"When was the last time you made a choice?"
"What is the thing you least want to face?"
"Blood-black void begins to weave a network, cells connect and reconnect, then connect to the trunk."
The question once again transformed into a poem, and Sun Hang recited:
"Blood-black void begins to weave a network, cells connect and reconnect, then connect to the trunk."
"What is the most terrifying thing you've dreamt of? Then connect to the trunk."
The synthesized electronic voice repeated the poem again, appending it to the end of those questions, so Sun Hang began to recite those repeated poems and phrases.
"Then connect to the trunk."
"Connect."
"Connect."
"Do you feel humans are your kind? Cell."
"Cell."
"When was the last time your emotions had a strong fluctuation? Connect."
"Connect."
"What does survival mean to you? Connect."
"Connect."
"Thus against the backdrop of the darkness,"
"Thus against the backdrop of the darkness," Sun Hang recited.
"A fountain emerges, spraying a white column of water upwards."
"A fountain emerges, spraying a white column of water upwards."
"Do you feel you are no longer human?"
"Do you often feel hungry?"
"Have you thought about the meaning of your existence?"
"What is your fantasy of the perfect opposite-gender partner?"
"Have you experienced unbearable hunger?"
The synthesized electronic voice threw out five questions, followed by a twenty-one-word poem.
"I glimpsed a tall, white fountain through the smoke, waking up suddenly."
"I glimpsed through..."
Before Sun Hang could finish reciting the poem, the synthesized electronic voice interrupted him, "Test complete."
"Is it over?" Sun Hang was slightly startled, and the light in the room had already returned to normal, the psychedelic feeling of floating in space vanished instantly.
It was as if he was pulled back to the earth's surface by gravity, fresh air flooded into his alveoli, blood began to flow again.
The room's door opened, but it wasn't the staff in heavy protective gear who entered, instead, it was the woman who stood next to the old man in the wheelchair earlier.
"To formally introduce myself, my name is Yang Qi, I'm a doctoral candidate at the Celestial City Mysterious Creature Research Institute." As she spoke, she walked forward and tore off the electrode patches attached to Sun Hang.
"Should I call you Dr. Yang?" Sun Hang asked casually.
"I haven't gotten my doctorate yet... though I've been here for a whole seven years." Yang Qi sighed, "I've seen many people infected by the Deceit Virus, but only a very few can become Mysterious Creature Hunters... The vast majority, in the end..."
She paused here and then looked into Sun Hang's eyes, "The assessment is not over, there's one final question... This question is different from the previous ones, you must provide a definitive answer."
"What question?"
"Suppose you became a Mysterious Creature Hunter, and during a mission encountered a creature far more powerful than described in the intelligence. You can't eliminate it with your own strength, and at this moment, your communication with Investigation Bureau headquarters is severed by some mysterious force, you can't report the intelligence, nor can you request support."
Yang Qi continued, "You've tried many things, but every single attempt failed. In despair, you discover a way to eliminate the creature..."
"What way?"
"I won't go into details, that's not important. In short, there is an opportunity to eliminate the creature in front of you, but as a cost, you need to use a nearby village as bait to lure the creature there."
"Have the villagers evacuated?"
"No, the villagers have not received any notification... Normally, the investigation and hunter's action plans are top secret; apart from military units or the Sheriff cooperating with you, no one else will know about your actions," Yang Qi said.
"So, how many casualties would occur if the creature is lured inside the village?"
"Everyone in the village would die, without exception."
"And what's the chances of successfully eliminating the creature?"
"One hundred percent," Yang Qi said, "You don't need to consider the probability, nor think of any other way; this is a very simple choice. Sacrifice hundreds of villagers for a chance to eliminate a powerful creature, you just need to make your choice."
"I think I wouldn't encounter such a situation, your conditions are too idealized." Sun Hang shrugged, "In my opinion, it's more likely that all the villagers would be slaughtered, only to find out this so-called opportunity is useless... How could there be such an inexpensive thing in the world—only sacrificing hundreds of people to resolve a BOSS-level monster."
"So, you also think this exchange is 'worth it,' right?" Yang Qi and Sun Hang stared at each other, "So, what is your choice?"
"Is this to test my moral bottom line?"
"You can think so; as a Hunter, when acting independently, humanity and rationality, between the two, which do you choose?"
"Allow me some contemplation." Sun Hang waved his hand and shifted his gaze.
The woman's eyes were too sharp, and staring into them made Sun Hang feel discomfort.
"This is the only chance to eliminate the creature, missing this opportunity would not only cause your death but also lead to a much more severe disaster... By then, the number of people who die would be far more than hundreds." Yang Qi's tone carried a tempting implication, "Even if you choose not to sacrifice those hundreds, they still won't survive. After the creature kills you, this nearby small village couldn't possibly be spared... Once the creature appears at this location, those hundreds of people's fate is sealed."
"So, their only outcome is death?"
"Yes, this isn't a trolley problem, where switching the track lets those people live," Yang Qi emphasized again.
"So, in previous hunting actions, when you encountered similar situations, how did you handle it?" Sun Hang retorted, "To eliminate the creature, would you not spare any cost? Does this cost include civilians?"
"It should be phrased as 'minimize damage'," Yang Qi said.
"I roughly understand what that means."
"So, what is your choice...?" Yang Qi stood up, stepped back half a step, eyes ablaze.