Hunter of Mysterious Creature

Chapter 755 - 44: Impurities (Part 2)

"There's nothing... wait!" Yan Yu'an suddenly shuddered, "I remember there's an action record, although it doesn't mention the reconnaissance squad encountering those puppet soldiers, but..."

"But what?"

"The reconnaissance squad encountered a group of highly aggressive Type C creatures deep in the Baikal Remains. Just as they were being cornered by these creatures, support fire suddenly appeared from another direction. It not only killed many of the creatures, but also drew the remaining ones away, saving the squad. They thought their saviors were another reconnaissance squad, but the flares they fired received no response. Moreover, according to the original operation plan, there were only four squads inside the Baikal Remains during that time, making it highly unlikely for them to encounter each other."

Yan Yu'an's pace quickened, her emotions evidently agitated, "The squad filed its action report immediately upon returning to the camp, and after examining the operation video repeatedly, command concluded the supporting firepower must have come from a unit of at least fifty people. But even combining all the squads inside the Remains, they didn't add up to fifty. And the other three squads all reported they hadn't encountered other squads or given any support."

"This file was shelved as an 'unsolved case' by both the command and the Disaster Response Committee. Now it seems the ones who supported that reconnaissance squad might very well be..." Yan Yu'an's voice faltered a bit and she lowered her head, seemingly unwilling to look at the strewn corpses on the streets.

"What the hell?" Wang Xiyi snapped out of her daze, "So these puppet soldiers, are they actually on the human side? We've been fighting the allies all this time?!"

"Not really allies, nor were they helping," Sun Hang shook his head, "The fact that they're creatures is undeniable, and their motivation is likely the obsession of the former Siberian Federation veterans... Remember the Dragon Rock Fortress that almost destroyed Tianfu City?"

"Of course, anyone who's seen that moving mountain would never forget that scene," Wang Xiyi said.

"What drove the Dragon Rock Fortress was just a dead person's obsession," Sun Hang said, "The obsession of one person can be so powerful, let alone a group of people."

Sun Hang gently wiped the rust off the surface of the National Hero Medal with his thumb, then placed it in his shirt pocket.

"Meaning we should have..." Wang Xiyi looked around, "Maybe we should have just retreated from the start, sigh."

"No need for guilt; we're just helping them find peace," Sun Hang patted Wang Xiyi on the shoulder.

"I'm not feeling guilty, I just think what we did might have brought more harm than good. Keeping that puppet army within the Baikal Remains, they'd keep eradicating the creatures that roam within, without attacking the human reconnaissance squads. But now that we've wiped them out, future squads going in for missions will have a much harder time, won't they?"

"As long as the Baikal Remains exist, that puppet army should not be completely exterminated," Sun Hang shook his head, "Such a strong obsession won't dissipate just because these low-level vessels are destroyed. In fact, I suspect the Remains were formed by this obsession... with some 'impurities' mixed in, causing some creatures to attack humans."

"Are you saying if we can make this obsession dissipate, the Baikal Remains will vanish?" Yan Yu'an asked, "I've read your dossier and the Dragon Rock Fortress incident report... The best way to dispel creatures formed by obsession is to fulfill their wishes when they were alive..."

Yan Yu'an suddenly paused halfway through.

The reason for her pause was simple - people who could possess such a "National Hero Medal," their wishes would be extremely difficult to fulfill.

These veterans had two wishes: defending their homeland, but the 'Siberian Federation' no longer exists; eliminating all creatures... Helping them achieve this wish, perhaps rebuilding a 'New Siberian Federation' would be easier.

"Then is there really no way to make the Baikal Remains disappear?" Yan Yu'an's tone carried a note of discouragement.

"Why make it disappear?" Sun Hang retorted.

"But... it is still a creature..."

"It is a wicked remains; why not let it disappear?" Sun Hang pointed to the first remains.

"It's different; it's already become the Puppet Master's wicked device and belongs to our combat forces. But the Baikal Remains situation is entirely different; it's uncontrollable. We can't guarantee it won't mutate. Leaving such a massive Type G creature on human land, not many senators could sleep well."

"If the Baikal Remains were truly formed by this obsession, then it's an unparalleled fortress on the human territory border," Sun Hang analyzed, "If a second war breaks out tomorrow, guess how many would it block from the Western Siberian Plain?"

"I understand... but the biggest issue with the Baikal Remains is that we can't determine its stance. You say it's the embodiment of the Siberian Federation veterans' obsession to protect their homeland and eliminate creatures, but why does it spawn so many that attack humans? It can be a fortress against invasions or a foothold for creature invasions... The risk is too great."

"Hence, that's the work we need to do," Sun Hang sighed.

"Work?"

"Those hostile to humans spawn because impurities mixed into the 'obsession'; our work is to find a way to clear them," Sun Hang said, "In fact, the Baikal Remains are aware of these 'impurities'; the fact that those puppet soldiers attack other creatures in the city is a self-purification method of the Remains, it's just this method can't solve the root cause."

"Not solve the root cause?" Yan Yu'an exclaimed, removing her mask and staring fixedly at Sun Hang.

"The impurities within the obsession are the source of these creatures; without clearing them, new hostile creatures will keep appearing. The puppet army alone can't end it," Sun Hang said, "Our next target is clear—find the source of the obsession."

"National Hero Medal, former Siberian Federation veterans, obsession to defend the homeland," Yan Yu'an's eyes lit up, "I know two places that might have clues!"

"Where?"

"The Lake Baikal City Veterans' Hospital," Yan Yu'an said, "and the National Hero Cemetery."