The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 965: Mess Up

Whoosh. A figure awash in gold teleported into the living room.

Gao Yang had returned to the S Base as quickly as possible. No time for caution; he'd given himself an energy armor and teleported right in, ready for a fight.

But no fight broke out. There wasn't even anyone inside.

Gao Yang's heart clenched. He almost couldn't breathe.

Using Psychic Armor to calm himself, he dashed into Gao Xinxin's room—the one she shared with Lovely Lamb, Wang Weiyan, and Vermilion Bird.

Bam! He knocked the door open. The room was empty.

A second later, he whirled around and teleported into Gregor’s study. No one.

Then he checked the other bedrooms, the kitchen, bathrooms, and storage. He checked the whole base. No one.

Gao Xinxin, Gregor, Vermilion Bird, Zhang Wei, Zhong He, Lovely Lamb, Wang Weiyan, and Quiet Book were all gone.

Gao Yang returned to the living room and calmed himself. He looked for clues.

First, the front door was shattered. On the floor were a few drops of dried toothpaste foam. There was no toothbrush in sight.

Then outside the study, he saw dried blood stains and a dim Black Gold hairpin.

Psychic Armor’s cooldown ended. Gao Yang took a deep breath and forced down his tremble and despair.

A thought struck him. He went over the rooms again, and indeed, the personal belongings of those who had disappeared were all gone—most likely to prevent One Stone from using Tracking.

Gao Yang took out his phone and took a deep breath, calling Gao Xinxin.

...

City Library, Xijing District.

In the record room on the second floor, Gao Xinxin and Gregor sat cross-legged by a bookshelf. Cold moonlight shone from overhead at an angle, illuminating their heads. Gregor had a small flashlight in his mouth as he read through a book on traditional cultures for his writing.

Dressed like a boy with a baseball cap, Gao Xinxin sat by him with a lollipop in her mouth, impatient. “Let's go already. Just bring the book home.”

“I can't!” Gregor said seriously. “This is a rare material that cannot be found online. What if someone wants to read the book in the future? If I just steal it, I'll be preventing the knowledge from being disseminated. That'll be bad karma.”

“Tsk.” Gao Xinxin approved. “Although you're a terrible adult, you're an ethical writer.”

“Thanks.” Gregor continued flipping through the pages, taking pictures with his phone whenever he saw something important.

Gao Xinxin sighed. Originally, she and Gregor were not to leave the base, but the Nine Scions would do their best to grant Gregor's wishes as long as it didn't violate their principles.

Someone would've run the errand for Gregor tonight if not for the circumstances. Now, though, everyone was out on a mission. And Gregor was the kind of person who had to resolve writer's block no matter what as quickly as possible; otherwise, he would throw a tantrum and rage, becoming a human disaster.

Resigned, Gao Xinxin had said she would run the errand for him.

That, however, worried Gregor. “It's too dangerous for you to just go out on your own. If something happens to you, how am I going to explain myself to your brother?”

So they went out together.

Despite everything, Gregor was still an awakener with a top twelve Talent. After Pestilence reached level 4, not only was his poison much more potent, but his overall ability had improved significantly, too. It was easy for him to scale and vault walls and break windows open.

“Hey, hurry!” Gao Xinxin couldn't help but urge him after thirty seconds. For some reason, she had been feeling anxious.

“Just a sec. Only a few more pages to go.” Gregor flipped through the pages more quickly, taking pictures nonstop.

Buzz. Suddenly, Gao Xinxin's phone rang. She started. It was a call from “Bro”.

Her heart sank.

“Hello?” Gao Xinxin took the call.

“Where are you, Gao Xinxin?!” Gao Yang’s growl surprised Gao Xinxin.

“In, in the library.”

“Why are you there?! Taken by Qilin?”

“No, no. I came to the library with Gregor. He was making a fuss and insisted on looking up something...” Gao Xinxin was going to explain further when what Gao Yang said made her shout, “What?!”

Her face paled and her eyes reddened in the next thirty seconds. Her hand holding the phone was shaking.

“Done!” Gregor had been so absorbed that he didn’t even sense Gao Xinxin’s unusual reaction. He closed the book with a thud and turned to her. He started. “Whoa! Why are you crying?!”

Face covered in tears, Gao Xinxin said, “Gregor, we’ve...messed up big time...”

...

Gao Yang ended the call.

He stood unmoving for ten seconds before collapsing onto the sofa, nearly fainting.

Thank God. At least...at least Gao Xinxin's alright.

Get yourself together, Gao Yang. Think of something. Think of a solution.

He took out his phone and called the others. As expected, none of his calls were picked up.

Thud. A black shadow rushed into the base, stopping by Gao Yang's side. War Tiger.

Then Adept Horse, Wang Zikai, Heavenly Dog, and Nainai rushed in, all stunned by what they saw.

War Tiger, Nainai, and Wang Zikai had run into Heavenly Dog and Adept Horse on their way back. Unable to teleport through walls, the five of them had taken longer than Gao Yang to navigate through the sewage system.

“Where are they?” War Tiger held Gao Yang's gaze.

“Gone.” Gao Yang activated Psychic Armor once more and put on a calm face. “I arrived three minutes before you, and they were already gone. Almost no sign of battle. They were likely taken without a fight. Gao Xinxin and Gregor happened to be out on an errand and dodged a bullet.”

“Qilin?” War Tiger frowned. Only Qilin would be able to take so many people by force without a fight.

“Most likely.”

“How did Qilin find this place?” War Tiger's voice tightened. “We've been careful.”

“I don't know.”

Bam! War Tiger whirled around and kicked the tea table into the wall. It shattered.

He growled, “What the fuck is this?!”

Lovely Lamb, Wang Weiyan, and Vermilion Bird were taken. They could've been killed and turned into puppets by Qilin. The thought alone made him lose all ability to think rationally.

Heavenly Dog and Nainai fell silent, faces ashen. Wang Zikai opened his mouth but didn't know what to say; as long as Gao Yang and Gao Xinxin were alright, however, he wouldn't lose it.

“Uncle Tiger.” Adept Horse went up to him. “Calm—”

“How could I?!” War Tiger shouted. “If Qilin even lays a hand on Lovely Lamb, I'll fucking skin him alive! I'm gonna break open Dragon's coffin now! The son of a bitch is dead—”

“Vice Captain!” Adept Horse raised his voice.

War Tiger halted, wakened by Adept Horse's call. That was right. He was the leader of the Twelve Zodiac Signs. If he acted like this, how about the others? He must not break down and give himself into a blind rage. That would be foolish. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

He took out a cigarette and shoved it into his mouth, craving the familiar comfort, but then remembered he was trying to quit. He crushed the cigarette and cast it to the ground.

The whole process calmed him quite a lot.

Adept Horse reached out to Gao Yang. “I know I'm in no place to judge you, Brother Yang. But unlike me, you're the leader of the Nine Scions, the one leading all of us. You must pick yourself up immediately and take action.”

Gao Yang looked up at Adept Horse. Three seconds later, he took his hand.

Adept Horse pulled him to his feet.

“Meeting commences.”