The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 82: Visit

Rabbit Room, -6F of the Millennium Tower. Four o’clock in the morning.

The room was dim and quiet. Gao Yang sat sinking into a bean bag with his eyes closed. The moment someone turned on the light, he quickly opened his eyes. It was War Tiger. He had a white tank top and a pair of black running pants on, a towel hanging from the nape of his neck. And his hair was still damp. It seemed that he had just taken a shower.

“How are they?” Gao Yang asked, concerned.

“White Rabbit is the least injured. She will be up and running soon.” War Tiger wiped his hair with the towel. He sounded tired. He made a beeline for the fridge and got himself a can of beer. “Heavenly Dog’s injury is pretty serious, but he would be fine. He just has to stay put for a week.”

“How about Wu Dahai?” Gao Yang knew his condition was the worst.

“He would live.” War Tiger slowly sat down next to him and tipped his head up to take a large gulp of beer. “Unfortunately, his right arm can’t be salvaged.”

Gao Yang wasn’t sure what to say.

“Although Lovely Lamb can absorb injury, his entire arm got blown up into minced meat, and there is no regenerating that. We’ll have to put a prosthetic on him.” War Tiger smiled bitterly. “That boy’s gonna be down for a few days once he wakes up.”

“Then...would it impact his power?” Gao Yang believed that it would be Wu Dahai’s biggest concern. Although Wu Dahai hadn’t spelled it out in words, it was clear that he was eager to get stronger so that he wouldn’t drag the organization down.

“No. He can still summon lightning with one hand, and he isn’t gonna fight anyone in hand-to-hand combat.” War Tiger shook his can of beer and took another drink. “Actually, the prosthetic arm can be used to block a slash or a shot when necessary. Perhaps it may make him a little stronger.”

“That’s good.” Gao Yang felt a little relieved. “Can I check on them?”

“Yeah, they’re all in the Lamb Room.” War Tiger raised an eyebrow, smiling. “But I would advise against that.”

“Why?”

“White Rabbit is keeping watch on them, and she’s in a bad mood.” War Tiger looked intimidated. “She was terrifying, yelling at anyone she saw like a tigress.”

Gao Yang sighed. She must be feeling guilty. Wu Dahai had suggested they leave the man be, and White Rabbit was the one making the decision to help the man, which led to their current situation. However, she wasn’t exactly to blame. Who would’ve thought that the red-haired man would go that far to lure them close? And his Talent was perfect for an insidious ambush.

The red-haired man obviously came prepared. He knew that the Twelve Zodiac Signs were trading Rune Circuits tonight, as well as the driving route they would take. Their information had been leaked. Liu Qingying was right.

There’s a spy among us.

“What are you thinking?” War Tiger asked.

Gao Yang paused and lowered his head. “Nothing.”

“You’re a smart boy, Gao Yang.” War Tiger stretched his neck, his voice lowering. “After what happened tonight, you must have some thoughts.”

Gao Yang considered his words.

“This isn’t a simple matter. If you hadn’t been as keen as you were, the four of you would’ve all died, and we would’ve lost a Rune Circuit. It’s been ten years since we suffered such a terrible blow.” War Tiger stared at Gao Yang quietly, but his gaze was threatening. “I’ll ask again, what do you think?”

“I think there’s a spy among us,” Gao Yang made up his mind and said.

“Do you have evidence, or is it mere speculation?”

“Speculation.” Gao Yang didn’t plan to sell Liu Qingying out, or he wouldn’t get any more information from her.

“That’s a good guess.” War Tiger was still looking at Gao Yang, his gaze loaded with unspoken words.

“You...suspect me?” Gao Yang said, feeling nervous under the scrutiny.

“Yes,” War Tiger admitted easily. “You are the first I suspect.”

Gao Yang smiled bitterly after thinking things through. “Of course I am.”

“My reasoning is threefold.” War Tiger looked up with narrowed eyes, extending his fingers as he spoke. “First, this happened not long after the three of you joined. Second, Green Snake and Yellow Ox have been training with me, and it’s unlikely that they would know the details about the Rune Circuit trade, making them less suspicious. Third, according to White Rabbit, you defeated the red-haired man, but somehow he ran away.”

“I’m not sure how either,” Gao Yang said honestly. “I thought he had lost his ability to resist, but he was still able to move. Perhaps he has some sort of recovery Talent, or an emergency medicine.”

“Or,” War Tiger siad, “You are in kahoots, and you let him go.”

Gao Yang protested, “In that case, he would’ve taken the Rune Circuit with him.”

“Yes. You should be thankful that you brought the Rune Circuit back.” War Tiger smiled. “Or I would already be interrogating you properly rather than simply suspecting you.”

Gao Yang shuddered. He knew the man was serious.

“However,” War Tiger took another sip of beer and said, “Outside of Dragon and I, all members may turn out to be the spy.”

“Even White Rabbit?” Gao Yang was surprised. He thought anyone could see how loyal White Rabbit was to the organization.

“Including her,” War Tiger said calmly before chuckling. “Let’s talk about you. You are my prime suspect at the moment, but I can give you a chance to prove your innocence.”

“What should I do?” asked Gao Yang.

“Find the real spy if you aren’t it.”

Gao Yang thought for a moment. “Why me?”

“You won’t understand because you haven’t been a leader.” War Tiger shook his head. “The old members are close, and suspicion among the members will be bad for the stability of the organization. You, however, are a newcomer. You’re smart and eager to prove your innocence, which makes you the perfect candidate for the investigation.”

Gao Yang went over the situation in his head. Although he had Lie Detection, it could only be used once every 48 hours, which was way too long. Even if he quickly pushed Lie Detection to level 2, the cooldown would still be significant.

Moreover, everyone knew he had Lie Detection now, and the spy would surely have some countermeasures prepared.

If he was to question everyone in person, it would be no different from alerting the snake by hitting the grass, and the spy would make a move. They would either run away or kill him to silence him. The risk was too high.

The safest solution would be to investigate in secret. Once he had identified a suspect with a seventy percent certainty, he would confront the suspect while War Tiger was present. Then he would expose them with Lie Detection and get things over with.

“Alright, I’ll do my best.” Gao Yang agreed to the condition. In truth, he didn’t have any other choice.

“Then we have a deal.” War Tiger lifted the can of beer. “Cheers.”

Gao Yang lifted his own drink and knocked it against the beer can.

“If you ever need help or run into something you can’t deal with, come to me.” War Tiger stood up and cast the empty beer can behind him. Along a perfect parabolic trajectory, it fell into the trashcan in the corner of the room. “At the end of the day, we’ve got the Damage Rune Circuit now. I can’t wait to torment Green Snake and Yellow Ox.”

“Don’t you ever rest?” Gao Yang said in disbelief.

“I only need four hours of sleep every three days.” War Tiger waved as he walked out of the door. “Awakeners are built different.”

...

Came morning, Gao Yang headed straight to school and spent an uneventful day.

After the evening self-study, he visited the hospital to keep his father company. That was when he got a message from White Rabbit that Wu Dahai was awake.

One o’clock in the morning, he quietly left the hospital to head to the underground sixth floor of the Millennium Tower.

Inside a single ward in the Lamb Room, Wu Dahai sat sprawling on the bed in a patient gown. His complexion was sickly, and without his usual hairdo, his hair slumped down on his pale face like it had lost its spirit. His right sleeve drooped limply to the bed, empty from the shoulder down.

White Rabbit sat by the bed with a bowl of white porridge in her hand. She lifted a spoonful and blew it cool gently before pushing it toward Wu Dahai’s mouth. Wu Dahai frowned slightly. “I’ve had enough.”

“Come on, have another two spoons,” White Rabbit said like she was coaxing a child.

“I don’t feel like it...”

“Then the last one. Open your mouth. Ah—”

“Ah...” Wu Dahai opened his mouth reluctantly and allowed White Rabbit to feed him porridge. With difficulty, he swallowed it down. It took a while for him to notice Gao Yang standing at the door. He quickly put up a strong front and said, “Yo, you’re here!”

Gao Yang felt his chest tighten, but he managed to smile. “I came to check on you.”

“What’s there to check on?” Wu Dahai said with feigned nonchalance. “It’s nothing serious. Not even worth talking about.”

Gao Yang swallowed his words as he stared at the empty sleeve dangling from Wu Dahai’s right shoulder.

Wu Dahai glanced sideways at it too. “Don’t worry. Once I get a prosthetic arm, I’ll be Edward Eric from Fullmetal Alchemist! Wouldn’t that be the coolest?”

“Yeah,” Gao Yang said. “You’ll be too cool for school.”

“I heard that you let the despicable bastard escape?” Wu Dahai asked, aggrieved.

“It’s my fault. I underestimated him.”

“I’ve notified the Qilin Guild and the Hundred Rivers Union, as well as all our informants in other fields. We will get him,” White Rabbit said with controlled rage, her teeth grinding together fiercely.

“Then I’ll get my revenge personally!” Wu Dahai growled, his eyes glinting with wariness. “Still, what the hell was that Talent? It was fucking vicious!”

Gao Yang paused, his composure crumbling.