Ling Cage: Twelve Talismans? I have everything I need.

Chapter 16 Concealment
Because of the discovery of that incredibly fast Devouring Beast, everyone was on edge on the way back.

But they made it back to the lighthouse safely, albeit with some close calls.

"We're here! Quickly, tell them to lower the platform."

Inside the lighthouse control room, the operators, having received the message, lowered the lifting platform, and the hunters and dust dwellers on the ground quickly moved the supplies onto the platform.

With all the supplies moved in, and the platform rising, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

The city's defense forces at the lighthouse had been waiting for a long time. Upon seeing the hunters bring back so many supplies, the city's defense forces couldn't help but whisper among themselves.

"The hunters brought back so many supplies this time; it seems this continent is very rich."

"That's strange, and it seems like none of them were injured this time."

At that moment, a man with a prosthetic right arm walked over, and the city guards immediately fell silent.

He was Victor, the commander-in-chief of the city's defense forces.

He glanced at the group of hunters behind Hong Kou and the dust people carrying supplies.

"You did a good job this time. Not only were there no casualties, but you also brought back enough supplies."

"Hmm," Hong Kou simply replied.

Seeing that the other hunters had no desire to talk, Victor turned to leave, but Red Bandit suddenly called him back.

"General Victor."

Victor turned around with a hint of doubt, and Red Collar stepped forward at that moment.

"I have something to report and need to see Lord Morgan."

Victor looked at the Red Bandits, then glanced at the supplies that the Dust People were carrying.

Not only were there no injuries during this mission, but the supplies brought back were also plentiful, so there must have been some discovery.

"Okay, follow me."

Red followed Victor through the lighthouse's metal corridor, the soles of his boots making a rhythmic sound as they struck the grid floor.

When they arrived at the hall, Lord Morgan was sitting on a high place, studying a map on a screen, while a woman in a white coat stood below the steps.

A head of sparse blond hair, with faint wrinkles at the corners of his eyes: "Redhead, the Lighthouse will not forget the contributions you made to it this time."

"The lighthouse will give you enough contribution points."

Hong Kou didn't care about the so-called risks and bluntly asked, "Lord Morgan, is there really no human left to survive on the ground?"

Morgan's expression remained unchanged, but his eyes narrowed slightly as he stared intently at Red. Victor, standing beside him, also turned to look when he heard what Red said.

“Captain Red, the Lighthouse hasn’t seen any humans for many years.” Victor stared at Red, his expression slightly grim.

But the woman in the white coat suddenly spoke up, "We've only been on this continent for a few days!"

"The continent where we were staying was originally expected to keep the lighthouse running for another twenty years, but who would have thought that it would be unable to find any supplies in just a few years."

“Dr. Carrie!” Victor said in a deep voice.

The woman, referred to as Dr. Carrie, seemed not to hear Victor's voice and continued, "Captain Redhead brought back a lot of supplies on her first expedition to this continent. Maybe there really are living people here."

"Furthermore, we also lack a comprehensive scan and search of this continent."

“Alright, Redhead has just returned from the surface and must be tired. Go back and rest.” Morgan suddenly stood up, interrupting Dr. Carrie: “Dr. Carrie, you should go back too and continue your research.”

“But…” Hong Kou was about to speak when Morgan waved her hand to interrupt her.

Seeing that Morgan didn't want to continue the topic, Red also remained silent.

"Let's go."

Seeing an opportunity, Victor slightly raised his right hand, signaling for Red to leave.

Red Cowl glanced at Morgan, who had turned away, then turned and walked out. Dr. Carrie, showing little interest, followed behind Red Cowl and headed for the door. Seeing that the two had left, Victor waved, and the city guards in the hall gradually departed.

Now only Morgan and Victor remain.

"Lord, what about our search of the ground?" Victor walked up to Morgan and asked in a low voice.

“No, that white-haired woman is on this continent.” Morgan shook his head. “As long as we don’t provoke her, she shouldn’t come looking for trouble.”

"Mm," Victor nodded in agreement.

The resources on the continent where they originally lived were not gone, but rather the number of Devouring Beasts there was simply too great.

Each time they went down to the ground to search for supplies, the number of hunters decreased, and the supplies they could bring back were very few.

"Captain Hong Kou, it seems there were no casualties on your mission this time?"

As the two walked down the corridor, Dr. Carrie suddenly called out to Red Cop ahead.

Hong Kou turned around: "That's right, we only encountered two or three Devouring Beasts on this mission."

"Two or three? Such a small number?" Dr. Carrie pondered. "If the number of Devouring Beasts on this continent is not large, then the possibility of humans still surviving on the ground is indeed very high."

"Moreover," Hong Kou hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped herself.

"And what?" Seeing that Hong Kou seemed to have something else to say, Dr. Carrie quickly pressed for an answer.

"I saw the corpse of a Devouring Beast on the way."

"A corpse!?" Dr. Carrie's emotions immediately became extremely agitated, and she shook Redhead with both hands on his shoulders: "Is there no sign of regeneration!? What does it look like? What other characteristics are there!?"

Seeing Dr. Carrie's almost manic expression, Red Coo quickly pushed her hands away.

"Dr. Carrie, calm down."

“How can I stay calm? We’ve never been able to kill the Devouring Beasts, and now you’ve actually seen a dead one.”

"Where's the body? Has it been brought up yet?"

Seeing Dr. Carrie's madness, Hong Kou quickly recounted what she had seen on the ground, including the ridiculously fast Devouring Beast.

After listening to what Hong Kou had to say, Dr. Carrie fell into deep thought.

"There's an unidentified black substance under the skeleton? Could it be formed from their muscle tissue? But why is the skeleton preserved?"

"A beast that's incredibly fast, could it be a species unique to this continent?"

Seeing that Dr. Carrie was still standing there, muttering to herself, Hong Kou reached out and waved her hand in front of Dr. Carrie's eyes.

"Dr. Carrie?"

Dr. Carrie paused, then looked at Red Knuckles and asked, "Did you get a good look at what that Devouring Beast looked like?"

Hong Kou shook his head, looking through the binoculars, he could only see a cloud of dust rising up.

But at least we can tell that it wasn't any kind of transportation; the speed was ridiculously fast.

Seeing that Red Collar denied it, Dr. Carrie was clearly disappointed: "Captain Red Collar, remember to bring those bones back next time you go to the surface."

Hong Kou frowned: "What if those things are infectious?"

“Then let the Dust People take it.” Dr. Carrie’s tone left no room for refusal.

"What does it matter if a few Dust People die, as long as we can figure out a way to kill the Devouring Beasts?"

Upon hearing Dr. Carrie's words, Hong Kou lowered her head and remained silent.

"Remember to bring back the bones of the Devouring Beast next time." Dr. Carrie patted Red Coke on the shoulder and walked towards the laboratory.

"Don't forget."

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(End of this chapter)