Trickster Hunter.

Chapter 588 Unexpected Individual
“If the monster has really gone into hiding after its metamorphosis, perhaps you can use meme detection equipment to find its hiding place,” Chen Jing said.

"How do we find it?" the hunters immediately asked.

"We need to distribute the meme detection equipment to various corners and then connect the devices to each other to form a high-intensity 'range scanning network.' The accuracy of the detection results will be increased exponentially. In this way, as long as an abnormal meme frequency is detected in the area, the location of the monster can be locked immediately!" The technician next to Chen Jing answered for Chen Jing.

"Huh?" A hunter looked bewildered. "What does this mean? I don't understand... Even if the detection accuracy is improved, we still don't know the frequency of the metamorphic monster memes. How are we supposed to lock onto them?"

"The largest source of memetic reaction at the bottom of the pit is the giant shell shed by this monster. According to Captain Cheng, the memetic reaction of the shell is constantly weakening. Although the weakening rate is very slow, as long as we improve the detection accuracy, we can still detect this weakening sign. However, the memetic reaction of the monster after it has completed its metamorphosis will not weaken over time. Once this 'range scanning network' detects a memetic reaction that does not show any signs of weakening, then we can basically confirm that something is hidden there!" The technician said quickly.

The meme detection devices carried by the hunters in the assault team had an effective range of only fifty meters. Even with the addition of the "echo beacon" that could extend the detection range, the detection radius of a single device was only two hundred meters. It was simply impossible to cover the entire bottom of the pit with the few devices they had.

“That’s enough.” Cheng Ming looked around, pointed in a few directions, and signaled the hunters in the team to spread out and set up the detectors. When Batuhan was about to leave, Cheng Ming put his hand on his shoulder.

Batuhan was somewhat surprised to find that this young man, who did not appear to be very strong, could easily subdue him with the strength of one hand, and he couldn't help but feel slightly astonished.

No wonder the eldest daughter of the Bai family chose this person to be the deputy leader of the second hunting team and handed over the command of the assault team to him.

There's something about this guy.

No, it should be said that he has a lot of talent... especially after they saw the monster molt. The quality he displayed was no worse than that of the elite hunters that Batuhan had seen.

"You stay where you are," Cheng Ming said to Batuhan. "The signal amplifier on your body is the core that connects all the detectors, so you must be at the center. Not only that, you are also the most heavily armed person in the team. If the monster attacks from a certain direction, your position will make it easy to provide support."

"Captain Cheng is right," Chen Jing said over the communication channel, his tone carrying a hint of praise.

However, just as one hunter had walked less than thirty meters away, a strange thing happened!

Suddenly, something white burst forth from the ground beneath his feet, swiftly slicing through his trouser leg and then his calf, like a slippery eel, and in the blink of an eye, it burrowed into the hunter's body!

Before anyone could react, the hunter had already turned around and raised his submachine gun at the others.

"Be careful!!"

Batuhan shouted and immediately lay down on the ground, crossing his arms to use the Gatling guns mounted on his arms as shields to protect his head and face.

However, after the other party noticed his actions, they immediately turned their guns on the others—with a series of rapid short bursts of fire, several other hunters fell to the ground, including the hunter who was in the opposite direction to "him" and was nearly a hundred meters away from the farthest hunter.

Every shot hit the right eyebrow—theoretically, the effective range of this submachine gun is generally within fifty meters; beyond fifty meters, its power and accuracy would be greatly reduced… In his hands, the bullets fired from this gun were so accurate that it was as if a miniature guidance device was installed on the bullet tip.

Or, it could be described using terms familiar to many shooting game players: auto-aim, headshot lock, and a "magic bullet." Aside from Cheng Ming and Batuhan, who quickly ducked, the only hunter remaining standing in the arena was the one who had been "attacked" by the white object.

"Monster! Die!" Batuhan stood up, his Gatling guns locked onto the target, and with the rotation of the barrels and the flying of the ammunition belt, a dense barrage of bullets immediately enveloped the hunter!

Just when everyone thought the monster was about to be turned into mincemeat—or rather, the hunter who was being parasitized by the monster was about to be turned into mincemeat—it suddenly raised a hand, and all the bullets fired at him stopped in mid-air less than a meter away from him.

"This...isn't this a classic scene from The Matrix?!" Yang Qiaoxi couldn't help but exclaim as she watched the "live broadcast."

The next second, all the bullets flew backward and hit Batuhan.

After a series of convulsions, the burly Tatar man's eyes widened, and he fell backward with an expression of disbelief.

Along with the bullet, the signal amplifier that Batuhan was carrying was also pierced.

Inside the command center, Chen Jing stared at the four large characters "Signal Lost" on the black screen and slammed his fist on the table in frustration.

……

……

Bottom of the pit.

"You're still alive?" The parasitized hunter looked at Cheng Ming as he calmly got up from the ground, his expression becoming slightly strange. "That really surprises me."

“There’s never a shortage of surprises in this world,” Cheng Ming said, looking directly at the other person.

“Yes, I encountered a very unexpected individual a while ago. Unfortunately, I failed to possess it and almost let it destroy me.” The other party seemed to have developed some interest in Cheng Ming and did not continue to attack. Instead, it started chatting with Cheng Ming. “Since I couldn’t possess it, I had to try another way… I inscribed a fragment of my meme into this guy’s meme…”

The other party pointed to the huge shell above its head and continued, "Using it as nourishment and the meme of that special individual as a blueprint, it recast itself into a physical entity."

As soon as he finished speaking, a bloodstain slowly appeared between the hunter's eyebrows. The bloodstain extended upwards and downwards, passing through the top of his head and his throat... A few seconds later, the hunter's body cracked open like a cocoon, and a naked young man stepped out of the cocoon.

In that instant, Cheng Ming found himself regaining control of his body. Just as he was about to say something, the mysterious girl appeared directly in front of him and said to the "young man" not far away, "You shouldn't have become like Him. Your clumsy imitation only makes me angry and disgusted... You're dead."

(End of this chapter)