A Late-Night Visit to the Murder House

Late at night, in the small grove outside Gu Family Village.

After throwing up, Wang Zikai had fallen into a deep sleep. Pang Jun had tried treating him, but there had been little improvement. Pang Jun's healing talent was only level 2, and its main function was to accelerate the repair and healing of external injuries for a short period.

There was nothing Pang Jun could do about Wang Zikai's apparent "poisoning."

After that ordeal, none of them dared stay in Gu Family Village, but they couldn't get out either. They could only pretend to leave and hide in the grove for now. Everyone was exhausted, and the mental strain was even worse. No one knew how long they would remain trapped in this eerie place, or what would happen next.

Officer Huang suggested that they take turns resting in pairs to conserve their strength. No one objected.

Gaoyang paired up with Qingling, and Officer Huang with Pang Jun. They switched every two hours.

All afternoon, the sounds of opera, gongs, drums, suonas, and firecrackers had drifted into the grove from Gu Family Village without pause. They carried the peculiar feeling of a small, primitive society unique to an isolated mountain village, and only died down toward evening.

Not long after nightfall, Wang Zikai stirred. Apparently still short on sleep, he grunted, rolled over, and went back to sleep. He looked less like someone who had been poisoned than someone who had drunk too much.

Gaoyang had expected as much. Whatever Wang Zikai had eaten, he was a Beast, after all. He wouldn't die that easily.

Gaoyang closed his eyes, opened the system, and checked his Fortune points. His passive accumulation had reached 25 points.

From two yesterday afternoon until their nighttime visit to the Gu Family Village Ancestral Hall, when the hair monster had caught him, roughly eight hours had passed. He had earned eight Fortune points at the normal rate.

After arriving in the "second" Gu Family Village, another eight hours had passed, counting from noon until now. But his earnings had doubled, giving him 16 Fortune points, for a total of 24.

The extra Fortune point must have come from the time he had spent unconscious. By his estimate, he had been out for no more than half an hour after falling to the "bottom of the well."

"What are you thinking about?" Qingling's voice sounded.

Gaoyang opened his eyes and left the system space.

"Nothing." As he spoke, Gaoyang reached out and pinched Qingling's cheek again.

"Addicted to pinching me?" Qingling asked irritably.

"Don't get the wrong idea. It's been over twelve hours. I can copy a talent again." Gaoyang looked completely sincere. "Turns out Officer Huang's Gun God isn't as useful as your Blade God..."

"Ah..." Before Gaoyang could finish, he suddenly braced both hands against the ground. Blood rushed to his head, and his breathing quickened.

"What is it now?" Qingling asked.

"N-nothing." A few seconds later, Gaoyang waved a hand, his face flushed. "Just now, all of a sudden... that felt so good."

Qingling paused briefly. "Your talent leveled up."

[Congratulations! Copy: leveled up]

[Level 2 Copy: can copy all talents with sequence numbers below 22]

[Copy method: touch the target's body for 0.9 seconds]

[Copy capacity: 1　Storage duration: 3 hours]

[Usage duration: 10 seconds　Cooldown: 8 hours]

[Level 2 Copy permanent attribute bonuses: mental power +100, charisma -20]

[Physical strength: 27　Endurance: 28]

[Strength: 17　Agility: 27]

[Mental power: 137　Charisma: 47]

[Luck: 132]

[Note: does not stack with the permanent attribute bonuses of level 1 Copy]

Gaoyang nodded. "Yeah. Copy has reached level 2."

Qingling thought for a moment. "Looks like I was right. Going from level 1 to level 2 should be purely a matter of proficiency. My Blade God and Metal Talent both leveled up after I used them a few times."

Gaoyang was still savoring the sensation. "So what I just felt, you've experienced twice-no, three times already?"

"Yes."

"No wonder you're so eager to level up!" Gaoyang understood Qingling from the bottom of his heart. Seriously, those one or two seconds of leveling up felt so damn good I practically ascended to heaven.

Qingling caught the implication in his words, and a flicker of disdain crossed her eyes.

"Your talent leveled up, Gaoyang? Great. Our odds just improved a tiny bit." Officer Huang was already awake. The first thing he did was look for cigarettes, only to pull a shriveled pack from his breast pocket.

"You didn't have to emphasize the 'tiny bit,'" Gaoyang said self-deprecatingly.

Officer Huang tossed away the empty pack, stood up, and stretched. Then, out of habit, he drew his gun, checked the ammunition and whether a round was chambered, and tucked it back into his waistband.

Pang Jun groggily woke up as well. A gust of cold wind made his plump body shudder, and he instinctively edged closer to Gaoyang and Qingling.

Officer Huang glanced at Wang Zikai, who was still sleeping and breathing evenly. "Looks like this kid's fine."

"He should be all right now," Gaoyang said.

"He really is the most incredible..." Officer Huang left "Lost One" unsaid and smiled.

"We'd better not spend the night here," Qingling suggested.

Officer Huang looked around and nodded. "True. It's hard to get any proper rest here. My back's sore from sleeping."

"..."

"Just kidding." Officer Huang looked beyond the dim silhouettes of the trees. A faint glow came from the direction of Gu Family Village. "Once they're asleep, we'll head into the village."

"Huh? We're going back...?" Pang Jun sounded reluctant.

"It isn't safe here," Gaoyang said. "It's pitch-black, and we don't even have any cover. If something ambushes us at night, we'll be at a serious disadvantage."

Qingling glanced at Pang Jun. "You'll definitely die first."

Under the moonlight, Pang Jun's face turned ashen, and his mouth twitched. He tried and failed to kip up, then scrambled to his feet. "Back to the village! Let's hurry back!"

It was late, and everyone in Gu Family Village had gone to bed. Only the mourning hall on the hill remained lit, with people still keeping vigil inside. Wang Zikai had sobered up too. Led by Officer Huang, the five of them left the grove without turning on any lights, walking through the ink-black night, past vegetable plots and a pond, until they reached the village entrance.

As soon as they entered the village, they turned left toward a rammed-earth house on the western side. It was rectangular and roughly a hundred square meters in size. The front yard was a concrete patch, with a simple chicken pen built from fencing and wood. Police tape still surrounded the property. Officer Huang tore it open and went in first.

"Ah..." Pang Jun hurriedly covered his mouth before he could cry out. By the moonlight, he could make out dark bloodstains all over the concrete.

"Officer Huang, don't tell me you want to..." Pang Jun didn't finish.

"That's right." Officer Huang nodded. "We're staying here tonight."

"B-but people died here! A family of five! They were dismembered..." Pang Jun was terrified.

No one answered him. They crossed the front yard and reached the entrance to the main house. A sealing strip had been pasted across the front door. Lots of dried corn and red chilies hung from the beam above it, and several stacks of dry firewood stood nearby.

Officer Huang tore off the sealing strip and gently pushed the door.

"Creak, creeeak-" The door slowly swung open, and everyone involuntarily drew a deep breath.