Right on Target (TARGET)
Yu Cheng curled his fingers in pain and gasped for breath as he kicked the Nightwalker with his free foot.
His kick landed squarely on the creature's head, sending it crashing into the flickering control panel. The Nightwalker clutched its face in despair as its chest heaved with sobs. "Home... take me home..." it wailed.
Yu Cheng scrambled out of the vehicle and slammed the door shut with his body. Inside, the Nightwalker smashed at the window with its bladed legs, shattering the glass in just a few strikes. The rain poured down in torrents, but Yu Cheng barely noticed as he frantically groped around. "My glasses! Where are my glasses?!"
Xiao Gu tumbled out of the vehicle and rolled onto the ground. Hearing Yu Cheng's cries, he picked up the broken glasses from the ground and shoved them into Yu Cheng's hands. "Here, here! Stop looking!" he shouted.
Yu Cheng hastily put on the glasses—one lens was shattered and the other smeared with rainwater. Peering through the blurry streaks, his expression turned to shock. "It's... it's enormous..."
From Yu Cheng's vantage point, Zhu Yin's head was completely out of sight, hidden high in the sky. Only its massive body slithered ominously and its crimson skin pulsing with an unnamed fluid coursing through its veins—the energy sustaining its colossal form.
Three or four Nightwalkers clung spider-like to the armored vehicle, with their bladed legs screeching against the metal. Their long hair dragged through the mud as they feasted on the wreckage, their pale faces washed by the rain like water ghouls lurking in the downpour, with their hungry eyes fixed on the group.
Dong Fang muttered, "This is bad."
Su Heting hung onto Xie Zhenshu's back, his breathing shallow. "When Zhu Yin opens its eyes, will the Silence disappear?" he asked.
Xie Zhenshu turned his head slightly. "Its eyes will only stay open for a few minutes," he replied.
Su Heting stared at Xie Zhenshu's lips, deciphering the words "a few minutes." It was too short—and too dangerous. Even if his implants recovered, climbing to Zhu Yin's head in mere minutes was impossible. If the Silence caught him mid-ascent, he’d need rescuing.
Dong Fang’s mechanical arm had transformed into a steel launcher, but when he tried to draw an electric bowstring, nothing happened. The gears in his elbow whirred sluggishly, clearly affected by Zhu Yin’s interference. He gave a bitter laugh. "I can’t be the bow anymore. Hua Zhi, can you throw the arrows barehanded?"
Hua Zhi clutched the quiver of light-armor arrows and craned her neck as far as it would go, but Zhu Yin’s head remained beyond sight. For once, she looked genuinely stunned. "I can’t throw that high... it’s too far up," she admitted.
As they all stared upward, Xie Zhenshu’s diamond-shaped fragments suddenly detached from his body, forming a massive shield.
BOOM—!
The sound exploded right above them as Zhu Yin’s body lurched violently, crushing the armored vehicle behind it in an instant. Several Nightwalkers that were too slow to escape were flattened into pulp—their bladed legs crumpled like paper under Zhu Yin’s weight.
Xie Zhenshu’s shield held for only two seconds before shattering like snowflakes, scattering into nothingness.
Zhu Yin continued its erratic movements, shaking the entire area violently. The sound of collapsing structures filled the air as its mournful cry pierced the clouds and its tail thrashing wildly in some incomprehensible fury.
Xiao Gu, small and unsteady, was lifted by Dong Fang’s steel arm. Clutching his head, he wailed, "What do we do now?! I don’t wanna die!"
The ground collapsed once more, and the six individuals before Zhu Yin appeared as tiny ants were struck by the wind stirred up by the creature like a towering wave. Everyone choked on several mouthfuls of rainwater.
Xie Zhenshu said, "Daylight is coming."
As soon as his voice fell, Zhu Yin turned its head, and the world was instantly bathed in blinding white light.
Su Heting's modified eyes flickered faintly as the "X" symbol appeared intermittently, but his cat ears remained unresponsive, still in mute mode. With the information processor inactive, his signals couldn't reach his limbs, leaving him with only intense dizziness and even a sense of nausea.
—How annoying!
Xie Zhenshu waved his hand, and the diamond-shaped fragments "clanged" together to form an ultra-long spear. He commanded, "Xiao Gu, clear the way!"
Dong Fang's steel construct suddenly morphed, forming a "Y" shape that bore Xiao Gu's full weight. The electric strings "crackled" as they connected, turning Xiao Gu into a cannonball within the "Y". With a deep shout, Dong Fang yelled, "Go!"
The gears "hummed" as they spun rapidly. Dong Fang swung his arm and hurled Xiao Gu forward.
Xiao Gu soared through the air as his arms pressed together, aiming at a part of Zhu Yin's body, and shouted, "Holy shit!"
His arm cannons fired ice bullets with a thunderous roar, striking Zhu Yin. The surrounding temperature plummeted instantly as the ice bullets exploded, slowing the flow of liquid in that section of the creature.
Xie Zhenshu had no room for a running start and could only throw the spear from a standstill. The spear "whooshed" from his hand, instantly magnifying several times in size, cutting through the torrential rain and gale-force winds to strike the exact spot on Zhu Yin where the ice bullets had hit. The spearhead embedded itself into Zhu Yin's skin, and the IV tubes burst open, splattering scalding liquid everywhere.
Zhu Yin, rarely injured, was particularly sensitive to pain. The agony shot straight to its brain, causing its massive head to thrash against nearby skyscrapers as it howled and writhed. Thick crimson liquid gushed out, accompanied by a pungent, burning odor, while the ground sizzled and melted beneath it.
The spear immediately disassembled, and Xie Zhenshu clenched his fist, recalling the fragments to his arm. He barked a concise order: "Run!"
The remaining four immediately retreated. Xie Zhenshu pulled Su Heting down and, as Dong Fang passed by, gently tossed the cat toward him. Dong Fang's steel construct reverted to pliers, grabbing hold of Su Heting.
Su Heting couldn't hear and had no idea if they were speaking, but his instincts screamed danger.
Zhu Yin had two eyes that were both gaping wide. Half the area plunged into darkness, while the other half remained in daylight, creating an eerie, stark contrast with Zhu Yin as the dividing line.
Su Heting asked, "What's happening?"
Zhu Yin's sonic bombs detonated abruptly, affecting not just their group but also the survivors hiding underground, who clutched their heads in agony.
The sonic bombs disrupted the entire area, causing the dials of electronic devices to flicker wildly. Even the Mechanical Eunuch observing from afar wasn't spared.
The Mechanical Eunuch seemed to glitch as its surface lights flashing erratically. It stiffly mimicked the head-clutching motion, attempting to regain control, but the commands it spat out were fragmented: "God... zzt... demon... malfunction..."
"Woooo—!"
Zhu Yin raged, its writhing body resembling a boiling river. It twisted violently as its mechanical head spinning rapidly as powerful cannons fired like searchlights in all directions, and explosions "booming" one after another. Forget Flower Square—the entire city would be reduced to ruins tonight.
The sonic bomb's power was terrifying. Xiao Gu's body, soaked in the nutrient tank, was weak, making his reaction online more intense than others'. He hadn't run more than a few steps before he felt blood trickling from his ears. The "buzzing" sound enveloped him, making his legs weak and his breathing ragged.
Hua Zhi grabbed Xiao Gu and hoisted him onto her back.
Xiao Gu's injured hand trembled uncontrollably. "My body is too weak..."
Yu Cheng called out, "Sir—"
Dong Fang grabbed Yu Cheng's head and shoved him forward, barking, "Run!"
Conquerors entrusted their backs to one another. Even if they knew what was coming, they couldn't look back. The commander's orders were the first ironclad rule—when the commander told them to run, they ran. This was absolute trust in their leader.
Su He twisted his neck, seeing the rain interwoven with light and shadow. Xie Zhenshu was alone.
He was always alone.
"Hey," Su He shouted, "Hey!"
Zhu Yin, enraged, lowered its head, locking onto Xie Zhenshu.
Xie Zhenshu's vision was flooded with white light as Zhu Yin charged toward him, its heavy cannons firing relentlessly. His fingers loosened, and Asura manifested instantly.
The three faces spun, with the "Loathing" shield taking the brunt of Zhu Yin's cannon fire—only to shatter moments later.
Zhu Yin's cannons kept firing!
"Slaughter" roared silently, swinging its massive cannon. With no time to fire, it simply smashed the weapon against Zhu Yin's head. A deafening "boom" echoed as Zhu Yin's mechanical skull sank with a mournful groan.
Debris exploded outward. Zhu Yin's daylight face buried itself into the ground, while its night face dominated the battlefield.
When night fell, even Asura couldn't withstand the silence, disintegrating instantly. But Xie Zhenshu had already leaped into the air. With a single punch, Zhu Yin was struck by an iron fist formed from scattered fragments.
Zhu Yin's cannon fire blasted against the iron fist, scattering some of the fragments in a thunderous burst, but unlike Asura, it didn't collapse entirely. Xie Zhenshu spread his palm, and the iron fist mirrored the motion, its five fingers clamping onto Zhu Yin's mechanical skull. With a resounding "crack", it twisted Zhu Yin's head violently.
Zhu Yin's tail thrashed wildly, stirring up a storm. Several connection lines in its head snapped, translating into sharp, agonizing feedback that made the sonic bomb in its mouth screech piercingly.
The diamond-shaped fragments were disrupted again, scattering once more.
Zhu Yin's reaction signal was swift—it sensed the weakening of the iron fist the moment it began to crumble. Its head extended with a "click" as steel segments emerged from beneath its transparent outer layer, freeing it from the sluggishness of its lower body as it lunged straight for Xie Zhenshu.
Another "boom!"
The cannon fire scorched the earth.
Though Zhu Yin's mechanical skull could now move freely with its steel segments, its massive body still rolled uncontrollably. There were no more buildings left to crush in the vicinity, forcing some survivors to flee underground to avoid being buried by the collapsing terrain.
Dong Fang said to Yu Cheng, "Open the comms, organize the survivors—we need to retreat to the other side!"
If Zhu Yin didn't die tonight, they'd have no choice but to fall back to the city's edge and engage in a brutal stalemate with the Mechanical Eunuchs.
Xie Zhenshu clenched his fist. The diamond fragments were reassembling, but their speed had slowed.
By the time Zhu Yin crashed into him, the fragments had only just encased his right arm. This time, he couldn't push Zhu Yin's head away—he was slammed into a ruined wall on the opposite side.
Crash!
The wall collapsed.
—Damn it.
Su He clenched his fingers as he kept repeating in his mind over and over.
Move.
Goddammit, move!
The cat ears twitched slightly as the neural stimulation signals slithering like snakes, giving Su Heting a faint hint of pain. But the sensation was negligible, vanishing almost instantly as it was completely drowned out by surging excitement.
Zhu Yin turned its head, the colossal eye of its daylight side pressing close to Xie Zhenshu. The blinding light was impossible to resist, forcing Xie Zhenshu to shut his eyes. Seizing the moment, Zhu Yin fired a blast—the intense flash lasted only an instant before Xie Zhenshu’s fist knocked it off course, sending the beam veering sideways. Yet, in that instant, it had already shifted to its night side, silently opening its maw to lunge forward.
The diamond-shaped fragments were still reassembling when Zhu Yin was already upon them.
Xie Zhenshu raised the half-formed giant shield to block, but the surface shattered in less than a second. Amid the scattering shards, a surge of flames suddenly erupted.
Just one strike.
The "X" mark locked on—Su Heting moved at his fastest speed. Grabbing Xie Zhenshu by the collar, he unleashed the invincible cannon with a deafening "BOOM—" flipping Zhu Yin over.
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