Hunter of Mysterious Creature-Chapter 441 - 65: Television Set (Part 2)
"Let's go check out something else," Sun Hang said. "What other interesting things are here?"
"Well, there's another eerie object... how should I put it, we haven't decided what category this eerie object belongs to, and we know nothing about its characteristics or abilities... if not for the instruments detecting extremely high intensity memetic fluctuations inside it, we might not have realized it's an eerie object."
Yuri paused and then continued, "I originally didn't plan to recommend this eerie object to you... but Mr. Pei specifically instructed me, saying perhaps you should take a look at that thing."
"So mysterious? What is it?" Sun Hang's curiosity was piqued... anything that Pei Zongjun specially instructed must be quite unique.
"Take me over there."
...
...
Twenty minutes later, at the reception area numbered "999".
This reception area is quite special; it's arranged like a typical household living room — with fabric cushions and plush toys on the sofa, a tempered glass coffee table in front of the sofa, and an outdated TV hanging on the opposite wall. One side of the living room is a large floor-to-ceiling window... though it appears to be a window, what lies behind is actually a huge screen displaying a city under the night sky, glittering with countless lights and towering skyscrapers. Civil aviation planes flashing red and green signal lights glide slowly through the clouds, and far off are busy flyovers and hills slowly fading into the night.
The scene displayed on the screen is incredibly realistic, making Sun Hang feel as if he's not several hundred meters deep in the Dubhe Tower's Mysterious Creature Reception Area, but instead on a high floor of a tall building.
"Where's the eerie object?" Sun Hang glanced around the room.
"It's hanging on the wall," Yuri said.
"...The TV?"
Yuri nodded.
"What's so difficult to categorize about this? Isn't this a typical object-type eerie object?" Sun Hang asked, "And... why is its reception area so special?"
"This is where we initially discovered it. To ensure its stability, we moved the entire living room here," Yuri said. "The night view outside is also a real-time image captured with ultra-high definition cameras from the discovery site."
Sun Hang glanced at the night scene on the screen and asked, "Shen City?"
Yuri nodded.
Sun Hang could recognize the city "outside the window" at a glance not because he's familiar with it, but simply because he spotted the iconic building that every Xiazhou resident knows — the "Metropolitan TV Tower".
"So what are the characteristics and abilities of this TV?" Sun Hang asked.
Yuri shook his head: "Unknown... we've conducted numerous experiments on it, but it hasn't reacted at all."
"Is it plugged in? Is the signal line connected? Is it hooked up to a set-top box?" Sun Hang asked consecutively.
"None... but we've conducted all those experiments," Yuri said. "It behaves just like an ordinary TV, no difference."
"Oh... by the way, the thing on the coffee table, is that the TV's remote control?" Sun Hang asked.
"Yes."
Sun Hang approached, but as he reached out to pick up the remote, the TV suddenly emitted a "hissing" electrical noise.
Sun Hang immediately felt a chill run down his spine; he jerked his head up, gazing at the TV screen.
The TV screen was pitch black, reflecting the bent-over Sun Hang and Yuri standing by the door.
"Yuri," Sun Hang maintained his posture while reaching for the remote, asking softly, "Did you just hear... a sound from the TV?"
"Sound?" Through the helmet's visor, Sun Hang could see Yuri's expression gradually turning serious. "Did you hear something?"
"Electrical noise," Sun Hang said, "like the kind when the TV can't receive signals and the screen is snowy static."
"I didn't hear that... did you hear it?"
"Yes," Sun Hang nodded slightly, "Are you sure this thing... isn't plugged in?"
"Please leave the area immediately; I'll send someone over to investigate!" Yuri said promptly.
"Is that necessary?" Sun Hang said, "Are you a researcher?"
"Yes... but..."
"Am I a Mysterious Creature Hunter?"
"Yes... but..."
"Since there are researchers and hunters here, shouldn't we investigate the anomaly occurring with the contained eerie object?" Sun Hang retorted.
"But you're here... this matter is of great importance..." Yuri tried to dissuade Sun Hang but was blocked by Sun Hang's words.
"Pei Zongjun asked me to see this; it's likely he anticipated this situation. You've researched it for so long without finding anything, and once I'm here, it shows an anomaly, meaning I'm the critical person, right?"
"...Yes." Yuri reluctantly nodded. "But this is too rushed, please wait a moment. I'll arrange for a professional research team and equipment right away; they will provide comprehensive assistance."
"I don't think they can offer much help." Sun Hang said and picked up the remote from the table.
In that moment, he seemingly saw a flicker on the TV screen.
"Wait! Please, wait..."
"Let me confirm one more time, this TV isn't plugged in, right?"
"No."
Sun Hang pressed the power button.
Yuri's expression instantly froze.
A silent few seconds passed, and the TV didn't react; when Yuri was about to breathe a sigh of relief, a slightly distorted boot-up music played in the living room.
"Old machines always respond sluggishly," Sun Hang muttered under his breath. "This remote seems pretty insensitive, had to press the power button a dozen times before it responded."
"A dozen... times?" Yuri's surprised gaze shifted from Sun Hang to the TV screen, where after an antiquated boot-up animation, the "Select Signal Source" interface appeared.
The TV's signal line was undoubtedly not connected, so all four signal source interfaces displayed "No Signal" identically.
Sun Hang didn't think much, directly selected the first signal interface, and pressed confirm.
Not the anticipated snow static, nor the silent black screen — a slightly lackluster quality image emerged on the TV screen.
The screen showed a living room, where two figures dressed like Michelin tire men stood: one by the coffee table holding a black remote, the other stood tensely by the door.
"...Isn't this the surveillance image from this living room?" Sun Hang lifted his head, and the "he" on the TV screen followed suit.
However, Sun Hang didn't see any surveillance camera at the corresponding spot on the ceiling.
Not even an exposed camera, nor did he sense a hidden pinhole camera. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚
"That's odd... it should be from this angle..."
"Sun, Sun Hang... your face..." Yuri's voice came from the side.
"What's wrong with my face?" Sun Hang turned his head, asking in puzzlement.
"Your face on the screen... under your helmet visor, there's a skull!" Yuri exclaimed.
"A skull?" Sun Hang pondered for a moment, then suddenly pulled Yuri over and instructed, "Raise your head, look at the place where 'the camera' is."
After Yuri lifted his head to look where Sun Hang was looking, Sun Hang turned his gaze to the TV screen.
Sure enough, in the blurry image, under Yuri's helmet visor, a distinct crescent-white skull appeared!
