The Creatures that We Are

Half a kilometer away, on top of an express hotel, four figures could be seen at the edge of the rooftop under the cold gray moonlight. Qilin stood at the center with a wheelchaired Surnamed Li beside him, and on their sides were Yan Liang and Miss.

Qilin held a cane in his hand, the green light in his eyes intense. The moment the Millennium Tower started crashing down, the green light dimmed until turning into dark green spots. Then the spots faded too, and his eyes reverted to the deep lonesome lakes they usually were.

He exhaled a soft breath. “It’s done.”

“Haha, Dr. Jia outdid himself again.” The masked Yan Liang looked ahead appreciatively, bracing against the night wind. “It’s unlikely that any in the underground sixth floor would’ve survived that.”

“Did you see anything, Madam Li?” Qilin kept his gaze ahead and asked calmly.

Surnamed Li, who had been keeping her eyes closed, slowly opened her eyes and shook her head. “I’ve predicted nothing. I’m safe for at least a week, so by extension, you are, too.”

“The Twelve Zodiac Signs…are gone?”

Miss couldn’t believe it for a moment. He didn’t expect the organization strong enough to confront the Ocean River Union head-on, led by the mysterious Dragon with the top Talent, would just collapse like a house of cards.

And he was one of the key members who made that possible.

The two Talents Miss recently required were Plant and Mindreading. He reported to Yan Liang first thing, and Yan Liang made him a Protector and secretly formulated a plan with Qilin.

Qilin and Yan Liang had long suspected that the Nine Scions and the Twelve Zodiac Signs were in cahoots. Based on their previous clashes, Yan Liang could conclude for certain that Nine Frost had been giving out orders from the rear throughout, and that his Telepathy had exceeded level 3; otherwise, it wouldn’t explain how he coordinated the Nine Scions so adeptly.

Ghost Horse had been a member of the Qilin Guild. They knew that level 3 Telepathy wouldn’t be able to do that.

That led to one conclusion: the Twelve Zodiac Signs had lent the Psyche Rune Circuit to the Nine Scions secretly and helped Nine Frost level up Telepathy.

There was something else supporting the theory: Liao Liao had found Heavenly Dog showing up at the harbor and airport in the city several times. He was way too busy for a college student. He was likely the Zodiac’s contact with the Nine Scions, and Fly made him a perfect candidate for that.

Moreover, Heavenly Dog had been through life-and-death situations with Gao Yang when they went after Zhuang Mei, a life monster, in Island Nation. It made sense that they would have a bond.

Once the suspicion was there, a focused investigation was conducted.

It didn’t take long for Liao Liao’s intelligence team to find out that outside of the underground sixth floor of the Millenium Tower, the place Heavenly Dog frequented most was Songstress’ flower shop.

On the second day, Miss visited Let Life be Beautiful like Summer Flowers with the excuse of visiting an old friend, and he planted eavesdropping seeds in many of the potted flowers in the shop.

The seeds didn’t allow him to hear actual sounds, but they would detect it if an awakener visited.

Miss found out that different awakeners had visited Songstress’ flower shop frequently following that, which cemented their suspicion.

Then Liu Qingying sought out the Ocean River Union and joined them.

Although the Union had once invited her and later helped her kill Dust, and it seemed sensible that she would join the Union afterward, Qilin and Yan Liang didn’t trust Liu Qingying. No one knew what the information broker wanted with her balancing between the three organizations before.

That was where Miss’ Mindreading came into play.

On the surface, it seemed that Miss had started to pursue Ting Ting of the intelligence department out of the blue, but in truth, that was merely an excuse for him to frequent the department without rousing suspicion, allowing him to read Liu Qingying’s mind.

One day, late at night, Miss struck up a conversation with Ting Ting while she was on shift again, but he was using Mindreading on Liu Qingying.

This time, Liu Qingying finally showed her true color. While she pretended to be napping on the recliner with a sleep mask, she was secretly using Clairvoyance with her eyes open, keeping watch on Surnamed Li’s and Qilin’s offices.

Miss was shocked when he found out her secret. He immediately reported to Qilin and Yan Liang—at a time and location where Liu Qingying had no chance to use Clairvoyance, of course.

After some discussion, Qilin and Yan Liang came to one conclusion: Liu Qingying had joined the Ocean River Union to spy on them. It was unknown what her true goal was, but she was obviously hostile to the Union and could be considered an enemy.

Then they would take advantage of that.

Qilin couldn’t wait any longer. He had to take the Psyche Rune Circuit and try to push Eidos to level 8, or the path ahead of him would be a struggle.

Ever since killing Zhuang Mei, Dragon had never shown himself again. And with Surnamed Li’s prophecy, Qilin could more or less be sure that Dragon was still hibernating.

Facing the Twelve Zodiacs head-on would come with a great price even if the Union defeated them, and the Zodiacs were no fools. They might go into hiding with the Rune Circuits like the Nine Scions. Then things would be troublesome.

There was no place for honor in war. Yan Liang suggested they made a proactive move, and Qilin didn’t disagree. They formulated a thorough plan.

In addition to Miss’ Mindreading, there were three keys to carrying out the plan.

First, a weapon for mass destruction. Dr. Jia had developed for them a spatial bomb that could destroy the entire underground sixth floor in two seconds.

Second, carrier. Someone must carry the spatial bomb into the underground sixth floor of the Millenium Tower without rousing the suspicion of the Twelve Zodiac Signs, and it was best to do that when there were most members there to wipe out as many of them as possible in one fell swoop.

Liu Qingying was the best bet.

Third, the execution method. Liu Qingying wasn’t going to just carry the bomb there on a suicide mission. They had to manipulate her in some way, and she wouldn’t be easily used given her intelligence and cautious nature. Once she realized what was going on, even if there were only some signs, the plan would fail.

Therefore, she had to be manipulated psychologically and discreetly controlled by force. Only then would the plan be perfect, allowing no one, not even Liu Qingying, to notice anything wrong.

Qilin could do that.

The moment he saw Azure Dragon’s body, he had acquired a second Talent in a surge of great fury and sorrow—Puppeteer.

Qilin thus became the only awakener in the Mist World to have two of the top twelve Talents.

At that moment, he became even more certain that he was walking on the right path. The Heavenly Way had given its approval and blessings. No matter who was in his way, no matter what price he had to pay, he would not stop moving.

Qilin had been carrying the Summon Rune Circuit on him, and the Talent soon broke through to level 4 before jumping to level 7—Qilin would like to merge with the Rune Circuit to reach level 8, too, but it just wouldn’t happen.

Still, level 7 Puppeteer was already terrifyingly powerful.

Not only could Qilin control wanderers and corpses, but he could also put a Puppet Brand on awakeners with strong will like Liu Qingying and exert discreet control. When the target noticed that they were being manipulated, Qilin could even switch to an obvious forceful control to reach his goal.

Knowing that Liu Qingying was watching him and reading his lips, Qilin sought out Surnamed Li to reveal his plan and to put on a show for Liu Qingying.

Indeed, as soon as Liu Qingying learned that Yan Liang was going to make a move against the Twelve Zodiac Signs, she could no longer stay put—no one would’ve noticed what she had been doing if not for Miss’ Mindreading.

Liu Qingying decided to warn the Twelve Zodiac Signs. Qilin and Surnamed Li showed up in time to go on an elevator ride with her.

During the thirty seconds of the ride, Qilin put a Puppet Brand on Liu Qingying with her none the wiser.

Of course, Liu Qingying had failed to realize it because Qilin had used Eidos at the same time to rationalize the strange feeling Liu Qingying would feel, and thus she ignored the energy intrusion of Puppeteer.

When Liu Qingying walked out of the elevator, she was already half a puppet for Qilin.

Level 7 Puppeteer came with a skill named Puppet Tune. It allowed Qilin to swap his will and consciousness with those of a puppet within a kilometer in range, which effectively let him possess the puppet.

The question Liu Qingying had asked when she was in the underground base of the Twelve Zodiac Signs was posed by Qilin, and it was Qilin who had done the odd actions then.

Once the truth was exposed, and Songstress tried to stop Liu Qingying from detonating the spatial bomb, Qilin exerted full control over Liu Qingying and took matters into his own hands.

Although he was half a kilometer away from them, and Songstress had used level 6 Requiem from a short distance with Liu Qingying herself resisting the control once she realized what was going on, Qilin’s Willpower still trumped them all.

In the end, Qilin detonated the spatial bomb and pulled back from Liu Qingying’s body, perfectly concluding the ambush against the Twelve Zodiac Signs.

“Miss, you made a contribution to the assault of the Starcatching Pavilion, and you were indispensable for tonight’s plan,” Yan Liang said.

“The plan Guildmaster and Elder formulated was perfect,” Miss said respectfully. “I only carried my part out.”

“No need for showing humility. I’ve always been fair with rewards and punishments.” Qilin was still looking ahead. “You’re an Elder from now on. What do you say, Madam Li?”

“No objection from me,” Surnamed Li said calmly.

“Guildmaster, Deputy Guildmaster, thank you for your recognition.” Miss quickly lowered his head in thanks, but it was to cover the smile tugging his lips that he couldn’t stop.

“You’re now Elder Qin You, Miss,” Qilin said.

“Yes, sir!” he responded seriously.

“Yan Liang, Qin You, lockdown the area with other members. Once the Heavenly Way restored part of it, start looking for the Rune Circuits.”

“Understood.”

“Yes, sir!”

Qilin put his glasses back on and turned to leave, holding his cane with one hand and pushing Surnamed Li’s wheelchair with the other hand.

Yan Liang and Qin You remained on the edge of the rooftop, looking down at the Millennium Tower that had been rendered into rubbles in a sea of flames. The night wind brought to them the faint sound of sirens and screams.

Yan Liang looked bemused with an impassive expression.

Qin You had to smother a smile, his gaze hardening and growing icy. Don’t blame me, Little Nan. I gave you an out. You chose the path. I did tell you that you would regret it.

Houseau3's Thoughts

Yap. As if Eidos alone wasn't bad enough.

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