The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 227: Close Call

Pew, pew, pew.

Gao Yang’s three shots missed as expected. Ghost Horse had already teleported away.

Where is he? Where?

Swish!

From his right came a faint current. Gao Yang didn’t have the time to confirm if it was Ghost Horse, and he dodged out of the way. Only when he rolled and landed did he see from the corner of his eye that it wasn’t Ghost Horse, but a wilted potted plant.

It was a distraction!

When he realized the fact, it was already too late. Overwhelming killing intent swept toward him from his side as a blade slashed at the back of his ear, making a quiet swoosh.

Is this the power of a top assassin?!

The gap between Ghost Horse and he, a mix of fighter and spellcaster who hadn’t yet fully developed, was greater than expected in a one-on-one fight.

His fear was fleeting as Gao Yang acted on instinct, arching his neck backward as he raised his left hand, toward the source of the air current.

Splat.

The curved karambit pierced into Gao Yang’s left palm. Before the sharp pain could register in his brain, the other karambit came for Gao Yang’s heart.

Gao Yang blocked it with his right hand with impossible reflex, paying the price of getting another blade in his palm.

He could see Ghost Horse appear in his view, seemingly at a delay after the attacks came.

The man’s face was almost pressed against Gao Yang’s, while the weapons in his hands were stuck in Gao Yang’s palms.

After a second of stillness, Ghost Horse blurred, followed by a great impact.

Ghost Horse’s face came into clear view again, while Gao Yang’s back slammed into a concrete wall on the rooftop, his two hands pinned to the wall by the karambits.

At that moment, fear and despair overpowered the sharp pain coming from his palms.

“You lose.”

Ghost Horse let go of the karambits and stepped back, drawing a third karambit from his waist. With an elegant twirl, the tip of the blade pointed at Gao Yang’s heart.

Gao Yang had lost. Even if he broke free of the karambits pinning him to the wall at the cost of crippling his hands, it would take two seconds, which were two seconds Ghost Horse wouldn’t give him; it would take only half a second for Ghost Horse to pierce through his heart.

Gao Yang knew that as well, so he stopped moving. His show of surrender would actually delay his death.

“You didn’t have to die,” Ghost Horse said. “But you got too cocky.”

Yes, cocky.

If Gao Yang hadn’t chosen to deal with Ghost Horse on his own but had asked the fifth team for help, the mission could still fail, but he wouldn’t die trying.

I rely too much on my own head, my system, and my Talents. As a result, I fail.

“Do it.” Gao Yang accepted his defeat.

Without saying another word, Ghost Horse thrust the karambit toward Gao Yang’s heart.

Ding!

Then three sharp and hardy bone claws parried the karambit.

Ghost Horse startled. The bone claws were attached to a bronze arm, and the owner of the arm was Wang Zikai.

When did he get here?

Ghost Horse hid his surprise. Although he had been wholly focused on Gao Yang and neglected to pay attention to his surroundings, the speed at which Wang Zikai reached them still caught him off guard.

Decisively, Ghost Horse teleported a few meters away.

“You alright, bro?” Wang Zikai didn’t even spare Ghost Horse a glance. Instead, he turned around to pull the karambits out of Gao Yang’s hands.

“Don’t mind me! Watch your back...”

Before Gao Yang could finish, Ghost Horse had already teleported behind Wang Zikai, swinging the karambit at Wang Zikai’s neck.

Clink.

The blade slid along the curve of his neck and sputtered sparks, making a piercing noise.

Ghost Horse’s eyes widened in surprise. At some point, Wang Zikai’s torso had turned bronze, and his skin and muscles as hard as steel.

Reaching behind, Wang Zikai grabbed Ghost Horse’s wrist.

Ghost Horse struggled to break free. His expression darkened when he realized he couldn’t.

“You dare hurt my brother?!” Wang Zikai turned around slowly, his gaze haughty and enraged. “You’ve got balls!”

Then he made a swing at Ghost Horse’s lower abdomen.

Ghost Horse threw up blood and flew backward, knocking through all sorts of things in the way.

Swish!

Bone claws protruded out of the back of Wang Zikai’s right hand. “I’ll cut you to pieces!”

Having suffered a heavy blow, Ghost Horse, half-crouching on the ground and enduring the pain, struggled to pick himself up, but Wang Zikai lunged at him as soon as he righted himself.

Ghost Horse vanished.

“Where the hell are you?!”

Wang Zikai’s attack missed. He whirled around to find Ghost Horse standing on the water tank.

Pressing a hand to his abdomen, Ghost Horse lowered his head to throw Gao Yang a cool glance, his gaze sharp and complicated as blood streaked down from the corner of his mouth.

A second later, he disappeared again.

This time, he was nowhere to be seen on the rooftop.

“Fuck! You trash! Only a coward runs away!”

Wang Zikai yelled, but no response came.

“Leave it.”

Face pale, Gao Yang walked up to Wang Zikai, bleeding profusely from his hands. “I have Medicine C in my bag. Grab one and give each of my hands half the dose.”

“Got it!”

Wang Zikai transformed back into his regular human form and found the Medicine C Gao Yang had brought. Pulling off the cap, he carefully administered the shot to Gao Yang’s injured palms.

“Tsk, tsk, it’s bleeding so much.” Wang Zikai lowered his head, speaking like a heartbroken mother worrying over her child. “Does it hurt?”

“A little.”

“Shit, he ran this time. Brother will get revenge for you next time.”

“Okay.”

After the shots, the wounds on Gao Yang’s palms healed at a visible speed, and his pain subsided. Two minutes later, Gao Yang let out a long breath and roughly wiped off the blood on his arms.

He leaned against the railing of the rooftop, pondering as night wind caressed his face.

“What are you thinking?” Wang Zikai rested both hands on the railing, his back arched. His blonde hair had gotten a little long, messed up by the wind.

“I’m too weak.” Gao Yang felt a little down.

“What? No you’re not!”

“I would’ve died if not for you.”

“Bro, I didn’t think I would be saying this to you.” Wang Zikai wiped at his nose. “You’re a gamer. Shouldn’t you know that assassins are the bane of spellcasters?”

Gao Yang was caught off guard. Shit, when did you get smart enough to make the observation?

Wang Zikai patted on his chest. “But when the assassin runs into a tank like me? I can easily beat him up like an adult beating up a child!”

Gao Yang laughed, feeling a little better.

He knew what Wang Zikai was saying, but it didn’t make the defeat any less bitter. He lost, and that was it. An enemy wasn’t going to spare him just because he was at an inherent disadvantage due to a bad matchup.

Medicine C was very effective, which was only to be expected since it had been made with Dead Pig’s blood. It took no time for Gao Yang’s hands to recover fully, leaving only two pink scars and a faint itchiness.

“Not a good start for the 94 Duo.” Gao Yang smiled wryly.

“Stop being pessimistic!” Wang Zikai said. “He hurt you. I punched him. I’ll call it a draw.”

Gao Yang snorted. This isn’t a fighting game where the remaining HP determines the victor, buddy. This is an assassination attempt, and I’ve not only alerted him, but also let him leave. It’s a total fail.

What had happened had happened, however. Now it was time for him to deal with the aftermath.

He must not have been on Ghost Horse’s target list before, but he would be after this clash. The question was how high on the list he was.

At least Gao Yang had confirmed that Ghost Horse couldn’t go through walls with Teleportation.

In that case, when he was sleeping at home, he could avoid getting killed in his sleep by locking up the doors and windows and taking the proper precautions.

Ghost Horse was unlikely to take the chance to attack him in broad daylight, while Gao Yang was at school. After all, he was a wanted man many were looking for. He had to stick to the shadows.

Still, to be safe, Gao Yang decided to stay at Wang Zikai’s place rather than going home. And he had to send a message to Officer Huang somehow, asking War Tiger to have someone protect his family.

Although Ghost Horse wasn’t the type to get lost in personal vendetta and kill innocent people like Mad Red, it was better safe than sorry.

The possibility of catching Ghost Horse should be a good enough reason for the Twelve Zodiac Signs to play bodyboards for his family.

After thinking through what he had to do, Gao Yang felt his anxiety ease a little.

“What do we do now?” asked Gao Yang.

“We check out of the hotel,” said Gao Yang. “Then go to the police station to send a message to Officer Huang for me.”

“No problem. What about after that?”

Gao Yang chuckled. “After that, we go to your place and play games.”

“Hooray!”