Chapter 375: Returning 5.

Bai Li moved between them.

Whisperfang cut one.

Her elbow struck another.

She turned and used the third zombie’s body to knock down the fourth.

Yan Cijin finished the last two with fast shots.

Luo Ren pointed toward the dragon’s head.

"The first lock is beneath the jaw!"

Bai Li looked up.

"Show me."

"Follow the rail."

He ran.

The dragon rolled forward.

Its enormous body curved across the warehouse.

Bai Li followed.

Yan Cijin stayed beside her.

The floor vibrated beneath their feet.

Luo Ren stopped near a narrow maintenance path.

"There."

A metal housing sat beneath the dragon’s neck.

A blue lever protruded from it.

Bai Li crouched.

"This one?"

"Yes."

"How do we release it?"

"Pull it downward, then turn the wheel."

Yan Cijin looked at the moving dragon.

"While it is moving?"

"There’s no other time!"

Bai Li grabbed the lever.

It resisted.

She pulled harder.

The mechanism screamed.

"Not enough."

Yan Cijin immediately helped.

Both women pulled together.

The lever moved.

The dragon’s neck jerked.

A gear above them snapped into a different position.

"Turn the wheel!" Luo Ren shouted.

Bai Li grabbed the circular handle.

It was heavy.

She twisted.

The wheel turned one quarter.

Then stopped.

"Jammed."

Luo Ren ran closer.

"There’s a safety pin."

He reached underneath.

"Here."

Bai Li removed the pin.

The wheel became loose.

She turned it.

The mechanism locked.

The dragon’s head slowed.

Then stopped.

The rest of the body continued moving.

Luo Ren looked alarmed.

"That’s not supposed to happen."

"Why?"

"Because the body is still connected."

The dragon’s torso swung toward them.

Bai Li looked up.

"How long?"

"Ten seconds."

"That’s enough."

She grabbed Yan Cijin.

They ran.

The massive dragon body swept behind them.

The wooden scales missed Bai Li by a few inches.

The force of the moving air pushed Yan Cijin sideways.

Bai Li caught her arm.

"Run."

"I am!"

They reached the center section.

The dragon’s body was still moving around them.

The second lock was hidden inside the machine.

Luo Ren pointed to a small opening.

"Through there!"

Yan Cijin looked at it.

"You’re serious?"

"Very."

Bai Li entered first.

Yan Cijin followed.

Inside the dragon, everything was different.

The outside had looked like a decorative parade float.

Inside, it was a maze of gears.

Large wooden wheels turned against smaller metal gears.

Chains moved through narrow channels.

Counterweights rose and fell.

Old ropes ran through pulleys above their heads.

The entire structure felt alive.

Yan Cijin stared.

"This is insane."

Bai Li touched one of the beams.

"Good engineering."

"Of course you would say that."

Bai Li smiled.

Luo Ren shouted from behind them.

"The lock is on the left!"

Bai Li looked.

A small metal box was mounted beside a massive gear.

She opened it.

Inside was a red wheel.

"That?"

"Yes!"

Bai Li turned it.

Nothing happened.

"Again!"

She turned harder.

The gear resisted.

Yan Cijin looked around.

"What is stopping it?"

Luo Ren shouted from outside.

"The pressure!"

Bai Li understood.

"The water wheel."

"Yes."

"So this lock cannot close while the system is under pressure."

"Exactly."

Bai Li looked at Yan Cijin.

"We need the third lock first."

Yan Cijin nodded.

They climbed through the body and came out on the far side.

The dragon’s movement was slowing, but it was still dangerous.

More zombies entered the warehouse.

They had been drawn by the noise.

Yan Cijin fired.

Bai Li stepped forward.

They cleared a path toward the far wall.

A rusted staircase climbed to the hydraulic section.

Luo Ren shouted.

"The water wheel is above!"

Bai Li looked up.

The staircase shook as the dragon moved.

She started climbing.

Yan Cijin followed.

Halfway up, a zombie crawled through a broken railing.

Yan Cijin struck it with the stock of her crossbow.

It fell.

Another climbed behind.

Bai Li kicked it down.

The zombie hit three others below.

"Keep going."

They reached the upper platform.

There it was.

The old water wheel.

It was enormous.

Nearly five meters across.

Rust covered the outer rim.

But the center still turned slowly.

Water dripped from a cracked pipe above it.

Tick.

Tick.

Tick.

The wheel moved.

Slowly.

But it moved.

Luo Ren climbed up behind them.

"That pipe is the problem."

Bai Li looked.

A valve was attached near the main line.

"Can we shut it?"

"Yes, but the valve is jammed."

"How badly?"

"Badly."

Yan Cijin looked at Bai Li.

"Want to guess?"

Bai Li stepped closer.

"Very badly."

She grabbed the valve.

It did not move.

Yan Cijin joined her.

Together they pushed.

The metal groaned.

Nothing.

Bai Li increased her strength.

The valve shifted.

Just a little.

Water sprayed from the pipe.

Luo Ren shouted.

"Don’t break it!"

Bai Li looked at him.

"Then help."

He grabbed the wheel.

All three pushed.

The valve turned.

Five degrees.

Ten.

Fifteen.

Then it stopped.

"Again," Bai Li said.

They pushed together.

The valve turned another quarter.

The water slowed.

The wheel began losing speed.

"Good!" Luo Ren shouted.

But the dragon suddenly moved again.

The entire platform shook.

Yan Cijin nearly lost her balance.

Bai Li grabbed her.

The water wheel spun faster for one instant.

A deep mechanical roar filled the warehouse.

Luo Ren went pale.

"That was the pressure release."

"What does that mean?" Yan Cijin asked.

"It means the system is starting the final cycle."

The dragon below them suddenly raised its head.

The painted eyes glowed bright red.

Luo Ren stared.

"No."

Bai Li looked down.

"What’s wrong?"

He pointed.

"The final cycle is different."

"How?"

"The dragon leaves the parade track."

Yan Cijin stared at him.

"What?"

"It can open the front gate."

"Why would it do that?"

"Because that was the final part of the original festival performance."

Bai Li looked toward the warehouse doors.

They were still closed.

Luo Ren continued.

"If the final cycle starts, the dragon will roll straight through that wall."

"Then?"

"Then the road outside becomes part of the parade."

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TO BE CONTINUED.