"I've thought about it." Sun Hang glanced at the Aberrant Long Blade and replied.
He had "created" this thing himself. Naturally, its most suitable wielder was Sun Hang.
"I'm afraid that won't be easy. Artifact Anomalies are inherently extremely dangerous, and the cost of containing and managing them remains high. Unless absolutely necessary, hunters are rarely issued Artifact Anomalies as equipment, let alone allowed to carry them around." Yang Qi replied.
The Anomaly Research Institute worked quickly. In just over ten minutes, a custom-made container for the Aberrant Long Blade arrived at the scene.
It was a massive metal case shaped like a scabbard, secured atop two all-terrain transport vehicles with supports. Several enormous metal barrels were piled beneath it, along with a full set of equipment whose purpose Sun Hang did not know.
More than a dozen workers in heavy protective suits carefully used a crane to pull the Aberrant Long Blade out of the ground, then slowly pushed it inch by inch into its tailor-made "scabbard." Though Sun Hang had wanted to help them finish the process directly, he ultimately chose to stand to the side and watch with the sour-faced woman, avoiding unnecessary trouble.
The liquid stored in the metal barrels was poured into the "scabbard's" inner layers. The instant it came into contact with the air, white mist billowed up, and the surrounding temperature abruptly dropped by several degrees.
"It's liquid nitrogen." Yang Lian crossed her arms and spoke in a tone as cold as the liquid nitrogen itself.
"Can low temperatures restrain Anomalies?" Sun Hang asked doubtfully.
"Most Anomalies, especially those with physical forms, still possess conventional material structures. Temperatures close to absolute zero can slow the movement of the particles making up matter to an extreme degree, keeping them in a stable state." Another female researcher answered Sun Hang's question. She wore no protective suit. She had the wheat-colored skin typical of someone of mixed heritage and sharply sculpted features. Her long silver-white dyed hair was tied into a high ponytail at the back of her head. The only regrettable thing was that she had only one right eye; her left eye socket was empty, without even a prosthetic eyeball to fill it.
"Whether it works or not, this is one of the standard procedures for containing Anomalies," The one-eyed female researcher added.
"Got it." Sun Hang nodded, pulled out his phone, and sent Yang Qi another message.
"How are things at South City Public Cemetery now?"
"Not optimistic. Time within the anomalous area seems to be out of sync with the outside world. It is still nighttime there, and the Blood Moon has yet to disappear. Everyone involved in the operation has returned to camp for now, and the search-and-rescue operation has temporarily stalled." Yang Qi replied.
"So there's nothing for me to do right now?"
"Continue standing by in the city. Also, be careful of the Tianfu City Management Committee... They may pressure the institute or the hunters and forcibly demand that you enter the anomalous area." Yang Qi said.
"Are you messaging my sister?" Yang Lian suddenly leaned over and asked in a low voice.
"You look so aloof, yet you like peeking at people's screens?" Sun Hang put away his phone and made a disgusted face.
"...I have no interest in peeking at your screen." Yang Lian's expression stiffened slightly. "I just received her message. She asked me to look after you for the time being and make sure no one drags you off as forced labor—that was my sister's exact wording."
"I think she asked the wrong person." Sun Hang shot her a glance. "The scene of you forcing me to sign that Contract of servitude is still fresh in my mind."
"I was merely following procedure," Yang Lian said.
"So your sister's personal request is part of your work procedure now?"
"It isn't. But she is your direct supervisor. Until she is removed from her post or dies, no one may bypass her to give you orders." Yang Lian spoke expressionlessly. "And what I hate most is people abusing their authority for the sake of their own careers and doing things that violate the rules."
"...How many years have you worked at the Investigation Bureau?" Sun Hang suddenly asked a question that seemed unrelated to the current topic.
"Why are you asking that?"
"Just curious. Forget it if it's inconvenient to answer."
"Seven years," Yang Lian said. "Right after graduating from university, I took the Investigation Bureau's campus recruitment assessment and joined the Investigation Bureau with the top score."
"You joined as the top recruit and worked for seven years... How are you still doing this kind of work?" Sun Hang remarked. "You must have offended quite a few people to be doing this badly, huh?"
Yang Lian glared at him without saying a word.
"Alright, this is settled. I need to find something to eat... Honestly, I've still been thinking about that bowl of wontons I didn't get a single bite of this morning," Sun Hang said.
That kind old man had stuffed several Brown Sugar Glutinous Rice Cakes into his hands, but Sun Hang had only managed to shove one into his mouth. The rest had been sliced to pieces along with his clothes. The clothes he was wearing now had been scavenged from the ruins.
Devouring Anomalies gave Sun Hang an inexplicable sense of satisfaction, but it could not fill his empty stomach in reality.
"Um, please wait a moment." The one-eyed female researcher suddenly spoke up, hurried back to the vehicle, and returned carrying a large bag of snacks. She stuffed it into Sun Hang's hands. "If you haven't had breakfast, eat these to tide yourself over first. We still need you to make a statement... Though it would be fine to do it after we return to the institute, but..."
The female researcher suddenly gave Sun Hang a somewhat ingratiating smile, leaving him rather confused.
"She's bribing you." Yang Lian's voice cut in. "For researchers at the institute, the main criterion for promotion is their various Anomaly research reports, and records of battles between hunters and Anomalies are extremely important research material. If you make your statement here, she can put her name first on the research report afterward. But if you make it after returning to the institute, that report will have little to do with her."
"Why didn't you say so sooner?" Sun Hang looked at the bag of chips he had just torn open and could not help sighing to himself... His hands were just too fast.
Having accepted her food, Sun Hang had no choice but to briefly describe the battle that had just taken place—but that meant he could no longer hide the matter of the Aberrant Long Blade.
An Artifact Anomaly could not appear out of thin air, and Sun Hang could not be bothered to fabricate more lies just to cover up one lie... Besides, with the Anomaly Research Institute's capabilities, given enough time, they should be able to discover the connection between him and the Aberrant Long Blade.
The reason he had kept silent earlier was simply because he had been considering how to report the matter in a way that would minimize the negative impact on himself.
Sun Hang's abilities and the type of Anomaly infecting him were classified, so even when he was vague about many things, they could not press him too closely. In Sun Hang's account, the Aberrant Long Blade became a temporary weapon he had made by using his "ability" to forcibly squeeze numerous steel rebars together—and after cutting down "Tai Sui," this temporary weapon had inexplicably turned into an Anomaly.
Everything he said was true, but those truths could easily guide them into believing that the Aberrant Long Blade had become anomalous after being "infected" by Tai Sui...
As for an ability like "creating Anomalies," no normal person would even think in that direction.
Sun Hang suddenly felt fortunate that the institute had concluded the Anomaly infecting him was "Taotie." As a result, no matter what kind of abilities appeared on him—as long as they were not too outrageous—they generally would not arouse suspicion.
After all, if anyone asked, he only had to say that he had devoured other Anomalies and gained their abilities. Coupled with the fact that Anomaly traits and abilities were inherently ever-changing, it made his explanation all the more plausible.
But those were merely the version of himself in other people's eyes, the version he wanted them to see.
But what was the truth?
Sun Hang began to wonder... Was the Anomaly infecting him really "Taotie"?
Before you continue