The Creatures that We Are

Gray Bear stared at the piece of paper for a few seconds, his expression softening with a hint of sympathy flashing through his eyes.

It turned out that Li Huafeng was writing a note for her four-year-old daughter.

She was a mere wanderer, but imprisoned in this subspace by the Heavenly Way, she was forced to relive this period of time again and again while she was none the wiser, still believing herself to be the single mother waiting for Sunday to come so that she could go to the amusement park with her little girl.

Gray Bear returned the note to her and said, “Give it a rest. I have things to ask you.”

Li Huafeng put her note away and easily complied. “Of course, of course. Go on.”

“Do you know where the broadcast room is?”

Li Huafeng immediately responded, “Yes, it’s on the fifth floor, next to the office.”

“Is it locked?”

“It should be.”

“There should be one each in the offices of the superintendent and the director of academic affairs.” Li Fenghua paused to lick her pale lips. “Their offices are on the second floor.”

“Will the door be locked?”

“The superintendent’s office most likely is, but not the director’s.”

That gave Gao Yang a rough idea of what they should do.

“When the school bell rings, the rune corpses should be drawn to the speakers on the walls. We’ll send a few people to the director’s office on the second floor for the key. The rest will stay here on standby.”

The others listened quietly.

Gao Yang continued, “Ten minutes later, the bell will ring again. Then the team with the key will seize the opening to return here, the infirmary on the third floor.”

“We’ll do that.” Nine Frost nodded in approval. “Twenty seconds isn’t enough time to grab the key and rush to the fifth floor. We’ll wait for the next bell ring and go to the broadcast room together.”

“Yes.” Gao Yang turned to the others. “Question?”

They thought for a few seconds and didn’t say anything.

“Make the pick, Nine Frost,” said Gao Yang.

Nine Frost thought for a moment. “Black Sparrow and I from the fourth team along with Seven Shadow and Lithe Snake from the fifth team will go grab the key. The rest of you, keep watch in the infirmary.” ṚάƝO͍฿ЁŠ

Gao Yang maintained a poker face, but inwardly, he was grumbling, Why me? Do I seem like a good fighter to you now that I’ve lost my Talents?

Upon reflection though, Gao Yang knew that Nine Frost had made the sensible decision. While Gray Bear was strong, he was also big and not terribly agile. For this mission, speed was key. Setting aside everything else, Gao Yang was pretty good at running.

Gao Yang said, “We only have this chance. We must know exactly where we’re going.”

“Miss Li.” Gray Bear uncuffed Li Fenghua. “Please draw us a map and make it clear.”

“Yes, yes. I’ll do it.”

Li Fenghua hurriedly took the notepad on her desk and started drawing on it with uneven strokes. “Once you’re out of the door, turn left for the stairs and go down to the second floor, entering the corridor on the right-hand side. That’s where the teachers’ offices are. The director’s office is the second last one…”

Gao Yang and Nine Frost memorized the map.

Then Li Huafeng glanced at her watch. “It’s, it’s almost break time. It’s just a few minutes away.”

“Get ready. Find something you can use as weapons,” said Gao Yang. “It’s dangerous to fight barehanded.”

Lithe Snake didn’t need anything else since he had his shortsword and throwing knives with him at all times. Nine Frost looked around and picked a mop. He took off the mop part and broke the wooden handle with a stomp, turning it into two staffs with a sharp end. Then he threw one to Black Sparrow.

Gao Yang had been looking around as well, and he found a wrench in the toolkit in the corner.

“Ready?” asked Nine Frost.

The three of them nodded.

Gray Bear came up to move the cabinet blocking the door aside. The noises attracted the rune corpses nearby, and their growls could be heard from the outside.

Bam, bam! Bam!

Some began to slam against the door again. Gray Bear and Xiran kept the door shut with their whole bodies and remained as quiet as possible. Meanwhile, the team of four had their weapons in hands, holding their breaths.

After a little more than ten seconds, the commotion died down.

Then after another two minutes, the familiar school bell rang.

They could hear rune corpses growling, and the sound was moving further and further away. They must have been drawn by the speakers.

Gray Bear stepped aside. Nine Frost approached the door and glanced back at Gao Yang, Lithe Snake, and Black Sparrow.

Creak.

Nine Frost gingerly opened the door and peeked left and right before waving them over. The four of them snuck out of the infirmary, closing the door behind them.

On the other side of the hallway, a dozen rune corpses swarmed to the door of one of the classrooms, reaching up toward the speakers playing the school bell while straining their neck. Without hesitation, the small unit stealthily went down the stairs.

They encountered two lone rune corpses.

Immediately, Lithe Snake thrust his shortsword into the brain of one. Then as if to compete with him, Nine Frost pierced through the other rune corpse’s eye socket with the sharp end of the wooden stick in his hand.

No matter how sharp, however, the wooden stick had no blade, and the rune corpse was still alive with the stick pinning it in place, swinging its arms around madly.

Gao Yang slammed its head with his wrench, and with a dull sound, the head shattered.

The two rune corpses collapsed. However, they had already wasted six to seven seconds. They quickly rushed to the second floor and turned left. What they saw after taking a couple steps, however, made them halt in place.

The corridor was about twenty meters long, and the director’s office was at the end of it. However, a dozen and more rune corpses stood between them and the office door. There was a speaker over their heads, playing the school bell.

There wasn’t enough space for the four of them to get around the rune corpses!

Calm down, calm down.

Gao Yang quickly came to a solution and said through clenched teeth, “Leave it to me. I’ll draw them away…”

A hand found his shoulder. Gao Yang turned to see that it was Lithe Snake.

With a cold look on his face, Lithe Snake said, “That won’t do. You’ll die. I’ll do it.”

Gao Yang was shocked. He didn’t expect Lithe Snake to volunteer himself.

Still, Lithe Snake was right. Even without his Talent, Lithe Snake was still their tier 1 combatant given his agility, flexibility, and combat techniques.

Without waiting for a response, Lithe Snake rushed toward the rune corpses and shouted, “Come on! Here I am!”

The rune corpses blocking the corridor immediately turned to him, their keen ears shifting.

Each howling and growling with intense want, they rushed toward Lithe Snake stiffly yet quickly.

Maintaining his calm, Lithe Snake didn’t immediately run away but instead waited for most rune corpses to charge at him before dashing into the stairway, making it down to the first floor.

The rune corpses stumbled down after him.

Pressing their backs to the walls of the second-floor hallway, Gao Yang, Nine Frost, and Black Sparrow remained silent.

Only after the rune corpses had gone downstairs did they rush through the corridor. The school bell had long ended by then.

There remained two rune corpses in the narrow corridor. Nine Frost stabbed the wooden stick in his hand through the eye of one. He used a little too much force, and the wooden stick broke inside after almost going through the rune corpse’s head.

Nine Frost let go of the stick and kicked the rune corpse away.

Gao Yang had taken care of the other one with his wrench. It toppled to the floor.

Without the time to make another strike to ensure the rune corpses’ deaths, they jumped over the rune corpses on the floor and rushed to the second last office on the left, pushing the door open and closing it behind them.

Just when Gao Yang took a steadying breath and looked up, he saw that there was someone inside the office.

“Freeze!”

A man was holding a gun with both hands, aiming at the three of them.

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