The Creatures that We Are

It was Gao Yang, dressed in a retro white trench coat and wearing a black half-mask.

Holy! As expected of the leader of the Nine Scions!

Even his dream is epic!

Zhang Wei got pumped up, turning into a fanboy of Gao Yang’s then and there.

“Did you make this…” Chen Ying looked at the giant dragon train before her. “For a particular purpose?”

“No,” Gao Yang admitted. “This is my first time using Sweet Dream. I wanted to find out the limit of creating things in the dream.”

“I based this on the Three-legged Crow in mythology. That was the plan anyway, but for some reason, the thing ended up incorporating cyberpunk elements and turned into this.”

Chen Ying became speechless. So he was just bored.

“It’s cool! You’re like a dragonslayer!” Zhang Wei went for flattery.

Gao Yang jumped off the dragon train and stood with light illuminating him from behind. “This is the end of the Nine Scion’s tests and the necessary process to eliminate the objective risks. Welcome to the Nine Scions. We’re companions from now on.”

Gao Yang had suddenly dropped his posturing and treated them politely and earnestly, leaving the others at a loss.

Is this emotional manipulation? Chestnut grumbled silently and looked around. Since the others didn’t say anything, she kept her mouth shut too.

“Now, allow me to ask you one last question.”

Gao Yang extended a hand with a smile. “Can the Nine Scions trust you?”

He used Lie Detection at the same time. Inside Sweet Dream, the Talent didn’t have a cooldown.

…

The next day, ten o’clock in the morning.

The Starcatching Pavilion, Feiyang District.

The Starcatching Pavilion was a well-preserved old building and a famous tourist site in Li City. Built upon a highland at the city center, the place consisted of a stone bastion of 800 square meters and a tall five-story tower standing at the top of the hill, named the Starcatching Pavilion.

Many were drawn to the place by its fame. The tourist site was open to visitors from seven in the morning to ten at night, and the crowds were endless.

They either walked along the bastion walls surrounding the pavilion or climbed the pavilion to look over the beautiful Li City and Li River, taking pictures and posting them online.

Under the foundation of the Starcatching Pavilion, there was a large basement. In ancient times, the place was temporarily claimed by the military, and the basement stored a great amount of food supplies and armaments.

There had been a fatal collapse in the basement years ago. Thus, the basement was blocked off and closed to the public.

No one knew that the place had been secretly renovated and reinforced with soundproofing, turned into the Nine Scions’ temporary base for the next ten days.

Outside of the members taking turns patrolling, everyone else hid in the basement during the day. Only at midnight would the secret door to the basement be opened to air the place. Members were assigned to take care of the everyday trash and human waste and to do a supply run.

The Feiyang District was a territory of the Qilin Guild. No one would have imagined that the Nine Scions would be hiding here, and at such a frequently visited tourist site at that.

When Chen Ying and her group woke up, they were already in the basement. They didn’t even know where they were.

Still, the place was much better than the auditorium. It was dry and tidy with bright light and sufficient supplies. The toilet and bathroom were well divided. Outside of the basement being enclosed with no sunlight, there was nothing wrong with the living conditions.

Zhang Wei was satisfied, too. Finally, he found excitement in the clandestine life.

During the seven days of the Crimson Tide, the awakeners had all met and gotten to know each other, the only exception being Wang Zikai.

Still, Gao Yang and Chen Ying organized a formal gathering of…late-night snacks, introducing the members and building rapport.

Then they had a meeting and discussed their future plan.

They came to a consensus: now that the Nine Scions had increased its number to 21 people, almost as many as the Qilin Guild, they had acquired greater power but also increased the risk of getting found.

Chen Ying’s team mostly consisted of support-type awakeners with lesser fighting power. If they were found, they stood little chance of surviving. Thus, the Nine Scions had to relocate to another isolated island, the candidates including Snow Nation, Island Nation, and Ni Nation.

Chen Ying had just defected with her people, though, and the Qilin Guild and the Hundred Rivers Union would’ve guessed that the Nine Scions were going to relocate, and there would be eyes on the Li City airports, train stations, highspeed rail stations, and harbors.

It would be risky even if they moved one member at a time with Nainai’s disguising Talent. Thus, they had to lay low for a while.

Just to be safe, no members of Chen Ying’s team may step out of the basement for the time being.

Chen Ying and the others didn’t oppose that.

With Little Tian’s Sensory, the Nine Scions would know everything that happened within the three-kilometer radius. They would be able to detect any danger first thing before it hit.

Gao Yang had replicated Little Tian’s Sensory, too, and since it was a passive ability, Gao Yang could activate the Talent and not be limited to the 20-second use time as long as the Talent wasn’t interrupted.

Given his high Willpower, he could keep the Talent running for hours without issue, which lifted much of the weight on Little Tian.

The first day of new blood joining the Nine Scions passed like that.

Zhang Wei’s excitement cooled into boredom. He paced around the base looking for people to chat with.

Wild Range was implementing discrete alarms around the basement. Crouching down, he pulled a thin thread slowly while moving back, his footsteps silent.

When Zhang Wei came over, he said proudly, “Not even a rabbit would see the thread, but if something touched it, I’d know.”

“Your worry is misplaced, Uncle Range,” Zhang Wei said dismissively. “With the top guns of Nine Scions patrolling outside and Little Tian and Captain using Sensory in turns, you won’t be the one to notice even if a danger hits. We will have long be gone then. Come on, play cards with me. I’m bored out of my mind.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Wild Range stood up and dusted his hands. “It’s a habit now. Every time I go to a different place, I have to lay down security measures first, or I won’t rest easy.”

Zhang Wei organized a card game with Wild Range, Buzhou, and Wang Zikai.

Zhang Wei and Wang Zikai hit it off immediately. Both were pathological boasters, but there was a difference. Wang Zikai’s boasting was mostly based on facts, such as his killing spree in the Gu Family’s Village, taking out the Elite, Forest Crane, with one punch, and exchanging blows with Elder Azure Dragon.

On the other hand, it was difficult to tell if there was truth to Zhang Wei’s boasting. He boasted that when all awakeners collapsed from the Poison of Hell, he was the first to wake up. And he said that when meeting Qilin’s gaze, everyone around him felt an unexplainable pressure from the man, while he felt nothing and even a little amused.

Shuang Shuang was getting bored, too, and she quickly joined the girls’ talk group of Hong Xiaoxiao, Can, and Ke Yo. They had snacks as they talked about topics they were interested in. As the only married woman in the group, Shuang Shuang also got into topics only to be discussed in private. The other girls blushed as they listened, their hearts racing.

Empty Life sat in a corner on her own, quietly meditating.

The first time Nainai saw Empty Life, she saw a grandmaster in recluse in her. Nainai believed it was the trait she lacked as an Empress. Thus, Nainai tiptoed to Empty Life’s side and meditated with her. It didn’t go well, though. Nainai kept getting distracted. Just when she started to get into the flow, a shout interrupted her.

“I don’t care! I’m not staying here! I hate it here!”

Houseau3's Thoughts

TBF I'd try to make the most extra stuff if I have dream power too

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