The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 257: Rules of Crimson Tides

“Yes, that is how regular humans experience Crimson Tides.”

Vermilion Bird stared ahead. Under her airy bang, her brown eyes glinted with an unreadable emotion. “To awakeners, Crimson Tides are something entirely different.”

Gao Yang shifted in the seat and focused, knowing that she was getting to the key points.

“Crimson Tides happen every ten years. No one knows how many times it’s been and how many more there will be.”

“Each Tide lasts seven days, and from the first night, the moon turns crimson and fills the sky. You know, like the blood moon described in stories.”

“I get it.” Gao Yang nodded. It was a common concept in games and other media.

“A thick blood fog permeates all isolated islands, reaching the height of the knees. It recedes when the morning comes like the rises and falls of tides.”

“The Crimson Tide is an apt name.” Gao Yang could imagine the sight, beautiful yet eerie.

Vermilion Bird nodded and asked with a smile, “Do you know where the tide-like blood fog comes from?”

Gao Yang paused and quickly caught on, “The Gates of Closure.”

Vermilion Bird nodded. “That’s right.”

So it’s all related to the gates, Gao Yang thought with quiet surprise.

“The fog leaks out from the Gates of Closure, and ignoring laws of physics, it quickly spreads to all isolated islands of the Mist World. No matter where you go and no matter the altitude, there will always be a half-meter tall blood fog at your feet.”

Gao Yang opened his mouth, only to be interrupted by Vermilion Bird. “I know you are wondering where the Gates of Closure is, but that’s something only Guildmaster can tell you. Just know that the blood fog comes from the Gates, and that no one can stop its ebbs and flows.”

Gao Yang then asked, “Is the fog dangerous?”

“No. At least it doesn’t directly harm awakeners. However, the consensus is that the true purpose of the blood fog is to enable monsters to immediately recognize awakeners.”

Gao Yang nodded quietly, digesting the information.

Vermilion Bird hit the brake at a red light. “During the seven days of a Crimson Tide, daytime is entirely different from nighttime. Before the sun sets, everything is as usual. Once the night falls, though, the blood moon rises, and the blood fog follows a few hours later. All wanderers and regular humans alike fall asleep, leaving only awakeners and other elite monsters awake.”

“Then the restraint of the Heavenly Way loosens. Awakeners cannot pretend to be asleep to avoid detection. Elite monsters will be able to tell awakeners from regular humans at first glance.”

“That,” Vermilion Bird stepped on the accelerator, and the car started again, “is the beginning of the hunt.”

“And we are the prey?” Gao Yang asked without thinking, but realized he had told the answer when the words left his mouth.

“Yes.” Vermilion Bird’s eyes turned icy. “Greed monsters, wraith monsters, and pride monsters roam around at night, killing all awakeners they encounter.”

“What about life monsters and death monsters?”

“Dunno. They may have taken part, or they may have not.”

Vermilion Bird shrugged. “But according to the information we’ve collected so far, life monsters and death monsters are likely to have stayed out of Crimson Tides. In fact, they have not been sighted directly at all.”

“Then how do we know about their existence to begin with?” Gao Yang wasn’t being contrarian. He had been wondering about this for a long time.

“Because we have circumstantial evidence proving their existence, which involves top secrets.” Vermilion Bird smirked. “If you want to know more, ask Guildmaster.”

Gao Yang shut up and didn’t ask further.

After a moment of silence, Gao Yang said, “If that’s how the Crimson Tide goes, it doesn’t sound too bad.”

Vermilion Bird’s downturned lips curved into a careless smile. “Yeah. Eight years ago, when the three organizations weren’t as robust as we are today, awakeners survived the Crimson Tide, suffering only a death toll of forty people.”

“Only?” Gao Yang was shocked. Forty accounted for one fifth of all awakeners!

“Yes, half of them were freshly awakened and hadn’t yet joined formal organizations.” Vermilion Bird paused. “And the other half chose death.”

Curiosity piqued, Gao Yang asked, “What do you mean?”

Without looking at Gao Yang, Vermilion Bird focused on the road ahead and said, “Although wraith monsters have a certain degree of intelligence and emotions, they don’t scheme. Greed monsters, on the other hand, are highly intelligent, be it overtakers or freeriders. They crave awakeners’ bodies and stop at nothing to make awakeners show themselves.”

Gao Yang frowned, realization dawning.

“I’ll give you an example, and you’ll understand.” Vermilion Bird brushed up her airy bang with a hand. “Suppose a neighbor of yours is a greed monster, and the two of you are close and visit each other often.”

“During the week of the Crimson Tide, you go AWOL, while your neighbor’s monsterhood awakens. Based on its previous experience and memories, it has all the reasons to suspect that you’re an awakener and have found a place to hide.”

“Yes, true.”

“Then how is it going to lure you out of your hideout?”

Gao Yang’s heart sank. “My...family.”

“Yes.”

Vermilion Bird’s expression grew serious. “Remember, the Heavenly Way loses its effect during the week. Even if your family are wanderers, the greed monsters will be able to hurt their own kind to lure you out. If that happens, will you or will you not try to save your loved ones?”

Gao Yang didn’t answer, but his murderous gaze was an answer in itself. No one was touching his family!

Vermilion Bird sighed. “In theory, an awakener should be safe as long as they find a hideout and stay there for a week without contacting anyone. If they belong to an organization, it’ll be even safer for them to stay with their fellow members.”

“If they ignore their family and friends, that is,” Gao Yang said hoarsely.

“Yes.” Vermilion Bird shrugged. “A majority of awakeners can do that. They never consider wanderers their actual family and friends.”

“But I can’t,” Gao Yang admitted.

“And there are a good number of people like you. They jump into the trap even though they know what it is.”

Then Vermilion Bird added, “Remember body number 21, who almost blew you up?”

“Yeah.” Gao Yang nodded. The memory couldn’t be fresher in his mind.

“During the previous Crimson Tide, he fell victim to a trap laid down by a monster. He was hiding in the base, but left his phone on. Two days into the Crimson Tide, he got a call for help from his sister.”

Vermilion Bird’s tone gained a hint of sympathy. “He and his sister only had each other, and they were close. Number 21 could not stand by and do nothing when his sister could be in danger, and he made up his mind to go to his sister’s rescue.”

“The Guild neither opposes or supports such an act, and we didn’t have anyone go with him. We couldn’t risk the lives of other members.”

Gao Yang nodded. “I understand.”

“In the end, number 21 went to save his sister and ended up killed.” Vermilion Bird’s voice turned cold.

“By what monster?”

“Greed monster.” Her eyes glinted. “His sister was the greed monster, and he died at her hand.”

Gao Yang felt a pang in his heart, unable to reconcile with the man’s fate.

“There’s more to the story,” Vermilion Bird said. “Number 21’s sister succeeded in taking over her brother’s body and became him. It returned to base, and a teammate of number 21—Blue Dolphin, with Mindreading—heard its true thoughts and secretly notified Azure Dragon. The monster was swiftly executed.”

Vermilion Bird’s eyes were frosty. “It was a serious security breach. If Blue Dolphin hadn’t exposed the greed monster by chance, our hideout would have been found out, and the shadowstalkers among pride monsters would’ve come after us. The consequences would be unimaginable.”

“Shadowstalkers.” Gao Yang took a deep breath. “How strong are they?”

“I’ve never encountered one. Guildmaster briefly crossed paths with a pride monster, and he said,” Vermilion Bird paused, her voice lowering, “That a pride monster is more powerful than a Spectre.”

Gao Yang’s heart sank. More powerful than a Spectre? Then in system terms, it would bring a Luck point acquisition bonus of over 5000 times.

Gao Yang despaired for a moment, feeling helpless. In the Mist World, he was too weak and vulnerable.

He quickly stopped his negative emotions from growing and glanced sideways at Vermilion Bird.

“I have another question, Sister Xia.”

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