The Third Test

10 p.m., Third Hospital, Shanqing District, inpatient building.

Gaoyang sat on a bench in the corridor outside the ward, eating fragrant spicy hot pot. Officer Huang had brought the late-night meal to go. After hearing that Gaoyang's father had been hospitalized following a car accident, he had stopped by "on his way" after work.

With no one else around, he held half a cigarette between his lips. "How's your dad doing?"

"He woke up for a little while again this afternoon. Said he was thirsty, drank some water, then went back to sleep." Gaoyang bit into a beef ball, sending juices spurting out. The heat made his tongue curl.

"Right, let's get down to business." Officer Huang flicked off some ash. "Someone from the organization came to see you today, didn't they?"

"White Rabbit, from the Twelve Zodiac. I was with Qingling at the time." Gaoyang answered honestly, then gave him a brief account of what had happened at the karaoke place that afternoon.

"The one who came to me was called Tengu." Officer Huang remained calm. "My test was pretty much the same as yours. First, he told me to kill a robber, a Lost One. I didn't want to, so he told me to kill my wife instead. Of course I refused, and somehow I passed."

"Why didn't you kill him?" Gaoyang was curious. Had Officer Huang realized it was a trap, just as he had?

"Oh, normally I would've killed him. But as luck would have it, that robber was the nephew of my wife's cousin. My wife's really close to her cousin. They talk on the phone every day. She's pregnant now, and I didn't want this upsetting her. Never thought it would work out in my favor."

So he was utterly devoted to his wife. Gaoyang couldn't help laughing.

Officer Huang looked over. "Tengu said you have the clue for the third test."

"Yeah." Gaoyang took a brass key from his pocket. "This. We're supposed to find the door it opens and take a look around inside. That counts as passing the test. The search area is Shanqing District."

Officer Huang took the key and examined it closely between his fingertips. His eyes lit up. "That's easy. Leave it to me. You two wait for my news."

"Okay."

After Officer Huang left, Gaoyang finished his spicy hot pot and returned to his father's ward. He unfolded a reclining chair in the aisle beside the bed, covered himself with a blanket, and lay down.

He closed his eyes, but felt no urge to sleep.

Gaoyang entered the system to check his Fortune points.

Sure enough, his earnings hadn't doubled during White Rabbit's appearance that afternoon. It seemed he had to face real danger to activate the multiplier. The greater the danger, the greater the multiplier on his Fortune point earnings-but the greater his chances of dying, too. That was fair.

At noon the next day, his mother and younger sister came to take over.

Gaoyang went home, washed up, ate dinner, and caught up on a few hours of sleep. At dusk, he had just stepped out of his residential complex when he spotted a familiar police car. Officer Huang stood by the roadside smoking and waved when he saw him.

Gaoyang hurried over. "Officer Huang? What brings you here?"

"I found the place," Officer Huang said.

"That fast?" Gaoyang was surprised.

"Finding things is a piece of cake for me." The officer patted the roof of the car. "Get in. We'll talk on the way."

Gaoyang approached the car and saw Qingling in the passenger seat. He opened the rear door instead and froze. Wang Zikai and Pang Jun were in there, too.

"Bro, miss me?" Wang Zikai was thrilled. He hauled Gaoyang into the car. "Let me tell you, I've made another breakthrough in my training! Once we get somewhere deserted, I'll show you a couple of moves. They'll blow your freaking mind..."

Gaoyang's head started buzzing again.

After the car started, Gaoyang asked Officer Huang, "Why are those two here, too?"

"I've been watching Pang Jun for a while. His arm hasn't mutated again," Officer Huang said.

"That's right, not even once." Pang Jun was eager to reassure him, patting his fleshy chest. "Don't worry, Bro Yang. I'm really confident in my body now!"

"What's there to worry about? Even if Fatty does have an episode, I can take care of him with one hand!" They hadn't seen Wang Zikai for a few days, and his ego had swelled beyond measure. He was already acting like their leader.

"Aren't we going to take a test?" Gaoyang asked again.

"The test never said we couldn't bring help." Officer Huang gave Gaoyang a meaningful look in the rearview mirror. "Wu Dahai came to me in secret and told me to bring more people. He said this one's no joke. If things go wrong... someone could die."

Gaoyang's heart sank. White Rabbit had said the same thing. This test really was dangerous, then, though he had no idea what they would be facing. Wang Zikai and Pang Jun were both unpredictable factors, but one could fight and the other could heal. Overall, bringing them along did more good than harm.

About half an hour later, the police car arrived southwest of Li Mountain.

Li Mountain stood within Licheng, straddling Shanqing District and Dongyu District, though it fell under Shanqing District's jurisdiction.

It was a well-known tourist attraction in Licheng, over three hundred meters high and covering five thousand square meters. A wide variety of plants grew on the mountain, and the scenery was beautiful. There was also a Star-Gazing Platform at the summit, where visitors could take in a panoramic view of Licheng. The mountain drew the most hikers in the early morning and at dusk, with an endless stream of people crowding the north and south entrances.

Officer Huang clearly hadn't brought them here to hike, since there was no trail up the southwestern side of Li Mountain. They parked the police car on a country lane, got out, then followed him across a stretch of farmland and into a small grove.

"Where are we going?" Qingling was the first to ask.

Officer Huang led the way. "Almost there. Just up ahead."

"The door's here?" Gaoyang asked.

"Right." Officer Huang continued leading them. "Judging by the style, the brass key White Rabbit gave you two should belong to an old house. There aren't many places left in Shanqing District with houses like that. One is the old-style pedestrian street, but although the buildings imitate old houses, their doors all use modern locks. Then there's Lotus Lane, which had plenty of old houses, but they were all demolished last year..."

Officer Huang stopped to catch his breath. Out of habit, he drew the pistol at his waist and checked the ammunition, then continued walking. "I kept thinking: where else in Shanqing District would there be old houses that use this kind of brass key? That left only one place..."

"Could it be... Gu Family Village?" Pang Jun was so fat that he walked slowly and had been trailing at the back the whole time. The moment he said "Gu Family Village," he shuddered and hurried forward to walk beside Gaoyang. After a moment's thought, he still felt uneasy, so he caught up a few more steps and walked beside Qingling, their strongest fighter.

"Oh?" Officer Huang sounded a little surprised. "You know about it, too. Come to think of it, this year makes exactly thirty years, doesn't it?"

"One of my high school classmates had a dad who worked as a newspaper reporter. He did a special feature on it. It was seriously creepy. My classmate used to tell us about it every day like a ghost story." Pang Jun looked tense, his eyes darting around.

"What happened, exactly? Why all the mystery?" Wang Zikai's interest was piqued.

"It started with the massacre of an entire family. There was a household of five in Gu Family Village, and they were all brutally killed overnight. Their bodies were cut into pieces and scattered throughout the village," Officer Huang said. "My mentor happened to be assigned to the case. I heard him talk about it."

"Did he solve it?" Gaoyang asked.

Officer Huang shook his head. "No."

"Why not?"

"Less than two weeks after the murders, all fifty-three people in Gu Family Village disappeared."

"Disappeared?"

"Right. Vanished into thin air, without a trace. Back then, my mentor practically turned every inch of Gu Family Village upside down, but he couldn't find a single lead. He still hadn't solved the case by the time he retired."

Everyone fell silent, waiting for him to continue.

Dusk closed in, and the light beneath the trees dimmed. Gusts of cold wind rustled the leaves, and the atmosphere suddenly turned sinister.

Officer Huang took out the brass key and said in a low voice, "The door this key opens is in Gu Family Village."