Chapter 8: Bilal
“Hey, we finally meet again!”
Xiang Zhengming was happily about to go over when Yan Hengze reached out to stop him. Xiang pushed his hand away in confusion. “What are you doing?”
“We’ve been separated for so long. How can you be sure he’s the real Chixiao?”
“What if he’s here to harm us?”
Yan Hengze looked vigilantly at Li Nanyi, who was walking toward them, unable to hide the suspicion in his tone. Seeing that Li Nanyi had stopped three steps away after hearing his words, the atmosphere grew tense.
Li Nanyi had followed the map navigation all the way from the sculpture exhibition hall. The moment he reached this spot, he lost the signal. Behind the heavy door lay unknown dangers, but before he could act, the door was pushed open from the other side, and he saw his lost teammates.
He hadn’t ruled out this situation. Li Nanyi spoke calmly, “How do you want me to prove it?”
Yan Hengze thought for a moment and said, “Where did the two of us meet for the first time?”
Li Nanyi pondered for a moment, tapped his fingers twice on the metal at his waist, raised his eyes, and looked directly at him to answer:
“Just the two of us… the first time was at the SkyNet Building.”
Xiang Zhengming noticed Yan Hengze suddenly relax and was somewhat puzzled. “Didn’t we first meet at the shop entrance?”
Yan Hengze glanced at him but didn’t speak.
“Can you confirm it now?”
“Apologies. You’re real.”
Yan Hengze crossed his arms and relaxed his stance slightly.
“It’s fine. The situation in the museum is complex; even the mecha’s computing power can’t calculate everything perfectly. Being cautious is a good thing.”
Li Nanyi nodded. Xiang Zhengming looked at them with a strange expression. Li Nanyi really has a good temper, he thought. If it were me dealing with this guy’s trouble-making all the way here, I would have blown up at him long ago. Yet he tolerated him for so long and didn’t even get angry when suspected.
The three reunited and exchanged their respective information. Li Nanyi spoke seriously, “It seems those missing people have all been trapped inside the photos. We can’t rescue them for the time being. We’ll have to see if Zhong Yi has any good solutions.”
“You’re seriously amazing. You took out that female ghost statue all by yourself.”
Xiang Zhengming genuinely admired him now. Who would have thought that this person, who looked as soft as dough, was actually so tough?
Chixiao nodded symbolically at him, then quickly shifted his gaze to the tightly closed door at the deepest end.
” Zzz… zzz Chixiao! Chengying, Tai’a, can you hear me?”
“I can hear you, I can hear you! Sister Zhong Yi, are you back online?”
Sounds of fiddling came from the other side, and then Zhong Yi’s voice became slightly clearer: “The internal shielding was too strong just now, forcing the signal to cut out. I’ve adjusted the internal channel signal and received the messages you sent. The central computer is currently decoding the data, and results should be out soon. The Special Task Force waiting outside is also ready. You may enter the center.”
She thought for a moment and added, “Be extremely cautious. According to the central computer’s calculations, the supernatural magnetic field is strongest in the central area. The risk assessment level has reached 79. It is extremely dangerous.”
“Understood. We will be careful.”
Yan Hengze extended his right hand, palm open. A faint blue light lit up, gradually brightening. Blue rays radiated from his palm, slowly constructing a distinct outline—it was a heavy sniper rifle equipped with an infrared sight.
It shared a similar color scheme with the mecha. Blue lights illuminated both sides of the barrel as the sniper rifle automatically charged and loaded. Yan Hengze disassembled a part of it; beneath the long barrel, the edge of a snow-bright blade flashed with electricity. It was a gun-blade. He reassembled the firearm, hiding the blade beneath the barrel once more.
Xiang Zhengming looked on with envy, hurriedly pulling up the tutorial to see if he also had such a “signature weapon.”
“Let’s go.”
Li Nanyi took the lead. This time, the group didn’t dawdle, heading straight for the large door behind the sculpture exhibition hall.
He looked down at the time: 4:30 AM sharp. There were two hours left until dawn. They had to hurry. If the problem in the exhibition hall wasn’t resolved by daybreak, their operation would be declared a failure.
The floor of the sculpture exhibition hall was covered in rolling plaster debris. Xiang Zhengming accidentally kicked one, looked down, and saw half of the Weeping Angel’s ferocious ghost face glaring at him. He let out a disgust sound and jumped to the side.
Separated by a single door was the source of everything. Although they had already encountered so many terrifying things—even seeing the legendary Weeping Angel—the unknown was the most primal fear imprinted in human genes. The group couldn’t help but feel nervous.
It was time to make a decision. Li Nanyi exhaled a breath of stale air, exchanged glances with the other two, and reached out to push open the heavy door that locked away the secret.
“This is it…”
Bilal held a gray-black egg-shaped object that was half the size of his body. The object had a hard shell, and if one looked closely, it was contracting as if breathing.
“Cocoon.”
The shadow beside him took the Cocoon. Suddenly, the door was pushed open, and a cold wind blew in. They ran right into the incoming mecha squad.
“The bugs ran in!”
Bilal spoke in annoyance.
“Bilal, I leave this place to you.”
The other shadow flashed quickly, darting toward the window.
As the doors crashed open, the thick clouds blocking the moon dispersed. Moonlight poured into the gridded windows in sequence, illuminating the smooth floor and revealing everything in the hall at a glance.
A spiral staircase extended from top to bottom. On the giant circular exhibition stand in the very center, the display case was empty. The item that should have been on display had been stolen—and the thief was standing in the shadows beneath the stand, staring at them with a blood-curdling gaze.
All three were stunned. They had never seen such a creature; perhaps calling it a monster wouldn’t be an exaggeration. Countless snake-like braids hung down. It was clad in sharp, black-and-red armor, and the exposed parts were not skin but scales shimmering with spots of light. It wore a silk headscarf with a distinct Western Regions style. Standing two meters tall, the face was undeniably that of a monster, with snake-like vertical pupils glowing crimson. The lower body was a snake tail, the tip twitching restlessly and slapping the ground—a warning that an attack was imminent.
Li Nanyi instantly noticed the figure flashing away in the shadows. Those equally crimson, bloodthirsty vertical pupils constricted, staring at him once in the dark night before vanishing quickly.
Danger! Human instinct screamed at him to stay away from those two entities.
Before they could react, the snake-tailed monster lunged. Three mechas moved simultaneously, dodging in four directions. The moment the massive snake tail hit the ground, the entire floor shook.
“Shameless humans, those are our battle armors!”
” Pfft, so what if they’re yours? If you hadn’t come out to attack us first, who would want to pilot these mechas to look for trouble!”
Xiang Zhengming raised his hand and fired a shot. The bullet hit Bilal as if striking a steel plate, leaving only a shallow mark before falling to the ground.
“Hiss, that skin is thick.”
“You trespassed in the museum, stole exhibits, and trapped tourists in photos. Today, I will execute you on the spot!”
Yan Hengze spun around, quickly squatted, supporting himself with one knee on the ground. He aimed the gun at Bilal’s head, locked on, and pulled the trigger—all in one fluid motion.
The blue bars on the sides of the barrel depleted rapidly, propelling forward. A blue beam of light wrapped in immense energy burst from the muzzle, heading straight for Bilal’s face.
Bilal raised his tail with extreme speed to block it. The beam pierced through, snapping the tail in two, and the severed part fell to the ground. He let out a terrifying roar.
The snake-like face on his chest twisted even more. In just a few seconds, the severed tail reconnected. Yan Hengze felt his scalp explode.
“Is there no logic anymore? There’s absolutely no biological common sense!”
Bilal laughed shrilly, speaking the Earth language in a stumbling, metallic voice: “This… is my domain. Within the domain, I am King over everything!”
As his voice fell, he raised both arms toward the sky. The entire exhibition hall rumbled and shook, making it almost impossible to stand. Behind him, the moonlight was swallowed by darkness. The windows on all sides were tainted with a black aura. Thick, colorful fluid flowed down from the top of the exhibition hall, carrying a pungent smell of blood. It looked as if someone had knocked over oil paint; those fluids, with pitch black as a base color, gradually formed twisted vortexes in mid-air.
“What does this look like? Oh, Picasso’s stars!”
Xiang Zhengming roasted the scene amidst the chaos, but no one had the time to appreciate his ill-timed humor.
A sudden sense of oppression and fear seized everyone, rendering them immobile. Pink and gold dust drifted down from the sky, and the thick fluid spread. The three of them felt as if they were about to suffocate there.
“Relax… don’t overthink…”
Li Nanyi squeezed out a sentence with difficulty. This kind of physiological fear was irresistible; they could only try their best not to be affected.
The fluid had already spread over, swallowing every object it encountered along the way. Rubble trembled. Yan Hengze just glanced back and felt his heart stop. “Wha-what is all that?!”
The statues Li Nanyi had shattered were floating and reassembling. They stood behind the door, baring their fangs and claws, ready to move.
Domain… being suppressed within the domain. Li Nanyi rolled his eyes, searching through Chixiao‘s database, hoping to find some information on how to overcome a domain.
Perhaps it was a rebound effect from hitting rock bottom, but Bilal’s domain rampage activated the mecha’s built-in defense system. Mechanical parts ground together, and in a moment, all three felt the thousand-pound weight pressing on them vanish.
Li Nanyi fired a backhand shot, shattering the Weeping Angel rushing toward him again.
“What?!” Bilal gritted his teeth. “Ah, the mechas!”
Li Nanyi loaded the chamber and made a prompt decision: “Get out first. Leave His domain.”
He didn’t need to say it twice; Xiang Zhengming was already prepared. Tai’a charged toward the nearest window with the force of splitting bamboo. With a crash, the glass shattered, shards flying, and the other two mechas immediately followed.
“Zhong Yi, we are preparing to come out. There’s also that alien xenomorph following us from behind.”
“Received. I’m notifying the Special Task Force now.”
They rushed out of the museum, returning to the illuminated area. Under the moonlight, Bilal’s body chasing them out looked terrifying and massive. Someone sucked in a cold breath. Zhong Yi ordered them to activate defenses. The well-trained Special Task Force surrounding them quickly pulled their triggers. A dense barrage of bullets swept out, striking the giant alien xenomorph and scraping out countless dazzling sparks.
“Chengying, charge the gun. Aim for the glowing crystal on the snake face on His chest. Shatter it.”
Yan Hengze squatted down, aiming the sniper rifle at Bilal’s chest. To dodge the barrage, Bilal’s body kept swaying. Finally catching a moment when He was facing forward, Chengying‘s gun charged and loaded. A blue beam burst from the muzzle, charging straight to hit Bilal’s chest.
Bang!
The crystal on His chest, flickering like a heart, shattered into several pieces and fell into the air. Losing its source of energy, the defensive magnetic field around Him vanished. The domain disappeared. The ceaseless barrage pierced His body, turning Him into a sieve in mere moments.
Bilal let out a dying wail. His massive body fell to the ground, twitched twice, and finally, with eyes wide open in death, He turned into flakes of data codes and vanished with the wind.
The mission was over. Yan Hengze panted, looking at Xiang Zhengming, who was equally exhausted. Xiang Zhengming was about to say something when he heard Yan Hengze speak leisurely while walking toward the military vehicle: “That is called Van Gogh’s Starry Night. Lacking culture is truly terrifying.”
It took three seconds for Xiang Zhengming to react before he jumped in rage. He hadn’t expected that even at a time like this, this guy was still thinking about mocking him!
Li Nanyi didn’t speak. He gazed into the distance in the direction the other xenomorph had left, his anxiety increasing.
The mission was completed, but was it really that simple?
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