The Creatures that We Are

Part of Vermilion Bird's consciousness transformed into data streams within Neunet. Her black prosthetic eye pulsed with information flow, while the red tattoo along one side of her body flickered with dark crimson light, its capillaries brightening and dimming in rhythm.

“Captain’s so cool!” Can exclaimed. “I’d like a Red Scorpion too.”

“Even if you survive it out of some blind luck, you won’t be able to endure the side effects.” Xiran sat down beside Vermilion Bird with a black plastic bag in hand.

“I’m just saying.” Can stuck out her tongue. “Am I not allowed to dream a little?”

Five minutes crawled by. Suddenly, Vermilion Bird's eyes snapped open as she jerked upright. She yanked the Neunet cable free with desperate force, dry heaving. Xiran rushed the black bag to her mouth, rubbing gentle circles on her back.

Her recovery came quickly. After wiping her mouth with a wet tissue, she flashed Can an OK sign. “From now on, you’ll be Liu Chengzi[1], Liu Li’s cousin. Go to Closure with Liu Li this afternoon to apply for deep collaboration.”

“Leave it to Cousin!” Can slapped her chest with theatrical flair.

…

At one o'clock, Gao Yang and Can crossed Moon City to reach the Closure Industrial Park on the opposite riverbank. They completed the necessary procedures at the rehabilitation center before heading home.

Gao Yang accessed his dream's hologram through his I Chip while Vermilion Bird hacked it simultaneously to copy everything. Though Gao Yang had lived nineteen years in the dream, only the final year remained accessible—the period when Bodhi had integrated into his dream as his system.

The dream was from Bodhi’s point of view. Like a camera, it objectively recorded every second Gao Yang experienced.

Something set Gao Yang apart from other patients: the passage of time in one’s dream should differ from reality. Some people had only been unconscious for a month, yet they had lived years in their dreams.

Gao Yang, on the other hand, experienced time at the same pace as the real world since Bodhi became his system in the dream.

That day, Dreamrise’s members stayed to watch the opening of Gao Yang’s dream.

It started with his near-death experience at the hands of Li Weiwei. Then Qing Ling took the stage, followed by Officer Huang, Wang Zikai, and Fat Jun…

They skimmed through mundane segments and watched crucial moments in real-time, like a gripping drama unfolding before them.

As night deepened, members departed one by one. By two in the morning, only Gao Yang and Can remained. The scene had reached Gu Family's Village, and Can clutched a pillow to her chest, crying out, “Newbie, your dream's terrifying!”

Gao Yang sat beside her, smiling quietly. While Can watched enthralled, he observed a different show altogether, anticipating her reaction to the fifth team and Vermilion Bird's appearance. But he kept silent, waiting.

When the Gu Family's Village crisis ended with the Twelve Zodiac Signs' rescue, Can finally relaxed. She switched off the hologram and stretched.

“Let’s stop here tonight. I’m sleepy. Time to shower and go to bed.” Can, now with access to the flat, walked to the bathroom and switched the walls to private mode. After a quick shower, she changed into pajamas and re-emerged, drying the damp tips of her hair with a towel, her head cocked.

Gao Yang was still sitting on the sofa.

“Are you not going to bed, newbie?”

“I’m going to sleep here,” he replied.

“On the sofa?”

Gao Yang nodded.

He’s strange. I suppose it’s expected of a Jupiter Traveler who just woke up after a year of dreaming.

Can felt a twinge of sympathy for the brooding young man. She pursed her lips into a smile.

“Goodnight, newbie.”

…

Gao Yang and Can settled into their shared life. They woke at eight and retired before midnight, preparing meals together while machines handled the chores like dishes, laundry, and cleaning. Between these routines, they spent hours on the sofa watching what Can dubbed "Run, Little Lamb"—Gao Yang's dream.

Gao Yang sat quietly beside her, anticipating the crucial moments to come. When dream-Gao Yang finally transferred to the Qilin Guild, Gray Bear made his entrance.

“You may not know the rules since you’re new, young man. Let me tell you. You are free to eat whatever you want, but you must not name yourself whatever you want. You ain’t got the right to call yourself Seven Shadow yet. Understand?”

“Mr. Gray Bear, you may not know…”

“I know all I need to know! This kid is coming to the fifth team. That makes him one of my guys. Why would you fucking let him get a Protector name? You want him to get punished?”

“Well, wouldn’t there be another possibility? For example, I’m here to be a Protector.”

“Hahaha!” Can rolled across the sofa, kicking her feet in delight. “That man’s funny!”

Gao Yang couldn't share her mirth. His expression clouded with confusion.

“Newbie!” Can paused the hologram. “I finally get why you knew our names. So we showed up in your dreams! The Gray Bear in your dream was kinda similar to our Uncle Bear.”

“Kinda similar?” Gao Yang frowned. Shouldn’t it be identical?

“Yeah, look at him. Both big guys with rough voices. Both seem like himbos. Both have beards.” Can spoke with genuine casualness, no hint of pretense.

Gao Yang stared at the frozen image of Gray Bear in the hologram. The man he saw was identical to the Gray Bear he'd just met, yet Can saw only a resemblance.

“Let’s keep going,” he finally said.

“Yeah.” Can resumed the hologram and skipped the uninteresting “fluff”. A few hours later, Gao Yang finally met the other members of the fifth team.

Can reacted the same way. “Whoa, what a coincidence! They all correspond to us. Ah, this Can’s quite similar to me. I used to love playing games… Newbie, what’s HOK? Is it fun?”

The color drained from Gao Yang's face as he rose slowly from the sofa. The flaw he'd been searching for wasn't going to appear.

“Newbie, are you not going to keep watching?” Can leaned forward, eager to discuss more of the "plot" with him.

Without a word, Gao Yang retreated to his bedroom.

1. Chengzi means orange. ☜

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