Trickster Hunter.

Chapter 576 "Miss Shadow"

The rest of the journey wasn't easy, but they didn't encounter any major problems. Apart from one vehicle plunging into a deep crevice due to a sudden change in terrain, the hunting party suffered no further casualties.

The convoy arrived safely at the pit area outside Nanhua Town.

"I'm going to meet with Chen Jing and the person in charge of Tian Shu Tower. I'll leave the task of setting up the camp to you." After saying this to Cheng Ming, Bai Lingqiu left with Miss Shadow and several attendants, leaving Cheng Ming alone to face the entire convoy and the onlookers who had been "waiting" there for a long time.

Cheng Ming couldn't help but sigh.

Although he lacked command experience, as a qualified monster hunter, his training included some command courses. After all, when hunting monsters, monster hunters often had to cooperate with investigators from the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation and ordinary soldiers. However, when communication was interrupted (which was a common occurrence), command on site would usually be transferred to the most senior hunter.

The relationship between Oddity Hunters, Anomalous Investigators, and ordinary soldiers is somewhat similar to that between Space Marines, who are all cyborgs, and the Astrail Forces, who are composed of ordinary humans, in the Warhammer universe. However, the biggest difference is probably their combat strength. In Warhammer, an unarmed Space Marine can easily defeat a fully armed Astrail Force soldier in a one-on-one duel (with the exception of a few legendary units). On the other hand, if an unarmed Oddity Hunter wants to kill a fully armed ordinary soldier in a head-on confrontation, at least two-thirds of the Oddity Hunters in the entire Commonwealth would not be able to do so.

Cheng Ming glanced at Bai Lingqiu and the others who were walking towards the Tian Shu Tower camp, then turned to look at the chaotic group of hunting party members below. He couldn't help but feel that Meng Yunfeng's comment was very apt.

"mob".

……

……

"So, you're planning to conduct the first round of fire reconnaissance inside the pit at 7:00 AM tomorrow?" Sun Hang asked, looking at Chen Jing and Bai Lingqiu.

“Yes.” Bai Lingqiu nodded. “The second hunting party brought a large amount of heavy firepower equipment. Since we can use ammunition to replace human lives, why not?”

“I didn’t expect you guys to care about the lives of these temporarily recruited hunting party members,” Sun Hang said in a half-joking tone. “I thought they were just cannon fodder you paid to hire.”

“It’s just not worth it,” Yang Qiaoxi suddenly interjected. “Hiring these people to work for us means that, in addition to the promised compensation, the three major families will have to pay a hefty compensation to the hunter’s family or designated heir if any hunter dies… And the shells and explosives they use for reconnaissance are just supplies that have been piling up in the Bai family’s military warehouse for years and are nearing their expiration date. For the Bai family, the real cost is probably less than one-fifth of the market price. It’s a simple calculation, and I wouldn’t use people as cannon fodder either.”

“What Boss Yang said… makes a lot of sense.” Chen Jing touched the tip of his nose somewhat awkwardly. “However, in addition to the economic considerations, we also need to consider the reputation of our family and group, not only in Longcheng, but also with outsiders… For businessmen, connections, reputation, and prestige are just as important as profits.”

“You’re willing to tell the truth.” Yang Qiaoxi seemed quite satisfied with Chen Jing’s words. “Unlike some people who talk a good game about morality on the surface, but have all sorts of dirty schemes behind the scenes.”

"Ahem." Zhulong coughed twice and gave Yang Qiaoxi a look, signaling her to stop talking.

Some things are better left unsaid. Since the other party's attitude is so sincere, there's no need to make the situation so awkward.

"Alright, I understand. You can go about your business now... Oh, by the way, Miss Bai, please stay a moment. I have something I'd like to say to you privately."

A hint of surprise flashed in Bai Lingqiu's eyes, but she maintained her expressionless face. She nodded silently and said to the others, "You guys go first."

“Miss Bai’s bodyguard, stay here too.” Sun Hang called out to the female hunter who was about to leave the tent. “Your code name… is ‘Miss Shadow,’ right?”

The other person stopped, turned around and nodded to Sun Hang, then stood back behind Bai Lingqiu.

After everyone else—including Yang Qiaoxi and Zhulong—left the tent, Sun Hang casually set up a soundproof barrier for the tent, then asked with a smile, "Miss Bai Lingqiu, there's something I'm curious about."

"Please say."

"Why was it that during the tactical meeting just now, every time I raised a crucial question, you couldn't help but seek the opinion of your bodyguard?" Sun Hang asked. "Does your bodyguard... also serve as an advisor?"

"How did you figure it out?" A hint of panic flashed in Bai Lingqiu's eyes. "You probably didn't even notice, but every time you need to answer a crucial question, your gaze involuntarily drifts towards the bodyguards. Although you can quickly look away, unfortunately, I still noticed it," Sun Hang said.

Sun Hang certainly wouldn't tell "Bai Lingqiu" that he had used his mind-reading ability on him and Chen Jing throughout the meeting—neither of them were infected, so using mind-reading on them wouldn't have made them aware of it, and the mental energy consumed would be much less than if he were peering into the minds of infected people.

"Uh……"

Bai Lingqiu wanted to say something more, but Miss Shadow, who was standing behind her, suddenly stepped forward and said to Sun Hang, "Since you are the representative of the Heavenly Pivot Tower, there's no point in hiding this from you..."

"So, you are Bai Lingqiu, and she is the real 'Shadow'?" Sun Hang pointed at Miss Shadow, then at "Bai Lingqiu," and asked.

Miss Shadow, or rather, the real Bai Lingqiu, slowly removed her mask, revealing a face almost identical to "Bai Lingqiu," and said, "That's right, I am Bai Lingqiu, and she is a stand-in arranged for me by my family."

"Because of the infection?"

“Yes… I was infected by the monster when I was very young. At that time, discrimination against infected people was still very serious in Dragon City. My father only had me as his daughter and no other children. In order to ensure my inheritance rights, he had no choice but to resort to this drastic measure…”

"So your expression is so stiff because you've had plastic surgery?" Sun Hang looked at the expressionless "stand-in Bai Lingqiu".

Since their young mistress had already given her instructions, the stand-in could only reply, "Yes..."

"But times have changed. Even if you are infected, you should be able to inherit the position of family head. Why should we make you a 'shadow'?"

“My father thinks this is a kind of protection for me… Moreover, the offspring of infected individuals cannot be guaranteed to have stable memes…” Bai Lingqiu said, looking at her stand-in with a hint of apology.

"Not only is she going to be your body double, but she's also going to have your baby?" For a moment, Sun Hang wondered if he had accidentally stumbled into the set of some melodramatic prime-time soap opera...

“The reproductive cells produced in an infected person's body have a certain probability of not carrying any bizarre memes. As long as these cells can be extracted from the infected person's body in time and placed in a 'clean' developmental environment, even an infected person can have offspring like a normal person... I know that doing this violates federal law, but..."

“Federal laws? Those lunatics at Tian Shu Tower violate them almost every day…” Sun Hang waved his hand. “I’m not interested in your Bai family’s messy affairs. The reason I’m keeping you here is because I’m interested in you as a person.”

"Huh?" Bai Lingqiu was taken aback, her cheeks flushing slightly.

"Or to be more precise, it's your ability."

"Uh...oh..." Bai Lingqiu replied somewhat awkwardly, only then realizing that she had misunderstood.

“Tell me, how did you get infected, and what are your abilities?” Sun Hang said. “I can sense that the memes in your body… are very special.”

Bai Lingqiu took a deep breath, and the next second, a small comic book with a somewhat worn cover appeared in her palm.

"This is the source of my infection. After I was infected by it, it merged into my body. I don't know if it is now considered an independent artifact or a part of my body."

“The Strange Tales of Xiazhou?” Sun Hang read the title on the cover of the comic book aloud. “This book looks quite old.”

"Yes, this book was published by the Youth Publishing House under Chang'an Publishing House in the year 4658 of the Chinese calendar... I first saw it at the flea market in Longcheng when I was only seven years old. I don't know why, but I was captivated by it at first sight, so I bought it with my pocket money... For a while afterward, I read this children's picture book every day, as if I were completely engrossed. I was attracted by the bizarre and wonderful stories in the book... until, for the first time, I summoned the things in the book into the real world."

"The things in the book? Summoning?" Upon hearing Bai Lingqiu's words, Sun Hang immediately became interested.

(End of this chapter)