The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 898: Good!

He was still there!

He hadn’t been evaporated in the fire, at least...not entirely.

Soon, everyone saw the human swine-like figure clearly[1]. The sight was difficult to look at.

His clothes and hair had burned away completely. His flesh existed in a state between melted and charred, his face a twisted brown mask eerily similar to the one he used to wear.

His left arm and both legs had simply vanished. The left prosthetic calf lay disconnected, while his prosthetic right arm remained bizarrely intact; its synthetic skin burned away to reveal, of all things, a chic pink strawberry pattern.

The scene painted itself in cruel, macabre strokes.

Sir Jiang hadn’t willingly surrendered his limbs, but he couldn’t keep them.

During those five seconds under the Fire Punch, Sir Jiang had desperately warped space around himself. He'd managed to preserve only his head and torso, sacrificing face and limbs to survive. His health bar flickered at one-tenth, energy reserves at twenty percent.

Sir Jiang was at an inch of his life, rendered useless.

Gao Yang's chest heaved, his blood-streaked face ash-white. He'd crippled his target as planned, but at a steep cost—his energy reserves had plummeted below forty percent.

"Impressive. The Divine Scion lives up to his name, managing that level of attack while injured." Dr. Jia spread his hands appreciatively. "Though this turn-based nonsense is ridiculous. Without that restriction on group attacks, everyone over there would be ash."

Gao Yang remained silent, expression calm. He suspected group attacks should have been allowed—but Clear Mirror, as judge, had altered the rules. The game only needed to appear fair, not be fair.

His primary mission was to kill Gao Yang, then his selfish want was to avenge Dust.

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Back in Aurora Town, Liu Qingying was the catalyst of the mission, with Azure Dragon, Six Rime, and Liao Liao being among the main contributors, and Sir Jiang leading the reinforcements.

Liu Qingying, Azure Dragon, and Six Rime were all dead. Thus Clear Mirror’s revenge plan targeted Sir Jiang and Liao Liao.

By giving his life, Clear Mirror changed the rules of the domain and balanced the power of the two teams to ensure they would mutually destroy each other, or at least leave no one unhurt. Then he would’ve completed the mission the Heavenly Godbearer entrusted to him and avenged Dust, his sister. And it was the most Clear Mirror could do.

Gao Yang’s attack had been grand and powerful. The domain, like an old computer, seemed to be overclocking due to the overload of data. It took half a minute for Liao Liao to have her turn.

Her heart sank at Sir Jiang's condition. Gao Yang's devastating display shocked her, but hope remained.

For now, at least, she still held the advantage.

Liao Liao drew her gun and fired at Gao Yang with God of Firearms. These turn-based rules are absurd, she fumed silently. His five-second punch counts as one attack, while my single bullet counts the same. How is that fair?

She aimed for his heart rather than his head. His high Agility might let him dodge a headshot, but the larger target area of his chest gave him less room to maneuver.

She'd considered trying to predict his dodge direction to ensure a heart shot, but the gamble felt too risky. A wrong guess would mean a complete miss.

Gao Yang moved the instant she pulled the trigger, but without Teleportation, even he couldn't outrace a bullet from level 6 God of Firearms—a Talent she'd raised to level 4 with the Damage Rune Circuit before the civil war, then pushed to level 6 afterward.

Thud.

The Black Gold bullet tore through his chest.

Gao Yang's expression darkened, caught between relief and cursing. The level 6 round punched clean through his enhanced body, perforating his lung and accelerating his blood loss. The only mercy was that the bullet had penetrated him too quickly for its paralysis and poison effects to take hold.

He pressed a hand to his bleeding chest, slowly dropping to one knee. His health bar plummeted below fifty percent.

Yes!

Liao Liao's internal celebration wasn't naive joy at a kill, but the damage had exceeded her expectations. Gao Yang teetered on the edge now. If Qin You just...

Why isn't he moving?

She turned to find Qin You's feet marked green, yet he remained motionless.

"Qin You!" Her voice cracked with disbelief. "Move it!"

Face dark, Qin You crossed his arms. His hands transformed into countless sturdy vines, completely encasing his body; it was Plant's ultimate defense.

He'd chosen to protect himself rather than attack.

"You fucking... bastard!" Liao Liao's rage exploded.

Seconds later, Qin You lowered his defense, his expression awkward. When Liao Liao had offered to risk herself alongside him, he'd resolved to choose offense. But at the crucial moment, survival instinct had overwhelmed his resolve.

"It's not that I'm afraid of death!" His protest rang hollow.

1. 人彘, renzi, is a cruel way of torture to remove someone’s limbs and sense organs. ☜