The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 690: Can’s Coat

“All good. You did it, Captain!” Can gave him an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

Gao Yang sighed in relief. “Quick. Wake them up.”

He went up to Little Tian and pinched his philtrum. Can did the same thing to wake up Chen Ying and the fake Gao Yang.

“Hm, hm...”

The fake Gao Yang blinked blearily, and Nainai’s voice came out of his mouth. “This...this Empress’...fate will never...end here...”

Can looked at fake Gao Yang. Although she knew Nainai was in disguise, she still couldn’t help but be drawn to the face. Out of selfish reason, she touched fake Gao Yang’s face as she helped Nainai up. “Wake up, Nainai...”

“Ah!” Nainai yelled as she woke up fully.

Instantly, the pain of having her soul burned and the great despair that hit her before her terrible death rendered her a trembling mess. Her eyes quickly brimmed with tears.

She covered her face with shaky hands and clenched her teeth to stop herself from crying. “This Empress...is okay... Wait for me to recover...my true face...”

“Okay.” Can played along and turned to wake up Chen Ying.

Chen Ying’s heart pounded as she regained consciousness. She had been reset before her soul could explode, though, and she didn’t go through the same pain and despair Nainai had experienced. Thus, she was much more composed.

Realizing something, she called out, “Little Tian!”

“He’s fine.” Gao Yang helped Little Tian up as he came to. Then he went up to Chen Ying while supporting the boy.

“Little Tian! Thank God you’re alright...”

Chen Ying rushed to the boy and knelt by his side, reaching out to hug him.

“Go away! Don’t touch me!” Little Tian pushed her away in anger and terror.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have lied to you too. I didn’t have a choice. I’m really sorry... Please forgive me, Little Tian. Forgive your sister...”

Chen Ying wrapped her arms around him tightly, and Little Tian slowly relaxed in her embrace. He broke down crying. “I...I thought Sister was a bad person. I thought Sister wanna kill me...”

“I’ll never hurt you! Never!” Chen Ying burst into tears too.

“Little Tian! Can you still track Dust?” Gao Yang asked.

Little Tian nodded as he wailed. “Yeah, I can...”

“Hop on!” Gao Yang picked him up.

“I’ll drive!” Chen Ying quickly wiped her tears and rushed to the car.

The fake Can, Can, and the fake Gao Yang dove into the back seat.

Once in the car, Nainai immediately turned back to herself with Shapeshifter, her clothes changing too. She wore a sailor uniform with a beige sweater and a checkered scarf on the top; and a pleated skirt, medium-length white socks, and dress shoes at the bottom. Her knees were red from the cold.

She put her hands on the fake Can’s face and kneaded it for about ten seconds, turning the face back into Gao Yang’s, while the body remained the same for the moment.

It proved to be quite difficult to turn the 1.79-meter-tall Gao Yang into the 1.54-meter-tall Can. Nainai did her best, and still, the result wasn’t perfect. While ensuring not to compromise Gao Yang’s mobility and ability to fight, his height was adjusted to 1.57 meters.

Gao Yang had a solution to that, though. He went shopping with Can during the day and bought the long red coat she had been drawn to. Putting on the red coat and heels made “her” look much taller, and unless it was someone who knew Can very well, it would be difficult for others to notice that this Can was 3 centimeters taller.

Considering their gender difference, Nainai hadn’t touched Gao Yang’s hip to thighs to transform the parts, and the long coat served as a cover for that. It was sufficient when Gao Yang was just walking.

Anyhow, the coat helped a lot.

Gao Yang was transformed into a 157-meter Can. The disguise was completed by Nainai transforming his throat and vocal cords to replicate Can’s voice.

Before they set out, Gao Yang had replicated Can’s Invisibility and Hong Xiaoxiao’s Gamer. Nainai, on the other hand, transformed into Gao Yang and gained access to Double at lesser efficiency.

That was the first step to Operation: Snowy Night at the Western Suburban Park.

...

The car soon drove out of the park, leaving a few tracks on the road. Little Tian focused with his eyes widened. “There, take a left at the traffic light.”

“Sit tight!”

Chen Ying made a sharp turn, the car drifting on the snow-covered road.

“Take a right at the second crossroad.” Little Tian continued to give directions.

Chen Ying kicked the accelerator and ran a red light. When she was going to make a right turn, a figure rushed to the crossroad.

Chen Ying started. It was Qing Ling.

Gao Yang recognized her, too, and Qing Ling noticed the car rushing toward her as she dashed at her highest speed. She came to a stop and reached out her left hand toward the car, holding up her weapon to cover her other side.

Gao Yang could guess that something unexpected had happened. However, he had exhausted his energy and couldn’t fight.

“Go straight and accelerate! Don’t turn around!” Gao Yang shouted and teleported to the top of the car, conjuring a bright fireball in his hands.

Two seconds later, the car rushed through the crossroad, passing by Qing Ling. She jumped onto the top of the car gracefully. He caught her and supported her while casting the quite powerful fireball to the right with his other hand.

As expected, “Goldthread” and Luqi were chasing after them.

Dust was indeed cautious as a spy. They had contacted Luqi beforehand to have him on standby in the area in case something happened. Luqi had been hiding three kilometers away, out of the range of Little Tian’s Sensory.

Riding on her blade, Qing Ling was quick to pursue “Goldthread”, but “Goldthread” could adjust their gravity and make themself as light as a swallow, thus allowing a speedy escape.

When Qing Ling chased “Goldthread” past two street blocks, she saw Luqi waiting by the curb as a pedestrian.

“It was a trap! Help!” “Goldthread” shouted at Luqi.

At that moment, the roles of cat and mouse were reversed. Dust and Luqi decided to quickly kill Qing Ling before deciding if they were going after Gao Yang and the others.

Qing Ling had never met Luqi, but she had heard Gao Yang talk about the man and his strange power.

Without hesitation, she shot three Black Gold darts at the enemies and lifted her long blade—getting the hell out of there.

One glance was all it took for Gao Yang to guess that she had encountered a strong enemy. Qing Ling knew that he would decide to retreat given his condition.

Two seconds later, Qing Ling jumped onto the car, and Gao Yang threw a fireball to stop Dust and Luqi from approaching.

When “Goldthread” and Luqi dodged the fireball and reached the crossroad, the car was already too far out. They gave up on giving chase.

“My mission failed,” “Goldthread” said with frustration.

“How did Gao Yang know that you were a spy?” Luqi asked.

“I don’t know.” Suddenly, “Goldthread” came to a realization. “Ke Yo lied to me! She wasn’t the new Archbishop. The assassination was a setup to begin with.”

Luqi thought for a moment before nodding slightly. “That’s the only explanation. You’re exposed, Dust. You can’t return to the Hundred Rivers Union.”

“Goldthread” looked visibly enraged and frustrated. “We’ll kill the Divine Scion together, Luqi!”

“Yeah.” Luqi gazed at the street under the heavy snow with melancholy eyes, deep in thought.