The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 578: Trio

Gao Yang was still holding the Guard Rune Circuit. He stared at it, in disbelief.

What are you doing, Gao Yang? Why would you make such a stupid mistake? Haven’t you lost enough since your awakening? Do you want to lose Wang Zikai, too? Wait, no. Given Wang Zikai’s strength, you’ll be losing your life instead.

Hurry, think about how you should talk your way out of it. Perhaps he’ll be fooled.

The rational voice in Gao Yang’s head told him that, but at the same time, he was so tired of it, and the feeling overwhelmed his rationality.

“Rune Circuit,” Gao Yang said, feeling no fear.

Might as well. I’ll stop acting.

Come on, Wang Zikai. Wake up if you’re a hidden elite monster and give me a quick end. It doesn’t matter who kills me anyway. Better to just die at your hands.

If the Mist World is a novel, I’ve lost my patience with it. I just want to get to the last page.

Wang Zikai was still staring at Gao Yang, his expressions changing and his gaze unreadable.

“Gao Yang...”

After a two-second pause, Wang Zikai smiled suddenly. “Is this a gift for me?”

Gao Yang blinked and played along. “Yes.”

“It’s a good luck charm, right?” Wang Zikai vaulted over the sofa and sat down next to Gao Yang, taking the Guard Rune Circuit from him. “I gave you one last time, so you got me one too.”

“Ha, yeah.” Gao Yang nodded. “It’s to keep you safe.”

Wang Zikai weighed it in his hand before biting on it. “Shit! What is this made of? It’s hard!”

“Black Gold.”

“Black Gold?”

“A special metal,” Gao Yang said. “It’s good for killing monsters. Qing Ling’s weapons are made of Black Gold.”

“Monsters?” Wang Zikai didn’t get it.

“An umbrella term for lizard people. Well, lizard people are actually only one type of monster,” Gao Yang explained calmly. “Monsters are what you have to kill to save the world.”

“Monsters.” Wang Zikai tested the word at his tongue, his furrowed brow quickly relaxing. “Whatever. They’re all bad things to be taken out.”

Like a child who had just gotten a new toy, Wang Zikai considered the Rune Circuit in his hand. “Why isn’t my name on it? Can a hole be put into it? I want to wear it like a necklace.”

“Why don’t you give it a try?”

Wang Zikai clenched his right fist. Three sharp bone claws shot out of the back of his hands, and he tried to make etchings on the Rune Circuit.

Sparks sputtered and piercing sounds tortured their eardrums, but no marks were left on the Rune Circuit.

“Holy shit! This is dope! Much better than the lucky charm I gave you. I got a good bargain!” Wang Zikai quickly gave up on putting a hole into the Rune Circuit. Carefully, he tucked it in his pants pocket. “Thanks.”

“Don’t lose it,” Gao Yang said. “There are only twelve of them in the entire world, and this is one of them.”

“Haha, worry not.” Wang Zikai pounded on his chest and lowered his voice on purpose to roughen it. “I’ll never part with the lucky charm as long as I’m alive!”

“Yeah.” Gao Yang nodded.

Ding. The sound came from the microwave in the kitchen.

Wang Zikai rushed into the kitchen. “Ah, the wings are done. A sec.”

Gao Yang sat on the sofa, lost in his thoughts.

He had been so worried about Wang Zikai’s monsterhood waking up for so long, and many times it seemed like it was going to happen, and all hell would break loose. He didn’t expect things to turn out this way.

Wang Zikai was a monster, but he would never hurt Gao Yang, it seemed.

—You told me that it was fate for the Divine Scion and the Malediction to be born, that fate couldn’t be stopped.

—Was it fate too for there to be Wang Zikai, an unreasonable yet warm existence?

A smile appeared on Gao Yang’s slightly pale face. It was the first time he had ever smiled the past few days. There was a mocking abandon to it and a hint of fearless madness.

Whatever card you have up your sleeve, fate, use it.

Whoever backs down is the loser.

...

“The wings are here...” Not long after, Wang Zikai walked out of the kitchen happily with the roasted chicken wings and spicy chicken noodles. He quickly shut himself when he glanced at the sofa.

Gao Yang had fallen asleep, sinking into the sofa.

He hadn’t slept properly for many days, but he was sleeping soundly now, even looking quite cozy with his brows relaxed.

Wang Zikai placed the food on the side and tiptoed to the sofa, picking up the blanket and covering Gao Yang with it. Then he turned off the screen with the remote control on the tea table.

Noises came from the window then. Wang Zikai quickly looked up to see a girl wearing a large red cape vaulting in. It was Fresh Snow.

Her eyes lit up. “Gao...”

Whoosh. Wang Zikai moved so fast that it looked like he had teleported to the window, and he muffled Fresh Snow, almost making no noises.

“Hmmmm...”

“Hush. He just fell asleep...” Wang Zikai said quietly.

“Hm!” Fresh Snow’s eyes moved, and she nodded.

Wang Zikai slowly let go. “Why are you here?”

“I came to hang out with Gao Yang...” Fresh Snow whispered. “He’s not home, and he’s not at school. This is the only place he could be.”

“Oh, you’ve gotten smarter.” Wang Zikai praised with a smirk.

Fresh Snow made a face at him. It didn’t make her happy at all to be complimented by Stupid Kai.

They gingerly made it to the sofa and knelt before Gao Yang, holding their knees as they stared at Gao Yang’s sleeping face with full attention.

After a moment, they both smiled fondly.

Wang Zikai noticed that a strand of hair had jumped out from the top of Gao Yang’s hair. He reached out to brush it to the left, and the strand of hair leaned left, but still popping a little out rather than joining the rest of the hair.

Fresh Snow looked at it and moved the strand of hair to the right, but it didn’t seem like it belonged there, either. It still stood out a little rather than blending with the other part of Gao Yang’s hair.

“Pfft...”

They quickly smothered their laughter.

Fresh Snow stood up and carefully sat down on Gao Yang’s right, pressing her legs together and resting her head on his shoulder.

She fell asleep in less than ten seconds.

Wang Zikai paused. Seriously? She just fell asleep? What about me?

He sat down on Gao Yang’s left, picking up the controller and starting playing the game for a while in silence, colorful lights dancing on his face.

After a while, he was getting sleepy too, and he kept yawning.

His eyes fell close, and his head drooped, falling on Gao Yang’s other shoulder.

Outside the window, the dawn was just breaking the gray blue sky, a band of warmth gently lifting the shroud of the night. Pleasant morning breeze rippled the shimmering surface of the river, sweeping over the shoal and the garden to sneak into the villa.

Inside the messy living room, three people snuggled on the sofa, sleeping soundly and comfortably.

The moment was serene like a rest in the turbulent tune of fate.