Choices and Choices

"I wouldn't take the initiative to sacrifice the people in that village," Sun Hang replied calmly.

"Why?" Yang Qi asked after staring at him for several seconds.

"No reason." Sun Hang shook his head. "You only asked me to make a choice, not explain why. All I can tell you is what choice I would make in that situation."

"...Very good. Congratulations, you passed the assessment." Yang Qi lightly applauded. "You are now an Anomaly Hunter with official status."

"So the standard answer to this question was to choose humanity?"

"That's right... As infected individuals, Hunters possess power capable of matching Anomalies, but they also become extremely dangerous ticking time bombs themselves. The Anomalization Virus has a 'threshold' in its progression. While your infection remains below that threshold, your dominant consciousness is still human. But once it breaks through the threshold, you will completely lose control... and may even become a new kind of Anomaly." Yang Qi explained, "But this infection progression differs from ordinary viruses. To this day, we still haven't figured out what actions cause it to change. All we can do is help Hunters preserve their 'humanity' as much as possible."

"I think I get the general idea." Sun Hang nodded. "You want to use the infected people's power, but you're also afraid they'll lose control, which is why you came up with this whole testing process. But there's one thing I don't understand. What would you actually do in practice?"

"Of course, sacrifice the people in that village and eliminate the Anomaly," Yang Qi said. "If conditions were truly that ideal, we wouldn't hesitate at all."

"Wouldn't that contradict the purpose of the test?"

"No, it doesn't. That sort of decision is for rear-echelon commanders to make, not Hunters on the front lines." Yang Qi shook her head. "Commanders can use any means necessary to complete their missions, but Hunters can't.

"For Hunters, preserving their humanity and a clear sense of self must always be the highest priority. Choices that disregard life will gradually erode your self-perception as a human... If that continues, you will eventually fall from fighting disasters to becoming disasters yourselves," Yang Qi said.

Sun Hang felt no stir in his heart as he watched Yang Qi's earnest expression.

The reason he had chosen "humanity" had no deeper meaning at all. It was simply because that was the "correct answer."

Everything Yang Qi had said earlier had gone beyond mere hints. She had practically spelled it out, blatantly guiding him toward the "rational" choice.

That meant the other option was most likely the correct one.

Besides, the risks involved in the two choices were far from equal.

If Sun Hang chose humanity and Yang Qi told him he was wrong, at worst she would think he was a weak good-for-nothing.

But if he chose rationality and got it wrong, then in her eyes, he would likely become someone lacking in humanity, someone who could lose control and turn into an Anomaly at any moment.

The former merely meant he could not become a Hunter, but he would still have some chance of survival. The latter would probably mean they would "deal with" him immediately...

"By the way, there's something I'm curious about." Sun Hang suddenly asked, "As for my amnesia, I only remember that my name is Sun Hang. I don't remember anything else... But how did you know my name?"

Sun Hang clearly remembered that the first thing he heard after waking up was the nurse saying, "Mr. Sun, you're awake."

"Since you've already become an Anomaly Hunter, this can naturally be returned to you." As Yang Qi spoke, she took a sealed evidence bag from the pocket of her white coat. The label on the bag had already been torn off, and inside lay a necklace that appeared to be made of stainless steel.

"This was found at the rescue site," Yang Qi said. "More precisely, it was hanging around your neck at the time."

Sun Hang took the bag and opened it, pouring out the necklace. The pendant hanging from the chain was an oval Metal Nameplate, resembling the identification tags used by Xiazhou Federation soldiers.

But unlike military identification tags, which carried detailed information, this Metal Nameplate bore only two Chinese characters etched by laser—"Sun Hang."

"We investigated this tag. It doesn't belong to any military unit in the Federation, nor does it belong to any organization with publicly registered information. We also searched the Federation's entire archives for the name Sun Hang. There were many people with the same name, but none of their records matched you," Yang Qi said.

Sun Hang turned the nameplate over, then held it up to the light and examined it from different angles... But no matter how he looked at it, he could not obtain any further information.

It was nothing more than a simple piece of stainless steel, shaped on a lathe and engraved with his name... Even the edges had not been polished smooth, and felt distinctly rough to the touch.

"Not just your name. We also entered your DNA data, facial features, and other information into the archives, but there was still no record of you," Yang Qi said. "In my judgment, before losing your memory, you most likely worked in a gray area between legal and illegal."

"Such as?" Sun Hang glanced at her.

"A private military contractor without a legal operating license... more commonly known as a mercenary," Yang Qi said.

"A mercenary's dog tag wouldn't have just a name on it. At the very least, it would include a blood type." Sun Hang spoke softly. "This might not even be my real name..."

"A name is only a designation. You can be called Sun Hang, or something else." Yang Qi said indifferently. "If you don't like this name, you can change it to one you like whenever you want... Oh, right. If you really want to change your name, it would be best to tell me before noon tomorrow, so we can use the new name directly when creating your new identity file."

"No need. Sun Hang is fine." Sun Hang said, "Come to think of it, can't you trace its origin through the manufacturing process of the nameplate?"

"We tried every method you can think of." Yang Qi sighed. "Rather than hoping to uncover your past through such a tiny piece of metal, you'd be better off hoping to recover your memories."

"Fine, then let's put that aside for now." Sun Hang put on the gray uniform jacket issued to Temporary Investigators and casually slipped the Metal Nameplate into his pocket. "I think it's time we talked about my debt, the scope of an Anomaly Hunter's work, salary, compensation, and all that."