Chapter 378: Returning 8.

Several survivors had gathered there.

They stared at the parade.

Then one of them recognized the women on the motorcycle.

"That’s the pair from the mall!"

Another survivor looked at the ruined road behind them.

"The mall?"

"They came from there!"

A third survivor shouted.

"They survived the mall?"

Bai Li heard them.

Yan Cijin did too.

The riders disappeared down the next street.

Behind them, the survivors kept talking.

One old man shook his head.

"I haven’t seen anything that ridiculous since the apocalypse started."

A young woman smiled.

"It was kind of amazing."

The old man looked at the giant dragon.

"That thing nearly destroyed the pharmacy."

"Still amazing."

The chase continued.

Luo Ren pointed.

"Next corner!"

Yan Cijin turned.

The dragon entered a wide avenue.

The road ahead had collapsed in several places.

The machine slowed.

Luo Ren looked worried.

"It wasn’t supposed to take this route."

"Why did it?"

"I told you."

"Because of the final cycle?"

"Yes."

Bai Li looked at the road.

A deep gap stretched across the avenue.

The dragon could not cross it.

At least, not normally.

Then the machine changed.

Its front section rose.

A hidden platform unfolded beneath the first two body segments.

Metal beams slid outward.

They locked into place.

Yan Cijin stared.

"That thing has a bridge?"

Luo Ren nodded.

"It was designed for outdoor performances."

Bai Li looked at the mechanism.

"This is ridiculous."

Luo Ren gave her a tired look.

"It was considered impressive."

The dragon rolled forward.

The unfolded beams crossed the gap.

The front wheel reached the other side.

Then the next section.

The body stretched.

One segment after another passed over.

The tail followed.

The motorcycle waited.

Yan Cijin looked at Bai Li.

"When it clears the gap?"

"Follow."

They accelerated.

The motorcycle crossed the temporary metal bridge.

The tires rattled over the joints.

Luo Ren held onto Bai Li.

The dragon reached the opposite side.

The bridge folded away.

They continued.

The city around them was changing.

Buildings became taller.

The main boulevard was getting closer.

Traffic lights hung above empty intersections.

The road had once been crowded.

Now it was a river of broken vehicles.

The dragon moved through it slowly.

Bai Li looked at the machine.

"How much longer?"

Luo Ren checked the indicator panel he had carried with him.

"Four minutes."

"Until what?"

"The finale."

Yan Cijin looked back.

"That sounds bad."

"It might be."

"What happens?"

Luo Ren hesitated.

"The dragon reaches the festival square."

"And?"

"It opens."

Yan Cijin frowned.

"The mouth?"

"No."

"The body."

Bai Li looked at him.

"Opens how?"

Luo Ren stared ahead.

"It unfolds."

For several seconds nobody spoke.

The dragon’s bells rang.

One.

Two.

Three.

The mechanical body shifted.

Panels along its sides began separating.

A faint golden-yellow fabric appeared beneath the red outer shell.

Yan Cijin stared.

"It’s unfolding."

Luo Ren nodded.

"Yes."

Bai Li’s eyes narrowed.

"Why?"

"That was the final stage of the old parade."

"Into what?"

"A theater."

Yan Cijin stared.

"A moving theater?"

"Exactly."

The dragon’s body stretched across the avenue.

Sections opened like flower petals.

Wooden platforms unfolded.

Curtains dropped.

Small lights flickered on.

What had looked like a giant dragon was slowly transforming into a moving stage.

The surrounding survivors watched from windows.

One man shouted.

"What the hell?"

Another replied.

"Don’t ask!"

The stage lights came on.

Music began.

Old festival music.

Tinny.

Cracked.

But still recognizable.

The sound echoed through the boulevard.

More zombies turned toward it.

Luo Ren covered his face.

"This is the final show."

Bai Li laughed.

"Of course it is."

Yan Cijin shook her head.

"We’re really following a dragon theater through the city."

Bai Li smiled.

"It could be worse."

The stage suddenly fired a burst of confetti.

Colored paper exploded into the air.

Everyone froze.

A strip of paper landed on Bai Li’s face.

Yan Cijin stared at her.

Then started laughing.

Bai Li removed it.

"I hate this place."

Luo Ren almost smiled.

"You haven’t seen the finale."

Bai Li looked at him.

"That doesn’t sound reassuring."

"It’s not."

The dragon continued down the boulevard.

And somewhere ahead, a giant festival bell began to ring.

The festival bell became louder.

The dragon’s pace increased.

Its wooden feet struck the road in a steady rhythm.

Boom.

Clank.

Boom.

Clank.

Each step shook the nearby buildings.

The old stage inside its body continued opening.

Curtains unfurled.

Small painted figures rose from hidden compartments.

Some were animals.

Some were people.

Some were strange fantasy creatures from an old children’s story.

The mechanism had been built with ridiculous attention to detail.

Yan Cijin stared.

"I can’t believe someone built all this."

Luo Ren looked almost proud.

"They spent two years on it."

"Why?"

"Because the festival was famous."

"What happened?"

"The festival ended."

"And the dragon was stored here?"

"Yes."

Yan Cijin shook her head.

"The apocalypse really knows how to choose what to preserve."

Bai Li smiled.

"At least it’s entertaining."

A zombie leaped from a broken vehicle.

Yan Cijin steered around it.

Bai Li struck it with Whisperfang.

The blade cut cleanly.

They continued.

More survivors were watching now.

Some had climbed onto rooftops.

Others stood behind windows.

A few were waving.

The scene was strange enough to feel almost normal.

Children would once have watched a parade like this.

Now adults watched from behind broken walls while zombies gathered in the street.

The contrast made Yan Cijin quiet.

Bai Li noticed.

"What are you thinking?"

"It feels like something from before."

"Yeah."

"The music."

Bai Li listened.

The melody was cheerful.

Almost childish.

It did not belong in the ruined city.

"Maybe that’s why it feels strange."

Yan Cijin nodded.

The dragon turned again.

Ahead was the old festival square.

The entrance arch was still standing.

Banners hung from it.

Most were torn.

One still showed a smiling cartoon sun.

Luo Ren pointed.

"That’s the end point."

Bai Li looked at the square.

"Then why isn’t it slowing down?"

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TO BE CONTINUED.