"I don't have the [Blade Master] talent! And I wasn't hiding my strength!" Gao Yang blurted out, feeling the cold steel against his neck. "In that critical moment, I unlocked a new talent—[Copy]. It lets me replicate someone else's talent for a short time, but I need physical contact for at least one second. I tried to copy your [Blade Master], but I couldn't reach you in time… The rest, you already know."
Qing Ling eyed him skeptically, then turned to Officer Huang. "Does such a talent exist?"
"It does." Huang nodded. "If I remember right, its sequence number is 18."
He gave Gao Yang an envious look. "Congrats on unlocking such a powerful talent."
Qing Ling studied Gao Yang for two long seconds before finally lowering her blade.
"Bullshit! You just wanted to cop a feel!" Wu Dahai strode over, his face a mix of indignation and jealousy.
Gao Yang bristled. This guy had bolted at the first sign of danger, and now that it was safe, he was the first to talk smack.
Officer Huang retrieved a couple of towels from his patrol car—leftover from his morning runs—and tossed them to Gao Yang and Qing Ling. "Clean off the blood first."
Then he turned to Wu Dahai. "So, did we pass the test?"
"What test?" Wu Dahai looked genuinely baffled.
"Cut the act. That had to be part of the assessment, right?" Huang's voice was tight with disapproval. That kind of "test" was way too dangerous.
"Are you insane?! Why the hell would I do that?!" Wu Dahai flailed his arms dramatically. "I have no idea why Old Man Zhang suddenly turned into that disgusting thing! I nearly pissed myself!"
Gao Yang was seriously questioning this organization's credibility.
Officer Huang rubbed his temples, looking just as exhausted. Adulting is hard.
Wu Dahai sniffed and wiped his nose. "Just go home. The organization will contact you in a few days. Then you'll find out what the real test is."
He started to leave but paused, his gaze drifting over Gao Yang's shoulder with unmistakable lechery.
Gao Yang turned to see Qing Ling about to strip off her blood-soaked uniform—it was beyond salvaging.
Huang immediately shrugged off his jacket and tossed it to Gao Yang, who quickly draped it over Qing Ling's shoulders.
Wu Dahai's face fell. He coughed awkwardly. "Go home and wait for the notice! Don't forget!"
Once he was gone, Gao Yang eyed the grotesque pile of gore and blood. "What do we do with… this?"
Huang sighed. "There's a gas can in my trunk. We'll burn it."
Five minutes later, the three of them stood silently before the roaring flames. Qing Ling, now wrapped in Huang's oversized jacket, let her bare legs gleam gold in the firelight as she tossed her ruined uniform into the blaze. Gao Yang followed suit, discarding his bloodstained shirt.
Once every trace had been reduced to ashes, they turned toward the patrol car.
Suddenly, Gao Yang felt eyes on him. He looked up.
Perched atop a telephone pole was a large white cat, watching him intently. Under the moonlight, its fur gleamed like snow, its emerald eyes radiating an almost regal arrogance.
Gao Yang's pulse spiked. That's the same cat Pang Jun described! Did it have something to do with Old Man Zhang's transformation?!
"What are you looking at?" Huang called from the car door.
Gao Yang blinked—and the cat was gone. The pole stood empty.
Was I imagining things?
He quickly checked his system. No doubled luck points. At least they were safe.
"...Nothing." Rubbing his temples, Gao Yang climbed into the car.
Huang drove smoothly, the radio playing soft music as he balanced his phone against the wheel, talking to his wife.
"Yeah, just a bar fight… Handled it… Be home soon… No, don't wait up… Can't sleep? Hungry? I'll grab you something… No trouble at all. What do you want?"
Hanging up, he hummed along to the radio, cheerful.
In the backseat, Qing Ling, exhausted from the fight, had fallen asleep against the window. When the car took a sharp turn, her head lolled onto Gao Yang's shoulder, her hair spilling across his lap with a faint, clean scent.
"You're welcome," Huang said, grinning at Gao Yang in the rearview mirror.
Gao Yang sighed. "We're not like that."
"No?" Huang's tone turned oddly paternal. "She's had it rough."
"Who?"
"Qing Ling. Heard she awakened at ten."
"Yeah. Her cousin told her."
"Ten years old. Barely understood the world, and suddenly she's thrust into this nightmare." Huang's voice softened. "Must've suffered a lot. That's why she's so extreme. Thank god for that sister personality of hers."
Gao Yang glanced down. In sleep, Qing Ling looked softer—her brow relaxed, lashes long, lips small. Usually, he saw only her beauty, her coldness, her strength. Now, he glimpsed something fragile beneath.
"Compared to her, we're lucky," Huang mused. "We awakened with our minds intact. Got to experience love properly first."
"That love was fake," Gao Yang pointed out.
"No. The world is fake. But love is real."
Gao Yang fell silent.
Huang offered an analogy: "It's like falling for someone, then breaking up. You can say the relationship was meaningless, but the love you felt was real. That part belongs to you. No one can take it. You carry it till you die."
"..."
"But Qing Ling doesn't have that. When she dies, she'll have nothing." Huang paused. "Maybe that's why she's so obsessed with getting stronger. She's terrified of dying alone—like she never lived at all."
He smiled sadly. "I love my wife. Always will. Even if she turns into a beast and kills me one day, or if I have to kill her… To me, the her I loved hasn't changed. She'll just be dead. Everyone dies, right?"
Gao Yang wasn't sure he understood.
Every Awakened who survived in this world probably had their own philosophy. Qing Ling's was strength. Huang's was love. What was his?
Gao Yang didn't have an answer yet.
Soon, Huang pulled over by a bustling night market. "Gonna grab my wife some spicy noodles. Be quick. You two want some? Their sweet potato noodles are amazing—been eating here for years."
Gao Yang nodded. "Sure… Make it two."
His little sister was probably still awake.
Right on cue, his phone rang. The caller ID read: Gao Xinxin.
Speak of the devil. He answered. "Yeah?"
"Ge! Where are you?! Get over here—" His sister burst into tears.