The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 105: Exit

“I, I don’t know.” Old Wang shook his head, reluctant to answer. It felt like an impossible question.

After a moment of silence, he met Officer Huang’s eyes with conviction. “But at the end of the day, your wife is your wife, and your child is your child. If I were you, I would probably make the same decision.”

Officer Huang was taken aback. Then he gave the man a wry, grateful smile. “I knew it would take another father to understand me. To tell you the truth, I wouldn’t have taken the risk to enter the Rune Cave if not for my wife and unborn child.”

“It’s the same for me. I wouldn’t have put myself on the frontline if not for them.” Old Wang slapped himself on the thigh, his voice impassioned. “But forget it. If I get out of this alive, I’ll apply to transfer to an administrative role at once. Call me a coward. All that matters is staying alive for my wife and child. Everything else be damned!”

“It will happen,” Officer Huang encouraged him.

“Haha, I think so too.” Old Wang touched his round nose. “It’s said that after every narrow escape from death comes great fortune. I wouldn’t have encountered you if not for Cheng Xin’s betrayal. I feel much more secure with great fighters like you guys with me.”

“Save my contact, Old Wang.” Officer Huang took out his phone. “When my child is born, I’d like to ask you for advice.”

“Haha, of course.” Old Wang took out his phone too. “Oh, right. My daughter doesn’t have a godfather yet. Why don’t you do it?”

“Sure thing. And you will be my child’s godfather once they are born.” Officer Huang broke into a genuine smile, losing himself in the everyday talk and almost forgetting the danger they were in.

“While you’re at it, why not arrange a future marriage between your children?” White Rabbit said as a jab with a hand propping her chin.

Old Wang got nervous. “No, no. The children should be allowed to make their own decisions.”

“That’s right. Besides, I don’t even know if my wife and I are having a boy or a girl yet.”

White Rabbit’s eyes glinted. “Whoa, wouldn’t it be much better if they’re both girls?”

“Alright, let’s not go into that,” Officer Huang hurriedly said.

The small talk dispersed some of the tension, and this felt like nothing but a regular work trip. It was as if after the work was done, they would return to their normal life.

Gao Yang didn’t say anything. He was in no place to make a comment since he didn’t have a wife nor a child.

Instead, he accessed the system.

He checked his Luck points first. Though he had killed a good number of monsters, the level of danger hadn’t been great, and the system only granted him a ten time bonus to his Luck points acquisition rate, which was depressingly low.

Disappointed, Gao Yang checked his stats after Fire reached level 3 instead.

[Constitution: 57 Endurance: 59]

[Strength: 217 Agility: 259]

[Willpower: 309 Charisma: 97 ]

[Luck: 132]

As expected, his Willpower and Charisma had seen some growth, and the maximum temperature of Fire as well as its attack range had increased.

Oh, wait. It seems that Fire can be used to make ranged attacks now.

Gao Yang exited the system.

He tried to focus his energy in his two hands, and he could sense the different routes his energy could flow and concentrate. After a few minutes of experimentation, he conjured a ball of fire as big as a soccer ball, illuminating the dim subway station.

That drew everyone’s curious eyes.

War Tiger was glad to see his progress. “Congrats, Yang Yang. Now you can throw a small fireball.”

“Seems that way.” Gao Yang smiled, but he wasn’t that happy about it. “Level 3 Fire allows me to make ranged attacks, but I don’t know how powerful it is.”

“Come on, throw it at my face. I’ll test it for you.” War Tiger stood up and curled his finger at Gao Yang.

“That...doesn’t seem appropriate.” Gao Yang was hesitant.

“Just do it already. Don’t pull back.”

“Be careful, Teacher.”

Gao Yang took a deep breath and molded the fireball on his palms so that the concentration of energy was at its most stable and full. Then he threw the fireball at War Tiger, leaving a golden trail in its wake.

Before the fire hit him, War Tiger drew his sword with one hand and made a swing. The slash was so powerful that the fireball split apart at once, scattering to the sides as two clumps of rippling flames.

War Tiger’s messy curls shook in the heatwave, his face cast in a golden light. However, he hadn’t suffered even a small burn.

“Hm.” War Tiger sheathed his shortsword and said in a more subdued tone, “It’s weaker than I expected.”

“Would it hurt for you to sugarcoat that a little?” Gao Yang said, slightly hurt.

“Take your time. It’s only level 3.” White Rabbit then said half-jokingly, “If you grow too quickly, the other senior members and I will be anxious.”

The subway train arrived then.

They walked into the train and found themselves in a different car, but that was to be expected.

In less than ten minutes, the train made another stop.

They got off the train, killed a few monsters, left a mark, and again searched the place without finding anything. Then they waited for the train to arrive and boarded it.

How many stations had they gone through? Seven? Eight? There were times when things were easy, and there were times when they ran into slaughterers and devourers. With War Tiger as their safety net, however, they were able to fight to the best of their abilities and overcome the challenges without great risk.

They got off the train to fight, and then they got onto the train to rest. Rinse and repeat.

The endless battles tired them out and dulled their minds. There didn’t seem to be any hope in sight.

It wasn’t a good sign, and War Tiger had noticed the problem. He started to say one lame joke after another, but the attempt to lighten the mood wasn’t very effective.

Click.

The door opened again.

They had been resting with their eyes closed, and they all opened their eyes and grabbed their weapons before moving to the platform.

Surprisingly, there was no threat awaiting them. All there was on the platform were two lone bodies. Someone had already cleared this part of the map.

White Rabbit checked one of them, her eyes turning sharp. “Come here, Old Wang.”

Old Wang walked up to join her. The monster had reverted back into its human form after death. It was a middle-aged man wearing a jacket, and he lay on the floor with a hole in his back. It seemed that his heart had been torn to pieces.

“Take a look.” White Rabbit pointed at the body’s profile. His eyeball was bulging, and his bluish face was covered in dark purple blood vessels.

“He was poisoned!” Old Wang exclaimed. “It’s Cheng Xin’s Spider Venom. He must have killed the monster. They got off at this station!”

Old Wang turned to check the other body and made sure it wasn’t his companion. Overjoyed, he said, “Thank god! They are all still alive!”

“Gao Yang, light,” said War Tiger.

“Got it.”

Gao Yang raised his right hand and conjured a fireball. The posture was a little silly, but it was effective. With the darkness in the station dispersed, they were able to see many times farther.

“Look around.”

The moment War Tiger said that, Qing Ling interjected, “There’s no need. It’s that way.”

They all followed her finger and found the entrance to a corridor in the wall at the depth of the station. It stuck out like a sore thumb.

“That’s the exit from the Mobius strip,” War Tiger said confidently.

“Or it may be a trap.” White Rabbit was more cautious.

At least there was some progress, which boosted morale significantly.

“Old Wang, you’ve got a thick skin. Take the front with me.” War Tiger gave out orders. “Gao Yang, stay in the middle and keep the light on. You too, Yellow Ox. You use a ranged weapon and can support each side. White Rabbit and Green Snake, take the rear and keep your eyes open.”

Maintaining the formation, they walked into the corridor.

It looked just like any corridor one would find in a regular subway station. After about thirty seconds, they found a staircase leading upward.

That was good news.

The fact that the stairs went up meant that they were going toward the ground, toward the hope to escape. Were it a downward staircase, who knew where it would lead to? It could be the abyss, or perhaps hell.

The stairs weren’t steep, but it was a long way up, almost a hundred meters above the platform. They saw a hazy white light shone from the rectangular exit ahead of them.

Step by step, Gao Yang climbed the stairs. It felt as if he was ascending to a mysterious palace hall. Perhaps he was imagining it, but the air seemed to be getting heavier and heavier.

The six of them approached the exit slowly while staying vigilant for any incoming dangers.

Finally, they left the corridor.

Gao Yang dispersed his fireball and narrowed his eyes slightly. Gradually, his vision adjusted to the cold white light, and he could see clearly.

He held his breath.

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