Exclusive Weapon

As Sun Hang described it, The one-eyed female researcher's sole remaining eye widened round, her face brimming with uncontrollable excitement and joy as her stylus flew across the tablet screen.

Even Yang Lian showed a trace of astonishment. "That thing... you created it?"

"Th-this... is this your 'ability'? I know this is presumptuous, but I still want to ask..."

Before The one-eyed female researcher could finish, Sun Hang cut her off. "You understand the Institute's rules, right?"

"Ah, sorry!" The one-eyed female researcher froze for a moment, then nodded vigorously. After cautiously checking her surroundings and glancing at the colleagues busying themselves in the distance, she rapidly encrypted the record file and put away her tablet.

"So I can leave now?" Sun Hang wiped the chip crumbs from his fingers on the hem of his clothes and asked.

"Of course! We have no authority to restrict an Anomaly Hunter's freedom," The one-eyed female researcher said. "However, please keep your communication device available at all times for the next seventy-two hours. Due to the special nature of this Artifact Anomaly, the director may very well come speak with you in person."

Carrying the large bag of snacks The one-eyed female researcher had given him, Sun Hang ate as he walked. It took him more than ten minutes before he finally hailed a taxi by the roadside.

But when he got in and the driver asked where he was headed, Sun Hang blanked out.

He suddenly realized that he had no idea what the villa complex assigned to Anomaly Hunters was called. He did not even know which district or street it was in.

After thinking for a long time, Sun Hang could only ask the driver to take him to the Tianfu City Anomaly Research Institute—Yang Qi's SUV was parked there, and its navigation system should still have his home address saved.

"Impressive! You're so young, yet you already work at the Institute!" the taxi driver exclaimed. "Come to think of it, what was that huge rumbling noise over there just now? It sounded like a building had collapsed. I could feel the ground shaking from two or three miles away."

"Two buildings did collapse." Sun Hang nodded.

"Demolition or something? Wait, no—those clothes of yours, and the dust on your head... Don't tell me you just came from there?" the driver asked in surprise.

"Sharp eyes, sir." Sun Hang gave him a thumbs-up.

"Don't tell me... an anomaly caused the trouble?"

Sun Hang nodded—this was definitely going to make tomorrow's headlines. With such a huge commotion, even if the Management Committee wanted to keep it hidden, they could not. Rather than letting countless versions of the rumor run rampant through the city, it was better to openly tell the public the truth. Besides, the Cult Organization and the anomalies it had raised had already been wiped out, and no wider damage had been caused. Naturally, there would not be much negative public opinion.

"That's terrible, that's terrible... Looks like I'll have to take the long way around that place in the future," the driver said repeatedly.

Still, compared with the ordinary people in the "interior," who turned pale at the mention of anomalies, people in border regions like Tianfu City had much greater psychological resilience... For those living here, anomaly attacks might not have become an everyday occurrence, but they were at least nothing unusual.

"It's not a big problem. The anomaly causing trouble has already been eliminated..." Halfway through speaking, Sun Hang's phone suddenly rang. When he unlocked the screen, he saw a message from Yang Qi.

"I just received a notice. You wiped out a Cult Organization in Chenghua District and eliminated the anomaly they were raising, 'Tai Sui'? Why didn't you notify me immediately?"

Yang Qi's message was filled with reproach, giving Sun Hang a headache.

As Sun Hang's direct supervisor, she had priority access to information on all of his actions—the moment The one-eyed female researcher uploaded the report to the Institute, Yang Qi had been notified.

"I thought your sister had already told you..." After thinking it over, Sun Hang decided to shift the blame onto that stern-faced older ice queen who had worked for seven years without earning a promotion.

"You know what my sister is like... If something isn't necessary, she won't say a single extra word. I've already read the detailed field report. You weren't injured in the fight, were you?"

"No." Sun Hang thought about it. A wound that healed instantly probably did not count as an injury. "It's just that the blade is a little troublesome. I don't know how I made it appear, and I know even less how it became an anomaly..."

"I already understand the situation with that blade. Based on my assessment, the Taotie that infected you most likely devoured an anomaly with the ability to control metal before, and during the process of infecting you, it granted that ability to you as well... Since you are the first recorded Taotie-infected person, I'm not sure exactly what abilities might appear in you. As for the blade becoming an anomaly, there are only two possibilities—it was infected by 'Tai Sui,' or by your 'infection.'"

"Can Anomaly Hunters infect ordinary objects and turn them into anomalies?" Sun Hang froze briefly, then immediately sent, "Then aren't people like us extremely dangerous?"

"The probability of infection without conscious intent is extremely low, practically zero. But that blade was 'created' using your ability, so it cannot be ruled out that some of the Anomalization Virus was copied over in the process. I only just realized it—was that why you asked me about the conditions under which Artifact Anomalies are formed?"

"Yes." Sun Hang answered honestly.

"Since this Artifact Anomaly came from your hands, then the situation is completely different. You can apply to designate it as your 'exclusive weapon'... However, as far as I know, that thing is fifteen meters long and weighs more than eight tons. It does not 'seem' suitable for carrying around."

"I found it pretty handy to use, though. It didn't feel that heavy."

"The biggest issue is its size... How about this? I'll see whether I can help you apply for a transport drone. Normally, the thing can be kept in the Institute's containment facility. Whenever you need it, we can have the drone airdrop it to your location... That has to be more convenient than carrying such a huge thing around with you."

Sun Hang thought about it and replied with an "OK" emoji.

A few seconds later, Yang Qi sent another message. "The Institute just informed me that the thing's serial number has been assigned—'J2796.' As for its name, since you are its creator, you have priority naming rights."

"2796? Have the serial numbers for Artifact Anomalies already gone past two thousand?" Sun Hang was somewhat surprised.

"There are even more temporary numbers, as well as old numbers that were deleted and replaced."

"Speaking of which, I'm curious. How does the Institute determine the Primal Anomaly numbered zero? By strength?"

"By the frequency of the meme. For example, suppose the meme of every anomaly is a vibrant color. Then the memes of Primal Anomalies are the three primary colors of red, green, and blue (Note 1). Mixed in different proportions, these three colors can produce any other color—do you understand it when I put it that way?"

Note 1: The primary colors used here follow the definition of the "additive primary colors of light (RGB)," rather than the "subtractive primary colors of pigment (red, yellow, and blue)" used in art.