The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 486: Smoker

Li City sparkled with light at night, the neon colors catching the eyes. A few figures flew high in the sky. Carrying the weight of three people, Heavenly Dog’s flying speed was slowed somewhat.

Holding onto Heavenly Dog’s neck tightly, Little Tian closed his eyes and concentrated on Sensory.

After about ten minutes, when they were going to leave the Shanqing District, Little Tian opened his eyes, which glinted with a deep blue light. “Got it!”

Heavenly Dog stopped flying.

Holding onto Heavenly Dog’s hands, Officer Huang and Gao Yang both looked up at Little Tian. Officer Huang was burning with worry, but he didn’t want to distract Little Tian, so he didn’t say anything.

“I sensed them. One, two, three...” Little Tian closed his eyes again, frowning. “There are seven in total.”

Gao Yang started. Seven? Tails had sent half of its members this time.

Little Tian continued, “Brother Heavenly Dog, they’re on our two, about a kilometer away.”

“Got it.” Heavenly Dog immediately flew in that direction, asking faintly, “Can we really defeat them with such a small number?”

Gao Yang didn’t answer. Eyes narrowed, he looked down below. It was the oldest train station in Li City, having been abandoned for years. Over the past two years, there had been plans to turn it into a tourist sight, but the construction kept getting delayed.

There were about a dozen railways and eight rusty train cars, surrounded by wire fences. And that was all there was to the old station. The wire fences had been long broken, though, and the train cars became shelter to the homeless and old scrap collectors.

Gao Yang called Gray Bear. The phone was picked up with reluctance, and the man said hoarsely, “Hello...”

“The old train station in the Shanqing District, come with reinforcements immediately!”

Gray Bear jerked awake, “Now? How many should I bring?”

“As many as possible. We’re eliminating the Tails.”

“Understood!”

Gao Yang hung up. The five of them were now right above the station. Heavenly Dog quickly descended. When they were about two hundred meters away from the ground, Little Tian called out, “Watch out, Brother. Someone’s coming...”

“The Tails?” Gao Yang asked.

“No, not them.” Little Tian shook his head, looking a little confused. “It seems to be a wanderer, but it’s strange...”

“Here they come!”

Riding on her blade, Qing Ling was the first to spot a figure lifting off and flying toward them. Two seconds later, everyone got a clear look at the old scrap collector. He was frail, bony, and dressed in tattered clothes and covered in grimes. On his thin, sickly face, his eyes widened with terror. His face was covered in sweat.

Body stiff and lips twitching, he seemed to want to say something, but couldn’t form the words.

Gao Yang could sense that the poor old man had been lifted into the air by an invisible force.

The old man was still quickly approaching them, almost reaching their altitude. Gao Yang pushed his six senses to the max and finally made out what he was muttering.

“Save...save me...”

[Warning...]

The moment the system warning sounded, a thought flashed through Gao Yang’s mind. He remembered one of the bottom Talents—Firework.

“Scatter!” Gao Yang shouted.

Boom!

A second later, the scrap collector blew up into a brilliant and captivating firework of elements, the destructive power no lesser than that of a small bomb. It looked like colorful paints had been splashed onto the black canvas that was the sky.

One second before the explosion, Gao Yang, still holding onto Heavenly Dog’s hand, had teleported Heavenly Dog, Officer Huang, and Little Tian fifteen meters away. Qing Ling had sprang to action too, jumping down quickly to avoid the dangerous elemental bomb.

Qing Ling fell toward the train station, not in a rush to summon her Tang Dao to catch herself. Meanwhile, Heavenly Dog and the others saw about seven people rushing toward them—all homeless people and old scrap collectors under the Talent’s control.

Badstard! Gao Yang cursed in his head, shouting, “Heavenly Dog, protect Little Tian!”

Then he grabbed Officer Huang’s arm, and without missing a beat, Officer Huang let go of Heavenly Dog.

Gao Yang had already replicated Heavenly Dog’s Fly. He carried Officer Huang toward the ground, while Heavenly Dog flew with Little Tian on his back.

Boom, boom boom!

Beautiful elemental fireworks continued to shoot through the night sky. Heavenly Dog and Gao Yang dove and turned and soared like two fighter jets, avoiding the exploding wanderer bombs amid the brilliant elemental power, the flickering light casting light and shadow on their faces.

On top of a train car in the old train station stood a man.

He had long limbs and cruel facial features. His brown hair was unusually thick, and so was his brown body hair, making him look like a chimp that hadn’t fully evolved into a human.

He was wearing colorful shorts, a white sleeveless shirt, and a pair of flip-flops, as well as a floppy black fisherman’s hat on his head. On his nose perched a pair of small brown circular sunglasses.

Hands raised toward the sky, he manipulated the wanderer fireworks while grinning, revealing his yellowed teeth.

“Art! This is art! You’re gonna appreciate it or else!”

Below the train car stood No.10, Cockroach, No. 6, Madam Wu, and No.11, Xing Kong.

“Fireworks! Fireworks! I wanna play too...” No.10 drooled and clapped like someone with a mental disability.

Xing Kong’s missing arm had been replaced by a robotic prosthetic. He stared up at the sky with a half-smile.

Scowling, Madam Wu muttered to herself, “Smoker, the mad monkey!”

Smoker, No.4 of Tails, Talent: Firework.

He could freely manipulate the elements inside the body of those he had touched for more than one second or those who had stayed within his twenty meters radius for more than five seconds.

His hobby was turning enemies into fireworks, launching them into the sky and detonating them. He believed that to be the ultimate art of life.

“Fireworks! More fireworks!” Smoker continued to shout.

“There’s no other outside of us here!” Madam Wu said crankily. “Wanna detonate all of us too?”

“Hahaha, great! Blow up, my art...” Smoker had lost his mind to his work.

Madam Wu cursed under her breath. “The crazy monkey. The spectacle is going to attract all three of the organizations.”

“What are you afraid of?” said Xing Kong. “With Edmond here, they can’t do anything to us.‘

“What is Edmond doing? Why grabbed the pregnant woman?” Madam Wu glanced at the abandoned train car nearby, confused.

“It’s an order from the higher-up,” Xing Kong said carelessly. “How should I know?”

Smoker continued to dance and shouted on the train car, while the fireworks had run out.

He sensed a wave of killing intent coming from above. Two little things were stabbing at the back of his head.

Although he couldn’t see them with his naked eyes, he could sense them. He tried to manipulate them, only to find that he couldn’t—the only element he couldn’t control was Black Gold.

Smoker dodged out of the way. The two Black Gold darts ended up burying into the top of the train car, clanging.

As soon as Smoker rolled to a stand, Qing Ling rushed into his space and made a slash at him, the blade glinting a silver light.

Smoker was more agile than he seemed. With a back flip, he dodged the slash that should’ve bisected him while reaching toward Qing Ling.

Qing Ling froze, feeling the cells of her entire body halting before boiling quietly.

Smoker smirked in satisfaction. In two seconds, you’ll be mine!

What a pretty girl. You’ll make the most beautiful firework!