The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 45: Truth

After Gao Yang said that, Officer Huang and Qing Ling both fell into deep thought, while Fat Jun shuddered with a look of confusion and fear on his face. Wang Zikai, on the other hand, didn’t get what he was talking about at all. “Come again? Say that a little more slowly.”

“This,” Gao Yang repeated, “Is the Gu Family’s Village from back then.”

“Oh...” Wang Zikai slapped his head and admitted, “I don’t get it, at all.”

“If this is the Gu Family’s Village, what was the village we entered?” Qing Ling asked.

“That was a Gu Family’s Village.”

“Mandarin, please!” Wang Zikai said angrily. “Stop going in circles!”

Gao Yang organized his thoughts and said, “A family was killed in Gu Family’s Village thirty years ago. Then everyone in the village disappeared. Correct?”

Officer Huang responded, “According to the case files, yes.”

“I believe,” Gao Yang said with certainty, “That the ones that disappeared weren’t the villagers, but the entire village itself.”

After a pause, Officer Huang narrowed his eyes. “Keep going.”

“I’m not sure how it happened, but I believed the entire village had been moved here, into this domain. The Gu Family’s Village we visited before was a fake...or a counterfeit, to be more specific.”

“What’s your basis?” asked Officer Huang.

“At the ancestral hall we went to the first night, there were a lot of memorial tablets. Wang Zikai even read out some of the names. Do you remember? There was a Gu Huawu...”

“Patriarch Wu,” Qing Ling said in realization.

“That’s right. The village chief is called Gu Huawu,” said Gao Yang. “He’s not dead. Why would his name be found in the ancestral hall? There must be something wrong with it.”

“Ah!” Fat Jun panicked. “They were long dead! What we’re seeing now are ghosts...”

“Ghosts my ass!” Wang Zikai slapped Fat Jun on the head. “Didn’t you see that Fourth Grandfather Gu is a lizardman? I bet the village chief is one as well.”

“Enough. Keep going, Gao Yang.” Officer Huang felt like the answer was within his reach.

“I’ve been spotting many strange discrepancies since we came to this Gu Family’s Village. For example, it has only been half a month since the homicide, yet Huazi’s home seems to have been unoccupied for years.”

After a pause, Gao Yang continued, “And the coffin the family were buried in was worn as well. It seemed to have been used. When I took a closer look, there was even dried mud at the bottom of the coffin. The soil around the burial mound at the hill cemetery was also strange. It was lighter than it should be, like the ground had been dug repeatedly. Then there were the skeletons in the coffin...”

“What are you getting at, bro?” Wang Zikai got even more confused as he listened to Gao Yang.

“I get it now.” Qing Ling looked at Gao Yang. “They are in a loop.”

“That’s right.” Gao Yang nodded. “We didn’t go back in time to thirty years ago. The entire Gu Family's Village is trapped in this domain, and the villagers have been repeating this period of time again and again. The death of the family, the funeral... Everything has been repeating for thirty years. Someone like Fourth Grandfather Gu should’ve died of old age already, but an irresistible power is forcing his body to go through the same process. That’s why it transformed partly into a monster for a moment. It’s like a machine that should’ve broken down...”

After a brief pause, Officer Huang asked, “Then what is the irresistible power?”

“I don’t know.” Gao Yang shook his head. “But that’s probably what we have to deal with. If we can figure out the starting point of the loop, perhaps we can identify the power...”

Woooom—

Gao Yang was interrupted by an air raid siren that suddenly blared from outside the house. It was oppressive, dull, haunting, and unnerving.

Woooom—

Officer Huang walked up to the window and parted the curtains by a crack, his expression grave.

Gao Yang and Qing Ling moved up to the window as well. At some point, a faint layer of fog had enveloped the entire Gu Family’s Village, and every villager stopped whatever they were doing to stare up at the sky, their eyes empty and numb. Moreover, even those who had gone to bed walked out of their houses and stared up from their yards.

Woooom—

The siren came to a sudden stop after the third blaring. Then the fog permeating the village gradually faded. The entire process took less than a minute.

But it was a long, long minute for the five of them as they hid in the house, feeling like their hearts were in a tight grip.

“What, what, what are they doing?!” Fat Jun stuttered, his face ashen.

“They must be starting another loop,” Gao Yang guessed.

One villager moved, walking like a body without a soul. Then the other villagers started moving as well. Slowly, quietly, they headed in the same direction, toward a common destination.

Qing Ling was the first to realize that something was wrong. She had a keen sense of direction. “They’re coming our way!”

Shit!

Gao Yang’s heart sank. He should’ve realized! But it was too late!

In less than a minute, more than fifty villagers moved to the front yard of Huazi’s house one after another. Under the moonlight, their faces were sheet pale and expressionless like walking dead, looking perverted in a strange and tainted way. Their empty eyes were all glued to the door of the house, which was shut close.

The air seemed to come to a stop like the calm sea before the storm. The silence was thunderous with an undercurrent of something volatile. They were waiting, waiting for the first lightning strike that would trigger a great wave.

“What, what are they...what are they gonna do?” Fat Jun staggered back, terrified.

“How many people were there in Huazi’s family?” asked Gao Yang.

“Five, four men and one woman,” said Officer Huang.

“Ah, I get it! That’s the five of us!” Wang Zikai was pleased with himself for figuring out the obvious.

“The loop has started. From the night of the wedding.” Gao Yang clenched his teeth. “They...are here to slaughter the family!”

He should’ve known. He should’ve known that Huazi and his family were killed by the monsters of the village. Only that would explain why the body parts were scattered everywhere. But why did the monsters transform and attack Huazi’s family for no reason and then forget about everything afterward?

There were many questions left unanswered, but none of that mattered at this moment. They must survive this!

“Run! We must run!” Fat Jun’s voice cracked. “We can’t win. We’ll die... We’ll all die!”

“Too late.” Qing Ling unsheathed her blade. She had already accepted reality.

“We’ll die even sooner if we get out now!” Officer Huang unholstered his gun and made quick judgments without pause. “Ever played tower defense games? We’ll defend the house and kill the monsters as they come! Remember, aim for the head and the heart! Gao Yang, Fat Jun, watch the window in the back! Qing Ling, Wang Zikai, we’re in charge of holding the door!”

“No problem!”

Wang Zikai rushed to the door, getting into a stance for the incoming battle.

Qing Ling stood on Wang Zikai’s left with both hands holding her Tang Dao and her body lowered, ready to attack.

Officer Huang was behind Wang Zikai’s right and covered them with his gun. He shouted over his shoulder, “Turn on the light! Darkness won’t stop them, while we need a clear line of sight!”

Gao Yang immediately turned on the light and closed his eyes.

[Access granted.]

[Warning, you are in great danger. Luck acquisition rate increases to 100 times.]

[You have a total of 72 Luck points.]

—Comprehend Talent.

[It takes 60 Luck points to comprehend a new Talent. Do you con...]

—Do it!

[Comprehending...]

[Comprehending...]

[Comprehension fails.]

—Fuck! Just once, I just want it to work once!

—Put all the other points into Agility!

[Your Agility has permanently increased by 12 points.]

[Constitution: 27 Endurance: 28]

[Strength: 17 Agility: 39 ]

[Willpower: 137 Charisma: 47 ]

[Luck: 132 ]

Gao Yang opened his eyes. Perhaps it was all in his head, but he felt a little lighter.

Given his current situation, he would become nothing but a piece of unrecyclable trash after he used up the ten seconds of God of Blades he got from Qing Ling. Putting a dozen points into any other stats wasn’t going to do him much, while a higher Agility should allow him to dodge a few more attacks and create opportunities for himself. At least...he should be able to delay his death.

Frantic footsteps came from the other side of the door. Officer Huang shouted, “They’re coming!”