The Creatures that We Are

“You’re…” Officer Huang’s eyes glinted with recognition. “A member of Goldthread’s team?”

Back when the three organizations fought to survive the Crimson Tide together, the Twelve Zodiac Signs and the Hundred River Union’s Team Goldthread had headed to the running track of the Li City University to destroy the altar. They ended up having a difficult fight with Sir Wei. This young man was among the team.

Officer Huang hadn’t completely forgotten about him, but it was a surprise that he had comprehended a high-ranking Talent like Phantom.

“How could you forget my name, Yellow Ox? We had been through a life-and-death situation together.” The man smirked. It was difficult to tell if he was joking, or actually felt vexed.

“You’re Zhong He, aren’t you?” Mischievous Monkey remembered. “Your Talent is Keen Hearing.”

Keen Hearing, serial number 111, Buff-type. It granted one extraordinary hearing.

“Tsk.” Zhong He was still staring at Officer Huang. “See? Even Sir Monkey has better memory than you.”

Officer Huang’s expression darkened, his tone cold. “What you did was dangerous. I could’ve killed you for breaking the protocol on Rune Circuits as agreed by the three major organizations.”

“It’s a misunderstanding,” Zhong He said carelessly. “I’m not the type to retaliate against those who looked down on me after rising in power.”

Officer Huang patiently speculated about his intention. “You’re here to borrow the Element Rune Circuit for leveling up?”

“Yeah, I’ve gone through the necessary process with White Rabbit from your organization. She told me that you had the Rune Circuit, and that I should get the Rune Circuit from you.”

“She told you to get the Rune Circuit from me, not make a grab for it.”

“You misunderstood again, Yellow Ox.” Zhong He came up to Officer Huang with his hands in his pockets. “I just heard. You reached level 4 didn’t you? Wouldn’t it then be my turn? According to the rules, I had to demonstrate my Talent so that you’d know I didn’t lie. I was just following SOP.”

Officer Huang stared at Zhong He. The man was a real piece of work. He said coldly, “A moment.”

Officer Huang called White Rabbit. It took a few rings for her to pick up. It seemed from her drowsy voice that she wasn’t completely awake. “Hello?”

“Zhong He from the Hundred Rivers Union came to me to borrow the Element Rune Circuit. Is that a thing?”

“He went to you already? I was gonna tell you tomorrow.” There was a rustle on the other end of the call. She seemed to have rolled on the bed.

“To borrow a Rune Circuit to level up, shouldn’t he go to our base to do it under monitoring?”

“That’s true, but we’re all busy right now. There aren’t more than a couple people at the base. We can’t have Cute Little Lamb monitor him, can we?”

Officer Huang was silent for a moment. Then after a bemused pause, he asked, “So we just hand the Rune Circuit to him?”

“Yeah, do it.”

“But.”

“Don’t worry. Uncle Tiger said that if the guy fails to return the Rune Circuit in three days, he’s gonna go fetch the Rune Circuit himself and take some added interest. An arm, for example.”

“Alright.”

Officer Huang hung up and took out the Element Rune Circuit, throwing Zhong He a look. “Catch.”

He threw the Rune Circuit.

Zhong He didn’t lift his arm. A shadow appeared over his chest at some point and morphed into a hand quickly, catching the Rune Circuit and tucking it in the inner pocket of his suit jacket.

“Thanks.” Zhong He sat down next to Officer Huang, crossing his legs and scrolling on his phone.

Officer Huang was surprised. “You’re staying?”

“It’s a mission.”

“What mission?” Officer Huang noticed after the words left his mouth that there was a red crystal necklace on Zhong He’s neck. He put two and two together quickly. “The Hundred Rivers Union sent you to monitor Su Xi?”

“Don’t put it like that. I’m sent here as a bodyguard.” Zhong He didn’t even look up. “Your wife is special, and Tails have been eyeing her. We should naturally keep a close eye on her.”

Officer Huang ground his teeth. “That won’t be necessary. Sir Monkey and I are more than enough.”

“There’s no use for you to tell me that, Officer Huang. If you’ve got anything to say, go to my boss.”

Then he seemed to have remembered something, and he looked up at Officer Huang. “Oh, right. The Qilin Guild is sending someone to protect Su Xi, too. Do you play mahjong? The four of us can fill a table.”

Officer Huang didn’t say anything. A cold look flashed through his eyes. He took a deep breath to keep his emotions under control before he sat down.

A few seconds later, having come to terms with the circumstances, he asked coldly, “Your cover story.”

Zhong He responded without flinching, “I’m a model. Once, I sought out sexual service and happened to be there when you cracked down the establishment. I ended up locked up for two days, and that's how we knew each other. This time, I had an affair with a married woman and ended up caught by her husband. The man broke my leg, so I had to stay in the hospital.”

Zhong He lifted his suit pants. His left leg was wrapped in bandages.

“That’s not believable at all.” Officer Huang scoffed. “A broken leg should be put in a cast, no? Why don’t I offer you some help? I’ll break your leg for free.”

“No, thanks.” Zhong He’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Why don’t I go for a different health problem?”

“How about this? You’ve slept around too much in a short time and taken pills without thoughts. As a result, you became impotent. You just had surgery today for that, and you have to stay a week at the hospital for observation.”

Rather than getting riled up, Zhong He accepted the cover story easily. “Sure. I’ll go with that.”

…

After the meeting at Amon’s place, Gao Yang snuck back to his dorm room and slept for three hours, waking up at around seven.

Something didn’t feel right, and he immediately realized that the room was too quiet today.

Usually, Mi Shi would’ve woken up and washed up, but he was still sleeping on his bed, and he was sleeping quite soundly. It didn’t seem like he was going to wake up.

Thinking that Mi Shi might be feeling unwell, Gao Yang didn’t wake him up. After getting out of bed and washing up, he headed straight to the cafeteria to have breakfast. Then he went to class.

Neither Mi Shi, Qiu Qiu, or Lin Dajian showed up that morning, which put Gao Yang in quite a pickle. He wished he could create a double to answer the roll call for them.

At noon, when Gao Yang returned to the dorm room, Qiu Qiu and Lin Dajian were nowhere to be seen, while Mi Shi was combing his hair in front of a mirror. Unlike his usual self, he had put on some new clothes—a black and white striped sweater, light blue straight leg jeans, and a pair of white sneakers.

“Hey, you got new clothes,” said Gao Yang.

“Yeah.” Mi Shi hurriedly put down the comb in his hand and smiled shyly.

“It's well-fitted,” Gao Yang said. “And it suits you.”

“Haha, I just grabbed them without thinking much.” Mi Shi was even more embarrassed, and he bashfully tugged at his sweater.

“Are you feeling unwell today?”

“Huh?” Mi Shi paused. “Not really.”

Gao Yang smiled. “But you slept in.”

In Gao Yang’s memory, Mi Shi never slept in. He didn’t need to set an alarm, and it didn’t matter how late he went to bed. He always woke up at around seven in the morning.

Mi Shi had said himself that he had always maintained a regular schedule since his youth. Outside of a few sick days, he had never woken up late.

“Yeah, I don’t know what happened today. I didn’t wake up until after ten.” Mi Shi sounded surprised with himself. “It’s the first time I slept in.”

“How did it feel?”

“Quite good, haha. I feel refreshed.” Then Mi Shi added, “Ah, Gao Yang. You know Ms. Su is going to give birth soon, don’t you?”

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