The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 626: Member List

Team Leaders: Chen Ying, Colorless, Goldthread, Liao Liao (replacing Green Tea)

First team, led by Colorless: Amon (vice-leader), Sha Ye, Wang Weiyan, Great Fortune, Canary, Jing Ke, Rewind, Lin Fu, Musashi, Flower, 0618

Third team, led by Chen Ying: Chestnut (vice-leader), Little Tian, Zhang Wei, Jiang Hao, Empty Life, Wild Range, Herb Snail, Miss, Shuang Shuang, Donxote, Buzhou

Sixth team, led by Goldthread: Zhong He (vice-leader), Harvest Song, Quiet Book, Sunny, Lying Wood, Cold Cicada, Muzitu, Void, Deep Earth, Tall Sky, Yellow Lotus

Fifth team, led by Liao Liao: Rain River (vice-leader), Citrus, Old Seven, Sister Ling, First Firelord, Wandering Tune, Ting Ting, Nomad, Tofu, John Doe

Gao Yang went over the list and noticed the name Liao Liao. He didn’t remember someone like that at all, yet the person had replaced Green Tea to lead the fifth team. Was it a he or a she? Which team did they belong to? What was their job? What Talents did they have?

Soon, Gao Yang reached the last message, which contained the basic information on all Union members. Gao Yang found Liao Liao in the list.

Liao Liao, female, 19 years old, no special experience or achievement.

Talent: Aptitude, Heart, God of Archery, Insects King.

Gao Yang was a little surprised. She had four Talents. It seemed that Aptitude did increase the chance of comprehending Talents.

The Hundred Rivers Union wasn’t the Nine Scions’ enemy at the moment, but a clash could happen in the future, and they had to be careful.

After reading through the messages, Gao Yang threw the phone back to Nine Frost. “Give every member a copy of this and tell them to memorize everything. We’ll update the list as we learn new information.”

“Got it.” Nine Frost immediately texted the members.

...

Gao Yang and Nine Frost rested without falling asleep until five to three in the morning. Then they opened the living room window and placed three finished lunchboxes on the windowsill, as well as a bottle of water.

Three o’clock in the morning, a dark figure descended from above on time, hovering outside the window.

He was dressed in a black oversized sweater with a hand in his pants pocket and his other hand holding a small black briefcase, wearing a black mask and a pair of black headphones.

“Thirty-six,” he spoke in a youthful, lazy voice.

Gao Yang and Nine Frost stood on the sides of the window. They exchanged a look once hearing the codeword.

While making sure that his system didn’t issue a warning, Gao Yang extended his six senses to their limit to check if there was anyone suspicious around. Then he nodded at Nine Frost.

While Gao Yang kept watch, Nine Frost went up to the window, speaking to the figure outside, “Come on in.”

The figure flew into the room, taking off his mask and headphones. It was Heavenly Dog.

It didn’t surprise him to see Nine Frost concealed as a foreigner. He had been informed.

Also in disguise, Gao Yang walked out of the shadows. “You aren’t followed, are you?”

“No,” Heavenly Dog said. “I flew at a great height all the way here.”

“Good.” Gao Yang relaxed. “Did you bring the thing?”

“Yeah.”

Heavenly Dog threw the briefcase to Nine Frost, who caught it and opened it for confirmation. Then Heavenly Dog took a Rune Circuit out of his pocket and threw it to Gao Yang.

Gao Yang caught the Rune Circuit and confirmed it was the real deal. There was no sign of tampering, and he didn’t detect any poison or curse.

He turned to walk into the bathroom. The real Gao Yang walked out, taking the Rune Circuit from his double, and the double disappeared.

Heavenly Dog paused. He didn’t expect Gao Yang to be this cautious. He gave him a thumbs-up. “Cool.”

“Captain’s life is no longer his own,” Nine Frost said solemnly. “It belongs to the Nine Scions. That’s why I ask him to be careful.”

“The Nine Scions,” Heavenly Dog repeated the name with a drawl. Then he gave another thumbs-up. “Cool.”

The Nine Scions’ contact with the Twelve Zodiac Signs could be traced back to the 22nd of the month. The night the Nine Scions were established, they went to a safe house of Lithe Snake’s, resting in the building that had halted construction.

After a nap, Nine Frost woke up and acquired Telepathy.

Everyone was happy for him, while Gao Yang was momentarily taken aback.

Telepathy had been Ghost Horse’s Talent, and it somehow ended up with a companion of Gao Yang’s. What a surprise. Even after the man’s death, he owed another debt to him.

Thanks, Ghost Horse.

Don’t worry, I’m still walking on the path you were walking on.

Three days later, Nine Frost’s Telepathy reached level 3, allowing two-way communication within two hundred meters. It was limited to one-on-one conversation for 3 minutes, with a cooldown of 10 minutes.

Gao Yang believed the time was right, and he asked Nine Frost to discreetly contact the Twelve Zodiac Signs.

It would be too dangerous to get close to the Millennium Tower, and the members of the Zodiacs would be on the underground sixth floor, making it difficult to reach them. Moreover, Telepathy required the user to first see the target to locate the target’s brain and send the psychic energy, or the Talent was likely to fail.

After careful consideration, Gao Yang decided to contact Heavenly Dog.

The reasons were threefold:

First, Heavenly Dog was somewhat of a companion of Gao Yang’s.

Second, Heavenly Dog was dependable.

Third, Heavenly Dog stuck to a certain routine. When he didn’t have class, he often visited Songstress’ flower shop and holed up in the attic, having a relaxing time listening to music.

Gao Yang had gone to the upper floor of the flower shop before. The window looked out to the express hotel across the street.

That meant Nine Frost could see Heavenly Dog through the window from the hotel rooftop—Heavenly Dog’s usual seating spot was near the window, and the distance between them would be just under two hundred meters.

Luckily, Heavenly Dog happened to visit Songstress’ shop that night, and Nine Frost reached him with Telepathy.

Heavenly Dog remained composed. Learning Nine Frost’s reason for contacting him, he responded that he couldn’t make the decision without consulting War Tiger.

To avoid suspicion, Heavenly Dog stayed at the flower shop for a while rather than taking his leave immediately. Then he went to the underground base of the Millenium Tower to report to War Tiger.

On Gao Yang’s behalf, Nine Frost expressed his intention to form a secret partnership with the Twelve Zodiac Signs. The only ones who knew about it were Gao Yang, Nine Frost, Heavenly Dog, and War Tiger.

Gao Yang wanted to borrow the Psyche Rune Circuit so that Nine Frost’s Telepathy could reach level 4. The trade would be conducted on Mizuya Street in Zone D of Island Nation.

War Tiger agreed.

The next afternoon, Heavenly Dog visited Songstress’ flower shop again. In the span of a song, he and Nine Frost agreed on the details of the trade, which led to where they were now.

Gao Yang handed the Psyche Rune Circuit to Nine Frost. He then turned to Heavenly Dog with an intentional smile. “Does Uncle Tiger trust me this much? He even lends me the Psyche Rune Circuit.”

“Uncle Tiger said that you and Qilin are now each other’s worst enemies, and you will never give the Rune Circuit to Qilin.”

“Aren’t you worried that Qilin and I had put on the act to fool you into giving me the Psyche Rune Circuit?”

Heavenly Dog paused. “Oh, well.”