Hunter of Mysterious Creature

Chapter 735 - 31: Psychiatrist_2

"Will it be more dangerous at night?" Sun Hang asked.

Ganna almost blurted out, "Isn't that obvious?" but caught himself in time, swallowing the words and patiently explained to Sun Hang, "At night, the mysterious creatures lurking inside the Baikal Remains become more active. Coupled with decreased visibility and limited drone sight, the danger level is several times higher than during the daytime... All teams entering the Baikal Remains that fail to exit before nightfall, ninety percent never make it out again."

"Doesn't that mean there's still ten percent that did make it out?"

"Those lucky enough to escape usually suffer significant losses... Even at the edge of the Baikal Remains, there are frequent attacks by mysterious creatures—a place deemed the 'safety buffer zone' during the day, where mysterious creatures rarely appear, and the terrain and buildings remain stable. But once night falls, the 'safety buffer zone' disappears completely, and the outer terrain begins to change drastically."

Ganna paused and continued, "I recorded a landmark building on the southwestern edge of the Baikal Remains, which remained unchanged and unmoved during the day... But the next morning, the building appeared 25 kilometers east of its original coordinates, and a ruined plaza filled with debris and broken walls replaced the original spot."

"You're telling me that mysterious creature activity intensifies at night?" Sun Hang asked back.

"Yes." Ganna nodded.

"Then let's depart at six," Sun Hang said.

Ganna was momentarily stunned and then suddenly realized something—the guy in front of him, who seemed to have no sense of danger, actually came to Baikal Remains to hunt the mysterious creatures thriving in the cities. For him, the more active the creatures, the better the time to take action.

In a sense, this guy was the true 'Mysterious Creature Hunter.'

Other hunters fought mysterious creatures to accomplish various tasks, but he was on a literal 'hunt.'

The thought that someone had taken down something like Chimera 17, a threat level close to the primary mysterious creatures, made Ganna feel his concerns were perhaps unnecessary.

"The canteen in the camp is open 24 hours; I'll have my secretary take you all for a meal," Ganna said immediately, "As for Mr. Sun Hang, where would you like to visit? I can be your guide."

"I am Mr. Sun Hang's guide," Yan Yu'an was evidently a bit displeased about Ganna taking over her role.

"You should eat first; you'll need the strength to work," Sun Hang said.

"I brought compressed military rations," Yan Yu'an emphasized again, "Eating is merely a necessary process for maintaining life signs. My only requirement for food is calories and nutrition, which compressed rations suffice."

"Then I'll assign you a task," Sun Hang said again.

"If your task is to have me go to the canteen to eat, I have the right to refuse," Yan Yu'an said resolutely.

"No, no, no... Your task is to go to the canteen and bring me two ice creams. I want matcha flavor," Sun Hang turned to Xue Yue, "What flavor do you want?"

"I've... I've never had ice cream," Xue Yue said softly.

"Then get a scoop of every flavor," Sun Hang said, "The task submission is at 6 PM at the camp's main entrance."

Yan Yu'an: "..."

...

After Ganna's secretary drove away with three women, Ganna took Sun Hang and Xue Yue in another car, sitting in the driver's seat himself and asked, "Where do you intend to go first? The command center?"

Ganna thought if he relayed what Sun Hang just said to the generals, they might change their attitude towards him—as frontline military commanders prefer superiors willing to delegate authority.

"No, let's go to the field hospital first."

"The field hospital?" Ganna's expression shifted slightly but didn't ask more questions, putting the car in gear and stepping on the gas.

The field hospital was not far from the helipad, and within two minutes, the car stopped in front of a large modular building.

"Here we are," Ganna pulled the handbrake, "This is one of the two field hospitals in the camp."

"Is the Psychological Consultation Clinic here?" Sun Hang asked.

Upon hearing this, Ganna's eyes lit up, "You have already read those 'files,' haven't you?"

Sun Hang nodded.

Ganna immediately lowered his voice, "Negative emotion-induced enigmatic transformations have often occurred during the Eternal Night period in Shuzhou, and I was the one handling this information at the time... Hence, after being transferred here, this work remained my responsibility. The files you've seen were actually compiled by me."

As Ganna spoke, he sighed suddenly, "The situation here is far worse than Shuzhou... Enigmatic transformations occur almost every week. The low troop morale is not just due to high reconnaissance mission loss rates but also because their comrades inexplicably transform. If this issue isn't resolved, the army will soon lose combat capability... or worse, instigate a mutiny."

"When was the last event caused by negative emotions?"

"Just yesterday, involving Sheng Jie, an officer from the logistics team responsible for vehicle maintenance. While testing a recently serviced light armored vehicle, he went mad, rampaging through the camp and killing seventeen people. It wasn't until soldiers in powered armor forcibly stopped the vehicle and cut open the door with welders that they found Sheng Jie in the driver's seat gone, leaving only a massive, deformed mass of flesh crammed in."

"How did you determine it was due to negative emotions?"

"He's logistics staff, never having entered the Baikal Remains, meaning his exposure to memetic infection is far less than that of combat personnel," Ganna explained, "Plus, we found evidence on his phone—during the week before his transformation, he frequently experienced hallucinations, seeing his comrades as writhing flesh or bone-stitched monsters. Over that week, his mental state became very fragile due to the torment of these illusions, attributed to excessive stress per the psychological evaluation."

"Why didn't he seek a psychologist?" Walking and talking, they soon reached a door labeled 'Psychological Counseling Room (Physician Entrance).'

"Nobody knows," Ganna shrugged, "Maybe, in his eyes, psychologists are even scarier monsters?"

Ganna scanned his ID to unlock the door, then pushed it open and walked in.

The consultation room was not large; two doctors in white coats appeared fatigued, with heavy coffee smells permeating the air.

Rather than a psychological consultation room, Sun Hang felt the room resembled an interrogation room more.

The soldiers requiring consultation entered through another door, with the room divided by one-way glass into halves. From the doctors' side, they could see that the other side of the glass had double-layer metal fences, and reachable on the table were an alarm button and a handgun.

"There have been cases of sudden enigmatic transformations during sessions... costing us a senior psychologist," Ganna whispered to Sun Hang, "Soldiers applying for consultations often carry intense negative emotions, so therapists facing them directly must ensure their safety..."

"Consultations require deep communication; any opposition or skepticism towards therapists can lead to failures..." One of the psychologists resting against the chair back raised his head and addressed them, "Is there something you three need to inform us about?"

Ganna hadn't spoken, but Xue Yue spoke first, "Can you... hold on?"

In Sun Hang's view, the two psychologists were engulfed by heavy dark mist, resembling shadowy figures.