The Creatures That We Are-Chapter 1156: Before the Final Fight

On May 18th, the afternoon, the final strategic meeting for the Battle of the Curtain Call commenced. Since the completion of the power concentration plan, Gao Yang had been formulating a strategy and allocating the awakeners. After numerous adjustments and trials and errors, the allocation was finalized.

Gao Yang announced, “We’ll be divided into seven teams for the final battle. Each team leader will be entitled to make their decisions, which everyone else must follow unconditionally.”

“First team, led by Vermilion Bird, consists of Raven Shark, White Dew, and Zhang Wei. On the night of Heavenly Tribulation, you’ll find and kill Lust.”

“Second team, led by Mischievous Monkey, consists of Dead Pig, Lovely Lamb, and Gregor. Kill Gluttony.”

“Third team, led by Liao Liao, consists of Hong Xiaoxiao, Nainai, and Old Seven. Find and kill Sloth.”

“Fourth team, led by War Tiger, consists of Gao Xin and One Stone. You’ll kill Wrath.”

“Fifth team will be Qing Ling and I, me being the leader. We’ll find and kill Envy before going after Pride.”

“We only have six hours. Teams who have eliminated your marks in advance should go to another team’s aid depending on the situation. And teams in crisis may ask for reinforcements.”

“Dr. Jia, Sun Hu, and Tang Xiaocong won’t be joining the battle. They’ll take care of Heavenly Dog and Xiao Xin at the base.”

“If any of you have a question, ask them now.”

No one did.

Gao Yang glanced across the long table at Dragon. The man quietly drank his black coffee without saying anything.

Gao Yang then turned to War Tiger. He grinned and said, “We don’t have a lot of time left, everyone. Eat and drink to your heart’s content. Do what you’ve always wanted to do. Make sure you have no regret.”

Zhang Wei’s eyes widened. “Why did you say it like we’re marching to our death, Uncle Tiger? This isn’t your style.”

“Uncle Tiger, don’t set up a flag before the fight,” Old Seven agreed.

War Tiger snorted, putting a cigarette into his mouth and arching an eyebrow. “Are we going to live just because we don’t have a flag?”

That rendered everyone speechless.

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“With a flag, at least we’ll have a more dramatic death. Is that so bad?” War Tiger fished out his gas lighter, lighting his cigarette with flare. Taking a deep drag, he slowly exhaled smoke. “You all know that nothing is certain walking into this fight. We know little about the death monsters, especially Envy and Pride. Perhaps they aren’t that good and are merely posturing. Perhaps they’re so strong that they can squash us like bugs.”

“Perhaps we’ll all die like the previous rounds, only there won’t be another round. There won’t be another chance.”

“No one will remember...no, there won’t be anyone to know what we’ve done. Nothing will ever exist. Nothing will matter.”

“But that won’t stop us from being heroes for a night!”

“Heroes may achieve great feats or walk into death as martyrs, but we will not go gentle into that good night!”

War Tiger’s voice boomed in the meeting room, followed by a silence of determination and rising emotions.

“You’re right!” Zhang Wei slammed the table and shot to his feet. “Everyone, let’s fight like heroes! If we win, we win big. If we lose, we lose little!”

He thought the others would erupt into cheers and applause, but silence followed. Morale deflated before it could ignite like a fire doused by water.

Zhang Wei stiffened, unsure if he should stay on his feet or sit down.

“Did I...say anything wrong?”

“Not really.” Vermilion Bird eyed him with sympathy. “But there is such a thing as going too far.”

“You’ve put feet on the snake,” Gregor commented concisely.

Zhang Wei quickly sat down and turned to War Tiger in apology. “Why don’t you pretend I’ve never said that? Uncle Tiger, will you start over?”

“And now you’re adding wings,” Gregor said in despair.

Liao Liao’s expression contorted, her hands clawing at the table. “Ugh, the secondhand embarrassment is killing me.”

“You’re dismissed,” Gao Yang said, saving everyone before the awkwardness drowned them.

...

Ox Room, underground sixth floor of the Millenium Tower, evening.

Inside the renovated laboratory, Gao Yang, Nine Frost, and Dr. Jia sat on a couch.

Dr. Jia hadn’t slept since last night. Drowsiness crept up on him after he completed a stage of his study. He was about to go to bed when Gao Yang and Nine Frost came.

Wearing pink pajamas and a green sleeping hat, he held a parrot pillow in his hand with a sleeping mask hung on his neck. He sat cross-legged on the couch, scratching his foot. “Isn’t it too late to modify the plan?”

“Not modifying it,” Nine Frost corrected, “But perfecting it.”

“Same difference!” Dr. Jia grew even more irritated. “How long has it been since you started requesting all the shits you wanted me to make? My study has been put on the cold shelf for too long!”

“It’s all for the victory of the final fight,” Gao Yang said. “Only after that will you have more time to do your research.”

“Don’t try to dangle a carrot before me!” Dr. Jia snapped. “Just tell me what you want.”

Nine Frost got to the point. “We’ve finalized the plan. I, Chen Ying, Adept Horse, and Harvest Song will deal with Greed.”

Dr. Jia considered it before glancing at Nine Frost. “Got a death wish?”

“Do you not believe we can win, either?” Nine Frost asked seriously.

“Ha.” Dr. Jia scratched his other foot. “Even a fool can tell that. I don’t know how strong Greed is, but its power targets fate, a conceptual thing. Who among the four of you is immune to that?”

“No one other than Captain and Dragon is immune,” Nine Frost said.

“Yeah, so everyone else stands no chance.”

Nine Frost shook his head. “Captain and Dragon have more important tasks to take on. Besides, if they go after Greed, Greed isn’t just going to let them come. It may not even show itself.”

“True enough,” Dr. Jia said.

Gao Yang frowned, eyes glinting. “That’s my concern, so I gave every member of Nine Frost’s team a mark of Absolute Barrier. The barriers will trigger when they are in danger. In theory, the barriers should shield them from attacks against their fates, too.”

“But you don’t think it’s good enough,” Dr. Jia said.

“Yeah.” Gao Yang nodded. “For one, Absolute Barriers will only trigger when damage is done, but attacks against their fates won’t come with physical damage. For another, even if the barriers trigger and protect all of them temporarily, there’s no telling whether the strikes against their fates will have terminated once the barriers go down, or if another strike can be made.”

Dr. Jia nodded. “You’re right.”

“So after discussing it with Nine Frost, we decided to have another contingency plan.”