The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 967: Searching for Cat

Gao Yang landed in the mansion's front yard from a hundred meters high. After the S Base was found for whatever reason, he had worried the Spectres' Mansion might be compromised too.

Without delay, he teleported inside. The living room remained unchanged since his departure. Firewood quietly burned in the fireplace. The air was warm, the light dim.

Gao Yang jumped to the second floor, walking to Fresh Snow's room and knocking urgently. "Fresh Snow."

No response.

"Fresh Snow, we can't stay here any longer." Gao Yang pushed the door open. This was no time for decorum. "Come with me now—"

He paused.

The room was empty. Only the curtain swayed in the dim moonlight.

Gao Yang's heart skipped before speeding up, thumping with anxiety. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Was Fresh Snow grabbed by Qilin too?

No, impossible. It would take at least an hour for Qilin to reach here from the S Base, while Gao Yang had only used eight minutes. Even if Qilin had left as soon as Hong Xiaoxiao sensed something happen to Zhong He, he couldn't have made it here in forty minutes.

Moreover, Qilin had the Psyche Rune Circuit and enough hostages. His focus would be on reaching level 8 with Eidos and creating a setup to deal with Gao Yang; this was unnecessary.

Or had White Dew taken Fresh Snow?

No, White Dew would've called Gao Yang. She called when she couldn't spend the Lunar New Year with them.

Or had Fresh Snow left home in anger?

No, she wouldn't have. Even in the past, when she was stubborn and craved fun, she was more considerate than many would give her credit for.

"Fresh Snow!"

Gao Yang shouted and teleported back to the living room.

He saw the kitchen door ajar.

He rushed in. It was empty. The cooking utensils were arranged neatly. He checked the fridge. Nothing seemed amiss.

The bathroom next. He parted the curtains. No water in the bathtub, floor still damp from Fresh Snow's earlier bath.

Gao Yang then checked the caretaker’s room, the gallery room they barely used, and the gym they had left completely untouched. Fresh Snow was nowhere to be seen.

Gao Yang paused for a second before teleporting to the second floor once more.

He checked every room along the corridor—master bedroom, second bedroom, guest bedroom, study, recreational room, bathrooms, storage. At first, he opened every door, but as his anxiety burned hotter, he began teleporting in instead.

A minute later, he had combed through the mansion.

Fresh Snow was gone.

"Fresh Snow!"

"Where are you?!"

Gao Yang seized onto a wishful thought: I got it. She's playing a prank on me. She must have hidden to make me anxious so that she can surprise me.

He rushed back to Fresh Snow's room and threw the closet doors open. A pile of clothes tumbled down. Someone had rummaged through it, but Fresh Snow wasn't hiding inside.

"Fresh Snow!"

Gao Yang dropped to check under the bed. Nothing.

He rushed out and checked every closet and cardboard box someone could hide in, under beds, under tables. He checked the cellar, frontyard, backyard, and rooftop.

No one.

Nothing.

She wasn't anywhere!

“Fresh Snow!”

Gao Yang panicked. Unease crawled along his skin like cold worms, burrowing into his flesh and reaching his bones, threatening to eat him from inside out.

“Where are you, Fresh Snow?”

“Please stop hiding!”

“Come on out! We have to go!”

Gao Yang kept shouting and searching. He wished that Fresh Snow was hiding in some concealed place he had failed to check, playing a game on him to make him anxious.

But no.

She wasn’t anywhere to be found.

Gao Yang returned to the empty living room on the second floor, shaking violently as he hollered, “Fresh Snow!”

“This isn’t funny! Not at all!”

“I’m angry! Really angry! I’m going now! I’m leaving you!”

...

“Gao Yang.”

A voice came from the front of the building, making Gao Yang jump. It was there, it was real!

That’s right, Gao Yang. How did you forget to check the open balcony on the second floor? Don’t you often sit there and think when you’re in a bad mood?

“Fresh Snow!”

Overjoyed, Gao Yang yanked the door to the balcony open.

Heavy snow swept in, riding on chilling night wind.

Fresh Snow wasn’t there, no. Gao Yang went to the balcony and looked down to find a woman standing in the front yard.

Her silver hair was put up, her crimson eyes hidden under the brim of a black dress hat and veil. She had no makeup on, her face pale and sorrowful.

Wearing black gloves, she held a long black umbrella, wearing a black long dress. On her chest was a flower of purple ice crystals.

A glance at White Dew told Gao Yang everything he had to know.

No. It’s absurd, it’s way too sudden. It doesn’t make sense at all. It’s not right. This can’t be happening. It must be a mistake!

Yes, yes. I’m overthinking, yes. Too many things have happened one after another that I became paranoid.

I’ve scared myself before, haven’t I? Many times, in fact. This must be a false scare, too. It must be.

“Gao Yang.” As the snow and wind grew intense, White Dew looked at him with a gaze approaching pity.

She spoke in a faint yet impactful voice, hitting Gao Yang in the heart. “You haven’t had a cat, have you?”

Stop! Shut up!

Shut up already!

I don’t want to hear it!

I don’t fucking want to hear it!

Piss off! Get the hell out of here! Don’t look at me like that!

...

“Cats hide when they sense their death approaching.”