The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 784: Open Scheme

Yan Liang analyzed at a deliberate pace, “On the surface, Gao Yang was too focused on his revenge to help Liu Qingying kill Dust. To make amends for not honoring his promise, he gave Liu Qingying an intel—that holy water is a requirement for a Talent to reach level 8.”

“Let’s put aside if the intel is true and consider why Gao Yang sold the information to Liu Qingying.”

Qilin smiled faintly. “The intel seems unassuming and harmless but will benefit the Ocean River Union. Madam Li’s Prophet is level 7, and the Knowledge Rune Circuit is in our hands. Madam Li would have considered merging with the Rune Circuit to reach level 8. If holy water is necessary, we’ll value the information.”

“That’s right,” Yan Liang said. “Gao Yang could guess how eager Liu Qingying was to have revenge. If the Nine Scions wouldn’t help, she would seek us out, and the information would be a good bargaining chip.”

“You mean that Gao Yang gave us the information through Liu Qingying on purpose?” Surnamed Li caught on.

“Yes, and there’s more to it,” Yan Liang said. “He asked Liu Qingying for the bombs so that Liu Qingying would give us the information, too.”

“He wanted us to know those two things.” Surnamed Li’s expression hardened.

“I’ve faced Gao Yang a few times.” Yan Liang let out a hoarse, reserved laugh. “The boy’s plans are always layered, and he’s best at diverting attention away from the real plan.”

Qilin adjusted his glasses with a long, slim finger, following Yan Liang’s logic. “In Gao Yang’s plan, we will try to seek out holy water after knowing how important it is. At least we’ll try to stop Gao Yang from getting it.”

“Gao Yang told Liu Qingying that he knew where he could get holy water without telling her the location. It wasn’t meant to make Liu Qingying guess, but to make us think.”

“Yes.” Surnamed Li was now following them. “It would be too obvious for him to leak the actual information. Allowing us to guess it would give us the illusion of having control and thus relax our guard.”

“And the answer is simple.” Yan Liang chuckled. “There are only two possibilities. One is Hyena’s lab in West Nation, but the place is all blown up. Azure Dragon investigated it and found nothing of value. The other is...”

“Ni Nation,” Qilin said.

“Yes.” Yan Liang nodded. “There is a ruin under the Ni Nation desert. Gao Yang investigated it before and found a mummified life monster that’s been dead for a long time. There was a dead infant in its belly. It must be the Forlorn Ghost that was closest to being a Malediction. It was powerful and evil.”

“Gao Yang took something back from the ruin, but due to the circumstances, he wasn’t able to return with the coffin and the mummy inside.”

“After Gao Yang returned, the Malediction emerged and left an abyss after its death. Then Gao Yang defected and created the Nine Scions. The civil war thus broke out. A war of headhunting began, too. As a result, we completely forgot to look deeper into the underground ruin.”

“Things are different now. We know that holy water may be extracted from the flesh of a dead life monster and that holy water is key to a Talent reaching level 8. Whether it’s true or false, we will have a renewed interest in the mummy in the underground ruin in Ni Nation. At least we’ll send a team of elites to transport the coffin and mummy back, making sure that the Nine Scions won’t get their hands on it.”

“So that’s the trap.” Qilin’s gaze turned fierce.

Yan Liang concluded, “I believe the bombs for our base are merely a distraction. The real ambush will happen in the ruin under the Ni Nation desert.”

He turned to Qilin. “Gao Yang knows that the Nine Scions aren’t strong enough to face off the Ocean River Union head-on at the moment. With most members staying to protect the base, we’ll only send a team to Ni Nation for investigation.”

“Then Gao Yang will have sent a team of elites to stage an ambush, catching us off guard.”

“They will divide our power so that he can go after us separately. That’s the best strategy the Nine Scions can employ.”

“So we play along?” asked Surnamed Li.

“That’ll be up to you.” Yan Liang looked at her. “If you don’t see the base getting attacked, we may turn the plan against them and send all of our main members for an ambush to wipe out the Nine Scions. It’ll be a once-in-a-lifetime chance. The Nine Scions have been hiding in the dark. If they refuse to come out of hiding, it’ll be difficult for us to force them out again.”

“If you foresee the underground base getting seriously damaged by the Nine Scions the next few days, though, it’ll mean that both plans are real, or even the Ni Nation is the distraction. Then we adjust the strategy and focus on the base.”

Surnamed Li mused and nodded in agreement. “Yes, that’ll be the safest option.”

Qilin had a sip of his coffee and said seriously, “Gao Yang must know that we’ll see through it, too. He’s coming after us with an open scheme.”

Yan Liang nodded with a chuckle. “A hidden plan only secures small victory, and the open scheme is the right way to go about things. Nine Scions are still too weak in terms of actual power.”

Surnamed Li shook her head. “For an organization that has just been established, their growth is already...ugh...”

Before she could finish, she held her head and shuddered, face pale. She almost fell off the wheelchair.

Qilin and Yan Liang started. Yan Liang went up to support her by the shoulders. “Are you alright, Madam Li?”

“I...I’m alright...” Surnamed Li took deep breaths to recover her composure. With a bitter smile, she looked at the two men. “I saw it. I saw the Nine Scions bombing the base. The explosion is powerful. One of them must have comprehended Explosives Expert.”

“When will it happen?” Yan Liang immediately asked. “Who will they send?”

“Should be tomorrow night or the early morning after that... They are all wearing masks. There are eight of them. Four men and four women, I believe...”

“What else do you see?”

Surnamed Li shook her head. “It was too blurry and fleeting for me to catch more details.”

“Could it be that this is Gao Yang’s real plan?” Qilin frowned.

“Haha, not necessarily,” Yan Liang said calmly.

...

Early morning, before the day broke, the Nine Scions gathered in the front yard of the mansion, including Gao Yang, Nine Frost, Qing Ling, Wang Zikai, Can, Nainai, Hong Xiaoxiao, Ke Yo, Chen Ying, and Zhang Wei.

Before they set out, Nine Frost asked Gao Yang to give a talk. It could be anyone’s last mission after all.

And they were prepared for that. They looked at their young leader with unwavering eyes, waiting for him to address them.

Gao Yang looked back at them. He would like to give an emphatic pep talk to pump everyone up, but after thinking about it for a long time, he realized that most words would seem like meaningless platitudes at this moment.

In the end, he made a simple declaration.

“We fight!”

“Keep fighting!”

“Fight with everything we have!”

His voice echoed in the empty valleys. A crack emerged in the heavy gray clouds in the eastern sky as a ray of light pierced through the dark, shining upon the world.