Chapter 109: Resentment

Although the cause of anomalies is still unclear to humans, there is a special type of anomaly that is not included in this.

This special type of anomaly has a concise and clear general term: “Undead”.

As the name suggests, Undead are anomalies transformed from dead people.

Their deaths are often accompanied by extremely strong emotions: fanatical obsession, twisted emotions, bone-chilling resentment… Not everyone who dies with these emotions becomes an Undead, but all Undead transformed from the deceased carry such emotions without exception.

“Undead” are different from the narrow definition of ghosts; they are not purely spirit-type anomalies, but rather memes that carry the deceased’s emotions and some memory fragments from their life. They possess（ or rather infect） something—this something can be the deceased’s own corpse, or other humans, plants, animals, artifacts, or even a certain phenomenon.

The logic of the Undead’s actions is often highly purposeful.

For example, the “Pregnant Girl” who was buried alive by her scumbag boyfriend, her logic is to seek revenge on that scumbag boyfriend from back then, and on all humans who are related to him by blood.

So, assuming Longyanlei became anomalous due to being possessed by an Undead, is its purpose in moving towards Tianfu City also for revenge?

“I say, how about we make a deal?” Sun Hang said to the skeleton in the raging fire.

…

Xiazhou Federation aerial tactical platform, Garuda.

“The southeast corner is about to give out! Requesting support!!”

“Suspension engines four and six are damaged! We’ve lost 35% of our lift! The platform is tilting 14 degrees… No! It’s 16 degrees now!”

“Someone on the west side is seriously injured! Where are the medical personnel? Quick! Come here and save him!”

Countless anomalies swarmed towards Garuda like moths to a flame. The most numerous among them were anomalies shaped like crows. These anomalies were not strong in defense, but once hit, they would explode directly, with power no less than a standard-charged defensive grenade.

But what troubled the Hunters the most was not the self-destruct capability of these crow anomalies, but that after self-destructing, every feather that exploded would replicate a brand new crow anomaly within ten seconds. If these feathers were not burned clean in time, their numbers would multiply tens or hundreds of times after ten seconds…

The command center had urgently dispatched a large batch of flamethrowers to Garuda, but facing the swarming crow flock, this firepower was simply not enough.

But just as the defense line on Garuda was about to collapse, these anomalies suddenly receded like a tide, leaving the bewildered Hunters looking at each other in confusion.

“What’s going on? What happened?”

“Those anomalies… retreated?”

“Medical Soldiers! Medical Soldiers!”

An exhausted Hunter sat down on the deck covered in bloodstains and explosion marks, panting heavily: “Hoo… I almost lost my life… Hoo… Did the infiltration group make any new progress?”

“Infiltration group?” another Hunter nearby said, “I’m a Hunter from the infiltration group. When Garuda was attacked, we were all recalled.”

“Ah?” the seated Hunter said in astonishment, “Then… then what’s going on?”

“However… as far as I know, after all the infiltration group Hunters were recalled, one person volunteered to board Longyanlei.” The infiltration group Hunter hesitated, “He was a local Hunter from Tianfu City, and I heard he was a newcomer who had just joined not long ago… It’s unlikely, right?”

“So, according to you? These anomalies might come back?” The seated Hunter struggled to stand up, leaning on his weapon against the deck, forcing his severely overdrawn body to support him.

“Who knows… In any case, don’t let your guard down.” The infiltration group Hunter frowned, “The operation isn’t over yet.”

“Wait… look over at Longyanlei!”

The infiltration group Hunter raised his head and looked in the direction of Longyanlei. A green signal flare rose from above the mountain peak and exploded with a bang in the high altitude.

…

Sun Hang stood in the courtyard of Longyan Temple, looking at the approaching communication drone, his headset signal gradually becoming clearer.

“Time is tight, I don’t have time to explain much to you for now.” Sun Hang said into the earpiece, “In short, go find two people for me—these two people were once monks at Longyan Temple, one’s Dharma name is Jue Ming, and the other’s Dharma name is Jue Yuan. Bring them here immediately after you find them!”

Sun Hang turned his head and glanced at the dimly lit Buddha Statues in the main hall, letting out a long sigh.

Although “it” had agreed to his transaction request, “it” had not left Sun Hang much time.

“Sun Hang, this is Yang Qi!” Two Minutes later, Yang Qi’s voice appeared on the communication channel, “The command center has searched all the household registration files in the entire Shuzhou Region and only found the monk named Jue Ming. His secular name is Xu Zi, and he is a local of Tianfu City, but…”

“But what?”

“He died the year after he returned to secular life, the cause of death was a car accident.” Yang Qi said, “The death record and cremation record can be found, but finding out where his ashes are buried will likely take time…”

“What about the other one?” Sun Hang pressed, “What about the one named Jue Yuan?”

Jue Ming was the Monk guarding the door, and in this transaction, he was merely an optional “bonus.” Elder Brother Jue Yuan, however, was the Key.

“No record of him.” Yang Qi said, “Don’t rush, the household registration management was quite chaotic in that era, and missing files are common… But since both of them were monks at Longyan Temple, perhaps we can follow the clues and find Jue Yuan’s whereabouts!”

She spoke very quickly, outwardly telling Sun Hang not to rush, but in reality, she was more anxious than Sun Hang himself.

“Go directly ask the driver who hit Jue Ming back then, who instructed him.”

“That case back then was a traffic accident… Okay, I understand!”

This time Sun Hang waited a full Five Minutes. He could feel “its” patience gradually draining.

“I found out! The hit-and-run driver said the person who instructed him was a wealthy merchant named Wang Gui. That person gave him 100,000 yuan… I checked, and this ‘Wang Gui’ is also a false name. His real name is Wang Tian, and he was not a wealthy merchant at all, but a local thug who used to be a Bodyguard for someone named Li Yuan, and then disappeared.”

“Bring this Li Yuan over.” Sun Hang said, “By the way, remember to check if this person has a mole on the back of his head.”