Cheng Ming pushed through the crowded passengers and finally found his seat. Before he could even set down his backpack, three people around his age sat down beside him and across from him. The memetic resonance between infected individuals made Cheng Ming instantly realize that all three of them were his "kind."
Not just these three—the passengers in this entire carriage were roughly half infected... or rather, Anomaly Hunters.
As for the other half, they were either partners of those hunters or freelance mercenaries who also made a living hunting anomalies. Though none of them carried weapons, Cheng Ming could still recognize at a glance the aura that set them apart from ordinary people.
"Yo, looks like we're all in the same line of work?" said a stylishly dressed young woman seated across from Cheng Ming. "You're all here for that mission too, right?"
"What else would we be here for?" The person beside Cheng Ming was a youth in a dark gray outdoor jacket. He looked to be over six feet tall, but the soft fuzz above his lips had yet to turn into coarse stubble, and his features were still distinctly boyish. He looked like an exceptionally well-fed high school student.
"The Liangzhu railway authorities specifically put all the hunters and mercenaries heading for Chang'an in this carriage," said the man seated across from Cheng Ming beside the young woman. "Probably because they were afraid that too many infected people gathering in one place would cause public panic."
Cheng Ming turned to look out the window. The platform was no longer as packed as it had been moments ago. The passengers who had just gotten off were either dragging their luggage toward the exits or staring down at their phones to check navigation apps or call ride-shares. A