Late at night, outside Gu Family Village, in the small grove.
After vomiting, Prince Kai had passed out. Fat Jun tried to treat him, but to no avail. His healing talent was only Level 2, primarily effective for accelerating the recovery of external injuries in the short term.
For Prince Kai's "poisoning," Fat Jun was powerless.
After this ordeal, no one dared stay in the village, but with no way out, they had no choice but to pretend to leave and hide in the grove instead. Everyone was exhausted—physically and mentally. No one knew how long they'd be trapped in this eerie place or what would happen next.
Officer Huang suggested rotating shifts in pairs to conserve energy. No one objected.
Gao Yang paired with Qing Ling, while Officer Huang teamed up with Fat Jun. They'd switch every two hours.
All afternoon, the sounds of opera, gongs, suonas, and firecrackers drifted from the village into the grove, carrying the unsettling vibe of an isolated, backward rural society. The noise only died down by evening.
Not long after nightfall, Prince Kai stirred. Still groggy, he grumbled and rolled over before falling back asleep. His condition seemed less like poisoning and more like a bad hangover.
This was within Gao Yang's expectations. Whatever Prince Kai had eaten, he was a beast—not so easy to kill.
Gao Yang closed his eyes and opened the system. His idle Luck Points had accumulated to 25.
From 2 p.m. yesterday until their nighttime visit to the ancestral hall and the attack by the hair monster, roughly 8 hours had passed—earning him 8 points under normal circumstances.
After arriving in the "second" Gu Family Village, starting from 12 p.m., another 8 hours had elapsed. With the 2x multiplier, this yielded 16 points, bringing the total to 24.
The extra 1 point likely came from his unconscious period. Estimating, he couldn't have been out for more than half an hour after falling into the "well."
"What are you thinking about?" Qing Ling's voice pulled him back.
Gao Yang opened his eyes, exiting the system.
"Nothing." He reached out and pinched Qing Ling's cheek again.
"Addicted to that?" She frowned.
"Don't misunderstand. It's been over 12 hours—I can copy talents again." Gao Yang kept a straight face. "Turns out, Officer Huang's Gunslinger isn't as useful as your Blademaster—"
"Ah—!" Before he could finish, Gao Yang suddenly braced his hands against the ground, blood rushing to his head, his breathing ragged.
"What now?" Qing Ling asked.
"N-nothing." A few seconds later, he waved a hand, his face flushed. "For a moment there... it felt really good."
Qing Ling blinked. "Your talent leveled up."
[Congratulations! Copy: Level Up]
[Level 2 Copy: Can now copy all talents with Sequence Numbers below 22.]
[Method: Touch the target's body for 0.9 seconds.]
[Storage: 1 talent. Duration: 3 hours.]
[Usage: 10 seconds. Cooldown: 8 hours.]
[Permanent stat bonuses at Level 2: +100 Spirit, -20 Charm.]
[Current Stats:]
[Stamina: 27 | Endurance: 28]
[Strength: 17 | Agility: 27]
[Spirit: 137 | Charm: 47]
[Luck: 132]
[Note: Does not stack with Level 1's permanent stat bonuses.]
Gao Yang nodded. "Yeah. Copy is now Level 2."
Qing Ling thought for a moment. "Seems the upgrade from Level 1 to 2 is just based on proficiency. My Blademaster and Metal talents leveled up after a few uses too."
Gao Yang was still savoring the sensation. "So you've felt this... twice before? Wait, three times?"
"Yes."
"No wonder you're so obsessed with leveling up!" Gao Yang finally got her. That brief moment of euphoria was unreal.
Qing Ling caught his implication and shot him a look of disdain.
"Gao Yang, your talent leveled up? Great! Our odds just improved... a little." Officer Huang, now awake, reached for a cigarette but only found an empty crumpled pack in his chest pocket.
*"You didn't have to emphasize 'a little.'" Gao Yang chuckled dryly.
Officer Huang tossed the empty pack aside and stood, stretching. Out of habit, he drew his gun to check the ammo and chamber before holstering it again.
Fat Jun also woke groggily. A cold wind made his pudgy body shiver, and he instinctively scooted closer to Gao Yang and Qing Ling.
Officer Huang glanced at Prince Kai, still asleep and breathing steadily. "Kid seems fine."
"Should be okay now," Gao Yang agreed.
"He's the most... unique one I've ever seen." Officer Huang stopped short of saying Lost One and just smiled.
"We shouldn't stay here overnight," Qing Ling suggested.
Officer Huang scanned their surroundings and nodded. "True. Not the best place to rest—my back's killing me."
"..."
"Kidding." He looked toward the dim glow of the village beyond the trees. "Once they're asleep, we'll head back in."
"W-what? Go back?..." Fat Jun wasn't thrilled.
"This isn't safe," Gao Yang said. "Pitch black, no cover. If something attacks us at night, we're sitting ducks."
Qing Ling eyed Fat Jun. "You'd die first."
Under the moonlight, Fat Jun's face turned ashen, his lips twitching. With a failed attempt at a kip-up, he scrambled to his feet. "Back to the village! Let's go now!"
Late at night, the entire village was asleep—except for the faint light still burning in the ancestral hall, where someone kept vigil. Prince Kai, now sober, followed Officer Huang as the group moved silently through the ink-black night, leaving the grove and crossing the vegetable patch and pond to return to the village entrance.
As soon as they entered, they turned left toward a rammed-earth house on the west side. The rectangular structure was about 100 square meters, with a concrete front yard fenced by a simple wooden chicken coop. Police tape still cordoned off the area. Officer Huang tore it down and stepped inside.
"Ah—!" Fat Jun clapped a hand over his mouth before he could scream. In the moonlight, he could see the dark bloodstains splattered everywhere across the concrete.
"Officer Huang... you don't mean..." Fat Jun trailed off, horrified.
"Yeah." Officer Huang nodded. "We're staying here tonight."
"B-but... people died here! A family of five! Dismembered!..."
No one responded. They crossed the yard to the main door, still sealed with police tape. Dried corn and red peppers hung from the eaves, and stacks of firewood were piled nearby.
Officer Huang ripped off the tape and gently pushed the door open.
Creak... creak... creak—
As the door swung inward, everyone instinctively held their breath.