Chapter 592 - 582: Sound Source Pollution 34

Behind him, a figure was giving chase.

A lurching, chaotic gait. Hair standing on end. Its walking speed wasn’t particularly fast, yet the distance between it and the fleeing person was closing steadily.

Perhaps overcome with terror, the person fleeing in front tripped and fell.

A Hunter never gives its prey a chance to get back up after a fall.

The figure caught up, hoisted the person into the air, opened its mouth, and sank its teeth into their fragile neck.

With a bloodcurdling scream, blood instantly gushed out.

Moira Lynch quickly retracted her spiritual power. ’It’s too brutal.’

Seeing her put down her half-eaten food, Hugh Finch asked, "What’s wrong?"

Moira Lynch waved her hand. "I’ve kind of lost my appetite."

She then recounted what she had just seen to Hugh Finch through the Communication Corridor.

Moira Lynch must have been an excellent storyteller, because as Hugh Finch looked at the food in his hands, a wave of nausea washed over him.

"You’re saying... those monsters are treating people as food?"

"Yes, and that’s not all. From what I’ve observed, since last night, every survivor has either turned into a monster or awakened a talent."

"But since they’ve only just awakened, their powers are still relatively weak. They’re completely helpless against those sonic monsters."

She was hoping those survivors could take out the monsters, but it looked like that’s impossible now.

"What about that armed group we ran into yesterday?"

At his words, Moira Lynch shook her head. "I made a point to look for them, but I found nothing. Not even a body. They must have left."

Hugh Finch had said this place was safe for now, but they didn’t let their guard down, remaining prepared to retreat at a moment’s notice.

They packed all the more essential items into their Space Buttons.

Day fifteen. All was quiet.

Day sixteen. Still quiet. Moira Lynch used her spiritual power to constantly monitor the situation in the City of Portmire.

Day seventeen. After several days of continuous slaughter, the survivors in the City of Portmire finally mustered the courage to fight back.

They gathered together and discovered the monsters’ weakness: they were extremely sensitive to smell and sound, but their eyesight was very poor. Although the monsters were active both day and night, the ones that came out during the day were slower than those at night.

Armed with these discoveries, they successfully killed a monster in retaliation.

Watching them pull it off, Moira Lynch seemed even more excited than they were.

Day eighteen. Moira Lynch suddenly noticed something was wrong.

Having been watching them constantly, she was quick to spot the anomaly.

Among the survivors, two had started to change. Their movements and the fluctuations emanating from their bodies indicated a silent, ongoing transformation.

Moira Lynch remembered these two. They were the ones who had charged at the very front when they hunted the monster.

’They’re infected?’

The moment the thought occurred to her, Moira Lynch felt she had to warn the others. Otherwise, they might all be wiped out by tomorrow, and that simply wouldn’t do.

’She was still counting on them to take some of the pressure off.’

「Meanwhile, in Portmire.」

As night fell, the two finally completed their mutation.

In the darkness, they slowly rose to their feet. Staggering, they moved toward their former comrades, their mouths watering uncontrollably.

Just as they were about to make their move, something strange happened. All of their former teammates suddenly turned to stone.

It turned out someone among the survivors had awakened the Stand Talent. After receiving Moira Lynch’s tip, that person had quickly used a Stand Feather on everyone except the two infected individuals.

Immediately after, a violent explosion buried the two infected individuals under the rubble.

The remaining survivors had already been moved to a safe location.

"I thought that voice was lying to us, but it turned out to be true," one survivor said, dazed.

"Yeah, it’s a good thing we chose to believe it. I can’t imagine what would have happened otherwise."

"I just don’t know how they got infected. If we accidentally get infected too, wouldn’t that mean..."

"I’d rather die than turn into one of those monsters."

Just then, a young woman spoke up. "I might know how they got... infected."

Everyone: !!!

Moira Lynch: !!!

’How did they get infected??’

"After we successfully hunted that first monster, I overheard the two of them complaining that some of the monster’s blood got in their mouths when they killed it. I was wondering if that could be the reason."

"You heard them say that yourself?"

Faced with the question, the young woman nodded. "My talent is eidetic memory. I can remember anything I’ve heard or seen."

In the interstellar era, a talent like that would have had corporations fighting over her. But now, it seemed a bit useless.

"I’m not sure if that’s how they were infected, but I am sure that out of all of us, they were the only two who accidentally ingested the monster’s blood. So I’m guessing that might be the transmission route."

Whether it is or not, we have to be more careful from now on when we hunt monsters.

Day nineteen. A monster somehow appeared near the air-raid shelter.

The instant she spotted it, Moira Lynch teleported it elsewhere, sending a feather bomb along with it for good measure.

The monster’s appearance made Moira Lynch and the others realize that the air-raid shelter might no longer be safe.

After the first monster was dealt with, a second and a third appeared.

It was like mobs respawning on a map.

"It must be the Cosmic Consciousness messing with us. It’s trying to force us out," Hugh Finch said. "Pack up. We leave tomorrow."

"How despicable!" Moira Lynch said resentfully, though there was nothing she could do.

In order to take as much as possible, the two of them tried every way they could think of to compress the space inside their Space Buttons. Every extra item counted.

After filling them to the brim, they even tried to stuff jelly beans into the cracks.

Seeing the two of them fully armed, Barry Wallace asked, "Um, Young Lynn, Mr. Finch, what should I prepare?"

Moira Lynch tossed him a weapon, then pointed to a backpack nearby. "Pack whatever you want. A word of advice: pack useful things. Forget about your books and all that. Leave them here. You can come back for them later if you get the chance."

Hearing this, Barry Wallace obediently began stuffing his backpack with all sorts of food—all high-calorie and filling. For water, he chose sugary drinks.