The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 21: Challenge

Gao Yang closed his eyes.

[Access granted.]

[You have acquired 61 Luck points.]

It was about what Gao Yang expected. Two days were 48 hours, so normally he would have gotten 48 Luck points. Since he got a bonus when he was attacked by Fat Jun, however, he gained a little more than ten points on top of that.

—I’m going to pull for a Talent.

[It takes 30 Luck points to comprehend a new Talent. Do you confirm?]

—Yes!

[Comprehending...]

[Comprehending...]

[Comprehension fails.]

—Dang it! This is too much. Is it really that difficult?

[To make another attempt at comprehension, you need 30 Luck points.]

—What kind of business do you run here? Forget it, put all the 31 points left in Luck.

—I’m going to an interview. Whatever I can do to make myself stronger, I’ll do it.

[Allocation completed. Luck is now 132.]

[Congratulations! You have acquired 20 permanent unassigned points. You may allocate them as you wish.]

—Put them all in Luck.

[You are prohibited from exploiting the loophole.]

—Fine. Let me think. Then I’ll put it all in Charisma.

[You are adding 20 points to Charisma. Do you confirm?]

—Yes. It’s just 20 points. I don’t think it’ll help much if I put them in other stats. Might as well leave a better first impression.

[Constitution: 27 Endurance: 28]

[Strength: 17 Agility: 27]

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[Willpower: 37 Charisma: 39]

[Luck: 132]

[Access ends. System hidden.]

[Beep—]

Gao Yang opened his eyes and turned to Qing Ling. “Do I look different?”

Qing Ling looked over at him. “No.”

Gao Yang insisted, “Take a closer look. There should be a difference. Do my eyes look sharper? Or maybe my facial features are more sculpted, or my skin fairer...”

“Your skin has gotten thicker,” said Qing Ling.

She has no taste. Fine. Let her be.

Gao Yang took a deep breath and straightened his collars before striding into the arcade.

It was about 20 square meters big with two lines of old arcade machines by the walls. On the screens, colorful commercials were playing, casting the dim room in old-fashioned technicolors. The fan above their head spinned slowly, squeaking every so often.

A young man sat in a corner of the room, focusing solely on his game.

Gao Yang and Qing Ling exchanged a look. Then he walked up to the man and said, “Hello, we’re here for the interview.”

The man didn’t spare them any attention, nor did he become hostile.

Gao Yang walked closer. The man was playing Knights of Valour[1]. He picked Zhuge Liang as his character and was exploiting a bug with an ice sword, freezing the boss Cao Cao again and again without pause.

Youth these days don’t know to respect the code of honor.

The man was built a little short and thin. He was dressed in leather from top to bottom, and the clothes were covered in rivets. His hair was shaved on the sides with the middle part sticking up, dyed into a bright yellow. It was the classic broom head.

His chest, nape, and arms were all covered in tattoos of a myriad of strange shapes. One of them was a pig head in the shape of a hairdryer[2]. That one Gao Yang did recognize.

“Gah—”

From the arcade machine came Cao Cao’s scream. His hit points had been drained completely. The man beat the game.

He remained seated as he glanced up at Gao Yang and said, “Here for the interview? You?”

Gao Yang felt a little dejected. I just added 20 points to my Charisma, he thought. Shouldn't I get some respect?

“And me,” Qing Ling said.

The young man leaned over and looked behind Gao Yang’s shoulders. When he saw Qing Ling, he immediately perked up.

“Whoa, a pretty lady!” He shot to his feet and wiped a hand through his broom head with dramatic aplomb. “So it’s you two?”

“And me.” Officer Huang lifted the blue cloth and walked in. “Sorry for being late. You haven’t gotten started, have you?”

“We just got here,” said Gao Yang.

Officer Huang was respectful to the broom head man. “Let me introduce you. This is our interviewer tonight, Mr. Wu Dahai.”

The man put his hands in his pockets and put on airs. “Just call me Brother Hai.”

“They are companions I’ve met recently, Gao Yang and Qing Ling.” Officer Huang smiled. “I failed the challenge last time. It’s okay if I try it again with my two companions, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, yeah, but you’re not bothering me for a month if you fail again tonight.” Wu Dahai sounded arrogant.

“Deal.”

“Let’s get started.” Qing Ling raised her hand, and a Tang Dao appeared in her grip.

“Whoa, that’s something! And it can be hidden!” Wu Dahai’s eyes glinted. “This didn’t belong to you, did it? Where did you get it?”

“None of your business.” Qing Ling got into a fighting position.

“Pretty girls have the right to be dismissive!” Unfazed, Wu Dahai lazily picked at his ear. “Who among you are taking me on first?”

“I’ll do it first,” said Officer Huang.

“Alright, we’ll do three challenges as per usual!” Wu Dahai opened his arms. “Pick what you want. You pass as long as you can win all three times.”

“Pick what?” asked Qing Ling.

Officer Huang smiled. “I didn’t tell you, did I? The test is the arcade games. Pick three machines and win, and we’ll pass. I’ve tried many times, but I always lost to him in the end. You young people should be better at games. We have a good chance of winning.”

Gao Yang was speechless. “When you said you were too weak, Officer Huang, you meant playing games?”

“Yeah.”

Qing Ling frowned, confused. “Why didn’t you just cut this idiot down?”

“Hahahaha...cut me down?” Wu Dahai laughed until he was breathless. “You don’t know what power is, lady! I’m giving you a chance here! Don’t slap the hand that offers you a great deal! If we’re gonna fight for real...”

He raised his voice and continued, “I can’t even defeat any of you one-on-one, let alone all three of you together!”

Gao Yang felt the urge to facepalm. He sure was speaking the lines of the wimpiest lackey in the haughtiest tone.

Wu Dahai seemed proud of himself. “Hmph, my Talent doesn’t lie in combat. Of course I can’t defeat you. If you dare lay a finger on me, however, there is no shortage of big fish in the organization who will take care of you.”

“Alright, alright. We’re all awakeners. We should be getting along rather than fighting among ourselves.” Officer Huang stepped in to defuse the tension. “I’ll go first. I picked the fighter jet game.”

He walked to a machine and sat down, inserting a coin. Wu Dahai did the same.

Gao Yang approached them. It was the first generation Strikers 1945.

It was Gao Yang’s nightmare from childhood. One coin never lasted more than a few minutes. He hated shoot’em ups.

Officer Huang and Wu Dahai each picked a fighter jet before entering the same game.

“As usual, although we each have three lives, we only count the first in this match. No bombs permitted. Whoever dies first loses.”

“Alright.”

The match started.

The first stage was on the easy side. There weren’t many bullets on the screen, and both of them passed it without difficulty while acquiring the best weapons.

Into the second stage, the bullets on the screen became much denser. Prohibited from clearing the screen with bombs, they could only rely on regular attacks. Under the pressure, they both flashed around the screen swiftly to dodge the bullets.

Once they got to the third stage, it was clear that the two were getting really into it.

With his God of Firearms, Officer Huang should have an advantage in shooting games like this. His fingers moved quickly, but he was composed and calm.

When they encountered the boss, Officer Huang gave up on attacking altogether. His plan was obvious: he was waiting for the stage boss to kill Wu Dahai for him with all the bullets on the screen.

Wu Dahai was agile as well, but he was getting agitated. He kept shooting at the stage boss while flying around.

Officer Huang focused on dodging alone with a hand on the joystick and a hand holding a cigarette.

Perfect flex. Gao Yang would give that a full score.

Amid the countless flying bullets, Wu Dahai’s jet got shot down in the end. Officer Huang let go of the joystick. His jet was shot down in an instant—he survived for a second longer than Wu Dahai.

“Good game,” he said as he stood up.

“Hmph, this is the only one you’re good at.” Wu Dahai’s chin remained high. “Next one. Come on.”

“You two should give it a go,” said Officer Huang.

“But you played well,” said Gao Yang.

“No, I’ve challenged him in everything.” Officer Huang smiled wryly. “Other than the shooting game, I lost terribly in everything else.”

“Who’s next?” Wu Dahai asked.

Gao Yang shared a look with Qing Ling. In her characteristic cool voice, she said, “I am.”

1. A 1999 Taiwanese game based off of Romance of the Three Kingdoms. ?

2. You may have guessed. It’s Peppa Pig. ?