The Creatures That We Are

In the evening, Lin Yue and Gao Xinxin went home. Gao Shou acted like he usually did.

Meanwhile, Gao Yang visited the barbecue place in the Walled City of Ten Dragons before returning to his college dorm. Eight o’clock in the evening, someone knocked.

Gao Yang was the closest to the door, so he got it without being asked to. To his surprise, the one standing outside was Waking Insects.

“Who is it?” Lin Dajian, who was playing RDR2, turned to look at the door, so did Qiu Qiu and Mi Shi.

“Why are you here, Third Uncle?” Gao Yang reacted quickly, calling out in a pleased voice.

Waking Insects wasn’t the best actor, and he smiled stiffly. Thankfully, his voice sounded natural enough. “I was in the neighborhood and swung by to visit you.”

“Haha, have you eaten? You haven’t? Let’s go have food!” Gao Yang raised his voice on purpose and turned to tell his roommates, “I’m taking my third uncle to dinner.”

He took Waking Insects out of the dorm and didn’t stop until they were somewhere with no one around. “Letter?”

Waking Insects nodded, slowly taking a postcard out of his bag. The photo was of a majestic snowy mountain, at the bottom of which was a hotel.

Gao Yang took the postcard and flipped to the back.

“The snowy mountain is soooo cold. I don’t like it here. (⊙﹏⊙)”

“Sister taught me how to ski, but I’m an idiot and can’t learn it...”

“I didn’t use any pinyin this time. Ain’t I awesome? (?•??•?)??”

“I miss you so much, Gao Yang. Do you miss me?”

“Looking forward to your response.”

Gao Yang chuckled. Fresh Snow hadn’t changed. With a smile, he asked Waking Insects, “Do you have a pen with you?”

Waking Insects came prepared. He gave Gao Yang a black fountain pen.

Gao Yang looked around before walking up to a bench on the side of the road, squatting down to draft a response to Fresh Snow.

“You aren’t an idiot, Fresh Snow. We all have things we’re good at and things we aren’t good at.”

“Your writing has gotten neater. You’re awesome.”

“Remember to put on extra clothes if the mountain is cold. Ghosts may also catch a cold.”

“I miss you too. Looking forward to your next letter.”

Gao Yang handed the postcard to Waking Insects, saying, “The next time you come to me...”

Whoosh. Like a gust of wind, Waking Insects disappeared.

Gao Yang was left standing there awkwardly. At least let me finish!

At night, Qiu Qiu and Lin Dajian didn’t return to the dorm since they were going to a role-play murder mystery overnight, while Mi Shi had retired to bed before eleven with his unchanging biological clock.

After light-out, Gao Yang meditated and quickly entered Sweet Dream.

He opened his eyes to a pleasant breeze sweeping over his face, the air refreshing. The sun was bright and clear, and the sky blue like that of a painting. Before him was a short hill covered in cherry trees, the thriving blossoms forming a pink ocean.

Wind rustled the pink ocean and triggered waves after waves, scattering petals in the sky.

Under one large cherry tree knelt a woman in a blue and white sailor school uniform. It was Liu Qingying.

Although she was mature and seductive, the highschool uniform looked good on her. She had her hair tied into a high ponytail, and her makeup made her facial features sharp and handsome. She had a binder on, making her look tall and slim. She looked like an upperclassman in the kendo club from some anime.

With her legs pressed together, she knelt on a light-colored checkered picnic blanket, on which were an assortment of pretty snacks, including sakura mochi[1], hanami dango[2], cherry blossom yokan[3], and taiyaki[4].

“I’ve been waiting, Gao Yang. Let’s watch the cherry blossoms together.” Liu Qingying waved at Gao Yang.

Gao Yang walked up to her while grumbling inwardly, You just can’t stop acting, can you, Miss?

Liu Qingying offered him a skewer of hanami dango.

Gao Yang didn’t take it. He sat down. “Let’s get to business.”

Liu Qingying put away the snack and smiled faintly. “I can sense anxiety from you.”

How could I not be anxious, when there’s a powerful life monster with unclear intentions in my close social circle?

Gao Yang quickly pushed away the thought so that Liu Qingying wouldn’t read it. He held Liu Qingying’s gaze.

“You first.”

Liu Qingying rested the cup of cherry blossom tea she was holding with both hands on her lap. “I’ll tell you the two pieces of intel I’m looking for. Consider selling them to me if you know them.”

Gao Yang nodded.

“Where is the Gates of Closure? What does it look like?” Liu Qingying asked. “That’s an S-class intel.”

Gao Yang smiled. “That’s two questions.”

“Haha, you’re right. Then consider it an S+ class intel.”

That was the highest class there was.

Indeed, what could be more important to awakeners than the Gates of Closure?

Unfortunately, Gao Yang had only seen the projection of it rather than the real thing.

“I won’t trade that with you.” Instead of saying that he didn’t know, he said that he wouldn’t trade the information, leaving room for Liu Qingying’s imagination to run wild.

Liu Qingying chuckled and nodded like she had expected the response. “Please come to me anytime if you ever change your mind.”

“What else do you want to know?”

“The second intel is A class: how did the late wife of Dead Pig of the Twelve Zodiac Signs die?”

Gao Yang was a little surprised. Why would Liu Qingying care about Dead Pig’s wife?

No, she might not be the one who wanted the information. She was an information broker. Where there was a need, there was supply. Perhaps it was her client who wanted to know the answer.

Gao Yang said honestly, “I don’t know, but if I ever learn of the information, I’ll consider trading with you.”

“Okay.” Liu Qingying smiled slightly. “I have two pieces of information you may be interested in, one about the Tails, the other about Zhang Wei.”

“Let’s talk about the Tails first.”

“They have been quite active in Li City recently, seemingly looking for something,” Liu Qingying said. “That’s an A-class intel.”

“I already know. Actually, I may know more than you do.”

Liu Qingying’s eyes glinted. “Oh?”

Gao Yang said bluntly, “But I can’t tell you yet.”

It wasn’t just about where they stood; the safety of Gao Yang and his family was on the line.

Liu Qingying was smart enough to not press. “Again, come to me if you ever change your mind.”

Gao Yang looked at her. “Tell me about Zhang Wei.”

“It’s a B+ intel.”

“Go on. I’ll pay you with jinwu.”

“You’re always generous, Elder Seven Shadow.” Liu Qingying smiled. “On the last night of the Crimson Tide, when X activated Poison of Hell and poisoned all awakeners, Zhang Wei was the one awakener who wasn’t affected.”

Gao Yang started. “You sure?”

“Haha, I’m not sure, or it wouldn’t just be a B+ intel.” Liu Qingying was a little resigned.

“Where did you hear that from?”

“Zhang Wei boasted about it himself when he got drunk with his colleagues, so it’s not exactly reliable information.”

You call that intel? Gao Yang grumbled silently.

“Still,” Liu Qingying added, “That night, no one saw Zhang Wei wake up.”

Gao Yang paused, catching on.

“Back in the Walled City of Ten Dragons, Elder White Tiger saved all of us, but we quickly blacked out from the poison. When I came to, Zhang Wei was already awake.”

“From what I know, the first to wake up were Elder Azure Dragon and Madam Li. When I regained consciousness, about seven people were already up and running, including Zhang Wei.”

“Interesting.” Gao Yang narrowed his eyes.

[Access granted.]

Zhang Wei’s Talent is ranked 198, the second lowest on the list. Outside of his body being a little stronger than a regular human, he doesn’t really have any special abilities.

Those who had woken up first from Poison of Hell were awakeners with high-ranking Talents with strong physique and high willpower. Although Liu Qingying couldn’t prove that Zhang Wei was immune to Poison of Hell, her statement did prove that Zhang Wei had woken up early, which was at odds with the assumption that he was weak.

Perhaps he really was immune and hadn’t fallen unconscious at all.

I should ask Elder Azure Dragon about it. If Zhang Wei was already awake when he did, it would mean Zhang Wei wasn’t boasting after drinking, but telling the truth.

There was more to Confidence than met the eyes.

[Access ends.]

“I’ll pay you next time,” said Gao Yang.

“No rush.”

Gao Yang hesitated before turning to Liu Qingying. “Actually, there’s someone I’d like to look into, but it may be dangerous, so it’ll at least be an S-class intel. Are you interested?”

“Who is it?” Liu Qingying’s eyes glinted. She seemed very interested.

Before Gao Yang could say Zhuang Mei’s name, the world started shaking, and the air grew turbulent, sending the cherry blossoms flying in the sky. The scene around him shattered like a mirror, revealing a dark void.

“You’re in a rush today...” Liu Qingying was a little surprised.

Gao Yang was surprised too. His phone must be ringing. Although it was put on silent, the vibration alone would wake him if someone called.

On second thought, it might be better to not send Liu Qingying to look into Zhuang Mei. The risk was too great.

“Let’s end things here.”

“Of course. Until next time.” Liu Qingying nodded.

...

When Gao Yang woke up from Sweet Dream, it was only a little over eleven at night. He took his vibrating phone from under his pillow and checked it. Officer Huang was calling.

An ominous feeling rose in his heart. He picked up the call and said softly, “Hello?”

“Gao Yang, come to my place now!” Officer Huang’s voice trembled slightly with panic. “There’s an emergency.”

1. A chewy, light pink glutinous rice ball filled with sweet red bean paste and wrapped in an edible pickled cherry blossom leaf. ☜

2. Skewered dumplings of different colors made with rice flour and glutinous rice flour. ☜

3. Gelled sweet bean paste made chiefly of red beans, sugar, and agar-agar ☜

4. A fish-shaped cake with sweet red bean filling. ☜

The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel