Right on Target (TARGET)
"Curfew—"
A shrill voice interrupted the locked gaze between Su Heting and Inspector.
Su Heting turned toward the sound and saw a Mechanical Eunuch dressed in Ming Dynasty court attire standing at the center of the street, serving as the intersection’s traffic light.
"Esteemed guests." The eunuch raised one arm stiffly. It paused for a moment, waiting for the patterned overlay on its outer robe to shift into a green gourd design, before screeching again: "Proceed—"
Proceed?
Proceed with what?
The wind at the intersection suddenly intensified, sweeping up the torrential rain and howling violently from behind the Mechanical Eunuch.
Su Heting lifted an arm to shield himself, his hood nearly torn off by the gale. Inspector’s umbrella was also ripped away and flung into the air.
The wind was utterly unreasonable, barreling straight over the benches and slamming into the buildings lining the street. Glass doors shattered instantly, signs swayed wildly, and in the blink of an eye, chaos erupted.
A loud flapping suddenly echoed from the sky. Su Heting tilted his head back through the battering rain and saw a one-legged bird emerge from the murky darkness at the horizon.
The Mechanical Eunuch held both arms level as its electronic eyes flashing coldly as it declared with arrogance: "Divine and demonic beings pass—mortals make way!"
The moment it spoke, the one-legged bird landed, and the street was instantly engulfed in a tempest. This time, Su Heting was genuinely knocked off his feet. If not for his quick reflexes—grabbing onto a bench—he would have been sent flying.
The one-legged bird was elegant in posture yet colossal in size, its head raised to half the height of a building. Its blue feathers shimmered with a metallic sheen under the flickering streetlights, while its white beak had a matte finish, like thinly applied paint.
Su Heting squinted against the wind, barely able to see ahead.
None of this was in the intel Xingtian had given him!
The Mechanical Eunuch’s voice amplified, reverberating through the streets with an electronic edge as it repeated: "Divine and demonic beings pass—mortals make way!"
The words looped like a relentless background chant in the rain, buzzing in his ears until he could barely hear the downpour.
The one-legged bird glanced around with an air of majesty, then slightly raised its beak and let out a crisp, high-pitched "beep" toward the straight street. The call lasted less than two seconds before a human-sized projectile shot violently from its beak, blasting the entire avenue apart!
In an instant, flames roared like an enraged dragon, rolling into waves amid the rain.
From the burning buildings came the cries of humans—some helping each other and fleeing barefoot over shattered glass.
The Mechanical Eunuch stood unshaken before the one-legged bird, scolding the screams as if reciting scripture: "No travel during curfew, no noise during curfew, no obstruction during curf—"
Before it could finish, its head exploded with a loud "bang."
Inspector had steadied his floating gun barrel, firing a precise shot through the scope.
Springs burst from the eunuch’s neck, its shattered head scattering mechanical parts across the ground. Even its vocal unit continued to sputter: "Way… curfew… one…"
Inspector pulled the trigger again, and the eunuch’s voice box exploded into fragments.
The one-legged bird ignored the attack beneath its feet. It lifted its head and let out another piercing cry as it flapped its wings. A blinding glow gathered in its beak—there was no time to waste.
Inspector fired another shot, hitting the bird’s beak dead-on and knocking its head sideways. The projectile in its maw instead crashed into a massive billboard in the distance, igniting a towering inferno.
—Damn it.
Su Heting waved away the smoke.
This bird was basically a walking super-artillery platform!
The flames ignited by the bird's cannonballs were not extinguished by the rain; instead, they burned even more fiercely. The fire licked the streets, forcing those hiding inside buildings to flee. Panicked crowds gathered amidst the flames, some stumbling as they ran, while a few elderly, walking unsteadily with canes, staggered along behind them.
"Evacuate the civilians from the scene," Inspector's voice was deep yet pleasant as he spoke into the communicator on his ear. "It's a Bifang."
"Copy that!" came the crisp reply through the device.
Su Heting suddenly recalled the monk’s introduction of Inspector—how he protected others in the Punishment Zone. But did these people even count? They were just data created by the Main God System, NPCs disguised as humans.
Inspector’s gun abruptly shifted, aiming at Su Heting. As he pulled the trigger, he commanded, "Get down!"
Su Heting’s reflexes were faster—he ducked just before the bullet whizzed past. The projectile struck something viscous with a wet thud before being spat onto the ground.
Su Heting heard a familiar, mournful weeping, soft and lingering. His ears perked up, and when he tilted his head, he saw the pale face of the Nightwalker.
"Hello," Su Heting greeted politely.
The Nightwalker clutched its chest with both hands, and cried even harder. Its tangled hair nearly draped over Su Heting as its gleaming steel-bladed legs shinged upward, chopping at the bench like a butcher’s cleaver.
"Come home…" it sobbed. "Come home with me!"
Su Heting swiftly dodged the flurry of steel strikes. "No thanks."
The Nightwalker seemed incapable of understanding human speech. After a few more strikes, it shattered the bench and reached out with its arms to grab him. Su Heting braced one hand against the streetlamp behind the bench, using it to launch himself into the air and kick the Nightwalker in the side of its neck.
The creature toppled sideways, crashing to the ground and kicking up dust. Its six steel legs twitched, scraping against the pavement with a grating noise. Its exposed ribcage had split open, revealing a maw of grinding steel teeth and viscous threads of fluid stretching between them.
"Home…"
Countless sorrowful wails of Nightwalkers seeped from the surrounding darkness. They lurked in the shadows of the streets while avoiding the flames and skulking hesitantly as they encircled the area.
Enraged by Inspector’s bullets, the Bifang threw its head back and roared. It spread its wings and shot into the sky. A violent gale erupted, fanning the inferno in the streets into an even fiercer blaze.
So hot!
Su Heting’s cat ears were nearly blown sideways by the wind. He tightened his grip on the streetlamp, only to hear the metal pole crack as it bent under the force.
The Bifang suddenly swooped down.
The street was far too narrow for it. As it beat its wings, the high-rises on either side crumbled as it was sheared in half by the force of its descent. Glass façades exploded in a deafening shower of shards.
"Scree—!" The Bifang shook its head and let out a piercing cry before its beak-cannon fired another devastating blast down the street.
Inspector’s sniper rifle clicked as it folded, the barrel splitting apart and flowing like a black tide over his right arm. He sprinted through the rain, his speed blurring his form. A flash of silver at his right ear—and suddenly, he was right in front of the Bifang.
The Bifang opened its beak again as the cannon within glowing bright—
Inspector’s shirt whipped in the gale, his gaze icy as he raised his arm and slammed it down.
Boom—!
An invisible force hammered into the Bifang’s head, smashing it into the ground. The cannonball detonated on impact, erupting in a dazzling burst of sparks.
Inspector's profile was sharply defined against the swirling winds of Mars and his shirt was soaked by the rain as he turned his head to fix his gaze on Su Heting.
The surrounding smoke of gunpowder dispersed slightly and the wind tilting the raindrops askew. The Bifang, which had been smashed into the ground, choked out a silent flame and filled the air with a strange, burning odor.
"Sir," came the urgent voice from Inspector's communicator, "there's more—"
A shrill "beep" echoed from the sky as two shells that were blazing with fire, were simultaneously launched from left and right, and exploding right in the center of the street!
Su Heting dragged the broken streetlamp behind him, flicking his tail as the "X" symbol appeared in his right eye. But someone was faster than him!
With a metallic clang, steel armor landed on the ground, stacking on both sides to form a double-layered iron shield. Amid the deafening explosion that shook the entire area, it blocked the pincer attack from left and right for Su Heting.
Inspector stood with one arm raised, very close to Su Heting.
Author's Note:
① Mechanical Eunuch: High-pitched voices, dressed in Ming Dynasty eunuch attire, they serve as the traffic lights in the Punishment Zone after sunset, warning mortals and clearing the way for gods and demons. Though they respawn nightly and cannot die, they hold grudges fiercely. They love wearing new clothes and are said to be extremely particular.—"Punctual Sniper Chronicles"
② Outer Robe: The attire of high-ranking eunuchs, worn over other garments, and embroidered with different patterns according to the season—the gourd being one of them.
③ Bifang: Commonly 20 to 30 meters in size, they prefer solitary actions but occasionally gather in groups. Resembling cranes in appearance but they have only one steel leg. Their wing feathers are forged from steel of unknown origin and are extremely hard. They have terrible tempers and act tyrannically. They can only emit a "beep" sound and store beak cannons, enjoying random bombardments and starting fires.—"Punctual Sniper Chronicles"
③-1 Bifang inspiration: "There is a bird here, shaped like a crane, with one leg, red patterns on a blue body and a white beak. Its name is Bifang, and its cry is its own name. Wherever it appears, false fires break out."—"Classic of Mountains and Seas"
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