Chapter 34: The Third Test

10 PM, Sanqing District, Third Hospital, Inpatient Building.

Gao Yang sat on a long bench in the corridor outside the hospital room, eating a fragrant spicy hot pot. The late-night snack was packed by Officer Huang, who had heard that Gao Yang's father was in the hospital after a car accident, and after finishing his work, he "conveniently" stopped by to check on him.

At this moment, there was no one else around. He puffed on half a cigarette and asked, "How's your dad doing?"

"He woke up for a bit this afternoon. He said he was thirsty, drank some water, and then went back to sleep," Gao Yang replied, biting into a beef ball, the juice splattering and scalding his tongue.

"Alright, let's get to the point." Officer Huang flicked the ash off his cigarette. "Did the people from the organization come to see you today?"

"Yeah, the Twelve Zodiac, White Rabbit. I was with Qing Ling at the time." Gao Yang answered truthfully and briefly recounted the events that happened at the KTV this afternoon.

"The person who came to see you from my side was called Tiangou." Officer Huang said calmly. "The assessment was similar to yours. First, they asked me to kill a robber, a Lost One. I didn't want to kill him. Then they asked me to kill my wife. Of course, I refused. In the end, I somehow passed."

"Why didn't you kill him?" Gao Yang was curious. Did Officer Huang, like himself, realize this was a trap?

"Oh, normally I would have killed him for sure. But funny enough, the robber turned out to be my wife's cousin's nephew. My wife is really close with her cousin; they talk on the phone every day, and my wife's pregnant. I didn't want this to affect her mood, and surprisingly, it worked out."

So, he's a total doting husband, Gao Yang thought and chuckled.

Officer Huang glanced at him. "Tiangou said the hint for the third test is with you."

"Hmm." Gao Yang took out a brass key from his pocket. "This. They said if we find the door to which this key fits and go in for a look, it counts as passing the test. The search area is within Sanqing District."

Officer Huang took the key, carefully examined it between his fingers, and his eyes lit up. "This is easy. Leave it to me. You two wait for my news."

"Got it."

After Officer Huang left, Gao Yang finished his spicy hot pot and returned to his father's hospital room. He unfolded a chair by the bedside, covered himself with a blanket, and lay down.

He closed his eyes but couldn't sleep.

Gao Yang entered the system to check his luck points.

Sure enough, during the time White Rabbit had appeared this afternoon, there was no double reward. It seemed that only when faced with real danger could the rewards be doubled. The more dangerous the situation, the higher the lucky points, but also the greater the risk of dying. It was fair enough.

The next day at noon, Gao Yang's mother and sister came to replace him for the shift.

Gao Yang went home to freshen up, had dinner, and then took a few hours of rest. By evening, as he walked out of the residential area, he saw a familiar police car. Officer Huang was standing by the roadside, smoking. He waved at Gao Yang when he saw him.

Gao Yang quickly walked over. "Officer Huang? What are you doing here?"

"I found the place." Officer Huang said.

"So fast?" Gao Yang was surprised.

"Finding things is no big deal for me." The officer patted the car roof. "Get in, let's talk."

When Gao Yang approached the car, he saw Qing Ling sitting in the passenger seat. He opened the back door and froze—Wang Zikai and Pang Jun were also in the car.

"Bro, miss me?" Wang Zikai greeted excitedly and immediately pulled Gao Yang into the car. "I'm telling you, I've made breakthroughs in my cultivation recently! Once we get to a deserted place, I'll show you what I've got. It'll be like a little cow entering the house—just unbelievably powerful..."

Gao Yang's head started to ache again.

Once the car started, Gao Yang asked Officer Huang, "Why are those two also here?"

"I've been keeping an eye on Pang Jun for a while. Afterward, there hasn't been any sign of arm mutation," Officer Huang explained.

"Yes, yes, nothing happened," Pang Jun responded eagerly, patting his chubby chest. "Don't worry, Yang Ge, I'm very confident in my body now!"

"Don't worry. Even if the fat guy does go berserk, I can handle him with one hand!" Wang Zikai was getting cocky after not seeing Gao Yang for a few days. He already had the swagger of a big brother.

"Aren't we going for a test?" Gao Yang asked again.

"They didn't say we couldn't bring helpers." Officer Huang gave him a meaningful look through the rearview mirror. "Wu Dahai secretly contacted me and asked me to bring more people. He said this time it's serious, and if we're not careful... someone might die."

Gao Yang's heart sank. White Rabbit had said the same thing. It seemed like this test was truly dangerous. He didn't know what they were going to face, but although Wang Zikai and Pang Jun were unstable factors, one had combat abilities and the other was a healer. Overall, bringing them along would be more beneficial than not.

About half an hour later, the police car drove to the southwest side of Li Mountain.

Li Mountain was located on the outskirts of the city, spanning across Sanqing District and Dongyu District, and it belonged to Sanqing District.

It was a popular tourist destination with an elevation of over 300 meters and an area of 5,000 square meters. The mountain had a wide variety of plants and beautiful scenery. There was also an observatory at the peak where visitors could enjoy panoramic views of the entire city. The south and north entrances were always crowded with tourists in the early morning and evening.

However, Officer Huang wasn't here to hike. The southwest side of Li Mountain didn't have any trails leading up. They parked the police car on a rural path, got out, and followed Officer Huang through a field, entering a small forest.

"Where are we going?" Qing Ling asked first.

"Almost there, just ahead," Officer Huang led the way.

"The door is here?" Gao Yang asked.

"Yes." Officer Huang continued, "The brass key given to you by White Rabbit—it looks like an old house key. There aren't many places in Sanqing District with old houses like this. There's one in the replica antique walking street, but even though the buildings look old, the locks are modern now. Another place is Hehua Alley, which had many old houses, but they were all demolished last year..."

Officer Huang stopped, caught his breath, and habitually took out his gun to check the bullets before continuing forward. "After thinking it over, the only place in Sanqing District that would still have an old house needing this kind of key... is..."

"Could it be... Gujia Village?" Pang Jun, who was too slow due to his size, had fallen behind. He shuddered when he said "Gujia Village" and hurried forward to walk beside Gao Yang. He thought for a moment, then, still uneasy, quickened his pace to walk alongside Qing Ling, who had the highest combat power.

"Whoa," Officer Huang said, somewhat surprised. "You actually know about it? Let me see, it's been exactly thirty years this year, right?"

"A classmate of mine in high school, her dad is a reporter, and he did a feature on this incident. It's creepy. My classmate used to tell us about it like a ghost story every day," Pang Jun said nervously, his eyes darting around.

"What happened?" Wang Zikai was intrigued.

"It started with a mass family murder. A family of five in Gujia Village was all killed in one night. The bodies were cut into pieces and scattered all around the village." Officer Huang said. "My mentor took on the case at the time. He mentioned it to me once."

"Was the case solved?" Gao Yang asked.

Officer Huang shook his head. "No."

"Why?"

"Less than half a month after the incident, all fifty-three people in Gujia Village disappeared."

"Disappeared?"

"Yes, they vanished without a trace. My mentor nearly dug up the entire Gujia Village, but still couldn't find any clues. He retired without ever solving this cold case."

Everyone fell silent, waiting for more.

As dusk settled, the light in the forest grew dim, and the wind rustled the leaves. The atmosphere turned eerie.

Officer Huang took out the brass key and spoke in a low voice. "The door that this key opens is in Gujia Village."