"Cheers." Sun Hang raised the can towards the empty sofa and then took a swig.

"Bleh!"

In the next second, Sun Hang spit all the liquid onto the floor.

He really couldn't understand, what exactly was the appeal of this drink that was bitter, spicy, and had a sour taste like unripe grapes?

Could Mr. Wang be a masochist?

Sun Hang shook the can, which was still more than 90% full, and tossed it directly into the trash.

"The verdict is... worse than horse piss."

He tore off the dust cover from the sofa, picked up the coffee table remote, and turned on the TV.

The Ultraman episode he hadn't finished watching last time he went out continued playing, with the actor in a suit doing several somersaults in the air with the help of wires, then landing a kick on the monster's chest, making it stumble back, crashing through several buildings.

The only flaw was that the wire holding Ultraman briefly flashed on screen.

"What the hell are you protecting?" Sun Hang couldn't help but critique, thinking that if he owned the buildings destroyed and still had decades of mortgage left... he'd probably want to kill Ultraman too...

Ultraman fought for humans, but not all humans would be grateful.

In the eyes of many, all they see is their own interests.

But in a war concerning the survival of an entire species, personal interests are often the first to be sacrificed.

Ultraman and the monster fought for a few more minutes, and as usual, Ultraman's chest timer began to flash red, adding tension to the battle with warning beeps.

Just as Sun Hang thought Ultraman was about to shoot a beam and defeat the monster, the image froze and both Ultraman and the monster turned into abstract blocks, writhing on the screen.

"Damn it." Sun Hang swore.

The issue wasn't that his TV was haunted, but rather that the set of DVDs Wang Xiyi had given him was pirated.

Sun Hang took the disc out of the player, and sure enough, there were several visible scratches on it, likely from when it was last put away inadvertently scratching against the box's rough edges.

The quality of pirated goods was indeed hard to describe.

Sun Hang glanced at the discs piled on the TV cabinet, noting Wang Xiyi's note still tucked inside them.

"For you."

Her handwriting was quite beautiful, sharp and with a sense of grace.

"Phew..."

Sun Hang lightly rubbed the disc with his thumb, and the scratches vanished instantly.

The ability to make wishes come true was truly useful, like magic in Harry Potter, a wave of the wand and broken plates, snapped glasses, and waterlogged books were all restored to original condition.

He put the disc back into the player, and the glitchy image was already fixed, with Ultraman shooting a beam that shattered the monster into pieces, before flying off into space in that iconic pose.

Wang Xiyi seemed particularly fond of the Ultraman series, but whether she imagined herself as Ultraman or the monster when watching these episodes was unclear.

Sun Hang suddenly remembered an episode where the monster was initially harmless to humans but lost control after absorbing too much energy and went on a spree of destruction, forcing Ultraman to eventually kill it...

"Mr. Wang, Mr. Wang... will you become a monster killed by Ultraman?" Sun Hang took another can from the fridge, still the same niche brand of carbonated cocktail.

He opened the can and took a big gulp.

This time, he didn't spit it out.

The carbonation crackled in his mouth, and the spicy liquid rolled down his throat like a hot knife, making Sun Hang cough so hard that tears came to his eyes.

He remembered the first time he "clinked glasses" with Mr. Wang; it was at the Longquan Yi Air Base, both sitting on the base building's steps, devouring packed lunches.

Unfortunately, the airbase only provided orange juice, no alcohol, not even the carbonated drinks Sun Hang liked.

It was then Wang Xiyi told Sun Hang she didn't have long to live.

She asked Sun Hang to eat her at the end, saying it could be braised or steamed.

That guy, she never seemed to take death seriously.

To her, it was just a final destination... in fact, it's the same for everyone.

Compared to the kids who didn't survive the fusion experiments, she was one of the lucky few.

Even lucky people eventually run out of luck.

"But it shouldn't be now." Sun Hang downed the contents of the can and tossed it into the trash.

The empty can clinked against another nearly full can, making a pleasant sound.

Not satisfied with just one sound, it turned into a series of notes, which began to play a melody.

It took Sun Hang two seconds to realize it was his doorbell ringing.

He opened the door to find Zhong Ling standing there with a suitcase, and a dozen coffins filled with ominous remains neatly arranged on his lawn.

"They didn't arrange a place for you to stay?" Sun Hang was somewhat surprised.

"There aren't any spare rooms at the institute, and I don't want to stay in a hotel," Zhong Ling said calmly. "Yang Qi said I could stay at a vacant Hunter villa, but your friend said I could stay at your place."

"My friend? Who is that?" Sun Hang was puzzled, thinking he didn't have friends who would meddle like this, right?

"I don't know him, but he seemed to wear an investigator's uniform," Zhong Ling replied honestly.

"Got it, I know who it is." Sun Hang thought of Yin Xiang's smirking face, feeling a bit resigned as he stepped aside to let Zhong Ling drag her suitcase inside.

"The guest room is on the first floor, with the bathroom at the end of the hallway," Sun Hang said. "If you want something to drink, grab it from the fridge. As for food, what I make can only be considered life-sustaining material. If you want something normal, I suggest microwaving some frozen meals. Although pre-made, at least they look and taste good."

"I can cook." Zhong Ling's response slightly surprised Sun Hang, as he thought girls like her, especially wealthy ones, would never have touched kitchenware, let alone cook.

"Being able to cook won't help, there's no fresh ingredients in the fridge." Sun Hang shrugged. "Only frozen semi-prepared food."

Rice, flour, fresh vegetables, and meat had long been replaced on his second day there with frozen dumplings, instant noodles, and various self-heating foods.

Zhong Ling walked to the fridge, opened the fridge and freezer doors, stared at the contents for a while, then selected a few bags and headed to the kitchen.

Ten minutes later, she served two steaming bowls of zhajiang noodles at the dining table.

Zhong Ling handed a set of clean chopsticks to Sun Hang.

"You can really cook? I thought you were joking." Sun Hang was surprised as he picked up some noodles with his chopsticks and took a bite—it was noticeably better than the instant noodles he made himself, albeit with some differences from "Chunming Zhajiang Noodles" touted as a long-established breakfast staple.

"Instant noodles get mushy, I used spaghetti instead," Zhong Ling said. "The sauce is from a self-heating hot pot and combined with the kitchen seasonings, it does differ a bit from authentic Chunming City zhajiang noodles."

"Impressive, really understated skills!" Sun Hang gave her a thumbs up and quickly slurped the sauce-covered noodles into his mouth.

"If you like it, I can make it for you every day."

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