The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 59: Action Speaks Louder than Words

Fat Jun hurriedly dragged Wang Zikai back to the seat, while Officer Huang reached out to cover his mouth.

White Rabbit shot to her feet and put on a lovely smile, bowing and apologizing, “Sorry, he’s a white face.” White Rabbit pointed at her own head. “Have a few loose screws here!”

‘White face’ was their jargon for wanderers. There were a few awakeners among the customers, and they seemed to have realized what Wang Zikai was on their own. They chuckled in understanding and went back to eating and chatting among themselves. The lively atmosphere returned to the restaurant.

White Rabbit sat back down and gave Wang Zikai a serious look. “You may have the top Talent, buddy, but you can’t get ahead of yourself! You need to lay low and grow stronger for the time being. An open gunshot is easy to dodge, while a hidden arrow is difficult to avoid. What if you die prematurely in an ambush? Who’s gonna lead us to the glorious future?”

“Oh, you're right.” Wang Zikai was convinced. He waved a hand and said, “I got a little excited when I woke up and heard you going so hard about everything. I’ll be more careful next time. Promise.”

“Remember,” White Rabbit emphasized again, “Keep a low profile!”

“Low profile, got it!” Wang Zikai swore.

“Alright.” White Rabbit stood up. “Let’s end things here. Take good care of them, Wu Dahai. I’ve got to return to HQ.” She lowered her voice and added, “After all, I’ve got something precious with me. I can’t relax here.”

“Leave it to me and take care,” said Wu Dahai.

“Why don’t we all go with you?” Gao Yang suggested. On one hand, he was worried that White Rabbit might get mugged while carrying something so important on her own. On the other hand, he wanted to take a look at their headquarters.

“Thanks for your concern.” White Rabbit saw through him and gave him a confident smile. “I’ll be fine.”

Wu Dahai laughed. “She’s nothing if not the champion of running away.”

That put an end to any further protest. They had all witnessed White Rabbit’s formidable leap.

White Rabbit walked up to the window—or the big hole that did nothing to stop the chilly wind of the night. She put her baseball cap and mask back on, keeping her hair from flying all over the place. “See you.”

With a graceful leap, she vanished into the night.

...

Wu Dahai stayed with Gao Yang and the others for another half an hour, talking about awakeners and other related topics. Wu Dahai was quite open to them, but what he knew was but the tip of an iceberg. Once the conversation shifted to the more concrete details, his knowledge in the field turned out to be only surface level. It might be because his rank in the organization wasn’t high enough, or it could be that awakeners in general didn’t know much more about monsters.

Late at night, the six of them departed from the Walled City of Ten Dragons.

Officer Huang offered to drive Gao Yang, Qing Ling, and Fat Jun home, while Wu Dahai told Wang Zikai to give him a lift back, then he would be free to take the car and drive it to his heart’s content. Wang Zikai was so overjoyed that he hugged Wu Dahai and called him his good brother at the end of every sentence. He couldn’t have expressed his gratitude more passionately outside of giving the man a kiss.

Gao Yang was relieved to see their interaction. Finally, he was able to take a breath.

In the small hours, the patrol car moved through the almost empty road and soon reached the Qingyang Bridge.

Qing Ling was in the backseat with him, her head rested against the car window. Against the backdrop of the late night view filtered through the translucent glass, Qing Ling’s fair face, cool eyes, and the shadows flicking through her face combined to paint quite an atmospheric image. Movie directors would’ve loved her. She had the kind of face that invited a look into her personal story.

But in truth...

“What are you thinking?” Gao Yang asked.

“Leveling up.”

...In truth, the girl had no story to tell. All she ever thought about was leveling up.

“What do you think of the Twelve Zodiac Signs?” Officer Huang, their driver, suddenly asked.

“Do you mean...” Gao Yang looked for the right words. “Are they worth trusting?”

“Trust is too much of a luxury.” Officer Huang’s gaze was sharp and experienced. “Think of them as a band of mercenaries. Do you think it’d be worth it for us to risk our lives for them?”

“Do we have a better option?” Gao Yang responded with a question.

“Touche.” Officer Huang sighed. “It’s the natural order of things for bigger fish to eat smaller fish. We’re in no place to negotiate.”

“In my opinion...” Gao Yang thought for a moment. “I don’t think the Twelve Zodiac Signs is a bad organization, but...they aren’t exactly the good guys either.”

“Yeah,” Officer Huang agreed. “White Rabbit is a good example. She may look harmless, but in actuality, she has no qualms using people and discarding them afterwards. To be honest, we wouldn’t have survived til the hair monster showed up if not for Fat Jun and Wang Zikai. But did you notice it? She was determined to only step in after the hair monster made its appearance.”

Gao Yang concluded, “In her eyes, the survival of the five of us isn’t as important as one Rune Circuit.”

“Correct.” Officer Huang’s gaze was fixed on the road ahead. The car had reached the middle part of the bridge, and the vast expanse of the Li River ran far on both sides. “She was honest about one thing: in this world, awakeners may be more dangerous than monsters.”

“But...we hadn’t joined the organization at that point,” Fat Jun spoke up quietly from the passenger seat. “We’re now part of the organization. She said she’s only ruthless to outsiders. She’s nice to their own...”

“And you took her words for it?” asked Officer Huang.

Fat Jun was at a loss for words.

“You’re already swaying after meeting her for the first time.” Officer Huang shot him a glare with feigned anger. “I shouldn’t have let you live back in Wang Zikai’s garage.”

“I, I didn’t mean it that way...” Fat Jun blanched.

“Please stop scaring him.” Gao Yang realized what Officer Huang was doing and interjected as the good cop. He leaned over to pat Fat Jun on the shoulder, “I’ll tell you a way to read people, Fat Jun. It may not work, but consider it a frame of reference.”

“Okay, please go on, Brother Yang.” After what they had been through, Gao Yang was the one Fat Jun trusted the most. For one, Gao Yang was smart, and he had never once given up on Fat Jun. Moreover, Gao Yang had acquired Talent: Fire and managed to exchange a few proper blows with the hair monster. In Fat Jun’s mind, Gao Yang had already become a leader to follow.

“It’s about the outside rather than the inside,” said Gao Yang.

“Huh?” Fat Jun didn’t get it.

Qing Ling explained with her usual icy voice, “Doesn’t matter what someone’s thinking or saying. What matters is what they do.”

After a moment, Fat Jun shouted, “I got it, Sister-in-Law!”

Qing Ling frowned slightly. She had grown tired of saying, ‘I’m not your sister-in-law.’

“Officer Huang! Brother Yang! Sister-in-Law!” Fat Jun’s eyes grew misty. “There have been many chances for you to give up on me, but you’ve never done that. Although you teased me sometimes, you still keep me around all this time. You are the ones who have been treating me well!”

“Good.” Officer Huang patted him on the shoulder, pleased. “Fate brought us together as companions, and we should cherish the bond. As for the Twelve Zodiac Signs...”

Gao Yang continued for him, “The organization is our support, but they aren’t necessarily our companions.”

“That’s right! They can be our support, but they may sell us out at any time. That would all depend on the organization’s true goal. If their goal requires the sacrifice of our lives, they are unlikely to hesitate, and from their perspective, they will merely be doing the right thing.” Officer Huang fished out a pack of cigarettes and pulled one out with his teeth. “From our perspective, however, we never want to become cannon fodder for them. Survival is our absolute bottom line. It will not and must not be crossed.”

“It’s too early to jump to conclusions.” Gao Yang reached out a hand. “But survival is my bottom line as well.”

“Same for me!” Fat Jun turned around to put his hand on Gao Yang’s.

Then Officer Huang took a hand off the driving wheel and joined in.

Qing Ling did the same after a moment of silence.

The four hands pressed together for a few seconds before pulling back.

Fat Jun was suddenly overcome with emotions. He rubbed his eyes and choked out, “You may tease me for this, but that was, that was the first time in my life...that I’ve ever felt like I have a home...”

“Alright, alright. Let’s not get too cheesy.” Officer Huang pointed at the glove compartment. “Open that. There are three sheets of A4 paper. Take them out.”

“Oh, sure.” Fat Jun did as Officer Huang said. On each sheet was a dense table.

Gao Yang leaned in to take a look. “The Talent list?”

“Yeah, that’s all the Talents from serial number 10 to the last, and that's all I know about Talents. I was going to give it to you as a thank-you gift after passing the third test.” Officer Huang chuckled. “Now that we’ve joined the Twelve Zodiac Signs, the list may not be all too useful to you. Still, you should take it. From now on, we’re comrades in arms running from the same starting line. Let’s support each other and overcome difficulties together.”

Fat Jun’s hand trembled as it clutched on the A4 sheet. He was reminded again of what Gao Yang said: it’s about the outside rather than the inside. Unable to hold it in any longer, he broke into tears and sobbed.

...

On his way back home, Gao Yang called his mother. He was going to visit the hospital, but his mother told him to go home. She said she would be keeping watch with his sister, and Gao Yang should take over came tomorrow morning. Gao Yang agreed.

When he got home, it was already one o’clock in the morning.

Exhausted, he took a shower and threw himself onto his bed, forgetting about the Talent list altogether. When he was just about to slip into unconsciousness, he heard a staccato of dull sounds.

Gao Yang sat up immediately, alerted. The sounds were coming from his bedroom door.

Someone was knocking.