The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 115: Paycheck

Gao Yang turned around and was entirely unsurprised to find the girl with a penchant for acting.

White Rabbit was dressed in a light green dress and a retro bucket hat. Hanging on her neck was a mirrorless camera. She looked like a hipster girl with a hobby in photography.

Smiling brightly, she said, “What a coincidence, Cousin. What are you doing here?”

“And what brought you here, Cousin?” Gao Yang composed himself and greeted her naturally, all the while thinking, The Academy owes you an award, White Rabbit.

“Ah, I was here to take photos.”

“And I was here to attend a classmate’s funeral.”

White Rabbit put on a look of surprise. “Oh, what happened?”

“Car accident.”

“What a terrible shame. My condolences.”

Their conversation drew the attention of Gao Yang’s classmates, and some of the boys looked envious. Gao Yang’s cousin’s so pretty and refined-looking, they thought. Why is he always surrounded by beautiful girls?

White Rabbit then turned to Qing Ling and singled her out from the group. “Here you are too, Little Ling!”

Qing Ling had planned to act like they were strangers, but with White Rabbit calling out to her, she had no choice but to join them with a steely look on her face.

The three of them moved away from the crowd.

“Sister Rabbit,” Gao Yang complained in a low voice. “Would you not ambush us like this in the future? It’s dangerous.”

“Dangerous?” White Rabbit gave Gao Yang a pointed look. “You were the one who did something dangerous. You were giving off too much killing intent. Niu Xuan could transform and lose control as a result.”

“Then I’d kill him,” Gao Yang said flippantly out of anger.

“Don’t forget about our rules, Dark Horse.” White Rabbit’s voice turned icy. “It’s also against the rule to threaten a wanderer into transforming before killing it.”

“I haven’t forgotten,” Gao Yang said earnestly. “I was furious, but I hadn’t lost my mind.”

“Good.”

“What business do you have here?” Qing Ling asked.

“Official business, of course.” White Rabbit reached out and shook her hand before Gao Yang and Qing Ling. “I’ve got a magic trick for you. Look closely.”

“Voila!” Two finely crafted coins appeared between her fingers. “Here. You each get one.”

Gao Yang took one of the coins. It was grayish white with a smooth, cool, and hardy texture. On the tail side was the number 5, and on the head side was a minimalistic qilin.

“Jinwu?” Gao Yang guessed.

“Yep. It’s your paycheck for the month.” White Rabbit raised an eyebrow. “Originally, you were only going to get 3 jinwu. You get an additional 2 jinwu for the mission to the Rune Cave.”

Gao Yang’s gaze on the coin was complicated.

“What? Do you think it’s too little?”

“Um, I can’t say it’s not the case,” Gao Yang admitted. “Wu Dahai spent 600 jinwu on his robotic arm. Comparison is the enemy of contentment.”

White Rabbit patted him on the shoulder. “Wu Dahai is the richest man in Li City with a net worth of hundreds of billions of yuan, and it took him a long time to save up 2000 jinwu. Who do you think you are? What’s your net worth? How many days has it been since your awakening? You should be content.”

The barrage of questions made Gao Yang feel like he should be thankful for even earning 5 jinwu. At the same time, he saw Liu Qingying in a much more positive light. She had offered him a good price!

A B-class intel earned him the same amount as his monthly salary and bonus combined. He should visit her barbecue place more from now on and build a closer partnership with her for more income.

Gao Yang put away the coin gingerly.

“Keep up the good work and become an outstanding member. Then you’ll get 8 jinwu every month. At my level, you’ll get 15 jinwu every month, and taking into account the yearly bonus, your monthly salary will be 20 jinwu.”

“What can we buy with the coins?” asked Qing Ling.

“What can’t you buy? You can get Intel, items, weapons, services, dignity, even human lives.” White Rabbit looked over Qing Ling’s shoulders at the door of the funeral home. Most of their classmates had gathered.

Wang Zikai, the idiot, noticed them then. He skipped his way to them. “If it isn’t...”

“My cousin!” Gao Yang cut him off.

“Right!” Wang Zikai quickly played along. “Why are you here, Big Sister?”

“I ran into them by accident and thought I should say hello.” White Rabbit smiled at Gao Yang and Qing Ling. “I’ll make it short. Past midnight, there’s gonna be a market organized by the Hundred Rivers Union at the haunted house of the abandoned amusement park in Nanji District. It’s held once every month. Consider it a flea market for awakeners. You’re welcome to take a look.”

“Sure.” Gao Yang seemed interested.

And Qing Ling looked bored. She would rather spend the time training with War Tiger.

“Do you wanna go together, Qing Ling?” Gao Yang turned to her to ask.

Qing Ling rejected him with an impassive look on her face. “No. It’s a waste of time.”

...

After the funeral, Wang Zikai went home, while Gao Yang and his classmates took the bus back to school for the rest of their classes.

Once the evening self-study ended, Gao Yang went to the dark alleyway near the school on his own. He was surprised to find Qing Ling there already, having changed into casual clothes.

“Whoa! You’re going after all?”

Qing Ling was gone when their evening self-study ended, so Gao Yang assumed she had returned to the base to train. He hadn’t expected her to wait for him at their usual meeting place.

Qing Ling looked as cool as ever. “I changed my mind. There may be items that can help me level up.”

“True.”

Gao Yang quickly changed into casual clothes as well and put on a mask and a baseball cap.

As soon as they walked out of the alleyway, Gao Yang’s phone rang. It was Officer Huang.

“Did you get off school?” asked Officer Huang.

“Yeah, just now.”

“I got my paycheck today. I’m going to the market.” Officer Huang chuckled. “Are you and Qing Ling going too?”

Gao Yang laughed quietly. “What a coincidence. That’s our plan too.”

“Stay there. I’ll pick you up.”

Twenty minutes later, a regular car stopped at the mouth of the alleyway. The window rolled down to reveal Officer Huang. The man waved at them. He wasn’t dressed in his uniform today.

“I thought you would pick us up in your patrol car,” Gao Yang went up to the car and said as he opened the door.

“That’d attract too much attention.” Officer Huang smiled. “It’s better to keep a low profile.”

“Yeah, I told you we should take my McLaren,” Wang Zikai whined from the passenger seat.

Officer Huang said exasperatedly, “That’s beyond attracting simple attention. You’re gonna make headlines tomorrow.”

“Wang Zikai?” Gao Yang wasn’t especially surprised. He could tell what Officer Huang was up to. A monster would make a good smokescreen for them, lowering their chance of getting exposed significantly.

“The one and only!” Wang Zikai said proudly. “You aren’t going on a shopping spree without me!”

“Haha, I’m here as well, Brother Yang!” Fat Jun was in the backseat. It had been a few days, and his face, while chubbier, looked a lot healthier too.

Gao Yang and Qing Ling got into the back with Gao Yang taking the middle seat, and Qing Ling the window seat.

“Sister-in-law!” Fat Jun greeted her enthusiastically.

Qing Ling turned away, not bothering to correct him anymore. Instead, she put on her earphones and a sleeping mask before taking a rest.

“The last time all five of us were together was the Gu Family’s Village,” Fat Jun said sentimentally. “It hasn’t been long, yet it feels like ages ago.”

“It’s mostly because we’ve changed.” Officer Huang put a cigarette to his lips with practiced ease while he drove. “We were blindly stumbling around in the world, but now we’ve become awakeners of a major organization. The world is suddenly bigger.”

“Ah, yeah, yeah! That’s what I meant!” Fat Jun chuckled. “I’m no longer terrified or anxious, and I feel like my feet are firmly on the ground. I can do everything with my full attention while feeling hopeful.”

“How’s the arm?” Gao Yang was still a little concerned.

“Don’t worry. It hasn’t lost control since then!” Fat Jun eagerly showed Gao Yang his floppy bicep.

With the company of music and pleasant chitchats, they made their way to their destination in no time. It was an abandoned amusement park. Beyond the front gates, the ground was covered in trash, the shops had closed down, and the walls were claimed by graffiti.

The five of them got out of the car and vaulted over the shorter wall on the side. Soon, they found a park map and identified the haunted house.

“The Naji District is so empty,” said Gao Yang. “The neighborhood around the Cattle Farm Station looks abandoned too.”

“The Naji District is on the fringe of the city, and it started out as a rural region with a small population.” Officer Huang took a drag of his cigarette and leisurely led the way. “Ten years ago, there was an attempt to develop the region, and many construction projects were started. But it didn’t work out. The district still seems like the middle of nowhere, only with a lot more abandoned construction projects.”

“And the middle of nowhere is the only place an organization like the Hundred Rivers Union can afford to settle down in.” Fat Jun sounded proud with an important group like the Twelve Zodiac Signs as his support.

“It’s not about affordability,” Officer Huang said with a chuckle. “There’s a reason the Hundred Rivers Union picked this place as their territory.”

“What is it?” Fat Jun asked curiously.