The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 745: Focus on the Future

Miss Suzuki couldn’t hide her shock. Before she could say anything, though, Wang Zikai took off his winter hat and put it on her, pulling it down to cover her eyes. Then he produced a pair of gloves and shoved them into her mouth.

He quickly tied her up and left her in the bathroom, closing the door.

“Wang Zikai...” Gao Xinxin felt conflicted after witnessing the whole thing. “She just helped us. Is this really right?”

“It’s for her good,” Wang Zikai said. “If she turns into a lizard person, I’ll have to kill her.”

Gao Xinxin paused before nodding.

“Come on in.”

Wang Zikai waved Gao Xinxin and Raven Shark into the operating room.

Vermilion Bird lay on the surgical bed. Her wounds had been sutured and bandaged, and clothes had been put back on her.

Wang Zikai leaned in and had a whiff. The smell of decay was no longer mixed with the smell of blood. She should live.

He turned to Raven Shark, “Hey, will she wake up?”

Raven Shark lowered his head and slowly shook it. “Qilin’s Eidos...none have woken from it...”

Wang Zikai scratched his head irritatedly. After a few seconds of thinking, he gave up. “Whatever. As long as she’s alive.”

He would leave the rest to Gao Yang.

“What do we do now?” Gao Xinxin asked. “Do we stay here, or hide somewhere else?”

Were Wang Zikai alone, he would never hide like a coward, but he was traveling with kids here with an immobile person in tow. He wouldn’t be able to protect everyone if they encountered an enemy.

“Let’s head back to the cabin for now.” Wang Zikai glanced at Raven Shark. “Pack up. Bring food and medicines.”

Raven Shark nodded and walked out of the operating room.

Wang Zikai opened his wallet and took out all the dollar bills, handing them to Gao Xinxin. “Put this in the doctor’s pocket. I’ll untie her before we leave.”

Gao Xinxin was just about to take the money when she stopped.

“What?” Wang Zikai asked.

“Nothing.” She reached out to take the money but grabbed Wang Zikai’s wallet instead.

“Hey, what are you...”

Gao Xinxin had a good look. The photo in the wallet was indeed of the three of them.

Wang Zikai was closest to the camera with a toothy grin, making a peace sign. Behind him were Gao Yang and Gao Xinxin at the dining table. The siblings were having a playful fight over something.

It was back in the underwater restaurant in Naldives. They had been so happy then. Granny and Mom and Dad were still around. The five of them had said that when Gao Xinxin graduated from high school three years later, they would come back to the restaurant.

“Wait, let me explain...” Wang Zikai panicked. “I didn’t sneak the photo. I was taking a selfie, and you happened to be in the frame...”

“Wang Zikai.” Gao Xinxin stared at Wang Zikai with dark eyes.

“What-what?” Wang Zikai had a bad feeling about this. He quickly snatched his wallet and protected it with both hands. “This is my photo. You’re not...”

Then Gao Xinxin broke into a smile, the stiffness instantly gone. “It’s a good photo. Print two more out so that my brother and I can each have one.”

“Oh!” Wang Zikai relaxed and beamed. “That’s nothing. You got it.”

...

Underground chamber, three in the morning.

The hyperloop rail under the Qilin Guild was complicated. With the one under the Walled City of Ten Dragons being the central node, the system connected the White Lake Hotel and other important nodes, including several underground secret chambers unknown to anyone.

Dr. Jia’s underground laboratory was one of them. Now, Qilin and Yan Liang were meeting at another.

The room wasn’t big, but it was well-equipped with medical instruments and everyday necessities. There were eight hospital beds, divided by simple screens.

Three beds were claimed, each by Azure Dragon, Succubus, and Xiao Xin.

The three of them were connected to feeding tubes. Xiao Xin had the most number of tubes in him, including one in his nose and mouth for oxygen. He would be in a deep coma for at least nine months.

Qilin and a masked Yan Liang stood by Azure Dragon’s bed, watching him quietly.

“Azure Dragon will wake up in three days,” Yan Liang said. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep an eye on him twenty-four-seven. He’ll be safe.”

Qilin nodded.

“With Vermilion Bird out of the picture, though, Azure Dragon won’t be able to recover immediately once he wakes up,” Yan Liang said regretfully, but the regret was short-lived. “If you’ve made up your mind to take her out, why not kill her?”

Qilin was silent for a moment, his green eyes glinting under his glasses.

“You’re being overly confident, Qilin. Although there is no way for someone to recover from Brain Fibrosis at the moment, there can be one in the future. We both know that ridiculous miracles abound in this Mist World.”

“I know.” Qilin nodded gently.

Yan Liang paused. “So, you plan to take her with you?”

“We’re companions, or we were,” Qilin said calmly. “Let’s leave her survival and destination to fate.”

“You really are...” Yan Liang sighed. “Fine. At least her Talent won’t go to anyone else with her alive. It’s not a bad thing.”

“Let’s focus on the future.”

“Of course.” Yang Liang nodded. “We still have enough medicine made with Vermilion Bird’s vital energy to last us until the end of this war. However, we need an explanation for her disappearance, or her team may start trouble.”

“Vermilion Bird’s on a secret mission,” said Qilin. “That’ll be the official story for now.”

“Alright. And if she’s found dead somewhere, it’s Nine Scions’ doing.”

Qilin didn’t respond.

Yan Liang added, “Ah, the Hundred Rivers Union has agreed to merge with us. Madam Li seems to consider Gao Yang the biggest threat to humanity. We agree on the necessity of killing Gao Yang.”

“However, the Union hasn’t reached a consensus on this. Some support the merger, and some are against it. We’ll have to use both coercion and rewards to slowly bring them into the fold.”

“Oh, and I’ve more or less tamed Zero Hatred. He did fine in the operation this time. Although he’s still a mad dog, at least he won’t bite one of our own.”

“The Twelve Zodiac Signs refused to lend us the Element Rune Circuit. Perhaps you should let him reach level 4 with the Miracle Rune Circuit. It’s Elemental after all. We need a power-up as soon as possible.”

Qilin pondered for a moment before nodding. “Okay, but it has to be under my watch the whole time.”

Yan Liang nodded. “Of course. We need to stay away from the Nine Scions for a while anyway. Consider it a time of preparation.”

Qilin adjusted his glasses. “However, the Miracle Rune Circuit doesn’t work with everyone. I once lent the Rune Circuit to White Tiger so that he could level up Absolute Defense, but nothing happened after two days.”

“I know, but it doesn’t hurt to try,” Yan Liang said easily.

...

January 6th, three o’clock in the afternoon.

Underground base of the Hundred Rivers Union, Nanji District.

All the members were at the base. They split the work as much as possible and busily set up the rooms, sorted out the job titles, and reallocated the living quarters for the members.

Two days later, all members of the Qilin Guild would join the Union, and the two factions would officially become one. There would be no Qilin Guild and Hundred Rivers Union going forward, but only the Ocean River Union.

The underground base in Nanji District was the new headquarters for the Ocean River Union.

That was a decision jointly made by Surnamed Li and Qilin. After the serious damage Yan Liang did to the Nine Scions, the Nine Scions would surely be on a crusade for vengeance. There was a possibility that they might go after the weak and the innocents.

Without Elder White Tiger and his Absolute Defense, the Walled City of Ten Dragons and the White Lake Hotel were no longer safe.

For everyone’s safety, all members of the Ocean River Union had abandoned their mundane identities and opted to stay in the underground base, where it was safest.

In a small meeting room, three people gathered. They were the three team leaders of the former Hundred Rivers Union: Colorless, Zhong He, and Liao Liao.

Colorless took out a small jammer from her pocket and turned it on, throwing it onto the meeting table. The Black Gold orb rolled to the center, making ripples of white noises.

Arms folded and legs crossed, Colorless got right to the point.

“I’ll be frank with both of you.”