Miss Hunter

Alright, this is it—life ends here.

For some reason, at this point Yilin only wanted to laugh.

Three years of effort, three years of struggle, and the ending was being pushed to this by a border inspector.

Was it her fault?

Had she valued this body too much?

Should she not have resisted?

The alarm bells had already faded.

The footsteps of the police seemed both near and far—of course, they wouldn’t want to step into this eerie area.

So… was she safe?

Crouching behind a tree, Yilin panted heavily, her trembling fingers brushing over the once-new clothes now torn to shreds.

She opened her student ID.

That idiot had written on it…

“Pure Detelan student, jackpot.

This quality is worth keeping for myself.

Her face, once it breaks down in despair, should look very nice.”

“f*ck you!”

Yilin’s fingers clenched pale, forcing out the rawest insult between her clenched teeth.

That bastard!

If he had truly discovered the supernatural object, she could have accepted it—

But to ruin her life over a fleeting whim?

A surge of adrenaline shot through her again, making her want to storm back with her gun, kill him, then turn it on herself and end it.

But then, thinking that way, she suddenly didn’t want to die.

The only reasons left to keep living in this damned world were to blow the heads off those rotten people.

Before, it had only been a fantasy inside her mind.

Now, with nothing to lose, she could just do it.

With that thought, hatred surged in her chest, and Yilin drew out the supernatural object.

These things were priceless.

The ones in perfect condition could sell for tens of millions, enough to buy a mansion in a great nation and live as minor nobility.

Even the weaker ones were luxuries.

Found only in radiation zones, they had all kinds of supernatural traits, able to merge with humans.

The limit depended on the person.

They could manifest in the body, or be pulled out again.

But most weren’t very strong—their greatest use was fusing with technology.

Since she no longer had the heart to sell it, she might as well use it.

Maybe it would help.

Then she could go back and kill those bastards.

Forcing herself to calm down, Yilin tried to plan her next step.

But then—a faint sound rustled from the grass behind her.

It was so subtle, yet it made her scalp crawl.

It wasn’t the wind.

It was something moving, crawling, scraping with terrifying speed.

Yilin’s hair stood on end.

Her heart clenched tight, as if gripped by a cold hand.

She spun around, pupils shrinking in terror.

The grass shook violently.

Several black shadows burst out like arrows, leaping at her.

They weren’t any beasts she recognized.

They were… monsters!

The radiation zones didn’t only spawn supernatural objects—monsters lurked there too.

But Yilin had never faced them head-on.

They looked like wolves, but with no fur.

Their bodies were caked in hardened scabs of blood.

They had no visible eyes—only several sunken pits on their heads, glowing faintly red.

Worst of all were their limbs.

Eight legs, covered in a hard chitinous shell, ending in razor-sharp claws that screeched against the ground and trees.

Their jaws split open, revealing rows of writhing tiny fangs, hissing with a shrill cry.

Screeee!

The piercing screech shattered the silence.

Fear engulfed Yilin instantly, her mind blanking out.

Acting only on instinct, she rolled desperately to the side.

A shadow grazed her arm.

Claws shredded her already torn school uniform sleeve, leaving three burning gashes across her slender arm.

The pain made the tears she had been holding back spill freely.

Her vision went dark.

Terror, despair, and collapse overwhelmed her as she cried out, falling to the ground.

Dirt and rotting leaves smeared her face and hair.

But there was no time to feel pain.

Another monster leapt from above, claws slashing straight for her face.

“Dieeeeee!!”

Yilin’s eyes flew open.

Ignoring the blood and tears streaming from the corners of her eyes, she raised her pistol on instinct, pulling the trigger over and over.

Gunfire roared in the silent radiation zone, deafeningly loud.

She didn’t care if the police heard.

If she didn’t shoot now, she was dead.

Several bullets punched into the monster’s torso.

Its body burst into a foul-smelling pulp.

It shrieked in agony, flipping through the air before crashing down, legs twitching wildly.

But the other two monsters, enraged by the gunfire and their comrade’s death, screeched even louder.

They lunged faster, one from the front, the other circling to attack her lower body.

It’s over…

Half-kneeling on the ground, Yilin stared in despair as they came for her.

She still had half a magazine, but no time to reload.

The only possible salvation left was the supernatural object.

She didn’t even know how to use it.

All she knew was that it looked like a cat’s tail and could float in the air—undeniably supernatural.

At this point, she had no choice…

Closing her eyes, Yilin yanked the object from her belt, gripping it tightly in her hand, praying it would work.

Buzz!

A thunderous sound erupted.

The two monsters flinched in shock.

And this time, Yilin herself felt something was wrong.

Agonizing pain surged through her body.

What… what was this?

From above her head and at the base of her spine came searing, soul-tearing pain.

Even her fangs began to ache.

The two monsters wailed.

Yilin had no chance to run, but her survival instinct still drove her to squirm across the ground, choking back sobs as she crawled toward anywhere that might be safer…

Bang.

A crisp gunshot made Yilin’s whole body shudder.

Cold shot up from the base of her spine, surging through her brain like an electric current.

Warm blood splattered across her face, just like when she fired her own gun—but once again, it wasn’t her who died.

It was the monster beside her.

The creature’s head was pierced clean through by a bullet.

Even through the haze of pain, Yilin’s mind spun furiously.

Who?

Those corrupt cops?

Not bad—timing’s impressive…

Yilin gave a bitter laugh.

Of all times, they came now, when she was in the most pain…

It was over.

Her luck must really have run dry.

Splurt!

Another muffled thud of a bullet tearing into flesh.

The monster pressed against her cheek was blown back by the impact, rolling across the ground.

Dark red ichor and shards of shattered chitin sprayed everywhere, drenching her, filling the air with a choking stench.

Not the cops.

Their gunfire and aim weren’t like this.

This was clearly a hunter’s rifle.

Reeling from the rapid turn of events, nearly numb, her body convulsing from pain and mutation, Yilin forced her head up.

Her blurry vision strained to focus.

Far ahead, behind a jumble of rocks half-hidden in the trees, a striking figure burst forth.

The figure wore a thick, matte-gray camo protective suit.

Its design was more complex than any military or mercenary gear Yilin had ever seen.

The joints were secured with rugged rivets, the seals worn with age, giving off a coarse, utilitarian feel.

On the head sat a pig-nosed gas mask.

Supernatural hunters?

The term flashed across Yilin’s mind.

She had heard of them—people who lived by hunting supernatural objects and creatures, walking through radiation zones in hazmat suits.

So they were real.

The mask’s eye lenses reflected a cold gleam in the dim light, hiding the face completely.

The only thing clear was the figure’s tall, agile build.

They moved with the sleek rhythm of a leopard.

A woman?

Unlike some futuristic armor, she carried an old Mosin-Nagant—likely older than Yilin herself.

In a few strides, she was standing right in front of her, frighteningly fast.

From behind the mask, the hunter’s gaze flicked over the twitching, dying monster and the pitiful girl on the ground.

But then—she froze.

For several long seconds.

So long that Yilin’s back prickled.

No… she’s not planning to save me?

“Um… big sister… please, save me…”

Though she didn’t even know the stranger’s gender, Yilin swallowed, forcing her voice into something sweet and pleading, widening her eyes as she looked up.

For some reason, her tone came out unusually sugary, while inside her chest surged wild joy.

Fate is on my side!

The hunter stepped closer, kneeling down on one knee until their eyes were almost level.

The gloved hand—wrapped in thick leather—reached carefully toward Yilin’s bleeding, torn arm.

The touch was oddly gentle, almost clumsy, as if handling something fragile and priceless, like porcelain.

Through the haze of agony and the shock of such tenderness, Yilin grew dazed.

Then the hunter did something she never expected.

She hesitated, just for a moment, then slowly, reluctantly, removed her pig-nosed mask.

The mask came off.

A face was revealed to the murky, dust-filled light of the radiation zone.

It was a face far beyond Yilin’s imagination—sharp lines, a firm jawline, skin the warm shade of wheat, marked with the sun and wind of the outdoors.

Thick, raven-black hair, tied loosely at the back, with a few stray strands falling over her brow.

Her features were deep and refined—high nose bridge, thin defined lips.

A faint pink scar ran from her cheekbone to the corner of her mouth.

It didn’t lessen her presence—if anything, it made her seem more wild, more untouchable, carrying a dangerous possessiveness.

Most striking of all were her eyes—rare amber-gold, focused intently on Yilin, sharp as a hawk’s, but burning with a faint, unreadable intensity.

A beautiful, gentle big sister!

Yilin managed a genuine smile through the pain.

Maybe her luck wasn’t so bad after all…

Quickly, the hunter pulled a syringe from a sealed pouch at her waist.

It glowed faintly blue.

She flicked the needle, her gaze locked on Yilin’s violet eyes.

Wait—what’s that?

Wasn’t that… animal tranquilizer?

One dose would knock her out for days!

It was just a scratch!

Don’t tell me—she plans to sell me?!

No, that didn’t quite fit… but then, what was with those eyes?

Yilin’s eyes widened, her voice trembling, nearly cracking apart.

“Um… sister, I don’t think I need tranquilizer…”

“Shh.”

The woman only shook her head.

Carefully, she pulled out a small bottle of alcohol and a cotton ball.

With a gentleness that brooked no refusal, she steadied Yilin’s retreating arm.

Meticulously—almost ritualistically—she dabbed alcohol over the wound.

It was too strange.

Something about it was all wrong.

No way…

Yilin’s eyes filled with despair.

Out of the wolf’s den, straight into the tiger’s jaws.