30: Chapter 30 It's okay, it's my pet.

“Do we know each other?” Zhou Tunan asked, his tone sounding a bit uncertain.

It was always most awkward when you had seen someone before but didn't actually know them.

Gu Changming had long expected this reaction and continued, “We only spoke today.”

Zhou Tunan focused on remembering. Aside from dealing with the sarcasm and mockery on the forum today, he seemed to have only interacted with one person.

With a hint of uncertainty, he asked tentatively in a low voice, “Are you... the one living in Building B?”

“Yes,” Gu Changming acknowledged before introducing himself. “I’m Gu Changming. And you?”

In his previous life, the other man's constantly updated posts had mentioned that he was attacked that very night.

So, after learning where the man lived, Gu Changming had planned ahead and hidden in the stairwell of the floor where he lived. He had intended to come out and save his life when he was being hunted, thereby getting to know him.

He just hadn’t expected an extra person to be there.

Gu Changming glanced toward the woman. When he had approached earlier, she had attacked him with a fireball.

Thinking about it, the original plot of his previous life should have been like this. Zhou Tunan ran to that floor, the Shadow Devourer caught up, and then that woman used the Fireball Technique.

The bright light from the fireball must have caused the Shadow Devourer to stiffen, allowing them to jump from the building and survive.

“Oh, I see,” Zhou Tunan realized, quickly giving his own name. “Zhou Tunan.”

Hearing the name, Gu Changming’s expression faltered slightly.

He had heard this name before.

Gu Changming took another look at Zhou Tunan. This man would later join a National Organization, and his job would be to find loopholes and flaws in the Assessments.

Gu Changming had never met the man himself, but during several Assessments, he had teamed up with squads from government departments, so he knew the name of the person who formulated their plans: Zhou Tunan.

With such a talent, it was no wonder he had already started looking for hidden rules during the second Assessment.

After the two exchanged names, silence fell for several seconds.

Then, the woman finally spoke up, “I’m Tang Ningfei.”

“Right.” Both men nodded, but neither seemed inclined to continue the conversation.

They only knew each other's names; what was there to talk about?

After another moment of silence, Zhou Tunan continued in a hushed voice, “I told you my reasoning was reliable.”

“What reasoning?” Tang Ningfei asked curiously.

Gu Changming took over and explained for him, “He said that the rule about weak light sources attracting Shadow Devourers isn't the whole story; there are other rules as well.”

Tang Ningfei looked at Zhou Tunan with even more interest.

Rare as it was for someone to be willing to listen to his reasoning, Zhou Tunan continued, “It’s that in this Assessment, there’s an added rule supplement: weak light sources might attract Shadow Devourers.”

“But I feel that this Assessment is different from the first one. It’s not like Silent Day, where you’d be safe as long as you didn't make a sound.”

“Instead, while weak light sources will attract Shadow Devourers, even without them, those Shadow Devourers will still act and hunt us humans.”

“Now it seems my reasoning was correct,” Zhou Tunan said. “I was at home, not letting out a single bit of light, yet that thing still found its way to my door. If I hadn't run fast, I probably would have died there.”

Tang Ningfei pursed her lips, committing these words to memory.

After Zhou Tunan finished, no one responded.

The room fell back into silence, with only the faint sounds of the three people's breathing intertwining in the darkness.

After about a minute or two, Tang Ningfei was the first to break the silence.

“I wonder if that thing is still nearby. We can’t all sleep; should we take turns keeping watch?”

It wasn't that they couldn't stay up all night, but this Assessment lasted five days. If they didn't sleep at all, even a superman wouldn't be able to hold out. If they encountered danger then, something would surely go wrong.

Having said that, she turned her gaze toward the other two, seemingly seeking their agreement.

Gu Changming spoke up then, his tone carrying a hint of certainty, “No need. The Shadow Devourer has already left this Residential Complex.”

Tang Ningfei was startled and instinctively turned toward Gu Changming. “How do you know?”

Zhou Tunan was also somewhat puzzled, not understanding where Gu Changming had gotten this information.

Gu Changming didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he beckoned toward the open window on the first floor.

Both Zhou Tunan and Tang Ningfei were confused by this action, and their eyes turned toward the window in unison.

Before long, a faint sound of flapping wings came from outside.

The two immediately became alert, their bodies tensing slightly.

By the faint moonlight of the night, they could just barely see a pitch-black bird landing on the windowsill. It wasn't large, resembling a common crow.

In the next second, an even more astonishing sight appeared.

As the crow stood on the windowsill, its silhouette suddenly began to blur and twist.

Then, its body rapidly shrank and transformed, turning into a black cat.

The black cat leaped silently from the windowsill, landing lightly, and then walked with soundless steps straight to Gu Changming’s feet.

Zhou Tunan and Tang Ningfei watched this scene, speechless and frozen in place.

Gu Changming bent down, picked up the black cat, and placed it on his shoulder.

The black cat’s body began to change again like flowing shadows, reverting to its crow form in the blink of an eye.

“This is a... pet I keep,” Gu Changming explained. “I sent it out just now to confirm the Shadow Devourer's movements. It saw that the thing has already left our Residential Complex and headed south.”

Tang Ningfei looked at the crow on Gu Changming’s shoulder, her lips parting slightly as if she wanted to say something. But in the end, she didn't make a sound.

So strong, and with such a bizarre pet... this person... hiss...

“We can rest a bit tonight with peace of mind,” Gu Changming continued. “I’ll have it keep an eye on that Shadow Devourer. If there’s any movement, we’ll know immediately.”

He paused, as if suddenly remembering something, and added naturally, “By the way, while observing, I seem to have discovered an unwritten rule, just like the one Tunan deduced.”

This immediately grabbed Zhou Tunan and Tang Ningfei’s attention.

Gu Changming continued, “It seems... there is only one Shadow Devourer within a certain area? My crow only found that one just now.”

As he spoke, Gu Changming glanced in Zhou Tunan’s direction.

He had made it so clear; the man should be able to figure it out, right?

He wasn't disappointed. As soon as he finished, Zhou Tunan immediately responded:

“It seems so. During Silent Day, as long as someone made a sound, no matter how many people there were, they would all be attacked simultaneously. But just now, only one Shadow Devourer was hunting us. Once it left, we were safe...” Zhou Tunan’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “Is this also one of the incomplete rule supplements?”

Tang Ningfei listened and silently committed this to memory as well.

Gu Changming became quiet again. He could explain the discovery of that one rule supplement by saying he used the Mimic Beast, but if he said any more, the two of them would start asking how he knew so much.

“Ah, what a pity,” Zhou Tunan sighed. “It’s night now, so we can't turn on our phones. Otherwise, I could post this discovery on the forum. It might save a lot of people.”

Hearing his words, Gu Changming nodded. His goal was the same; otherwise, he wouldn't have come here and gone to such trouble.

The three were silent together for another moment.

After that, they stopped talking and began to rest to recover their energy.

Aside from the occasional screams from outside, nothing unexpected happened.

The sky gradually brightened, and the darkness receded like a tide.

When the first ray of steady white light shone into the room through the gap in the curtains, their nerves, which had been tense for nearly ten hours, finally found a moment of relaxation.

“It’s dawn,” Zhou Tunan said softly.

Then, with unspoken understanding, they walked outside.

If their deduction was correct, they would certainly be much safer in the sunlight than hiding in a house.

As soon as they stepped out, Gu Changming saw Tang Ningfei pull her phone from her pocket and long-press the power button.

The screen lit up, and her fingers tapped rapidly across it, her expression focused.

Gu Changming and Zhou Tunan exchanged a glance, curious about her actions.

“Posting to the forum?” Zhou Tunan asked curiously.