Pointing the muzzle of his gun almost carelessly at the robotic sentry, Feiluo said, “Serial number 77023E. I’m a police officer on official business. I’m taking these two humans.”
“Please swipe your card,” the robot responded, and a card reader sprang from its abdomen as the magnetic cutter in its hand began to revolve. “Describe your official business. Requesting a connection with the clones’ administrative affairs bureau to confirm these orders—”
Before it could even finish its sentence, Feiluo pressed down on the trigger and fired.
The entire hall burst into activity almost as fast as Feiluo’s bullet. His weapon caused a huge explosion, while Shahuang and Huixiong, moving at the same time, overturned two robots. Huixiong lifted his rapid-fire machine gun and swept it across the hall. All of the clone workers exclaimed and ducked to avoid the bullets, leaving the robots to face the rain of bullets head-on.
“Don’t kill my people!” Feiluo shouted as the light bullets crossed through the air.
A-Ka had already rushed onto the conveyor belt, but he shouted back, “Heishi! Quick, go help them!”
“No,” Heishi replied. “I must keep you safe.”
“Go!” A-Ka said, gritting his teeth. Their gazes met for a split second, and Heishi sank into a thoughtful silence. Then, he turned and vaulted off the conveyor belt.
Feiluo and the two mercenaries dodged a return volley of light bullets as they ran toward Heishi and A-Ka’s direction. Just as Heishi’s feet touched the ground, he swept his arm out in an arc, then pulled it back. His glowing, black-gold wings responded in kind, each individual feather whistling as they flew through the storm of light bullets. All the beams ricocheted off the slippery surface of Heishi’s manifested feathers, causing a series of loud booms in the workshop.
A-Ka knelt on the conveyor belt, still clutching a small device in his hands. He hesitated several times, not wanting to activate it, then Heishi rushed to him, leading Feiluo and the two mercenaries, who left bloodstains on the ground as they ran. The steel conveyor belt was scorching hot. When another robot flew in from the entrance, A-Ka clutched his head and rolled onto the ground before lifting the mechanical limb’s cannon and swiftly firing a shot. This single blast tore the flying robot into pieces.
“Let’s go, now!” Heishi yelled.
The conveyor belt stopped, and A-Ka rose to his feet to lead the way. As Huixiong ran, he turned and lifted his machine gun, firing savagely. The bullets whistled through the smoke and collapsed the opening of the conveyor belt.
Flashing red lights and alarms surrounded them as they ran along the belt’s length. The others were faster than A-Ka, so Heishi hoisted A-Ka into his arms and spanned dozens of yards in a single blink. Behind him was Feiluo, who had been struck near the waist by a light bullet. One of his hands was slung over Shahuang’s shoulder, and they staggered and stumbled as they fled.
Clones had white blood, and Feiluo dripped this liquid onto the conveyor belt as they ran. From ahead, a wave of scorching hot air washed over them. They had reached the end of the conveyor belt—and below them was a vat of bubbling, molten steel.
“Jump!” A-Ka shouted.
Small-scale transportation carriers flitted here and there in the high heat sweltering up from the melting furnace. Heishi, still holding A-Ka, leaped into the air and kicked off of one transport carrier, which caused it to dip down. When it touched the molten steel, it let out a sizzle, before guards rushed to the scene from all over and started to fire.
A-Ka was dizzy and confused from all this running around, but when he saw the conveyor belt again, he shouted, “One more time!”
With another magnificent leap, Heishi kept his hold on A-Ka and landed on another conveyor belt. In front of them, there was a rotating press that never stopped turning, each of its heads easily weighing tons. Each one slammed down with a thud; any of those heads could easily smash the entire group into meat paste.
At the same time, Shahuang, with Feiluo’s arm still over his shoulder, rushed to them. Bringing up the rear, Huixiong groped around, pulled out a grenade, and tossed it into the molten steel. With a boom, the fluid exploded, instantly drowning the transport carriers and blasting a large hole in the furnace.
More explosions rang out, and Huixiong reached out and pulled the emergency lever as he ran by. The foundry’s door slammed shut, trapping the second wave of robotic guards outside.
“Feiluo!” A-Ka knelt down on one knee on the ground, inspecting Feiluo’s wounds.
“Don’t mind me. Let’s keep moving,” Feiluo said with a set expression.
Despite Feiluo’s protests, A-Ka felt around the clone’s waist. There was a hole from which a large amount of white blood was oozing. The blood of clones was strange, and it had a slight fishy scent to it.
In a few movements, Feiluo had dressed the wound.
Still, Heishi asked, “Did it hit your internal organs? Let me take a look.”
Feiluo pushed Heishi aside, but Heishi shoved Feiluo down until he had to lie flat. The robots outside were blasting away at the doors, but Heishi was deaf to those sounds as he undid the dressings and inspected his injury.
“You need a transfusion,” Heishi said.
“Don’t underestimate me,” Feiluo said, panting. “Leave, you idiot!”
Without giving him any time to explain, Heishi lifted Feiluo and carried him to an empty cart used to transport molten slurry. Pushing the cart into motion, Heishi started to run. The sounds behind them grew louder and louder, as if the robots had banded together to break through the door. A-Ka and the others raced behind Heishi, but with Heishi’s strength, A-Ka couldn’t catch up to him even after trying valiantly.
“Climb on,” Heishi said.
There was no time for politeness, so A-Ka climbed into the cart. Heishi pushed ahead, carting the two of them as they dodged through the steel-flattening press.
“If you see any danger, point it out to me,” Heishi said.
A-Ka turned his head, squeezed his eyes shut, and opened them again.
“Go,” he said.
“Speed up.”
“Slow down!”
Under A-Ka’s guidance, Heishi made it through the steel-
flattening area.
“There’s an exit up ahead!” A-Ka shouted.
They had reached the end of another conveyor belt. In front of them, scrap steel was piled up like a small mountain. Heishi pushed the cart out into the air, where it overturned, and he grabbed Feiluo, spreading his wings to glide toward the exit. Behind him, A-Ka sprang forward and latched onto Heishi’s back to fly with him.
Meanwhile, Shahuang and Huixiong stepped onto a gliding disk, which whistled through the air as it descended. The large door slowly slid open, and Shahuang racked his bazooka, loading up an armor-piercing bullet. With a huge boom, he busted a hole in the thirty-foot-thick steel wall.
“Protect them!” Huixiong stared into the scope, his rapid-fire machine gun clacking in his hands as they rushed through the broken opening.
When he saw sunlight again, A-Ka was blinded and dizzied by it for a moment. Then, he saw that they were surrounded by robotic guards.
“Damn it!” Heishi cursed.
As soon as they alerted the robotic guards, they would be chased by what felt like a swarm of ants. No matter what they did, they would not be able to shake them off. Huixiong bellowed, “Don’t mind us! You guys take Feiluo and go!”
“Take me to the Northern District,” Feiluo said tiredly. “As soon as we enter the gates, you two can head toward the human section…”
“Hang in there,” A-Ka said. “Let me first find a clinic.”
Without giving him any time to protest, Heishi slung Feiluo’s arm over his own shoulder. On his back was his firearm, which was pointed at two of the robotic guards that were headed their way.
A-Ka led them in a sprint toward the clones’ living quarters, and Feiluo pressed his palm against the lock.