The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 99: Investigation

The light shining through the dark tunnel grew in intensity as the dull rumbles of the train traveling along track grew louder, making the entire space shake slightly.

Soon, an old subway train stopped at the platform. It was long, but only the door of the last compartment opened slowly, welcoming those waiting on the platform.

It was brightly lit inside, and entirely empty.

With both hands in his pockets, War Tiger strolled into the train, followed closely by White Rabbit.

Qing Ling, Gao Yang, and Officer Huang shared an understanding look.

Before they carefully boarded the train, Qing Ling drew her sword, Officer Huang his gun, and Gao Yang his dagger.

Chen Ying jogged up to the five of them and emphasized, “Be careful.”

War Tiger waved a dismissive hand at her. “Remember our deal.”

The next second, the door closed.

The train started. On the other side of the window, Chen Ying and her fellow members were still standing in the same spot and seeing the train off. Soon, they disappeared from view, and all that could be seen was darkness whipping past them as the train traveled at high speed.

Gao Yang had been nervous before getting on. Now that he had boarded the train of doom, he found himself calming down. He was already one foot in, might as well follow up with the other foot.

Gao Yang looked around. They were in the last car. On the left was a door that led to nowhere, while on the right was the door leading to the next car, but it was shut.

War Tiger sat down on a bench, his expression darkening. “Shit!”

Officer Huang quickly raised his gun, while Qing Ling held up her Tang Dao before her chest.

Gao Yang had sprung to action as well, holding the dagger with one hand and gathering his energy with the other, ready to activate Fire at any time.

The three of them pressed their back together to form a circle so that they could cover all 360 degrees around them, watching out for any danger that might come.

Surprised by their dramatic reaction, War Tiger gave the three of them a strange look. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

Then realization struck him, and he burst out laughing. “Fucking hell. Talk about overreaction. I didn’t say there was danger!”

Then what did you curse out for?!

Gao Yang swallowed the complaints and slowly sheathed his dagger.

Qing Ling and Officer Huang relaxed too and lowered their weapons.

Officer Huang shook his head as he said, “Please don’t make sudden noises for no reason, Teacher. ‘Scare me to death’ isn’t always a figurative expression.”

“I just remembered that I forgot my cigarette. Fuck my lapse in memory!” War Tiger slapped his thigh and pushed his mask toward his head a little, revealing the lower half of his face.

“But I have to commend the three of you for your reflex and teamwork.”

How else do you think we’ve survived to this day? Gao Yang grumbled silently.

White Rabbit fished a pack of Barlmoro[1] out of her pocket. “I knew you’d forget, so I brought this with me.”

“Rabbit! You’re my considerate cotton-padded jacket[2]!”

“And what have I done in my past life to deserve that?” White Rabbit’s eyes rolled so far back that they were almost all white.

War Tiger happily took the pack of cigarettes from her and with a shake, a cigarette slid out. He put it between his lips and slapped his thigh again. “Shit, I forgot my lighter as well. Would you mind, Gao Yang?”

“This isn’t what my Talent is for, Teacher!” Gao Yang felt like a tool, but he still lit the cigarette with a simple brush of his finger.

War Tiger inhaled before letting out a puff of smoke.

Feeling the itch himself, Officer Huang took out a cigarette as well.

Gao Yang reluctantly lit the cigarette for Officer Huang too before he asked the question he had been wanting to ask, “What are we doing next?”

War Tiger crossed his legs and blew a somewhat wonky smoke ring. “Rest.”

“Rest?” As a woman of action, Qing Ling didn’t understand.

White Rabbit sat down on a bench as well. “What Teacher means is that it’s better to investigate the environment first than running around recklessly when we’ve just arrived and don’t know the place.”

“And you do it by sitting down?” Qing Ling asked.

“Patience, Green Snake.” War Tiger waved them over, telling them to all sit down. “We’ll gather what we know at the moment. It won’t be too late to make a move afterward.”

Gao Yang found that reasonable. The moment his bottom touched the seat, he thought better of it and stood back up to sit beside War Tiger instead.

Officer Huang followed suit without missing a beat and took the seat on War Tiger’s other side.

They shared a knowing smile. A strong survival instinct was one thing they shared.

When Gao Yang played role-playing games, he always prepared fully before exploring a dungeon. He made sure he was at a high enough level and stocked up on equipment and items so that there would be no danger.

It was a shame that he couldn’t save in the real world, or he would’ve saved every three steps.

He unlocked his phone and sent a message to the group chat of the organization. It failed. There was no signal here.

Gao Yang took off his backpack and went through the supplies. In addition to support items and first-aid kits, there were rations and water that would last them about ten days, which gave him a sense of security.

Back in the Gu Family’s Village, they had gone without food or water for three days. It was the kind of suffering one had to go through personally to understand.

Then he checked his system.

[Access granted.]

[You now have a total of 23 Luck points.]

—I’d like to check my stats.

[Constitution: 47 Endurance: 48]

[Strength: 217 Agility: 259]

[Willpower: 209 Charisma: 67 ]

[Luck: 132]

Gao Yang was content with the Talents he had at the moment.

Moreover, the stats bonuses granted by a new Talent no longer offset the Luck points he spent to acquire it, making the exchange less and less ideal.

Realizing that, Gao Yang had planned to allocate his four hundred and some Luck points equally to his different stats, but the ambush by Mad Red changed that. He had put all his points into his Strength and Agility, which might seem extreme, but was actually the inevitable choice.

Mad Red’s Detonation was incredibly destructive. Only someone with high hit points and high defense like Dead Pig, equipped with a defensive Talent that was Level 4 or higher, would be able to take it and survive.

Gao Yang wasn’t that, of course, so he chose to fight the spear with another spear of his own and bet on whether he could kill Mad Red before the man killed him.

Based on the outcome, he had made the right bet.

The current situation, however, was another story. He didn’t know what dangers they would run into going forward.

One thing was clear: his Constitution and Endurance were too low. In gaming terms, he was too much of a glass cannon, and glass cannons shattered easily. He had to do something about it.

—System, put all my accumulated Luck points and the points I’m going to get in the Rune Cave into my Constitution and Endurance. Keep it up until I get out of the Rune Cave.

[Understood.]

[Access ends.]

Gao Yang opened his eyes. He wasn’t sure if it was merely his mind tricking him, but he breathed a little more easily, and his heartbeat seemed stronger and more steady. He put a hand on his abdomen. It was a shame that he didn’t magically get a six-pack.

“What do you think is the difference between this place and the outside world?” War Tiger asked after finishing his cigarette.

“It feels dangerous.” Officer Huang said, shifting a little closer to War Tiger.

“It’s all in your mind.” War Tiger put a hand on his shoulder and continued in an exasperated tone, “You’re a cop, Yellow Ox. Can’t you show a little more courage?”

“Recklessness isn’t courage,” Officer Huang argued.

“The temperature seems lower,” said Gao Yang.

“Yes.” War Tiger nodded. “And?”

“The train has been moving for quite a long time without reaching the next stop.” White Rabbit frowned as she stared at the quickly passing darkness outside the window.

“Hm, and?” War Tiger turned to Qing Ling encouragingly. “Share a few of your findings.”

“It’s too steady,” Qing Ling said, as concise as ever.

“True. It doesn’t feel like we’re riding on a subway train.”

Gao Yang had noticed that as well. Normally, subway trains wobbled a little as it moved, and when it was going faster, there would be cool wind sweeping through the underground tunnel.

“Alright. What’s your conclusion?” War Tiger said and added as a reminder, “I’m not asking for subjective guesses, but objective speculation based on logic and deduction.”

Everyone took a moment to think.

Then White Rabbit said, “We don’t have enough information to get to a conclusion yet.”

War Tiger turned to the others, and they shook their heads as well.

“Okay.” War Tiger accepted their response and got to his feet, stretching his arms and neck. “Come on. Let’s check the other cars.”

War Tiger took the lead and pushed the door at the front of the car. It didn’t budge.

“Door’s locked,” War Tiger said. “Any volunteers?”

“I’ll do it.” Qing Ling walked up to the door, planning to break it down, but White Rabbit stopped her.

“Allow me.”

War Tiger said approvingly, “Good, you haven’t forgotten my lessons.”

“What difference does it make?” Qing Ling asked.

“Of course there’s a difference,” War Tiger said seriously. “Your expertise is explosive offense, Green Snake, not raw strength. Breaking down a door is easier for White Rabbit.”

“Keep in mind that we are a team, and we must preserve the team’s power as much as possible. The devil’s in the details. Sometimes the little strength you manage to preserve can be the difference between life and death.”

Qing Ling fell into thought.

Gao Yang lauded the man in his head. He’s teaching us at any opportunity through both words and actions, and everything he says is useful in real battles.

He’s both strong and cautious. While he seems like someone who only has eyes for the forest, he actually pays attention to every single tree.

Cautious but not overly so. Sees both the forest and the trees. No wonder he’s the ninth-ranking awakener.

“Get ready.” White Rabbit gave the others a glance.

They each took out their weapon and got into formation.

After taking a short step back, White Rabbit knocked the door open with a practiced spin kick. She then immediately moved back to stand shoulder to shoulder with her companions.

Gao Yang looked into the next car, his heart seizing for a moment in shock.

1. The raw is a play on Marlboro. ?

2. A Chinese slang for someone who thinks of you and does heart-warming things for you. Commonly used to describe a daughter who’s considerate to her parents. ?