Choice and Choice

"I won't actively sacrifice the people in that village," Sun Hang replied calmly.

"Why?" Yang Qi stared at him for a few seconds before asking.

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

"...Very well, congratulations, you have successfully passed the assessment," Yang Qi lightly applauded. "You are now an officially recognized Anomaly Hunter."

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

"That's right... Hunters, being infected, possess power comparable to anomalies, but they also become extremely dangerous ticking time bombs themselves. The infection process of the Anomalization Virus has a 'threshold.' When your infection process is below the threshold, your dominant consciousness is still human, but once it breaks through the threshold, you will completely lose control... and even become a new anomaly," Yang Qi explained. "But this infection process is different from conventional viruses. We haven't figured out what kind of behavior causes it to change. All we can do is help the hunters as much as possible to hold onto their 'humanity'."

"I think I understand," Sun Hang nodded. "You want to use the power of the infected, but you're also afraid of them losing control, which is why you've set up this whole testing procedure. But there's one thing I don't quite understand: in an actual operation, what would you do?"

"Of course, we would sacrifice the people in that village and eliminate the anomaly," Yang Qi said. "If such ideal conditions existed, we wouldn't hesitate at all."

"But isn't that contrary to the purpose of the test?"

"No, it's not contrary. That kind of decision is made by the rear command personnel, not the frontline hunters," Yang Qi shook her head. "Commanders can do whatever it takes to complete a mission, but hunters cannot.

"For hunters, maintaining their humanity and clear self-awareness is always the top priority. And this disregard for life will gradually dilute your self-perception as a human... If this continues, you will eventually degenerate from an opponent of disaster to the disaster itself," Yang Qi said.

Seeing Yang Qi's serious expression, Sun Hang remained unfazed.

The reason he chose "humanity" actually had no deeper meaning; it was simply because it was the "correct answer."

Yang Qi's previous words could no longer be called hints; they were blatant clues, clearly guiding him to make the "rational" choice.

This meant that the other option was most likely the correct one.

Moreover, the risks associated with the two choices were not equal.

If Sun Hang chose humanity, and Yang Qi told him he chose incorrectly, he would at most be considered a weakling.

But if he had chosen rationality, and it turned out to be wrong, he would likely be seen by them as someone with weak humanity, who could lose control and become an anomaly at any moment.

The former might at most prevent him from becoming a hunter, but he would still have a glimmer of hope. The latter, however, would probably lead to him being "dealt with" immediately...

"By the way, there's something I'm very curious about," Sun Hang suddenly asked. "Regarding my amnesia, I only remember my name is Sun Hang, and nothing 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 become an Anomaly Hunter, this item can naturally be returned to you," Yang Qi said, taking out a sealed evidence bag from her white coat pocket. The label on the bag had been removed, and a necklace, seemingly made of stainless steel, lay quietly inside.

"This was found at the rescue site," Yang Qi said. "To be precise, it was hanging around your neck at the time."

Sun Hang took the bag and opened it, pouring the necklace out. The pendant at the bottom of the chain was an oval metal nameplate, similar in style to the identification tags used by Xiazhou Federation soldiers.

However, compared to the detailed information on military identification tags, this metal nameplate only had two Chinese characters laser-etched on it—"Sun Hang."

"We investigated this tag; it doesn't belong to any military unit in the Federation, nor to any publicly registered organizations. We also searched the entire Federation's archive for the name Sun Hang. There are many people with the same name, but none of their records match yours," Yang Qi said.

Sun Hang turned the nameplate around, then held it up to the light from different angles... but no matter what observation method he tried, he couldn't obtain any more information.

It was just a simple piece of stainless steel, shaped by a lathe and engraved with his name... The edges of the nameplate weren't even polished smooth, and it felt rough to the touch.

"Not only your name, but we also entered your DNA data, facial features, and other information into the archives, and still found no record of you," Yang Qi said. "Based on my judgment, before you lost your memory, you were most likely engaged in a gray occupation that operated between legal and illegal."

"Such as?" Sun Hang glanced at her and asked.

"Private military contractors without a legal operating license... commonly known as mercenaries," Yang Qi said.

"A mercenary's dog tag wouldn't just have a name, it would at least have a blood type," Sun Hang said softly. "It's even possible this isn't my real name..."

"A name is just 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 prefer at any time... Oh, right, if you really want to change your name, it's best to tell me before noon tomorrow, so we can use the new name when creating your new identity file."

"No need, Sun Hang is fine," Sun Hang said. "Speaking of which, is it impossible to trace the origin of this nameplate through its manufacturing process?"

"We've tried every method you can think of," Yang Qi sighed. "Instead of hoping to uncover your past from this small piece of metal, it's better to focus on recovering your memory."

"Alright, let's put that aside for now," Sun Hang put on the gray uniform jacket issued to Temporary Investigators and casually stuffed the metal nameplate into his pocket. "Regarding my debt, as well as the scope of work for Anomaly Hunters, salary, and compensation, I think it's time we discussed it."