Chapter 4: The Dinner Interrupted

“A bracelet only you can see and touch?”

“It feels as though you, Xiao Luo, are experiencing something straight out of a novel, a development befitting a protagonist.”

After her attempt to touch the bracelet proved futile, Liu Ruyan had no choice but to abandon her efforts to help her younger brother rid himself of it.

Yet, considering the string of peculiar incidents Liu Xingluo had recounted to her previously, this latest development wouldn’t feel out of place even if it were woven into the plot of a fantastical novel.

“Please, don’t tease me, Older Sister.”

“If I were truly the protagonist of some novel, then the author who wrote it must surely have a screw loose.”

Liu Xingluo was, by his own estimation, no extraordinary individual; he had never, from childhood onward, exhibited any qualities that set him apart from the ordinary.

What, then, gave someone like him the right to be chosen as a protagonist?

“Oh, Xiao Luo, you really have no sense of humor.”

“At this rate, you’ll never find a girlfriend.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? You’re so humorous, Older Sister, yet I haven’t seen you, someone almost thirty, find a boyfriend…”

The moment he realized the words that had escaped his lips, Liu Xingluo quickly snapped his mouth shut, his gaze shooting up to meet Liu Ruyan’s across the table.

Predictably, the expression on Liu Ruyan’s face became visibly terrifying, a thick, dark aura seemingly swirling around her.

“No, Sis, Sis! Please listen to me!”

“That wasn’t me speaking just now; it was my mouth and tongue, they acted on their own accord!”

“Yes, it’s a stand-in! I’ve been hit by a close-up stand-in attack!”

As Liu Xingluo watched his sister prepare to unleash her ultimate weapon, he frantically blurted out the excuse he had cobbled together in his haste.

Yet, how could such a hastily fabricated pretense possibly prove effective?

The beating he deserved was, after all, still inevitable.

“I suspect that was your true thought just now, wasn’t it? Daring to mock your own older sister—you certainly have some nerve.”

“Before I ‘blow your head off,’ do you have anything else you’d like to explain?”

“Couldn’t you go a little easier on me, Older Sister?”

“Every time you hit my head, it truly hurts.”

“If it doesn’t sting a bit, how will you ever learn your lesson?”

“If you have nothing more to say, then I’m going to begin.”

“Ugh…”

Knowing that at this point, anything he uttered would be utterly futile, Liu Xingluo could only close his eyes and resign himself to the fate awaiting him.

Thwack!

“Ah, that hurts so much…”

Having been smacked on the head by Liu Ruyan with a slipper, Liu Xingluo clutched the freshly struck spot, letting out a soft whimper.

“Does it hurt? Good, it should.”

“Let’s see if you dare to mock your own older sister like that again.”

“Alright, hurry up and eat. We’ve already wasted far too much time; if we don’t eat now, the dinner I worked so hard to prepare will grow cold.”

Normally, by this hour, they would have long since finished their meal and begun to unwind, each attending to their own affairs.

However, today’s pre-dinner conversation had stretched on for so long that, before they knew it, this much time had slipped away.

It would indeed be a great pity if the painstakingly prepared dinner were to go entirely cold.

“Alright, then I won’t stand on ceremony; I’ll dig in.”

Pressing his hands together as if in prayer, Liu Xingluo was poised to savor his delicious dinner.

It was at this precise moment, however, that a deafening alarm suddenly blared from outside the window, a sound potent enough to rouse even the most profound sleeper from their slumber.

“Argh, a ‘fissure’ (TL Note: A spatial anomaly or rift, often leading to dangerous dimensions or spawning monsters) appearing at a time like this?”

“Are you kidding me?”

“By the time we return from the shelter, this meal will be utterly stone-cold, won’t it?”

Upon hearing the ill-timed blare of the alarm, even Liu Xingluo felt a surge of irritation.

He had already squandered so much time today, and now this had to happen.

Truly, he was having an exceptionally unlucky day.

“There’s nothing for it.”

“For now, let’s head to the nearest shelter to take cover. We can always reheat the food when we return.”

Even as Liu Xingluo continued to grumble, Liu Ruyan had already dashed to the entryway, swiftly changing into her outdoor shoes.

She could, without a doubt, discern which held greater importance: one’s life or a meal.

Naturally, Liu Xingluo possessed the same clarity, so despite his recent complaints, he too slipped on his shoes and followed Liu Ruyan out the door.

Joining the throngs of others similarly compelled to evacuate their homes by the blaring alarm, the siblings Liu Xingluo and Liu Ruyan swiftly reached the nearest underground shelter.

As for why they were so compelled to seek refuge in this subterranean haven, and what precisely the alarm was signaling, the answer was starkly clear.

It was, naturally, because of the gravely dangerous events about to unfold.

****

After remaining on the surface for approximately ten minutes, the shelter’s massive doors sealed shut, and it began its descent into the subterranean region.

Once the shelter had fully relocated underground, a transport vehicle arrived on a street near its previous location.

As the vehicle’s doors swung open, armed soldiers emerged one by one, fanning out to take up positions nearby, patiently awaiting further instructions.

“All units, prepare to open fire.”

One individual, evidently a captain, watched the fluctuating readings on a device in his hand, simultaneously directing his team to raise their weapons and aim them in a specific direction.

Crack… crackle…

It sounded as if space itself was shattering—no, space was truly fracturing before their very eyes.

Following this rupture, a gaping hole materialized in the fragmented air.

This was, indeed, the ‘fissure’ Liu Xingluo had previously mentioned.

As every fissure’s imminent appearance caused discernible fluctuations in the spatial values of the surrounding area, it was remarkably easy to detect precisely which region would experience a rift.

This foresight allowed for the swift evacuation of citizens in the affected zone to underground shelters, even as professional combat personnel were simultaneously dispatched to eradicate the threat.

Yet, was a seemingly unremarkable, unthreatening hole truly enough to warrant such an elaborate mobilization from humanity?

If it were merely a single fissure, such a massive deployment would indeed be entirely unnecessary.

However, given the sheer scale of the preparations, it implied that something far more terrifying was poised to emerge.

BWAAAAK!

Accompanied by a piercing, guttural cry, a gigantic figure burst forth from the fissure, landing directly before the assembled soldiers.

It was a creature approximately thirty meters tall, its entire body covered in pristine white feathers, appearing, for all intents and purposes, to be a colossal white-feathered chicken.

“Exotic Beast confirmed.”

“Individual approximately thirty meters tall, avian-beast type, codenamed [Giant Chicken].”

“Its attack methods are hardened feather projectiles and high-energy rays spat from its mouth, correct?”

“A slightly troublesome type, indeed.”

“All units, aim for its head and open fire! Do not give it a chance to unleash its rays.”

Having confirmed the monster’s data and its documented weaknesses, the captain swiftly devised a strategy for its defeat.

Should it launch its hardened feathers, their protective gear would suffice to block them, or at the very least, prevent any serious injuries.

As for its ray projection, while undeniably potent, it functioned much like a boss in a video game: a distinct charge-up animation would precede the use of its powerful ability.

By seizing the opportune moment to interrupt this charge, they could effectively prevent it from unleashing that devastating attack.

All in all, while this creature certainly possessed a formidable threat, there was nothing to fear if they approached it with caution and precision.