The Creatures That We Are
Chapter 1272: Game Cleared

Chapter 1272: Game Cleared

“Stop playing, Brother Kai!” Zhang Wei urged.

“Shut up! You go first!”

Wang Zikai didn’t understand what was wrong with himself, either. It was just a trash game, but he couldn’t let go. He couldn’t let the blue monster eat the red figure.

“Gao Yang!” Vermilion Bird shouted. “Take Wang Zikai. We’ll move and think about the answer.”

Gao Yang didn’t respond. He focused fully on the chase taking place on the screen.

That confused everyone. What was so special about the game that the high bar and low bar of intelligence were both obsessed?

Vermilion Bird considered whether they could somehow take these two by force.

Finally, Gao Yang said, “It seems that we’ve found the right question.”

Everything about the current situation rang familiar to Gao Yang. Back in Moon City, the more he sank into his doubt, the more chaotic the world became, and the more he spiraled, too. However...that would soon lead him to an out.

He stood up and walked to the platform below the screen, looking up at his companions in the audience seats. “Everyone, why do you doubt?”

Zhang Wei was close to tears. “Brother Yang, this isn’t the time...”

“Answer me!“ Gao Yang growled.

That stunned everyone. Their young leader hadn’t lost his calm to this degree for a long time.

“I, I dunno.” Zhang Wei felt so hurt that he couldn’t even speak correctly.

Hong Xiaoxiao had always followed Gao Yang out of her unconditional trust in him. She sat back down and said seriously, “I don’t know about others, but for me, I doubt because I’m afraid of getting fooled.”

“Why?” Gao Yang pressed.

“Um, because...” It was the first time Hong Xiaoxiao had ever considered it so seriously. “Probably because I’m afraid of getting hurt.”

“Why?” Gao Yang asked again.

“Do we need a reason? Everyone should be afraid of getting hurt.”

“No, Gao Yang means that...” Gregor began to see what Gao Yang was getting at. He sat down too. “The hurt of getting fooled is inflicted on the heart. So the question is: why does getting cheated hurt us psychologically?”

White Dew placed her hands on her belly and sat down elegantly. “Because we are born to prefer what is real and detest what is false.”

“Why?” Gao Yang asked.

The screening room started shaking once more. The blue monster was upon them, shrieking as it moved to devour them.

“Brother Yang, let’s walk and talk!” Zhang Wei was losing his mind. “Or we’re all gonna die here!”

“Why do we prefer what is true and detest what is false?” Gao Yang repeated the question.

No one answered. They didn’t have an answer.

“Why, why, why...” Liao Liao was on the verge of a nervous breakdown as well. She yanked at her hair, her brain racing against the grim reaper. “What’s true is true, and what’s false is false. There’s little difference, really...”

Her eyes widened like she had received a divine revelation. She sank back down on her seat like a weight had been lifted. She said with a smile, “Meaning.”

After a pause, Vermilion Bird slowly sat down. “Yes, what differentiates between true and false is meaning.”

Gregor laughed and delighted in the realization. “The answer to doubt is meaning. Clever! How clever!”

“I don’t get it! I don’t!” Zhang Wei almost broke down in tears. “I only know that we’ll die if we don’t go, and then nothing will mean anything!”

Gregor turned to those who still seemed confused. “Everyone, why do humans doubt everything? That’s because we are born to believe that everything has meaning! That’s why we probe and question. If we don’t believe everything has a purpose, why would we question everything?”

“Why does it matter if Earth is round or flat? Why does it matter if our love is real or an act? Why does it matter if I’m me and you’re you?”

“Nothing matters without a meaning.”

“Meaning! That’s the ultimate drive to humans’ doubt of everything!” Gregor spread his arms and declared to the sky, “The answer to the Realm of Detachment...is meaning!”

Gregor once more assumed the role of an impassioned orator and articulated his thoughts, prompting everyone to ponder his words and resonate with him.

That was what Gao Yang wanted.

Since they moved past the Black and White Corridor, he started to think that perhaps there was no correct answer to each room, only tenants who believed their answers to be correct.

“Haha!”

Wang Zikai, the only one who hadn’t been listening to the discussion, shook his fists in triumph.

“I cleared the game! Eat shit, you monster trying to eat my best friend!”

They turned to the big screen in surprise. The red figure in the game had reached a screening room with no wall or ceiling, standing on the platform below the screen—exactly where Gao Yang was standing in the real screening room.

The terrible blue monster had crawled up and circled the screening room, its vortex head hovering above the red figure, looking down at the red figure in an eerily oppressive stance.

When they peeled their gazes from the game, the world became empty save for the small screening room they were in. The blue monster formed a circle around it, its head rising above the horizon and hanging above them. It gazed down at them silently, right within reach. The sight alone was terrifying.

“We...cleared the stage?” Chen Ying asked quietly for fear of disturbing the blue monster put on pause.

“Seems that way.” Vermilion Bird sighed in relief.

“Mr. G! You’re my god!” Zhang Wei was ready to kneel before the man.

“No, no. I’m just a mouthpiece. It’s all thanks to everyone else.” Gregor felt a little bashful.

The screen turned black before lighting up once more, depicting a desert with an asphalt road running across its center and leading to the horizon like a zipper splitting the land. Neat lines of billboards decorated the road, most featuring colorful vintage posters for movies. A setting sun hung above the horizon, the warm light casting everything in red. It was an awe-inspiring sort of beauty.

Cerulean Dog, wearing his mask, stood in the middle of the road. He walked up to the “camera” and stepped out of the screen, stopping on the platform. “Everyone, come with me to the next room, the Sunset Boulevard.”

“What, and we just have to go?” Zhang Wei felt increasingly annoyed with this man.

“Or you can stay,” Cerulean Dog said in a polite tone. “Make yourself at home.”

“Go on. Keep talking shit.” Wang Zikai scoffed. “Once I find your master, I’m gonna beat Them up until They’re crying for Mom.”

“Haha, I look forward to it.”

Cerulean Dog stepped to the side and made a welcoming gesture.

They turned to Gao Yang.

After a quiet moment, Gao Yang walked toward the screen.