Chapter 13: Nightmare
“Do you want to go sit somewhere nearby?”
The setting sun sank inch by inch, forming a complete circle with its reflection in the afterglow. The sky grew dim, neon lights gradually lit up across the city, and people began strolling along the banks of the Yujiang River.
Li Nanyi stared at the rushing river water in the distance, raising his phone to snap a few photos. Turning his head, he realized Lu Xiuan, who had been walking beside him, was leaning in very close. He wasn’t wearing his glasses today, and the dim, yellowish surface of the water was reflected in his glazed pupils.
Unconsciously, without even hearing the question clearly, he nodded. By the time he snapped back to reality, they were already seated at a nearby café. Tables were set up outside, offering a clear view of the entire river, and the breeze blowing off the water felt comfortable.
Lu Xiuan ordered two coffees. “Can you drink sweet things?”
“Yes, just half-sugar for me, please.”
He pulled out a chair and sat down. “I thought you would want full sugar.”
“Too much sugar gets cloying. I actually thought you would like black coffee; I didn’t expect you to ask for full sugar.”
Getting along was much easier now that they were familiar; they could even joke around. Li Nanyi took the coffee, took a sip, and found it was still a bit too sweet.
“Work is already bitter enough, so why drink something bitter? Of course, the sweeter, the better.”
Lu Xiuan folded his arms on the table, propping himself up. Li Nanyi looked at his eyes, which were embellished with highlights under the lamp, and asked carefully, “Are you of mixed heritage?”
Lu Xiuan paused. “Mixed heritage? I’m not. Are you talking about my eyes? This is natural. Neither of my parents were foreigners. Maybe there was a foreigner in my ancestry, and the recessive gene just became dominant in my generation.”
“They look good, don’t they?”
“Yes. You must have been very popular back in your student days.”
Lu Xiuan stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Thatâs true. Back in school, the line of people wanting to date me could stretch all the way to France… Just kidding. What about you, Xiaoyi? I feel like I still don’t know you very well.”
Him?
Li Nanyi fell silent for a moment, lifting his cup to take a sip of coffee. Lu Xiuan didn’t rush him, waiting patiently.
His gaze turned to the riverside teeming with people. The dazzling neon lights flickered as he spoke, his voice somewhat low. “Me? My parents passed away in an accident when I was eight. I grew up in a welfare home, relied on state subsidies to graduate from university, and then came out to workâwhich is this job I have now.”
His thoughts seemed to return to that day. Lu Xiuan spoke softly, “I’m sorry.”
Seeing his expression of guilt and concern, Li Nanyi smiled. “It’s okay. Do you know about the ‘April 1st Major Explosion Case’?”
Lu Xiuan’s expression froze for a second before quickly returning to his usual look of concern. “Of course I know. That case had the heaviest casualties and the most serious nature in the last ten years. And because of the lack of leads, it’s said to still be a cold case.”
“That’s about it. My parents died in that accident. I’m still looking for clues even now.”
The “April 1st Major Explosion Case”âtrue to its name, occurred around 1:00 AM on April 1st. Centered on the Yujiang River, an explosion of unknown origin detonated within the city. Everything within a two-kilometer radius of the river was affected, especially the outskirts behind the Yujiang. To this day, not a blade of grass grows in that soil. Casualties reached nearly a hundred people. It all happened so suddenly, like a deadly April Fool’s joke.
Li Nanyi looked up at the clean, bright sky, his fingertips turning white as he gripped the cup, and exhaled. “My parents both lost their lives in that accident. I hope to find the truth as soon as possible.”
“Then, I wish you good luck.”
A sedan sped past, blocking the light and casting a shadow. In that instant, a smear of red flashed through Lu Xiuan’s eyes, hidden in the shade.
Li Nanyi frowned, but when the shadow receded, those eyes remained a pale transparency, without a trace of red.
Maybe it was an illusion. Li Nanyi shook his head to dispel the sudden heart palpitations. I must be too tense lately.
“You’ve finished your coffee, and it’s getting late. You have a curfew, so I’ll walk you back. I’ll go return the cups.”
Lu Xiuan reached out to take the cup in front of Li Nanyi. Li Nanyi happened to pick it up to hand it to him. Their fingertips touched. Li Nanyi curled his fingers slightly; the warmth of the coffee still lingered on the cup. He let go, and the cup landed safely in Lu Xiuan’s hand.
Lu Xiuan stunned for a moment, then took the cups and turned to enter the café.
…
Wings covered the sky and blocked the sun. A giant tree rose from the ground. A black dragon lunged down from the sky. Strange languages and crowds kneeling in pilgrimage. Li Nanyi stood in the bushes with his arms crossed; he had seen this scene many times.
Ever since he started encountering these alien Xenomorphs, he had been having such strange dreams. The content was much the same every time. He had mentioned it to Zhong Yi, but she said it might be caused by excessive stress.
However, today’s dream seemed a bit different. Li Nanyi watched the scenes flash by one by one, waiting for the bell that would signal the end of the dream. Just then, a gust of violent wind rolled down from the sky, sending sand and dust flying. He could hardly see anything and could only raise his sleeve to shield himself.
When he opened his eyes again, the giant black dragon had landed right in front of him. From a very close distance, crimson vertical pupils stared at him.
That gaze was like being targeted by a beastâcontaining rage, greed, and an indescribable emotion, very much like the look of extreme longing for something.
Instantly, every hair on his body stood up. Human instinct screamed danger, and his legs felt like they were filled with lead. The next moment, that massive claw swatted toward him. He threw himself backward with all his might.
Thud.
“Hiss.”
Li Nanyi propped himself up from the floor. The room was pitch black, quiet except for the occasional chirp of insects.
Rubbing his forehead, he slowly climbed up from the ground. Cold sweat had soaked his back, wetting his clothes. He sat back on the bed as if relieved of a heavy burden, spread out the quilt that had been kicked into a ball, and leaned back against the pillow with a headache.
The sky hadn’t brightened yet. He didn’t know when these messy dreams would end. If he went back to sleep, he might have another nightmare. Sweaty and sticky, Li Nanyi decided to go to the bathroom for a shower. Amidst the rising steam, water droplets flowed down his forehead, leaving only the rushing sound of water in the room.
Standing under the shower, Li Nanyi recalled the scenes in the dream. The image of the dragon-shaped Xenomorph he met in the park that day abruptly flashed through his mind. The curved, pitch-black horns on His head overlapped perfectly with the giant dragon in the dream.
There might be a connection.
Li Nanyi turned off the faucet, wiping his head with a towel as he opened the door to leave.
Moonlight pushed into the bathroom like a surging tide, and the undried water stains seemed to stir restlessly.
“What is this? A Little Genius phone watch?”
The pop-up screen on the wrist of the Tai’a mecha displayed the analysis results. Three days after the fire in the Street Park was extinguished, they returned to the scene to investigate again.
Chixiao scanned every floor tile, carefully reading the analysis on the screen. They had to ensure there were no future troubles here. The Street Park was located in the city’s bustling commercial district; it couldn’t be closed permanently.
“No problems found. Looks like the fire from those aliens is just ordinary fire, not much different from Earth’s.”
Yan Hengze clapped his hands and looked around. The railings had been melted down to molten iron, the lake water had almost evaporated, and the trees were bare. It was essentially ruins. Restoring it to its original state was impossible; it had to be rebuilt.
“Sigh. They say investigate traces, but even the surveillance from that day was destroyed. What can we possibly find?”
Xiang Zhengming raised his hand to pat the scorched surveillance camera pole. The camera atop it drooped listlessly. Although he sounded dejected, he was telling the truth.
No matter how they checked, the surveillance from that day couldn’t be found. The explanation given by the person in charge was that it happened to be undergoing maintenance that day and wasn’t turned on. But everyone knew there was no such coincidenceâalien Xenomorphs attack the park, and the surveillance just happens to be off for maintenance.
There was someone behind the alien monsters helping them, someone with a status high enough in human society to interfere with their operations.
“Ah, it’s so troublesome. Is their brain flooded? Helping aliens!”
Yan Hengze punched the tree trunk irritably.
Dealing with monsters was exhausting enough; now they had to deal with humans too. It was truly adding fuel to the fire, chaos upon chaos.
At the SkyNet Building not far away, a middle-aged man in a suit watched that direction with binoculars. Shortly after, he lowered the binoculars and handed them to the secretary beside him.
“Ha, a bunch of idiots. How could I leave loose ends when I do things? In this world, money can solve most problems.”
“President Chen, should we arrange for our contracted influencers to guide public opinion next?”
“I’ll leave it to you, Secretary Anna.”
The middle-aged man with slightly graying temples was Chen Yide, the CEO of SkyNet Company. A second-generation rich kid who started as a nouveau riche, he inherited his father’s company and grew it into a powerhouse.
The short-haired secretary beside him, dressed in capable attire and wearing glasses, methodically arranged for the network influencers under the company to guide the narrative regarding the Street Park incident.
“This is a world for smart people. No one can stop me from achieving my goals. Secretary Anna, how is President Wang, who bid against us the day before yesterday?”
Anna answered dutifully, her voice calm. “President Wang encountered a car accident on a business trip two days ago and is still in critical condition. His two sons and relatives are fighting fiercely over the inheritance at home. It’s a total mess over there.”
“That’s good.” Chen Yide huffed. “Daring to snatch what I have my eye on without looking at who I am?”
“Ah, right. Go call Lu Xiuan up here for me. While you’re at it, check on the development progress of those people in the underground laboratory. Tell them to speed it up. My every minute and second is precious; I didn’t invest in them just so they could dawdle in there!”
“Yes, I will go call Director Lu up now.”
Anna stepped into the elevator in her high heels. With a ding, the floor number gradually decreased.
Chen Yide stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the prosperous steel city with satisfaction. Everything was under his control. With the help of that alien technology far exceeding Earth’s level, his goals of extending his life and expanding his business empire were just around the corner.
Those people at EDFH didn’t know how to seize opportunities; they were rigid, conservative, and stubborn. Chen Yide shook his head regretfully. The world still needed to be controlled by smart people.
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