Neighbors

"So that was it."

"What? Are you interested in her? I can introduce you." Yang Qi's eyes narrowed into smiling crescents. "Don't let my little sister's sour face and keep-out appearance fool you. She's actually the cold-on-the-outside, warm-on-the-inside type."

"Uh? You seem pretty eager to sell your sister off..." Sun Hang glanced at the camera in the corner of the ceiling. He was not entirely sure whether Yang Qi was simply making conversation or whether this was part of the "test."

"How could I not be? She's already twenty-nine and has never dated anyone. Every blind date ends in a hurry with no follow-up. How could I, as her older sister, not worry?"

"Your sister is already twenty-nine, so doesn't that mean you're pushing—"

"Enough. It would be rude to continue." Yang Qi swiftly ended the topic. "How about this? I'll take you to get familiar with your new place first, then slowly explain the things you need to keep in mind in your daily life and work as a Hunter."

Yang Qi went to a cabinet nearby, took out a set of clothes, and stuffed them into Sun Hang's hands.

It was a set of casual black-and-white clothes from an ordinary brand commonly seen on the streets. Resting on top was an exquisitely crafted metal wristband.

"Although the Investigation Bureau and Hunters are closely connected, Hunters do not belong to the Investigation Bureau. So you won't need to wear this Temporary Investigator uniform anymore." After speaking, Yang Qi picked up the wristband. "This is a tracker. When necessary, you can choose to take it off yourself... but I suggest you don't, unless there is absolutely no other choice."

"Hunters even get assigned housing?" Sun Hang fastened the wristband around his left wrist. With a click, the two halves fit together seamlessly, making it impossible to tell that it had originally been a two-piece structure. He tried moving his wrist... he had to admit, the tracking wristband was remarkably comfortable. Its presence was almost negligible.

"Of course. Did you plan on going back to the Temporary Investigator dormitory?"

Sun Hang recalled the room's prison-cell-like layout and blurted out the honest truth. "That place is basically a jail."

"Though saying this might offend our colleagues at the Investigation Bureau, I have to admit... you're right."

Anomaly Research Institute, Tianfu City, underground level one, garage.

What surprised Sun Hang was that Yang Qi, a refined and scholarly-looking intellectual, drove an extremely rugged armored SUV as her personal vehicle. The crash bars at the front and along both sides bore obvious dents and scrape marks, while the dark green modular armor was pocked with dense bullet holes. It looked as though it had just been dragged off a battlefield.

"This is really your car?" Sun Hang could not help asking.

"It used to be a military vehicle. After it was scrapped, I picked it up and refurbished it inside and out." Yang Qi patted the hood proudly. "Everything about it is great. Its only flaw is the fuel consumption, but the Institute reimburses fuel costs, so that flaw doesn't exist."

Sun Hang was about to open the front passenger door when Yang Qi stopped him. "Wait. Can you drive?"

"...I don't remember."

"Get in and give it a try." Yang Qi tossed him the keys. "Maybe once you touch the steering wheel, some related memories will come back."

"But I don't have a license either... If I just drive out like this, won't the traffic control people stop me?"

"Your Hunter License is an all-purpose pass. Besides, while this vehicle was scrapped, its plates were never canceled. Traffic control wouldn't dare stop a military vehicle," Yang Qi said.

"Fine, I'll try. If I crash it, I won't have to pay, right?"

"No. Go ahead and drive boldly... Uh, you do know which pedal is the accelerator and which is the brake, right?"

"I do." Sun Hang thought about it and realized he still retained the relevant knowledge, so he took the driver's seat on his own.

Sure enough, once Sun Hang gripped the steering wheel, a familiar feeling surged through him—he could basically confirm that he had known how to drive before losing his memory.

He inserted the key, started the engine, pressed the clutch, shifted gears, released the handbrake, and lightly stepped on the accelerator... The entire sequence came naturally to him, and even Yang Qi in the passenger seat could not help nodding.

"Not bad. Looks like you were quite an experienced driver before." Yang Qi praised him. "These days, there aren't many young people who can drive a manual."

With the widespread adoption of new-energy vehicles, people now only tested for the simpler automatic transmission licenses. Military vehicles, however, used manual transmissions across the board in pursuit of greater power, easier maintenance, and reliability.

Plenty of veteran drivers who had been driving for over a decade had never stepped on a clutch even once.

"Where to?"

Sun Hang slowly drove the vehicle out of the garage and asked.

"Just follow the navigation." Yang Qi entered an address on the screen, and a detailed route was immediately projected onto the windshield directly in front of the driver's seat.

The armored SUV with military plates passed through three streets before turning straight into an upscale villa complex.

"It's the one on the far left," Yang Qi directed.

The SUV slowly stopped in front of that villa. Sun Hang noticed a pile of old furniture and household items beside the trash bins at the entrance.

A pink bedsheet trimmed with lace had been crumpled into a ball and hung over the edge of a trash bin. Beside it, more than a dozen black garbage bags were stacked taller than a person.

"Are you sure it's this one?" Sun Hang glanced suspiciously at the women's clothing spilling from tears in the garbage bags and asked.

"Tch, it's been this many days and they still aren't done?" Yang Qi looked a little embarrassed. "This neighborhood was actually built specifically by Tianfu City for Hunters... Well, the Hunter who lived here before died in the line of duty recently. Her house became vacant, so it worked out perfectly for you."

"Did she die in the Taotie Clone attack?" Sun Hang asked. "The one where I lost my memory?"

"Yes." Yang Qi nodded. "But it looks like they've mostly finished clearing the place out. Want to go in and take a look?"

"Sure." Sun Hang had just jumped out of the car when he saw a somewhat familiar figure step onto the second-floor balcony of the villa next door.

Wang Lizard... no, I should call her Wang Xiyi.

She wore a black sports bra, her long black hair tied behind her head with a hairband. Eight taut, solid abdominal muscles were exposed, glistening with sweat beneath the sunlight.

She glanced at Sun Hang and Yang Qi, then gave the slightest nod, which counted as a greeting.

She seemed to have just finished exercising. Crystal-clear beads of sweat slid down from the strands by her temples and dripped into the hollow of her smooth collarbone.

By all rights, Sun Hang should not have been able to smell anything from her at this distance, sweat included. Yet from nearly twenty meters away, he caught that scent unique to her.

The scent that made his mouth water.

This time, the nauseating urge to vomit did not appear—until Wang Xiyi took a syringe from the pocket of her athletic shorts and injected it into her arm.

Sun Hang suddenly understood where the cilantro scattered over an exquisite feast had come from.

"What was that injection she took?" Sun Hang asked Yang Qi.

"Beast Transformation Inhibitor. It helps her maintain her human form," Yang Qi answered. "It's one of our Institute's technological achievements."