"I see."
"What? Are you interested in her? I can introduce you." Yang Qi smiled with her eyes narrowing, "Don't be fooled by my sister's stern face and distant demeanor. She's actually quite warm inside."
"Uh? You seem eager to promote your sister..." Sun Hang glanced at the camera in the corner of the ceiling, a bit unsure if Yang Qi was just chatting or if this was part of a "test."
"Can I not be anxious? She's already twenty-nine, hasn't dated yet, and every blind date ends without follow-up. As her elder sister, how can I not worry?"
"Your sister is already twenty-nine, so you must be almost..."
"Alright, it's getting a bit impolite to discuss further." Yang Qi quickly ended the topic, "Let's do this, I'll first take you to get familiar with your new residence, and then slowly introduce some things you need to pay attention to in your daily life and work as a Hunter."
Yang Qi went to a cabinet nearby, took out a set of clothes, and handed them to Sun Hang.
It was a set of black-and-white casual wear, a mass-market brand commonly seen on the streets, with a finely crafted metal bracelet on top of the clothes.
"Although the Investigation Bureau and Hunters are closely linked, Hunters don't belong to the Investigation Bureau, so you don't need to wear this temporary investigator uniform anymore." Yang Qi said, picking up the bracelet, "This is a tracker. You can choose to remove it when necessary... but I'd advise you not to, unless absolutely necessary."
"Do Hunters also get assigned housing?" Sun Hang fastened the bracelet on his left wrist, hearing a click, the joined part of the bracelet was seamless, showing no trace of its original two-piece structure. He tried moving his wrist and had to admit its comfort was excellent, almost imperceptible.
"Of course, unless you're planning to live in the temporary investigator's dorm again?"
Sun Hang recalled the cell-like interior of that place and blurted out, "It's like a prison."
"Though it might be offensive to the Investigation Bureau's colleagues, I have to say... you're right."
...
...
Celestial City Mysterious Creature Research Institute, basement level one, garage.
To Sun Hang's surprise, Yang Qi, who appeared to be a refined intellectual, drove a rugged armored off-road vehicle, marked by evident dents and scratches on the bumper bars at the front and sides, with countless bullet marks on the olive green modular armor, looking as if it had just returned from the battlefield.
"Is this really your car?" Sun Hang couldn't help but ask.
"It was a military vehicle; after it got decommissioned I picked it up and refurbished it inside and out." Yang Qi proudly patted the hood, "The car's great, the only downside being high fuel consumption, but since the institute reimburses fuel costs, it's not a problem."
Sun Hang was about to open the co-pilot door when Yang Qi called him: "Hold on, can you drive?"
"... I don't remember."
"Try it out." Yang Qi tossed the keys to Sun Hang, "You might recover some memory once you touch the steering wheel."
"But I don't have a license... driving it out like this, the traffic authorities might stop us, right?"
"A Hunter's license is your universal pass, and although this is a decommissioned vehicle, its plate hasn't been canceled, so the traffic authorities won't dare stop a military vehicle." Yang Qi said.
"Alright, I'll try. I suppose I don't have to pay if I crash it?"
"No need, drive boldly... uh, you know which is the accelerator and which is the brake, right?"
"I do." Sun Hang thought for a moment and realized he still had the relevant knowledge in his head, so he sat down in the driver's seat.
Once Sun Hang grasped the steering wheel, a familiar feeling washed over him — he could almost be certain that he knew how to drive before losing his memory.
He inserted the key, started the engine, pressed the clutch, shifted gears, released the handbrake, and gently stepped on the accelerator… The series of operations were so familiar, making even Yang Qi, sitting in the co-driver seat, nod her head in approval.
"Not bad, seems like you were a skilled driver before." Yang Qi praised, "These days, not many young people know how to drive manual."
Due to the prevalence of new energy vehicles, most people only obtain automatic licenses now, while military vehicles, for greater power and easy maintenance and reliability, are all manual.
Many seasoned drivers of over a decade have never even pressed a clutch pedal.
"Where to?"
Sun Hang slowly drove out of the garage and asked.
"Just follow the navigation." Yang Qi entered an address on the screen, and the detailed navigation route was immediately projected onto the windshield in front of the driver's seat.
The armored off-road vehicle, with military plates, drove through three streets, directly turning into a high-end villa neighborhood.
"It's the one on the far left," Yang Qi pointed out.
The off-road vehicle came to a halt in front of that villa, where Sun Hang noticed many old furniture and household items piled up next to the garbage bin by the villa's entrance.
A lace-edged pink bed sheet was crumpled into a ball and hung on the edge of the trash bin, alongside more than a dozen black garbage bags stacked as high as a person.
"Are you sure it's this one?" Sun Hang asked, slightly skeptical, eyeing the women's clothing spilling from torn garbage bags.
"Tsk, hasn't it been sorted after so many days?" Yang Qi looked a bit awkward, "This neighborhood is actually built by Celestial City for Hunters... uh, the Hunter who lived here before recently passed away. So the house is now vacant, just right for you to move in."
"Did she die in the Taotie clone attack? The incident when I lost my memory?" Sun Hang asked.
"Yes." Yang Qi nodded, "Seems like it's mostly cleared inside, shall we have a look?"
"Sure." Sun Hang jumped out of the car, only to spot a familiar figure stepping out onto the second-floor balcony of the villa next door.
Wang Xizhi... no, she should be called Wang Xiyi.
Clad in black sports attire, her black hair was tied back with a headband, with eight distinct and firm abs exposed, glistening with sweat under the sunlight.
She glanced at Sun Hang and Yang Qi, gave a slight nod as a greeting.
She seemed to have just finished exercising, sweat droplets glided down her temples along her hair, landing on her smooth collarbone.
Ordinarily, Sun Hang shouldn't have been able to smell any scent, including sweat from her, given the distance of nearly twenty meters. Yet, Sun Hang could distinctly sense her unique smell.
That smell piqued Sun Hang's appetite.
This time, there was no nausea or stomach discomfort — until Wang Xiyi pulled out a syringe from her shorts' pocket and injected it into her arm.
Sun Hang suddenly understood where the cilantro, sprinkled over a culinary masterpiece, was coming from.
"What's that injection she took?" Sun Hang asked Yang Qi.
"It's the Beastification Inhibitor, helping her maintain human form." Yang Qi replied, "It's a technological gem from our research institute."