The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 124: Two Options

Jiang Hao blinked, his breathing uneven. “I feel, I feel bad all over. I want to throw up, but I can’t...”

“If you need rest, I’ll talk to you later.”

Jiang Hao shook his head. “It’s okay, Sister Chen... Ask what you need to ask.”

Chen Ying nodded. “Do you remember who attacked you, Jiang Hao?”

Jiang Hao nodded slowly. “I do. It’s a cat.”

Can it be the white cat?!

Gao Yang’s heart jumped to his throat. He turned to find Officer Huang and Qing Ling looking his way. They kept silent without the need for verbal communication.

“Cat?” Sha Ye frowned. “Was it a monster?”

“I don’t, I don’t know.” Jiang Hao’s Adam’s apple bobbed with difficulty. “It was a white cat with green eyes. Very pretty. I don’t know what breed it was. It was hiding in the storage room. I thought, I thought it was someone’s pet...”

“Take your time,” Chen Ying reassured him patiently.

“It lunged at me suddenly and bit my hand. It hurt...” Jiang Hao continued. “Then I blacked out.”

“Were you having a bad dream?” Gao Yang asked.

“Yes. There were many people in my dreams, all faceless. They were chasing me in a long, long tunnel. I was terrified. I kept running and running... Then finally, I woke up.”

Gao Yang made a pensive noise. That was similar to Fat Jun’s dream.

Fat Jun had dreamed about being in a subway train crowded with people, and all of them were grabbing at him like they had gone mad.

While Gao Yang wasn’t an expert in oneiromancy, both dreams gave him the impression of suffocation, of oppression, and of being haunted.

Gao Yang had thought Fresh Snow was the one that attacked Jiang Hao, but it turned out to be the cat. Were they working together? Or was the white cat a monster Fresh Snow had tamed and kept as a pet? Or perhaps there were other possibilities?

Gao Yang had a feeling that he was missing something, but he couldn’t put a finger on it. Still, he instinctively knew that he shouldn’t keep it to himself, that he had to tell Officer Huang and Qing Ling.

Afterward, Sha Ye asked Jiang Hao a few questions about his physical condition, making sure that he had stabilized.

“Rest well, Jiang Hao, and call me anytime if you remember something.” Chen Ying stood up, knowing that she wouldn’t get anything else out of him at the moment.

They all left the infirmary and returned to the breakroom.

Gao Yang was weighed down by his own thoughts, while Qing Ling didn’t seem to care at all. Officer Huang, on the other hand, was advising Chen Ying seriously.

“To tell you the truth, we’ve run into the white cat before. We don’t know yet if it’s friend or foe. While I can’t tell you the details, please do as I say if you’re willing to place your trust in me.”

“Please go ahead,” Chen Ying said, taking his words to heart.

“Quarantine Jiang Hao for at least half a month to observe him.”

“That’s it?” Sha Ye frowned.

“The arm that’s bitten may mutate, or perhaps his entire person will. Be ready for it and make the proper preparations.”

“Mutate?” Chen Ying wasn’t sure she understood.

“It may transform and lose control, attacking those around him. Then the mutation may stabilize, allowing Jiang Hao to coexist with it.” Officer Huang paused. “But I can’t guarantee that it’ll happen. Worst comes to worst, you may decide Jiang Hao’s fate at your own discretion.”

The implication wasn’t lost on Chen Ying. Her expression turned grave.

After a moment, she nodded. “Thank you. I understand.”

“It’s late. I have work tomorrow, and these two have classes.” Officer Huang’s forehead creased in exhaustion. “We will take our leave.”

“Of course. Thank you again.” Chen Ying bowed. “I’ll walk you out.”

Gao Yang hesitated before reminding her, “About what we bought at the market...”

“Right. My apologies. Please follow me.” Chen Ying smiled apologetically. She almost forgot about it since it was so trivial.

Still, Chen Ying didn’t expect a great organization like the Twelve Zodiac Signs to be so poor that their members would be so hung up on a few coins. It seemed that everyone indeed had their own cross to bear.

...

When the three of them left the Hundred Rivers Union and reached the Shanqing District, the day had just broken.

Officer Huang took them to an old noodle shop called Sixth Deafman Beef Noodle.

The owner was a middle-aged man with a receding hairline. His face was chubby and glinting in the way that spoke of a life of contentment, and his smile was friendly. Officer Huang knew him as a mild-tempered wanderer.

“Please enjoy!” He served three beef rice noodles with fried eggs and glanced at Gao Yang and Qing Ling. “What did the kids do wrong, Old Huang?”

“The lovebirds went to an internet cafe at midnight for some alone time, and I ran into them. It’s my duty to give them a good talking-to before sending them to school.” Officer Huang lied deftly.

“Well, they look good together.” The shop owner chuckled. “Study hard and don’t get lost in romance until you’re in college, okay?”

Gao Yang and Qing Ling awkwardly nodded.

The three of them were starving. They each grabbed a pair of chopsticks and started wolfing down the food. With a few mouthfuls of rice noodles in him, Gao Yang felt his empty stomach fill up with warmth.

He decided to tell them about the white cat and Fresh Snow.

He would keep quiet about Mad Red since it concerned no one else, but Officer Huang and Qing Ling had crossed paths with the white cat. The night Old Man Zhang mutated, the three of them fought it together, and the white cat had seen it all.

“Last night at the amusement park...”

“Right, I almost forgot.” Officer Huang was still diving into his rice noodles. “You haven’t told us the details.”

“You should be prepared. Once I tell you, you’ll be involved.”

Unfazed, Qing Ling poured vinegar into her bowl; her expression could only be described as devout.

Gao Yang had long noticed that she always looked like that when she ate.

“Go on. We’ve been through hell together. No need to pull back.” Officer Huang sucked in another mouthful of rice noodles.

“So the ‘ghost’ I ran into last night...was a Spectre.”

Officer Huang splattered a mouthful of noodles back into the bowl and got into a coughing fit.

Qing Ling put away her chopsticks and handed Officer Huang a cup of water. He took it and drank slowly with his head tilted.

Once he had calmed himself, his expression turned into one of surprise and regret, and he said in a lower voice, “Do you mean the Spectres?”

Gao Yang nodded.

Officer Huang swore. “Can I pretend to not hear it?”

“Too late.” Gao Yang smiled bitterly. “And I suspect that the Spectre is on the same side as the white cat.”

Officer Huang’s face darkened, and he slammed the chopsticks onto the table. “I’m done.”

Then he took out a cigarette and lit it like he had done it a million times, taking a couple drags.

Qing Ling continued to savor her noodles. Although she hadn’t said anything, it was clear that she was thinking.

A few minutes later, Gao Yang finished retelling what had happened between him and Fresh Snow.

The cigarette had burned to the end. Officer Huang smashed it in the glass ashtray and said, “What did I tell you? You’re dangerous, kid, and everyone who’s close to you is bound to exit stage left early.”

“I’m sorry.” Gao Yang smiled apologetically. “I didn’t ask for this.”

“I was just complaining, Gao Yang. Don’t take it personally.” Officer Huang smiled wryly. “After Old Man Zhang, the Gu Family’s Village, and the Cattle Farm Station, we are already on the same boat with our lives tied together. You should’ve told us earlier!”

“There’s no next time,” Qing Ling said.

Feeling warmth filling his chest, Gao Yang nodded. “I promise.”

“What’s next?” Having calmed down, Officer Huang picked up his bowl and started eating noodles again. “I know you. You must have thought about your next move when you told us the truth.”

Gao Yang looked at his bowl. “I’m actually quite lost as well, but my instinct tells me that the white cat and Fresh Snow aren’t hostile to us, at least not at the moment.”

Qing Ling poured more vinegar into her bowl. “Or she would’ve killed us already.”

“Correct.” Gao Yang nodded.

“But she must be up to something. The fact that she isn’t coming for us right now doesn’t mean she won’t do it in the future.” Officer Huang gave Gao Yang a pointed look. “Perhaps she wants to fatten you up before eating you.”

“That is a possibility.” Gao Yang licked his lips. “At the moment, I have two options in mind.”