“Wan Sisi, I’m here to visit you.”
Gao Yang picked himself up and smiled. “Many things have happened since you left. Ah, I avenged you, by the way. Well, not properly. There are more immediate troubles I have to deal with at the moment, so your revenge will have to wait a little longer...”
Gao Yang realized his hypocrisy at that moment.
For Wan Sisi, Mad Red’s death would be a proper closure. Would she really care about the destruction of the Godbearer Cult?
At the end of the day, Gao Yang simply needed an excuse. An excuse to not forgive, to keep being angry, to get stronger and stronger still until he met the ending fate drafted for him.
He smiled self-deprecatingly, saying in a hoarse voice, “I’m sorry, Wan Sisi. If I had been a little more careful and a little stronger, you wouldn’t have died.”
“You told me that if not for me, you wouldn’t be who you were.”
“Now I understand a little. If not for you, I won’t be who I am today, either. Life is strange, but also cruel.”
“I don’t know how much I still have to lose, and I don’t know when I’ll become someone’s loss.”
“As long as I live in this world, though, I’ll never, ever forget about you.”
He stood up and took a long hard look at the girl in the photo before turning to leave.
A few minutes later, Gao Yang found the tomb of the last friend he was visiting—it was also the newest tomb, Ghost Horse’s.
To his surprise, a frail-looking figure was already sitting before the tomb.
He had long black hair and was dressed in a white t-shirt and a pair of jeans. His slightly pale face was beautiful to the point of appearing androgynous, and his heterochromatic eyes were deep and quiet.
As soon as Gao Yang recognized him, Dragon noticed Gao Yang’s approach as well.
Still staring at the tomb before him with his profile to Gao Yang, Dragon said in a gentle voice with a hint of exhaustion, “Here you are, Dark Horse.”
“What a coincidence, Mr. Dragon.” Gao Yang pretended to be distant with him.
“There’s no one else around. You don’t have to keep your guard up.”
Gao Yang sighed in relief. He trusted Dragon’s powerful Talent.
He placed the white chrysanthemums on the tomb and tapped on the tombstone before sitting down beside Dragon, speaking in a respectful tone. “Captain.”
“How did the trip to Naldives go?” Dragon asked faintly.
Gao Yang couldn’t tell if he was actually concerned about him or simply asking for intel.
“Good.” Gao Yang paused. “Captain, should I brief you on Naldives?”
“Qilin has told me and Surnamed Li. Of course, he must have kept things from us, but I don’t need you to fill in the blanks.”
Gao Yang hesitated, but still decided to ask the question in the end. “Do you know about Alcoholic too?”
Dragon chuckled. “Have you forgotten? I’ve lived to this day by hibernating. If we’re going to get technical, I’ve lived long enough to be your grandfather.”
Gao Yang was silent.
Dragon continued, “How did you think Alcoholic survived the White Disaster that doomed all of the Elusive Sect?”
Gao Yang’s eyes widened. “Did you save her, Captain?”
Dragon lowered his head and sighed. “The Twelve Zodiac Signs paid heavily too.”
“What is the White Disaster?”
“Put simply, three pride monsters tried to kill all awakeners, but failed.” Dragon blinked. “It’s all in the past. No need to talk about it. Let’s look at the future.”
That fits what X had said about the pride monsters.
Then something else occurred to Gao Yang. “Did you know that the Mist World will only last a hundred years too, Captain?”
Dragon didn’t answer, but his silence implied confirmation.
At that moment, Gao Yang finally understood why Dragon had gone to the length to put himself in hibernation. Given his age, he would be too old if he lived to 2020 regularly.
Therefore, Dragon hibernated to keep himself young, at his prime. It was all to face the doom of the world.
Dragon was a fighter who would give his all for his goal!
If there was anyone who would be able to live to the day the Gates of Closure opened, it would be Dragon! He was the protagonist handpicked by destiny!
Gao Yang’s admiration and fear for the man grew.
Composing himself, Gao Yang then voiced the questions that surfaced his mind, “I don’t understand, Captain.”
Dragon glanced at him. “Go ahead.”
“If you’ve known so much, why did you send me to the Guild to go undercover? It seems to me that what I’ve found out is no match for what you already knew.”
“No, I knew little about the Godbearer Cult.” Dragon smiled faintly. “And I sent you to the Qilin Guild for your benefit too.”
“I...don’t understand.”
“I’ve always known about Lucky, Dark Horse.”
Gao Yang felt his hackles raised. It was all he could do to not let his shock show.
He didn’t say anything in response. He didn’t know what to say. It seemed that his only option was to stay silent.
Dragon’s voice was as calm as ever, almost monotone. “The Qilin Guild has the Miracle Rune Circuit. From what I know about you, you would’ve tried to get your hands on the Rune Circuit after joining the Guild. Given how weak you were at the time, Qilin was likely to relax his guard around you. I’m different. He’ll never allow me to even touch the Miracle Rune Circuit.”
Gao Yang was stunned. Dragon had anticipated everything!
But how did Dragon know about Lucky? He had never told anyone.
Does he read minds? No, Blue Dolphin has the Talent, and he’s dead. Did Dragon acquire Mindreading after Blue Dolphin’s death?
Forget it. That’s not the important thing here.
I need to properly admit my guilt!
“Captain, I didn’t mean to hide it...”
“It’s okay.” Dragon smiled. “High-ranking Talents are an awakener’s hidden weapon. We’ve all been hiding ours. It’s only fair for you to hide yours.”
“But Lucky isn’t a high-ranking Talent.”
Instead of responding to his question directly, Dragon looked back at Ghost Horse’s tomb and said, “Gao Yang, do you know the true nature of Talents?”
Gao Yang shook his head. The fact that Dragon had addressed him with his real name must mean that he was going to say something important.
“I don’t know for sure, either, but my theory is that Talents are one entity—a kind of energy we don’t yet understand—only split into 199 parts, which corresponds to the twelve types, namely the twelve Rune Types.”
“The energy is all connected.” Dragon paused. “Here’s a trivia for you. Serial number 1 to 12 are each the top Talent of their type.”
Gao Yang started. That’s not trivial at all!
It was true that the high-ranking Talents Gao Yang knew of, Eidos, Time-Space Spirit, Puppeteer, Absolute Defense, Killing Expert, and House, was each the top Talent of the Psyche-type, Time-Space-type, Summon-type, Guard-type, Damage-type, and Support-type.
Does that mean Dragon’s Talent is the top Miracle-type Talent?
Dragon continued, “The owners of the top Talents of the twelve Rune Types could tell if someone has a Talent of the same type through physical contact.”
“Do you remember me going up to you and asking if you’re alright after executing Ghost Horse in the Mouse Room?”
Gao Yang paused, surprised. “But you didn’t touch me then.”
Dragon smiled. “No, I touched your shoulder. I simply didn’t let you notice.”
Gao Yang realized, it must be his Talent’s doing.
“So you knew about Lucky then?”
Dragon nodded.
Gao Yang thought for a moment. “But how did you know for sure that it’s Lucky, rather than any other Miracle-type Talent?”
“Like I said, I believe Talents are one single entity, an energy.” Dragon turned to Gao Yang. “I didn’t base that on nothing.”
“Talents are connected between the head and the tail. I’m the head, and you the tail. Or I’m the tail, and you head. Talents are one complete circle.”
He extended a hand. “Here.”
Gao Yang hesitated, but he couldn’t come up with a reason to reject Dragon, nor would he be able to.
He took Dragon’s hand.
He sensed it then. A strange energy rushed into him, but at the same time, part of his energy seemed to have been taken by Dragon.
It was a strange feeling.
Three seconds later, Dragon let go.
“You have touched the Miracle Rune Circuit, Gao Yang.”
“Thank you. Now both of us have the seed of the Miracle Rune Circuit in us. It’ll depend on us whether the speed will sprout.”
“Serial number 1, Overlord, the top Miracle-type Talent.” Dragon held Gao Yang’s gaze, his heterochromatic eyes glinting. “You’re the first one to learn of my Talent. Consider that my reward to you for completing the mission.”
Gao Yang was so shocked that he couldn’t speak.
Complete the mission!
So that was the true objective of Operation: the Moon is Beautiful!
Ghost Horse’s task was merely part of it.
The even more hidden goal was for Gao Yang to acquire the seed of the Miracle Rune Circuit for Dragon.
Dragon knew that Qilin was wary of him, that Qilin must have suspected him of having the top Miracle-type Talent. Therefore, Qilin would never allow Dragon to get hold of the Rune Circuit, or even come into contact with it.
However, Qilin didn’t foresee that Dragon could gain the seed of energy of the Miracle Rune Circuit from Gao Yang as a medium.
Of course, it wasn’t a foolproof plan. In fact, there was a large element of chance to it.
If anything had gone wrong on Gao Yang’s end, Dragon wouldn’t have gotten what he wanted. However, Gao Yang managed to survive the Rune Cave against all odds and made great contributions, allowing him to come into contact with the Miracle Rune Circuit.
Dragon had told Gao Yang that he was the only one who could complete the mission.
That wasn’t encouragement, but a simple statement of facts.
“Wan Sisi, I’m here to visit you.”
Gao Yang picked himself up and smiled. “Many things have happened since you left. Ah, I avenged you, by the way. Well, not properly. There are more immediate troubles I have to deal with at the moment, so your revenge will have to wait a little longer...”
Gao Yang realized his hypocrisy at that moment.
For Wan Sisi, Mad Red’s death would be a proper closure. Would she really care about the destruction of the Godbearer Cult?
At the end of the day, Gao Yang simply needed an excuse. An excuse to not forgive, to keep being angry, to get stronger and stronger still until he met the ending fate drafted for him.
He smiled self-deprecatingly, saying in a hoarse voice, “I’m sorry, Wan Sisi. If I had been a little more careful and a little stronger, you wouldn’t have died.”
“You told me that if not for me, you wouldn’t be who you were.”
“Now I understand a little. If not for you, I won’t be who I am today, either. Life is strange, but also cruel.”
“I don’t know how much I still have to lose, and I don’t know when I’ll become someone’s loss.”
“As long as I live in this world, though, I’ll never, ever forget about you.”
He stood up and took a long hard look at the girl in the photo before turning to leave.
A few minutes later, Gao Yang found the tomb of the last friend he was visiting—it was also the newest tomb, Ghost Horse’s.
To his surprise, a frail-looking figure was already sitting before the tomb.
He had long black hair and was dressed in a white t-shirt and a pair of jeans. His slightly pale face was beautiful to the point of appearing androgynous, and his heterochromatic eyes were deep and quiet.
As soon as Gao Yang recognized him, Dragon noticed Gao Yang’s approach as well.
Still staring at the tomb before him with his profile to Gao Yang, Dragon said in a gentle voice with a hint of exhaustion, “Here you are, Dark Horse.”
“What a coincidence, Mr. Dragon.” Gao Yang pretended to be distant with him.
“There’s no one else around. You don’t have to keep your guard up.”
Gao Yang sighed in relief. He trusted Dragon’s powerful Talent.
He placed the white chrysanthemums on the tomb and tapped on the tombstone before sitting down beside Dragon, speaking in a respectful tone. “Captain.”
“How did the trip to Naldives go?” Dragon asked faintly.
Gao Yang couldn’t tell if he was actually concerned about him or simply asking for intel.
“Good.” Gao Yang paused. “Captain, should I brief you on Naldives?”
“Qilin has told me and Surnamed Li. Of course, he must have kept things from us, but I don’t need you to fill in the blanks.”
Gao Yang hesitated, but still decided to ask the question in the end. “Do you know about Alcoholic too?”
Dragon chuckled. “Have you forgotten? I’ve lived to this day by hibernating. If we’re going to get technical, I’ve lived long enough to be your grandfather.”
Gao Yang was silent.
Dragon continued, “How did you think Alcoholic survived the White Disaster that doomed all of the Elusive Sect?”
Gao Yang’s eyes widened. “Did you save her, Captain?”
Dragon lowered his head and sighed. “The Twelve Zodiac Signs paid heavily too.”
“What is the White Disaster?”
“Put simply, three pride monsters tried to kill all awakeners, but failed.” Dragon blinked. “It’s all in the past. No need to talk about it. Let’s look at the future.”
That fits what X had said about the pride monsters.
Then something else occurred to Gao Yang. “Did you know that the Mist World will only last a hundred years too, Captain?”
Dragon didn’t answer, but his silence implied confirmation.
At that moment, Gao Yang finally understood why Dragon had gone to the length to put himself in hibernation. Given his age, he would be too old if he lived to 2020 regularly.
Therefore, Dragon hibernated to keep himself young, at his prime. It was all to face the doom of the world.
Dragon was a fighter who would give his all for his goal!
If there was anyone who would be able to live to the day the Gates of Closure opened, it would be Dragon! He was the protagonist handpicked by destiny!
Gao Yang’s admiration and fear for the man grew.
Composing himself, Gao Yang then voiced the questions that surfaced his mind, “I don’t understand, Captain.”
Dragon glanced at him. “Go ahead.”
“If you’ve known so much, why did you send me to the Guild to go undercover? It seems to me that what I’ve found out is no match for what you already knew.”
“No, I knew little about the Godbearer Cult.” Dragon smiled faintly. “And I sent you to the Qilin Guild for your benefit too.”
“I...don’t understand.”
“I’ve always known about Lucky, Dark Horse.”
Gao Yang felt his hackles raised. It was all he could do to not let his shock show.
He didn’t say anything in response. He didn’t know what to say. It seemed that his only option was to stay silent.
Dragon’s voice was as calm as ever, almost monotone. “The Qilin Guild has the Miracle Rune Circuit. From what I know about you, you would’ve tried to get your hands on the Rune Circuit after joining the Guild. Given how weak you were at the time, Qilin was likely to relax his guard around you. I’m different. He’ll never allow me to even touch the Miracle Rune Circuit.”
Gao Yang was stunned. Dragon had anticipated everything!
But how did Dragon know about Lucky? He had never told anyone.
Does he read minds? No, Blue Dolphin has the Talent, and he’s dead. Did Dragon acquire Mindreading after Blue Dolphin’s death?
Forget it. That’s not the important thing here.
I need to properly admit my guilt!
“Captain, I didn’t mean to hide it...”
“It’s okay.” Dragon smiled. “High-ranking Talents are an awakener’s hidden weapon. We’ve all been hiding ours. It’s only fair for you to hide yours.”
“But Lucky isn’t a high-ranking Talent.”
Instead of responding to his question directly, Dragon looked back at Ghost Horse’s tomb and said, “Gao Yang, do you know the true nature of Talents?”
Gao Yang shook his head. The fact that Dragon had addressed him with his real name must mean that he was going to say something important.
“I don’t know for sure, either, but my theory is that Talents are one entity—a kind of energy we don’t yet understand—only split into 199 parts, which corresponds to the twelve types, namely the twelve Rune Types.”
“The energy is all connected.” Dragon paused. “Here’s a trivia for you. Serial number 1 to 12 are each the top Talent of their type.”
Gao Yang started. That’s not trivial at all!
It was true that the high-ranking Talents Gao Yang knew of, Eidos, Time-Space Spirit, Puppeteer, Absolute Defense, Killing Expert, and House, was each the top Talent of the Psyche-type, Time-Space-type, Summon-type, Guard-type, Damage-type, and Support-type.
Does that mean Dragon’s Talent is the top Miracle-type Talent?
Dragon continued, “The owners of the top Talents of the twelve Rune Types could tell if someone has a Talent of the same type through physical contact.”
“Do you remember me going up to you and asking if you’re alright after executing Ghost Horse in the Mouse Room?”
Gao Yang paused, surprised. “But you didn’t touch me then.”
Dragon smiled. “No, I touched your shoulder. I simply didn’t let you notice.”
Gao Yang realized, it must be his Talent’s doing.
“So you knew about Lucky then?”
Dragon nodded.
Gao Yang thought for a moment. “But how did you know for sure that it’s Lucky, rather than any other Miracle-type Talent?”
“Like I said, I believe Talents are one single entity, an energy.” Dragon turned to Gao Yang. “I didn’t base that on nothing.”
“Talents are connected between the head and the tail. I’m the head, and you the tail. Or I’m the tail, and you head. Talents are one complete circle.”
He extended a hand. “Here.”
Gao Yang hesitated, but he couldn’t come up with a reason to reject Dragon, nor would he be able to.
He took Dragon’s hand.
He sensed it then. A strange energy rushed into him, but at the same time, part of his energy seemed to have been taken by Dragon.
It was a strange feeling.
Three seconds later, Dragon let go.
“You have touched the Miracle Rune Circuit, Gao Yang.”
“Thank you. Now both of us have the seed of the Miracle Rune Circuit in us. It’ll depend on us whether the speed will sprout.”
“Serial number 1, Overlord, the top Miracle-type Talent.” Dragon held Gao Yang’s gaze, his heterochromatic eyes glinting. “You’re the first one to learn of my Talent. Consider that my reward to you for completing the mission.”
Gao Yang was so shocked that he couldn’t speak.
Complete the mission!
So that was the true objective of Operation: the Moon is Beautiful!
Ghost Horse’s task was merely part of it.
The even more hidden goal was for Gao Yang to acquire the seed of the Miracle Rune Circuit for Dragon.
Dragon knew that Qilin was wary of him, that Qilin must have suspected him of having the top Miracle-type Talent. Therefore, Qilin would never allow Dragon to get hold of the Rune Circuit, or even come into contact with it.
However, Qilin didn’t foresee that Dragon could gain the seed of energy of the Miracle Rune Circuit from Gao Yang as a medium.
Of course, it wasn’t a foolproof plan. In fact, there was a large element of chance to it.
If anything had gone wrong on Gao Yang’s end, Dragon wouldn’t have gotten what he wanted. However, Gao Yang managed to survive the Rune Cave against all odds and made great contributions, allowing him to come into contact with the Miracle Rune Circuit.
Dragon had told Gao Yang that he was the only one who could complete the mission.
That wasn’t encouragement, but a simple statement of facts.
