The Creatures That We Are-Chapter 1215: Fated Enemies

Twenty minutes later, a bus sped along the expressway in the suburban area, driven by Dr. Jia, the God of Vehicles himself.

“Speeding! Danger!”

“Speeding! Flip!”

“Speeding! Tragedy!”

The grey parrot on the driver’s seat cawked incessantly.

“Shut up! I’m the God of Vehicles. The car won’t flip even if I drove with my feet!”

Dr. Jia was in an irritable and frustrated mood.

He had been conducting his study when the world suddenly lost its colors. All the machines were reading scrambled data like a man drunk on a whole bottle of liquor. Two minutes later, Quiet Book, Tang Xiaocong, and Sun Hu barged through his door and yelled for help. Everyone was gone.

Dr. Jia only took a moment to figure out that they had been pulled into a Li City in a dual state.

Side note, his parrot had entered this Li City with him—Nine Frost had controlled it with Avian King numerous times, leaving residual energy in its body. Thus, it got taken along by the Heavenly Way.

The four humans discussed their next move. While they were worried about their companions, they could offer little help, and their fear of death was greater than any other urges. In the end, they decided to stay at the base.

At half past four, Nainai returned with Qing Ling and Vermilion Bird—both in a deep coma—and explained the situation.

They could no longer sit around doing nothing. They decided to go with Nainai and contribute as much as they could to the final fight.

—Outside of Dr. Jia, of course. He didn’t want to give his life for nothing. However, Parry insisted on going with Nainai; not because it was brave, but because it always went where the excitement was.

Dr. Jia cursed and complained, but followed Parry here.

And now he took the wheel while everyone checked their equipment, treated their physical injuries, or dwelt on their thoughts in silence with their head lowered. The interior of the bus was permeated with a silent tension.

Gao Yang sat in the very back with an open diary in his hand. Baili Yi sat beside him.

Gao Yang had sought him out after a moment of consideration.

Baili Yi didn’t seem surprised. “What is it?”

Gao Yang quietly glanced at Tang Xiaocong, who was sitting in front of him. Tang Xiaocong gave Baili Yi a good look before turning away.

Gao Yang conjured a small soundproof barrier with a wave of his hand.

“Only Pride remains of the death monsters,” Gao Yang said.

Baili Yi stayed silent.

“Any advice?”

“Pride is powerful. Be careful.” A correct statement that was ultimately useless.

Gao Yang said bluntly, “You lied to us, Baili Yi.”

“...”

“Your Chessboard of Causality has calculated all the possible endings of the Battle of the Curtain Call.”

Gao Yang spoke like he was merely stating the truth: “And in every ending, we lost. Your participation makes no difference.”

“Our round isn’t special at all. We’re no different from the previous rounds—no, we’re weaker.”

“You keep the results from us because you want to bet on your teacher’s answer. You’re waiting for a miracle. However, you don’t know where the miracle lies.”

Gao Yang met Baili Yi’s eyes. “Don’t lie to me. I have Lie Detection.”

The man’s gaze flickered under his glasses. “That is one possibility.”

Gao Yang waited for him to continue.

Baili Yi looked forward with his hands clasped. “Let us follow your hypothesis.”

“Perhaps I have calculated all the possible endings of the Battle of the Curtain Call. However, the battle takes place in a Li City that exists and not at the same time, in a dual state. As we’ve established before, an observer will make the dual state collapse. A prophecy is an observation.”

“If I had calculated all the endings, there could’ve been endings where humanity is the victor. However, had I told you beforehand, the ending might have changed. Perhaps that was the reason I told you nothing.”

Gao Yang considered it. “That is a possibility.”

“Possibility.” Baili Yi adjusted his glasses with a smile. “The most beautiful and cruel thing in the world.”

Gao Yang didn’t have anything else to ask him.

“This is my cue to leave. Good luck.” Baili Yi flashed back into the diary. Gao Yang closed it and dissolved the barrier.

When he looked up, everyone in the car was looking at him—except for Dr. Jia, who was driving and bickering with his parrot.

They could all guess what Gao Yang and Baili Yi had talked about. It concerned the fate of everyone and even the whole world for humanity. They wished for their young leader to say something before the final fight.

And he did, but he didn’t give an impassioned declaration or pep talk. Instead, he said:

“Let’s go.”

...

The bus slowed to a stop. Everyone disembarked and walked to the entrance of the town. Colors remained for the whole town and the mountain ranges around it. The white moon’s penetrating light was unable to wash them away.

Everyone’s heart sank. Those who had fought death monsters knew that in this monochrome world, a death monster’s presence was what kept itself and the space around it in color; it was the manifestation of the death monster’s resistance to the Three Double-Hours of Heavenly Tribulation.

Envy, in her second form, was able to keep her one-kilometer radius in color, but Pride? His aura had reached more than ten kilometers in radius. That showed how powerful his resistance was.

The awakeners stopped to look up at the vast colored world before them, as if standing at the edge of a giant hemisphere of crystal. Not Gao Yang, though. He walked in without hesitation. The others followed at their own pace.

The moment they stepped into Pride’s aura, a pressure weighed them down and compelled them to tremble and kneel. An irresistible despair seized all of their hearts.

Gao Yang’s eyes darkened. He sensed something.

...

Under the moonlight, the crimson palace stood grand, weathered, and beautiful in a macabre way. The throne of Pride stood alone on the elevated platform.

Wearing a black shirt and white pants, the blond young man lounged on the throne with a bored look on his face, one hand propping his chin and the other hand tossing a rectangular box.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Six.

Seven.

He caught the box and lifted his eyes. They glinted slightly under his long lashes.

Two seconds later, he smiled.

It was a pure yet prideful smile.