"I do not possess the Blade God's ability! Nor have I ever concealed my true strength!" Gaoyang's neck was on the verge of bleeding as he confessed everything in a single breath. "In the heat of the moment, I suddenly grasped a new ability—Replication. It allows me to briefly copy someone else's talent, but only through a second of physical contact. I wanted to replicate your Blade God power, but I was just a bit too far... You know the rest."

Qingling, still skeptical, glanced at Officer Huang. "Is such an ability even possible?"

"It is," Officer Huang nodded, "If I recall correctly, its sequence number should be 18."

He looked at Gaoyang with envy. "You've acquired an impressive ability. Congratulations."

Qingling stared at Gaoyang for a couple of seconds before sheathing her sword.

"You're just making excuses! I think you just wanted to take advantage of her!" Wudanghai stormed over, clearly frustrated but also envious.

Seeing Wudanghai, Gaoyang's anger flared. He had fled faster than anyone during the fight, but now that they were safe, he was the first to emerge, brimming with sarcastic remarks.

Officer Huang retrieved his jogging towel from the police car and tossed one each to Gaoyang and Qingling. "Wipe the blood off."

Then he turned to Wudanghai. "Have we passed your test now?"

"What test?" Wudanghai looked genuinely confused.

"Stop pretending. This was obviously your test, wasn’t it?" Officer Huang’s tone was irritated—this test was far too dangerous!

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"No way! Am I crazy? Why would I set up such a test?" Wudanghai waved his hands frantically. "I have no idea why Old Zhang suddenly transformed into that disgusting beast! I nearly pissed myself in fear, alright?!"

Gaoyang now seriously doubted the reliability of this organization.

Officer Huang rubbed his temples, feeling equally overwhelmed—adulthood was proving far too complicated.

Wudanghai scratched his nose. "You guys should head back. It won’t be long before someone from the organization contacts you. Then you'll understand the true test."

As Wudanghai was about to leave, he paused and cast a lecherous glance beyond Gaoyang.

Turning around, Gaoyang saw Qingling removing her clothes. The bloodstains on her school uniform were too much to clean, so she had decided to take it off.

Officer Huang quickly shrugged off his jacket and tossed it to Gaoyang.

Gaoyang turned around and helped Qingling into the jacket.

Wudanghai's face fell in disappointment, and he awkwardly coughed. "Wait at home for further instructions! Don’t forget!"

After Wudanghai left, Gaoyang gazed at the grisly remains and pools of blood not far away. He asked Officer Huang, "What should we do with this?"

Officer Huang sighed. "I’ve got a can of gasoline in the trunk. We’ll burn it."

...

Five minutes later, the three stood in silence before the roaring flames. Qingling, wrapped in Officer Huang’s jacket, her long legs illuminated by the fire’s red glow, tossed her school uniform into the blaze. Gaoyang followed suit, throwing his own bloodstained shirt into the inferno.

After confirming that every trace had turned to ash, they turned and walked toward the police car.

Suddenly, Gaoyang felt eyes on him and instinctively looked up.

There, perched on a telephone pole, was a large white cat, silently watching him. Its fur was as pure as snow under the cold moonlight, its eyes glistening like emeralds, and it carried an air of regal indifference, almost tinged with arrogance.

Gaoyang’s heart skipped a beat. Could this be the white cat that Pang Jun had described? Could Old Zhang’s sudden transformation have something to do with it?

"What are you looking at?" Officer Huang asked from beside the car door.

Distracted for a second, Gaoyang looked back—the cat had vanished. The telephone pole was empty.

Could it have been a hallucination brought on by sheer exhaustion?

Gaoyang quickly entered the system, confirming that his luck points hadn’t doubled. No matter, at least the danger was over.