...

10:00 AM, Lousu District, Airport K08.

Before boarding, Dubhe Tower finally disclosed the already "leaked" trial contents to the group of Hunters—the specifics were exactly as Yang Qi had described. As for the objectives of the second stage, they were divided into two: investigating the anomalous transformation on Nameless Island and recovering the valuable research data left on the island years ago.

A total of over 150 Hunters participated in the second stage of the trial. They departed aboard four planes, but the planes did not take them directly to the island; instead, they were flown to the coastal city of Jinggu City.

The "Mermaid-class" missile destroyer mentioned by Yang Qi was waiting for them at the military port. This destroyer has been heavily modified, with the deck originally for stationing aircraft now piled with massive metal crates—these crates are hangars for autonomous drones. According to the Dubhe Tower personnel accompanying, this destroyer carries a total of six thousand drones. Even with a projected destruction rate of seventy percent, at least 1,800 drones could still escape unharmed.

Of course, the reality can't be calculated this straightforwardly, but this was the only thing they could do. It was akin to winning a war by sheer numbers; no matter how severe the drone losses, as long as one drone returned with valuable information, it would be a worthwhile gain for Dubhe Tower.

They didn't lack funds, as the monthly budget allocated by the Federation to Dubhe Tower was in billions. Even the most cost-ineffective method, as long as it proved useful, was a good method.

...

Nameless Island was still nearly a hundred nautical miles from the coastline. The destroyer ferried the Hunters for two and a half hours on the sea before the island's silhouette appeared on the distant horizon.

"The area within twenty nautical miles of Nameless Island's coastline is a forbidden zone. I can only take you this far," said the first officer in a Federation Navy uniform to the Hunters. "The landing crafts are ready. From here, you're on your own."

Sun Hang and the talkative Hunter boarded the same landing craft, while a group of Angsa Hunters and another group of Indian Hunters boarded another craft.

These landing crafts were simple to operate; just start the diesel engine at the stern and hold the steering tiller.

"Let me drive," the talkative Hunter said. "This is what I used to do!"

"You used to be a sailor?" Sun Hang asked curiously.

"No, I managed a fishery for someone along the Far East coast of Siberia, but was attacked by sea anomalies and got infected," said the talkative Hunter. "Later, after surviving against odds, I became a Hunter."

"By the way, I haven't asked what your codename is yet?"

"Fisherman," said the talkative Hunter. "That's what they all call me."

Over 150 Hunters boarded the small crafts. Amidst the friction of the crane cables and pulleys, the landing crafts were lowered one by one, and Fisherman yanked the pull rope hard, triggering a deep roar from the engine.

"Let's go!" Fisherman shouted, pushing the throttle of the boat's engine to maximum!

White foamy spray splashed behind the small craft, and the salty seawater splashed on Sun Hang's face, giving him the illusion that he was like a soldier in a war movie landing on a beach, while countless gun barrels hidden in bunker shooting slots on the distant coastline awaited him to enter their range.

"You seem to love the sea?" Sun Hang glanced at Fisherman and asked. "Usually, people have some psychological shadow over places they've been attacked, but you don't seem bothered by it at all."

"Haha, maybe I'm just thick-skinned!" Fisherman laughed. "Let me tell you, it was during the fishing season that year, and I was driving a speedboat with my boss and some clients to the fishery, but halfway through, that anomaly stormed up from the water and flipped the entire speedboat!"

"And then?" Before Sun Hang could speak, another young Hunter asked curiously.

"Counting me, there were six people on the boat, and all fell into the water. I was the lucky one, trapped under the overturned speedboat, but the other five weren't so lucky—they got sucked into the undercurrents. Those undercurrents were dangerous. Even swimmers couldn't control their bodies and didn't have a chance to struggle before being consumed by the anomaly."

"What kind of anomaly was that?" asked a female Hunter sitting opposite Sun Hang.

"A big fish—I'm not sure of its species, but it was ugly as hell, like a patchwork of bizarre deep-sea creatures' parts. I don't know how it got near the coast…" Fisherman recalled.

"How did you survive?"

"I was in a panic, but panic didn't help! Taking advantage of the time my boss and the others 'bought' for me, I retrieved a harpoon gun from the speedboat and shot at that thing's head!"

"You killed it just like that?"

"Of course not! Those big fish have tenacious vitality; one harpoon isn't enough, especially since it's an anomaly," Fisherman continued. "But its defense was weak, and the harpoon went straight through its head… Just when I wanted to fire a second shot, I realized that the spare ammo band of the harpoon gun had come loose, sinking to the seabed during the overturn."

"Then what?" The female Hunter eagerly asked.

Sun Hang suddenly felt that this Fisherman had a knack for storytelling, even piquing his own curiosity.

"There was no choice. The only weapon I had was a dagger, so I had to charge and engage it in close combat—"

Sun Hang couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Though this guy outwardly resembled Yin Xiang, at least his veins still carried the blood of a warrior nation, daring to confront an anomaly in close combat with just a dagger. The bravery was off the charts.

"You managed to defeat the anomaly with just a dagger?" The young Hunter who first asked was astounded.

"Not that easy. I barely stabbed the anomaly a few times, and it bit off several chunks of my flesh… I didn't know if it was adrenaline or something else, but I didn't feel any pain… Later, during the struggle, I lost the dagger, so I just pounced on it, using my teeth to gnaw and tear its flesh…"

"Wow, man, you're intense!" The young Hunter was completely dumbfounded.

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