The break room was deathly silent.
The air itself seemed to freeze. Gao Yang could hear his own heartbeat thundering in his ears—This is it. We're screwed.
He glanced at Qing Ling. Her face was expressionless, but her mind was racing:
If Officer Huang is a Rage Beast, I can't win.
Killing one wouldn't be impossible, but outside this room were over a hundred others. The moment she exposed herself as an awakened human, she was dead.
Run?
Pointless. Even if she escaped now, her identity was compromised. She wouldn't last a week.
Her last companion had been stronger than her, yet he'd still died after a single slip-up.
There was only one option left—gamble on the slimmest chance.
Three seconds later, Qing Ling spoke. "Officer Huang, what brings you here?"
Huang walked slowly to the water dispenser, bending down to fill a cup. His back was completely exposed to them.
After filling it, he turned and leaned against the table. "Still working on Li Weiwei's case. I'm interviewing people close to her, so I came to the memorial."
"Find anything?" Gao Yang forced concern into his voice.
"A few leads. Can't share details." Huang took a sip of water and smiled. "By the way, what were you two talking about earlier? Sounded interesting—something about beasts and rules?"
Gao Yang's stomach dropped. No way to talk their way out of this.
Fine. Time to wing it.
"It's a new survival game. Really popular." He glanced at Qing Ling. "We were just discussing it."
"Oh?" Huang nodded thoughtfully. "What's it called?"
"Uh… Monster-Human Happy Family."
"Sounds fun." Huang sighed wistfully. "Youth is wasted on the young. Us working stiffs don't have time for games."
He finished his water, left the cup on the dispenser, and strolled out.
That one minute left Gao Yang drenched in cold sweat.
"What now?" he whispered.
Qing Ling frowned. "Two possibilities. One—he's a Rage Beast, already suspicious, testing us. Two—he's a Lost One."
"Lost One?"
"A special type of beast. They're delusional—convince themselves they're human. Even if an awakened human stands in front of them, they'll ignore it, rationalize it away."
"So if Huang's a Lost One, we're safe."
"Yes. But I don't gamble on odds." Qing Ling peered through the door crack at Huang in the hall. "Rage Beasts are obsessive. They never share prey."
Gao Yang remembered Li Weiwei's bloodlust. "I've seen it firsthand…"
"There are over a hundred people in that hall. At least a few are Rage Beasts. That's probably why Huang didn't attack us."
"He wants us all to himself." Gao Yang shuddered.
"Most likely." Qing Ling's gaze turned icy. "We still have one move left. Silence him first."
10:00 PM. Shanqing District. Police Station.
After the memorial, Officer Huang drove straight back to work.
Qing Ling and Gao Yang tailed him in a taxi, then took a window seat at a café across the street. They ordered snacks and drinks, pulling out textbooks to feign studying while they waited.
Gao Yang had initially refused this plan. But if Qing Ling failed, he was dead anyway.
If I'm going down, I'm going down fighting.
At least that way, he'd keep some dignity.
"I've got questions," he said, sipping orange juice.
"Ask." Qing Ling stabbed her mango pancake with a fork, dissecting it like an enemy.
"Other than me, do you have allies?"
"Like I said—two before. Both dead."
"So you've been… alone all this time?"
"Two of us." Her eyes flickered. "Me and my sister."
Gao Yang realized she meant her alter, Qing Ling.
"That's… rough."
"Worry about yourself." She set down her fork. "If this fails, I'll run and hide."
"And me?"
"Don't know." Her voice was cold. "I don't carry dead weight."
Ouch.
He wasn't useless—he had a talent too!
But arguing would just embarrass himself.
They waited until midnight, when Huang finally left the station.
He reached his patrol car, then paused—the front tire was flat. Qing Ling's blade had pierced it from a distance.
Huang barely reacted, just pulled out his phone, chuckling as he made a call. He crossed the street, bought cigarettes, then cut through a deserted park.
Qing Ling and Gao Yang followed at a distance, masks and sunglasses on.
The park was empty, trees casting long shadows. Huang's lone figure should've seemed vulnerable—but it only made Gao Yang more uneasy.
Qing Ling raised a hand toward a streetlight's surveillance camera.
She focused, fingers twitching. Two seconds later, she clenched her fist. A faint click—the camera's red light died.
"Distract him," she whispered. "I'll handle the rest."
Gao Yang took a shaky breath. "Got it."
He stepped out, catching up. "Officer Huang!"
Huang turned. "Who's—?"
Gao Yang lowered his mask. "It's me."
"Gao Yang? What are you doing here?" Huang smiled.
"About Li Weiwei… I remembered something. Thought you should know."
"Oh?" Huang stepped closer, eager. "Tell me—"
Suddenly, his smile vanished.
He spun around, drawing his gun—