The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 234: Uniform

Gao Yang tensed up. Who could be visiting this late at night? The staff usually called the room directly.

He accessed his system to make sure that there was no danger. Then he rose and walked up to the clothes stand to put on a bathrobe, tying the waistband. He tiptoed to the door and looked out through the peephole. There was no one outside.

Had he heard wrong?

No, that couldn’t be. Gao Yang was confident in his five senses. He wouldn’t have an auditory hallucination unless it was purposefully induced.

Gao Yang hesitated if he should open the door, but then there were another three knocks.

Startled, Gao Yang looked through the peephole once more, and again, he saw no one.

He accessed his system. No acquisition bonus still.

Who was playing a prank on him?

Fresh Snow?

No, it didn’t feel like her.

Realization dawned on Gao Yang suddenly, and he was both exasperated and amused.

When another three knocks came, Gao Yang yanked the door open and saw no one outside. Still, he reached out and grabbed at the air, and as expected, a youthful face appeared between his fingers.

“Ow, owww...” Can appeared.

“You asked for this.” Gao Yang loosened his hold but didn’t let go, pretending to be angry.

“I’m sorry, Captain...” Can begged, pointing to her side. “It’s their idea!”

Gao Yang took a step forward and looked left.

Lo and behold, Gray Bear and Ronnie were hiding on the side, smothering their laughter.

Gao Yang didn’t even have to think or look up before he said, “Get down here, Mr. Gecko.”

A figure dropped down from above. It was Lithe Snake.

The man looked as frosty as ever, and he said calmly, “I was dragged here against my will.”

That Gao Yang would believe. Lithe Snake wasn’t the type to bother with pranks.

He turned to the others. “Don’t you sleep?”

“You’re still awake too, Captain.” Can rubbed at her pinched face and snickered, winking at him.

She soon noticed the chest half revealed under his robe.

“Whoa, you’ve got some hot pecs, Captain!”

“Ahem.” Gao Yang wrapped his bathrobe tighter around his body. “Why are you here?”

Gray Bear picked up a duffle bag and said cryptically, “I brought something good.”

“What is it?” asked Gao Yang.

Gray Bear smiled. “Let’s talk inside.”

Gao Yang opened the door. “Come on in.”

They walked into Gao Yang’s room.

Can was the first to enter. Looking around, she marveled, “Whoa, a captain’s dorm room sure is different. It’s much bigger than my place. Look at the window walls. Look at how much sunlight can come in...”

“Whoa, the walk-in closet is massive!”

“Whoa, the bathtub is amazing!”

“Wah, the cookware! I’m so jelly! Even though I can’t cook if my life depends on it!”

Gao Yang ignored Can as she ran around, turning to the others. “Do you want coffee or tea? Or if you want drinks, just grab one from the fridge.”

“I’ll make, coffee.” Ronnie went to the kitchen, volunteering himself.

After a quick tour, Can plopped herself down on the large bed and lay down, her limbs splayed like a starfish. Then she started rolling around.

“So comfy...” Can grabbed a pillow and took a deep breath. “Hm, smells nice! I didn’t expect you to smell this good, Captain!”

Unimpressed, Gao Yang said, “The beddings are washed and changed daily. I haven’t used the bed today.”

“Oh.” Can sniggered, knowing her flattery had missed the mark. “Haha, then it must be the smell of the detergent.”

“You haven’t gotten injured, have you, Captain?” Gray Bear asked worriedly.

“Why did you ask?” Gao Yang asked while wondering, Has he heard about what I went through these past few days?

“You’ve been using more Medicine C lately.” Gray Bear raised an eyebrow, feeling pleased with himself. “Remember that I have people in the back office? Although you don’t want us to get involved, we’ve been keeping tabs on you, Captain.”

Gray Bear might not be the brainy type, but he was witty in layman’s way.

“We don’t want to lose another companion, least of all another captain.” Can sat up on the bed and looked at Gao Yang seriously, the laugh on her face gone.

“Wouldn’t want to see you dead just yet,” Lithe Snake added coolly.

Gao Yang felt a bloom of warmth in his chest. “Thanks.”

“Don’t try to shoulder all the weight, Captain,” said Gray Bear. “We’re a team. We can trust each other.”

“That’s right! If you don’t tell us, I, I’m gonna stay here tonight!” Can hugged the pillow and lay down, starting to roll around again.

Gray Bear teased, “You want to stay anyway.”

“Uncle Bear, you, you...stop saying nonsense!” Can’s face flushed instantly.

“Oh? But I’ve overheard your confession back in the construction site of the Eleventh High School.”

Gray Bear snickered and committed to imitating her, “But I’m sure you won’t like a girl like me. I don’t have a pretty face, and I act like a boy...”

“Go to hell!”

A pillow flew into Gray Bear’s face. Gray Bear burst out laughing.

“Coffee, is done.” Ronnie came up with a tray. He placed the five cups of coffee on the tea table.

Gao Yang was going to stay up all night anyway. He picked up a cup and took a sip.

He said seriously, “To tell you the truth, I did have a mission, but the higher-ups ordered me to conduct the investigation under the table. And I did run into dangers.”

“Dangers?!” Can jumped.

“It’s fine. Nothing serious.” Gao Yang smiled. Yes, he just almost got stabbed to death by Ghost Horse, and then he almost got killed by an exploding body.

“A few hours ago, the mission was taken out of my hand. I no longer have anything to do with it.” Gao Yang lied by omission. “You don’t have to worry about me.”

Gray Bear, Lithe Snake, Can, and Ronnie exchanged a glance.

Gray Bear sighed softly. “Then we can be at ease.”

“What is in the bag?” Gao Yang had been wondering about it.

“Geez, I’m getting old. I almost forgot.” Gray Bear slapped his own head and walked up to the duffle bag. Squatting beside it, he unzipped the bag and took out a few sets of uniform, throwing them onto the bed.

“Back office made these for the fifth team. We each have two sets.” Gray Bear then took out a plastic box. Inside were six dark gray phone cases. “They made this as a bonus. Let’s all get ours changed.”

“Whoa! Uniform! Awesome!” Can immediately picked up the ones sewn with her name and rushed into the walk-in closet.

Gray Bear clapped. “Put them on, everyone, and see if the clothes fit.”

The rest of them each found a place to get changed.

Gao Yang soon put on the uniforms and looked into the full-length mirror.

Inside was a gray vest, covered by black hoodie jacket. Below was a pair of modified cargo pants, good for carrying weapons like daggers and handguns. The fabric was soft and comfortable, suitable for combat. And the color palette was a mix of black, white, and gray, the design clean and sophisticated.

On his left chest was an abstracted ‘ying’, the character that meant ‘shadow’, and on the sleeves were the number 5.

The others had each put on their uniforms as well. They walked up to Gao Yang’s side and checked the reflection of themselves and their companions.

“Ooh! So cool!”

Now changed into form-fitted, gender-neutral uniforms, Can looked much more spirited, and the outfit even brought out the cute side of her.

“Who would have known,” Gray Bear sighed. “That you would look most like a girl when you’re wearing a uniform.”

“Boo! I just didn’t like to spend time on my looks!” Can protested.

She nudged Gray Bear away and grabbed onto Gao Yang’s arm with a grin, cocking her head toward him and raising her phone—with the brand new phone case. “Let’s have a group photo!”

“Good idea!” Gray Bear agreed.

The others came up to them with Gao Yang at the center, looking into the mirror.

Click.

After taking the selfie, Can looked down at the screen. “Captain is the most good-looking! I’m gonna do some touch-ups. Then I’ll send the photo to the chat group!”

She lay down on the bed and started fixing the photo with gusto. Her smile, however, didn’t stay on her face for long, and her mood took a downturn. “If only Xiran were here. Former Captain too...”

“Can, we have to look forward,” Gray Bear advised sagely. “There are things we can keep in our heart, but better not to bring up all the time. You get me?”

“Yeah.”

Can quickly picked herself up and finished editing the photo, sending it to their group chat.

Gao Yang realized then that there were still four sets of uniforms on the bed. Two were sewn with ‘Xiran’, while the other two didn’t have any name.

“Whose are these?” Gao Yang asked.

“Last minute order for Nine Frost.” Gray Bear’s smile was hard to discern. “Remember? He’s now part of the fifth team.”

Gao Yang paused. He had forgotten about it.