The Creatures that We Are

Truthfully, Gao Yang couldn’t be certain it was Li Zhuanghu, but his intuition hadn’t failed him yet.

The burning auditorium cast a faint light on the farside of the running track. There stood a group of shadowy figures. None of them moved. And given their formation, they looked like a cross in a graveyard from a distance.

The one standing at the center of the cross flickered a red light, blinking like the beacon of a sailing vessel.

Everyone froze.

“Captain, they…seem to be moving,” Can said with a tinge of fear.

Gao Yang had noticed that already.

The group was slowly approaching them.

They became clearly visible when they moved to the center of the running track. The figure at the heart of the formation was indeed Li Zhuanghu, now a monster that had become one with the Rune Circuit. And around him, there were more than fifty rune corpses.

Each of them was covered in red veins, along which red energy flowed like parasites. Their empty eye sockets glowed a crimson red, flickering in tandem with the Rune Circuit in Li Zhuanghu’s chest, where his heart should be.

Gao Yang had basically confirmed his hypothesis. He said in a thin voice, “We were right. Li Zhuanghu can control rune corpses, but there’s a limit to the range or the number.”

“So it’s impossible for us to isolate Li Zhuanghu and kill him,” Nine Frost concluded.

“Do, do we run?” Can’s voice trembled. “How are we going to beat them…?”

“The Rune Cave is only as big as the school. Where else can we run to?” Lithe Snake quietly drew the shortsword at his waist. “We fight with all we have.”

Gao Yang didn’t say anything. He was still observing.

The rune corpses surrounding Li Zhuanghu could be divided into three circles. The outermost circle consisted of twenty rune corpses, the second circle, about a dozen, and the innermost circle, about seven.

The outermost circle of rune corpses didn’t rush straight toward Gao Yang and his companions, but split into two wings for a pincer movement, while the rest advanced upon them slowly under Li Zhuanghu’s leadership.

Gray Bear spat out blood and wiped his bloodied beard. “He’s looking to erase all of us.”

“We’ve eliminated most of the rune corpses, and Li Zhuanghu felt the threat we pose.” Gao Yang calmly analyzed. “Monsters that have mutated under the influence of a Rune Circuit possess a certain level of intelligence, and they strictly follow their obsession from before their death. Li Zhuanghu hated the world. He sought to kill everyone…”

“Cut the crap, Captain, and give us the orders,” Lithe Snake cut him off. “I don’t want to die here.”

Gao Yang was taken aback. It was the first time Lithe Snake ever called him ‘captain’.

The others turned to him as well, looking to him for instructions.

At some point, Gao Yang had become the de facto leader for this mission.

He took a deep breath.

Calm down, think, and make a decision.

“Can, Yellow Butterfly, run now. You should be able to draw some of the rune corpses away, but don’t engage them in a fight. Only fire at them when you can’t outrun them.”

“Copy that!”

“Got it, Captain!”

Can and Yellow Butterfly exchanged a glance and ran toward the left side of the running track. About seven rune corpses broke away from the two wings to chase after them.

“Gray Bear, Nine Frost, Black Sparrow, Old Joe, and Ronnie, split into two teams. Draw as many rune corpses away from Li Zhuanghu as possible.”

Nine Frost waved a hand. “Old Joe, Ronnie, take the left with me. Gray Bear, Black Sparrow, go right.”

“Understood.”

The five of them broke off to the sides and drew the rune corpses that were meant to surround them.

The outermost circle of rune corpses had all been pulled away.

“Xiuyi,” Gao Yang said. “Take out the commander, and we win the fight. Shoot him!”

“Understood!”

Xiuyi drew the composite bow and nocked an arrow, shooting at Li Zhuangu from forty meters away. Swoosh! A rune corpse fell silently, its head pierced. It had taken the fatal hit for Li Zhuanghu.

Swoosh! Another arrow was shot. This time, a rune corpse took the hit with its chest. It didn’t fall down, but instead continued to advance, only at a slower speed.

The light in Li Zhuanghu’s eyes surged suddenly, and as if receiving his command, the few rune corpses before him dashed toward Gao Yang, Lithe Snake, and Xiuyi.

Soon, they closed their distance by half, which meant they were now within the attack range of Lithe Snake’s throwing knives.

Swish, swish!

Two throwing knives hit each of the two rune corpses in the eyes. One collapsed, while the other slowed but didn’t stop. It continued to charge at them.

“Attack when you spot an opening, Xiuyi! Come on, Lithe Snake!”

With the shouted command, Gao Yang gripped the crowbar in his hand and rushed toward the rune corpses.

Lithe Snake charged alongside him with his shortsword.

Splat.

The roughly made but sharp crowbar pierced through a rune corpse’s temple. Blood splattered like spring.

Bang!

Then a gunshot was heard from the shaded path.

…

Yellow Butterfly and Can ran across the running track and reached the concrete stairs leading to the shaded path.

“Hurry!” Yellow Butterfly realized Can wasn’t with her when she reached the stairs. She turned around and saw that Can was still on the running track.

“Come on, Can!”

“Some rune corpses turned back. I have to draw them here!” Can trembled, but she still mustered the courage to shout at the rune corpses. “Come on! I’m here!”

Hearing her voice, the two rune corpses that had turned back rejoined the other rune corpses. The one closest to Can was now only two meters from her.

Just when she was about to turn to run, the rune corpse lunged at her suddenly.

Caught off guard, Can didn’t have enough time to avoid it.

Bang!

A bullet hit the rune corpse in the head with great precision. It staggered and collapsed by Can’s feet.

Can was disoriented. Her head was ringing from the gunshot in close proximity, and she couldn’t hear anything else.

Someone grabbed her hand. She turned to see that it was Yellow Butterfly.

The two rushed to the shaded path. As they ran, Yellow Butterfly chastised her, “That was too close! How am I going to face your captain if you die?”

“I, I’m sorry…” Can said guilty. “I, I just wanted to do more to help.”

“And you do it when it’s the right time! Don’t repeat the mistake!” Yellow Butterfly scolded her, acting as the leader of the unit of two.

“I see my mistake.”

Can took the criticism well. Then she gave Yellow Butterfly an admiring look. “You’re such a good shot, Sister Yellow Butterfly. You made a headshot with only one try.”

“The Guild provides firearms courses and shooting training every month. Don’t you ever attend?”

“No,” Can said, shamefaced. “I skipped all of them.”

Yellow Butterfly smiled wryly. “Are you going to skip more classes going forward?”

“Never.”

They spoke as they ran, looking back at the rune corpses every once in a while to make sure that they were still following.

Soon, the pair reached the concrete clearing at the school gate. Yellow Butterfly looked around and picked up a brick, slamming the backseat window of one of the sedans.

Clang!

The window shattered.

Yellow Butterfly cast the brick away and reached through the window to open the door. “Get in! Now!”

Can quickly dove into the car. Then Yellow Butterfly followed and shut the door.

In less than ten seconds, the group of rune corpses caught up with them and surrounded the car. The two women pressed themselves toward the side where the window was still intact. Holding the gun with both hands, Yellow Butterfly took two deep breaths to steady her heartbeat.

A rune corpse growled as it squeezed itself through the broken window.

Bang!

The bullet penetrated its skull, and the rune corpse collapsed, hanging on the broken window, its blood dripping down from the top of its head.

Back pressed against the curled up Can, Yellow Butterfly kicked the rune corpse away with both feet.

A few seconds later, another rune corpse attempted to make it through the window.

Bang!

Another point blank shot. The rune corpse was hit in the head.

Then Yellow Butterfly kicked it off the same way, waiting for the next rune corpse to come to its death.

Including the earlier shot, the six bullets ended up killing six rune corpses with headshots. Yellow Butterfly hadn’t wasted a single chance.

Can gaped, unable to recover her jaw.

“Sister Butterfly! You’re awesome!” Can gave her a thumbs-up. “You’re a real heroine! Relationship ends with Captain. You are now my new crush!”

“Save the flattery for after we’ve dealt with all of them.” Yellow Butterfly took the rebar from Can. Meanwhile, the last rune corpse was reaching through the window.

“Hah!”

With a yell, Yellow Butterfly shoved the rebar through the rune corpse’s eye socket, from which viscous blood flowed. It didn’t die, but continued to swing its arms around in an attempt to grab Yellow Butterfly.

“Help me! Push!” Yellow Butterfly’s face flushed red.

Can placed both hands on her back and pushed.

Splat!

The rebar pierced through the rune corpse’s head, protruding from the back of its skull. Finally, it died and collapsed silently, stuck in the window frame while bleeding.

“Open the door!”

Can opened the door on her side, and the two of them climbed out of the car.

Can looked around. They had dealt with all the rune corpses chasing after them. She let out a long breath and wiped away the sweat on her face.

Without resting, Yellow Butterfly said, “Let’s go back and help!”

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