeared in Chunming City at the same time?"

"What two?"

“A monster that has taken over a little girl’s body and feeds on negative emotions,” Anna said. “And two bodies that have been modified to hold large amounts of negative emotions, like ‘human flesh cans’… Do you believe there’s no connection between the two?”

Sun Hang looked Xue Yue up and down again, then shook his head: "I read her thoughts and memories, and she wasn't lying."

“It has no reason to lie,” Anna sneered. “Her appearance was merely an accident.”

"You mean, someone is raising a monster like Xue Yue, and the modification of the container was also done by them... As for Xue Yue, she's just the 'lucky one' who accidentally escaped from the place where monsters are raised?" Sun Hang guessed.

“Whether I’m lucky or not is another matter,” Anna said, “but Springbringer City is indeed a great place to collect negative emotions—there are too many people here, and all sorts of desires envelop the entire city. To be honest, I’m a little reluctant to leave.”

"Where did you learn about this modification technology?" Sun Hang asked again. "You know they modify containers, but you don't know their origin. Don't you think you're being very suspicious?"

“I just named these ‘modified containers.’ I don’t know what the people who actually modified them called them,” Anna replied matter-of-factly. “If you like, Mom, you can call them ‘compressed biscuits’ or ‘sealed cans’ or whatever.”

"Can you tell what kind of modifications they've undergone?"

"First, we need to select a suitable candidate for modification—that is, a person to be used for the modification surgery. Then, we open the skull, perform secondary processing on the brain, remove unnecessary parts, and insert a small part to control the modification container. As for the specific operation process, even if I explained it, Mom, you probably wouldn't understand... After the surgery, we will have a humanoid container that can store negative emotions but will not cause any extreme behavior due to negative emotions."

"Like Ling Xiao?"

“No, no, no, it’s different,” Anna said. “That child was simply absorbed by me, and the part of his brain responsible for generating emotions was suppressed. He is the complete opposite of the modified container—the modified container can store a lot of negative emotions, but he can’t store any emotions at all.”

"These modified containers can feel joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness; they can feel anger, pain, jealousy, and all sorts of desires. However, they are not driven by emotions, nor do they show any expression because of these emotions. Their bodies are like machines, and apart from the commands given by the controller, they only have instinctive behaviors such as eating, sleeping, and excretion."

"So what are they doing now?" Sun Hang asked, pointing to the still-shaking hovercar.

“Reproduction is also an instinct,” Anna explained. “They are not releasing some kind of desire, they are just acting on instinct. Even if you go and knock on their car window now, they will not stop out of shame, nor will they act aggressively towards you out of anger—of course, if their controllers give them additional instructions, that’s a different story.”

"Can I try to read their minds?" Sun Hang asked. "Wouldn't their controllers find out if I did?"

“It’s best not to,” Anna said. “Whether you’ll be discovered or not is another matter. If you use that ability to read their minds, it’s like prying open a can of herring and then bringing your nose right up to it to take a deep sniff… Believe me, Anna, you won’t like that feeling.”

“…Is it really that exaggerated?”

“In my eyes, they are just rotten, spoiled canned food,” Anna said dismissively. “Only those kept in pigsties would have to swallow such disgusting food.”

“The good news is that they seem to be on the same route as Mom,” Anna added. “If you’re curious about them, Mom, you could try following them… Apart from the points I just mentioned, they have no different abilities from ordinary humans. As long as you’re careful, Mom, they won’t be able to find you.”

"Going the same way?" Sun Hang suddenly realized that when he went through the smart gate, he needed to enter his destination into the port management system. Thinking of this, he immediately asked the mainframe: "Check where this vehicle is going."

"The Willow Constellation District of the Zodiac, the Fuxing Industrial Park," the mastermind immediately replied.

Sun Hang opened the electronic map and found that the Fuxing Industrial Park was very close to the slum where Xue Yue lived, less than ten kilometers away. The Fuxing Industrial Park was one of the few industrial parks in the Liusu constellation of the zodiacal layer that was still in operation. However, it had long since stopped processing fuel for old-type power centers and had been turned into a large-scale waste recycling plant to process various wastes.

"Check the vehicle's information again, and the identities of the two people in it," Sun Hang said.

I have to say, the mainframe is really useful and convenient!

"License plate number: Chun D5C65L, vehicle owner: Lin Lun, vehicle model: Beijiang Heavy Industry third-generation 'Air Wing' economy model, vehicle registration year: 4703 (Chinese calendar), vehicle insurance information..."

"The identities of the two people in the car could not be found in the database, confirming that they are undocumented 'illegal residents'. Should we contact the police department to handle this matter?"

"No need. Since we can't find the identities of these two people, let's check the car owner, Lin Lun."

"Lin Lun, male, born in 4685 of the lunar calendar, is a resident of Chunming City. His original home is Cangshui, Jizhou. In 4704 of the lunar calendar, he was admitted to the Second Industrial University of Chunming City. After graduating in 4708 of the lunar calendar, he chose to transfer his household registration to Chunming City. In October of the same year, he was hired by Liusu Fuxing Pollutant Treatment Company. In 4712 of the lunar calendar, he became the chairman of Liusu Fuxing Pollutant Treatment Company, a position he holds to this day. Marital status: single; Criminal record: none; Social insurance and medical insurance information shows that Lin Lun underwent an appendectomy at the Ninth General Hospital of Chunming City in 4715 of the lunar calendar. Apart from that, he has no other hospitalization or medical records."

"He was hired by this pollutant treatment company in 4708 as a recent college graduate? And then became the chairman in just four years?" Sun Hang asked in astonishment. "What did this guy do? Did he win the lottery and buy out his own company?"

"In 4708, Liusu Fuxing Pollutant Treatment Company was on the verge of bankruptcy, with debts of 160 million and total assets valued at only 30 million. During his tenure at the company, Lin Lun invented a new pollutant treatment technology and applied for a patent. This technology helped the company overcome its difficulties and turn a profit. Lin Lun then sold the technology patent to several pollutant treatment companies in Chunming City and used the money to acquire Liusu Fuxing Pollutant Treatment Company, becoming its chairman," the mainframe replied.

"He's quite a rare talent, isn't he? What did he study in college?" Sun Hang asked, unscrewing a bottle of water and taking a couple of gulps.

"Fine Arts major."

"Pfft..." Sun Hang spat out the water in his mouth. "An art major college student developed a new technology that could revive a pollutant treatment company on the verge of bankruptcy? And he only took four years to build it from scratch? He's not just talented... he's a genius, right? By the way, how does this guy's invention compare to those crazy researchers at Tian Shu Tower?"

“There is no comparison.” The mainframe replied, “There is no comparison between the research projects of the Tian Shu Tower and this invention. The Tian Shu Tower rarely uses its human and material resources for such non-essential civilian technology research... firstly, to conserve resources as much as possible, and secondly, to leave enough room for development for private institutions.”

“I get it. You mean if the Tian Shu Tower were to do this, then Lin Lun would have absolutely nothing to do with it… The reason they don’t do it is because those lunatics look down on this kind of technology, right?” Sun Hang said. “I didn’t expect that your AI would be so talented at showing off.”

“Although I don’t know why you praised me, you are right,” the mainframe replied. “The new technology invented by Lin Lun has now been iterated to the fourth generation, but there are no core difficulties in this technology, and it is not difficult to replicate. The biggest reason why Lin Lun is able to make money from this is because he applied for patent protection in time.”

As they spoke, the lifting platform came to a stop, and the parking spaces separated once again. With the assistance of the robotic arm and crane, they were moved to the various exits of the dock.

There is only one road leading from this dock to Liusu District, and Sun Hang's floating vehicle and the two "modified containers" vehicles were assigned to the same exit.

The safety barrier went down, and the green "passable" indicator light ahead lit up.

But Sun Hang didn't rush to step on the gas. Instead, he waited until the other car drove away before slowly following behind.

"Do you think the person who modified these two containers is Lin Lun?" Sun Hang asked Anna through telepathic communication.

“Even if Lin Lun didn’t modify it, he’s still involved,” Anna said. “Besides, this little guy you just subdued, it’s not necessarily that it escaped on its own.”

"You mean... Xue Yue was deliberately released by them?"

"It's most likely an experimental subject. It thinks it's gained its freedom, but it's actually been under those people's surveillance all along... If you don't believe me, you can ask it why it lives in Liusu District?"

"Xue Yue, I have a question for you." Sun Hang turned his head and looked at Xue Yue, who was sitting in the back row looking around.

"Ok?"

How did you find a place to stay in Liusu District?

“Ah… it was a supermarket where I used to work. The supermarket owner asked me if I had a place to stay, and I said I would sleep in the city park… The owner told me that he had a relative in Liusu District who had spare rooms, and the rent was very cheap and no deposit was required… The owner was a good person, and his relative was also a very nice person…” Xue Yue answered cautiously.

"If that's the case, why didn't you continue working at that supermarket?" Sun Hang asked.

“I only worked as a cashier for two months… Later, the boss told me that some thugs had noticed me. They threatened the boss, saying that if he didn’t give them protection money, they would report him for employing child labor… The boss had no choice but to fire me,” Xue Yue said. “I went back to the boss later, but the supermarket had closed down… Now it’s a barbershop.”

"What about the boss's relative? The one who rented the house to you?"

“He rarely shows up, only coming to collect rent each month… but he hasn’t shown up for the past six months, and I don’t know how to contact him… I know it’s wrong to continue living here, but I have nowhere else to go…”

"Tsk, there's definitely something wrong... It's a pity that the illegal buildings in the slums aren't registered, otherwise checking the property ownership would probably have revealed more clues," Sun Hang muttered to himself.

(End of this chapter)