The Creatures that We Are

Golden light plankton gathered beneath Fat Jun's feet, coalescing into a spinning vortex. Like a firework, it unleashed countless arrows of light elements toward the bridge—a golden downpour of destruction.

"Light elements from above! Area attack!" Surnamed Li's harsh warning cut through the air, her Prophet revealing the danger ten seconds before impact.

Their options were limited: Wandering Tune couldn't summon a large enough portal, and Lin Fu had depleted his case of enchanted talismans.

None of their remaining members possessed defensive Talents suitable for this threat.

Then Flower, killed by Zhong He, rose from the ground, eyes flickering with ethereal green light. He hovered above the group, arms spread wide as he generated a massive telekinesis domain.

Compressed air whined. The dense arrows of light elements froze in the air before reaching the group like a golden rain put on pause.

Due to the encroaching threat, Qilin had no choice but to shift part of his Willpower to quickly assume control over Flower’s body, using Telekinesis to protect himself and the Union members.

Their relief proved premature. Surnamed Li's face darkened. "Qilin, move—"

A crimson streak pierced Qilin's right chest—not a laser, but a bone sting wreathed in malevolent red energy. It extended from the fist of a figure thirty meters away: Wang Zikai, the Blond Grim Reaper. He was falling from above the bridge.

Water dripped from his blond hair, plastering it to his forehead. Despite his sodden appearance, his expression radiated arrogant confidence.

Zhang Wei clung to his back, wearing an oxygen mask connected to a tank. They'd hidden in Li River during the battle. Unlike Wang Zikai, Zhang Wei couldn’t hold his breath for that long; thus, the whole get-up.

The real aces of the plan Gao Yang and War Tiger had formulated were Wang Zikai and Zhang Wei.

All the previous attacks, however vicious and risky, were necessary smokescreen to help Wang Zikai use his bone sting and hit the mark.

Gao Yang had tested this personally, confirming that Wang Zikai's evolved weapon could seal an awakener's energy pathways. Even someone of Qilin's caliber wouldn't be immune.

Surnamed Li's Prophet ability, active since the battle's start, had finally faltered from exhaustion. The chaos of combat clouded her foresight, while Qilin's attention split between puppet control and defense leaving gaps in his vigilance.

Even the mightiest combination had its weak point.

Wang Zikai's bone sting was the spear to pierce it.

Fat Jun's Unbridled Light had provided cover for Wang Zikai to emerge from the river with Zhang Wei. From their aerial position, he'd found his mark in Qilin's chest.

According to the plan, Wang Zikai wasn’t to kill Qilin but to seal Qilin’s energy pathway, retracting his bone sting to pull Qilin to him. Then Zhang Wei would shoot Qilin in the head with a Black Gold gun, putting an end to this damn civil war.

“Do it already!” Zhang Wei tore off the gas mask and drew his gun. “Reel the fish in!”

Wang Zikai began descending, his bone sting still anchored in Qilin's chest. But he didn't retract it; not because he couldn't, but because he wouldn't.

The blond boy's face creased with confusion, water still streaming down his features. Something was very wrong.

…

Meanwhile, inside the domain of Judge.

A “fair” turn-based match was underway. Five opponents faced each other: a parrot, Dr. Jia, Gao Yang, Nico, and Gao Yang's double against Sir Jiang, Qin You, 0618, Void, and Liao Liao.

During the thinking time before the first turn, the two groups huddled separately, protected by a gray sound-dampening barrier.

Sir Jiang studied Gao Yang through it, then shifted his gaze to Dr. Jia. After a bemused moment, he said, "During the first round, we concentrate our firepower to kill Dr. Jia..." R̃ᴀꞐȱ𐌱Ës̩

"No!" Liao Liao's fist clenched as she cut him off, hierarchy forgotten. "We must not waste the precious first turn. We concentrate on attacking Gao Yang. Once he dies, the others will pose little threat. Only then will we get out of here alive."

Liao Liao understood Sir Jiang's motives. His primary mission was preventing the Nine Scions from capturing Dr. Jia. Killing the Divine Scion came second. The old man cared nothing for his own survival or his teammates' – his sole focus was clearing the path for Qilin.

But Liao Liao had different priorities. I will survive this. No one will stop me.

"Liao Liao." Sir Jiang sighed softly. "I've clashed with Gao Yang many times. He's survived more desperate occasions. It's not that easy to kill the Malediction. At least we have to ensure the mission—"

"Don't talk to me about the mission!" Liao Liao snapped. "If you want to kill Dr. Jia, do it yourself. I'm going after Gao Yang!"

"Sir Jiang." Void maintained a careful composure despite his trembling hands. "To my knowledge, Gao Yang often replicates Gamer. Even if we kill Dr. Jia, Gao Yang may bring him back. I believe we should kill Gao Yang first. Only then will we have a chance."

"I believe we should concentrate on killing Gao Yang, too," 0618 whispered, face pale with fear.

Qin You's expression darkened. "It's not that easy to kill Gao Yang. He can swap with his double."

"Think, bro, think!" Liao Liao's contempt for Qin You blazed in her eyes. "Swapping himself with his double counts as an action. He can only act once! Gao Yang's not going to waste the precious first turn just to swap with his double. He'll try to kill us!"

Qin You paused, convinced. "Then who do you think... Gao Yang will kill first?"

"He'll either go after the easiest kill or the biggest threat..." 0618 began.

"Shut up!" Liao Liao lowered her head, fingers twitching as she processed the possibilities.

She looked up, eyes burning with determination. "He'll kill me first. I'll protect myself. Go after Gao Yang together! I don't have time to explain! Just do as I said if you want to live!"

The other awakeners hesitated. Though they wondered if Liao Liao spoke from fear, they realized they would all die if they couldn't secure victory. Liao Liao must have known this too.

Sir Jiang had reached his decision. Among them, only he remained fully devoted to Qilin; the others simply wanted to survive. Liao Liao represented their collective will. That was why they listened to her. And her quick mind gave them their best chance. He would have to bet on her strategy.

“Everyone, follow Liao Liao’s instructions,” Sir Jiang ordered.

That resolved everyone’s hesitation.

Time was running out. A translucent table of actions materialized before each of them, customized to their individual Talents and conditions. The text remained visible only to its intended user; to others, the words appeared as meaningless scrambles.

Still, it was obvious that the powerful ones had more Talents and thus more actions on their tables, while the weak ones’ tables looked much simpler.

As Sir Jiang selected his actions, he glanced through the gray barrier at Gao Yang, whose action window resembled a hovering blackboard packed with options.

Soon, all ten participants had locked in their choices, including the fat gray parrot.

[Thinking Time ends.]

[The first turn begins.]

Houseau3's Thoughts

We're gonna be switching between the scenes at a cliffhanger, aren't we, author?🤣

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