Hunter of Mysterious Creature

Chapter 727 27: Fruit and Seed

Lin Lun turned around, took half a step closer to the "Tree," and continued, "But after the birth of Fruit No. 19, another issue arose."

"What issue?" Sun Hang asked, perplexed, "Is this problem related to those 'Faceless Ones' you mentioned? After all, you didn't say a word about the origins of these Faceless Ones."

"Indeed... it's related to the Faceless Ones," Lin Lun nodded. "After the Tree bore Fruit No. 19, it hasn't borne any more fruits over these many years... Moreover, the muscle fibers on the trunk and branches have started to shrink..."

"Nutrient deficiency?"

"That's what I think too... Although it's a bizarre entity, it seems to follow some rules of nature. Its purpose of bearing fruit, besides providing a one-time hunting tool for itself, should also be aimed at reproducing offspring... However, the probability of these fruits successfully turning into seeds currently isn't even five percent. Additionally, when a fruit that can turn into a seed is produced, a large amount of the 'nutrients' accumulated over time by the parent Tree will be consumed..."

"I know many creatures in nature complete their life's mission after reproduction, and even if they die shortly after, it doesn't affect the continuation of their species," Lin Lun said, "But I can't just watch it wither away... Before this seed truly grows into the second parent Tree, I need it to stay alive."

"I discovered that having the parent Tree absorb a large amount of negative emotions can slow down the rate of withering. But without all the 'fruits,' I can't provide enough negative emotions for the parent Tree to survive... It's no longer the small sapling it once was; the negative emotions generated by a few or even dozens of people can't satisfy its appetite. I need to find something to replace the 'fruits' and 'containers,' go outside to gather people's negative emotions, and then transmit them to the parent Tree."

"For this, I dissected the containers of the first dozen or so fruits," Lin Lun continued.

Sun Hang noticed that on Containers No. 1 and No. 18, there were very obvious dissection and suture marks; some containers even had mutilated limbs, with Container No. 13 missing its head altogether.

"In the brains of some containers, I found a small amount of mutated brain tissue, although these tissues had lost vitality, they could still assimilate those living brains if implanted into normal human brains... Through this method, I mass-produced a bunch of 'Faceless Ones,' relying on them to extract negative emotions from people outside for the parent Tree. Although the extraction effect of the Faceless Ones can't compare to real fruits, as long as the quantity is large enough, it can meet the Parent Tree's needs."

"It seems that now you've successfully saved the parent Tree."

"I can only maintain the parent Tree's current condition, stopping it from continuing to wither..." Lin Lun shook his head. "I need more resources and a larger space, but given my current position and ability, this is already the limit. Even if you don't come looking for me, I already planned to find an opportunity to contact Dubhe Tower."

"Then why didn't you seek out Dubhe Tower from the start?"

"Because I want to continue my research while alive," Lin Lun candidly stated. "I know human society can't accept my sins, so I must make myself valuable enough to disclose everything to the Federation Government and Dubhe Tower."

Lin Lun turned to face Sun Hang directly. "I've told you everything about me and this 'Tree.' I am willing to accept any judgment from human civilization... But please preserve my research findings; they are important... important for the entire human civilization."

"Would you... will you execute him?" Xue Yue suddenly asked in a barely audible voice, "He seems to have... killed many people..."

Sun Hang looked at Lin Lun, and Lin Lun also looked at Sun Hang... At that moment when their eyes met, Sun Hang suddenly found he could read Lin Lun's thoughts and memories again—as someone with the ability to completely control his own thoughts, Lin Lun could seal his thoughts away from others or open them up for anyone to peruse.

He wasn't lying.

But the main brain's assessment wasn't wrong either—he lacked the moral views that normal humans should have, and there was no concept of goodness or malice in his heart; he was willing to do whatever it took to achieve his goals... Or rather, his worldview was closer to that of emotionless artificial intelligence, just without the fundamental logic of "not harming humans."

When faced with the trolley problem, he would unhesitatingly divert the trolley to the track with fewer tied people—unless the 'value' of the people on that track far exceeded the 'value' of those on the other track.

In his eyes, human life isn't priceless... Including his own, all lives can be explicitly priced, and this value has a hierarchy.

Most people wouldn't want such individuals to hold power, but the fact is, those who do hold power mostly are like this.

As the saying goes, merciful people don't lead troops, and this applies not only in the military but in other fields as well.

"Is this even attempting to whitewash a psychopath killer?" A little voice piped up in Sun Hang's mind.

"The world isn't just black and white; the term 'whitewash' itself is laughable; Lin Lun doesn't need to be whitewashed," another voice said.

The first voice nodded thoughtfully, "Seems... a bit reasonable."

"This is actually the same as writing online novels."

"What do you mean?"

"Some readers might think the protagonist's worldview is too skewed, making the book unreadable, while others feel nauseated by the goody-two-shoes character... But in reality, the author doesn't need to care about such things; they only need to write an engaging story under the premise that it won't get banned and that the plot logic is sound."

"Wow, you sound quite logical!"

Sun Hang touched the gun holstered on his hip, then nodded at Lin Lun, "Report to Dubhe Tower tomorrow."

Lin Lun's expression remained unchanged as if he had anticipated Sun Hang saying this.

"This place will be transformed into a completely enclosed laboratory directly managed by Dubhe Tower, and you'll serve as the project leader. I will send the most senior, expert lunatics to work with you... Also, if I say a collar bomb should be placed around your neck to prevent loss of control, would you mind?"

"Not at all." Lin Lun revealed a smile once again.

"You won't have to worry about those gangs and vagrants in Liusu District anymore. I will coordinate with the Chunming City Management Committee and the Sheriff, and this will no longer be Chunming City's largest slum... Honestly, I am even considering constructing a directly connected enclosed corridor to Dubhe Tower here."

"You seem not to be an ordinary Hunter?" Lin Lun suddenly asked, his reference to Sun Hang changed from "you" to the respectful "you." "I noticed that you've been using the pronoun... 'I'?"

"Don't ask what you shouldn't," Sun Hang gestured toward Xue Yue behind him with his thumb, "By the way, does she have any use?"

"She is useful, but I won't keep her locked in the research lab," Lin Lun said. "She should go out into the world, to experience more people and things... I am curious, without human interference, what she will ultimately become."

"Alright, then I'll take her with me." Sun Hang nodded.