Hunter of Mysterious Creature

Chapter 733 - 30: Frontline Camp_2

Yan Yu'an paused for a few seconds, then continued, "This includes four Mysterious Creature Hunters and one Deceitful Equipment user."

...

The plane came to a stop on a helipad at the frontline camp. As Sun Hang stepped out of the cabin, an officer with golden curly hair, whose right shoulder and entire arm were mechanical prosthetics, jogged over to him: "Are you the top Hunter sent from Chunming City, Mr. Sun Hang?"

"When did that become my title?" Sun Hang awkwardly scratched his nose, "It sounds quite prestigious."

"If you're not considered a top Hunter, then who is?" Wang Xiyi's voice floated from behind, "Those so-called 'celebrity hunters' who spend more time doing endorsements with makeup thicker than plaster?"

"I'm a member of the Disaster Response Committee, just call me Ganna." the golden curls said, "During the Eternal Night, we worked together, and I didn't expect to collaborate again so soon."

"You've been to Tianfu City?" Hearing this, Sun Hang did recall some scenes of Ganna in past memories—it was in a video conference, but at that time, Ganna's presence was quite weak, standing behind a military bigwig, looking like an ordinary secretary, with his military coat sleeves completely covering that conspicuous prosthetic arm.

Sun Hang himself seldom dealt directly with the Disaster Response Committee... Rather, it was Yang Qi who often communicated and interfaced with them who was more familiar with these people.

The Ganna before him looked around thirty-five years old. Given that Caucasian features tend to look older, this guy's actual age might even be less than thirty.

To have reached this position before thirty, either his background is strong enough, or his abilities are strong enough, and most likely—he has both.

After the Eternal Night disappeared, the Disaster Response Committee, established for it, did not disband but rather was scaled down and split into two parts—one stayed in Tianfu City to guard against the return of the Eternal Night; the other went north immediately, their "disaster" replaced by the Baikal Remains that rose from the original site of Lake Baikal City.

This guy was obviously one of the unlucky ones transferred here.

Just ended several months of high-intensity "work," transferred from one project to another, entirely seamless transition. In Sun Hang's opinion, this guy is simply pure labor, as everyone online nowadays would understand it—he's a "chosen workhorse."

"No, I haven't been to Tianfu City... Back then, I was General Xu's assistant." Ganna said with a wry smile, "General Xu is old, and after the Eternal Night disappeared, he took a leave for convalescence in Chunming City... I had to take over General Xu's position, which counts as being forced to hold the fort on my own."

"Uh... What's your relationship with this General Xu?" This question would get a faster, more accurate answer by asking the mainframe, but Sun Hang wanted to hear directly from the person involved—to see what kind of person he really is.

"I am General Xu's chief strategist." Ganna replied.

"You should know, I'm asking about the off-the-record kind of relationship."

"If we're talking personal relations, I'm General Xu's grandson-in-law, but I didn't climb to this position through nepotism." Ganna said, "I graduated from Chunming City First Military Academy, topping the graduation assessments, meanwhile I've also taken numerous courses related to mysterious creature studies at Dubhe Tower, Shen City Mysterious Creature Research Institute, and Huadu Mysterious Creature Research Institute..."

"You might've misunderstood me, I don't care whether you relied on connections for your position or about your capabilities." Sun Hang said, "I was purely curious, just asking casually."

"Uh..." Ganna was stumped for a moment, he looked at Sun Hang, then at the few women accompanying him, momentarily unsure how to respond.

"Have you been inside?" Sun Hang asked again.

"Huh? What, what?" Ganna responded with a face full of confusion, not immediately understanding.

"I asked, have you been inside the Baikal Remains?" Sun Hang turned his gaze far into the distance, his line of sight extending past the camp's walls, resting on the eerie creature city on the plains in the distance—strange enough, the "membrane" blocking sight seemed only to exist above the Baikal Remains, and when Sun Hang looked sideways, his view was unobstructed.

He could even clearly see the buildings inside the Baikal Remains slowly shifting, as if a precision machine in operation.

"I went in once." Ganna's expression turned a bit awkward, "Embarrassingly, we barely ventured a hundred meters deep before encountering a collapse; a huge fissure appeared, swallowing the two soldiers at the front... We had to retreat to camp."

"Primarily because of your status, right?" Wang Xiyi said, "You're probably one of the highest-ranking command authorities in this camp, and it's a long-standing principle not to send commanders to the front lines like cannon fodder... But I'm still quite curious, why did you go in? Was it to make a show, or was it to alleviate frontline soldier resistance against recon missions? If it was the latter, this endeavor must've backfired."

"No... I purely wanted to gain a deeper understanding of our enemy." Ganna said sincerely, "Some things you see with your own eyes differ from what's read in reports... Unfortunately, after that incident, the command and Disaster Response Committee both unanimously demanded I take no more risks, General Xu even personally called..."

"Oh, what did the old general say on the call?"

"He said he only has one granddaughter; he doesn't want his precious granddaughter to become a widow." Ganna said helplessly, "He also said that a true general should strategize within the command tent and win a thousand miles away, not..."

"He's right. The Federation spends way more training you than an elite soldier." Sun Hang nodded, "If I'm not mistaken, this probably wasn't the first time you've almost turned your wife into a widow."

Sun Hang's eyes fell on Ganna's mechanical prosthetic limb.

"That was all in the past..." Ganna forced a smile, "Let's get back to business. Dubhe Tower mentioned you were coming, but didn't inform us of your mission details. I understand it's because my clearance isn't high enough; if there's anything you need us to cooperate with, just let us know. No need to explain reasons, we will execute your orders unconditionally."

"Unconditionally? If I ordered an all-out assault to level the Baikal Remains, would that be acceptable?"

Ganna paused, then nodded: "If you're not joking, I can start assembling the unit commanders for a pre-battle meeting right now."

"...What level of clearance did Dubhe Tower give me?" Sun Hang suddenly realized something seemed off.

He initially intended merely to leisurely visit the Baikal Remains, looking for any quality mysterious creatures to absorb, but now it seemed the mainframe had dumped a huge mess in his lap?

"The highest." Ganna said, "In this frontline camp, you have the highest command authority."