The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 885: Prodigy

Then came Dr. Jia\'s turn. Instead of attacking the enemy, he reached into his bathrobe, producing a brown pill. He rushed toward his parrot and forced it down its throat.

"I\'ve kept you for so long. It\'s time for you to pay me back..."

"No! No! No!" The parrot thrashed desperately but couldn\'t resist as the pill slid down its gullet.

Liao Liao\'s already overclocking brain hit its limit.

Shit! Dr. Jia has a trick up his sleeve!

What did he feed the parrot?

Everything he develops is more dangerous than the last. Is the parrot going to transform into a monster?

Gao Yang alone is nearly impossible to handle. Now the parrot\'s joining in!

With the parrot\'s support, what\'s Gao Yang\'s next move? Will the parrot defend or attack? If it can protect him, he\'ll strike without fear. If it can attack, he\'ll focus on defense. Or is it support? CC? Silence? Buff? Disorientation? Poison? Curse? Illusion... too many possibilities!

What do I do?

What do I do, what do I do, what do I do...

Liao Liao\'s mind went blank.

Nico took the final turn. As before, he abandoned action to sit cross-legged on the ground, praising God in euphoric reverence.

The second turn ended.

The gray barrier materialized, dividing the factions. The third turn’s thinking time began.

Liao Liao stood frozen, eyes wide with paralysis.

"Liao Liao!"

"What do we do next turn?"

"Do you hear me, Liao Liao? Say something!"

Her teammates\' voices reached her as if through water, distant and muffled. It felt like being sealed in a pressurized can—heavy, thick, suffocating.

"Liao Liao, wake up!"

...

"Liao Liao, wake up and think of something!"

The world shifted. Liao Liao found herself in a concrete brick factory. The sun blazed overhead, and hot wind did nothing to dry the sweat coating her skin. Cicada songs hammered at her temples.

Before her rose a four-meter stack of precisely arranged bricks. The children had built a makeshift staircase on one side—more a steep slope than proper steps. At its base lay a boy with an honest face and sun-darkened skin, his dirty T-shirt stained with blood. A small crimson pool spread beneath his head.

He had fallen from the brick pile moments ago.

The children scrambled down their crude staircase, forming a terrified circle around the unconscious boy. They ranged from five to eight years old, boys and girls mixed together. Eight-year-old Liao Liao stood among them.

It had been just another summer vacation day. The kids from the employee dormitory had gathered in the courtyard to play. Someone suggested an adventure, and enthusiasm spread quickly.

They\'d invited Liao Liao, who had been reading a novel in a recliner under the loquat tree.

"Not going. I\'m reading a book." Liao Liao pursed her lips proudly. She had always considered herself above the other children. Born smart, she knew she would become a scientist someday.

"What\'s so fun about books? I know a place! It\'s gonna be awesome!" The boy with an honest face gave her an enthusiastic invitation. He was Liao Liao\'s neighbor\'s son, nicknamed Big Fei.

Big Fei had always admired Liao Liao. She got good grades. She seemed to know everything. Though she often appeared haughty, that only made her more amazing in his eyes.

"Fine. We need a balance between work and rest." Liao Liao put away her novel, speaking like a miniature adult. She dusted her pristine white dress and stood. "Let\'s go."

"Yay, an adventure!"

"Let\'s go!"

The children cheered.

Liao Liao maintained her indifferent, reluctant expression, but excitement bubbled inside her. She had deliberately chosen to read in the courtyard, hoping to attract the other children\'s attention.

She loved playing too, but how could the neighborhood\'s well-known genius girl spend her days playing? It wouldn\'t suit her image.

Still, she wouldn\'t turn down an invitation. What was that phrase adults used? Right, can’t say no to a gift horse that gave itself to you.

Liao Liao followed the children to the mountain behind the neighborhood. In a clearing sat an abandoned concrete brick factory, its production halted by poor revenue.

The children played on the broken concrete mixer before discovering a tall pile of concrete bricks. Stacked evenly to four meters high, it loomed before them like a giant square.

Big Fei began spinning a tale about mysterious powers emanating from the bricks, though he couldn\'t quite explain what they were.

Liao Liao seized her chance to show off. "This is a spaceship from Orion, an alien scout in disguise. It\'s collecting information about humans\' weaknesses to relay to their main invasion force. They\'re planning to take over Earth and destroy our home!"

She embellished the story with details—absurd to an adult, but captivating to children. Her audience became immersed, terror and excitement mingling in their eyes.

Big Fei grew especially animated. He raised his fist high. "We won\'t let the aliens win! Come on, everyone! Let\'s conquer their spaceship!"

"Conquer it!"

"The good guys will win!"

"Drive away the aliens and protect Earth!"

The children chorused, echoing lines from their favorite cartoons.

But how does one conquer a pile of concrete bricks?

Big Fei had an idea: they needed to climb up and stomp on the "spaceship\'s" top to destroy its antenna. Without it, the aliens couldn\'t contact their main force or find Earth.

Everyone except Liao Liao found this logical.

When Big Fei moved to climb up using just his hands and feet, Liao Liao shouted first: "It\'s too dangerous! Stop!" She knew the stacked bricks weren\'t stable. If they toppled...

"Are you scared, Liao Liao?" Big Fei taunted. "We\'re gonna eliminate the aliens and protect our home!"

"Let\'s go!"

"Don\'t be scared! Let\'s drive the aliens away together!"

As the other children followed Big Fei toward the stack, Liao Liao fumed at being considered a coward. "Silly! Let\'s make a staircase. Then we can go up and down easily. We can conquer the ship whenever we want!"

"You\'re right!"

"Whoa, you\'re smart, Liao Liao!"

Pride swelled in her chest as the children embraced her idea.

They gathered rectangular bricks and carefully constructed tapered stairs along one side of the pile. Reaching the top, they gazed down from four meters up, exhilarated. They jumped and cheered endlessly.

Eventually, boredom set in, and they decided to descend.

"Great success in destroying the alien ship! Come on, let\'s find our next mission!" Big Fei led the way down like a conquering king.

That\'s when it happened.

"Ah..."

Big Fei\'s foot slipped, and he plummeted from four meters up.