Metal Nameplate

"I don't like that thing," Sun Hang said bluntly.

"The Beast Transformation Inhibitor is a special drug developed by the Research Institute specifically for her. You can't get it even if you want to," Yang Qi said. "Besides, your infection is progressing very stably, and your body shows no signs of mutation. You can live a normal life."

"But that also means I'm very weak right now, right?" Sun Hang looked at his hands. "Besides knowing I'm infected with the Anomalization Virus and often craving Oddities, there doesn't seem to be anything special about me..."

"Every Hunter has to discover their own abilities, not to mention that your source of infection is extremely unusual," Yang Qi said. "As of now, you are the only human infected by a Taotie."

"Is the Taotie special?" Sun Hang asked.

"Very special, because it has always only devoured other Oddities and never infected anything else... Your existence is enough to turn dozens of research papers related to the Taotie into a pile of scrap paper," Yang Qi's expression was a bit complicated. "Moreover, the Taotie's abilities are very malleable. To put it this way..."

Yang Qi paused here and glanced out of the corner of her eye at Wang Xiyi, who was leaning on the balcony railing and gazing into the distance. "Suppose, I'm just saying suppose, if you were to eat her, you would have a high probability of acquiring the 'Night Fiend's' beast transformation ability. This ability could be a flawed version or a stronger evolved version."

"So, as long as I keep devouring Oddities, I'll get stronger?"

"Theoretically, yes, but the risks are very high." Yang Qi held up three fingers. "First, some Oddities have conflicting characteristics and abilities. If you devour both of them at the same time, you might experience 'food poisoning'; second, some Oddities are much stronger than you, even stronger than the Taotie. If you devour them, you won't be able to digest their abilities and will instead explode or be assimilated in reverse; third, every time you devour an Oddity, it's equivalent to being reinfected with the Anomalization Virus... The Taotie itself is an Oddity, so it fears nothing, but you are different. Every time you devour something, you take one step closer to becoming an Oddity and one step further away from being human."

"It sounds like this ability has significant side effects." Sun Hang smacked his lips and also glanced at the delicious-looking dish sprinkled with cilantro on the balcony.

If he ate Wang Xiyi, would he be the one "eating cilantro" every day?

Just thinking about it made Sun Hang's scalp tingle.

"Very significant, and we have very little information about the Taotie... I still haven't figured out why my teacher asked me to be your direct supervisor. Logically, a 'important sample' like you should have been handled by him personally," Yang Qi sighed.

"Perhaps your teacher already considers you his successor," Sun Hang said casually, pushing open the villa's courtyard gate and walking in.

The villa's main door was equipped with a biometric lock. As soon as Sun Hang entered, before he could even touch the doorknob, he heard a "click" and the lock retracted automatically.

"I already recorded your identification information into the lock when you were at the Research Institute," Yang Qi said. "From now on, this will be your new home."

Sun Hang walked into the villa and looked around. The interior was sparsely furnished, with almost all traces of the previous owner removed. The furniture and daily necessities were all new, and a flat, round sweeping robot was moving back and forth on the smooth floor of the foyer.

"Are you satisfied?" Yang Qi asked.

"It's good." Sun Hang walked to the refrigerator, opened the door, and found that several shelves were already packed with items, including fresh fish, fruits, and vegetables, as well as convenient ready-to-eat meals that only needed microwaving.

"If you need a housekeeper or a nanny, we can arrange that for you too," Yang Qi said. "However, most Hunters prefer to live alone, except for that guy who sacrificed himself last time..."

"What happened to him?"

"He didn't want a housekeeper or a nanny. He requested three young and beautiful girls from the Research Institute to live with him," Yang Qi said helplessly.

"And you agreed?"

"We agreed, but we only sent one person."

"Who?"

"Wang Xiyi... She directly broke three of his ribs and crushed two fingers... After that, that guy never dared to make such a request again," Yang Qi said.

"Wang Xiyi is that strong?"

"Among all the Anomaly Hunters in the entire Xiazhou Federation, her strength ranks among the top... It's a pity, her remaining time is probably not much," Yang Qi sighed here.

"Why? Is she going to die soon?"

"When she first arrived in Tianfu City, she needed an Inhibitor injection once every half a month. Now, it's so frequent that she needs four injections a day just to barely maintain her human form," Yang Qi said. "Even though the Inhibitor has been iterated to the fifth generation, its effectiveness is getting worse and worse. Once the Inhibitor becomes completely ineffective for her, she probably won't be able to turn back into a human."

"And in her beast-transformed state, can she still maintain her human consciousness?"

"It's very difficult. In the beast-transformed state, human consciousness continuously fades. Short-term transformations won't have a significant impact... If one remains in the beast-transformed state for a long time, losing humanity completely and becoming an Oddity is just a matter of time," Yang Qi's tone carried a hint of worry.

"..." Sun Hang fell silent for a few seconds, took an apple from the refrigerator, and took a bite.

"Alright, you can stay here tonight. I need to go back to the Research Institute. If you have any needs or problems, just call me," Yang Qi said. "The restrictions on the phone issued by the Investigation Bureau have all been lifted, of course, if you want to change to a new phone, that's fine too."

"Have a safe trip, don't bother seeing me out, drive carefully," Sun Hang said, taking a bite of the apple and sitting down on the sofa.

After Yang Qi left, the spacious villa suddenly became quiet, with only the faint "swish" sound of the sweeping robot as it moved.

"New home..." Sun Hang looked up again at the interior furnishings, murmuring, "This will be my home from now on..."

He took out the Metal Nameplate from his pocket and gently rubbed the words "Sun Hang" on it with his thumb... For a moment, a strange thought flashed through Sun Hang's mind.

"I wish this nameplate was made of gold."

However, as his fingertip brushed over the nameplate again, the originally silver-white stainless steel actually took on a layer of golden hue!

Before Sun Hang could even be astonished, the long-absent stinging sensation deep in his brain surged forth!