The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 628: Greed

Sister Huang still had a smile on her face when she shuddered and toppled backward like she had been electrocuted. Gao Yang teleported behind her to catch her, laying her down on the bed.

Putting away the dagger, Gao Yang took out his wallet for a few dollar bills.

“We’re lucky. She’s a wanderer.” He gave Gao Xinxin a wry smile. “Wake her up in a few minutes.”

“Yeah.” Gao Xinxin nodded.

...

After checking in, Gao Yang and Gao Xinxin walked around the neighborhood to scout it out. Then they had dinner at a ramen shop close by, getting some groceries before heading back to the B&B.

At the front desk, Sister Huang munched on seeds as she watched a period drama on her laptop, having forgotten about her spell of unconsciousness.

After greeting her, the siblings returned to their room.

Gao Yang spent some time chatting with Gao Xinxin. Then he checked his phone. It was about time. He pondered how he should tell his sister that when she spoke up.

“You’re leaving?”

“Yeah.” Gao Yang nodded.

Gao Xinxin was the type of wanderers that didn’t forget information, but adjusted her own logic to make things made sense. Outside of her lack of fighting power, she was similar to Wang Zikai.

Thus, Gao Yang gave Gao Xinxin a modified version of the truth of the Mist World.

The death of their grandmother and parents had to be explained, of course, and Gao Yang put the blame on villainous “mutants”.

Gao Xinxin looked up at him. “Brother, I...”

“No!” Gao Yang cut her off. “Stay hidden here safely. Don’t let the enemies find you.”

Gao Xinxin wordlessly clenched her fists.

Gao Yang said earnestly, “If something happens to you, Xinxin, Granny, Dad, and Mom would’ve sacrificed themselves for nothing.”

“I want to avenge them,” Gao Xinxin said.

“Things work differently for everyone,” Gao Yang explained solemnly. “Be patient. It had taken Wang Zikai a few months back then.”

Gao Xinxin nodded and took his hand. “Promise me, Brother. You must stay safe, too.”

“Don’t worry. I have a lot of companions. I’m not fighting on my own.” He took her hand in his instead. “Just wait. We’ll avenge them for sure!”

“Yeah! I’m gonna kill those villains myself!” Gao Xinxin’s eyes lit up with hatred and fighting spirit.

Gao Yang nodded. “You will.”

He gave her a number she could contact him through in case of an emergency. Then he spent quite some time to give her pointers before taking his leave.

He went to the first floor and put on a concerned and urgent look. “Sister Huang, something happened to my family. I had to go back now. Please take care of my sister.”

“Huh?” Sister Huang was worried. “Isn’t your sister ill? What if something happens when you’re not here...”

“Don’t worry.” Gao Yang smiled bitterly. “It’s her mind that’s ill, not her body. She came for healing after a breakup.”

“Oh, that so? Okay then.” Sister Huang didn’t say anything else.

Gao Yang left the B&B and walked along the street late at night. The snow fall had gotten heavier at some point. Standing under the dim yellow light of a street lamp, he turned to look up at the well-lit balcony of the Dolphin Inn, his gaze lingering.

A few seconds later, Gao Yang disappeared. Cloudy snow continued to fall.

...

Mizuya Street, early the next morning.

Whoosh.

Gao Yang teleported into the living room of the cheap rented flat with a bag of food, including bread and coffee for three.

Nine Frost was sitting on the sofa with his eyes closed, while Heavenly Dog sat on the tatami with his legs crossed and his back to the wall, wearing a pair of white headphones and a black sleeping mask. Morning light poured down on his delicate face, the hazy effect making it look like a shot from a coming-of-age movie.

“Captain.” Nine Frost opened his eyes. His disguise was gone, too.

“Hey, have some food.” Gao Yang took off his baseball cap and mask. “Did you level up?”

Nine Frost shook his head.

Heavenly Dog woke up from a shallow sleep. Pulling his headphones and sleeping mask to his neck, he accepted the coffee Gao Yang offered him, taking a small sip. “Cool.”

Do you say cool for everything? Gao Yang snorted silently.

“How many days can we have the Rune Circuit?” Gao Yang asked.

“At most three days, according to Uncle Tiger,” Heavenly Dog replied.

Gao Yang thought for a moment. “Okay. Three days later, we’ll return the Psyche Rune Circuit even if Nine Frost doesn’t level up.”

“I don’t need three days. Two is enough.” There was a rebellious stubbornness to Nine Frost’s hardened tone.

After having breakfast, Heavenly Dog went to the bedroom to sleep, while Gao Yang and Nine Frost stayed in the living room.

Fidgeting with the Rune Circuit in his hand, Nine Frost used Telepathy on Gao Yang.

—You’ve placed Gao Xinxin somewhere safe?

Gao Yang nodded at him.

—I’ll be frank with you, Captain. Your sister’s a monster, and none of what you did for her means anything.

Gao Yang stayed silent.

—The day the Gates of Closure opens, all monsters will die. You can’t protect them or save them. Wouldn’t it be better to keep her with you so that you can enjoy your last moment together?

Gao Yang extended his senses and heard Heavenly Dog’s slow heartbeat in the bedroom. The young man was asleep.

Shaking his head, Gao Yang said quietly, “I agree with Dr. Jia’s hypothesis. I think monsters aren’t awakeners' enemies.”

“But we won’t be friends, either,” Nine Frost responded in a soft voice.

Gao Yang said with certainty, “Humans and monsters can coexist. The Gates of Closure is humans’ hope, but also monsters’.”

“How can you be so sure?” Nine Frost frowned.

Gao Yang smiled and pointed at himself.

Nine Frost realized it then. Gao Yang was the best proof of that theory.

He was the Divine Scion, born between a life monster and a human, which indirectly proved that there was a chance for humans and monsters to coexist.

To make a bold assumption, if one day all humans can produce Divine Scions with monsters, won’t that be true procreation for the two species? The offsprings would maintain the humanity and souls of human beings, while having access to a monster’s ability, thus making it possible to resist the Mist World’s encroachment.

Could that be what the Heavenly Way had been trying to bring into reality? Was it the Heavenly Way’s true trump card to turn the tides?

It was amazing that Gao Yang had thought that far. Nine Frost’s gaze grew admiring as he looked at him.

Gao Yang could guess what Nine Frost was thinking, and he smiled bitterly. “I’m being too greedy, am I not? Not only do I want to live, I want my family and friends to survive too, no matter if they are humans, monsters, or Spectres.”

Nine Frost shook his head. After a pregnant pause, he enunciated, “For cowards, even an undignified survival is greed, but for the brave, forging a path through heaven and earth is a calling.”

His gaze grew heated. “It may be your true calling, Captain, and the calling of the Nine Scions.”

After a pause, Gao Yang said gratefully, “Thank you.”

He followed that up with a sigh. “And I’m sorry, Nine Frost.”