The Creatures that We Are

“Has there ever been a traitor among the Nine Scions?”

Chen Ying shook her head. There hadn’t been one.

“Over the years, the three organizations had been frequently changing members, defecting, planting eyes and spies, even getting infiltrated by the Godbearer Cult and thus losing harmony.”

“Meanwhile, all members of the Nine Scions are recruited from other organizations, yet they are so united that it may as well be a cult.”

“They don’t have any mediocre members, do they? But they stay loyal to Gao Yang. Outside of his personal charm, it has to be about the work culture.”

Zhang Wei continued, “Simply put, they are on the right path and everyone can see a better future. Thus, they are willing to follow him.”

Chen Ying had a newfound respect for Zhang Wei. She had considered him a simple social butterfly with a tendency to boast, but it turned out that he had formed quite a clear view of the situation.

Sensing Chen Ying’s wavering, Zhang Wei prompted, “Sister Ying, we can’t just think about ourselves. If we want to go, we take as many with us as possible and save as many of them as we can. We can’t just watch as our brothers and sisters jump into a burning pit.”

Chen Ying held his gaze. “Your suggestion?”

“Let’s put it all out in the open.” Zhang Wei grinned. “We gather the third team and tell them the truth. Those who will come with us may come, and the rest will stay.”

Chen Ying considered the suggestion carefully. She hadn’t wanted to take many with her, but listening to Zhang Wei’s analysis and considering that she had to play her role as a traitor well, it was still necessary to have a gathering of truth.

Chen Ying made up her mind, “Alright. But it’s dangerous. We have to plan the whole thing out without making mistakes. We don’t have a lot of time. Only three days.”

“Don’t worry!” Zhang Wei pounded his chest. “Leave it to me.”

The two of them had a secret conversation in the bathroom for two hours, laying out every detail of the plan.

Once the day broke, Zhang Wei left Chen Ying’s place.

To make the act convincing, Chen Ying walked Zhang Wei to the elevator, and they held each other like lovers would. Before Zhang Wei left, Chen Ying sorted out his tie and said a few sweet words to him.

Zhang Wei walked away in large strides, his expression satisfied.

At eleven o’clock at night the next day, Chen Ying collected the two clothes left on her balcony for drying, but she quickly returned indoors in thirty seconds.

She headed to her bedroom to fold her clothes before putting them in her closet, all with anxiety brewing in the back of her head.

She went back to the living room and sat on the sofa, turning on the TV and putting on a drama she wasn’t actually watching, doing her best to calm herself.

Ring.

Her doorbell rang suddenly.

Chen Ying jumped. Who could it be this late at night?

She cautiously rose to her feet and felt the Black Gold handgun hidden by her waist, slowly making it to the door. Aiming the gun at the door with one hand while approaching the peephole, she took a quick look outside.

It’s them! Chen Ying thought with surprise.

…

New Cemetery, Dongyu District, early in the morning.

A creek ran along the feet of the hill cemetery into the Li River, forming a triangular shoal. There sat an abandoned sand mining ship, near which was a sand treatment plant that hadn’t seen any use for years.

Inside the large, rundown factory sat piles of sand and a large clearing where mattresses, sleeping bags, tents, and old sofas were placed. Basic everyday necessities and two boxes of supplies were on the side.

Compared to the villa in the Li City Community, the living conditions were atrocious, akin to a gathering place for homeless people.

But rules were rules.

They must not stay in a place for too long, and they must not stay at only comfortable places. Their choices for temporary bases must be unpredictable and random. Then even if the Qilin Guild did discover their tracks, the tracks couldn’t be used to narrow down the area of investigation.

The sand treatment plant no longer had electricity, so the lights were off. The moonlight was bright, though, and streaming through the windows, it drew the lines of everyone’s face and lit the eyes.

When Nine Frost received Chen Ying’s message, he immediately rushed back to the sand treatment plant and held a meeting.

An hour ago, Chen Ying had given Nine Frost a message through his Telepathy while she was collecting clothes from the balcony. She went back in after a few words.

[Go! We’re exposed! I’m targeted! I’ll go to you with some people and Rune Circuits. Let’s talk about the details tomorrow morning at the Golden Arch!]

Nine Frost cut off Telepathy immediately after receiving the message, wiping away cold sweat. Ever since Dust was found, Nine Frost had become increasingly confident that they would be able to flush out the Godbearer Cult, and he trusted Gao Yang’s determination and capability to get revenge more and more.

Encouraged, he reaffirmed his belief, and Weak Point reached level 7, pushing Telepathy from level 4 to level 7, too.

Level 7 Telepathy came with a substantial improvement. Not only did the range of communication increase to a staggering 1.5 kilometers, but he could also create a group communication line of seven—himself included—for five minutes with a one-day cooldown.

With a pair of tactical binoculars in hand, Nine Frost was 1.5 kilometers away from Chen Ying’s place. Whoever was watching Chen Ying would not have discovered him. Had his Telepathy been level 4, forcing him to stay 500 meters from Chen Ying’s place, though, he could’ve been found.

Nine Frost immediately returned to their base and discussed the matter with everyone.

Gao Yang quietly pondered on the sofa.

They all reacted differently to the news.

“Haha, Chen Ying’s forced into a corner too. That’s a good thing!” Gray Bear was excited. “She’s coming with Rune Circuits and people. We’re getting a real boost of power!”

“Yeah!” Hong Xiaoxiao was optimistic too. “Sister Ying seems like a good person, and Captain’s worked with her many times. It should be alright.”

“She’s trustworthy, but those she brings may not be,” said Qing Ling.

“Agreed.” Nine Frost nodded. “Given Chen Ying’s personality, she will not abandon her team and come alone. Were she the cold-hearted type, she would’ve joined us at Captain’s invitation long ago.”

Nine Frost turned to Gao Yang and warned him cautiously, “We can’t be sure if there are spies among her team. If Nine Scions’ base is found, we’ll be in great danger.”

“Nine Frost.” Gray Bear shook his head. “You fear this and that and everything. How’s Nine Scions going to get stronger? We didn’t start this group to always be in hiding. We’re chasing the dawn, but where’s dawn? I barely see the sun.”

The atmosphere was tense.

Everyone turned to Gao Yang, waiting for him to say something. He slowly looked up at those who hadn’t said anything. “What do you think?”

Nainai crossed her arms with a black cape around her shoulder, standing on a pile of sand. “Hmph! It’s fine. This Empress will…”

“Shut up.” Qing Ling could guess that she didn’t have anything constructive to say, so she stopped the girl from giving another spiel.

“This is kinda difficult…” Wang Zikai stroked his chin with a deep frown, troubled.

He seemed to think differently about the matter.

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