The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 1130: Captain

Vermilion Bird's lips moved.

Gao Yang, seated at her bedside, stirred as she woke. Exhaustion lined her face, numbness glazing her eyes as they fixed on the ceiling. She seemed to be repeating something.

Gao Yang hesitated before leaning closer. Finally, he caught the word.

“Captain[1].”

...

After Ke Yo's death, Vermilion Bird had collapsed.

War Tiger carried her to the Spectres' Mansion where Wang Weiyan cleansed her body of Greed's corrupting energy. Meanwhile, Gao Yang and Nine Frost handled the task of incinerating Ke Yo's remains, burying her in the forest behind the mansion.

Many attended the burial. Several girls broke down in tears, while a number of men went through several cigarettes without saying anything.

Their sorrow and guilt were fast food they only got a few bites in before unceremoniously casting away in the forest. When they walked away from it, they had already recovered their composure. They stayed hushed about what happened out of an unspoken agreement.

The war raged on. Sacrifices continued. The tender feelings and sentiments belonged to their nightmares late at night and the darkness following death.

When noon came and Vermilion Bird remained unconscious, Gao Yang decided to personally watch over her.

He had prepared for the worst-case scenario and come up with a complicated contingency plan.

First, he marked Vermilion Bird with Hong Xiaoxiao’s Gamer. Then he turned the closet in the room into a trap with Time-Space Spirit; the moment Vermilion Bird showed signs of dying, he would put her in the closet, where time would be stopped.

In theory, provided there was no outside force damaging it, and Gao Yang supplied the trap with energy regularly, time should stay frozen in the closet. Vermilion Bird’s body would stay freshly dead until half a year later—if the world and they were still around then, Hong Xiaoxiao would use Gamer to reset Vermilion Bird to a few minutes after her death. Then Gao Yang would replicate Equivalent Exchange with Evanescent Omnireplication so that he could kill her and bring her back with Life Bank; within twenty-four hours of her death, he could lend his life to her.

Sunset crept through the window, painting the room in shades of red like a setting for farewells. Thankfully, Vermilion Bird woke up rather than parting with the world.

She calmly opened her eyes, repeating "captain" until she was certain Gao Yang had heard.

“What does it mean?” Gao Yang asked after a moment.

“Ke Yo...her answer to me,” Vermilion Bird said weakly. “It can be...our hope...”

Gao Yang nodded. “You should rest a little longer.”

“I’m...fine. Where is...Ke Yo?”

Gao Yang hesitated. “Buried with everyone else.”

She fell silent and slowly closed her eyes.

...

Half an hour later, Vermilion Bird recovered. She visited the forest on her own and stayed there until night fell.

At nine, she returned to the mansion. There was no trace of sorrow or vulnerability on her face. She sought out Gao Yang and said, “Gather a meeting, now.”

“Everyone?” Gao Yang asked.

“Everyone.” Vermilion Bird nodded. “I have to tell them what I saw.”

Ten minutes later, all members gathered in the living room. They debated about the word “captain” for half an hour without making much progress.

“Stop.” War Tiger had run out of patience. “Let’s not talk about what the word could mean anymore. You’re talking about pirates now, for God’s sake. You’re only going to get more and more off track.”

Dr. Jia, who had deemed himself above the discussion until now, spoke up. “You’re thinking yourself into a corner by thinking about what is related to ‘captain’. The possibilities are endless.”

“You must have something valuable to share, Dr. Jia!” Crimson Bee’s compliment was meant to be sarcastic.

“The word ‘captain’ may not mean anything,” Dr. Jia said. “It may be a code phrase like ‘open sesame’. Perhaps ‘captain’ will trigger something in a particular scenario. Or maybe ‘captain’ is a person who will bring all the answers when they show up.”

“Huh, that can be the case,” Crimson Bee said, convinced.

“That’s why you’re just wasting your time by making random guesses. We know too little.”

“True,” Gregor agreed. “Fate is a fickle thing. We can’t tackle it like a puzzle, but follow the flow. Perhaps Ke Yo has revealed a secret to us according to fate. Perhaps fate has changed the moment she revealed the secret.”

“As expected of a novelist. I understood nothing, and after listening to you, I feel like it doesn’t matter if I understand it or not.” Zhang Wei said the most meaningless words in the most confident tone. “Let’s put that aside for now. I’m going to fall asleep at this rate.”

“Seconded!” Dr. Jia would rather return to his room for more research. His time was precious.

“Agreed,” War Tiger said.

Gao Yang nodded when it seemed like there was a consensus. “If you have any idea after this meeting, share it.”

Vermilion Bird, the one leading the meeting, shook her cigarette above the ashtray and said, “When Ke Yo transformed, I tried to get close to her and got corrupted by Greed’s power. For a fleeting moment, I shared some of the glimpses Ke Yo had caught...or maybe glimpses from the Eye of Greed.”

She paused. “It’s an abstract feeling with disjointed information. I cannot put it into words. It’s probably similar to what Surnamed Li experienced when she foresaw the Crimson Tide. In Ke Yo’s words, its fate scrambled into codes.”

“Right, so a stereotypical fortuneteller.” War Tiger made a rough but easily understandable analogy.

Vermilion Bird nodded. “I could tell that the eye inside Ke Yo was an important one for Greed. When Ke Yo died, Greed was in great pain. The damage must have been serious. And losing Ke Yo, Greed would no longer be able to locate us.”

Old Seven huffed. “Finally, some good news.”

“Indeed!” Zhang Wei vehemently echoed the sentiment. “That old bastard. I’m gonna poke all of its eyes blind sooner or later!”

Vermilion Bird thought back to that moment for a few seconds. Then she looked up at the others.

“Moreover, I caught snippets of the final battle.”

1. The raw refers to ship captain specifically. ☜