"Let's go get something to eat first..." Sun Hang thought to himself.
As for the rescue operation and those missing people, he wasn't in a hurry at all—there was no affection for those guys, and even a bit of disdain... What does their life or death have to do with him?
After all, those guys never cared about the lives of temporary investigators when giving orders... Now that people of the same rank have gotten into trouble, they just realize the urgency?
"Being anxious won't help." Sun Hang muttered softly, stood up, parked the off-road vehicle in an open-air spot, put his hands in his pockets, and strolled leisurely towards the commercial district.
...
Former southern city cemetery, inside the anomalous zone.
The clock hands were approaching five o'clock, yet there was no sign of dawn here. The deep night, under the backdrop of the blood moon, was like a thick deep crimson velvet covering the entire sky tightly.
A temporary operation forward base was set up, with occasional groans of wounded emanating from several white tents marked with red crosses, while in the corner of the camp, a row of bodies covered with white sheets lay on a light truck.
Yang Qi sat on a folding chair, staring at the tablet in her hand, frowning—at the cost of more than twenty lives, the scope of the anomalous zone was finally mapped out. Besides the southern cemetery, the northwestern barren hills, the southern creek area, and an abandoned village to the east were all "replaced" with their appearance from sixty-five years ago.
"Tsk... The range of influence is much larger than imagined..."
Yang Qi sighed deeply, and just then, her phone suddenly rang in her pocket.
"Hello? Celestial City Mysterious Creature Research Institute, Yang Qi." She picked up the phone and answered.
"How is the rescue operation progressing?" On the other end was a middle-aged man's voice full of authority, which Yang Qi recognized—the caller was the second-in-command of the Celestial City Management Committee, a position of significant power within the city.
"The range of the anomalous zone has been mapped out, but casualties are high. We are currently resting at the camp, waiting for daylight to conduct the second round of surveying." Yang Qi reported.
"What is the specific progress? Are there any clues about those missing people?"
"For the moment... nothing substantial." Yang Qi replied.
"Nothing substantial?" The other party's tone was somewhat displeased, "Didn't a Hunter resonate with a Mysterious Creature?"
"The power of the blood moon is too strong, 'Night Slayer' showed clear signs of losing control. I've already ordered all Mysterious Creature Hunters to withdraw temporarily and return to the operational area after the blood moon disappears." Yang Qi said.
"But I heard the Hunter who resonated wasn't Night Slayer... so did he also withdraw?"
"Although he didn't mutate, he is still infected, to be safe..."
"Mr. Yang, please be clear on one thing, we are racing against time. We can't afford to take the most conservative approach to everything. Since this Hunter doesn't show abnormalities, send him back to the operational area immediately!"
"I refuse!" Yang Qi said immediately, "You're not on-site, so you're unaware of the current situation. This blood moon is stronger than any seen in the past thirty years! We can't take that risk... If we lose that Hunter, we might lose the last clue! If my decision leads to any consequences, I'm willing to take full responsibility!"
"Do you think you can afford that responsibility? You should have seen the list of missing persons, right?" The voice on the line was slightly angry.
"I've seen it." Yang Qi replied unyieldingly, "But since I'm the onsite commander for this rescue operation, I have the authority to arrange the personnel involved unless you directly relieve me from my duties... However, according to procedures, you need more than half the Committee members to agree on this decision for it to be effective."
"Very well... I won't relieve you." The other party said slowly, "But I expect in forty-eight hours... no, thirty-one hours, to see satisfactory results from you."
The caller hung up the phone... Until the end, he didn't specify what consequences awaited if Yang Qi failed, but the threat in his words was unmistakable.
...
Celestial City, urban area, an unknown alleyway.
Sun Hang originally planned to eat at a fast-food joint in the commercial street, but ended up wandering into a residential area by accident.
The buildings here were old houses left from the last century, and the streets were paved with blue stones polished smooth by time. A thin morning mist enveloped the streets, giving Sun Hang a surreal feeling of stepping into a hidden paradise.
The air was humid, partly because of the morning mist, and partly from the steam rising from the large steamers set up on the street—a city waking up, the first to open were naturally various breakfast shops.
The sky had not completely brightened, yet breakfast shop owners were already putting tables and benches outside the shop, lighting stoves, and setting up pots.
Dan dan noodles, tofu pudding, spicy and sour noodles, brown sugar glutinous rice cakes... Sun Hang glanced at the street lined with Celestial City specialty snacks. Early-rising old men with canes and birdcages were already seated along the street, waiting for the breakfasts they ordered to be served.
Sun Hang picked a seemingly clean table, glanced at the menu hanging on the shop's entrance, and called to the busy owner inside, "A bowl of Chaoshou, uh, not spicy."
"A bowl of Chaoshou? How many liang?" The owner looked up and asked, then resumed his work.
"Liang?... Ten pieces, please," Sun Hang glanced at the larger than expected Chaoshou on the counter, feeling that ten would be filling enough... and if not, he could always buy more food elsewhere.
"Alright, one and a half liang of Chaoshou, not spicy!"
"Hey, young man, you clearly don't know how to eat." An elderly man with white hair and beard shook his head regretfully at Sun Hang's choice of avoiding the spicy option. "You don't understand, when those steaming-hot Chaoshou are served, drizzled with a spoon of red oil... tsk, they're delicious beyond words!"
Just as Sun Hang was about to come up with an excuse to brush off this meddlesome old man, a distinctive food aroma wafted into his nostrils suddenly.