"I won't sacrifice the people in that village." Sun Hang replied calmly.
"Why?" Yang Qi stared at him for a few seconds before asking.
"No reason." Sun Hang shook his head, "You only asked me to make a choice, not explain why. I can only tell you what choice I would make under such circumstances."
"... Very good, congratulations, you've successfully passed the assessment." Yang Qi gently clapped her hands, "Now you're officially a Mysterious Creature Hunter."
"So, the standard answer to this question is to choose humanity, right?"
"That's correct... As a Hunter who is an infected, while possessing a power that rivals mysterious creatures, you also become an extremely dangerous ticking time bomb. The Deceit Virus infection process has a 'threshold'. When your infection process is below the threshold, your dominant consciousness remains human, but once it surpasses the threshold, you will completely lose control... and may even turn into a new kind of mysterious creature." Yang Qi explained, "But this infection process is different from conventional viruses, we still haven't been able to research what actions would lead to its change, all we can do is try our best to help Hunters maintain their 'humanity'."
"I can roughly understand." Sun Hang nodded, "You want to utilize the power of the infected, yet fear their loss of control, so you devised this testing process. But one thing I don't quite understand, how would you actually operate in practice?"
"Of course, sacrifice the people in that village and eliminate the mysterious creature." Yang Qi said, "Assuming such ideal conditions exist, we wouldn't hesitate."
"Then wouldn't this contradict the test's purpose?"
"No, it doesn't contradict. Such a choice is left to the command personnel in the rear, not the frontline Hunters." Yang Qi shook her head, "A Commander may use any means necessary to complete a mission, but a Hunter cannot.
"For a Hunter, maintaining humanity and clear self-awareness must always be the highest priority. Such a disregard for life gradually fades your self-identification as human... Continuing down this path, you will eventually shift from a combatant against disasters to becoming the disaster itself." Yang Qi said.
As Sun Hang looked at Yang Qi's earnest expression, he felt no ripples in his heart.
The reason he chose "humanity" actually had no deeper reason, it was simply because it was the "correct answer".
Yang Qi's previous words were no longer hints but blatant indications, clearly guiding him to make the "rational" choice.
This meant that the other option was likely the correct one.
Moreover, the risks of the two choices were not equal.
If Sun Hang chose humanity, and Yang Qi told him he was wrong, at most he'd be considered a weak waste.
But if he chose rationality, and was wrong, he might be seen as a cold-blooded, potentially uncontrollable mysterious creature.
The former would at most be unfit to become a Hunter but would still have a slim chance; the latter would likely be "dealt with" immediately...
"Oh, there's something I'm curious about." Sun Hang suddenly asked, "About my memory loss, I only remember my name is Sun Hang, and nothing else... But, how did you all know my name?"
Sun Hang distinctly remembered that the first thing he heard upon waking was the nurse saying, "Mr. Sun, you're awake."
"Since you've become a Mysterious Creature Hunter, this item can naturally be returned to you." Yang Qi said, pulling out a sealed evidence bag from her lab coat pocket. The label had been torn off, and inside lay a necklace, seemingly made of stainless steel.
"This was found at the rescue site." Yang Qi said, "To be precise, at that time, it was hanging around your neck."
Sun Hang took the bag, opened it, and poured out the necklace. At the end of the chain was an oval metal tag, similar in style to an identification tag used by Xiazhou Federation soldiers.
But compared to the detailed information on military identification tags, this metal tag only had two laser-etched Chinese characters — "Sun Hang".
"We investigated this tag; it doesn't belong to any military division of the Federation or any group with publicly registered information. We searched through the Federation's archives for the name Sun Hang, but many people had the same name, and none of their files matched you." Yang Qi said.
Sun Hang rotated the tag, holding it up to the light from different angles... but no matter the observation method, he couldn't gather any more information.
This was a simple stainless steel piece, shaped by a lathe into this form, with his name engraved... the edges weren't smoothly polished, with a very noticeable roughness upon touch.
"Besides the name, we also input your DNA data, facial features, and other information into the archive, but still found no match." Yang Qi said, "Based on my judgment, you're likely engaged in a profession that straddles the line between legal and illegal before your amnesia."
"Such as?" Sun Hang glanced at her, asking.
"Private military contractors without legal operating licenses... commonly known as mercenaries." Yang Qi said.
"Even a mercenary's dog tag usually has more than just a name; at least it includes blood type." Sun Hang said softly, "It's even possible this isn't my real name..."
"Names are just labels; you can be called Sun Hang or you can choose something else." Yang Qi said indifferently, "If you don't like this name, you can change it anytime you want... oh, by the way, if you do want to change your name, it's best to let me know by noon tomorrow so we can use the new name to create your new identity file."
"No need, Sun Hang is fine." Sun Hang said, "I wonder if it's possible to trace the source through the craftsmanship of the tag?"
"We've tried everything you could think of." Yang Qi sighed, "Rather than hoping to figure out your past through this small piece of metal, it's better to hope for the return of your memories."
"Alright, let's not talk about this matter for now." Sun Hang donned the gray jacket issued to temporary investigators, casually stuffing the metal tag into his pocket, "About my debts and the scope of work, salary, and compensation as a Mysterious Creature Hunter, I think it's time we discuss these."