The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 77: Lie Detection

The next two days were uneventful.

Sunday morning, Gao Yang accessed his system first thing when he woke up.

He was surprised to find that he had accumulated 441 Luck points.

Three days of points accumulation and the increased rate he got from his fight with his sister in the nightmare and his fight with War Tiger in the Millenium Tower—well, it was more of a one-sided slaughter than a fight—he had acquired more Luck points than expected without him realizing.

Gao Yang felt rich.

After some deliberation, he decided to acquire another Talent. It never hurt to have more cards up his sleeves, and getting a Talent itself would grant him permanent bonuses to his stats. No matter how he thought about it, he should prioritize getting another Talent than putting all his points straight into his stats.

[It takes 120 Luck points to comprehend a new Talent. Do you confirm?]

—Yes.

[Comprehending...]

[Comprehension fails. You have used 120 Luck points.]

—Keep going.

[Comprehending...]

[Comprehending...]

[Comprehension fails. You have used 120 Luck points. To comprehend again...]

—Keep going.

[Comprehending...]

[Comprehension succeeds. You have used 120 Luck points.]

[Talent: Lie Detection. Serial Number: 181. Rune Type: Wisdom.]

[Level 1 Lie Detection: Allow one to determine if the target is lying once every 48 hours.]

[Stats Bonuses of Level 1 Lie Detection: Willpower + 10, Charisma + 10.]

[Stats updated.]

[Constitution: 47 Endurance: 48]

[Strength: 17 Agility: 39]

[Willpower: 209 Charisma: 67 ]

[Luck: 132]

Gao Yang’s heart burned. He had used a total of 360 points, yet the Talent he got was so much closer to the bottom of the list than the top. Still, the first two Talents he comprehended were ranked quite high. He should be content with that. Greed was the shortcut to one’s downfall.

And the Talent would help him make deals with Liu Qingying. Being able to use it only once every 48 hours was too little though. He had to use it a few more times to push it to level 2 first. Then level 3...

—You there, System?

[Yes.]

—Do I have to kill monsters to get Lie Detection to level 3 too? I would love to detect monsters’ lies with the Talent, but they had to be willing to talk to me first.

[Wisdom-type Talents do not require monsters killing to reach level 3. The requirement is to use the Talent for 30 times.]

—So I can get Replicate to level 3 in the same way?

[Yes.]

—Alright, that’s good. Not as bad as it could be.

Gao Yang hid the system and let out a long breath.

He had grasped a few rules about the system. For the information Gao Yang had discovered in the real world, the system would give him a clear explanation. It was like a dungeon-crawler. When he opened the door, he would be allowed a clear view of everything in the room. If he hadn’t found the door, however, he would get no information.

Alright, one step at a time. From today onward, I need to gain experience in my Talents. And better not comprehend new Talents for the time being. I need to increase my stats.

Bam!

Gao Xinxin kicked his door open. “You should already be up yesterday, sleepy... Whoa! You’re awake, Brother?”

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Gao Yang smiled faintly at her. “Why? Shouldn’t I be awake?”

“You’re usually still sleeping in... You’ve changed, my brother!” Gao Xinxin was still surprised. “You haven’t been possessed by a different soul, have you?”

Gao Yang almost jumped. His sister might as well be a fortune teller!

“I’ve got a question for you, my dearest sister.” Gao Yang got off the bed and took his time to put on his jacket.

“Go ahead.”

“Do you like me, your older brother?”

“What?” His sister was caught off guard for a moment. Then her face became flushed. “What’s wrong with you this early in the morning? Of course I don’t like you! Not in a million years!”

Gao Yang stared at her and activated Lie Detection.

—Lie.

He smiled. “Nothing. I’m just asking.”

“You’re not making sense! Get your ass downstairs for breakfast!” Gao Xinxin slammed the door shut.

It was the first time in a long time that his mother made breakfast at home. His grandmother was still staying with his uncle in the countryside, and his father hadn’t been discharged from the hospital. The three of them had breakfast together and chatted about anything and everything. Things had been hectic at home since his father got into a car accident. It had been a while since they had such a peaceful time in the morning.

For a distracted moment, Gao Yang thought that it wouldn’t be a bad thing if he hadn’t awakened, and such ordinary days were all his life was.

...

After breakfast, Gao Yang headed straight to Wang Zikai’s place.

He stood at the gate to the villa’s front yard and rang the bell. When he got no response, he gave up on waiting and vaulted the wall.

The door was left open by a crack.

Alerted, Gao Yang gently opened it and walked in. He was relieved to find Wang Zikai sound asleep amid the mess of snacks, bottled drinks, and takeouts in the living room. He still had a PS5 controller in his hands. On the television was the pause screen of the remastered version of Final Fantasy VII. He must have pulled an all-nighter playing the game.

Gao Yang cleaned up the living room table a little and put a blanket on Wang Zikai before sitting down on another couch.

Wang Zikai rolled and only opened his eyes after sleeping a little more.

He immediately sat up. “Gao Yang!”

Then he guiltily hid the controller behind his butt. “Haha, I’ve been training. I only played the game a little since I was tired...”

“It’s fine. Play games when you feel like it. Not even the savior of the world can work all day without rest.” Gao Yang smothered a smile. He wasn’t a teacher surprising a student to check on their progress. Wang Zikai had no reason to be this nervous.

“Haha, you’re right!”

“About my favor, how did it go?” Gao Yang didn’t beat around the bush.

He had called Wang Zikai two days ago and explained the situation his family was in, hoping that Wang Zikai would be willing to invest in his father’s food processing factory to help them overcome this challenge.

Wang Zikai agreed without a moment of hesitation and said that his father would be back in the country for the next couple of days, and that he would talk to his father about it.

Today was the third day since then. Gao Yang thought he would’ve gotten an answer.

Wang Zikai paused for a moment. “What favor?”

Gao Yang’s heart sank, and he frowned. “About my dad. You haven’t forgotten about it, have you?”

“Hahaha, I’m just teasing you!” Wang Zikai burst out laughing. “Of course I hadn’t forgotten about something my best bro asked of me! I told my dad the moment I met him!”

“And?”

“Well.” Wang Zikai scratched his face with his finger. “He wouldn’t give me the money.”

“Have you talked to him the way I told you to?”

“No...” Wang Zikai got angry just thinking about it. “I was gonna talk to him. Actually talk. But then he scolded me for dyeing my hair and said that I looked like a thug! So I dyed my hair. So what? That’s a stereotype he got! That’s discrimination! Then we started fighting, and I forgot to ask him again...”

Gao Yang sighed. Although he was suppressing the urge to facepalm, it wasn’t that surprising to him. Wang Zikai hadn’t had a normal conversation with his parents since he was ten.

“But don’t worry!” Wang Zikai pounded on his chest. “It’s just money. I dealt with it myself!”

“Really?”

“Of course. Who do you think I am?” Wang Zikai proudly presented him with a bank card. “Here’s two million. Take it!”

“Where did you get the money?” Gao Yang was a little worried that he might have done something of a clandestine nature.

“I sold my sports car,” said Wang Zikai.

“You sold it?!” Gao Yang felt a pang in his heart. Wang Zikai bought the car for a little more than four million, but he sold it at half the price.

“Yeah!” Wang Zikai didn’t sound bothered. “It’s fine. I have Wu Dahai’s McLaren!”

“He’s only lending it to you. You’ll have to give it back sooner or later.”

“Well, about that.” Wang Zikai seemed pleased with himself. “Wu Dahai said that the car would be mine if I help him get together with Qing Ling! That’s a piece of cake to me, the matchmaking master! Didn’t I get you and Li Weiwei together with a simple text?”

Should I thank you for that?!

Gao Yang felt like punching Wang Zikai every time he thought about it. If not for the practical joke Wang Zikai pulled, he wouldn’t have gone on a date with Li Weiwei, and Li Weiwei wouldn’t have transformed into a monster and attacked him. Then she wouldn’t have died at the hand of Qing Ling, and she would still be the childhood friend he knew and trusted...

...Or he would still awaken and expose himself to another monster instead of Li Weiwei. Qing Ling might not show up to save him in that case.

In a sense, perhaps he had Wang Zikai to thank for avoiding death.

Gao Yang pushed aside the thoughts and took the bank card from Wang Zikai. “Thanks. There are procedures to follow. You should sign a contract with my dad later.”

“I don’t know how to do that!” Wang Zikai found the formalities troublesome.

“Leave that to me. You only have to sign.”

“Then sure!”

Gao Yang got to his feet. “Come on, let’s go to the Walled City of Ten Dragons. I’ll buy you barbecue!”

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