The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 1126: Opportunistic

Vermilion Bird frowned and didn’t hide her surprise. “You smoked?”

“I did,” Ke Yo said easily.

Still skeptical, Vermilion Bird shook out a cigarette and tossed it to Ke Yo along with the lighter. Ke Yo positioned the cigarette between her teeth with awkward movements, fumbling several attempts before finally lighting the cigarette. One inhale sent her into a violent coughing fit, tears brimming in her eyes.

“It’s terrible,” she managed between coughs, shaking her head.

“Cigarettes aren’t meant to be good to start with.”

“I thought you looked cool when you smoke, so I wanted to learn it,” Ke Yo said. It was a mystery how genuine she was being.

“What someone does on the surface level doesn’t really define them.” Vermilion Bird pointed at the small table beside the bed. “Leave the cigarettes and lighter there. I’ll take them later.”

“Ha, being cautious, are you?” Ke Yo obliged.

“Ke Yo.” Vermilion Bird resumed her attempt to negotiate. “You must know the circumstances we find ourselves under. Humans and death monsters are on opposite sides. You have no reason to follow the Godbearer Cult, led by Greed. You have never been anything but a pawn to her.”

Ke Yo nodded. “Obviously.”

“I don’t care which side of you is your nature. You should be standing with us if you want to live.”

“Obviously,” Ke Yo repeated.

“Then you have to make a choice.”

“Will my choice even matter?” Ke Yo scoffed. “Would you just accept me if I choose you? If so, I wouldn’t have woken up here, but on a warm bed in a brightly lit room.”

Vermilion Bird gave her a conflicted look. “You’re a special case. Your attitude and stance are crucial.”

Ke Yo snorted. “Of course I’d choose humans. I told you before that it didn’t matter who I served. I only ever want to survive until the end. If serving the death monsters would keep me alive, I would’ve chosen that. But clearly, that isn’t the case.”

“You’re being opportunistic,” Vermilion Bird said icily.

“As the saying goes, don’t ever try to convince someone to do good until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.” Ke Yo sneered. “You haven’t lived my life, Vermilion Bird. You are in no place to judge my way of living.”

Vermilion Bird fell silent.

“Even if you spare me, it’ll be for my power since every bit counts in the final fight. I believe you’ll rather kill me and comprehend my Talent if there’s enough time to guarantee that. That’ll be simpler.”

Pain and helplessness constricted Vermilion Bird's chest. “Not everyone will stop at nothing to achieve their goal, Ke Yo.”

Ke Yo tugged at her lips. “Everyone does. The difference is that some people have been pushed far enough, and others have not.”

“Think about it, Ke Yo. Were all the feelings you have felt when you were with us false?” Vermilion Bird looked at her with heated eyes. “If someone goes as far as they have to for survival alone, will they be truly happy in the end?”

Ke Yo fell silent.

“I hope you’ll think about that. We’ll talk later. Someone’s going to bring you food in a moment.” Vermilion Bird rose to her feet and put on gloves before taking the cigarettes and lighter from the table.

The door slammed shut. In the dim light, Ke Yo stared at the bare wall and cocked her head, lips curled into a cold smile.

...

Vermilion Bird stationed guards outside Ke Yo's prison before heading to the forest behind the mansion. Gao Yang, Dragon, War Tiger, Nine Frost, and Liao Liao waited in the shadows of the trees.

Without a word, she approached War Tiger and plucked the cigarette from his lips, taking a deep drag.

War Tiger opened his mouth, ready with a quip, but something in her expression made him reconsider.

“Heard all that?” Vermilion Bird broke the silence after a moment.

Liao Liao nodded. “I’ve told them everything.”

The night the death monsters attacked, Liao Liao had acquired Keen Hearing, which didn’t really help then. With Aptitude, she now comprehended Talents like fire attracting moths since Talents were being concentrated on a few individuals. She didn’t even care to announce all the bottom-of-the-list Talents she comprehended.

Liao Liao only mentioned Keen Hearing and suggested eavesdropping when Vermilion Bird decided to talk to Ke Yo. That was why she was here.

Liao Liao greatly regretted her decision after the suggestion, though. She noticed that the way War Tiger had been eyeing her could no longer be covered by simple “envy”; he was practically salivating at her like the big bad wolf masquerading as the Red Riding Hood’s grandmother.

“How do you see this?” Vermilion Bird asked.

Gao Yang and Dragon refrained from saying anything for now. Liao Liao, meanwhile, wasn’t going to say anything before the bigshots did.

War Tiger snorted. “How? With my eyes, of course.”

“Stop joking.” Vermilion Bird wasn’t in the mood.

War Tiger’s expression hardened. “I did feel some hesitance before, but now now. I’m a hundred percent certain that Ke Yo must be dealt with. Otherwise, she’s going to be a great threat.”

Vermilion Bird scowled.

“See?” War Tiger shrugged. “You don’t like it when I tell the truth.”

“Ke Yo seems inconsistent to me,” Gao Yang said.

“Yeah.” Liao Liao shared her opinion. “It’s as if she has three personalities. The one we knew—the personality with no memory—was the most kindhearted. Let’s call her the good personality. I don’t know much about the Ke Yo with Edmond. Let’s call her the neutral one. And the one who just talked to Sister Xia would be the bad one.”

Since no one interrupted her, Liao Liao continued, “It’s clear that the bad Ke Yo is the most deeply rooted one. The good Ke Yo stands no chance of taking over. The latter was only around for half a year, while the bad one has been with her for a long time.”

“It’s said that an actor takes a long time to move on after devoting themselves to a role. Ke Yo must have felt like she had been playing a good character for a long time. It influenced her, but it wouldn’t change her. She will sooner or later recover her real self...”

“I agree,” Nine Frost said.

War Tiger huffed. “The landscape will sooner change than a leopard will change its spots.”

Vermilion Bird shook her head. “You don’t know Ke Yo.”

“You don’t know human nature,” War Tiger shot back.

“Perhaps.” Vermilion Bird didn’t rise to the bait. “Still, I don’t see her as someone with three personalities. She has always been herself. I can’t put it into words.”

“Don’t you find her condition familiar?” Dragon asked gently.

It didn’t take long for the others to catch on.

“Monster.”

Gao Yang gave voice to their realization.