Chapter 15: The Temple of Talent

Gao Yang knew Qingling wasn't joking—she never joked.

The current situation was something he had expected. When Gao Yang decided to save Wang Zikai, it wasn't entirely out of kindness. He had other concerns at the time, but just hadn't figured them out clearly.

After a whole day of thinking, he had almost sorted everything out. Now it was time for him to perform his act. He decided to execute the ultimate move from action manga—verbal evasion!

"Qingling, I know, you've managed to survive for so long because of your extreme caution and decisiveness."

"Flattery won't work," Qingling responded coldly.

"Then let me ask you a question: What's the purpose of your survival?"

"What's the purpose of surviving? Do you want to die?" Qingling didn't understand.

"Of course, I don't want to die, but everyone dies eventually. Even if you live to 100, you will still die." Gao Yang smiled awkwardly. "But living isn't just about eating, drinking, and relieving yourself. There must be something you want to do, right?"

Qingling fell silent.

"This question, you can think about it slowly. No need to answer right away," Gao Yang said. "Let me give you one reason not to kill Wang Zikai."

"Go ahead."

"Although I've just awakened a few days ago, I've already realized that being an awakened is very dangerous. The reason you've survived for so long isn't just because you're strong and cautious."

"Because I have a second personality," Qingling admitted herself.

"Exactly. Once you become an awakened, you instinctively reject, distance, and guard against all beasts. Beasts, except for the Lost Ones, can sense this. Over time, the awakened will show vulnerabilities. But you're different. You have a second personality, and although your second personality is also aloof and has misandry, she can get along with all beasts."

"Other awakened people are not so lucky. For example, me and Fat Jun, no matter how good our acting is, we will always be on guard against beasts. Once we find other awakened, we'll instinctively want to band together. Grouping seems to make us safer, but actually…"

Qingling stepped out of the shadow, "It's more dangerous."

"Yes. These beasts aren't stupid. According to Fat Jun's observation, they're pretending to be humans 24/7. They won't actively test, tempt, threaten, or attack humans who haven't awakened. But that doesn't mean they won't observe and keep an eye on us when interacting with humans."

"Li Weiwei is the best proof. Before, she and I were childhood friends, and we talked about everything. But once I awakened, she immediately showed her true face and tried to kill me."

Qingling nodded. "If more than a few humans are closely connected, they have reason to suspect whether these humans have awakened. After all, it's abnormal with a one-in-a-million chance."

Gao Yang sighed. "Yeah, but if we don't group together, we won't get more information, won't grasp more rules, or search for the truth… So, even if we each survive to 100, we will still—" Gao Yang paused for a second, quoting Officer Huang with intonation, "be abandoned orphans of the gods."

Qingling's gaze shifted as she pondered.

"Back to my question," Gao Yang took a step forward, "Qingling, why are you alive? Don't you want to figure out why the world turned into this? Don't you want to know the truth behind it? Or perhaps, can we escape to a truly safe place, or even defeat these beasts? These are the things we must do."

Qingling remained silent.

Gao Yang felt he had a chance, his voice more passionate now: "Now, here's the problem. As awakened, we can only become stronger by banding together, only then can we win the final victory. But once we band together, the exposure risk increases, which means we might get wiped out before we have enough advantage."

"What exactly are you trying to say?" Qingling asked.

"There's a way right in front of us, a method to effectively reduce the risk of exposure."

"The Lost Ones," Qingling figured it out.

"Exactly. The Lost Ones are the best smokescreen," Gao Yang logically deduced. "Beasts play humans every second, so one beast may recognize another, but it may not be able to tell what kind of beast the other is. As long as we frequently keep Wang Zikai around, we won't attract suspicion from other beasts."

"And from my life track, Wang Zikai is my good friend. You only got involved with me because of Li Weiwei's death… So the three of us walking together is completely reasonable. On the other hand, if you kill Wang Zikai now, it would be too suspicious."

Qingling nodded. "Li Weiwei was your childhood friend, and also my good friend. Wang Zikai is your good friend. If both of those beasts died, and we humans are in frequent contact, it would raise more suspicion."

Gao Yang smiled. "Maintaining close relationships with beasts is important; it's a cover. Officer Huang didn't kill Old Liu, probably for the same reason."

Qingling said, "Alright, you've convinced me."

Gao Yang breathed a sigh of relief. Phew, I've finally gotten away with it.

…

That evening, Gao Yang returned home. Everything was normal. His parents nagged him about coming home late again, but they didn't suspect anything.

He dealt with it and returned to his bedroom, locking the door. He lay down on the bed and closed his eyes.

[Beep—]

[Entering system]

[You've gained 71 lucky points]

—Wait, wasn't it 1 lucky point per hour?

—It's been a maximum of 50 hours since the last login, right?

[Your lucky talent has reached level 2]

[From now on, the danger level of survival time will alter the bonus of lucky points]

[Previously, you survived a dangerous 20-minute period, during which the lucky points reward increased by 60 times]

—That's the time when "Aunt He" attacked me? Riches and danger go hand in hand!

—Give me all the luck!

[Once lucky points are allocated, they cannot be changed. Are you sure?]

—Sure! Hurry up!

[Congratulations! Luck has surpassed 100 points. Random permanent stat increase: Stamina +9, Endurance +10, Agility +10, Mental +20, Charm +3]

[Stamina: 27 Endurance: 28]

[Strength: 17 Agility: 27]

[Mental: 37 Charm: 19]

[Luck: 101]

—Ah, this time I didn't make much of a gain, even lost a little.

—What's the use of Mental?

[Mental increases the output and defense of mental talents, and also enhances perception, making it easier to detect danger and hostility]

—Got it.

—By the way, can the hidden screen be unlocked?

[Sorry, you don't have enough luck]

—How much is enough?

[You currently don't have the authorization]

—Alright, I'll save up.

[Supplement: Level 2 Luck has unlocked the Talent Temple. You now have one free comprehension opportunity. Would you like to use it?]

—Wow! This is great. Looks like I can unlock more talents.

—Tell me, which is more important, talent or attributes?

[Early on, talent takes priority. Attributes require quantitative change to bring about a qualitative change, and they need to be combined with talent for the best effect.]

—Okay, I'll listen to you. Using the comprehension opportunity.

[Comprehending…]

[Comprehension failed]

—Haha, expected.

[To comprehend again, 30 lucky points are required]

—Why didn't you say so earlier? I used them all up! Oh well, I'll try again tomorrow.

[Session ended, system hidden]

[Beep—]

…

The next morning, it rained lightly.

Gao Yang walked down the wet and crowded street, holding an umbrella. Watching the office workers dazedly waiting at traffic lights, squeezing into buses and subways, he couldn't help but feel a bit emotional—these beasts are really dedicated. They always say "corporate slaves," but now I see they really are.

Gao Yang went to school. During morning self-study, the homeroom teacher entered: "Gao Yang, Qingling, the police are here about Li Weiwei's case. They want you to come to the office."

Even though it had only been a few days since Li Weiwei's death, the homeroom teacher spoke about her without any heaviness or regret, his tone cold and even a bit impatient.

Gao Yang and Qingling stood up and left the classroom, heading to the office.

Officer Huang was sitting in the office, smoking. There were no other teachers around.

"Is the situation from last time handled?" Qingling asked.

"Don't worry, no traces left," Officer Huang flicked the ash off his cigarette. "I heard from Fat Jun about why you failed."

"We can try again," Qingling said, "This time, it'll definitely succeed."

Officer Huang didn't say anything. He put the cigarette butt into the ashtray, slowly extinguishing it. "I've known my wife since high school. She was my first love. We've been together for many years. I thought I understood her well, I mean… as 'a human,' I know her well."

Officer Huang stood up, looking around before lowering his voice to continue, "But recently, my wife has been acting strange. I thought she might have discovered something and started suspecting me. Although I've never tested her, I always thought she was a Lost One. But if she starts suspecting me, then she definitely can't be a Lost One."

"Recently, I've been in fear and unease, struggling in pain, and eventually, I considered killing her. Fortunately, I met you, and that led to this operation."

Officer Huang raised both hands, rubbed his face hard, and sighed deeply. "Thank God, it didn't succeed, otherwise, I would've been better off dead."

"Did the plan change?" Gao Yang asked.

"Yes, the plan changed." Officer Huang stood up. "I only found out last night that I misunderstood my wife. She's been acting strange because she was hiding something from me. She confessed last night, and honestly, after hearing it, I was shocked."

"What is it?"

"My wife…" Officer Huang's gaze lingered on Gao Yang and Qingling. "She's pregnant."