10:00 p.m., Shanqing District Third Hospital, inpatient building.
Gao Yang sat on a bench in the corridor outside the ward, eating fragrant spicy noodles. Officer Huang had brought the late-night snack. Hearing about Gao Yang's father's accident, he'd "happened to pass by" after work.
With no one else around, Huang held half a cigarette between his lips. "How's your dad doing?"
"He woke up again this afternoon. Said he was thirsty, drank some water, then fell back asleep." Gao Yang bit into a beef ball; hot juice burst out, scalding his tongue.
"Alright. Down to business." Huang flicked ash from his cigarette. "Someone from the organization came to see you today, right?"
"Twelve Zodiacs. White Rabbit. I was with Qing Ling at the time." Gao Yang answered honestly, then briefly recounted the KTV incident.
"I got visited by Heavenly Dog." Huang remained calm. "The test was similar. First they told me to kill a robber—a Lost One. I didn't want to. Then they told me to kill my wife. I refused, of course. Somehow I passed."
"Why didn't you kill?" Gao Yang was curious. Had Huang spotted the trap too?
"Oh, normally I would have. Pure coincidence—the robber was my wife's cousin's nephew. My wife and her cousin are super close; they talk every day. She's pregnant now. I didn't want anything upsetting her mood. Turns out it worked in my favor."
A total wife-doting maniac. Gao Yang couldn't help laughing.
Huang glanced over. "Heavenly Dog said the hint for the third test is with you."
"Yeah." Gao Yang pulled the brass key from his pocket. "This. Said to find the door it opens, go inside and look around. That's passing. Search area is Shanqing District."
Huang took the key, examined it closely under the corridor light, eyes lighting up. "This won't be hard. Leave it to me. You two wait for my word."
"Okay."
After Huang left, Gao Yang finished the noodles, returned to his father's ward, unfolded a chair in the aisle beside the bed, draped a blanket over himself, and lay down.
He closed his eyes. No sleep came.
He entered the system to check Luck Points.
As expected, no multiplier during White Rabbit's appearance window. True danger was required to trigger the boost. The more dangerous the situation, the higher the multiplier—but also the higher the risk of death. Fair trade.
…
The next day at noon, his mother and sister came to take over.
Gao Yang went home, showered, ate dinner, and caught a few hours of sleep. Late afternoon, as he stepped out of the neighborhood gate, he saw a familiar police car. Officer Huang stood by the roadside smoking and waved when he spotted Gao Yang.
Gao Yang hurried over. "Officer Huang? Why are you here?"
"Found the place." Huang said.
"So fast?" Gao Yang was stunned.
"Finding things is child's play for me." The officer patted the car roof. "Get in. We'll talk on the way."
Gao Yang approached—and froze. Qing Ling sat in the front passenger seat. He opened the back door and stared.
Wang Zikai and Pang Jun were inside too.
"Bro! Missed me?!" Wang Zikai was thrilled. He yanked Gao Yang into the car. "Listen, my cultivation just broke through again! Later when we're somewhere private, I'll show you—guaranteed mind-blowing, cow-level awesome…"
Gao Yang's head started throbbing again.
Once the car started moving, Gao Yang asked Huang, "Why are they here?"
"I've been watching Pang Jun for a while. No more arm mutations since then." Huang explained.
"Yeah, yeah—not once!" Pang Jun nodded eagerly, slapping his thick chest. "Brother Yang, don't worry. I'm super confident in my body now!"
"What are you panicking for? Even if Fatso goes berserk, I can handle him with one hand!" Wang Zikai, after just a few days, was already acting like the big boss.
"Aren't we going for a test?" Gao Yang asked again.
"The test never said we couldn't bring help." Huang gave Gao Yang a meaningful look in the rearview mirror. "Wu Dahai secretly contacted me. Told me to bring more people. Said this one isn't a joke—someone might actually die."
Gao Yang's heart sank. White Rabbit had said the same thing. This test was genuinely dangerous. He had no idea what they were about to face. Wang Zikai and Pang Jun were wild cards—one had combat power, the other healing—but overall, bringing them was more advantage than risk.
About half an hour later, the police car reached the southwest side of Li Mountain.
Li Mountain sat within the city, straddling Shanqing and Dongyu Districts, mostly under Shanqing.
It was a well-known local tourist spot—over 300 meters elevation, 5,000 square meters of land, rich plant diversity, beautiful scenery. A stargazing platform sat at the summit with panoramic views of the city. Morning and evening saw the heaviest crowds at the south and north gates.
Huang clearly wasn't taking them hiking. There was no trail on the southwest side. He parked on a rural path. Everyone got out and followed him across farmland into a small grove.
"Where are we going?" Qing Ling asked first.
"Almost there. Just ahead." Huang led the way.
"The door's here?" Gao Yang asked.
"Yes." Huang continued forward. "The brass key White Rabbit gave you two—judging by the style, it's for an old house door. Not many places in Shanqing District still have buildings that use keys like this. One is the faux-antique pedestrian street, but even though the buildings look old, the locks are all modern now. Another is Lotus Alley—lots of old houses there too, but it was fully demolished last year…"
Huang stopped, caught his breath, habitually drew his pistol from his waist, checked the magazine, then kept walking. "After thinking it over, where in Shanqing District still has old houses that would use a key like this? Only one place…"
"Could it be… Gu Family Village?" Pang Jun, lagging behind due to his weight, shivered as soon as he said the name. He hurried to walk beside Gao Yang, then thought better of it and caught up to Qing Ling—the strongest fighter.
"Oh?" Huang sounded mildly surprised. "You know about it too? Let's see… this year makes it exactly thirty years, right?"
"A high-school classmate's dad is a newspaper reporter. He did a whole feature on it. Super creepy. My classmate used to tell it to us like a ghost story every day." Pang Jun looked nervous, eyes darting everywhere.
"What the hell is it? So mysterious." Wang Zikai was hooked.
"It started with a family annihilation. In Gu Family Village, one household of five—all killed overnight. Bodies chopped into pieces and scattered around the village." Huang said. "My master was the one who took the case. I heard him talk about it."
"Did they solve it?" Gao Yang asked.
Huang shook his head. "No."
"Why not?"
"Less than half a month later, all fifty-three people in Gu Family Village… vanished."
"Vanished?"
"Yes. Completely disappeared without a trace. My master practically tore the village apart looking for clues. Nothing. He retired without ever closing the case."
Silence fell over the group.
Dusk deepened. Light in the woods faded. Cold wind rustled the leaves. The atmosphere turned eerie.
Huang held up the brass key, voice low. "The door this key opens… is in Gu Family Village."