The Creatures that We Are

“It was Guildmaster.”

Xia Li nodded and turned slightly to the side, changing into a more comfortable sitting position with her two legs crossed on the sofa.

Under her long white coat was a pair of jean shorts. Her fair thighs and calves were extended into a straight line.

“For real?”

Gao Yang put on a flattered look, when in truth he was more shocked than anything. He had done his best to lay low. How did he attract Qilin’s attention?

“Here’s the thing.” Xia Li blinked quickly. “So the Twelve Zodiac Signs found the two Rune Circuits, right? One of them is shared with the Hundred Rivers Union, but that doesn’t really change anything. At the time, we had an internal meeting, gathering all higher-ranking leaders of the Guild to talk about the news.”

Gao Yang nodded.

“Someone brought up Dark Horse, Green Snake, and Yellow Ox then.” Xia Li smiled. “You and your two friends.”

“Why the three of us?”

“It’s simple. The Twelve Zodiac Signs found two Rune Circuits not long after you officially joined the world of awakeners.”

“It could be a coincidence.”

“It could be, or it could be something else.” Xia Li shrugged. “Who knows? Guildmaster Qilin proposed a hypothesis then.”

Xia Li extended a finger, “Perhaps someone among the three of you has a Talent that directly or indirectly increases the chance of finding a Rune Circuit.”

Gao Yang startled, but he didn’t let it show.

Xia Li continued, “Then Black Tortoise said that the Guild could recruit you if Guildmaster Qilin was so interested in you. We would settle for getting one of you, but of course, it would be best if we could get all three.”

“So that’s what happened.” Gao Yang came to a realization. “You were going to recruit all three of us in the first place. Black Tortoise only sought me out first because there was an easy way to contact me.”

“That’s not the case.” Xia Li shook her head with a smile. “Guildmaster Qilin wanted you in particular. The other two were simply part of the package deal.”

“Why?”

“You have Lie Detection, for one, and we knew there could be a spy in the Guild.”

Gao Yang wasn’t surprised by that. “Elder Black Tortoise told me about that.”

“And Guildmaster believed that if one of you truly had a Talent that helped find Rune Circuits, you were most likely the one to have it.”

Gao Yang didn’t say anything.

“According to our intel, you have three Talents: Replicate, Fire, and Lie Detection. You must know how rare it is for an awakener to have three Talents. That alone makes you special.” ＲàΝŎ₿Ê𐌔

“From what we know about Talents, many of them come with strange abilities. For example, Aptitude, the serial number 150 Knowledge-type Talent, increases one’s chance of comprehending a new Talent.”

“And the serial number 12 Support-type Talent, House, makes sure that the Talent owner always has a 51% chance of winning.”

“Oh, and there’s the Talent on the bottom of the list, Lucky. Although we don’t really know what it does, it should make you lucky as the name suggests, right? Maybe whoever has it will stumble upon money on the street every day.”

Gao Yang’s breath hitched when she mentioned Lucky.

“Anyhow, Guildmaster believed that we should work hard to win you over. Even if you didn’t have a hidden Talent that helps you find Rune Circuits, you would be a good asset worthy of our investment.”

“Weren’t you worried about getting on my former employer’s bad side?” Gao Yang asked wryly.

“Not really.” Xia Li smiled confidently. “We are the stronger organization, and at the end of the day, power is everything in this world. Besides, we didn’t kidnap you or anything. We made you an offer, and you took it.”

Gao Yang didn’t know what to say about that.

Xia Li said with feeling, “And Guildmaster is proven right. You found us two Rune Circuits as soon as you joined. My jaw dropped when I heard that. I thought Black Tortoise was pulling my leg!”

“You may think I’m lucky,” Gao Yang said self-deprecatingly, mixing lies and truths. “I, however, consider my luck in the gutter. Every time I entered a Rune Cave, I only ever narrowly escaped death.”

“But you survived.” Remembering those who had been killed in action, Xia Li sighed softly. “Still, six companions were too heavy a price to pay.”

They fell silent for a while.

There was nothing more Gao Yang had to say. He rose to his feet. “Thank you, Sister Xia. I’m taking my leave.”

“Okay. Safe travel.”

Xia Li stood up to walk Gao Yang out of the room. “Seven Shadow, I’d have to tell Azure Dragon and Guildmaster about your visit here tonight. It’s the rules.”

“Of course.” Gao Yang nodded.

…

For safety, Gao Yang didn’t dare dally outside for too long. He caught a ride to the dorm at the White Tiger branch and decided to rest there for the night. In the morning, he would go straight to school.

Once he entered the lobby, he made it to the member elevator in the back and punched in the code, riding it to the 50th floor.

Gao Yang went straight to his room. On the way, he walked past a room with the door opened, and an awakener in pajamas yelled at a wanderer service staff.

“What the hell! The AC stops working again! Are you trying to kill me with heat?”

“Apologies, sir.” The wanderer bowed in apology. “I’ve contacted maintenance for you.”

Gao Yang came to a sudden halt, a thought flashing through his mind.

Two seconds later, he quickened his steps and went back to 5007, locking the door behind him.

He opened the safe and took out the diary of the former captain of the fifth team, Three Air. He placed it on the desk.

Gao Yang rose to brew himself a cup of coffee and grabbed a pen and paper. Sitting down at the desk, he started to go through the diary thoroughly.

Again and again, he read and reread the last ten entries of the diary and went through every word, making hypotheses and proving or disproving them like he would a test paper. He repeated the process tirelessly.

…

Day broke at some point.

Gao Yang’s eyes were red and swollen, and his expression serious.

He put the diary back into the safe. Then he turned to go back to the desk, grabbing the few sheets of paper he had drawn on.

Crackle.

The paper quickly burned into ashes.

Gao Yang had found some shocking clues, but it would be remiss of him to make reckless moves before he confirmed the information.

First, there was something important he had to do.

…

In the morning, Gao Yang went to school.

On the blackboard was ‘5 Days’ in large writing, counting the days until the entrance exams came.

Gao Yang spent half the time reviewing, and the other half making plans in his head.

At noon, he called Wang Zikai and gave him an emergency mission.

Wang Zikai wasn’t wholly awake yet, and he was reluctant to move now. Gao Yang had to talk him into doing it. “This is for the 94 Duo. We will make a name for ourselves this time!”

Wang Zikai’s spirit went from 0 to 100 in an instant, and he shouted, “No problem! Leave it to me!”

After evening self-study, Gao Yang walked out of the school gates.

Wang Zikai’s sports car was already parked on the other side of the road, standing out like a sore thumb.

He took off his sunglasses and swept his arm. “Come on, bro! Let’s go home!”

Houseau3's Thoughts

I'd say it'd be weirder for people to not notice there's something unusual about Gao Yang😂

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