The meat sizzled on the grill, and a strange silence overtook the table for a moment as white smoke rose.
Fat Jun was the first to speak up. He gulped and asked the question everyone was thinking about, “Isn’t it the case that monsters...never attack regular humans?”
“Yeah.” White Rabbit had been waiting for the question. “The rule is universally applicable, but somehow, the bride was an exception.”
“Why?” Gao Yang didn’t understand.
“Who knows? Perhaps her psyche underwent some changes after becoming a half-human, or maybe it was the influence of the Rune Circuit.” White Rabbit shrugged. “After all, we don’t know a lot about Rune Circuits.”
“But basically, she became something like a bug and awakened all the monsters in the village through her mental manipulation power to have Huzai’s family torn apart. Interestingly, she had the monsters cut herself up as well. It could be seen as a suicide.”
“That’s strange.” Officer Huang shook his head. “She had finally become human, yet she got herself killed.”
“How is that strange?” Wu Dahai snorted. “Maybe she regretted it. Maybe she thought it was better to be a monster than a human and wanted to start over.”
“That is a possibility.” White Rabbit propped her head up with a hand on her chin. “In the end, her suicide attempt failed. The Rune Circuit kept her head ‘alive’ and retained the powerful will of her living self as well as a certain degree of intelligence. After many years of mutation, she became the hair monster we encountered.”
“As for the monsters of the Gu Family’s Village, they all reverted back to their human forms with traces of the crime completely wiped out, all in the service of a consistent story. They forgot everything. To the police, Huazi’s family had been killed and cut up, while the bride’s head was missing. Then the villagers organized a funeral for the family, and they all disappeared overnight.”
White Rabbit stopped suddenly.
A few seconds later, the owner of the restaurant sauntered over with a tray, her body moving in an alluring way, and she also brought with her a pronounced, captivating fragrance. She put seven glasses of drink on the table. “Our specialty plum drink. It cools the body down and quenches the thirst. Would you fancy a taste?”
“Thanks.” White Rabbit was the first to grab a glass.
The others followed her lead.
Gao Yang took a sip. “Taste good.”
“Glad to hear that.” The restaurant owner smiled faintly. Even the curves of the brows seemed refined and sensuous.
The men at the table couldn’t help but stare. For a moment, they forgot about the truth of the awakener.
“Enjoy.” The restaurant owner turned to leave. Only after the awakener was out of earshot did Officer Huang comment, “What a terrifying Talent.”
White Rabbit snapped her fingers. “Alright. Attention, class. Just stay awake for a little longer. Then we’ll end the class for today.”
“Please go on, Teacher.”
Everyone drank their plum drink while playing the part of attentive students.
“A half-human broke the rule and dragged the monsters of the entire village with her. Even though the police failed to solve the case, they couldn’t escape the punishment of the Heavenly Way.”
Gao Yang was just about to open his mouth when White Rabbit raised a hand to stop him. “I know what you want to ask.”
“Heavenly Way is just a name we agree on.” White Rabbit thought for a moment. “Hm, it’s basically an umbrella term for the rules, patterns, and order the world operates under.”
“A good portion of awakeners believe there to be a tremendous intangible power governing the world, the relationship between humans and monsters, and the rules that have come into being. The power resembles the heavens and dao the ancient people had written about—impartial, unemotional, unknowable, irresistible.”
“Of course, there are also a smaller number of awakeners who think of it as something more similar to an advanced AI operating solely on cold reason, an artifact from an advanced civilization we cannot begin to wrap our minds around. And the Rune Circuits are of the same origin.”
“These are the two major schools of thoughts. Anyhow, be it the Heavenly Way or an advanced AI, there are a set of stringent rules in place, and the most important one is, ‘Unawakened humans are not to be attacked.’ Otherwise, there will be punishment. We call punishments like this Heavenly Punishment.”
“So those at the Gu Family’s Village were subject to Heavenly Punishment,” Gao Yang said in understanding.
“Correct.” White Rabbit nodded. “Our hypothesis is that due to the half-human bride killing unawakened humans, the Heavenly Way brought the entire Gu Family’s Village a thousand meters underground, forcing all monsters to endlessly repeat the particular period of time. Don’t ask me why that was the punishment the Heavenly Way deemed appropriate. I don’t have an answer. As it is, the monsters were essentially being put in life imprisonment, and the hair monster was stuck with them without a way out.”
“As for the Gu Family’s Village above ground, think of it as a replica made through 3D printing. Heavenly Way put it there in place of the original Gu Family’s Village.”
White Rabbit clapped. “Alright, that’s the end of it. Ask away if you have any questions.”
No one did. They were all trying their best to digest the revelations.
“Heh.” Wu Dahai patted Fat Jun on the shoulder like a senior would a newcomer. “I was stunned out of my mind like you when I first heard the truth, but this is just the beginning! Do you know what the Gates of Closure are? Or the Crimson Tide? You have much to learn, young padawans!”
“Alright. Let’s end things here. Take some time to think about it.” White Rabbit stood up and stretched her arms. “Enjoy the food. I’m off.”
“Wait,” Gao Yang called out to her. “Last question.”
“Go on.”
Gao Yang felt lost. “What should we do now?”
“Well...” White Rabbit’s eyes twirled. “On an individual level, you have to get stronger. That’s the one thing all awakeners must do. The stronger you are, the less likely you’ll get killed by monsters, humans, half-humans, mutated creatures, or whatever enemies coming your way, and the more likely you’ll survive the next Crimson Tide.”
Crimson Tide?
It sounded terrifying, but it must be information they had the right to access since White Rabbit brought it up herself. He would ask about it later.
“On a macro level, you...no, all awakeners must find all twelve of the Rune Circuits as soon as possible. It’s theorized that we’ll be able to unlock the Gates of Closure then, and most awakeners—including our organization—believe that’s the first step to dispersing the mist surrounding the world. Perhaps it’s even the most important step.”
White Rabbit’s shoulders slumped suddenly, her eyes dimming. “But it’s...too difficult.”
“Are Rune Circuits difficult to find?” Officer Huang asked.
“Yeah. There’s no pattern to it. It’s all blind luck. That’s not even the most difficult part, however. Given time, we will collect all the Rune Circuits.” White Rabbit’s voice grew an icy edge. “The greatest challenge is deciding who we are giving the Rune Circuits to once we’ve collected all of them.”
“Among the awakeners, aren't there...” Gao Yang tried to find the right word. “A leader?”
“Leader my ass.” Wu Dahai’s legs were still crossed. “The flock of dragons has no leader. The land is divided by different warlords. The three kingdoms are locked in a power struggle...[1]”
“That’s a bit much, but you get the drill.” White Rabbit snorted. “By then, the awakeners are likely going to break into a total civil war. A mathematician among the awakeners built a risk assessment model and concluded that the day the war ends, 94% of all awakeners will have died, while one awakener reigns supreme. The awakener will then lead the survivors to open the Gates of Closure and move forward...”
“To be honest, I don’t really look forward to that future.” White Rabbit’s lips curled into a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Who knows if I’ll be among the surviving 6% rather than the other 94%?”
Gao Yang didn’t say anything, while Officer Huang frowned.
Qing Ling’s expression didn’t even change.
And Fat Jun gulped.
“Why the hell are you scared?” then shouted a booming, boisterous voice. Wang Zikai had woken up at some point, and he stepped on the table, swinging his arm as he hollered, “In a year, I’ll kill all lizard people, topple the other organizations, and break down those damn gates, leading you all to victory!”
The lively atmosphere in the restaurant turned instantly icy. Dozens of customers put down their chopsticks and turned to stare at Wang Zikai, who had stood up high with a foot on the table, and the companions around him.
1. Wu Dahai used three chengyu, four-character Chinese idioms, here. ?
The meat sizzled on the grill, and a strange silence overtook the table for a moment as white smoke rose.
Fat Jun was the first to speak up. He gulped and asked the question everyone was thinking about, “Isn’t it the case that monsters...never attack regular humans?”
“Yeah.” White Rabbit had been waiting for the question. “The rule is universally applicable, but somehow, the bride was an exception.”
“Why?” Gao Yang didn’t understand.
“Who knows? Perhaps her psyche underwent some changes after becoming a half-human, or maybe it was the influence of the Rune Circuit.” White Rabbit shrugged. “After all, we don’t know a lot about Rune Circuits.”
“But basically, she became something like a bug and awakened all the monsters in the village through her mental manipulation power to have Huzai’s family torn apart. Interestingly, she had the monsters cut herself up as well. It could be seen as a suicide.”
“That’s strange.” Officer Huang shook his head. “She had finally become human, yet she got herself killed.”
“How is that strange?” Wu Dahai snorted. “Maybe she regretted it. Maybe she thought it was better to be a monster than a human and wanted to start over.”
“That is a possibility.” White Rabbit propped her head up with a hand on her chin. “In the end, her suicide attempt failed. The Rune Circuit kept her head ‘alive’ and retained the powerful will of her living self as well as a certain degree of intelligence. After many years of mutation, she became the hair monster we encountered.”
“As for the monsters of the Gu Family’s Village, they all reverted back to their human forms with traces of the crime completely wiped out, all in the service of a consistent story. They forgot everything. To the police, Huazi’s family had been killed and cut up, while the bride’s head was missing. Then the villagers organized a funeral for the family, and they all disappeared overnight.”
White Rabbit stopped suddenly.
A few seconds later, the owner of the restaurant sauntered over with a tray, her body moving in an alluring way, and she also brought with her a pronounced, captivating fragrance. She put seven glasses of drink on the table. “Our specialty plum drink. It cools the body down and quenches the thirst. Would you fancy a taste?”
“Thanks.” White Rabbit was the first to grab a glass.
The others followed her lead.
Gao Yang took a sip. “Taste good.”
“Glad to hear that.” The restaurant owner smiled faintly. Even the curves of the brows seemed refined and sensuous.
The men at the table couldn’t help but stare. For a moment, they forgot about the truth of the awakener.
“Enjoy.” The restaurant owner turned to leave. Only after the awakener was out of earshot did Officer Huang comment, “What a terrifying Talent.”
White Rabbit snapped her fingers. “Alright. Attention, class. Just stay awake for a little longer. Then we’ll end the class for today.”
“Please go on, Teacher.”
Everyone drank their plum drink while playing the part of attentive students.
“A half-human broke the rule and dragged the monsters of the entire village with her. Even though the police failed to solve the case, they couldn’t escape the punishment of the Heavenly Way.”
Gao Yang was just about to open his mouth when White Rabbit raised a hand to stop him. “I know what you want to ask.”
“Heavenly Way is just a name we agree on.” White Rabbit thought for a moment. “Hm, it’s basically an umbrella term for the rules, patterns, and order the world operates under.”
“A good portion of awakeners believe there to be a tremendous intangible power governing the world, the relationship between humans and monsters, and the rules that have come into being. The power resembles the heavens and dao the ancient people had written about—impartial, unemotional, unknowable, irresistible.”
“Of course, there are also a smaller number of awakeners who think of it as something more similar to an advanced AI operating solely on cold reason, an artifact from an advanced civilization we cannot begin to wrap our minds around. And the Rune Circuits are of the same origin.”
“These are the two major schools of thoughts. Anyhow, be it the Heavenly Way or an advanced AI, there are a set of stringent rules in place, and the most important one is, ‘Unawakened humans are not to be attacked.’ Otherwise, there will be punishment. We call punishments like this Heavenly Punishment.”
“So those at the Gu Family’s Village were subject to Heavenly Punishment,” Gao Yang said in understanding.
“Correct.” White Rabbit nodded. “Our hypothesis is that due to the half-human bride killing unawakened humans, the Heavenly Way brought the entire Gu Family’s Village a thousand meters underground, forcing all monsters to endlessly repeat the particular period of time. Don’t ask me why that was the punishment the Heavenly Way deemed appropriate. I don’t have an answer. As it is, the monsters were essentially being put in life imprisonment, and the hair monster was stuck with them without a way out.”
“As for the Gu Family’s Village above ground, think of it as a replica made through 3D printing. Heavenly Way put it there in place of the original Gu Family’s Village.”
White Rabbit clapped. “Alright, that’s the end of it. Ask away if you have any questions.”
No one did. They were all trying their best to digest the revelations.
“Heh.” Wu Dahai patted Fat Jun on the shoulder like a senior would a newcomer. “I was stunned out of my mind like you when I first heard the truth, but this is just the beginning! Do you know what the Gates of Closure are? Or the Crimson Tide? You have much to learn, young padawans!”
“Alright. Let’s end things here. Take some time to think about it.” White Rabbit stood up and stretched her arms. “Enjoy the food. I’m off.”
“Wait,” Gao Yang called out to her. “Last question.”
“Go on.”
Gao Yang felt lost. “What should we do now?”
“Well...” White Rabbit’s eyes twirled. “On an individual level, you have to get stronger. That’s the one thing all awakeners must do. The stronger you are, the less likely you’ll get killed by monsters, humans, half-humans, mutated creatures, or whatever enemies coming your way, and the more likely you’ll survive the next Crimson Tide.”
Crimson Tide?
It sounded terrifying, but it must be information they had the right to access since White Rabbit brought it up herself. He would ask about it later.
“On a macro level, you...no, all awakeners must find all twelve of the Rune Circuits as soon as possible. It’s theorized that we’ll be able to unlock the Gates of Closure then, and most awakeners—including our organization—believe that’s the first step to dispersing the mist surrounding the world. Perhaps it’s even the most important step.”
White Rabbit’s shoulders slumped suddenly, her eyes dimming. “But it’s...too difficult.”
“Are Rune Circuits difficult to find?” Officer Huang asked.
“Yeah. There’s no pattern to it. It’s all blind luck. That’s not even the most difficult part, however. Given time, we will collect all the Rune Circuits.” White Rabbit’s voice grew an icy edge. “The greatest challenge is deciding who we are giving the Rune Circuits to once we’ve collected all of them.”
“Among the awakeners, aren't there...” Gao Yang tried to find the right word. “A leader?”
“Leader my ass.” Wu Dahai’s legs were still crossed. “The flock of dragons has no leader. The land is divided by different warlords. The three kingdoms are locked in a power struggle...[1]”
“That’s a bit much, but you get the drill.” White Rabbit snorted. “By then, the awakeners are likely going to break into a total civil war. A mathematician among the awakeners built a risk assessment model and concluded that the day the war ends, 94% of all awakeners will have died, while one awakener reigns supreme. The awakener will then lead the survivors to open the Gates of Closure and move forward...”
“To be honest, I don’t really look forward to that future.” White Rabbit’s lips curled into a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Who knows if I’ll be among the surviving 6% rather than the other 94%?”
Gao Yang didn’t say anything, while Officer Huang frowned.
Qing Ling’s expression didn’t even change.
And Fat Jun gulped.
“Why the hell are you scared?” then shouted a booming, boisterous voice. Wang Zikai had woken up at some point, and he stepped on the table, swinging his arm as he hollered, “In a year, I’ll kill all lizard people, topple the other organizations, and break down those damn gates, leading you all to victory!”
The lively atmosphere in the restaurant turned instantly icy. Dozens of customers put down their chopsticks and turned to stare at Wang Zikai, who had stood up high with a foot on the table, and the companions around him.
1. Wu Dahai used three chengyu, four-character Chinese idioms, here. ?
