Star Rank Hunter

Chapter 277: Common Sense My Meow! [Part 2]

The next day, Neo was so energetic after a good night’s sleep that he actually started doing aerobics inside the cave.

Cillin said, “Conserve your strength. I’m not helping you if you’re chased by a bio-soldier or a wild beast again.”

“Don’t worry, I know.”

Cillin shot him a suspicious glance regardless. For all he knew, his understanding and Neo’s understanding of the phrase “I know” could be two completely different things.

Cillin tidied up the cave and disguised it properly before leaving. Although he wasn’t sure if he would be making a return trip later, it was no reason to squander a backup base. He couldn’t allow another person to discover this cave and claim it for themselves.

Although Neo acted like a fool sometimes, his survival experience in this forest was definitely something. Both Cillin and Neo had successfully avoided all the bio-soldiers and wild animals while they were heading towards the base Neo told him about. However, while passing through a certain area, Cillin suddenly discovered three recently deceased bio-soldiers on the ground, and a couple of small beasts were munching on their bodies. When the small beasts had discovered them, they let out a couple of warning growls before running away. It seemed like they were aware that the two humans were not ones to be trifled with.

All three bio-soldiers had been shot in the head at the exact same spot, the glabella. However, it was clearly not the bio-soldiers’ true cause of death. There were a couple more visible bullet holes on the back of the bio-soldiers’ bodies. These were probably the real cause of death. Moreover, someone had spared the effort to dissect these bio-soldiers after they were killed. It was clear from their handiwork that they were very experienced and efficient in their craft.

“Hua Li?” said Neo.

“Who?” asked Cillin while looking at Neo.

“Judging from this scene, there’s a 98.68% that Hua Li is the one who dissected these bio-soldiers. However, she normally couldn’t be bothered to kill these bio-soldiers herself. Analyzing the cause of death is more her thing than killing. This means that someone else had killed these bio-soldiers before she came over to dissect them.”

“Is she a part of Black Viper too?”

“Of course, we grew up together. I didn’t know she was here until just now though, she wasn’t with me when I came over.” Neo seemed very used to the bizarre scene before him. “Hua Li’s dissection technique is top notch. Give her one scalpel, and she can dissect a person’s body from head to toe in a minute with all the muscles properly separated and the nerves…”

A weird thought entered Cillin’s mind while Neo was rambling about his childhood friend with the weird hobby of dissecting bodies: Black Viper couldn’t seriously be filled with robots and freaks only, could it? “We should leave immediately. It won’t be long before big scavenger or two shows up.” Cillin dragged Neo away while the latter was still observing the peeled nerves of the bio-soldiers.

Today’s operation was a smooth one considering that they hadn’t encountered much bio-soldiers or wild animals. At least, not on the route Neo had led him on. Cillin had to wonder if someone was trimming their numbers, because it was hard to explain why they were having such an easy time otherwise. Also, who was the person who killed the three bio-soldiers? Was it another Black Viper member, or was it a test candidate just like Cillin or White Night?

Half a day later, Cillin finally arrived at the place where Neo claimed that the Tricolored Bean was growing.

The Tricolored Bean was slightly different from what Cillin had imagined it to be. There was one Tricolored Bean in this area, and it was only about as tall as a bush. What was unique about the plant was that nothing was growing within ten meters of it, not a plant or even a tiny shoot of grass. The Tricolored Bean was the only plant that existed in that circle.

Cillin also noticed that soil around the Tricolored Bean was softer and looser than normal ground, almost as if a layer of sand was covering on top. However, this “sand” was stickier than what you’d expect from normal sand. These were the microorganisms that shared a symbiotic relationship with the Tricolored Bean. The “sand” looked the way they were because the microorganisms were squished together in one place.

Cillin was going to touch the microorganisms with his finger, but Neo slapped his hand away immediately with a look of shock, “Are you trying to commit suicide? These microorganisms are poisonous!” Cillin thought to himself: Of course I’m aware they’re poisonous. I just have a body that is immune to them.

Sensing that Neo was about to give him another round of lecture and theoretical analysis, he pointed at the colorful Tricolored Bean and said, “If you don’t finish your business now before a bio-soldier or animal shows up, or you’ll miss your chance.”

After weighing the pros and cons, Neo decided to give up on his lecture and focus on grabbing the Tricolored Bean.

Wheeze was currently lying on a tree branch and keeping an eye out for the duo. It spotted a wild beast some distance away from them, but since it wasn’t headed towards them it didn’t really count as danger.

Neo pulled out a pair of gloves from his shabby clothes, put it on and took out a thin bag. Then, he plucked the fruits off the Tricolored Bean and put them inside the bag. This particularly Tricolored Bean had twelve fruits in total, and Neo stored them carefully like they were incredibly precious.

While Neo was busy dealing with the Tricolored Bean, Cillin touched the microorganisms on the ground and the Tricolored Bean’s stalk when the former wasn’t looking. His body immediately started analyzing the plant and the microorganisms and revealing much of their information to him.

The plant’s toxin was definitely deadlier than the two toxins Cillin had collected earlier, although the ones that were especially effective against the bio-soldiers were mainly concentrated inside the fruits. If he could extract the toxin contained inside them, they should turn out to be very useful.

As discussed earlier, the duo headed straight for Neo’s temporary “workplace” after collecting the Tricolored Bean. The journey almost took them a quarter of day, but they were finally at Neo’s place.

It looked like a giant tree growing out of the edge of a cliff.

A tree?

Yep.

The tree was actually just a “door”, however. Neo opened something on the tree to verify his identity, and the tree trunk transformed into an 18 meter tall door.

“Someone was here,” said Neo with a frown.

The door closed up after they had gone inside the tree, but somehow sunlight was able to shine through the door. It was just that no one from outside could see what was actually inside the tree. There was a backup light source in Neo’s workplace, and the structure was made of special materials that prevented anyone from picking up heat signatures inside the tree. Therefore, it was possible to use firearms or electrical equipment in this place.

An elevator inside the tree brought Cillin, Wheeze and Neo to the underground. More accurately speaking, they were inside the mountain cliff right now. For whatever reason, Black Viper had chosen this spot to build a workshop.

While they were still inside the elevator, Neo brought up a screen to check who had entered his workplace while he was away. He got a man and a girl. The man looked to be about the same size as Cillin was, except that he had darker skin and a queue behind his head. He looked as fit as a wild animal, although in in the recording he seemed to be in poor health for some reason. He was swaying uncontrollably while he was standing on his feet.

The girl was very pretty, and she looked to be around thirteen to fourteen years old only. However, she had been crying non-stop since the start of the recording, so much so that she was crying and burping at the same time. Her cry seemed to irritate the an greatly, but he failed to silence her even though he had shouted at her a couple of times to stop.

“Is she your friend?” Cillin pointed at the girl.

“I guess so. How troublesome. I thought she was a quick runner, so how on earth did she get caught in the first place? I pity all those who have poor intelligence.”

Cillin thought that Neo would be better off if he just forget about the word “intelligence” altogether.

When the elevator was about to reach its destination, Neo jumped behind Cillin and stayed hidden. According to his calculations, staying behind Cillin would increase his margin of safety by a whooping 513%.

Cillin pulled out his dagger and kept his guns at the ready. He had no idea what the strangers’ intentions were, so it was better to be safe than sorry.

The elevator door opened to reveal an empty hall. Cillin couldn’t see anyone inside the hall, but he picked up an unfamiliar scent from an empty cup.

Cillin bumped Neo once and shot a glance at a tightly shut room at the back of the hall.

“Over there?” Neo asked soundlessly. Cillin gave him a nod.

Neo actually wasn’t afraid anymore after knowing where the strangers were hiding. This was his territory after all. He summoned a light screen from the wall, tapped a few buttons and locked the room completely.

Neo entered his laboratory and stored the Tricolored Beans carefully. Then, he jumped back into the hall and rolled once on his sofa. “I’m finally back! Ahahahahaha!”

Cillin: “...” I think you forgot that the hostage inside that room was someone you know.

Neo started introducing his workplace to Cillin proudly. He even offered him some food that he had made himself. Although Cillin didn’t think that it was all that tasty, Neo and Wheeze clearly had a great time eating.

Maybe it was because they were having too much fun, but the people hiding inside the room finally lost their cool.

There was a communication device in the room and the hall. While the trio was still busy filling their stomachs, the communication device turned live before a broken, crying voice resounded, “Neo burp… there is a… burp… bad guy in here… burp.”

Even Cillin felt tired for the girl who burped three times before she could complete a sentence, but Neo was clearly not a man with a rich amount of sympathy. He brought up the room’s surveillance feed and saw the man pointing a gun at the crying and burping girl. Then, he asked, “Why did you bring him in here?”

“Uuu — he said he’ll kill me if I don’t… burp.”

Neo looked at the man on the screen and said, “Nausea, increased body temperature, erratic heart rate, muscle spasm and retinal bleeding. You’re poisoned, aren’t you? My suggestion for you two is to cook your meat completely before you eat the local fauna because most of them contain a high amount of toxin in them. It’s common sense that high temperature will break down these toxins.”

Common sense my meow!

Everyone except Neo thought at the same time: if only I can strangle this backseat bastard!

Neo didn’t need to worry about heat or energy source at all because he lived here, but outside his workplace either one of these factors could easily attract dangerous predators towards them. The man inside the room was clearly aware of his own condition, but he couldn’t find anything he could use, and the medical supply room and the lab were completely inaccessible. The bedroom was the only room he could even enter.

The man looked rather fearsome, but it was obvious that he didn’t really want to kill the young girl. After all, would a bad person hand out a pillow to his hostage so that she could cry to her heart’s content without suffering a backache? Not only that, he looked irritated, lost and even regretful for being unable to stop the girl from crying.

Normally, the man wouldn’t have revealed his emotions this openly. Unfortunately, he had deteriorated to the point where his thoughts were slipping out regardless of his attempts at self-control.

Staring at the man who just wanted to use the girl as a bargaining chip, Cillin said, “You’re a test candidate too, aren’t you? Come out. Everyone here is the same. We can see that you don’t want to hurt her, and you’re going to die in at most half an hour if you don’t get treatment soon.”

“It’s 27 minutes and 46 seconds,” corrected Neo.

Cillin shot him a sideway glance, and Neo curled his lips without any self-awareness whatsoever.

In the end, the man decided to heed Cillin’s advice and tossed his gun to the side. At this point, he was starting to have breathing problems, insufficient blood flow inside his brain, and blurring vision. His muscles were spasming so much that he could only sit on the ground and lean against the wall just like the girl was, and even just the action of keeping his gun pointed towards the girl earlier had taken a lot of energy out of him.

Cillin motioned for Neo to unlock the door. Neo unlocked the door, carefully pushed it open before jumping to the side immediately so as not to get caught in a potential crossfire. Although the man looked to be in pretty bad shape, Neo had a feeling that he still had one last shot in him.

The girl was still crying and burping on the floor even though the door was already open.

Hearing no sounds of fighting inside the room, Neo poked his head out and said to the girl, “Ah Shou, get over here quickly!”

“Burp… my legs… burp… my legs are numb… burp.”

Neo: “...”

On the ground the man was starting to lose consciousness, and Cillin shouted, “Grab the medicine, Neo!”

Neo vanished for a while before tossing a bunch of drugs into the room from outside.

“I’m not sure what medicine to use since I have no idea what meat he ate, but this one has a broad range of treatment. If they still didn’t work then you can just toss him out I guess.”

Cillin and a certain guy lying on the floor: “...”

Cillin let out a sigh and said, “It all depends on you now.”

Cillin picked up the bottle and grabbed a syringe from inside. Then, he gave the man an injection.

The man didn’t try to resist or reject his help, but Cillin knew that the man would fight to the death if he had tried to kill him. To this person, it was just a conditional reflex. If Cillin’s guess was correct, this man had a military background.

The man closed his eyes after the injection was complete. His temperature was still rising, and outside the door Neo was starting to take notes and measure the effects of the drugs. In his eyes, the man was now a test subject to him.

“Eh?” Neo looked at the instrument he was holding. “The drug is working. His body temperature is still a little high, but his heart rate is stabilizing and his physiological parameters are swiftly returning to normal.”

Half an hour later.

The girl named Ah Shou was drinking a glass of fruit juice on the sofa with reddened eyes. She wasn’t crying anymore, but her burping was still happening from time to time. The symptom was slowly subsiding, however.

The man had recovered from his near death experience and was eating the food in his plate in large gulps. There was a contract placed next to his hands. It was an agreement he had signed with Neo.

The man’s name was Gu Xin. He didn’t know if he was a test candidate as Cillin said because of the circumstances surrounding his arrival. One day, he went to his bunk bed after returning from a mission, and when he opened his eyes again he was already stuck in this fucking planet. He was left with nothing except a gun and a dagger. Even now, Gu Xin was still at a loss about the recent past, the present and even the future.

Neo had requested Gu Xin’s help to procure a couple of plants he needed for research on the basis that he had saved his life. Gu Xin agreed to the arrangement because one, this workplace seemed relative safe and two, he had nothing better to do. He might as well help this nutcase find his plants until he figured out the ins and outs of his situation anyway.

Cillin drew a map of their surroundings before pointing at a certain spot, asking, “This is where you killed the three beginner rank bio-soldiers, didn’t you?”

Gu Xin nodded. “I did, yes.”

“You used two bullets to kill the bio-soldiers; one to the head and one to its weak spot. My question is, how are you able to determine their weak spots?” Cillin was puzzled because Gu Xin clearly wasn’t using the same method as he was. When he killed the bio-soldiers, he made sure that he did it in one hit.

Gu Xin thought to himself for a moment before he decided to tell the truth. “At first I always shot them in the head, but I soon discovered that it wasn’t really an effective method. Only one in ten bio-soldiers died to a shot to the had. Later, I noticed that their core would transmit a survival command every time they were shot in the head as a means to keep the bio-soldiers functioning, and this core is also their weak point.”

So that’s why. Cillin gave him a nod.

“Oh right, where on earth is this place?” asked Gu Xin. Neo was too long-winded, and he failed to give him an answer throughout the signing of the contract. Ah Shou’s two reactions to him thus far was crying and burping, nothing more. That was why Gu Xin had directed the question at Cillin.

“We’re in Black Viper’s territory.”

Cillin left behind the stunned Gu Xin and went with Neo to extract the toxins from the Tricolored Bean.