The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 338: Medicine D

“Yeah.” Gao Yang humored him while taking out a big roll of hemp rope and a few zip ties from his duffle bag.

Wang Zikai shot him a curious look. “What are those for?”

“Ah, I used them when I went on an earlier mission.”

Gao Yang came up with a lie without much thought.

Wang Zikai dropped it easily.

Then the two of them spent the whole afternoon playing games, and they ordered takeouts.

The evening crept up to them.

During summer, night didn’t fall until eight o’clock in Li City.

Gao Yang had learned the nitty-gritty of the Crimson Tide—all information collected by awakeners before him.

Upon the arrival of night, the moon would begin to turn red, but not at a noticeable rate. Thus, the regular humans and wanderers would be none the wiser.

Then they would start reacting to the Tide, meaning they would start getting sleepy.

A small percentage of regular humans and wanderers would quickly fall asleep in a few minutes, which was what had happened to Gao Yang before his awakening. And a larger percentage would get drowsy and lose interest in everything before falling asleep in the next three hours.

Only an extremely small percentage would remain awake.

Came midnight, the moon would become giant and crimson red, and the blood fog would emerge.

That was when the few regular humans and wanderers would be put to sleep forcefully, while the monsterhood of the elite monsters would awake.

The Crimson Tide thus descended officially, and it wouldn’t end for the day until the sun came out.

The sky was gradually getting dark.

Gao Yang stood up and walked up to the window, looking out at the sky. The light yellow moon was gaining a hint of pink, but it took close observation to notice the change.

“What should we do at night?” Wang Zikai was brushing his teeth. He had just finished takeout and couldn’t stand the garlic smell lingering in his mouth.

“What about karaoke?” Gao Yang carelessly suggested.

“Sure. I’ve practiced two songs recently. I’ll show you what I’ve got!” Wang Zikai said proudly. In his excitement, a drop of toothpaste stained his t-shirt.

That evening, they sang until they were tired of it. Then they went back to playing games.

Gao Yang had been paying attention to the time throughout. Finally, it was 11:40, 20 minutes from the turning point.

Gao Yang grew increasingly anxious. Why wasn’t Wang Zikai getting sleepy? Was he really a wanderer?

Thankfully, he had prepared a plan B.

Ring.

Someone rang the door.

“Haha, here’s our late night snacks!” Wang Zikai jumped to his feet and ran to answer the door excitedly, but he came to a halt when he saw the pair standing outside. “Who are you?”

There was a man and a woman.

The young man was in his twenties. He had gentle facial features and was dressed like a college student, with a black messenger bag on his shoulder and a white headphone around his neck. His hair was tied into a small ponytail behind his head. It looked like he hadn’t had enough sleep.

With a hand in the pocket, he waved with his other hand. “Hello.”

The young woman was pale and petite, dressed in a yellow t-shirt and a loose, light-blue denim overall. Her puffy bob cut framed her heart-shaped face, her eyes large and her smile mischievous.

“Hiya, you must be the noob named ‘Brother Kai Dominates the Valley’!”

Wang Zikai was surprised. “Huh?! How did you know my ID for HOK?”

Gao Yang had gotten to the entryway too. “You’ve come, Heavenly Dog, Can.”

“Who are they, bro?” Wang Zikai asked. He had actually met Heavenly Dog back in the Gu Family’s Village, but he didn’t remember at all.

Gao Yang smiled. “My colleagues, here on a mission.”

“Holy shit!” Wang Zikai’s eyes sparked with interest. “As expected of you, bro. I knew something would happen this week! Haha, come on. Let’s have an epic fight together!”

They were racing against time, so Gao Yang didn’t even humor Wang Zikai. He exchanged a glance with Heavenly Dog and Can. “Did you bring what I asked for?”

“Yeah!” Can patted on the bulging waist pack she was carrying.

“Come on in first.”

Heavenly Dog and Can immediately walked in.

Wang Zikai was confused when he was ignored. “Hey, what’s the mission? Tell me.”

Gao Yang waved Can over as soon as they were inside. “Give me one.”

“Okay!”

Can unzipped the waist pack and took out a syringe resembling that for Medicine C.

Gao Yang took it and examined it closely. Inside was a translucent, dark brown solution.

It was Medicine D, a potent sedative developed by the Qilin Guild. A shot would put anyone to sleep for forty-eight hours, be it humans or monsters; greed monsters and wrath monsters were no exception.

Gao Yang had applied for five shots, which should be enough for a week.

He took off the cap and gently pushed the plunger. A drop of brown liquid leaked from the needle.

“What is this?” Wang Zikai came up to him and asked.

“Good stuff.”

Gao Yang shot Can a look.

Without missing a beat, Can walked up from behind Wang Zikai and patted his shoulder. “Newbie, I’m the girl who played a mobile game with you before, the one who played a mean Daqiao.”

“Oh oh oh, that’s you!” Wang Zikai stared at her for a few seconds before he remembered.

Can grinned at him. “You’re so bad at the game. Why don’t I teach you?”

“Huh? Why would I want you to...”

Before he could finish, Gao Yang had already jabbed him in the neck and administered him with Medicine D.

Wang Zikai blinked. He reached up to feel his neck, but couldn’t even lift his hand properly, and before he could figure out what was happening, he had already lost all his strength, and he collapsed.

Gao Yang reached out to catch him and pulled out the needle, handing the syringe to Can. Then with his arms wrapped around Wang Zikai’s waist, he easily lifted him onto his shoulder, turning to leave. “To the basement.”

A few minutes later, Gao Yang, Can, and Heavenly Dog went down to the basement, tying Wang Zikai up with thick hemp ropes as well as sturdy zip ties. Only then did they allow themselves to relax.

“Whew.”

Can tied a pretty ribbon with the rope before standing up and dusting her hands. “Done!”

Gao Yang looked at the way Wang Zikai slept on the chair with his head drooping, feeling a little guilty.

Plan B had been taking shape in his head for a while.

To be frank, Gao Yang could no longer be certain if Wang Zikai truly was a wanderer at this point.

If he was, he should’ve fallen asleep during the few hours after night fell.

However, it didn’t happen to Wang Zikai. Then he was likely an elite monster Gao Yang didn’t yet understand, and his monsterhood would wake up past twelve o’clock.

There would be no turning back for Gao Yang and Wang Zikai then.

That was something Gao Yang would do anything to avoid. To prevent the worst from happening, Gao Yang decided to put Wang Zikai to sleep anyway possible if Wang Zikai didn’t fall asleep on his own, keeping him unconscious until the end of the Crimson Tide.

Gao Yang had told Qilin about his plan, and Qilin agreed.

To a special wanderer like Wang Zikai, the Guild’s response was to observe first, and if he became too much of a risk, kill him.

Gao Yang had promised Qilin that he would minimize the risk to the best of his ability, and that he would shoulder all consequences, whatever they were.

He was then provided five shots of Medicine D.

His plan was simple. Since daytime was the safe period, Gao Yang would give Wang Zikai a shot of Medicine D every day, having him sleep through the seven days. Given Wang Zikai’s physical prowess, he would be able to endure seven days without food and water.

When he woke up, it would be the end of the Crimson Tide, and they would still be the best of friends.

If Gao Yang could live through the Crimson Tide, that was.

And if he died, Wang Zikai would be fine. He would think Gao Yang had disappeared, still believing Gao Yang as his best friend.

“Captain.” Can glanced at Wang Zikai before turning to Gao Yang. “You’ve gotten to such length. You must really care about this noob.”

Gao Yang smiled wryly, but said in a serious tone, “He’s saved me many times, and he trusts me wholeheartedly. If possible, I never want to hurt him.”

“Whoa.” Can took a big step back and eyed Gao Yang strangely, saying with a smirk, “If it’s him, Captain, I wouldn’t mind giving up on you—”

Can got a slap to the head for the comment. “Not the head, Captain! I’m not smart to start with!”

Gao Yang pulled a long face. “Stop blabbering and go back to the White Tiger branch.”

“Fellows,” Heavenly Dog said tensely. “Things aren’t looking good.”

“What?” Gao Yang’s face darkened as soon as the word was out of his mouth, and his heart almost stopped.

Sitting on the chair, Wang Zikai, who should have stayed unconscious, was waking up.