Hunter of Mysterious Creature

Chapter 692 10: Scramble for Food 2

"Traces? Obvious?" Sun Hang glanced around once more and quickly discovered what Anna meant by "traces".

The crowd's negative emotions had formed a haze, and as Anna "fed," the haze around her formed a structure similar to the "eye of a storm"—the surrounding haze constantly gathered here, only to be devoured by Anna...

Outside this "eye," the haze formed from the materialization of negative emotions was also slowly drifting.

Sun Hang noticed a force from another direction was pulling the haze, drawing those negative emotions somewhere else.

No wonder Anna had that hidden smile earlier. It seemed someone... no, some mysterious entity was competing with her for food!

There were many people on Yong'an Street, and thus an abundance of "food" in the form of negative emotions. Even if that unknown mysterious entity increased its pull, it would hardly affect Anna... Normally, they would not interfere with each other, but for some reason, Anna seemed quite hostile towards the other.

Was it because that mysterious entity had abilities similar to hers?

Sun Hang suddenly recalled an old saying: "Two tigers cannot live on one mountain."

"Mom, you're a Hunter, aren't you going to hunt that mysterious entity?" Anna asked.

"I'm on vacation. I'm just an ordinary Federation citizen right now." Sun Hang placed his arms behind his head, "Even if there's a mysterious entity lurking in Chunming City, it's the job of those on duty Hunters, not mine."

Sun Hang was not inclined to hunt that mysterious entity—from one perspective, that entity devouring negative emotions acted like a "cleaner," and its feeding was harmless and beneficial for Chunming City and the pedestrians... As for why it was lurking in Chunming City and what it would do after being satiated, that wasn't Sun Hang's concern.

Anyway, he'd just mention it to the main control system, and Sun Hang could continue to be carefree.

"But it's competing for my food," Anna said again, her words tinged with a hint of whining.

"There's so much negative emotion, it's not like there's not enough for you."

"Not enough! I have a big appetite!" Anna immediately said, "If you, Mom, won't hunt it, then I have no choice but one.

"You'd go yourself?" Sun Hang glanced at her.

"Rather than conserving resources, it's better to expand them. If there's not enough food, creating sufficient panic among the crowd will surely amplify these negative emotions infinitely... As for how to create panic, Mom, what do you think about me molding an entity from these negative emotions to achieve that effect?" Anna laughed.

It was hard for Sun Hang to associate such a sinister idea with such a bright smile, yet he also understood this seemingly angelic girl was in reality someone who could kill without batting an eye... The most alarming part was that she had no real concept of good and evil, finding no psychological burden in killing.

"Are you threatening me?" Sun Hang asked, somewhat displeased.

"Not a threat, oh." Anna feigned a pitiable expression, "Anna is so poor, often not enough to eat, hungry stomach..."

"Bullshit." Sun Hang sighed, "Alright, I'll go find that mysterious entity, you just stay put, don't stir up any trouble... Behave a bit! Understood?"

"Mom is the best!"

...

Following the direction the "haze" was flowing, Sun Hang struggled to push through the crowd, enduring the annoyed stares and the various accented complaints of others, as he cut across Yong'an Street to arrive at the base of an office building.

The materialized negative emotions resembled a wisp of black smoke, passing unimpeded through the azure glass wall, drifting into the building's interior.

Sun Hang reached the elevator lobby, where dozens of people were already waiting. Given the elevator's maximum load, even if it arrived on the first floor immediately, Sun Hang, being last in line, wouldn't be able to board.

Sun Hang didn't push forward; instead, he turned and wended his way to the entrance of the emergency stairwell, starting up the stairs.

The building's second to sixth floors were a mixed-use mall, housing various stores and a fair number of restaurants and beverage shops. To Sun Hang's right, there was even a cinema and a compact children's play area.

Sun Hang blinked hard, using his "wish fulfillment" ability to enhance his unique vision for tracking materialized negative emotions—he soon discovered that the negative emotions inside the building grew denser the higher they went, as if they were a gas less dense than air, continually drifting upward.

Under the surprised glances of those waiting for the elevator, Sun Hang continued up the stairs—third floor, fourth floor, fifth floor... The higher he went, the stronger the negative emotions became, and by the seventh floor, the haze from Yong'an Street reappeared.

Bear in mind the seventh floor is an office area, significantly less densely populated than the bustling street below, yet the concentration of negative emotions was on par... This revealed the deep-seated resentment of overworked corporate employees.

Looking down, Sun Hang saw the faint black mist seeping through the floor, rising from below and merging with the haze on the seventh floor, continuing its ascent.

"Still higher up?"

Just as Sun Hang was about to continue upward, an OL carrying a folder came out from a corridor nearby. She eyed Sun Hang up and down, asking somewhat skeptically, "Excuse me, sir, who are you looking for?"

"Certainly not you." Sun Hang replied curtly.

"Sir, this entire floor is our company's office area." With Sun Hang's words, the OL's tone turned noticeably harder, "You're not wearing our company's tag nor have you registered as a visitor at the front desk... Along with your suspicious behavior, I'm contemplating whether to call security."

"Go ahead," Sun Hang replied dismissively, while keeping his focus on the trajectory of the black mist moving across the ceiling.

"You..." The OL hesitated, looking Sun Hang over again. The man wore a plain brand short-sleeve T-shirt, non-branded jeans likely not too pricey, and athletic shoes that, while from a reputable brand, were an old model, discounted to three or four hundred bucks a pair—not even as pricey as the stockings on her own legs.

It seemed this man had simply wandered in by mistake... If he were a spy from a rival company, he wouldn't answer the way he did after being confronted.

Their company was on the seventh floor; although it was just one floor above the mall, the mall elevators didn't reach the seventh floor. To get there, one would have to take the dedicated elevator or climb the stairs, meaning mall customers typically wouldn't wander up by accident.

"Forget it, whoever he is, just have security escort him out." The OL thought, pulling out her phone to call security.

Just then, Sun Hang scratched his head, for the first time focusing his gaze on her, "Oh, I forgot, I should show you my credentials first."

"Credentials?" The OL froze. Was this guy some kind of official? A Sheriff? Or maybe a fire inspector?

Then why wasn't he wearing a uniform?

Sun Hang fumbled in his pocket, pulling out an ID and flashing it at the OL.

"Hun... Hunter's License?" The OL's expression stiffened, "You are... a Mysterious Creature Hunter?!"