The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 107: One Step Away

“Where is it?” War Tiger asked in a low voice.

“There!” Cheng Xin pointed at the giant glowing tree, seemingly overcome with emotions. “There’s...there’s a hole in the tree! Yes, it’s in the hole!”

Old Wang gave him a doubtful look. “Why didn’t you go in and grab it?”

That was exactly what Gao Yang was wondering.

“I did. We all did the moment we saw it. But then we got attacked... Dead, everyone’s dead. I almost died as well...”

His face suddenly twisted with fear, and his eyes widened. Grabbing his head with both hands, he groaned in pain, “Ah, ah...”

“Cheng Xin!” Old Wang grabbed his shoulder. “Stop the nonsense and speak clearly!”

“It hurts. My head hurts so much...”

“What hit you?” asked War Tiger.

“I don’t know, I really don’t know...” Cheng Xin kept shaking his head like he was losing his grip on reality. “Don’t, don’t kill me! Ah...help...”

He started mumbling unintelligible things. It was hard to tell whether he was breaking down due to the great trauma he suffered, or if he was simply putting on an act.

“Forget about him. We’ll check it ourselves.” Officer Huang was a little concerned. “It’s best not to stay for long. I have a bad feeling about the place.”

“Agreed,” said White Rabbit.

Qing Ling and Gao Yang nodded as well.

War Tiger waved a hand at them. “Let’s go.”

They made their way to the giant tree. Supporting Cheng Xin, Old Wang kept asking him for more details, but Cheng Xin wasn’t making any sense, and the words he strung together with his scattered mind offered no information.

A few minutes later, the seven of them stood below the tree.

Only when they were face to face with the titan of a tree did they recognize its sheer scale. Even if all seven of them attempted to make a circle around the trunk, they would only cover less than half of its circumference.

Walking around the tree, their faces and bodies were bathed in the sacred white light from it. It gave them a strange out-of-body sensation, albeit slight.

Like a lifetime has slipped past me, Gao Yang thought, perhaps a little too sentimentally.

After going around the tree twice, they found no unusual signs.

War Tiger gave Cheng Xin a displeased look. “Where’s the hole you talked about?”

“It was here. It was here only a moment ago...” Cheng Xin seemed confused as well. Suddenly, he put his hands on his head again and cried out in pain. “It’s here! It’s here! Save me, please save me...”

A tremor passed through the ground under their feet, and the white light trapped in the tree roots started flickering at a high frequency. They all closed their eyes involuntarily. The flickering light didn’t subside until more than ten seconds after.

Then an ancient-looking pattern emerged on the pale tree trunk at some point. It was so very familiar.

Gao Yang connected the dots immediately. Rune Circuit! Yes, the pattern looks just like the ones on the other Rune Circuits.

Rumble.

Following the pattern, the tree trunk shifted and transformed and tore itself apart until a strange, elongated hollow appeared, almost like a creature giving birth. Inside was nothing but white. They couldn’t see anything.

“A hole! A hole! It’s here! It shows up...” Cheng Xin flailed around in celebration like a right fool.

“Is it dangerous, Cheng Xin?” Gao Yang asked. He cared about that more than he did the Rune Circuit.

“Danger, danger, danger...” Cheng Xin repeated the word as he shook his head.

“This moron.” War Tiger sighed and turned to them. “I’ll go check.”

“No!” White Rabbit stopped War Tiger with a serious expression like she was the older member here. “I know you’re strong, but there’s no need for you to take the risk.”

She turned to Cheng Xin. “Let’s throw this guy inside.”

“No! Please don’t...” Cheng Xin pushed Old Wang away and fell to the ground, scrambling backward on all fours.

It was clear that dangers awaited in the hole. At least it must be something Cheng Xin couldn’t deal with.

Everyone fell silent.

Rune Circuits were precious, but no more precious than their lives.

Since they were trapped in this Rune Cave, however, they had to find the Rune Circuit to get out of here. There was no going around it.

At that moment, Gao Yang regretted using Lie Detection on Old Wang. If he hadn’t done that, he would be able to use the Talent on Cheng Xin, which would give him an idea about how dangerous entering the tree hollow would be.

“We can’t just sit around here. I’ll do it.” Old Wang tightened his jaw and walked toward the hole in the tree.

“Old Wang!” Officer Huang called out to him. “You have a family. You don’t have to take the risk.”

“I know.” Old Wang smiled bitterly. “But we’ll all be in danger if we drag this on.”

His expression then turned guilty, his gaze woeful. “I was partly to blame for not fighting against Cheng Xin hard enough when he insisted on us taking the train. Now that everyone’s dead, I must do something. I can’t let their sacrifice be in vain.”

“But...”

“Thank you for caring, Old Huang.” Old Wang looked determined. “I have the highest defense among all of us. It’s best that I scout the place.”

Officer Huang was going to say something, but White Rabbit shut him up with a look.

Old Huang went up to the tree hole, his figure almost devoured by the white light. Before he entered, he looked over at them and said, “I’ll activate Iron Skin the moment I enter. Don’t come in until I say it’s all clear.”

“Be careful.” Gao Yang was concerned for him.

“Don’t worry. I’m quite hard to kill.” Old Wang grinned and gave him a thumbs-up before marching into the tree hollow.

Everyone waited for what was to come, on high alert.

But in only two seconds, Old Wang emerged from the glowing hollow.

They were all shocked by how quickly he returned.

“Why did you come back out immediately, Old Wang?” Officer Huang asked.

“Immediately?” Old Wang looked confused before realization dawned on him. “How long has it been for you?”

“Two seconds,” Gao Yang said.

“That’s impossible!” Old Wang looked shocked. “I was inside for at least five minutes!”

“What did you see?” asked War Tiger. “Did you find the Rune Circuit?”

Old Wang shook his head in disappointment. “There was nothing inside.”

“Nothing?” White Rabbit questioned.

“Yes, nothing.” Old Wang smacked his lips. “How should I describe it? It was...a void. There was no ceiling above or land under. There was nothing but pure white. Just in case, I activated Iron Skin. My body plummeted in one moment and soared in another. After a few minutes, I finally saw a floating glowing hole. When I reached toward it, I came back out and saw you.”

Officer Huang sighed in relief. “At least you’re fine.”

“Are you sure you didn’t spot the Rune Circuit?” White Rabbit wasn’t convinced.

“I really didn’t.” Old Wang sounded aggrieved. “Cheng Xin must have lied to us!”

“He’s gone!” Gao Yang realized suddenly.

They all turned around, and indeed, the man who had been right behind them was gone.

“He’s on the tree!” Qing Ling was the first to spot him.

Gao Yang looked up to see that Cheng Xin was climbing up along the giant tree. He had gotten to about fifty meters above them.

With a wave of her hand, Qing Ling sent her Tang Dao flying toward Cheng Xin.

The man’s madness had been nothing but an act. He shifted to the side to dodge the blade. Then, using the blade that had buried into the tree trunk as stepping stone, he leapt up to grab a thicker branch, disappearing from their sight.

“You son of a bitch, Cheng Xin!” Old Wang stomped on the ground in rage. “Don’t let him run away!”