Cyber ​​Ghost Record

Chapter 107: The Prey (Thanks to Silver Alliance Leader Lu Hebai)
The sun rose above the mountains, scattering half the sky in a rosy hue.

The brief night has passed, and the false sun signaled that the game was over. Yet the long night is not yet over, and the evaporating frost makes the wind even colder.

Socrates stopped and turned back. The fir forest was shrouded in a pale blue mist, like a stage created by a giant smoke machine. It was indeed a stage; everything was man-made, yet it felt perfectly natural.

The scene from last night was still playing in his mind.

The hunting dogs darted through the woods, the scalding blood cooled by the decaying leaves and soil. Running, howling, gunshots rang out, and then all was silent…

A gust of wind dispersed the drifting fog, and the images vanished with it.

The superhydrophobic layer on the surface of the Gu Diao was emitting a faint ultraviolet light, quickly baking away the putrid and bloody smell that clung to the jacket. However, a damp, sticky sensation still enveloped Su Ge's body. He felt nauseous and couldn't help but gag. As he covered his mouth, he caught a glimpse of the gun he was holding.

He used the gun to disrupt the White Ghost's hunt, blasting the mechanical dog and saving a few "prey," but that was the end of it; he couldn't change anything. The hunting grounds remained, and a steady stream of prey would continue to arrive. The executives were used to this kind of entertainment; there were certainly more than one similar place.

Sog looked up, squinting at the fake sun in the sky. As if possessed, he raised his gun and aimed it at it.

He aimed for only half a second before lowering his gun and exhaling a puff of white breath.

He didn't know what his purpose was in doing this. Perhaps he was imitating Yi the Archer who shot down the sun, or perhaps he was just venting his emotions like Don Quixote thrusting his spear at the windmill.

Ten minutes later, he returned to the cabin at the entrance of the hunting grounds.

Some strangers were chatting in the lobby, probably other guests. The White Ghost was by the window; the dog was nowhere to be seen. The albino was holding a steaming cup of ginger tea and talking to the executor. Upon seeing Suger, the White Ghost and his henchmen fell silent. Except for the White Ghost, who continued his flamboyant smile, everyone else looked unfriendly. Their silence spread to the other guests, as if a cold wind had extinguished a campfire, and the entire lobby fell abruptly quiet.

This kind of quiet is the norm nowadays, and it is in places that pursue primitiveness that people use their vocal cords to communicate more.

Suger glanced at the White Ghost and the Executive Officer, but didn't go up to greet them.

He turned right and walked into the display room, putting the gun back in its original place.

When he left the armory, the hall was bustling again.

“I won by sheer luck this time, Mr. Tang,” said the White Ghost. “According to our agreement…”

"You won?" the executive said meaningfully. "Are you sure?"

“I hunted two prey, while your agent has zero kills.” White Ghost looked at Suger as he approached.

"Many people in Yingchuan dislike the Lugu Group, but they can't touch it. But that might not be the case with you." The executive scrutinized Bai Gui. "Can you handle these things?"

“If I could handle it all myself, you wouldn’t have chosen me,” White Ghost said. “The reason you agreed to meet me is because I have no ties to anyone and I only work for myself.”

The executive smiled; he enjoyed dealing with intelligent people.

Suger walked over, and the executive looked at him.

"how do you feel?"

“You’re asking a question you already know the answer to.” Su Ge’s eye twitched, but he remained calm overall.

“This wasn’t my arrangement.” The executive shook his head. Sog’s reaction was unexpected. This was a hibernator from the early 21st century who could remain calm after such a recreational activity. “I’ve noticed that you have a strong ability to accept new things.”

"It seems you're not only evaluating the agents, but also me."

The executive officer did not respond to Suger. He smiled, looked at White Ghost, and changed the subject.

"Our spokesperson doesn't like the shows you arranged, White Ghost. How do you plan to resolve this?"

"My oversight, my oversight," the white ghost said with a fawning smile. "Give me a chance to make amends, Mr. Su."

He walked toward the passageway on the west side of the hall and invited Sog and the executive officer to accompany him.

Sog didn't know what they were up to this time, so he waited until everyone had left the hall before following behind the crowd. As he walked down the corridor, he saw the medical room and the specimen room. The door to the specimen room was closed, but it wasn't hard to guess what was inside.

This is a terrifying place, terrifying because it can legally exist in the world, its legitimacy stemming from the fact that those born illegally lack human rights. It's absurd. But when something absurd becomes widely accepted, it becomes reasonable, and the maverick dissident becomes the absurd one. He suppressed his surging unease as he listened to the white devil and the executive discuss business, from the supply channels for anti-immunity drugs to the right to practice medicine through bio-engineering.

The building has a large interior space. After passing through a courtyard separated by glass walls, two minutes later, the restaurant's sign appeared around the corner. The holographic posters showed fresh and crisp vegetables and meats covered in amber sauce.

Sog smelled a delicious aroma; the restaurant here seemed to offer real food, rather than using neural data to fool people. He reflexively swallowed; since waking up, he hadn't had a decent meal.

But the next moment, the meat in the holographic poster underwent a bizarre change in his eyes. The amber sauce gradually turned red and dripped down. The lump of meat it wrapped gradually took shape, turning into a thigh, with the cross-section revealing the white bones. The white bones wriggled in the heat and then turned into brains and intestines.

These changes happened in less than two seconds before he realized his phagocytic disorder had flared up again. He immediately looked away, no longer wanting to see those things, but the walls had somehow become transparent. He saw a large number of human bodies displayed in the specimen room; some were skinning their prey, some were removing fat, muscle, and connective tissue, some were stuffing bleached skeletons with fillers and prostheses, and some were repairing the details of unfinished products, applying red and purplish-black paint to their chapped lips. In his kitchen, they were cooking, processing the muscles and organs that had been delivered…

His stomach convulsed as if in spasm. He endured the discomfort, pressing his temples but not making any unusual movements. However, cold sweat continued to pour from his forehead.

"what happened to you?"

Someone asked earlier, and Suger couldn't tell whose voice it was because of the intense tinnitus.

"bathroom."

As soon as Su Ge opened his mouth, sour water welled up in his throat. He swallowed it, and his throat burned with pain.

"I'm going to the restroom, excuse me."

His voice was very hoarse as he turned and hurried away. In a daze, he saw neither the restroom nor the staff. There were some rooms in the corridor with unclear functions. He tried several times and finally pushed open a door that looked like a lounge.

He rushed to the sink, splashed cold water on his face, quickly took out a vial of medicine, lit it, and put the filter in his mouth.

After an unknown amount of time, the fleeting images vanished again. He tossed aside the burnt filter between his fingers, touched his forehead—the cold sweat from earlier had dried completely. After taking a few deep breaths, he returned to the mirror, glanced at himself, and left the lounge.

The corridor was brightly lit, and he knew that what he had just experienced was an illusion, but he couldn't possibly eat anything here. He looked at the cow skull and moose antlers hanging on the wooden wall, and then he heard a voice beside him. He turned his head and saw a holographic projection of a waiter.

"Do you need any help?" the other person asked.

“I have a question.” Soger closed the door. “Where did all those ‘prey’ go?”

"You don't seem to have a record of successful hunting," the waiter replied, seemingly ignoring the question.

“I found one,” Sog said, looking at the waiter. “I didn’t shoot him, and he survived.”

"According to the rules of this hunting ground, he successfully escaped."

"What will happen to him next? Will you let him go, or will you let him participate in the next round?"

He will receive the compensation he deserves, but whether he participates in the next event is up to him.

"It depends on him? What do you mean?"

“You seem to have misunderstood something, Mr. Su. This is a voluntary hunting game; both the hunter and the prey are volunteers.”

Suger frowned and remained silent.

"You don't seem to believe me," the waiter said.

“I didn’t say I didn’t believe it,” Soger said. “Both voluntary and forced voluntary are voluntary.”

“You still have doubts,” the waiter said. “In that case, why don’t you go and ask them?”

"Ask whom?"

“Your prey,” the waiter said, “you may go see him now.”

(End of this chapter)