Hunter of Mysterious Creature-Chapter 573 - 135: How to Deal With Him (2)

"What do you mean 'only worth' seven hundred and ninety thousand? Do you know how much money that is? Do you know how many things you can buy with seven hundred and ninety thousand?" The hand formed from mycelium poked Yao Yu's head forcefully with dissatisfaction.

"If you want me to pay my debt with my life, I should be able to play a higher value! Instead of repaying the Federation Government in a meaningless way like those worthless people!" Yao Yu shouted.

"Wrong." Sun Hang shook his head. "First of all, those people aren't worthless; they're worth at least seven hundred and ninety thousand. Secondly, the deaths of cannon fodder aren't meaningless either. Many times, crucial information about unknown supernatural entities is exchanged for the lives of these cannon fodders... Lastly, I know you're a researcher with some abilities, but the problem is, can we trust you to redeem yourself in the way you claim is most valuable? Who knows if you'll cause another disaster?"

"You can subject me to the strictest surveillance measures! It's fine to seal me in the Eternal Freeze Coffin!" Yao Yu's eyes widened. "Since you want me to pay with my life, then even in death, I should die with purpose! I can completely serve as Taotie's meme receptor for you to observe! To dissect! Even if you want to cut me into tens of thousands of pieces, that's fine! As a researcher, I should dedicate myself to science..."

He hadn't finished speaking before mycelium creeping up his throat sealed his mouth, leaving him to only make muffled "mmm" sounds.

"Mr. Yang, how much does it cost for the Eternal Freeze Coffin?" Sun Hang asked.

"For a Class One Infectee-specific Eternal Freeze Coffin, the one-time startup cost is eight hundred and fifty thousand, and subsequent maintenance costs eleven thousand per day." Yang Qi couldn't be bothered to scoff and responded mechanically in a dry tone.

"That's not the current price!" Song Yarong suddenly interjected. "In Belgar City, supplies and energy are in short supply, prices and electricity rates are skyrocketing. The actual price is at least three times what Mr. Yang quoted…three times, fair and square for everyone!"

"Even without calculating the markup, starting the Eternal Freeze Coffin once would burn a million... Your life is only worth seven hundred and ninety thousand, and now we have to pour in an extra million; won't we end up suffering a loss?" Sun Hang lifted Yao Yu's 'gag order' and said to him.

"How…how can you calculate it like that?" Yao Yu's eyes widened. "Research…how can the value of research be measured in money! You…you're completely unreasonable!"

"Can't even swear properly?" Sun Hang got up and walked out of the interrogation room, "Needs a more aggressive approach."

"You...you..." Yao Yu stammered, "You, you, you" for a while, before finally managing to squeeze out a sentence, "What exactly do you plan to do with me?"

"For now, keep you detained. When there's a need for you, we'll make another decision." Sun Hang said without turning around, "Remember, you're not a person right now; you're a brick. We'll move you to where we're in need — understood?"

"I..." Yao Yu wanted to say something more, but Sun Hang had already heavily closed the soundproof door of the interrogation room.

…

"Sun Hang... What do you actually plan to do with Yao Yu?" Yang Qi asked in the communication channel.

"According to your rules, how do you usually handle this?"

"We actually don't have the authority to handle Yao Yu... He's under the jurisdiction of Dubhe Tower. The most regulation-following way would be to hand him over to Dubhe Tower, where the relevant departments would judge him. But under the emergency protocols, in this situation, we can 'execute first, report later.'

"So if he's shot dead, Dubhe Tower won't have much to say?"

"As long as we can provide enough evidence, it's fine." Yang Qi said, "Of course, you don't have to worry about evidence; Dubhe Tower has already found enough proof that Yao Yu collaborated with the Cult Organization, so we don't even need to lift a finger."

"Actually, the simplest way was to shoot him dead earlier." Song Yarong interjected again, "Now that you've left his life, it makes things a bit tricky..."

"Oh? How so?"

"With him being a member of the Cult Organization with a lot of confidential information from Dubhe Tower, and considering his status as a senior researcher for Dubhe Tower... Even if we account for the emergency protocols, what we have is only the right to execute him, rather than the true 'right to dispose' of him." Song Yarong said, "Which means, I can find any excuse to kill him... But if we don't kill him, his disposal rights get handed over to Dubhe Tower. And before the formal handover, there'll be all sorts of troublesome issues cropping up, like..." Song Yarong sighed helplessly.

"Will Dubhe Tower urge us for him?"

"Dubhe Tower is a minor concern. The real issue is the Cult Organization behind him... If they're aware that Yao Yu hasn't been executed, do you think they'd sit back quietly?" Song Yarong said. "Since you don't intend to kill him, you have to find a way to ensure his safety, right? We're already severely undermanned, and it's hard to spare a group to keep an eye on this guy..."

"In your and Yang Qi's view, the best way to handle this would be to shoot him dead?" Sun Hang asked, "That's simple, I'll load the bullet in now."

"Wait, wait, wait! We didn't say you should actually kill him!" Yang Qi immediately stopped him, "Sun Hang, don't act impulsively!"

"What do you plan to do then?"

"We intended to complete the interrogation and then hand over this big burden to Dubhe Tower..." Song Yarong sighed, "But the problem is, his earlier proposal..."

"What's wrong with his proposal?" Sun Hang asked, puzzled.

"If he returns to Dubhe Tower and then makes his idea widely known..." Song Yarong said, "You know, there are quite a few lunatics in Dubhe Tower, and the allure of that proposal is too great... Surely someone will be tempted to try... You wouldn't want a bunch of high-intelligence lunatics in Dubhe Tower constantly considering you as a meme sample, right?"

"Then kill him." Wang Xiyi immediately said, staring at Yao Yu with a hint of murderous intent in her eyes.

"But I always feel... what he said seems to... make some sense." Ye Xuan, who had long harbored dissatisfaction with the Federation Government's approach, suddenly spoke. "Not just in Shuzhou, but in Belgar City, we've had severe supernatural invasions... And those folks in the parliament are still dreaming of maintaining the status quo... If a second supernatural war officially breaks out, I don't think the Xiazhou Federation will win this war."

"You don't seriously intend to let him be infected with Sun Hang's meme?" Yang Qi said, "What if... the infection spirals out of control..."

Yang Qi didn't say the latter half of the sentence, but the others present understood her meaning.

If another "Sun Hang" were born, one with a dangerous mindset and radical behavior... Who can guarantee what kind of trouble he might cause?

In comparison, although Sun Hang often gave people headaches... From another perspective, his style of conduct was still reassuring, never having caused an unsolvable disaster — taking a further step back, at least he wouldn't think of tying all humanity to a war chariot with no return.

But with Yao Yu, everything becomes unpredictable.

[P.S. Happy Lunar New Year's Eve to all! Wishing our underage readers plenty of red envelopes, wishing our adult readers a return home without incessant questioning from relatives, and wishing everyone smooth sailing and good health in the new year!]