Chapter 965 - 33: "Change the Card

"Three monkeys?" Zuo Jun raised an eyebrow, "Are you talking about a monkey covering its eyes, one covering its mouth, and the last one covering its ears?"

"You've seen them?!" Sun Hang felt a surge of excitement.

"The 'Three Don't Monkeys' originally comes from the Xiazhou Confucian classics, the 'Analects,' with the concept of 'See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.' As Confucian culture spread to regions surrounding Xiazhou, images of the Three Don't Monkeys also appeared in art products in places influenced by Confucian culture like Fusang, Xinluo, and Southeast Asia. However, as Confucian culture waned, this cultural element has become extremely rare, with only 'See no evil' surviving as a seldom-used idiom," Zuo Jun said in a calm tone.

"..." Sun Hang's excitement turned to disappointment in an instant.

"I am aware of the existence of the Three Don't Monkeys, and there are related records in books and databases. Moreover, if you want artifacts of the Three Don't Monkeys, although difficult to find in the market, using the name of Dubhe Tower should help you gather all related items in human activity areas..." Zuo Jun said, "But if you ask whether I've seen the real thing, my answer is no."

"So in these records, are there any connections between the Three Don't Monkeys and supernatural entities?" Sun Hang asked, unwilling to give up.

Zuo Jun shook his head.

...

...

For the investigation mission to Egypt, Zuo Jun had no objections. After discussing some details, Sun Hang and Professor Cao left the closed room, while Zuo Jun returned to the candle-lit desk, burying his head in tomes heavier than bricks.

In the jade pillar elevator, after a silent journey, Professor Cao finally heaved a sigh and then shook his head with a peculiar expression, muttering to himself, "This is really strange..."

"What's strange?" Sun Hang asked instinctively.

"I've never seen 'No. 1' have such a good temper," Professor Cao said, "His biggest hobby is reading, and what he hates most is talking to people... Whenever we sought him for matters before, even if he eventually accepted the task, he often seemed uninterested in conversation. Sometimes it made people wonder if he was even listening... That's why I told you earlier that his temper is peculiar and you needed to be mentally prepared, but I didn't expect..."

"Didn't expect I'd have such a pleasant conversation with him?"

Professor Cao nodded.

"Is he like this with everyone? Is it the same with Pei Zongjun?" Sun Hang asked.

"All the same, maybe a little better with Mr. Pei, but not much," Professor Cao said, "If you say ten sentences to him, getting one reply is like the sun rising in the west."

"Speaking of which, is Zuo Jun considered human?"

"A hybrid of human and supernatural entity," Professor Cao said, "A higher-level existence than primary-type infectees."

"What do you mean?"

"You should know about the infectees who transform due to negative emotions, right?"

"I do."

"These infectees, who have no external infection source or are infection sources themselves, are what we refer to as primary-type infectees," Professor Cao explained, "In a broad sense, Zuo Jun is also considered a primary-type infectee."

"What about in a narrow sense?"

"An infectee, as the name implies, must have the ability to infect other humans or things," Professor Cao said, "However, after trying to extract the supernatural memetic from Zuo Jun, we discovered that it lacks infectivity, and other than Zuo Jun, it repels everything that exists in the material world. Since it does not have infectivity, using the term infectee for him is clearly inaccurate."

"Oh."

"Why ask about this all of a sudden?"

"Nothing, just asking."

...

...

A month flew by in the blink of an eye, and Sun Hang once again stepped into the now-out-of-service Xiaojiacun Station.

If anyone changed the most in that month, it was indisputably Nuer, the Desert Sea resident Sun Hang brought back last time — he had completely succumbed to the comfort modern technology provided. For him, as long as he gave blood samples and underwent painless physical examinations, he could enjoy unheard of and unimaginable gourmet food and entertainment without any cost... No cold, no hunger, no injuries, and no death...

It was clearly heaven — no, the Desert Sea residents did not have the word 'heaven'; in their language, it was not a heretical place of exile but the most perfect Divine Country!

Sun Hang could distinctly see a hint of reluctance in Nuer's eyes — which was understandable. Assuming most people stood in Nuer's shoes, they'd never want to return to a place filled with nothing but yellow sand.

"We need a guide." Sun Hang patted Nuer's shoulder, "Only your hunter's mark can help us."

"I know." Nuer nodded, "But you promised me, after completing the mission, I can live here forever... Alternatively, I can help find more hunters this time; I think they would also agree to your conditions."

"We will discuss that after this task," Sun Hang nodded, "Your task this time is simple, just help us find the settlement location."

According to Nuer, inside the remains of that Sinking Sand Giant Worm, besides their settlement, there were at least three other resident settlements, which means there were at least three priests... or rather, three man-made hunters left from old civilizations.

However, Sun Hang estimated there must be some connections among these people, and they surely knew he killed the priest of Nuer's settlement. The two sides had completely broken ties, and conflict was inevitable.

Last time, the opponent was too arrogant, allowing Sun Hang to take advantage, but he clearly had cards he hadn't played yet. Unfortunately, Sun Hang didn't give him the chance to use them.

This time, they're prepared. The difficulty of combat will surely escalate.

It's for this reason that Sun Hang didn't bring the advance team from the training camp but instead this expedition team he carefully selected.

With Zuo Jun, the "No. 1 Hunter," the team's paper strength can't be higher.

...

At 11:23 PM, the ghost train arrived at Xiaojiacun Station on time. Just as Sun Hang was about to swipe his card to board, Zuo Jun suddenly grabbed his arm.

"Use another card," Zuo Jun told Sun Hang.

Sun Hang quickly realized that just now, Zuo Jun had already triggered a time rewind, saving him holding this insufficient-balance subway card.

What puzzled Sun Hang was that if he had encountered a life-threatening danger, why didn't the Three Monkeys appear?

Was it because the Three Monkeys' priority wasn't higher than the time rewind, or did they anticipate Zuo Jun would intervene, hence did nothing?