The Creatures That We Are

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“I don’t have God of Blade! And neither have I been hiding my power!” Picturing his neck getting sliced open, Gao Yang hurriedly spat out everything about his new Talent. “I acquired a Talent at the last moment, Replicate. It lets me copy others’ Talents, but I have to touch them for 1 second. I was going to replicate God of Blade, but I was just a little too far from you... You know what happened then.”

Qing Ling wasn’t entirely convinced. She turned to Officer Huang. “There’s a Talent like that?”

“Yes.” Officer Huang nodded. “I believe it’s serial number 18.” freewebn ovel.c om

He gave Gao Yang an envious look. “You learned quite a powerful Talent. Congratulations.”

Qing Ling stared at Gao Yang. After two seconds, she put away her Tang Dao.

“Bullshit all you want! You were just using your Talent as an excuse to take advantage of her!” Wu Dahai walked up to them and grumbled, his expression equal parts sullen and jealous.

Gao Yang felt the urge to introduce the man’s face to his fist. Wu Dahai fled quicker than anyone else in the fight, but the moment the threat was eliminated, he jumped in to share his unwanted opinions.

Officer Huang found a couple towels he used for his early morning run in his patrol car and threw Gao Yang and Qing Ling each a towel. “Wipe the blood first.”

He then turned to Wu Dahai. “Have we passed the test now?”

“What test?” Wu Dahai gaped at him.

“Stop playing dumb. That must have been a test for us.” Officer Huang grunted. That was too dangerous a test! 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝘤ℴ𝑚

“What? I would have to be a psycho to test you that way!” Wu Dahai flailed his arms around vehemently. “I don’t know why Old Man Zhang transformed into a monster, and such a strange and disgusting one at that. I almost peed my pants!”

Gao Yang questioned how dependable the organization would be if this was how Wu Dahai acted.

Officer Huang pressed a hand to his forehead. He was having a bit of a breakdown as well. It was so very hard to be an adult.

Wu Dahai rubbed his nose. “You should go home already. The organization will send someone for you in a few days. You’ll know what the test entails then.”

Wu Dahai came to a sudden halt after taking a few steps. He turned around to stare over Gao Yang’s shoulders with lustful eyes.

Gao Yang turned to see Qing Ling undressing. Her uniform was drenched in so much blood that wiping it off wouldn’t do much.

Officer Huang immediately took off his jacket and threw it to Gao Yang, and Gao Yang turned to put it around Qing Ling’s shoulders.

Disappointed, Wu Dahai let out an awkward cough. “Go back home and wait for our contact! Keep that in mind!”

After he was gone, Gao Yang looked at the macabre mess of body parts and blood a short distance away from them. He asked Officer Huang, “How do we deal with that?”

Officer Huang sighed. “I have a bottle of motor oil in my trunk. We’ll burn all this up.”

...

Five minutes later, the three of them gazed at the blazing fire wordlessly. Qing Ling was dressed in Officer Huang’s jacket with her fair legs uncovered. Under the warm light cast by the fire, her skin looked like the color of butter.

She threw her uniform into the fire. Gao Yang took off his shirt and burned it as well.

After making sure that all the traces had been rendered into ash, the three of them turned to walk away and approached the patrol car.

Suddenly, Gao Yang felt like he was being watched. He jerked his head up.

He saw a white cat bigger than average perching on top of a telephone pole, gazing down at him from above. Under the silver moonlight, its white fur looked like snow, and its eyes like a pair of emeralds. The cat had a graceful air about it with a hint of pride.

Gao Yang’s heart lurched. Isn’t that the white cat Fat Jun talked about? Was Old Man Zhang’s sudden transformation...its doing?!

“What are you looking at?” Officer Huang asked by the car door.

When Gao Yang looked back again, the white cat was nowhere to be seen. There was nothing on the telephone pole.

Had his eyes been playing tricks on him because he was exhausted?

Gao Yang quickly accessed his system to make sure his Luck points hadn’t spiked. Right, at least we’re not in danger anymore.

“...Nothing.” Gao Yang rubbed his temples and turned to walk up to the car.

...

Officer Huang drove slowly and steadily while the radio played a soothing song. With a hand on the driving wheel, he held his phone with his other hand as he talked to his wife.

“Someone got drunk and started a fight in the bar. I just finished dealing with it... Right, I’ll be home soon... Don’t wait for me, honey. Go to bed... You can’t fall asleep? Ah, you’re hungry? Alright, I’ll get takeout for you... It won’t be a problem. What do you want? I’ll get it for you...”

Officer Huang ended the call and hummed along with the radio. He seemed to be in a good mood.

Gao Yang and Qing Ling sat in the back seat. After the difficult fight, Qing Ling was completely exhausted. She fell asleep with her head resting against the window, but then a sharp turn hurled her toward Gao Yang, and her head ended up resting on his shoulder, her hair running down his chest. Gao Yang could smell a faint fragrance from her.

“Don’t thank me.” Officer Huang grinned at Gao Yang through the rearview mirror.

Gao Yang responded wryly, “We’re not together.”

“Is that so?” Officer Huang suddenly spoke like an older man talking to children. “She’s had it hard.”

“Hm?”

“I’m talking about Qing Ling,” said Officer Huang. “I heard that she awakened when she was 10.”

“Yeah, her cousin told her.”

“Ten years old. She knew nothing at that point, yet she was forced to face such a dangerous world. She must have been through a lot. That’s why she’s so extreme at times. At least she still has her other self as a younger sister.”

Gao Yang tilted his head. Qing Ling looked a lot more at ease now that she was asleep. Her usually knitted brows were relaxed, under which were long eyelashes and a delicate mouth. He had only ever thought of her as beautiful, cold, and strong. Only now did he sense a vulnerable and soft side to her as a young girl.

Officer Huang said in reminiscence, “Compared to her, we are quite lucky. We were both old and mature enough when we awakened, and we’ve experienced love in this world.”

“But the love is fake,” Gao Yang said.

“No, the world is fake, but the love is real.”

Gao Yang fell into deep thought.

Officer Huang gave him an example. “If you fell for someone and later broke up, you may think that the relationship was fake, meaningless. However, your love for the person is real. It belongs to you and only you. No one can take that away from you. You can carry that love with you until the day you die.”

“...”

“But Qing Ling doesn’t have that. When she dies, she will be dying alone.” Officer Huang made a bemused sound. “Maybe that’s why she’s more obsessed with power than us. She fears a lonely death more than anyone. It would feel as if...she had never been alive.”

Officer Huang smiled with melancholy. “I love my wife, and I always will. Even if one day she transforms and kills me, or if I am forced to kill her, it doesn’t matter. The woman I love hasn’t changed or disappeared. She’s simply passed away. Death comes to everyone sooner or later, doesn’t it?”

Gao Yang didn’t grasp the man’s words completely, and he didn’t respond.

All awakeners who were able to survive in this world probably held their own belief. Qing Ling’s life centered around getting stronger, while Officer Huang’s life centered around love. How about me then? he asked himself.

He didn’t have an answer yet.

Not long after, Officer Huang parked at the entrance of a bustling night market. He got out of the car and said, “I’m going to get hot and sour noodles for my wife. It won’t take long. Would you and Qing Ling want some? Their potato noodles have a good bite. I’ve been a loyal customer for more than a decade.”

Gao Yang nodded. “Okay...I’ll have one.”

His sister should still be awake when he got home.

As if in response to his thoughts, his phone rang. Gao Yang looked down to check the caller ID. It was his sister, Gao Xinxin.

“Hello?” Gao Yang said when he picked up the call.

“Brother! Where are you? Come quickly...” His sister broke down and wailed.