Exclusive Weapon

As Sun Hang described, the researcher's only remaining eye widened, her face filled with unconcealed excitement and joy, her stylus flying across the tablet as she took notes.

Even Yang Lian showed a hint of surprise, asking in a low voice, "That thing... did you create it?"

"This... is this your 'ability'? It's presumptuous, but I still want to ask..."

Before the researcher could finish, Sun Hang interrupted her. "You understand the rules of the institute, don't you?"

"Ah, sorry!" The researcher paused, then nodded vigorously. She glanced around cautiously, then at her colleagues busy in the distance. With extreme speed, she password-protected the recorded document and put away her tablet.

"Can I go now?" Sun Hang asked, wiping his chip-crumb-covered fingers on his clothes.

"Of course! We have no right to restrict an Anomaly Hunter's freedom," the researcher said. "But please keep your communication open for the next 72 hours. Due to the special nature of this Artifact Anomaly, the Director might personally come to speak with you."

Sun Hang walked for over ten minutes, munching on the large bag of snacks the researcher had given him, before finally hailing a taxi by the roadside.

But once he was in the car and the driver asked him for his destination, Sun Hang was stumped.

He realized he had no idea what the name of the villa complex where the Anomaly Hunters lived was, nor did he know which district or road it was on.

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.

"Wow, you're young, but you work at the institute!" the taxi driver exclaimed. "Speaking of which, what was that huge rumbling sound just now? It sounded like buildings collapsing. I could feel the ground shaking from two or three miles away."

"Two buildings did collapse," Sun Hang nodded.

"Was it demolition? Wait, no, with your attire and the dust on your head... you didn't just come from there, did you?" the driver asked, surprised.

"You've got sharp eyes, driver," Sun Hang gave him a thumbs-up.

"Could it be... caused by an Anomaly?"

Sun Hang nodded. This would definitely be headline news tomorrow. With such a commotion, the Management Committee wouldn't be able to keep it quiet. Rather than letting rumors run wild, it was better to tell the public the truth openly. After all, the cult and the Anomalies they harbored had been dealt with, and no wider damage had been caused, so public opinion wouldn't be too negative.

"Incredible, incredible... I'll have to avoid that area from now on," the driver said repeatedly.

However, compared to the citizens in the "interior" who feared Anomalies, the people in border regions like Tianfu City had a much stronger psychological resilience. For those living here, Anomaly attacks, while not an everyday occurrence, were at least not uncommon.

"It's no big deal, the Anomaly causing trouble has been eliminated..." Sun Hang said, but his phone suddenly rang. He looked at the screen and saw a message from Yang Qi.

"I just received a notification that you eliminated a cult in the Chenghua District? And you eliminated their harbored Anomaly, the 'Tai Sui'? Why didn't you notify me immediately?"

Yang Qi's message was filled with a scolding tone, which gave Sun Hang a headache.

As his direct supervisor, she had priority knowledge of all his actions. The one-eyed female researcher had just uploaded the report to the institute, and Yang Qi had been notified.

"I thought your sister told you..." Sun Hang thought for a moment, then shifted the blame to the stern, unmarried, and perpetually stuck-in-her-rank older woman.

"You know your sister's personality... she wouldn't say an extra word unless it was necessary. I've already read the detailed site report. Were you injured in the fight?"

"No." Sun Hang thought about it; wounds that healed instantly probably didn't count as injuries. "It's just that knife is a bit troublesome. I don't know how I conjured it, nor how it became an Anomaly..."

"I've already understood the situation with the knife. Based on my judgment, the Taotie that infected you likely consumed an Anomaly with metal manipulation abilities before. During the process of infecting you, it also bestowed this ability upon you... Since you're the first recorded Taotie infection, I'm not sure what abilities you'll manifest. As for the knife becoming an Anomaly, it's likely one of two possibilities: it was infected by the 'Tai Sui,' or by your 'infection.'"

"Can Anomaly Hunters infect ordinary objects into Anomalies?" Sun Hang was stunned and immediately typed, "Then aren't people like us very dangerous?"

"The probability of infection without subjective intent is extremely low, almost zero. But that knife was 'created' by you using your abilities. It's possible that a portion of the Anomalization Virus was replicated into it during that process. It's only now dawning on me, you asked me about the conditions for generating Artifact Anomalies earlier because of this?"

"Yes," Sun Hang replied honestly.

"Since this Artifact Anomaly originated from you, the situation is completely different. You can apply for it as your 'exclusive weapon'... although, as far as I know, that thing is fifteen meters long and weighs over eight tons. It 'seems' unsuitable for carrying around."

"But I use it quite smoothly. It doesn't feel that heavy."

"The main problem is its size... How about this, I'll try to apply for a transport drone for you. Normally, this thing will be stored in the institute's containment facilities. When you need it, we'll air-drop it to your location using the drone... It's much more convenient than carrying such a large object with you."

Sun Hang thought for a moment and replied with an "OK" emoji.

A few seconds later, Yang Qi sent another message: "Just got word from the institute, the serial number for that thing has come out - 'J2796'. As for its name, as its creator, you have priority naming rights."

"Two Seven Nine Six? Have the serial numbers for Artifact Anomalies already reached the two thousands?" Sun Hang was slightly surprised.

"There are even more temporary numbers and old ones that have been deleted or replaced."

"Speaking of which, I'm curious, how does the institute determine the serial number for Primal Anomalies? Is it based on strength?"

"It's based on meme frequency. For example, if each Anomaly's meme is a colorful hue, then the memes of Primal Anomalies are the three primary colors of light (Note 1) – red, green, and blue. These three colors, mixed in different proportions, can produce any other color. Does that make sense?"

[Note 1: The primary colors used here are defined as "additive primary colors (RGB)" rather than the "subtractive primary colors (Red, Yellow, Blue)" of art.]