The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 485: Tracking

His phone vibrated again. It was a message this time.

Qing Ling: Rooftop.

It seemed that Qing Ling had gotten a call from Officer Huang too.

With a double jump, Gao Yang made it to the rooftop of the boys’ dorm. Qing Ling was already there.

Her long hair flew amid the night breeze as she rode her Tang Dao. “Hop on.”

Li City University was quite far from Officer Huang’s place. It would take a lot of energy for Qing Ling to carry them there with her blade, and she could run out on the way. However, it was the fastest option.

Gao Yang jumped onto Qing Ling’s Tang Dao and grabbed onto her waist. They lifted off the rooftop and headed toward Officer Huang’s place.

After traveling a little more than a hundred meters, a familiar voice came from above them. “Hey, need a ride?”

Gao Yang and Qing Ling looked up to see Heavenly Dog flying above them at a noticeably faster speed. As he spoke, he produced a sturdy white cloth from his right sleeve. Qing Ling grabbed it immediately.

“Hold on tight.”

At full throttle, Heavenly Dog’s level 6 Fly was almost as quick as a helicopter.

Qing Ling and Gao Yang immediately felt that they were going faster, and the wind swept over them. Gao Yang felt as if he and Qing Ling were surfing on the ocean, while Heavenly Dog was pulling their surfboard along with a helicopter.

It only took a few minutes for them to rush to Officer Huang’s place.

They entered through the balcony adjacent to the living room, where Officer Huang was pacing around, face ashen and anxious. As soon as he saw the three of them, he came up and said, “My wife’s missing!”

Gao Yang frowned. They had guessed that it could be the case. “Go into more details.”

Officer Huang handed a white phone to Gao Yang, speaking quickly, “When I came home, she wasn’t around, and she didn’t bring her phone. It’s strange. She’s usually asleep at this time. Even when she gets hungry, she orders takeout. She’d never go out without her phone.”

“Have you called Chen Ying?” asked Gao Yang.

“She’s the first I called.”

Rat-at-tat.

Someone knocked.

Heavenly Dog answered the door. It was Chen Ying and Little Tian.

Chen Ying had only put on a bathrobe and a pair of sandals before rushing here, her hair still damp and her expression hurried, panting heavily.

It was easy to picture that she had drawn a hot bath after work, planning to have a relaxing time, but then Officer Huang called, and she rushed out after only putting on a bathrobe, in too much of a hurry to dress properly.

Chen Ying had heard about what happened on the way. Without changing into slippers, she strode up and asked, “Where’s your bedroom?”

“This way.” Officer Huang opened a door.

“Please stay quiet.” Chen Ying rushed in, closing the door behind her.

Officer Huang waited outside, worried that he would distract Chen Ying, but at the same time, he couldn’t tamp down his anxiety, and the emotions and energy he radiated were distracting.

Gao Yang went up to him and patted him on the shoulder, signaling at Officer Huang to follow him to the balcony.

The night wind calmed Officer Huang down a little. He lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. Finally, the tremor in his hands subsided a little.

“Any idea?” asked Gao Yang.

“Not at all.” Officer Huang scowled. “My wife has never made any enemies, and she has few friends. I can’t think of anyone who would hurt her.”

“So we exclude the possibility that this is a mundane matter,” said Gao Yang. “That leaves us with the world of awakeners.”

“Which awakeners could my wife have attracted the attention of?”

“Ms. Su is special,” Gao Yang suggested.

Officer Huang had thought about the possibility, only he wasn’t willing to admit it.

After taking another deep drag, he mustered the courage to say, “You think this has something to do with Tails?”

“Very likely.”

“Fuck!” Officer Huang swore under his breath.

“The Godbearer Cult has been studying the relationship between humans and monsters and conducted many experiments. To them, your wife is a valuable...”

Gao Yang swallowed the words “test subject”. It would be cruel.

“My wife has been pregnant for more than a couple days, though. Why haven’t they sought her out before? Why now?” Officer Huang still couldn’t accept it.

Because she’s close to delivery, perhaps.

After some hesitation, Gao Yang decided not to say it.

Their top priority was to rescue Su Xi; agitating Officer Huang wouldn’t help.

Bam!

The bedroom door opened. Chen Ying reemerged. Gao Yang and Officer Huang immediately ran up to her.

“What did you see?” Officer Huang asked.

“Long story short.” Chen Ying looked at him with a grave look. “Half an hour before, your wife was asleep when suddenly, a strange whistle knocked her out completely.”

She pointed at the bay window of the bedroom. “There was a man and a young girl. They entered the room through the bay window, going through it directly like ghosts. When the man picked up Su Xi, she turned incorporeal as well, and the three left through the window.”

“Edmond and Ke Yo,” Qing Ling recognized. “Members of Tails.”

“So it was the Tails!”

Officer Huang slammed his fist on the wall, having lost his composure and his ability to think calmly.

Gao Yang quickly analyzed the clues. “When in the Unreachable state, Edmond could go through all obstacles. They were very likely to have taken the shortest route unconsciously—a straight line, that was. Given they had left through the bay window, their base must be in that direction.”

“Agreed.” Chen Ying nodded and looked at Heavenly Dog and Qing Ling. “I’m no good in a fight, so I’ll stand by. Heavenly Dog, you should take them to track Tails down.”

“Little Tian’s level 6 Sensory can sense awakeners within two kilometers. Fly in this direction. None of the Tails members are weak. If they are together, Little Tian will be able to sense them immediately.”

That seemed viable to Gao Yang too. Outside of the bases of the three major organizations and the teams sent out on missions, it was very rare for more than five awakeners to gather in one place in Li City. Little Tian only had to find a place with several awakeners to locate the Tails.

“Then what are we waiting for?!”

Officer Huang opened the bay window, and the night wind swept in.

Heavenly Dog carried Little Tian on his back while holding onto Gao Yang and Officer Huang, flying out of the window.

Qing Ling quickly caught up with them on her flying blade.