The Prisoner's Dilemma

"Coming?" Gao Yang panicked a little. "Coming for what?"

Qing Ling bent her legs, pressing down on Gao Yang. The moonlight cast a highlight on her collarbone, shimmering and flickering, breathtakingly beautiful.

She let out a contemptuous sneer. "What else could it be? Don't pretend to be innocent."

Gao Yang was dumbfounded.

Qing Ling didn't waste words. She brushed back her hair and leaned in toward Gao Yang's face.

"Wait a minute!"

Gao Yang shouted. He wasn't a traditionalist, and he had watched plenty of adult films. But the speed of this situation was just too fast—so fast that it looked like a trap.

"What?"

"If I'm guilty, the law will punish me. You don't have to torture me like this..."

"You're pretty cautious," Qing Ling remarked.

Gao Yang thought to himself, Isn't that a normal reaction?

Three hours ago, he had almost been killed by his most trusted childhood friend. Now, a complete stranger was suddenly throwing herself at him. He had every reason to suspect that she was trying to lure him in and then kill him.

"Relax." Qing Ling's voice softened.

"..."

"If you really hate me, you can picture someone else's face." Qing Ling placed her hand on Gao Yang's chest and slowly slid it downward.

"Let's... not. How about we start as friends first..."

Suddenly, Qing Ling stopped.

Gao Yang was sweating profusely, not daring to breathe.

Qing Ling got up from the bed and dressed again. "Alright."

Gao Yang was completely bewildered. He sat up in bed and suddenly realized there was a small, sharp dagger hidden under his pillow.

Qing Ling, now fully dressed, flicked her wrist, and the dagger flew back into her hand. With a quick spin of her long fingers, the dagger vanished in the blink of an eye.

"You... were you planning to kill me just now?" Gao Yang felt a chill down his spine.

"That depended on you," Qing Ling replied.

"What do you mean? If I couldn't resist the temptation and made a move on you, you'd kill me?" Gao Yang speculated. "So this was a test, and I passed it, earning your trust?"

"Completely wrong." Qing Ling turned her back to Gao Yang and tied up her ponytail again. "If you had no reaction, then I would have killed you."

"Why?"

"Beasts don't have real reproductive systems."

Gao Yang instantly understood. "So, you were confirming my identity!"

"You encountered a Wrath Beast last night."

"A Wrath Beast?"

"There are many kinds of beasts, and Wrath Beasts are just one type. In short, they're all cunning, adept at disguising themselves, and capable of blending in seamlessly." Qing Ling warned, "If you want to survive in this world, don't trust anyone."

"Then how do I know you're human?" Gao Yang countered.

"Not bad, you're learning quickly." Qing Ling's face remained expressionless. "Confirming if a woman is a beast is much trickier—you'd have to actually do it."

"Uh..."

Qing Ling tossed him a small bottle. "This is a special antidote. Use it, and be sure to dispose of the bottle—don't let anyone see it."

Gao Yang examined the little bottle carefully. It looked just like an ordinary blue liquid, nothing special.

He hid the medicine under his blanket. Right now, he had too many questions for Qing Ling.

What exactly were these beasts?

Why did they kill people?

What situation was he in now?

What was Qing Ling's ability? She seemed far stronger than him.

And most importantly—how could he become stronger?

BANG!

The door suddenly burst open. His sister rushed in.

Gao Yang jumped up in shock, standing shirtless. "No! It's not what you think—"

"What?" His sister looked puzzled.

Gao Yang turned around. Qing Ling was gone. Only the swaying curtains and a sliver of moonlight remained.

Wait—was she really that fast?! She just vanished into thin air...

"Suspicious," his sister eyed him up and down before grinning mischievously. "Bro, could it be that you're... into that?"

"I'm not! I didn't! Stop talking nonsense!" Gao Yang was on the verge of tears. "And next time, can you knock before barging in?"

"Got it!" His sister suddenly leaned in with a sweet smile, grabbing his arm. "Hey, bro, let's make a deal."

"Spit it out."

She immediately pulled out her phone. "Look! Isn't this Lolita dress gorgeous?"

"It's nice..." Gao Yang caught on. "Wait, what do you want?"

"It's only 498 yuan! Super cheap! And if I buy it now, I can save 198 yuan!"

"You save 498 by not buying it."

"My birthday is in just eleven months!" His sister pouted. "Can't you just treat it as an early birthday gift?"

"I'll be dead in seventy years. Can't you just pretend I'm already gone?"

"You don't care about me! You don't love me! You don't deserve to be my brother!" His sister wailed. "I'm telling Mom and Dad that you went out last night and came back covered in blood!"

"Alright, alright!" Gao Yang panicked. He grabbed his phone and transferred a few hundred yuan from next month's living expenses. More than the money, his priority now was damage control.

"You're the best, bro! Love you~"

His sister skipped away happily, shutting the door behind her.

Gao Yang sighed in relief.

---

The special antidote Qing Ling had given him worked wonders. By the next morning, his wounds had almost completely healed, leaving only some red marks, like scratches from mosquito bites.

After breakfast, Gao Yang went to school.

In the classroom, Li Weiwei's seat was empty.

A hollow pain settled in his chest, dull yet unrelenting, as if something had been torn away.

He thought back on the past twelve years with Li Weiwei: walking to and from school together, sharing meals, doing homework side by side, setting off fireworks on New Year's Eve... The first time he saw her smile, cry, get angry—every beautiful, familiar moment.

Now, all of it had been shattered by that beast last night.

Gao Yang wished he could separate them into two beings: a pure, kind girl and a cruel, monstrous creature. But they were one and the same.

He couldn't accept it.

Even after the morning self-study session, Li Weiwei's seat remained empty. A few girls in class started whispering—news of her misfortune had likely spread.

Gao Yang hadn't slept well at all. He had too many questions for Qing Ling.

To his surprise, as soon as the session ended, Qing Ling approached him and loudly questioned, "Gao Yang, where is Li Weiwei?"

Gao Yang froze—was she acting?

"I don't know," he replied.

"You don't know? Weren't you with her yesterday?"

"Yeah, but we went home separately last night..."

"Then what happened? Her phone's off, she's not answering WeChat, and she hasn't shown up to class." Qing Ling scowled impatiently, then turned and left.

The first period was math, and the teacher was also their homeroom teacher.

The teacher walked in with a heavy expression. He placed his book on the podium and adjusted his thick glasses.

"Class, before we start, I need to tell you something."

"Our classmate Li Weiwei... was killed last night."

The entire class erupted in chaos.

"What?!" Qing Ling shot to her feet in shock.

Gao Yang was stunned for a moment, then silently applauded her acting skills.

Given how close Qing Ling and Li Weiwei were, this reaction was only natural. It also reminded Gao Yang that, as her childhood friend, his reaction seemed off.

He quickly stood up, his face a mix of shock and confusion. "That's impossible! I just saw her yesterday afternoon!"

"She was attacked late at night. The initial conclusion is a robbery. She was stabbed in the chest and died on the spot..." The teacher sighed. "That's all I know for now."

Gasps and cries filled the room.

Gao Yang clenched his fists, his heart growing heavier by the second.

"Class, all of us are deeply saddened and outraged by what happened to Li Weiwei."

"The police are doing everything they can to track down the killer. Justice will be served!"

"For those who want to say their final goodbyes, you can join me tonight at the funeral home..."

"Now, let's gather ourselves and continue with our lesson."

The math teacher flipped open his textbook, then suddenly remembered something. "Qing Ling, Gao Yang, you two come to my office."

Gao Yang tensed up. "Is something wrong, sir?"

"The police are here. They just need you two to answer a few questions."

Qing Ling, eyes red and puffy, rushed out of the classroom as if she couldn't wait to see the police. Gao Yang followed behind.

Walking down the hallway one after the other, Gao Yang lagged slightly behind, checking to make sure no one was around. Then, he quickened his pace to catch up with Qing Ling. "Let's get our story straight first."

"What story?" Qing Ling turned her head, her eyes filled with grief and anger.

"About Li Weiwei."

Qing Ling was stunned for a moment, then suddenly grabbed Gao Yang by the collar. "So you do know something! Did you kill her?"

"Huh?" Gao Yang was completely dumbfounded.

What kind of performance was this? Was she getting too deep into her role?

"Now's not the time for acting!" Gao Yang hissed.

"Who's acting?!" Qing Ling's expression was dead serious. "You're very suspicious. Why didn't you walk Li Weiwei home last night? Why did she end up murdered? I'd bet anything you had something to do with it!"

Wait—this wasn't how it was supposed to go!

What was Qing Ling playing at?

"Say something!" Qing Ling pressed on aggressively. "You've had a crush on Li Weiwei for ages, but she didn't like you back, so you killed her in a fit of rage, didn't you?"

Gao Yang's mind raced. There were only two possibilities:

1. This wasn't the same Qing Ling from last night—highly unlikely.

2. Qing Ling was still acting, but she had decided to throw him under the bus to save herself. She had warned him: don't trust anyone.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Gao Yang lowered his head and sidestepped her. The more he spoke, the more mistakes he could make—his best move was to stay silent.

"Drop the act! I'll make sure the police investigate you thoroughly! If you really did it, I won't let you get away with it!" Qing Ling stormed into the office, furious.

Just as Gao Yang was about to follow, a tall figure stepped in front of him, blocking his way.

Gao Yang looked up—it was a uniformed police officer. He appeared to be in his thirties, with a clean-cut buzz cut, a broad jaw, and sharply defined facial features. His eyes were experienced and piercing.

"You're… Officer Huang?"

"Heh, we meet again." Officer Huang smiled, but there was no warmth in his eyes.

Three nights ago, it was this very officer—Huang Qi—who had shot and killed that "lunatic" and "saved" Gao Yang.

Officer Huang patted Gao Yang's shoulder. "Come with me to another office."

Gao Yang's heart sank.

This was it—the prisoner's dilemma.