The Creatures That We Are-Chapter 1051: Spinning Top

A burning figure flew out of the purgatory, hurtling toward the Green Lotus Lake like a dying shooting star. Boom! It landed in the heart of the lake, bursting into a blazing hemisphere. The concentrated heat rippled out into spreading licks of flames, instantly charring the mud at the bottom of the lake.

Armored in golden energy, Qing Ling streaked across the sky on her blade, racing toward the burning sea. She quickly spotted Gao Yang plummeting into the pooling flames.

She dashed forward and caught him from behind with both arms, making a smooth landing. Her heart sank the moment she touched him. He was dead—his body cold with no heartbeat, the hole in his chest bled dry. All of his energy was drained.

However, Qing Ling hadn’t lost her composure. Having been through situations like this numerous times, she wasn't going to fall for it.

As she landed with Gao Yang’s body, his double rushed over.

“Save him!” Qing Ling shouted.

“Got it!”

The double spread his hands toward Gao Yang. “Time Reset!”

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With only thirty percent of the real one's energy, the double's Gamer was similarly limited. His ten fingers split into countless white tendrils, wrapping Gao Yang's body in a pristine white cocoon that glowed with sacred light.

Though exhausted beyond measure, Qing Ling rushed toward Qilin's landing site, blade ready. Dead or alive, she would take his head personally.

She reached the crater in the center of the lake, and her eyes widened.

Two forms of poison swirled around a silhouette—Pestilence’s poisonous wind and Patient’s viruses. That stopped her advance. Her Golden Armor was covered in cracks. She might be able to endure the slow-acting viruses, but the poisonous wind would kill her at contact.

She glared at the swirling poison particles with frustration and shock, gripping her weapon. How was Qilin still alive?!

Taking a closer look, she saw two tattered shapes standing amid the poisonous mist. It slowly parted, revealing them clearly. Qilin's prosthetic left arm had melted, and his prosthetic right eye was now liquid metal, dripping down his face in gray branches that covered half his face. His torso was bare, his pants in tatters. All his exposed skin bore a bronze, metallic texture.

Qing Ling was furious and shocked. Wang Weiyan’s Iron Skin!

Qilin had branded even the hostages with Lonesome Emperor!

If Wang Weiyan had been turned into a living puppet, too, then Lovely Lamb and Vermilion Bird must have met the same fate.

Qilin had hidden their Talents, keeping more tricks in reserve than his comrades or enemies could imagine. As always, his preparations exceeded anyone's expectations.

The figure beside him was a petite blonde girl—Rain River, who had been on standby near the Green Lotus Lake, already Qilin's living puppet. Now, he clutched her arm with his right hand, channeling Lovely Lamb's Injury Transfer.

Rain River paled, her face contorting in agony as her small frame shook violently like a reed in a storm. Finally, her body reached its breaking point. She burst into a pile of blood and flesh, coating the right side of Qilin's face and leaving a gory arc on the ground.

Gao Yang's punch had been powerful enough to burn the sky and evaporate the ocean. Even the combined protection of Phantom, Muscles, Hedgehog, and Wang Weiyan's Iron Skin couldn't mitigate the damage.

Only Lovely Lamb's Injury Transfer had allowed Qilin to withstand the tremendous force, supported by his other Talents. But he had to transfer the injury away immediately, or death would still claim him.

Injury Transfer came with strict limitations; chief among them, the injury could only be transferred to a single living being within a brief window. Without a perfect vessel like Dead Pig within reach, Qilin had no choice but to use Rain River, the closest of his living puppets. There was no time to hesitate.

Even then, Qilin could only transfer the damage done to his energy pathway, not the full extent of his injuries. It had proved too much; Rain River's body had failed catastrophically.

Qilin was barely out of the mouth of hell, recovering less than ten percent of his energy.

But he hadn’t lost yet.

He still had the ability to start the Spinning Top Plan. He only had to collect all twelve Rune Circuits.

Bastard!

Witnessing Rain River's macabre end, Qing Ling's fury blazed hotter. She was about to charge at Qilin when a hand caught her shoulder—Gao Yang's double, who had rushed over after saving the original, just in time to witness Rain River's terrible death.

“Calm Down.”

Qing Ling tightened her grip around her weapon, eyes blazing. “I’m going to kill him.”

The double spoke with unconcealable exhaustion. “Wait.”

Qing Ling understood him. The double had reached his limit and couldn't fight further. The original Gao Yang, though reset, needed time to regain consciousness and would have only thirty percent of his strength. Qing Ling herself was near her limit, having regenerated merely thirty percent of her energy through medicine.

Both sides—Qilin versus Gao Yang and Qing Ling—found themselves in an involuntary ceasefire.

“You killed another person, Gao Yang.” Qilin looked at Gao Yang’s double with regret.

“It was you who killed Rain River,” the double spoke icily.

“No, it was you.” Qilin wiped the blood from his face. “No one had to die. They could’ve all reached immortality in the new world. You deprived them of the opportunity.”

“The new world? Immortality?” Gao Yang’s double scoffed. “If it’s all sunshine and roses, why keep the plan a secret? Just tell everyone about it, and no one will stand in your way, no?”

Qilin fell silent.

The double raised his voice with a sneer, “Because you know you’re going down an unjust path! You know that if you reveal your goal, everyone will work against you! That’s why you’re walking stubbornly on your own!”

Qilin shook his head slightly, expression determined.

“If the fire stealer fails, he will be nothing but a thief. Only when he succeeds in showing humanity the fire will they understand him.”

“What are you trying to do, Qilin?” the double demanded harshly. “What is the Spinning Top?!”