The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 736: Aftermath Report

However, that was the most she could do.

Staying as a giant was exhausting in itself, and she could maintain the state for no more than thirty seconds. Teleporting several kilometers with the giant body once was enough to exhaust her energy fully.

In fact, Nainai was already losing control of her size and shrinking at the end of her teleportation.

In two seconds, Nainai reverted to her original size, and Gao Yang, the unconscious Zhang Wei and Chen Ying, Herb Snail, who could be dead or alive, and Sha Ye’d body fell upon the shoal of Li River with her. Zhang Wei fell a little further and ended up plopping into the river.

“Ack, ack...”

“What...what’s going on... Where am I...”

Zhang Wei choked on water and regained consciousness. He flailed around, thinking he was dreaming.

His death had come so suddenly that he didn’t even know what had happened. Then he blacked out after Gamer brought him back. When he came to again, he was already in Li River.

He quickly swam to the riverbank, his confusion soon replaced by shock and then sorrow, followed by an even greater sense of loss.

Nainai was on her knees and couldn’t get up. Face pale and sickly, she panted in large gasps. However, she was actually in the best condition in the group.

Gao Yang lay prone on the ground covered in bleeding holes and other injuries. While he hadn’t lost consciousness, he had lost all mobility save for his ability to breathe and blink.

Chen Ying was in a coma. While Little Tian had saved her, she couldn’t endure the freezing poisonous mist, and she would’ve died for sure if they had escaped thirty seconds later.

Strangely, Zhang Wei, hit by the same poisonous mist, wasn’t affected too seriously. This wasn’t the first time. Back when the Poison of Hell hit all awakeners during the Crimson Tide, Zhang Wei had suffered little damage, too.

Herb Snail, on the other hand, had lost a third of his body like someone had made a diagonal cut from the top of his head.

His long green hair clumped up in strands with congealed blood, looking like a dirty rug. The pupils of his gray eyes dilated, and his face seemed cold and ashen.

He was dead.

The two shots of Medicine C hadn’t saved his life. They did delay his death, but the freezing poisonous mist still cruelly claimed him.

In the tug of war between the god of life and the god of death, Herb Snail, the rope, snapped. The god of death won.

“Herb Snail!”

Zhang Wei yelled and scrambled to Herb Snail. He noticed to his shock that Herb Snail had written a number on the side of his face that was pressed to the ground.

6, meaning awesome.

Zhang Wei paused, feeling the urge to both cry and laugh.

As expected of the fun-seeking man he knew. He laughed at everyone and everything, including himself.

Even as he met his demise, he made a little joke.

“There’s...someone else...” Nainai reminded him weakly.

Zhang Wei laid Herb Snail’s body down and rose to his feet. His heart sank when his gaze shifted a little further.

It was Sha Ye. The stone pillar that had killed her was gone, but the large gory open wound on her back more than told the story.

She was lying face-down on the ground, clutching onto someone underneath her.

“No, no no no no no no...”

Zhang Wei ran up to her and moved Sha Ye’s body away with trembling hands. The one she was shielding was her daughter.

Wang Weiyan was unconscious. Her mother’s training had worked. The moment she sensed an incoming danger, she activated level 3 Iron Skin on reflex.

She maintained the state even now. And when Sha Ye tackled her, she injected her daughter with the power of Cleansing. This allowed Wang Weiyan to not only survive Azure Dragon’s Strongest Punch, but also continue to endure the poisonous damage inflicted by the mist to a certain degree.

Otherwise, the little girl would’ve already collapsed under the cold and the poison even with Iron Skin activated.

“Dammit, dammit...”

“Fuck! Fuck!”

Zhang Wei cursed loudly with gutting pain, holding the girl heavy with Iron Skin in his arms tightly.

The unconscious girl seemed to have sensed the passing of the danger, and her body reverted to normal. Her chest heaved softly. Her body was cold, but not devoid of warmth.

She was alive!

“Thank God, thank God! Yanyan’s alive. Sha Ye, your little girl’s still alive. Alive...” Zhang Wei tightened his arms around Wang Weiyan, bawling with tears and snot running down his face. He broke down completely, his voice going hoarse.

“I’m sorry... It’s my fault. I should’ve been the one to die... I should...”

“Aghhh!!” Zhang Wei howled. At that moment, he wished to die in their place.

Gao Yang remained down with his face pressed into the ground. Energy and warmth were returning to his body slowly and with great difficulty, yet there was nothing he could do. He needed at least one minute before he could stand up.

He quietly looked at Zhang Wei, hearing his gut-wrenching cries ringing in his head.

He didn’t blink.

A tear quietly fell down his nose bridge.

...

A minute ago, when the giant Nainai vanished, Can, swept away by the shockwave of the explosion, quickly went invisible. She bawled while riding the wind to the office building Nine Frost was. Diving through the window, she fell to a sitting position and covered her face with both hands, losing her voice as she cried.

Nine Frost helped her up. “Stay strong, Can. The fight’s not over yet.”

“Captain, Nainai...I have to...I have to find them...”

“I don’t know where Nainai has teleported to. No one knows. They won’t be found for a while. Don’t worry. They are safe.” Nine Frost tamped down his heartbreak and started packing. “We must move out now. I’ve exposed myself with the shots I made. This place is compromised.”

“Where...where...can we go...?” Can had never felt so broken and lost.

Nine Frost had a place in mind. “There’s a hiding place we can go to. We’ll lay low and then meet up with the others.”

...

Half an hour later, Yan Liang stood amid the ruins of the Starcatching Pavilion with his hands behind his back, waiting patiently in his spot.

Zero Hatred was flying around in the sky, cleaning up the mess voluntarily—no awakened elite monsters within the three-kilometer radius survived his ire. He killed them all mercilessly to vent the anger of not getting to kill people properly.

Correcting Sickle rushed over to make a report.

“The Heavenly Way is beginning its work. The bombed street block is sinking continuously. We better get out of here as soon as we can.”

“Right,” Yan Liang responded calmly. “Brief me.”

Correcting Sickle adjusted his glasses calmly. He remembered all the information in his head.

“Based on the tracks left on site and those who had shown up in the fight, the enemies killed were Lithe Snake, Gray Bear, Little Tian, Chestnut, Empty Life, Wild Range, Shuang Shuang, and Buzhou. The ones that had escaped were Gao Yang, Nainai, Zhang Wei, Nine Frost, Can, Sha Ye, Wang Weiyan, Herb Snail, and Chen Ying. The latter four could be dead or alive.”

“As for the other members of the Nine Scions, Wang Zikai, Green Snake, Hong Xiaoxiao, and Ke Yo, they didn’t seem to have joined the fight tonight.”

Yan Liang nodded and smothered a sigh. He didn’t care about the other members.

The Divine Scion was alive. That was what mattered most.