Mr. Chen stopped talking here because Xu Dasheng's fist was already clenched with a creaking sound, as if it could hit his face at any moment.

"Xu Dasheng, you can't blame everyone for this... Do you know what your wife says about you behind your back? She's been looking down on you for a long time, saying you aren't capable, can't earn much money, and even in that aspect... you're no good... Otherwise, she wouldn't have..."

"Shut up." Sun Hang glanced coldly at him, "If Xu Dasheng wants to hit you, I won't stop him now."

Mr. Chen immediately kept his mouth shut.

Xu Dasheng's place wasn't far from the market, and the three of them had walked for less than ten minutes before turning into a dark, narrow alley... On both sides of the alley were old-style tenement buildings that had been around for many years. Many of the buildings had "demolish" signs painted on them, but for some reason, the paint was fading, yet the buildings still stood there.

Yabei District isn't far from the western part of the city, and the fact that these tenement buildings haven't been shaken down by the Dragon Rock Fortress... is somewhat of a miracle.

"Here we are." In front of a stairway darkened with grease and smoke, Xu Dasheng muttered, "It's on the second floor."

"If I'm not mistaken, you've been behind on the rent for this place for several months now, right?" Mr. Chen said quietly on the side.

"Mind your own business!" Xu Dasheng turned to glare at him.

"Actually, your wife has already paid your rent; I know the landlord, and he and your wife..."

"Do you believe I'll beat you to death right now?!" Xu Dasheng growled lowly.

"Oh, why are you getting worked up again... I was just telling the truth..." Mr. Chen quickly darted behind Sun Hang, "I'm... I'm an important witness now, you, you have to protect me!"

Sun Hang said nothing and walked directly up the stairs.

Xu Dasheng lived in 201, and compared to the relatively clean 202 across the hall, his door was plastered with notices for overdue electricity and water bills. As he roughly pulled the door open, several yellowed, brittle notices rustled aloud, and a few even fluttered to the floor.

"She's in the bedroom." Xu Dasheng said, "Since she came back, she hasn't spoken to me. I call her for meals and she doesn't come out. I always have to bring the food into her bedroom, and after she eats, I take the dishes out." Xu Dasheng continued, "But in the last couple of days, she's been eating less and less, and since last night, she hasn't eaten at all. I asked her why and she wouldn't speak..."

Though Xu Dasheng's voice was filled with anger, you could still hear a trace of worry underneath...

This big guy really is a fool...

"Kind people get bullied, gentle horses get ridden hard..." Sun Hang muttered to himself, glancing around the cramped room, asking, "Is it just the two of you living here? No children?"

"No." Xu Dasheng shook his head.

"How long have you been married?"

"Nine years."

"..." Sun Hang suddenly felt that Mr. Chen might not be lying... Xu Dasheng's body might really have some issues.

But that's not the main point.

Sun Hang could sense the distinctive aura of a deceit meme coming from the direction of the bedroom.

The aura wasn't strong, probably because she hadn't completely transformed into an anomaly... but there was no doubt that Xu Dasheng's wife was an infected.

"You two stay here and don't go in." Sun Hang said seriously, "I won't beat around the bush. Your wife has been infected by the Deceit Virus, but the good news is, she doesn't seem to have turned into an anomaly yet."

In fact, the vast majority of infected cannot ultimately become anomalies.

According to statistics from the Dubhe Tower, out of a thousand natural infecteds, about five to eight can control the infection process and become beings like Sun Hang and his peers. Among the others, the ratio of those who perish on their own to those who turn into deceit corpses is about three to one... As for those who completely transform into new anomalies...

About one in four thousand infected.

"What?!" Xu Dasheng's face turned pale, and he stepped back a few steps, collapsing onto the worn-out couch in the corner of the living room.

Mr. Chen, on the other hand, turned to run out.

"I suggest you don't run." Sun Hang's calm voice halted Mr. Chen in his tracks, "If something happens outside, I can't guarantee your safety."

"But... the infected... isn't in the room?" Mr. Chen said with a forced smile.

"Since an infected has appeared here, the whole block isn't safe now." Sun Hang explained, "I suggest you stay within my line of sight."

"Okay... fine." Mr. Chen nodded but still moved to the doorway—the farthest point in the living room from the bedroom.

Sun Hang took out his phone and sent Yang Qi a message saying "Infected found in Yabei District," then walked up to the bedroom door and grasped the doorknob, twisting it lightly.

The door didn't open easily as expected—something seemed to be blocking it from behind.

With a bit more force, Sun Hang pushed the bedroom door to open a crack, and an unsettling noise filled the air. It was like stepping into a pool filled with slime, a thick, viscous semi-fluid pressing and grinding against itself, with tiny air bubbles inside popping continuously, making a faint crackling sound.

Xu Dasheng and Mr. Chen's faces turned pale instantly. The latter looked around, grabbed a spatula from the stove at the door, and held it tightly in his hands.

Sun Hang increased the force in his hands once more, pushing the bedroom door halfway open.

The unlit bedroom was pitch black, but Sun Hang could still see what was going on inside.

Flesh like a fungal carpet covered almost every object in the bedroom, and on something that could barely be referred to as the bed, curled a humanoid creature. Covered in slime, the rancid meat wrapped around it formed a large cocoon of flesh, rhythmically writhing with heavy breathing.

"Looks like the infection process has already breached the danger threshold." Sun Hang muttered to himself as the Liquid Metal Blade formed at his fingertips, and several tendrils emerged from his body, coiling around his wrist, ready for action.

"My.. My wife..." Xu Dasheng's trembling voice came from behind, "Is she... is she still alive?"

He had also seen the festering flesh on the bedroom floor... without the door blocking it, this flesh oozed from the bedroom, slowly spreading under the light of the living room.

"A... Anomaly..." Mr. Chen stammered, hands gripping the spatula, his whole body trembling.

"What's the next step in the process?" Sun Hang mumbled, "Oh right... assess the condition of the infected and determine the threat level... but I didn't bring any professional equipment..."

He glanced at his phone and, for some reason, Yang Qi, who usually replied instantly, was silent. It had been almost a minute since Sun Hang sent the message, and it was still marked as "unread."

"Could it be the overtime was too intense and she passed out?" Sun Hang sighed and slipped the phone back into his pocket, reaching for the wall near the door.

Typically, the bedroom light switch would be in this position, but Sun Hang's fingers only touched a pile of gross flesh, its surface slick with slippery mucus.

"Tch..."

Sun Hang simply gave up on turning on the light, and a small blue flame arose from his fingertip, burning away the mucus while illuminating the small room.

"The aura seems pretty stable, doesn't look like it's entered the volatility phase..." Stepping on the gurgling flesh, Sun Hang walked step by step to the bed.