The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 651: Can’t Move On

The man was prepared, and he was clearly stronger and more well-built than Qiu Qiu. With a step backward, he arched his torso back to dodge Qiu Qiu’s fist, transitioning into a kick in the abdomen smoothly.

“Agh...”

Qiu Qiu collapsed to the ground, curling and holding onto his belly like a lobster.

“Fuck, you asked for this!” The blond man smoothed out his suit and glared at him. “You’ll get out of here if you know what’s good for you, or I’ll beat you up every time I run into you!”

Qiu Qiu rolled on the ground in pain, groaning and spitting incomprehensible curses. There was nothing he could do as the man walked away.

Gao Yang watched on the sideline without getting involved. He could easily take down the man, but he didn’t want to use the strength of an awakener on a “regular person”.

He hesitated as he watched his college roommate at his lowest, hesitating if he should just leave or help his friend up.

After three seconds of agonizing, Gao Yang sighed and went up to him. “You alright, Globy?”

“I’m...I’m sorry, brother...” Qiu Qiu clenched his teeth, his eyes red. “I misunderstood you. You should punch me too to get even...”

“It’s fine.” Gao Yang helped him up with a wry smile. “How’s the belly? You should get a CT scan at the hospital. It’ll be bad if your internal organs are damaged.”

“No, no need...” Qiu Qiu sucked in stuttered breaths as he pressed a hand to his abdomen. “Just help me out. There...there are so many people watching me here. It’s humiliating...”

“Okay.”

Gao Yang was going to leave anyway. He helped Qiu Qiu out of the mall and go to the street outside. During the walk, Qiu Qiu’s head remained low, pale and depressed.

They waited for a taxi by the road. Gao Yang offered words of comfort. “The man and Zhou Jing aren’t good people, Globy. You’re not like them. You’ll find someone better.”

“I know. I know all that...” Qiu Qiu’s voice trembled slightly with frustration and bitterness. “I told myself that it was just a game. Don’t get serious. We were just having fun... But I only realized I fell for real when we broke up... I can’t help but think of her whenever I close my eyes, bro. I can’t move on. I really can’t...”

Gao Yang sighed. Before, he would’ve called Lin Dajian and bought Qiu Qiu a drink. There was nothing in a young man’s life that alcohol couldn’t solve. If the problem remained, it only meant they hadn’t drunk enough.

However, he was no longer a freshman of the computer science department of Li City University, but the leader of the Nine Scions, wanted by the Qilin Guild.

“I’m sorry, Qiu Qiu. I have something urgent to deal with today. I’ll get you a taxi. Go back and rest. Don’t dwell on what happened. It’ll all be alright after a sleep. It’ll be alright.”

“Okay. Don’t worry about me... I’m fine...” Qiu Qiu put on a smile. “Just go. I’m sorry, Little Gao. I was being a jerk. You really should punch me once, or I’ll feel guilty about it...”

“Geez, I told you it’s alright. It didn’t hurt...”

[Warning...]

The system sounded a sudden warning. Gao Yang reflexively extended his six senses on high alert. A great energy was coming from his side like an invisible tsunami.

He glanced in the direction to see a frail suited man with a gloomy temperament striding toward him from the crowd, quickly raising his right hand and splaying it at him.

Luqi!

[...Luck acquisition rate increases to 10000 times.]

Without hesitation, Gao Yang grabbed Qiu Qiu and made a strong leap, using Teleportation and Gale at the same time to go up thirty meters in a second, further boosting himself up with the power of Gale.

“Judge...”

Luqi didn’t manage to clench his right fist before Gao Yang escaped the realm of Judge.

A few wanderers around him had seen Gao Yang suddenly take off; some fainted, and others paused for two seconds before walking away like nothing unusual had happened.

Judge’s realm had no activation time. It was always on and covered a 30 to 50-meter radius depending on the circumstances. However, its biggest weakness was its lack of a barrier. Before Luqi made the judgment, all enemies inside the realm could escape at any time provided they were quick enough.

Luqi had been as fast as it went, but Gao Yang escaped even more quickly.

Since the last failed assassination attempt, Luqi had been looking for Gao Yang but never had a good opportunity to strike.

It wasn’t long until Gao Yang and Qilin turned against each other. Then Gao Yang started the Nine Scions and went into hiding, making Luqi’s search even more difficult.

His only option was to go for those around Gao Yang.

Through his investigation, he found out that Gao Yang’s most cherished family was all gone save for Gao Xinxin, but the girl was nowhere to be found.

Luqi had to go for the second-best option: Gao Yang’s college roommates. Thus, he had been stalking Qiu Qiu to see if Gao Yang would show up.

And he did. Luqi got his chance.

Considering that Gao Yang could go through walls with Teleportation, it would be easier for Gao Yang to escape inside the mall. Therefore, Luqi waited from a distance. He only approached amid the crowd and made a surprise attack once Gao Yang and Qiu Qiu walked out to the open street.

Luqi had concealed his energy, yet Gao Yang discovered him from a distance immediately.

Staring at Gao Yang as he disappeared into the sky, Luqi’s melancholy facial features arranged into an expression of confusion. Could it be that Dust had given him the wrong intel? Perhaps Gao Yang had a Talent related to sensory, and he could detect an enemy beforehand.

...

“Aghh! Ahhhh...”

Gao Yang held onto a screaming Qiu Qiu above the city and rushed toward the rooftop of a hotel at his greatest speed.

He didn’t have to save Qiu Qiu. As long as he fled quickly enough, Luqi’s attack would fail.

In that split second, however, he didn’t even have the time to think, and he acted on his instincts. When he realized it, he was already launching into the sky with a grip around Qiu Qiu’s elbow.

The replicated Gale only worked for 20 seconds. He couldn’t continue to fly.

Whoosh, whoosh. He teleported twice to a hotel’s rooftop with Qiu Qiu in his arms.

“Help, help! I’m scared of heights...” Qiu Qiu still had a dead grip on Gao Yang. He didn’t dare to let go or open his eyes.

Gao Yang sighed. It seemed that Qiu Qiu was a wanderer who could modify his logic.

“You’re safe now, Globy. Let go first...”

[Warning...]

Gao Yang started.

He pushed Qiu Qiu away with full force, reacting at the limit of his reflex. Bam! Qiu Qiu flew off his feet, slamming into the steel stands of the giant billboard before falling to a concrete balcony.

Gao Yang felt a great pain in his back. His jacket and shirt had been cut, revealing three long gashes. Blood quickly gushed out, but those were the lesser injuries.

Dark red blood stained his abdomen. There were three thin yet narrow stab wounds. His stomach and pancreas had been hit.