Chapter 93: Dragon

Chapter 93: Dragon

They spent a long time in silence.

When the morning sun enveloped the world in warmth, White Rabbit woke the little girl in her arms up.

“Come on, up.” White Rabbit ruffled Lovely Lamb’s hair. “Let’s go find Uncle Dead Pig. You can’t keep the damage stored in your body for too long.”

“Hm...” Lovely Lamb frowned and reflexively held onto White Rabbit’s clothes with her chubby hands, unwilling to wake up.

Gao Yang stood up and took Lovely Lamb into his arms. “Let’s go.”

The three of them left the Yushan Elementary School and went into a black Benz.

White Rabbit drove while Gao Yang took the passenger seat. And Lovely Lamb was allowed to sleep a little longer in the back with the seatbelt on.

Gao Yang asked after some hesitation, “Did you wiretap everyone’s phone?” N0v3lTr0ve served as the original host for this chapter's release on N0v3l--B1n.

“Everyone outside of Captain and Teacher War Tiger,” White Rabbit admitted without pause. “Please keep it a secret.”

“I know.” Gao Yang frowned slightly. “You suspect there’s a spy too?”

“Of course. I’m not an idiot.” White Rabbit threw Gao Yang a glance. “It seems that I’m not the only one.”

“Yeah.” Gao Yang thought back to Mad Red. “The man that attacked me called himself Mad Red. Do you know the name? He had an older sister, I believe, and she was the reason he went after our Rune Circuit. His sister died, and he sought revenge on me for that. That’s all I know.”

After a bemused moment, White Rabbit shook her head and said, “I wouldn’t claim to know every awakener in Li City, but I know those who are worth knowing. I’ve never heard of a Mad Red, neither have my sources.”

Gao Yang stopped talking, feeling a dull pain in his chest when he thought about Wan Sisi’s passing.

“My condolences for what happened to your friend.” White Rabbit tightened her grip on the driving wheel, her eyes fixed on the road ahead. “I promise you that we will do something about it. The Twelve Zodiac Signs do not take a beating lying down.”

After a pause, she continued, “Ghost Horse checked if Wan Sisi was a human or a monster. Do you want to know?”

Gao Yang shook his head. “No.”

“Why?”

“She was Wan Sisi.” Gao Yang turned to look out of the window. “And she was my friend.”

A moment of silence followed. Then White Rabbit’s phone rang. She picked up the call with one hand. “Hello...yeah, I understand.”

White Rabbit hung up and slammed the accelerator, the inertia throwing Gao Yang into the seat. The scenery whipped past the windows at high speed.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, turning to White Rabbit.

“We’re going back to -6F. Emergency meeting.” White Rabbit’s eyes flickered. “Captain will be there.”

“Dragon?” Gao Yang was a little surprised. Finally, he was going to meet the man in person.

“Yeah, he’s waking up.” White Rabbit’s mood visibly brightened. She blinked and her lips curled into a smile. “Do you drive, Gao Yang?”

“Not really.”

“Shame. I always feel like painting my toenails when I’m happy.”

...

-6F, the Millenium Tower. One hour later.

When Gao Yang and White Rabbit arrived at the lobby in the underground basement, the other members were already there, standing in twos and threes.

Wu Dahai was standing by Heavenly Dog’s side. After a few days of resting, he had become much more energetic. His empty right sleeve was tucked into the belt around his waist, and he was holding a tablet with his one arm, sliding across the screen with a thumb to show Heavenly Dog the designs of a robotic prosthetic.

“See, ain’t it awesome?” Wu Dahai said proudly. “The Qilin Guild is already working on it as an urgent order. I’ll get to put it on next month!”

“Cool,” Heavenly Dog complimented. “How’s the arm’s motor skills?”

“Three years, four months, twenty-one days, seven hours...” White Rabbit checked her phone. “Three minutes and fifty seconds.”

Dragon wrapped the blanket around his frail-looking body and stepped out of the hibernation chamber barefooted. He was still smiling, a mixture of graceful and relaxed.

“Here you all are.” Dragon scanned the old members before turning to the new members who hadn’t been here three years ago, naming each of them in order, “Gao Yang, Qing Ling, Officer Huang, Wu Dahai, Heavenly Dog, and Lovely Lamb.”

Gao Yang hid his surprise.

Wu Dahai spoke up to ask the question for all of them, “How do you know us, Captain? Didn’t you just wake up?”

“Simply put,” War Tiger said. “Dragon was only hibernating physically, while his mind remained awake. White Rabbit briefs him once every month. He can decide when he’s going to wake up and when he’s going to go back to hibernation.”

“That’s insane! If he keeps hibernating while his mind stays awake...” Wu Dahai gaped. “Wouldn’t he be immortal?”

“There is a difference.” Dragon slowly walked up to Wu Dahai and glanced at his empty sleeve. “I’ve heard about the ambush. I’m sorry for what you’ve been through.”

“Oh, it’s fine!” Wu Dahai was flattered by the attention. “It’s nothing compared to the sacrifices those before me have made.”

Dragon nodded slightly and turned to White Rabbit. “Allow me to have a change of clothes. I will see you in the meeting room five minutes later.”

“Understood.”

...

After five minutes, they gathered at the Mouse Room—the meeting room—not a second later.

The interior was designed in a European style with a luxurious crystal chandelier and a long antique dining table. The walls were decorated with classy, dark-colored patterns and a good number of paintings. The mural on the ceiling was a replica of the Last Breakfast[1].

Gao Yang knew a thing or two about the artwork. It depicted the story of a religious leader and his twelve disciples, as well as the spy among them.

The irony of it wasn’t lost on Gao Yang.

The members each took a seat and placed their masks on the table.

Dragon was the last to sit down. He had changed into a white crew neck t-shirt and a pair of black corduroy pants, his long hair tied into a ponytail. His face was so pale that he looked a little sickly, and he painted the picture of a bed-ridden young man with a delicate, frail physique.

“I heard everything from White Rabbit, and I am sure you are up to date as well.” Dragon hadn’t wasted any time. Perhaps every second was precious to him.

“Although the Twelve Zodiac Signs have our fair share of enemies, there had not been any that dared taunt and attack us so openly over the past ten years.”

“I woke up to resolve the matter,” Dragon said calmly.

White Rabbit brought him a cup of hot coffee. “Your black coffee, Captain.”

“Ah, thank you.” Dragon took the cup and savored the smell before having a sip. “It is regrettable for me to say that there is a traitor among us.”

Dragon put down the cup of coffee. His voice was still calm, but what he said made the air lower a few degrees in temperature, “I am afraid that tonight, the traitor will not walk out of here alive.”

Silence stretched and lingered.

Dragon started slowly sipping his coffee again, as if he had just said something trivial like, ‘Let us enjoy our drinks.’

Gao Yang felt like his heart was in a tight grip. It was the first time that he felt such an indescribable pressure even though he wasn’t the center of the event, and was merely an innocent victim who wouldn’t be in danger.

“However, I hope that the traitor will turn themself in.” Dragon sounded composed and genuine. “Then everyone will vote for the traitor’s fate rather than leaving me to execute them one-sidedly.”

Dragon stopped talking and waited.

The meeting room was plunged into a deathly silence. No one said another word. Perhaps, Gao Yang thought, they’re all shocked and confused like I am.

Who would have thought that the traitor was going to be caught less than ten minutes after Dragon’s awakening?

Time crawled second by second. The half a minute passed slowly like half a century.

Suddenly, someone broke the stillness and stood up.

Gao Yang looked up in disbelief. It was Qing Ling.

1. The author has changed the Last Supper to the Last Breakfast, presumably to avoid making direct references to a real-life religion. ?