The Creatures That We Are
Chapter 1298: Hush

Chapter 1298: Hush

The doors on the first and second floors of the mansion opened. Awakeners emerged in pajamas, their hair a mess and their eyes bleary. They sat around the dining table.

Raven Shark had come out of the bathroom all drenched. He loved soaking in the bath.

Vermilion Bird glanced at him. “Haven’t I told you many times? Change into dry clothes before getting out.”

He nodded and returned to the bathroom.

“Have you cleared the game, Brother Yang?” Zhang Wei munched on a meat bun with a foot planted on the chair.

“No, I haven’t.” Gao Yang said.

“Really? Neither you nor Brother Kai could clear it?” Zhang Wei asked in surprise. “Is it that hard?”

“Very. I’m not playing anymore. I’m going back home to sleep.”

“Huh?” Zhang Wei blinked at him. “We’ve pulled an all-nighter trying to clear the game. We finally got to the last stage. Would you be able to sleep if you just gave up?”

“It’s only a game,” Gao Yang said.

“But I can’t accept defeat! Where’s Brother Kai? I’ll keep trying with him!” Frustrated, Zhang Wei stood up and sought out Wang Zikai. “Trash game, I’m gonna finish it now!”

The others echoed his sentiment while eating breakfast.

“Hm.” Dr. Jia shared a cucumber with the parrot on his shoulder. “It doesn’t make sense. All games can be cleared.”

“Not necessarily. Some developers design malicious games that are never intended to be cleared.” Gregor lowered his soy milk. As soon as he took a cigarette out, Vermilion Bird confiscated it.

“If you want to smoke, smoke outside.”

“Haha, I forgot about the kid.” He gave Lovely Lamb an apologetic look.

Lovely Lamb chewed on a corn unhappily, staying meekly in her seat. She didn’t like games that couldn’t be cleared.

“You should eat, too, Gao Yang,” Vermilion Bird said.

“I’m not hungry,” Gao Yang responded.

“Milk tea, maybe? You’ll be hungry if you have nothing.”

“I’m good.”

“Then...” Vermilion Bird glanced at the cigarette she had seized from Gregor. “Have a smoke to keep you awake on the way.”

“Smoking is bad for you,” Gao Yang said. “You should quit.”

She nodded after a pause. “Right. I’ll quit.”

“Don’t lie to me this time.”

“Okay,” she promised.

Car horns sounded from the outside. Gao Yang stood up and said, “Enjoy breakfast, everyone. I’m leaving.”

“Brother Yang,” Adept Horse said with a cup of coffee in his hand. “Are you really not continuing the game?”

“Yeah, you go ahead.”

Gao Yang turned to leave.

Reluctant to watch him go, Lovely Lamb said, “Brother Dark Horse, are you coming to play the game tomorrow, too?”

He stroked her hair. “You should eat more and grow up quicker, Little Lamb. Then you’ll get better at games.”

“Yeah.” She nodded.

He walked toward the front door.

Liao Liao and Chen Ying didn’t have much of an appetite. They exchanged a glance before moving to the couch and picking up the controllers, deciding to try again.

After some hesitation, Hong Xiaoxiao put her cup of soy milk down and chased Gao Yang to the entryway. She caught up with him. For reasons she couldn’t explain, her chest felt tight.

“Captain, I expected many people to give up clearing the game, but not you... I never thought for once that you would give up.”

Gao Yang turned to her. “You’re an experienced player now, Hong Xiaoxiao. You should lead everyone in the future.”

“I will.” She nodded.

“It’s important to clear the game, but you should remember to enjoy it, too.”

“I understand.” She nodded again earnestly.

“I’ll walk the rest of the way myself.”

Gao Yang walked out into the front yard. Heavenly Dog was sitting on the bench by the curb. With headphones on, he had gone through many songs, but his favorite sunrise still hadn’t arrived.

Gao Yang patted him on the shoulder when he walked by him. “I’m leaving.”

“Okay.”

Heavenly Dog watched Gao Yang leave. A belated sense of melancholy crept up on him. When he opened his mouth to say something, though, Gao Yang was already too far away.

The moment Gao Yang walked past a corner, someone grabbed his hand. He turned around to find White Dew.

When Vermilion Bird called out for everyone to have breakfast, White Dew was changing her clothes—she wasn’t going to have the others see her in pajamas. Emerging from her room, she found Gao Yang already gone. She chased after him.

“Leaving already, Gao Yang?” she grumbled.

He nodded. “Yeah.”

“What about the game?”

“I’m leaving it to you.”

“If even you can’t clear it, how could we?”

After a few seconds of silence, Gao Yang met her eyes. “White Dew, I’ve been happy when I play the game. I hope it’s the same for you.”

Her grip loosened. She didn’t know what was going on with her. Dazed, she watched him walk away.

Going past a crossroad, Gao Yang found Wang Zikai’s sportscar slowly catching up with him. Wang Zikai called out from the car, “Gao Yang, hop on! I told you I was gonna give you a ride.”

His gaze stayed on the road ahead. “It’s fine. I’ll go on my own.”

Wang Zikai insisted, “No, it’s so dark. It’s too dangerous for you to be alone. I’ll drive you!”

“No need.” Gao Yang was being stubborn, too.

“Bro, it’s really not safe these days. Get into the car.”

“I’m not scared.” Gao Yang continued forward. “I have a bodyguard.”

“Huh?” Wang Zikai was dumbfounded.

Gao Yang stopped to look at Wang Zikai. Wang Zikai also stopped, holding his gaze.

He suddenly barked at him.

Wang Zikai blinked at him.

“My bodyguard. A real watchdog.”

“Hahaha, are you crazy?” Wang Zikai broke out laughing. “That’s a wee dog rather than a watchdog! Listen carefully. This is what a real watchdog sounds like...”

He let out a series of barks.

Gao Yang smiled and kept walking.

Wang Zikai tried to start the car again, but it didn’t work. “Shit, this piece of trash! Wait up, Gao Yang, I’ll be right...”

Gao Yang didn’t wait. He slowly went down the slope to the riverside. A tall, lonesome figure stood under a yellow street lamp. It seemed that she had been waiting, knowing that Gao Yang would walk past the spot.

...

[Game Over]

The screen went dark. They failed to clear the game once more.

Liao Liao sighed. Her dejection was an anticipated one. “It’s so hard. We can’t clear it.”

Chen Ying tightened her grip silently. A few seconds later, she turned to Liao Liao and said, “Let’s start over.”

“Okay!” Liao Liao picked herself up and looked back at the screen. She stilled in surprise.

There was something different. Below “Start Again”, a spinning golden ring had appeared. Liao Liao pressed on the D-pad. It was a new option!

“Ah!” she cried out. “Everyone, come take a look!”

The others immediately came over, their breakfast forgotten. Liao Liao clicked it. A hidden character appeared on the screen.

“Pick it!” Zhang Wei called out.

Liao Liao did. A gentle-looking young woman in a patterned dress with a whistle around her neck appeared. Hands clasped and relaxed, she smiled at the screen.

[Do you wish to start over?]

Liao Liao stared at it. For some reason, she had a feeling that this was an incredibly important decision, that they must think the decision through. The others shared her feelings as they looked at the hidden character on the screen. They couldn’t make up their mind. If only Gao Yang were here.

“What are you waiting for? Let’s get started!”

Dr. Jia was the only one who didn’t feel burdened. His determination to clear the game trumped all. Grabbing the controller from Liao Liao, he pressed confirm.

Answering the summons, the hidden character picked up the whistle on her chest and blew it. The sound seemed to have come from all around them rather than the game.

In an instant, they all remembered. Their faces twisted with shock and fright, like they had just awakened from a dream.

“Gao Yang!” Vermilion Bird cried out as she rushed out.

“Shit! Shit, shit, shit!” Zhang Wei followed.

The others hurried outside in panic, leaving Dr. Jia and his parrot on the couch.

Holding the controller, Dr. Jia rejoiced at the game interface on the screen.

“Haha, I knew it! I knew it! Nice, very nice!”