The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 23: Wrong Move

Wu Dahai stared at Qing Ling. The colorful light of the arcade machines cast on her beautiful and aloof face. She didn’t seem to be playing coy, nor did she seem humiliated. She simply didn’t care.

This woman sure was something else!

His gaze dragged slowly down from her face to her fair neck, finally stopping at the curves covered by her white uniform. She was voluptuous under the fabric, her body filling her shirt and straining against the second button. Looking closely, he could even see the impression of the undergarment.

A human girl’s boobs! The boobs of a pretty eighteen-year-old girl with a nice body!

Wu Dahai couldn’t help but gulp—he wasn’t dreaming!

The two men by the girl’s side glared at him with hostility. He knew they were looking down on him with disgust, perhaps even envy, and he knew he was acting like a horny old man, but at this moment, he was proud of being one!

With nervousness and awe, Wu Dahai slowly reached out... Soon, he would be in heaven and savor the greatest happiness in the world.

Then a fist slammed into his nose and sent him staggering back with a cry.

The punch was quickly followed by a kick to his lower abdomen from Qing Ling’s long leg. Wu Dahai felt his stomach twisted in pain. His legs went weak, and he dropped to his knees.

Qing Ling glared at Wu Daihai as he knelt at her feet, still fuming with anger.

“What do you think you’re doing, bastard?” She grabbed him by the hair. “You got a death wish?”

Wu Dahai was flabbergasted. “Wait! You gave me permission to touch...”

“Touch what?” demanded Qing Ling.

Gao Yang realized then that Qing Ling’s other personality had come out. Little Qing Ling hated men. Of course she wouldn’t let Wu Dahai lay a hand on her.

Wu Dahai felt wronged. “Touch...your breast.”

“A worm like you?! Eat shit!” Qing Ling slammed her knee into his head with a loud thud, sending him flying into a few chairs and knocking them down.

Gao Yang was enjoying the show, but seeing that things were getting out of control, he quickly grabbed her to prevent a homicide from happening.

“Let’s drop it, Qing Ling.”

“Don’t touch me!” Qing Ling made to slap him, but having foreseen that coming, Gao Yang leaned back to dodge her hand.

“You maggots! Why did you bring me here?!”

Qing Ling had been yelling when her body suddenly froze, and her eyes reverted back to her usually icy calmness.

She turned to the nervous-looking Gao Yang before looking down at Wu Dahai as he groaned in pain on the floor. “What happened?”

“Your sister showed up,” said Gao Yang.

Qing Ling furrowed her brows slightly. “Doesn’t matter. Let’s continue.”

“Continue my ass!” Wu Dahai got up with Officer Huang’s help. Holding his bleeding nose, he raged, “You women change moods as quickly as flipping a book!”

“There was an accident,” explained Qing Ling.

“You could’ve just told me if you didn’t want me to touch you! I didn’t force you or anything!” Wu Dahai was still angry. “Don’t think you get a free pass just because you’re a pretty girl! Hit me again, and I’ll fight back!”

Qing Ling considered it for a moment. “We’ll have another go. If you win again this time, I’ll have these two tie me up. Then there will be no accident.”

Gao Yang was stunned. Aren’t you a little too harsh on yourself? That’s called a gambling addiction!

Still, Gao Yang believed that Little Qing Ling would come out to break the deal once more even if Qing Ling lost.

Over the years, Qing Ling had been protecting her weak sister in matters of life and death, but in situations like this, Little Qing Ling must have been protecting her extreme sister as well.

They were two sides of the same coin after all.

Gao Yang and Officer Huang exchanged a look. They decided to step back for the moment and see how things went.

Wu Dahai’s anger deflated at once. He decided to believe her story. At the end of the day, he had taken a beating already. Worst-case scenario, he would get another, but what if he succeeded? Dying for a pretty girl would be a worthy death!

He stared at Qing Ling. “You meant it?”

Qing Ling nodded.

“Let’s go then!” Wu Dahai roughly wiped away the blood coming from his nose and sat back down at the machine.

Qing Ling had much more experience now. Without even a pause, she sat down, inserted a coin, and picked her character.

Again, it was a duel between Haohmaru and Tachibana.

Wu Dahai’s Tachibana dove into attacking immediately, while Qing Ling limited herself to four moves: stand guarding, crouch guarding, Light Slashes with A, and Medium Slashes with B.

But this time, she made no mistake, and her reaction was so quick it could only be measured in milliseconds.

Wu Dahai pulled every trick up his sleeves, but it felt like he was fighting against an emotionless machine. No matter what move he made, his opponent always countered it with the best response.

Guard, parry, or mutual damage.

Wu Dahai couldn’t gain the upper hand, and his hit points were always a little short of Qing Ling’s. The match ended with neither fighter dead, but Qing Ling won with a little more hit points.

Wu Dahai realized what Qing Ling’s strategy was.

The second match, he didn’t initiate an attack and waited for her to attack first. However, Qing Ling remained unmoving too. Wu Dahai had already lost the first game. Getting a deuce would mean his loss.

Wu Dahai grew impatient. At the halfway point of the match, he sprang into action and attacked. However, that got him swept into Qing Ling’s momentum again, and the match ended the same way. No death, with Qing Ling having more hit points left.

The best two out of three won. It was Qing Ling’s victory.

Gao Yang had thought that Wu Dahai would lose his temper for getting a beating for nothing, but instead, the man stood up after a brief pause and swept his hair with two hands. “You won.”

Pleased, Qing Ling stood up. “It’s interesting, the game.”

“Do I still get to touch you?”

“You didn’t win.” Qing Ling’s expression never changed.

“Alright. A deal is a deal.”

Wu Dahai took the loss in stride. He then turned to Gao Yang. “You’re up for the last game?”

Gao Yang turned to Officer Huang, who shrugged and spread his hands to indicate that he wouldn’t be of help. Then Gao Yang turned to Qing Ling. She left the arcade after saying, “I’m going to calm my sister down.”

That makes me the main character, Gao Yang thought self-deprecatingly. Up for the grand finale.

He looked around the arcade. The remaining machines were for The King of Fighters '97, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, Denjin Makai 2, Knights of Valour, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Metal Slug, Hook, and Snow Bros.

Although he had played all of them when he was young, he wasn’t good at any. After giving it a good thought, he pointed at the slot machine in the corner. “How about that?”

After a pause, Wu Dahai gave him a look of disbelief. “You sure?”

“I’m sure.” Gao Yang nodded.

He couldn’t win with skill. Then he would count on his luck.

“Uh-oh.” Officer Huang seemed to be recalling an unpleasant memory and pressed a hand to his forehead.

Smirking, Wu Dahai patted Gao Yang on the shoulder with pity.

“Wrong move, buddy.”