The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 620: Special My Ass

Underground base of Hundred Rivers Union, Nanji District, two o’clock in the morning.

“What gives you the right, what gives you the right to do this to me?!”

Zhang Wei’s holler rang through the corridor leading to the special cell. His hands and feet were both in Black Gold shackles since he wouldn’t cooperate and insisted on resisting, even throwing a tantrum. In the end, his two teammates had to seize his elbows and carry him away.

Legs lifted off the ground, Zhang Wei kicked around like a pig about to be slaughtered. The man on his left was in his forties, dressed in orange clothes for mountain climbing. He was tall and strongly built, his brown hair thick and hard. His square face gave off a slightly stiff impression, but with his full forehead and bright eyes, he seemed experienced yet friendly.

He was Wild Range, with Talent: Hunter, serial number 148, Knowledge-type. He was a member of the Union’s third team, under Chen Ying’s leadership.

The man on Zhang Wei’s right was in his thirties, and he was tall and thin with long grayish-green hair parted in the middle. His gray eyes were unfocused, his lips curled into a perpetual careless smile.

He was Herb Snail, with Talent: Intangibility, serial number 79, Support-type, also a member of the third team.

“Will you stop it already, Zhang Wei?” Wild Range said resignedly. “We’re just following orders. Taking your anger on us isn’t going to do anything.”

“That’s right.” Herb Snail seemed to be in a good mood, his expression spelling schadenfreude. “Think of it as a paid leave. Isn’t that awesome?”

“Awesome my ass!” Zhang Wei cursed. “You're not the one getting locked up, of course you would be able to say that. You fucking fun-seeker!”

“Hahaha!” Herb Snail seemed even happier.

“Do you think I seem like a spy, Uncle Range?!” Zhang Wei shouted. “It’s so unfair!”

“I believe you, of course, Young Zhang. How can someone with your intelligence and ability be...” Noticing Zhang Wei’s expression darkening further, Wild Range quickly course-corrected. “Ahem, but this is a decision reached by the leadership after their meeting. For everyone’s safety, please bear with it until Dust is found.”

“I won’t! I’m filing a complaint! An appeal! I want an open and fair vote on this issue!” Zhang Wei continued to resist, but to no avail.

Soon, they reached the special cell, and Zhang Wei got thrown in. The cell door slammed shut.

“Let me out! I’m not a spy!” Zhang Wei pounded on the metal door before he started kicking it, his shackles clinking as he moved.

After a while, he exhausted himself, and his voice became hoarse. With his back against the metal door, he sat down.

Head lowered, he cried a tear of humiliation. “Fuck!”

“Zhang Wei.” A voice came from the other side of the door.

Zhang Wei perked up. It was Chen Ying, his leader.

“Sister Ying!” He turned around and pressed his face to the door. “I knew you wouldn’t abandon me! Quick, let me out! Tell Madam Li that I’m not a spy, I’m really not!”

“Calm down, Zhang Wei.” Chen Ying sounded guilty. “I’ve never suspected you, but you’ve gotten the message from the Qilin Guild too.”

Zhang Wei paused. Of course he had gotten the message.

Chen Ying sighed. “Seven Shadow is a member of the Godbearer Cult and the head of Tails, and he’s been hiding his Talent, Lucky. You have Confidence, and it’s a Talent that’s too special for us to ignore...”

“Special my ass!” That further fueled Zhang Wei’s anger. “The Talent’s fucking garbage. It’s totally useless. I’ll give it to anyone who wants to have it! I’ll gladly exchange it for any of your Talents.”

“Don’t worry, Zhang Wei,” Chen Ying assured. “You won’t be here for long. Once we find Dust, you’ll no longer be suspected.”

“What if you never find Dust? Do I have to stay locked up here? Dust’s been undercover for ten years and never got discovered. You think you can just find them now?”

Zhang Wei lost control of his emotions. “The Mist World is only going to last for another year, and I’m just gonna wait for my death in this hellhole? Does it seem fair to you? What entitles you to do this to me...”

“We’ve narrowed down the suspects, Zhang Wei. Things are different now, and the Godbearer Cult is itching to make a move. We’ll soon identify the traitor.”

Zhang Wei wanted to argue, but he knew it wouldn’t do him any good. Nothing he said would change anything. This wasn’t Chen Ying’s decision to make.

His shoulders sagged. “Ha, whatever. I’ll stop wasting my breath. I only have myself to blame. Were I not a weakling, I wouldn’t be ordered around like a dog, with no dignity at all...”

“Don’t say that, Zhang Wei...”

“Did I say anything wrong?!” Zhang Wei shouted at the door. “The entire third team consists of weaklings, Sister Ying, and we’re at everyone’s mercy! Shit always rolls downhill to us! Have you forgotten how Cheng Xin’s team looked down on us? Has Madam Li ever spoken up for us? No, she turned a blind eye!”

“Ha, what are they being all arrogant for? I may be a dog, but the Hundred Rivers Union is the kennel! All these years, haven’t we taken enough shit from the other organizations? Qilin Guild can just say whatever it wants and has it become the truth. Just because they slandered Seven Shadow and called him a bad guy, the leader of the Tails, I have to be locked up as well?”

“Seven Shadow’s the Divine Scion! His parents died to save us! His grandmother died too! He himself almost died. He killed the Malediction and the leader of the shadowstalkers! He found several Rune Circuits at the risk of his life!”

“He did all that for everyone, but just because he kept a Rune Circuit hidden—and it was the last thing his father left him with—Qilin wanted to kill him, going so far as to make up the lie that Seven Shadow had been colluding with the Godbearer Cult. What bullshit!”

“I’ll say Qilin’s humanity’s greatest...”

“Shut it!” Chen Ying snapped, her face pale.

Zhang Wei closed his mouth after a pause. He knew he had crossed a line.

He didn’t actually think Qilin was a villain. All these years, while the Qilin Guild had been overbearing, they had done many things for awakeners, and their reputation wasn’t earned through force alone.

Still, Zhang Wei couldn’t accept the treatment easily. The whales were welcomed to fight among themselves. Why must a small fry like him bear the consequences?

“Zhang Wei.” Chen Ying took a deep breath. “I promise that I’ll prove your innocence as soon as I can. Give me some time.”

Zhang Wei had calmed down after the outburst, and he started feeling guilty. “I’m sorry, Sister Ying. I shouldn’t take it out on you and say all that...”

“Don’t think too much of it and rest well. I’ll check up on you.”

“Yeah.”

Chen Ying’s footsteps grew distant before soon quieting. Sitting against the cool door of the cell, Zhang Wei put his arms around his legs and buried his face in his knees, trembling and clenching his fists.

After leaving the cells, Chen Ying walked across the office floor to find Little Tian waiting for her outside the elevator, dressed in a suit for boys that made him look meek.

After losing his parents, Little Tian had been living with Chen Ying. She was like his older sister and somewhat of a mother figure. When there was no one else around, Little Tian always called her Sister.

“Let’s head home, Sister.”

“Yeah, let’s.” Chen Ying put on a smile and took his hand, walking into the elevator.

The door slowly closed. After some hesitation, Chen Ying said, “There’s something I’d like to ask you to do for me, Little Tian.”

“Okay,” Little Tian readily agreed. “What is it?”

“You must keep it a secret.”

“I will.”