The Creatures that We Are

However, looking back, it was exactly because Qilin and Yan Liang had almost killed Gao Yang and his four companions and struck the Nine Scions with a heavy blow that the story became believable. Thus, Qilin and Yan Liang never suspected that Ke Yo could be putting up an act with Gao Yang, and they rewarded her handsomely. Not only did they make her an Elder as an exception, they also allowed her the biggest freedom.

During the next three days, Ke Yo never once forgot about her character, and she acted with every muscle in her body. At the same time, she followed Gao Yang’s suggestion and contacted Goldthread and Colorless in secret, thus confirming that Goldthread was Dust.

Ke Yo told Nine Frost. Up to that point, Gao Yang, Ke Yo, and Nine Frost were the only ones who knew the whole plan.

Then Nine Frost contacted Chen Ying, having her bring Goldthread and Little Tian with the excuse of a secret trade of Rune Circuits, luring Goldthread out.

Meanwhile, Nine Frost left two Black Gold hairpins marked with Gamer in the women’s toilet of the hamburger place near Chen Ying’s home. He told Chen Ying to make sure to retrieve them, and that both she and Little Tian must carry them on themselves. No questions asked. She must do it if she didn’t want to die.

Chen Ying wasn’t so dense that she wouldn’t realize Goldthread was Dust.

It was shocking and absurd. She had never once considered that Goldthread could be the spy.

After some agonizing and pondering, she decided to trust the plan Gao Yang relayed through Nine Frost unconditionally and execute it.

Soon, all preparations had been made, and all that was left was to wait for the time to come.

Chen Ying sent a message to Gao Yang with a burner phone, telling him the meeting time and location: Christmas Eve, 10 o’clock at night.

Gao Yang knew that it was time to conclude the plan.

It just so happened that he had accepted Fresh Snow’s invitation to spend Christmas Eve together. It troubled him, but he could not give up on carrying out the last step of the plan tonight, or all the effort and sacrifice made would be wasted. However, his contact with the Spectres was one-sided. He had no way to message White Dew.

If he needed anything, he would have to visit the Spectres’ mansion, and he simply didn’t have the time. He had to prepare for and rehearse the plan, scouting out the location too.

He thought with some wishful thinking that perhaps he didn’t have to notify Fresh Snow and would make it to the meeting place in time after the plan concluded. With his mind made up, he took Can shopping and bought a coat. Then he returned and had Nainai transform him.

Gao Yang turned into Can and replicated Invisibility, Time Reset, and Telepathy.

Nainai, on the other hand, carried a marked Black Gold hairpin and transformed into Gao Yang with Shapeshifter, gaining access to Double.

Meanwhile, Chen Ying had brought Little Tian with her to relax Goldthread’s guard for one, and to make sure Goldthread hadn’t set up any trap—Little Tian would be able to detect any awakener and awake elite monster in the three-kilometer radius.

Both Gao Yang and Chen Ying were gambling. They could guess that Dust was Goldthread’s second personality—or soul—which allowed Dust to stay unnoticed for years. If Green Tea hadn’t acquired Mindreading, Dust would remain hidden.

Thus, if they could somehow force Dust’s soul out, perhaps Goldthread could still live.

Green Tea’s behavior supported the possibility. When he sought out Chestnut, he had asked her for a Black Gold weapon that hurt the soul but not the body. Green Tea must have wanted to kill the other voice in Goldthread—Dust’s soul.

If Green Tea hadn’t allowed emotions to make the decision, if he had made a deadly move as soon as he heard the other voice in Goldthread, Goldthread and Dust would’ve been the ones to die.

“The soft ones won’t get to be the last ones laughing.”

When Gao Yang figured out Green Tea’s motivation and what he had done, the advice of an old friend surfaced in his head.

Ironically, Gao Yang and Chen Ying had gone soft, too. They also wanted to save Goldthread.

They didn’t know that as overtaker prime, Dust’s soul and energy had long reached all parts of Goldthread’s body and soul like cancer cells, taking over his existence with him none the wiser.

When Dust forced herself to wake up, Goldthread’s soul burned. It was something not even Dust could stop.

Double Soul Leecher. It was the most basic ability of an overtaker prime, or it could be considered a curse.

Everything went according to plan. They met up at the Western Suburban Park. Chen Ying made a secret Rune Circuit trade with the Nine Scions with Goldthread and Little Tian. Inside Goldthread, Dust could see everything clearly, but didn’t do anything to intervene.

Actually, there was little Dust could do while Goldthread was awake, or she would take over completely, and Goldthread would die.

Still, Dust could guess that the trade had something to do with the assassination plan against Gao Yang that had been proposed to her. While Goldthread was retrieving the Rune Circuit, she made his soul go blank for two seconds and seized the chance to inject the Rune Circuit with the curse of Soul Bonfire.

The two groups met that night.

Nainai, disguised as Gao Yang, and Gao Yang, disguised as Can, showed up.

“Can” immediately used Telepathy to make a clear point to Chen Ying during the thirty seconds of opening: Do as we agreed on. No matter what happens or who dies, stay calm and believe me. It’s all part of the plan.

Chen Ying composed herself, reassured.

Gao Yang and Nainai first appeared invisible with Gao Yang using the Talent; that was to establish himself as the real Can.

Then Chen Ying had Little Tian look for enemies in the area. It was to make sure Dust didn’t have any reinforcements hidden nearby and to “catch” the double Nainai had created as Gao Yang.

Nainai dispersed the double right before everyone, thus establishing herself as Gao Yang.

Even Dust believed her to be the real Gao Yang, and she realized then that this was the only chance to kill the Divine Scion.

As per their deal, “Can” put on the Black Gold cuffs with Chen Ying pointing a gun at her head, becoming surety. “Goldthread”, on the other hand, handed the Support Rune Circuit to “Gao Yang”. Dust made a move then.

She activated the curse, and the curse entered “Gao Yang” from the Support Rune Circuit, triggering Soul Bonfire.

Nainai, playing Gao Yang, got her soul burned to death. It only lasted a little more than ten seconds, but she was put through great pain that no human should be able to bear. It was painful enough to be burned to death, let alone when it was her soul getting burned.

With her imperial dignity on the line, though, she stayed strong til the last second and never showed her true self even after her death—such was the power of level 7 Shapeshifter and the strength of someone with a firm belief.

Chen Ying tamped down her panic as she watched Nainai burn to death. She continued to act, hitting the blood pack hidden in “Can’s” hair with a blank, making it seem like “Can” had been shot in the head.

Dust questioned who Chen Ying was when she saw things play out from inside Goldthread’s body. Was Chen Ying the second spy the Heavenly Godbearer had planted in the Hundred Rivers Union, or someone Ke Yo had just recruited?

It didn’t matter. When Dust activated Soul Bonfire during Goldthread’s wakeful time, his soul detected her existence, and it was only a matter of time before Dust woke up by force.

Dust stopped acting. She woke up, and Goldthread’s soul burned to nothingness, dying a tragic death—he never even knew what killed him.

But Goldthread was also “lucky”. If not for Dust, he would’ve died in the fire years ago.

Now that Dust had taken over Goldthread fully, she activated Soul Bonefire without hesitation, killing Little Tian too.

Compared to Soul Bomb, Soul Bonfire was much simpler and easier to activate. She only had to have touched the target physically for one second and conversed with them for ten seconds within the past forty-eight hours. The one constraint was its range. She had to be right beside the target.

Chen Ying watched Little Tian die. She maintained a cold expression, but inside, she was tortured.

Dust sensed the pain and anger in Chen Ying. Her soul’s smell had changed. That wouldn’t escape Dust’s notice.

Thus, she suspected that Chen Ying was actually an enemy rather than a companion, and she was right.

Then Dust threatened Chen Ying, planning to turn Chen Ying into her new host to continue her spy work.

“Can”, played by Gao Yang, stopped acting dead. He made a surprise attack at Dust, and he would’ve gotten what he wanted if not for the body compromising his mobility.

He conjured a double to fight Dust while he used the last Talent he had replicated, Gamer, resetting Nainai, Little Tian, and Chen Ying at the same time.

Meanwhile, Qing Ling and Can were rushing to the site from over three kilometers away.

Dust realized her defeat in the end, and she fled without hesitation.

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