It was an ungodly hour in the dead of night.
Despite the late hour, Las Vegas was still well-lit. It looked like a dazzling pearl.
A Harley Breakout exited a country road, leaving the bustling city far behind. The headlights of the motorcycle sliced through the darkness of its surroundings as it continued to move forward. Gradually, Las Vegas city had disappeared out of sight.
Out of the blue, a street sign welcomed him. You are heading towards an alien base. Please consider your choice carefully.
American humour sure was something.
Xia Lei tore his gaze away from the sign and sped up. The motorcycle blared loudly, letting the roars of its engine terrorize the quiet path.
Ten minutes later, a new street sign appeared. He was approaching Liberty Street and there would be a petrol station three kilometres ahead. The Harley Breakout zoomed forward and Xia Lei could finally see the petrol station two minutes later. The station was still operating at this hour but it was completely empty. There was no sign of a biker gang or even a single vehicle patronizing the petrol station.
Xia Lei drove the motorcycle into the petrol station and parked it beside a refill station. He leapt off the vehicle and entered the station.
A middle-aged Mexican lady was manning the cashier booth tonight. Weirdly, the gaze she held on Xia Lei was eerily blank.
Xia Lei had intended to question her but as soon as he noticed her eyes, he gave up. The cashier would not be able to remember anything. She probably didn’t know who she was anymore. This was a ‘classic greeting’ from Zhu Xuanyue. The unfortunate cashier was the best proof that Zhu Xuanyue was indeed here.
It was not hard to understand Zhu Xuanyue’s rationale. The woman did not want anyone remembering that she had stepped foot into this place. Sadly, the unknowing Mexican lady was placed into an eternal nightmare consequentially. But Zhu Xuanyue couldn’t be considered inhumane. After all, she wasn’t human and humans were just food to her.
Leaving the petrol station, Xia Lei continued his journey to Area 51 on his Harley Breakout with a heavy heart. He urged to be reunited with Zhu Xuanyue but at the same time, his heart was riddled with fear and worry. There was a huge problem awaiting him. From the scribbled odd characters on the wall, Zhu Xuanyue had really thought that Xia Lei had formed a pact with the black-robed man to harm her. If she was no longer his ally, what should he do?
Before he could even arrive at a conclusion, the scenery two kilometres away interrupted his thoughts.
The American National Guards had set up a checkpoint ahead to inspect the passing vehicles. While it was obviously designed to trap him, it had Zhu Xuanyue and her gang instead. Zhu Xuanyue’s gang members were armed, that alone was enough to get them in trouble. However, Xia Lei was not worried at all for Zhu Xuanyue and her gang. Contrastingly, he pitied the National Guards instead.
Xia Lei stopped the motorcycle and placed a distance between him and the checkpoint.
Just as the Harley Breakout died down, among the noisy crowd two kilometres away, a woman coincidentally whipped her head around and stared into Xia Lei’s direction.
It was Zhu Xuanyue. She was dressed in a tight-fitting leather catsuit. Multiple glittery accessories now adorned her hair in forms of a fancy skull, stars and so on. Zhu Xuanyue looked like a textbook delinquent from a local biker gang.
So this was her current style?
Xia Lei was taken aback by the unfamiliar sight. This was not the same Zhu Xuanyue he used to know. He knew she had noticed his presence but he refused to head over. Yet, he did not turn his motorcycle around. They locked gazes in silence.
The chaos at the checkpoint had reached its climax while they continued to stare at each other.
“Get off your bikes!” A National Guard captain shouted through a megaphone. “If you won’t cooperate with the inspection, we will have no choice but to go hard on everyone. If you dare to resist, we will not hesitate to open fire!”
“Fuck you!” One of the bikers offered the captain a middle finger. He continued to provoke, ”Do you know who we are? We’re the Black Moon Force and we’re on our way to save the world!”
“What the hell?” The captain strutted over to the biker. With each step taken, his fingers inched closer to the pistol in his holster.
“We’re the Black Moon Force and we’re on our way to save the world! Let us pass or you’re done for!” The biker was very arrogant.
“No. What did you say before that?” The captain stopped in the biker’s face.
“Idiot, you wanted to hear that again? Hahaha!” The biker began to chortle.
Everyone else in the biker gang started to laugh. The whole ensemble had consisted of only Black men. Against their darker skin tone, the white of their teeth was particularly conspicuous. It did not help that their expressions were exceptionally condescending.
“Fuck you!” The captain raised his arm and hit the back of his pistol against the biker’s skull.
The biker groaned and fell off his bike with a heavy thud. Smashed with blunt force, his sight was immediately clouded by blood. However, this was not the worst. Things took a great turn when the biker’s leather jacket slid up and exposed the Desert Eagle strapped to his belt.
“They’re armed!” The captain yelled.
Clack! All the soldiers at the checkpoint raised their assault rifles. The machine gunners stationed on top of a parked military off-road vehicle immediately got into their battle positions. All guns were now aimed at the biker gang members.
“Get down! Put down your weapons and kneel!” The captain pointed his gun at the biker and barked out three orders.
The gang members refused to get themselves in deeper trouble with the soldiers. They began to get off their bikes slowly but did not turn the engine off. They stared at their leader and awaited her orders.
At this moment, however, Zhu Xuanyue began walking towards Xia Lei.
“Oi! Stand where you are or we’ll shoot!” The captain roared after her.
Zhu Xuanyue did not seem to register his words. Without turning her head back once, she continued to travel towards Xia Lei.
Bang!
A bullet hit the road surface beside Zhu Xuanyue’s foot, immediately triggering sparks.
“This is your last warning! Put your arms above your head and kneel!” The captain barked.
Abruptly, Zhu Xuanyue turned around and stared at the captain. She raised her right palm. As if there was an invisible rope in her grip, the captain began to claw at his throat. He was suffocating himself. In an instant, he obstructed his own breathing. The lack of oxygen had turned his face into a horrifying purplish-red, yet the man found himself unable to release himself.
The captain finally doubled over, legs kicking in every direction as if trying to get rid of something. Despite that, his palms were still securely over the span of his oesophagus without a single sign of loosening up.
“Captain!” A soldier quickly rushed over in an attempt to aid his superior.
Zhu Xuanyue’s expression darkened. She averted her attention to the approaching soldier instead. With a single glance, the soldier wavered like a toy out of battery and slumped onto the ground instantly.
It was evident that the soldier had become her meal.
Without needing to inspect him, Xia Lei was certain that his brain had shrivelled up and decayed.
“There’s something up with the woman! Wipe them out!”
“Fire!”
In the midst of battle cries, one of the National Guards suddenly pointed his assault rifle to Zhu Xuanyue. Before he could pull the trigger, a biker rushed over to stand in front of her and stretched his arms wide open. He was trying to shield her with his flesh!
In the face of the cold metal muzzle, there was not a hint of fear across the biker’s face. Surprisingly, he actually looked beyond content doing this for her.
It was almost as if this was an honour!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The National Guard proceeded to fire not one but three shots.
The biker fell to the ground.
Bang! Bang! Bang…
And so began a gunfight. The biker gang members were quick to draw their guns and the soldiers at the checkpoint were not slow to retaliate either. The National Guards were armed with military assault rifles, specifically the M4A1 that possessed great fire strength that surpassed the weapons held by the biker gang greatly. Added with their direct aim, as soon as the battle had ensued, the National Guards were already at an advantage. Before long, the bikers had succumbed to their bullets.
The gunshots rang out loudly and the sound of clinking cartridges against the ground was never-ending. The scent of smoke was exceptionally strong. One after another, the bikers doubled over in a pool of their own blood. Even at death, their expressions mirrored their comrade who shielded Zhu Xuanyue. There was no fear written across their faces, all they felt was the peacefulness of liberation and salvation.
Xia Lei could no longer take it. He released the Harley Breakout’s handle and slammed the accelerator hard. Bullets had no eyes and if anyone had fired at Zhu Xuanyue in the middle of chaos, her body would be damaged even if she wouldn’t die. Xia Lei did not wish for that to happen.
The Harley motorcycle roared. At the halfway point, Xia Lei had already retrieved his Gust assault rifle from his equipment bag.
At this moment, one of the soldiers held a perfect aim at Zhu Xuanyue.
Bang!
Without allowing the soldier any spare second to fire, Xia Lei shot him with his Gust assault rifle. In a flash, the bullet grazed past Zhu Xuanyue’s cheek and pierced through the soldier’s skull.
Poof!
The raging bullet carved out a fist-sized crater at the back of his skull. From the front, it looked like a small bullet hole. But as it exited his skull clean, it brought out an onslaught of gory brain juice and an obnoxious splatter of blood!
Thump! The soldier doubled over.
There was the ghost of a smile across Zhu Xuanyue’s lips. Everything about it felt wrong. While it had the innocence of a young child, there was a trace of malice which was very uncharacteristic!
What was that supposed to mean?!
The question flashed through Xia Lei’s mind but this was not the time to ponder about it. The machine gunner on top of the off-road vehicle already had a good aim at Zhu Xuanyue.
Even if Zhu Xuanyue was made out of steel, the bullets from the machine gun were bound to create gigantic bleeding craters all across her being!
Yet, as Xia Lei adjusted his aim in preparation to take out the machine gunner. The latter suddenly pressed his weapon down and began firing at his comrades.
Thud thud thud… Thud thud thud…
The heavy machine gun was hard at work and so began the melodious ensemble of death. Under the guidance of a heavy metal-like rhythm, all the National Guards were killed. Limbs, an assortment of organs and meat chunks flew all about in the air. Blood was poured over the ground like a majestic fountain as it dyed the road a striking red.
As blood, gore and violence took place behind her, Zhu Xuanyue did not bother to even spare it a glance. All Xia Lei could see on her face was the innocent yet devious smile that had not once faltered. She waved at him and gestured him to come closer.