Chapter 381: Returning 11.

across the pavement. For one second even

the zombies seemed to pause.

Then the thing beneath the festival stage came up.

Bai Li did not step back.

Yan Cijin did not either.

The enormous red dragon above them remained frozen in its old mechanical

pose, one claw raised, its brass plates glowing in the strange white

light coming from its open mouth. Beneath it, the circular opening in

the center of the square widened with a grinding sound. Something was

pushing against the old metal platform from below.

Luo Ren stared at the opening.

"That wasn’t in the plans."

Yan Cijin looked at him.

"What was supposed to be there?"

"Nothing."

"That’s not very useful."

"I mean exactly that. Nothing. The old mechanism was supposed to be a

sealed balancing chamber. It powered the dragon’s head and the bells.

There wasn’t supposed to be another machine under it."

Bai Li’s eyes stayed on the opening.

"Then somebody changed it."

Luo Ren swallowed.

"Or something did."

A deep metallic groan came from below.

The circle in the square lifted.

A huge brass shape appeared.

At first it looked like another part of the parade machine. Then two

long arms unfolded from beneath it. They were made of old iron rods,

thick gears, and sections of blackened metal. A round body followed. Two

enormous wheels turned slowly on either side of it.

Yan Cijin blinked.

"Is that a second dragon?"

"No," Luo Ren whispered.

Bai Li tilted her head.

"Then what is it?"

Luo Ren’s face had gone pale.

"The old stage engine."

The machine dragged itself out of the underground chamber.

It was not shaped like an animal. It looked more like a giant mechanical

drum mounted on wheels, with six jointed arms folded around its body.

Hundreds of small bells covered its sides. Thin brass tubes ran from its

center to each arm. The whole thing was coated in dust and rust.

But it was moving.

The white light from the dragon’s mouth streamed down into it.

Each time the light touched the machine, another row of bells began to

ring.

Ting.

Ting.

Ting.

The sound was almost delicate.

The effect was not.

Every zombie in the square turned toward the machine at once.

Bai Li’s expression became flat.

"That’s annoying."

Yan Cijin raised her crossbow.

"Very."

The machine’s first arm slammed into the street.

Boom.

Concrete burst apart.

The shockwave knocked several zombies off their feet.

A second arm swung sideways.

Bai Li grabbed Yan Cijin by the waist and pulled her back as the metal

arm swept through the space where they had been standing.

The arm missed them by less than a meter and smashed through an

abandoned van.

The van folded around it.

Yan Cijin looked at the wreckage.

"That is definitely not a normal festival machine."

Bai Li released her.

"I think we figured that out."

The dragon overhead moved.

Its huge neck turned.

The white circle inside its mouth pointed toward the mechanical drum.

Luo Ren stared upward.

"Wait."

Bai Li looked at him.

"What?"

"The dragon is looking at it."

"I can see that."

"No, I mean it’s recognizing it."

Yan Cijin frowned.

"How would you know?"

Luo Ren pointed toward the old gears around the dragon’s neck.

"The head only turned when the lower engine started. That’s part of the

old performance sequence. It was supposed to happen at the very end of

the festival. The dragon was supposed to face the stage, the bells were

supposed to ring, and then the whole mechanism was supposed to stop."

Bai Li looked at the giant machine below.

"And it didn’t stop."

"Exactly."

The machine began turning.

Its six arms lifted together.

The bells along its body rang faster.

The dragon’s white light became brighter.

A circle of light appeared on the ground beneath the machine.

Then another.

Then another.

The lines spread across the square like a giant pattern carved into the

pavement.

Yan Cijin crouched and looked at them.

"This is a stage marking."

Luo Ren nodded.

"For the final parade."

"So the machine is trying to perform?"

"I think it is trying to complete the performance."

Bai Li looked toward the people trapped on the surrounding rooftops.

"And if it does?"

Luo Ren hesitated.

"I don’t know."

Bai Li sighed.

"Then let’s not find out."

She disappeared.

The next instant she stood on the mechanical drum itself.

Whisperfang flashed downward.

The blade struck the thick central housing.

Sparks exploded.

The metal cracked, but did not break.

Bai Li looked down.

"Harder than I expected."

The machine reacted immediately.

All six arms snapped toward her.

Bai Li jumped.

One arm tore through the top of the machine.

She landed on another section of metal.

A second arm came from behind.

She ducked.

A third swept across her legs.

She jumped over it.

Yan Cijin fired from the street.

The final crossbow bolt struck the joint of the nearest arm.

The metal jerked.

Bai Li cut down.

The arm fell away.

Luo Ren stared.

"That was its weakest joint."

Yan Cijin looked at him.

"Could have mentioned that sooner."

"I didn’t know you were going to shoot it."

"You know now."

The machine screamed.

Again, it was not a real scream. It was the sound of dozens of old bells

and gears vibrating together.

The dragon answered.

Its huge head tilted back.

A bright beam shot into the sky.

The beam reflected from several polished brass plates on the dragon’s

body and came down in narrow columns across the square.

Bai Li saw the pattern instantly.

"The light is powering the engine."

Yan Cijin moved closer.

"Then we should cut the light."

Bai Li looked at the dragon.

"How?"

Yan Cijin pointed upward.

"The neck."

Bai Li smiled.

"Good idea."

She jumped.

One foot touched the side of the mechanical drum.

She launched herself upward.

She landed on the dragon’s lower jaw.

The brass plates groaned beneath her boots.

The dragon’s head turned.

.

.

.

TO BE CONTINUED.