The Creatures That We Are

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Bang!

Officer Huang made three shots in a split second, so quick that Gao Yang heard only one.

There were three bursts of sparks in the air, two meters away from Officer Huang. He had dropped the three daggers shooting toward him. freeweb(n)ovel.com

However, the daggers were merely distractions.

Shocked, Officer Huang realized that at some point, a figure had dived into his personal space from the left.

Swoosh! Sharp, silver blade slashed at him.

Pushing his reflex to the limit, Officer Huang blocked the attack with his gun, but it was sliced in half like butter, and his two fingers fell off like scallions.

It would only take half a second for his head to part with his body as well.

But it didn’t happen.

Long, thin blade pressed into his Adam’s apple. It didn’t even touch his skin, yet blood had been drawn by the powerful airflow the blade made.

Qing Ling withdrew her Tang Dao and took two steps back. “You’re not a wrath monster.”

Officer Huang covered the bleeding stumps where his fingers had fallen off. Pain drained his face of any color, but he was neither panicked nor afraid. “How do you know?”

“Otherwise you would’ve blocked my attack with your arms.” Qing Ling glided a finger along the bloodless blade, and her weapon folded into nothingness.

“They are confident in their physical forms. It’s their instincts. Humans are different. Humans would block my attacks with something they think is sturdy.”

“That’s right, I’m an awakener too.” Officer Huang chuckled. “Thanks for sparing me.”

...

Emergency Department of Shanqing Third Hospital, two o’clock in the morning.

Officer Huang had his fingers sutured back and bandaged. Gao Yang and Qing Ling were waiting for him in the lobby.

Officer Huang showed up with a smile and said, “I’ll write a report that you two got mugged on the street, and I got hurt trying to subdue the criminal.”

Gao Yang and Qing Ling exchanged a look wordlessly.

Then Officer Huang said, “Hungry? Let’s grab a bite.”

...

They went to a place serving malatang[1] at night near the hospital. Inside a hidden alleyway was a small stand with a blue canopy, under which was a cart carrying a tall pot of hot, spicy broth and a small LPG tank. The dim yellow light and the fragrance of the food warmed up this corner of the cold city.

The owner was a man in his sixties. He was high-spirited and spoke with a booming voice.

“Glad to see you, Officer Huang! Oh, what happened to your hand?”

“Occupational hazard.”

“Doing your line of work sure isn’t easy. No drinking today then?”

“Yeah. Other than that, I’ll have the usuals.”

“You got it!” The old man got to work and turned to Gao Yang and Qing Ling. “How about you two?”

With her usual poker face, Qing Ling stared at the menu and quickly came to a decision. “One skewer each of mushrooms, winter melons, potatoes, bok choy, fish balls, imitation crab, fried gluten, and a portion each of tomatoes and sweet potato noodles. I want mine extra spicy.”

Gao Yang was shocked by how little she pulled herself back.

Might as well enjoy this like her.

“I’ll have the same order.”

The three of them sat beside the cart and dived into their food, surrounded by the mouthwatering smell of malatang. With a content look on his face, Officer Huang said, “Hmm, always nice to have a meal like this after escaping death. I thought I would never have it again.”

Qing Ling didn’t say anything. Instead, she focused on chewing her potatoes.

Worried, Gao Yang said, “Maybe we shouldn’t talk about this with company, Officer Huang.”

Officer Huang looked up at the old man still busily cooking meat slices. “Don’t worry. Old Man Liu is a wanderer. He ignores whatever he doesn’t want to hear. Isn’t that the case, Old Liu?”

Old Man Liu lifted his head. “Come again?”

“I said the pork lungs today have a good bite to it. I’ll like another.”

“A minute.” Old Man Liu let out a belly laugh.

Gao Yang finally relaxed. “Were you testing me and Qing Ling today?”

Officer Huang responded with a wry smile, “I knew you are an awakener, but not your girlfriend.”

“Not his girlfriend,” Qing Ling said and moved on from the potato slices to the fish balls.

“Remember the man I killed that day?” asked Officer Huang. “The one who was said to be mentally ill.”

“Of course.” How could Gao Yang forget? He wouldn’t have encountered all these troubles if not for the man.

“He was an awakener too.” Officer Huang looked remorseful. “But he had thoroughly exposed himself and had no chance of surviving. It was better to send him off than letting him get tortured to death or devoured by wrath monsters.”

Gao Yang didn’t say anything.

“His Talent was Keen Smell, serial number 175. He could differentiate between humans and monsters that way. As a result, he lived in fear all day every day, and eventually, he had a mental breakdown.”

Officer Huang stared at the steaming pot of broth, waiting for the pork lungs to be served with what almost seemed like religious devotion. “He smelled that you were human. That was why he told you to run. If I hadn’t shot him, you would’ve gotten dragged into the mess as well.”

“...Thank you,” Gao Yang said, his voice brittly tense.

“It’s what I should do. We are all on the same boat after all.”

“Talk about Talent.” Gao Yang licked his lips. “Does every awakener come with different Talents?”

“Of course,” said Officer Huang. “My Talent is God of Firearms, serial number 41. It grants me proficiency in guns and allows me to make shots quickly without ever missing.”

“What do you think my Talent is then?” asked Gao Yang.

Officer Huang snorted. “You’ve been hiding your power very well. How would I know without a Talent for investigation?”

“Hm.”

“Your girlfriend's Talent is probably Metal, serial number 20. It allows her to manipulate all metal elements.”

“Not his girlfriend.” Qing Ling had finished the fish balls and were now getting to mushrooms.

Officer Huang shot Qing Ling an envious look. “She probably also has God of Blades, serial number 32. No regular person can wield blades with such finesse and power.”

“You can have multiple Talents?” asked Gao Yang.

“Humans gain one Talent as soon as they awaken. We can acquire more along the way, but to this day, I still haven’t figured out the mechanisms behind it.”

“How do you know so much about this?” Gao Yang was curious. Did Officer Huang have a system too? It didn’t seem like it.

“I’ve been alive for longer than you two, and I’m a police officer. I have more ways to access information.” Officer Huang smiled. “In fact, I’ve seen the full list of Talents. And from my own personal experience, the list seems accurate.”

“How many Talents are there?” Qing Ling was now eating bok choy.

“There are 199 in total. In theory, the smaller the number, the more powerful the Talent.” Officer Huang gave Qing Ling another envious look. “You’re strong.”

Gao Yang held onto his broken heart. My Talent’s serial number is 199, the very bottom. No wonder I can’t do anything. Lucky? Lucky my ass.

Qing Ling put away her chopsticks, bok choy already finished. “Give me the list.”

“I don’t have one.” Officer Huang pointed at his own head. “It’s all here.”

“Then tell me.”

“Tell you?” Officer Huang lifted the corners of his mouth. “I can do that.”

“But you want something in exchange?” Gao Yang guessed.

“Of course. There’s no free meal in this world.” His smile seemed loaded with meanings. “Other than the malatang, of course.”

1. Street food common in China. It’s like a spicy hot pot where the customers can choose the ingredients, and the ingredients will be cooked in a spicy broth for them, usually on skewers. ?