The Creatures that We Are

A few seconds later, Gao Yang pulled back. “Alright. You’re done.”

“Huh?” Can broke out of her reverie. “Oh, you were replicating my Talents?”

“Yeah,” Gao Yang said. “I’m borrowing your Invisibility and Gale.”

“You’re free to use my Talents, Captain. There’s no need for the politeness.” Can smiled bashfully, but there was still something that confused her: the misleading touches weren’t necessary for replicating her Talents.

Then Gao Yang took out a measuring tape. “Now, tell me your height, weight, three sizes, shoulder width, and leg length…”

“Is…is that part of the mission?” Can was caught off guard again.

“Yeah.” Gao Yang nodded with a smile. “Nainai told me that my first time could easily fail due to nervousness. It’s best to know your body first so that I can ease into it…”

“Ah!” Can was so shocked that she shoved him away. “Captain! It’s too sudden! I’m sorry, I’m not prepared yet…”

Gao Yang blinked and broke into an awkward smile. “I should’ve made myself clearer. I’m going on a mission as you, and it’s my first time using Shapeshifter. Without prior experience, I’m prone to making mistakes with only what I know by looking at you. That’s why I want to know you better.”

Realization hit Can like a truck. She became entirely red and wanted nothing but to hop on a spaceship and escape the solar system.

…

“I wanna die…” Can turned around with lingering embarrassment and buried her face in the pillow.

“Hm…our company…our company uses state-of-the-art technology…” Hong Xiaoxiao mumbled after getting woken up by Can, but then she rolled away and quickly fell back to sleep.

…

When Gregor woke up, he found himself sitting in a swivel chair with nothing but darkness around him. It looked like an enclosed room.

“Hm…”

He felt lightheaded. There was a bitter taste at the tip of his tongue, and his fingers felt numb.

Suddenly, a fire ignited in the darkness before him. It came from the tip of a finger like a weak candle, behind which was a young man’s face.

“Hello, Mr. Gregor,” Gao Yang greeted with a smile.

“Who, who are you?” Gregor stared at him.

“I’m the head of the Nine Scions.”

Gregor stared at him blankly for a few seconds before propping himself upright with his hands on the chair. He asked, “Where’s my laptop?”

“Don’t worry. It’s here.”

Gregor sighed in relief. His laptop stored the large volume of writing materials and research he had accumulated, as well as his abandoned drafts. While he had deleted those drafts, they could still be of use.

Gregor looked at Gao Yang, whose face was illuminated by the weak fire. “Speak. What do you want from me?”

“Just like the three organizations, I would like to ask you to join us,” Gao Yang said unceremoniously. “I took you here to invite you.”

“Let me say this again…” Gregor took a deep breath and glared at him with widened eyes, shouting, “I just want to fucking write my novel in peace! ”

“If you continue to bother me, I’m really gonna do it! I’m gonna poison all of you fucking…”

“Sure,” Gao Yang said decisively.

Gregor thought he had heard wrong. “What? Sure what?”

“I agree.” Gao Yang smiled. “You may quietly write your masterpiece without thinking about anything. The apocalypse has nothing to do with you. Those from the three organizations won’t be bothering you every day.”

“If we can leave the Mist World, I’ll come and get you. You may continue with your writing. Worst come to worst, we’ll all die together if we don’t find a way out. What do you say?”

“For real?” Gregor wasn’t convinced.

“For real,” Gao Yang said. “But I’m afraid you’ll have to stay here.”

Gregor leaned back into the chair and frowned. “Although I rarely get out, there’s a big difference between staying at home willingly and being imprisoned.”

“This isn’t a bad place to be. There’s a month’s worth of food and water.”

Gao Yang patiently explained. “My subordinate will come by every week to resupply. If you need anything, just tell him. We’ll do our best to satisfy you. Moreover, there’s access to the internet here. The IP is concealed, though, and we’re monitoring all online activities.”

Gregor nodded. “Sounds pretty good.”

“Deal?”

“Deal. I’ll consider this a writer retreat.” Gregor thought of something. “Oh, can you send women here to spend the nights with me? I only need some company for two to three days every month. I prefer older women who know they are sexy.”

Gao Yang shook his head. “I’m afraid not.”

After two seconds of silence, he made a compromise, “I can’t get you real women, but silicone ones I can try to procure for you.”

Gregor waved him away in disappointment. “Forget it. I’ll just go without. I won’t let my desires break down my will.”

“Then I hope inspirations be with you and you’ll write twenty thousand words every day.”

Gao Yang stood up and walked to the side to flip the master switch on the wall. Crackle. The lights turned on instantly.

Gregor was momentarily stunned. He had thought he was put in a cramped, rundown room, but it turned out to be a large basement with warm designs. Every electronic he would need was here, and there were seven rooms, all coming with a bathroom.

Gao Yang pointed at a red button on the wall. “If there’s an emergency, press this, and my people will rush here immediately.”

“And don’t try to run away since you’ve accepted the deal, or I won’t promise you safety.”

“I get it.” Gregor went up to the fridge and took a bottle of beer, already feeling at home. He turned around and asked, “Cigarettes?”

“In the drawer of the desk in the study.” Gao Yang used Lie Detection on him while speaking.

—The target didn’t lie, and he was neutral.

A minute later, Gao Yang left through the only exit of the basement: a waterproof metal door disguised as a wall.

It was pitch black outside. With a wave of his right hand, Gao Yang conjured a fireball to light up the place.

It was a dirty, damp, and dark sewerage with a maze of crisscrossing pipes. When the water level rose, the area would be completely submerged, making it difficult to even get out of the basement.

In the past, this was one of the secret bases of the Twelve Zodiac Signs, but it’d been abandoned for years. War Tiger made the decision to gift it to the Nine Scions.

Gao Yang took some time to get out of the sewerage. Then he teleported through the manhole to an alleyway. It was late at night. A man stood by the road. It was Lithe Snake.

“You got a deal?”

“He wouldn’t join us, but accept the alternative,” said Gao Yang. “Visit him every week going forward. Remember to bring Hong Xiaoxiao and her hairpin just in case.”

Lithe Snake’s eyes glinted.

Gao Yang glanced at him. “Something to say?”

Lithe Snake scoffed. “Why don’t we just kill him? Since he won’t join the Nine Scions, he’s going to be a threat to us sooner or later.”

“Even if we kill him, his Talent won’t go to us. We have the fewest people and thus the lowest chance of acquiring Pestilence. We’ll only be benefitting the Hundred Rivers Union.”

“And Gregor isn’t a bad person. The Nine Scions do not kill the innocents.” Gao Yang gave Lithe Snake a look. “Didn’t you live by that when you were a mercenary too?”

Lithe Snake smirked. “I don’t remember since it’s been too long.”

Gao Yang started walking. Lithe Snake followed.

“How’s Ke Yo?”

“Vermilion Bird and One Stone stick close to her. I never have the chance to approach her.”

Gao Yang had an idea. “I’ll think of a way.”

Houseau3's Thoughts

As someone who only leaves the house once every week to get groceries and maybe go to the gym, that doesn't sound like a bad deal🤣

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