hunting light

An unremarkable black hover vehicle drove into the fortified enclosure of the Ocean Research Institute of the Military Ministry.The small hexagonal golden sun emblem on the front of the car shows that this is a special vehicle for the Holy See.

The car stopped in front of the building, and a young priest with a handsome face and a cane in a dark blue robe got out of the car.

His appearance immediately attracted people's audience.Everyone put down what they were doing, looked sideways, and whispered.

"is it him?"

"It's him! His face has been everywhere in the news these two days."

"I look so young."

"It's a waste of such a handsome face to be a priest. He is really calm and elegant, and he deserves to be a person who can echo the Holy Light!"

With a gentle and polite smile on his face, the priest walked slowly towards the front desk in full view of everyone.

"Sorry." Someone finally couldn't help stopping him, "You are Father Mitchell, aren't you? You are the one who summoned the Holy Light and made the Holy Lord appear, right?"

The middle-aged woman grabbed Ian's hand excitedly, bowed her head and kissed his ring: "It is an honor in my life to meet you. Please pray for me, priest."

"May the Holy Lord bless your soul, ma'am." Ian gently placed his hand on the woman's head, "As long as your belief is firm, your sincere prayer will be heard by him."

"Father, please..."

"And I!"

The crowd began to gather towards the young priest, all with reverent and excited eyes.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" A loud voice rang out, "I believe Father Mitchell is very happy to pray for you, but it is best to concentrate on weekends in his church. Now, please allow me to borrow the priest. We There are more important business to attend to than prayer. Thank you!"

A senior executive arrived with several security guards, dug Ian out of the enthusiastic crowd, and picked him up like escorting a big star surrounded by fans.

"You are now a big celebrity in Fryer, Father Mitchell." The supervisor followed Ian's footsteps very considerately, "I believe that your church must be overcrowded in the past two days. Most of Fryer's people They all rushed over, wanting to meet you, a priest who can summon the Holy Lord to appear."

Ian smiled wryly back.

The story of the eldest son of the Duke of Oran being trapped in the deep sea while diving and then miraculously surviving has spread throughout the Fryer planet in the past two days.

It is not uncommon for a child to be playful and in distress, but the legendary Holy Master finally appeared and awakened the mecha that had been sleeping for a hundred years in the deep sea to save them. This is a rare headline news.

On this remote frontier planet dominated by agriculture and animal husbandry, the people are kind and simple, and the piety of the believers is far higher than that of the prosperous imperial capital.The apparition of the Holy Lord is extremely rare even in the Holy See of Xilin, but if it happens on this planet, it is simply a miracle that can be passed down forever.

"Only the most devout believers can summon the Holy Light." The senior official looked at the young priest with admiration, "And I am very fortunate to know you, Father."

"As long as the faith is firm, the holy light is in the hearts of each of us, sir." Ian bowed politely and followed the other party into a reception room.

Bishop Carroll in a red robe was already inside, talking with several senior military officers.

Seeing Ian coming in, Carol showed his signature kind and warm smile.Ian bowed to pay tribute.Both were tacit about the spat and disagreement that had taken place a few days ago.

There is also a heavyweight in the house, the lord of Fryer Star, the Duke of Oran.He also holds the post of Governor Fryer, and is accompanied by four government officials, one of whom is a capable lady who is also a government spokesperson that Ian is very familiar with.

The exchange of pleasantries was very brief, and there was a kind of absent-mindedness on everyone's face.

"Guys, can we start now?"

Following the senior official's voice, the light in the room dimmed, and one wall of the reception room moved away silently, revealing the room behind.

It was a small aquarium with a dozen boxes lined up in a U shape.A faint blue light shone from the top of the water tank, and inside each tank was a black water monster with a monkey body and a fish tail!

"These are a few samples that our drones have baited from the sea floor," the senior official said. "They are both male and female, very healthy and active."

Although Ian had been in close contact with these water monsters before, he had only seen them with his own eyes now.

They were pitch black, with no hair or scales on their skin, just covered in mucus.Its upper body resembles a primate cub, with a pair of black round eyes occupying almost a third of the reveal, with no whites.It has a protruding snout, sharp teeth and fangs, slender arms, sharp fingers, a short body, and a long tail like a moray eel on its lower body.

"Do they have feet?" Carol stared at a water monster in a water tank with a disgusted expression, "What a blasphemous thing..."

The feet of that water monster had degenerated into two thin limbs that were easily overlooked, located on the lower side of the waist and abdomen.

"That's an immature cub," said the senior official. "As they get older, their lower limbs will completely degenerate. You see, this is the youngest 'sea puppet' we have caught—this is their scientific names."

An official approached the water tank and stared at the fist-sized "sea puppet" cub: "It's like a stillborn human being aborted... oh sorry, bishop, priest..."

Both Carol and Ian held back their displeasure and forced a smile.

The senior official said: "They are oviparous cold-blooded animals. The females lay three to five eggs each time, and the incubation period is four weeks. It takes three months from shell breaking to sexual maturity. The sea puppets we see now are from this year. They hatched only in summer, and the oldest one is only two months old, and they haven't reached the breeding season yet."

"But there are still a lot of these things swimming in the sea outside, right?" Carol pointed to a water monster lying on the glass box and screaming at him, "In two months, they will mature, A lot of eggs can be produced, and groups of little monsters will be hatched."

"The situation is not that bad, Bishop." The senior official said with a dry smile, "They like the temperature and are afraid of the cold, but they can't stand the ultraviolet rays. There are not many places in the sea where they can survive. Especially, the winter of Fryer is coming, the sea water The temperature is not enough, and their eggs cannot hatch. We are discussing a settlement plan with the military department..."

"These monsters," the Duke of Oran said, his thick and stern voice immediately attracted the heads of all the guests, "How did they appear in the sunken ship?"

"You should ask the people in the military department." The senior official immediately threw the hot potato to the several officers present.

A colonel coughed in embarrassment and touched the brim of his hat: "That's the matter of the previous commander-in-chief, Your Excellency. According to the records, during the battle against bandits, the Sharktooth confiscated a batch of supplies from the pirate ship. , including a box of eggs of unknown creatures. After it sank, the military department at that time cleaned up all the important facilities and ammunition on the ship. When they scanned the entire ship, they mistakenly took these eggs as... Cough... as a food reserve for the ship's canteen..."

"Pfft..." Someone couldn't help laughing in the darkness.

Ian exchanged an indescribable look with Carol.

"So," the Duke's tone showed that he was clearly trying to control his anger, "they just dropped these dangerous things on the bottom of the sea and let them hatch?"

"It's all a coincidence." The officer argued, "'Sharktooth' did not record this batch of eggs. And no one thought that there would be any creatures whose eggs could hatch after sleeping for more than 100 years! God knows 'Sea Puppet' is WTF?"

The senior official immediately added: "'Ocean' is the name of ancient humans for mutants. It is a collective name for a huge ethnic group, and there are nearly a hundred branches below it. These sea puppets have a small amount of human genes. In fact, according to records, they are all It is the product of failed genetic experiments by ancient humans..."

"Shut up," said the Duke.

The senior official immediately closed his mouth with interest.

The Duke asked again: "They have been hatching for a while, how did they survive in that warehouse?"

"They eat fish." The senior official said, "They can't get out, but fish can swim in through the bullet holes. They emit a sound wave that attracts fish. Of course, according to the descriptions of Mr. Ling and Master Hughes, it also Cannibalism..."

The house fell into a short, oppressive silence.

Ian's calm and peaceful voice sounded: "These 'evens' were supposed to be left on the ancient earth by humans. But now, they appear here, as invasive creatures, posing a serious threat to our ecology. Only Fryer is so unfortunate, or does such a creature exist in other places? How was it brought from the ancient earth? Even, is someone secretly cultivating them? What is the purpose?"

The humans in the room fell into a muddy silence.Only the sea puppets in the aquarium were scratching and neighing, making creepy noises.

"I will not let Fryer's ocean be destroyed by such disgusting creatures." The Duke of Oran said in a deep voice, "They must be cleaned up! I know that General Hughes has a lot to do every day, so I decided to do it myself."

The officer still had something to say, but the Duke had already yelled unceremoniously: "I don't care what authority the emperor gave the general, Fryer is my fief and my home! Now I'm going to almost eat my son in the pond in the backyard." Kill all the monsters, no one is qualified to tell me what to do! In this world, no one can stop a man from defending his home and protecting his family!"

No one in the room dared to speak out.

When leaving the institute, Carol escorted Ian, who had some inconvenient legs and feet, to the porch of the side entrance.

"Your performance has once again refreshed my expectations, little brother." No one was around, Carol praised enthusiastically, "You actually summoned the Holy Light, I'm going to be jealous of you, Ian. The Holy Lord really Apparition?"

"The Holy Lord's miracles are everywhere, brother." Ian replied solemnly, "Where the light shines, all sorrows and joys are his grace."

"Of course, my brother." Carol raised his eyebrows lightly, "It is very beneficial for us to put all the luck in the place of the Holy Lord's apparition. The archbishop is quite satisfied with you. I think he must have praised you in private .”

"The archbishop has indeed personally asked about my injury." Ian said, "He thinks this matter can make the Duke's motivation to vote for him more reasonable."

"What could make him more grateful than saving his son?" Carol said, "You are really our lucky little white dove, Ian. The archbishop also told me, keep it like this, and wait for me After being transferred back to Xilin, the person who takes over my position is none other than you."

Carol thoughtfully opened the car door for Ian and sent him into the car.

"There will be a good show to watch next." Carol made a fool of himself in the distance.

The Duke of Oran was leading his officers, talking with the two officers.It seems that the atmosphere is a little tense.The Duke's spokeswoman looked coldly, apparently accusing the military of negligence that had brought great trouble to the government's work.

"The public doesn't need to know?" The spokeswoman's indignant voice spread around, "When they go out to sea or dive and swim, they are eaten by those monsters. They don't know but they have to know. You put the people's Life is such a trifle, is this your self-consciousness as a soldier, sir?"

The officer on the other side was suppressed by her aggressive aura and was a little slurred.

"Look, it's already started." Carol said to Ian, "We must use force to clean up those monsters. This will use mechs, guns and ammunition, and even a lot of manpower. And the Duke's reason is quite reasonable. After all, in case It’s not good for Lyle to clean up the water monsters, these sea puppets were brought to other planets, for example, the imperial capital?”

The Duke keenly sensed their gaze, and glanced coldly sideways.

"That would be a disaster for the entire human race." Ian said indifferently, "I think the one from the Champs Elysees Palace should consider various aspects and appropriately relax the restrictions on the duke."

"I'm really looking forward to seeing the Duke and General Hughes face off." Carol gloated and closed the car door for Ian.

As Ian's car got closer to the church, there were more and more people and vehicles on the side of the road.These are pilgrims who come from all over the world to Fryer.And this situation has lasted for two days.

Ian came out of the treatment pod, rested for only one night, and found out the next day that, thanks to the media, he had become a celebrity for Fryer overnight.

People of all kinds filled his chapel.

Those who begged for the holy light and holy water, those who came to pray and repent, those who came to donate in person, and those who hoped that Ian would preside over the baptism and wedding ceremony.There are also a large number of believers who simply want to see him, and even a few reckless young men who came to court him...

Ian's subordinates only have one deacon and four part-time assistants, so they are simply too busy.Fortunately, the duchess sent servants and mechanical servants from the manor in time to help maintain order.

Even so, Ian was still busy from morning to night every day, and his badly injured leg could not get rest, and it was always sore, which made him unable to walk.

On this day, Ian was busy until the evening as usual.He finally sat down to dinner after the church closed.

And overwork made him lose his appetite.Thinking of the evil man-made creatures he saw during the day, the priest couldn't eat anymore.

"I'm going for a walk." He picked up his crutches.

"You should take a break." Mrs. Cameron said with concern, "You haven't even had a chance to sit down since you woke up this morning."

"The doctor also asked me to exercise this leg more to prevent muscle atrophy." Ian smiled, "Don't worry, I'll go for a walk in the bay, it's very quiet there."

The bay behind the church belongs to the territory of the Parthenon Manor, and outsiders are not allowed to break in at will.So Ian is not worried that someone will disturb him.

Wujin has sunk to the west, and the sunset glow has faded to the end of the sky and the corner of the sea.

The sky became a show for the stars.The sky swept by the storm was unbelievably clear, and the river of stars meandered from east to west, like a stream of broken diamonds scattered on the black dome.

That is the closest galaxy to the constellation Cetus.The humans of the giant cetus named it "Draco".Because its shape looks exactly like the mythical beast "dragon" in the ancient Chinese civilization.

Although it looks close to the naked eye, Draco is nearly a million light-years away from the giant whale.According to legend, the Holy Master had been to the Dragon Constellation back then, looking for his lost companion there.

The high tide and waves are like a mother's hand, patting the beach gently back and forth, coaxing the land to sleep peacefully.

Ian stood on the grass by the beach, looking at the bay under the stars, watching this peaceful beauty full of crises and killings.

The night wind blew gently, and Ian suddenly turned his head.

There was a blond boy standing behind the previously empty place.

I don't know if it's my own illusion.It's just that I haven't seen him for a few days, and the boy seems to have jumped a bit higher.The shoulders that were still immature before became thicker, and the slender skeleton stretched in the wind, as if they were still growing.

That face is still childish, with soft edges and corners, but the eyes are condensed, which is a kind of maturity far beyond his age.

There is a kind of persistence and perseverance, through the outline of the young man who still needs to be hammered and sculpted, exuding its irresistible edge.

"Leon..." Ian called softly, and swallowed the second part of "You have grown up".

"Father..." The young man hesitated, trying to walk over, but couldn't move forward.

Ian smiled at him: "People who have completed the awakening are different, and their entire mental outlook has changed. What are you doing standing there? Come and let me see."

The boy raised his head, took a deep look at the priest, and walked towards him.

His breath was also different.Ian noticed it keenly.

As an Alpha who entered puberty, Leon's pheromones began to become mellow and rich, and began to ferment from sugar water to wine, and no longer contained the sweet milk aroma that made one feel soft when smelling it in the past.

He began to gradually become more attractive, more attractive to the Omega.His intelligence and personality will also undergo tremendous changes.

He would soon be content to follow the priest around.He will go out, meet more friends, establish his own social circle, see the world with his own eyes, and touch the land, ocean, and vast sky with his own hands.

The light smoke of loss rises up, and is blown away by the wind of relief and pride.

Leon stared at the priest's handsome face with a smile under the dim starlight, feeling a little bit unable to lift his head up.

"How's your...injury?" he asked falteringly.

"It's much better." Ian said, "What about you? I heard that when you first awakened, your ability test reached A+. Although the Alphas are all very strong physically, your statistics are very good, and you are a natural fighter. I think The Duke must be very proud."

"It's not bad." Leon was a little shy, "He got burned by those water monsters and didn't have time to care about me."

"Your father is very concerned about you, Leon. He's just not good at expressing it." Ian turned around and continued walking forward, "I thought he would punish you for causing trouble this time..."

His body was hugged tightly by a pair of arms stretched from behind, his back pressed against his hot chest, and his furry golden head rested on his shoulder.

The warm liquid soaked through the priest's thin shirt.

Ian heard the boy sniffling.And as he sobbed, the arms around him tightened even tighter.