Ye Jiu quickly ran up to Sun Hang and looked him up and down as if sizing up a monster, then cautiously asked, "You're Sun Hang... right?"

In past cases, there have been instances where Hunters believed a mysterious creature had been eliminated, only to realize, just as they relaxed, that the creature had possessed or infected a teammate, leading to tragedy. Facing the suddenly vanished shadow and Sun Hang, who stood there in a daze, Ye Jiu's vigilance was at its peak.

Sun Hang suddenly tilted his head, staring intently at Ye Jiu, and said, "If I said I wasn't, do you think you could take me on?"

Ye Jiu's hair stood on end in fear, and all he heard was a "zing" as Frost Cutting was drawn from its sheath, and flames vaguely flickered on the Wolf-tooth Spear.

"Don't be nervous, just messing with you." Sun Hang grinned, then plopped down on the ground, deliberately panting heavily.

"You... how exactly did you eliminate that creature just now?" Ye Jiu asked again, "I only saw you shoot out a lot of filaments, and then the shadow just caught fire... no, to be exact, it seemed to boil... The institute has confirmed that the creature's memetic frequency has completely disappeared."

"Just claiming credit," Sun Hang shrugged, "Once the strong light severed its connection to the 'shadow' in the sky, it was all but defeated. I just happened to land the final blow... If it were you, you could have done it too."

"Really?" Ye Jiu appeared confused, "But just now, the institute said that the creature's memetic frequency changed... It seems that after the 'shadow' disappeared, its previous void state was already over, right?"

Sun Hang nodded.

He couldn't be bothered to explain further since this guy could figure it out himself, which was all the better.

Soon, a van bearing the logo of the Mysterious Creature Research Institute pulled up beside them. The door opened, and Song Yarong, clad in full protective gear, jumped out of the van, saying to the two of them, "Get in the van first; someone will be here to clean up shortly."

Ye Jiu was about to refuse, but Song Yarong's next words stopped him cold: "Ye Xuan and Yang Lian have been sent back to the institute, and Night Slayer is in the city hunting wandering creatures. Besides that, there's good news for you."

"What good news?" Sun Hang immediately asked.

"Those who disappeared due to the time-space anomaly have returned," Song Yarong said, "Even those who met unfortunate ends in the anomalous space, their bodies have returned to normal space. This time, all survivors underwent rigorous testing, and it's confirmed that the time node they're in is consistent with our world."

"Yang Qi and 0401, they've all returned?"

"Yes." Song Yarong nodded, "The injured have all been sent to Tianfu City's second hospital for treatment, and the others remain in the institute for further observation."

"It seems that the mysterious creature we just took care of was likely the orchestrator of the time-space anomaly." Sun Hang said as he crouched and got into the van, "By the way, where were these survivors found?"

"In the very places they vanished." Song Yarong settled into the car, and took off her protective helmet that resembled an upside-down bucket, using her sleeve to wipe her chin and neck dampened with sweat, "One group was found in the southern cemetery, another at Longquan Base."

"The southern cemetery, isn't that spot a 'monster spawning point'?" Sun Hang asked curiously, "Weren't those survivors attacked by creatures upon returning?"

"At the moment the time-space anomaly ended, any creature not belonging to the current real space disappeared." Song Yarong explained, "The Disaster Response Committee pulled together over a dozen of the strongest Hunters from the first batch of reinforcements in Tianfu City to form a special squad. They bypassed the route of the creature army and were deployed directly near the southern cemetery, trying to resolve the anomaly at its source... But when they entered the cemetery, not a single creature was found, only bewildered survivors."

"Is Ye Xuan okay?" Ye Jiu asked suddenly, "She wasn't hurt, was she?"

"No, the creature that caused the helicopter crash was quickly slain by Night Slayer and the special operations team's Hunters. They lost contact because the base fell and the Eternal Night interfered with satellite communications. In fact, they had already been sent to the nearest safe house, and after the creatures along the route were cleared, they returned to the institute." Song Yarong said.

Ye Jiu didn't speak further but let out an almost undetectable sigh of relief.

"For us, the situation has somewhat improved," Song Yarong continued, "A total of 79 creatures invaded the city, 25 have been exterminated by Hunters and the military, and the remaining 54 disappeared along with the time-space anomaly. As for the defensive position at the southern bridge, over 90% of creatures have vanished. According to the Disaster Response Committee, the remaining creatures should be eradicated within 48 hours."

"Judging by your tone, I've almost guessed the crux of the problem," Sun Hang turned his head, glancing at the night sky outside the van window.

"Yes... The biggest problem is that 'Eternal Night' hasn't disappeared." Song Yarong nodded, "The situation is still very serious... We're still prepared to abandon Tianfu City and even the entire Shuzhou Territory if necessary."

"The news of the Eternal Night hasn't been disclosed to the public, right?" Sun Hang asked.

"No. We officially stated it's a large-scale creature invasion, without mentioning the Eternal Night," Song Yarong replied.

Sun Hang took out his phone to check; the communication signal was still down.

"This news won't stay secret... It's almost four o'clock; if people realize dawn isn't breaking, they'll definitely panic," Sun Hang said, "Then this city will truly fall into chaos."

"The Eternal Night's obstruction of communication networks serves as a good thing from another angle, at least it prevents panic from rapidly spreading and propagating through the internet," Song Yarong nodded, "The task of calming public anxiety has been handed over to other departments, they're more professional in this aspect than we are."

"So what do we do next?" Sun Hang asked.

"First, return to the institute for rest, then the Hunters remaining in the city will be organized into patrol squads, searching and eliminating those creatures that infiltrated the city, weren't detected, and did not disappear with the time-space anomaly... Just like what Night Slayer is doing now."

"By the way, there's something I want to ask you." Sun Hang suddenly switched topics, "Are you familiar with statue-type creatures?"

"Statues? Those should belong to the 'K-type · Artifact class' creatures, right? Why, what do you want to ask?" Song Yarong asked, puzzled.

"Among the known creatures of this type, is there one that features three monkeys?" Sun Hang inquired.

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