The wind, like an invisible wall, shoved against the entire world. Pale yellow grit was whipped into the turbid sky, only to slam back down, pelting the vast, boundless wasteland with a fine, sharp *pitter-patter*. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but undulating dunes and the low, oppressive sky. The horizon blurred, indistinct, as if the edge of the world lay just beyond that sallow haze.
Two minuscule figures, like insignificant ink blots carelessly splashed onto the canvas, trekked arduously across this desperate land. The camera zooms in: two figures bundled in tattered sand-proof coats – me and Lu Zixian. The wind tore at our clothes, making them flap like ragged flags. Sand, insidious and relentless, worked its way into collars, boots, each step accompanied by the monotonous, grating *shh-shh* of soles against grit. Lu Zixian's left arm hung at an unnatural angle, clearly injured in our earlier escape, leaving only his right hand to barely prop me up as I threatened to collapse.
"Damn it… cough, cough…" I (Liang Yilun) choked violently, my lungs feeling as if they were scraped raw and filled with sand. A searing pain burned within them. My lips were cracked like parched earth, tiny beads of blood welling up. I licked them – the coppery tang of blood mixed with the gritty taste of dust, so revolting I nearly gagged. Spots danced before my eyes, the world swimming in and out of focus. The only sounds were the howling wind and my own ragged, desperate gasps. "Water… I need water… No more water… I'm gonna check out right here…" My voice was a hoarse whisper, barely audible.
"Quit… wasting… energy…" Lu Zixian's voice drifted over, just as raspy, but his eyes held an unnerving calm. His grip on my arm was steady, betraying no tremor, though his own face was ashen, like paper. He lifted his uninjured right hand, pointing towards the distance. "Look… there…"
Forcing my bloodshot eyes open, I followed his gesture. At first, only a hazy yellow blur. But gradually, an extremely faint point of light, flickering like a candle flame in the wind, swam into focus. It was minuscule, almost threatening to vanish in the next gust, but it was undeniably there.
"Is that… what is it?" A tiny spark of hope, like an electric current, jolted through my nearly numb nerves.
"Don't know. Maybe an… outpost," Lu Zixian stated, concise as ever.
We mustered a sliver of renewed strength, staggering towards that sole point of light like two desert wanderers drawn to a mirage. The sand underfoot was soft, like quicksand, each step sinking deep, as if trying to swallow us whole. The wind whipped sand against our exposed faces, stinging like a thousand tiny needles. The air itself was so dry it felt flammable, each breath like inhaling hot coals. Time seemed to lose all meaning, marked only by the monotonous howl of the wind and the heavy thud of our footsteps.
Finally, the outline of the light source sharpened. It was… a diner? Dilapidated, looking like a discarded piece of junk salvaged from some forgotten garbage planet. The walls, a mottled ochre color, were pitted and scarred by wind erosion. At the very top, a crooked sign, formed from old-fashioned, exposed energy tubes spelling out "Desert Rose." Several tubes were dark, the remaining ones sputtering with a "zzzt-zzzt" sound, casting an unstable, sickly red glow. The alloy door, seemingly pieced together from recycled scrap, was smeared with grease and rust, its hinges groaning under the strain with every gust, threatening to fall apart. A thick, suffocating stench wafted from the cracks – the acrid smell of poorly combusted cheap fuel, the sour reek of spoiled food, the sharp tang of chemical cleaner, and… a faint, but unmistakable, coppery scent of old blood.
"Holy crap… This place… Are you sure it's safe to enter?" I (Liang) stared at the entrance, which looked like something out of a zombie apocalypse B-movie. My stomach churned. The smell… it was overwhelming!
"Shut up and get inside," Lu Zixian's brow was deeply furrowed; he clearly found the place equally repulsive, but he shot me a cold glance. His reason dictated survival came first. He reached out, cautiously pushing the door that looked ready to disintegrate.
"Wait!" My peripheral vision snagged on something wrong! In the deep, ink-like shadow cast by the diner to the right, there was an outline… a sleek curve… unnaturally smooth, glinting faintly metallic! My heart seized as if gripped by an icy hand! "Over there! By the wall! What the hell is that?!"
Lu Zixian froze instantly, his gaze snapping to where I pointed. In the dim light, the shape of a sports car, low-slung and predatory like a panther poised to strike, materialized from the gloom. Its body was coated in a matte black finish that seemed to absorb all light, only revealing its cold, hard metallic sheen at certain angles – a military-grade stealth coating! The most terrifying detail was the emblem clearly visible on the side door: a silver Eastern dragon, scales intricately detailed, coiled around a golden lightning bolt, roaring silently towards the heavens! Below the dragon were five blood-red stars!
"'Shadow-7'… Quantum stealth coating… 'Lightning Dragon' insignia…" Lu Zixian's voice was a low murmur, laced with disbelief and trembling slightly. "It's the 'Dragon Group'… and that's the exclusive livery of the 'Heaven's Wrath' strike team! How… How could they be here?! We checked this coordinate point repeatedly; it's supposed to be an absolute signal dead zone!"
An icy chill shot up my (Liang's) spine, prickling my scalp. My hair stood on end! The 'Heaven's Wrath' team! The most mysterious, most ruthless elite unit within the Dragon Group, specializing in "physical elimination"! Their presence here could only mean one thing – us! "They came… specifically for us?! How did they find us?! Wasn't our anti-tracking algorithm supposed to fool military-grade scanners?!"
"Don't panic! Stay calm!" Lu Zixian forced himself back to a semblance of composure, though his hand tightened on my arm. He pulled me back further into the meager cover of the windbreak, his voice a low, urgent hiss. "Space jump now? No! The energy signature would be too obvious, they'd lock on instantly! Try to break through? Suicide! If they dared to park the car here, the surrounding area must be a kill zone!"
"Jump? Run? Are you kidding me?!" I (Liang) interrupted him, a surge of reckless desperation fueled by hunger and fear overpowering reason. "I'm starving! My energy reserves are critical! Jumping now is just serving ourselves up on a platter! We need to refuel, get some energy back, or we won't even have the strength to run!" "We go in! Act like ordinary scavengers! Buy some high-energy food and water, get our strength back. The 'Heaven's Wrath' teams are usually small, elite units! Maybe this is just their advance scout or the vehicle! The main force might not be here yet! We still have a chance! We gamble on this! Trust me!"
"Are you fucking crazy?! Walking right into the lion's den?!" Lu Zixian stared at me as if I'd lost my mind. "That's 'Heaven's Wrath'! Cold-blooded executioners! What if it's an ambush inside? Our gear is barely enough to stop a stray bullet!"
"Risk? What fucking risk?! Starve to death out here, or get caught and turned into lab rats – pick one!" I (Liang) grabbed his arm, my eyes probably red from exhaustion and adrenaline. "Besides, look at us! Who'd recognize us? Maybe they haven't even seen our faces! We'll just be two unlucky scavengers passing through! Don't chicken out now! Just this once! Follow my lead!"
Lu Zixian stared hard at me, his eyes a whirlwind of conflict, fear, and a sort of weary resignation. Finally, he took a deep, shuddering breath, clenching his jaw. "...Damn it! Fine! I'll go along with your crazy plan this time! But you listen to me! Once we're inside, you keep your mouth shut! And keep your eyes to yourself! Follow my lead, no stupid moves! If you screw this up, I swear I'll kill you myself before they do!"
He didn't look at me again. He straightened his tattered collar, schooling his features into an expression of weary numbness, then reached out with a grim determination that felt like walking towards his own execution, and pushed open the groaning, greasy door. I followed close behind, my hand gripping the Gauss pistol hidden up my sleeve, every muscle taut, senses on high alert, scanning the dim, foul-smelling, potentially lethal space beyond the threshold.
The stench hit us like a physical blow. Dim, yellow light barely illuminated the interior. Greasy tables and chairs stood like silent, hulking beasts. In the shadowy corners, a few patrons sat hunched over, their faces indistinct, only the faint sounds of chewing breaking the dead silence. Behind the counter, a mountainously fat figure, presumably the owner, had her back to the door, slowly wiping something with a filthy rag.
"Boss, two rock-hard breads, two bottles of water, cheapest you got," Lu Zixian rasped, his voice deliberately coarse and tired, adopting a thick local accent. He subtly guided me towards the darkest, most secluded corner booth, positioning himself with his back to the wall, allowing a full view of the room and the entrance.
As we sat, I (Liang) quickly scanned the room with my peripheral vision. The patrons… their postures were odd, hunched, but their bodies seemed subtly angled towards the door, hands hidden beneath the tables… The owner's back… too stiff, too still… And that high-frequency hum in the air… it was louder now! A chilling sense of wrongness, sharp and undeniable, gripped my heart!
Just then, the owner, still with her back to us, paused her wiping motion for a fraction of a second.
Almost simultaneously, the patrons in the corners, who had seemed half-asleep, snapped their heads up as one! Their eyes, no longer dull or empty, glinted with cold, hard, programmatic killing intent! From under the tables, the muzzles of several particle pistols, glowing with an ominous blue energy, emerged!
The fat owner spun around! Her face… it had no features! Only a swirling black void where her face should be! Two points of crimson light ignited within the vortex! Her fleshy arm, moving with a speed that defied her bulk, snapped up, aiming directly at us!
"Shit! Mimic-bots! It's a trap! Run!" The realization hit me (Liang) like a physical blow. I kicked the table over with a roar, simultaneously drawing my pistol!
"Go! Back door!" Lu Zixian bellowed, pulling me down as we rolled across the grimy floor, narrowly dodging several energy beams that hissed past our heads! The beams struck the wall, corroding it instantly, leaving small, smoking holes and filling the air with the acrid smell of ozone!
We scrambled, crashing through the flimsy, swinging door into the kitchen!
Behind us, the diner erupted in a cacophony of energy blasts and the inhuman shriek of the faceless owner!
The kitchen was a disaster zone – grease, garbage, rotting food everywhere! We didn't have time to navigate, simply plowing through stacks of dirty pans and overflowing bins, heading blindly for where we remembered the back door was!
Just as we reached the rusty, dented metal door – BOOM! It exploded inwards in a shower of splinters and rust! Dust filled the air! Blocking the exit stood several heavily built figures in black combat gear, wearing menacing skull-like masks, wielding heavy blaster rifles! On their chests, the emblem of a coiled sand viper wrapped around a skull! The 'Sand Vipers'! The biggest local smuggling gang! How the hell did they get involved?!
"Ambushed front and back! Damn it all!" Lu Zixian cursed, without hesitation opening fire on the figures in the doorway!
*Zzzt! Zzzt!* The Gauss pistol rounds hit the lead figure's chest but only sparked harmlessly! Power armor!
"Suppressive fire! Keep their heads down!" I (Liang) yelled, also firing rapidly. "Cover me! I'll open the portal!"
*Bang! Pew! Thwack!* Gunfire echoed deafeningly in the confined space! Return fire whizzed past us, ricocheting off metal surfaces!
While Lu Zixian drew their fire, I (Liang) lunged towards the grimy, graffiti-covered wall of the back alley, my hands trembling violently from adrenaline and fear, but my fingers moved with muscle memory, rapidly tapping the sequence on the hidden markings!
"Hurry! Hurry up!" Lu Zixian roared in pain as an energy bolt grazed his already injured arm, fresh blood spurting!
*Vwooom!* The wall finally shimmered with the familiar blue ripples! The portal cracked open!
"Go!" I (Liang) screamed, grabbing the bleeding Lu Zixian and shoving him bodily through the shimmering doorway!
As the blue light enveloped us, I (Liang) cast one last look back. I saw the faceless mimic owner and one of the Sand Viper thugs rushing towards the kitchen door, cruel grins on their faces (or where faces should be), raising their weapons…
"FUCK YOU, DRAGON GROUP! AND YOU TOO, SAND VIPERS! I'LL REMEMBER THIS! I'LL GET YOU BACK FOR THIS, YOU BASTARDS!!!" My voice, raw with hatred, echoed as the blue light consumed me completely.
The disorienting, tearing sensation of the portal transit hit me again, stronger than ever before, threatening to shred my very consciousness…