Hunter of Mysterious Creature-Chapter 338 - 13: The Metallic Giant Serpent

"Uh, Mr. Wang, how many Hunters have you taken down in total?" Ye Jiu swallowed and asked.

"Four... Oh no, technically it’s only three. One of them chose to end it himself after I chased him too hard." Wang Xiyi reminisced while driving, "That guy had the ability to turn whatever he touched into a bomb. When he was cornered, he turned himself into a super bomb, trying to take me down with him. Unfortunately, he was just a bit off."

"Just a bit off?" Ye Jiu was momentarily stunned.

"Yes, I lay in the ICU for a month and a half, and finally managed to survive thanks to the powerful restorative skills granted by the Black Dragon meme. As for that guy, I heard from Yang Qi that there wasn’t even a trace left of him."

"Hiss... Speaking of, I also accepted a mission once to hunt down a fallen Hunter," Ye Jiu said, "But just as I geared up, I got informed that the mission was canceled. Since then, I haven’t received any such missions."

"Are fallen Hunters... really rare?" Jiang Yu, sitting in the back seat, couldn’t help but interject.

She had recently obtained the Hunter status, and everything about this new world seemed both dangerous and unfamiliar to her.

"Not exactly rare... You can see quite a few appearing every year." Ye Jiu took off his mask and scratched his slightly itchy nose, "After all, not all memes are highly stable, many subtly affect one’s mentality, even thoroughly distort a person’s personality and preferences."

"Why... haven’t I felt such effects?" Jiang Yu asked again.

"First, it might be that you’ve been an infected person for a short time and haven’t noticed yet. Second, you might be lucky, Sun Hang passed a meme to you that happens to be highly stable," Ye Jiu pondered, "Hmm... I think it’s most likely the latter. Song Yarong from the Celestial City Mysterious Creature Research Institute is infected with the same meme and seems to be largely unaffected."

"Supposing... I’m just saying supposing, if I end up influenced by the meme in the future, what will the Federation Government do to me?" Jiang Yu weakly asked.

"Deal with you? Usually, they won’t deal with you." Ye Jiu shrugged, "Not to mention Hunters, just look at those office workers, grab a few for a check, and most will have some mental issues. It’s normal, as long as you can work, no one cares if ordinary workers are mentally healthy or have any dark thoughts, unless..."

"Unless?"

"Unless you act on those dark negative thoughts, endangering public safety, then the Federation Government will ’neutralize’ you,"

"Neutralize... what does that mean?" Jiang Yu’s slender eyebrows twitched, she asked cautiously.

"It’s like... throwing trash into the incinerator," Ye Jiu laughed, "It’s basically like the death penalty, but dealing with infected individuals is more complex. If accidentally triggering a large-scale infection incident, then it’s quite the spectacle."

"If... I become a fallen Hunter in the future, would you come to deal with me?" Jiang Yu asked again.

"Us? Probably not us," Ye Jiu said, "Only those tricky tough cases qualify for us to step in... Most fallen Hunters can be resolved by special forces formed from ordinary people."

"I’m a bit scared..." Jiang Yu said softly.

"Scared of what?" Wang Xiyi asked.

"I’m afraid that if..."

"There’s nothing to fear," Wang Xiyi suddenly interrupted her, "Relax, it’s likely you won’t survive to your fall."

"Come on... Mr. Wang, is that how you comfort people?" Ye Jiu couldn’t help but retort.

"I’m not comforting her; I’m just telling her the truth. As an adult, she has to learn to accept reality," Wang Xiyi said calmly, "For example, in this mission, some of us, possibly all, will end up staying forever in the Surrendered Area."

"Spit, spit, spit!" Ye Jiu spat repeatedly, "Didn’t your mom tell you not to jinx things before a mission?"

"I don’t have a mom." Wang Xiyi said indifferently, "Since my memories began, I’ve lived in the Federation’s research institutes, undergoing various experiments and training until they sent me out to be a Hunter."

"Uh... Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring that up..." Ye Jiu’s face turned awkward and quickly put his mask back on.

"It’s okay, I’m used to it," Wang Xiyi said, "I’ve never had the concept of family since I was little, so even if someone insults me saying my mom died, I don’t feel much."

"And now?" Ye Jiu asked again.

"Now?"

"Uh... I mean Sun Hang."

"He... He gives me a very special feeling."

"Boyfriend?"

"No..." Wang Xiyi shook her head, "He has something that instinctively draws me closer. Yang Qi told me it was because he absorbed my blood and the Black Dragon meme to save me, creating a unique connection between us... but I always feel it might not be that simple."

"Is there a possibility that this feeling is called ’love’?" Ye Jiu teased, "Did you feel this before he extracted your mutant meme?"

"... Can’t remember." Wang Xiyi said. Her cheeks turned slightly red but quickly returned to normal.

"Forget it, let’s drop this topic," Ye Jiu waved his hand, "Better not talk until you suddenly blurt out that after finding Sun Hang, you’ll go back and marry him... That would be far more potent than any jinx."