The Creatures That We Are

The tunnel didn’t go deep. At the end of about a dozen steps was a metal door. It was unlocked.

Gao Yang entered the system to make sure that there was no danger or ambush before opening the door.

The four of them came to a stunned halt.

The basement was a cold blue, about a few hundreds square meters in size. At the center was an enclosed translucent growth tank filled with light blue liquid, the tank about ten meters in diameter. The bottom of the growth tank was connected to the experimentation facilities by countless pipes.

Inside the growth tank, a large chunk of dark red flesh floated.

Well, it wasn’t exactly one big chunk, but flesh rotting and dissolving into pieces, barely kept together by skin tissue.

Gao Yang didn’t know what it was, but his first guess was an internal organ of some large creature.

Was it an organ of the white phoenix they talked about?

Everyone’s attention was drawn to the large organ in the giant growth tank. They couldn’t help it. Although it was an ugly lump of dead meat, there was something strangely captivating about it that drew the eyes, even compelling the minds into obeying and submitting to it.

It wasn’t the sort of divine authority that demanded deference, but the call of mother nature, so gentle and merciful that it conjured the image of sunlight, grassland, breeze, and fields of dandelions. It was comfortable, serene, and fulfilling.

Gao Yang wanted nothing but to fall asleep, becoming one with nature and the world at large...

“Don’t look at it!”

Gao Yang broke out of his reverie with a start and immediately shouted to wake the others. They came back to their senses like they were waking up from a dream.

Hyena emerged from behind the giant growth tank then.

He had changed into a long white coat and was wearing specially made safety goggles that obscured the top half of his face. In his hand was a vial, filled with bubbling dark gray liquid.

Gao Yang first smelled the familiar strange fragrance. There was an eerie depth to it. But the fragrance was much less pronounced than what he had smelled before. It must be because it wasn’t yet finished.

So it was the holy water they were talking about, as he had guessed.

Lithe Snake’s eyes blazed with uncontainable rage. “It’s been twenty years, Hyena! I’ve finally found you!”

Hyena started, the vial falling to the ground.

Through the goggles, he stared at Lithe Snake for a few seconds, his shock slowly replaced by a composed fake smile. “It’s you. You’re still alive? Haha, rabid dogs sure live long.”

“Hyena, you’re meeting your death today.” Lithe Snake drew his shortsword.

“Haha, I’m no longer known as Hyena. I’m an archbishop of the Godbearer Cult. The grand achievement I’m bringing about is beyond the understanding of a rabid dog like you.”

Gao Yang didn’t know how powerful Hyena was, but he had a feeling that the man wouldn’t be that strong.

Gao Yang glanced at Qing Ling. Let’s go.

Qing Ling blinked. We flank him from both sides.

Sensing that his enemies were going to make a move, Hyena quickly took out a controller from his pocket and pressed the yellow button.

The metal door on the left of the laboratory opened, and four slaughterers charged out, eyes red. They were powerful, their chests tattooed with the dollar signs of binding contract, a large dog collar on each of their necks.

Qing Ling and Lithe Snake charged at them with their weapons, dealing with the slaughterers, while Gao Yang teleported toward Hyena.

When Hyena pressed the controller, though, a capsule elevator inside the wall behind him had dropped down. He quickly dove in, and the door closed. Through the translucent elevator door, he sneered at Gao Yang, mouthing something at him.

Gao Yang teleported again and reached the elevator shaft, but he was a second too slow. The elevator had already shot upward and disappeared. It must be some sort of emergency escape pod.

Gao Yang looked up, contemplating if he could teleport through the ceiling and chase Hyena to above ground.

[Warning...]

But then the system’s warning sounded in his head, and two images flashed through Gao Yang’s head.

The first was Hyena mouthing something at Gao Yang from inside the capsule elevator. It looked like ‘goodbye’.

The second was Nainai repeating the conversation between Hyena, Astronaut, and No.10 to them. Hyena had said, “I know. I’ll extract the last batch of holy water and blow this place up before moving out.”

Gao Yang jumped. Shit, this place is blowing up! Hyena knows the four slaughterers aren’t enough to deal with us. He’s merely buying time!

He teleported back to Qing Ling and Lithe Snake and shouted at Nainai. “The place is blowing up! Get bigger!”

Nainai had gone on many missions with Azure Dragon, going through many life-and-death situations as a result. She had a wealth of experience under her belt, allowing her to catch on immediately.

“Hah!”

Nainai shouted and quickly turned into a giant. In less than two seconds, her head crashed through the ceiling of the basement.

At the same time, she extended her giant hands toward her companions.

Gao Yang teleported to Qing Ling, who was still slashing at the slaughterers, and jumped onto Nainai’s left palm with her.

The agile Lithe Snake threw a throwing knife to slow down a slaughterer before jumping onto the same hand.

Nainai quickly closed her left hand while her right hand dropped down with the five fingers curled slightly, covering the three of them without leaving a gap.

Boom, boom, boom!

A second later, Gao Yang heard a series of powerful explosions.

Safely shielded inside Nainai’s hands, Gao Yang, Qing Ling, and Lithe Snake felt as if they were riding an elevator, going through a bumpy and turbulent stretch.

The explosions died down in less than ten seconds, and the shaking subsided.

Nainai’s giant hands unfurled above and below them. Gao Yang, Qing Ling, and Lithe Snake saw light again. They quickly jumped off her hand.

Gao Yang looked up. Nainai was still a giant. She had crashed through the basement and made a hole leading above ground, reaching the garden behind the mansion.

Now, her feet and legs had been blown apart and charred all the way to her thighs, and she was bleeding from her head, too, most likely a result of her knocking through the ceiling of the basement.

Bam.

Nainai could no longer hold on. She dropped to her knees before toppling to the ground, shaking the land and bringing about gusts of wind. Gao Yang felt as if a skyscraper had fallen before him.

Then Nainai started shrinking at observable speed.

It took her less than ten seconds to turn back into the frail girl she was. Her lower body had been all blown up, some of the wounds deep enough to reveal the bones. The sight alone would provoke sympathetic pain.

“Aghhh...” The pain registered in her head belatedly, doubly overwhelming. Nainai cried out, her face pale.

Gao Yang felt a pang of guilt, but also relief. Azure Dragon was telling the truth when he said that Nainai was dependable when it mattered.

“Hyena!” Lithe Snake spotted Hyena fleeing toward a barren hill behind the winery. He gave chase immediately.

“You alright?!” Officer Huang rushed over from not far away. He had avoided the explosion since he was keeping watch outside.

“Treat Nainai!” Gao Yang didn’t have the time to explain before chasing after Lithe Snake. Qing Ling followed with her weapons.

Officer Huang went up to Nainai and saw her terrible condition.

“Son of a bitch!” he cursed.

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