Chapter Twenty-Three: The Tail

A country's national art museum is certainly not to be underestimated, even though, in the period after the [2.4 Mist] spread across the globe and a "wall" was erected around Dunlun City, people scattered in all directions, and law and order basically ceased to exist.

The national art museum was not spared either. There were always those with quick minds who took the risk, sneaking in to loot, smash, and snatch away artworks and collectibles, hoping that once outside the "wall," these treasures might make them rich.

To Lily and her companions, making their way up to the top floor, the national art museum had become a scene of utter devastation, with shards of glass everywhere and art exhibits burned beyond description.

"Damn it, this is... this is just too much!" Stephenson gritted his teeth all the way.

A lover of both history and art, he simply couldn't accept that these works—worthy of display in the national art museum—had been stolen, smashed, and burned. It was enough to make him curse.

Though the museum's splendid architectural details were still captivating, none of them were in the mood to appreciate them now. The once colorful display walls were now battered and pockmarked from deliberate destruction, robbing everyone of any desire for conversation.

After all, they were still just children, abandoned by their parents and left to wait day after day in the orphanage, while others their age enjoyed vibrant, fulfilling school lives. They waited for a kind soul to take them in, or for their fifteenth birthday, when they would have to leave the orphanage and fend for themselves.

Now, before they had even truly understood the world, they were already witnessing the collapse of order and the depth of its darkness. Yet they all remembered the world’s former beauty and brilliance, each harboring their own dreams for what their lives might become.

"Ha..." Dunn let out a long breath, then complained, "It's enough to make you suffocate... Does being an adult mean you can just do whatever you want?"

"Maybe... kids can, too," Lily pointed to a corner of the wall, where there were clearly some small shoe prints belonging to children.

At once, the entire gallery of the art museum seemed to become emptier and quieter, with only Lily’s voice lingering in the air for a few seconds.

Dunn felt the corner of his mouth twitch.

"Ah!" A sharp cry, more avian than beastly, suddenly echoed from the museum’s slightly translucent skylight above. The sound was so loud that Lily instinctively wanted to cover her ears. Then, the party heard something heavy land with a thud on the museum roof.

Aiden immediately gestured for silence, then quickened his pace toward the second-floor window.

When they'd first entered the museum, they had picked up various scattered brochures, including a rough map of the place, so they weren’t wandering blindly. The only problem was that their original plan had been to reach the building’s top floor, which offered the best vantage point.

But now, with some unknown entity having landed on the roof, heading to the top was clearly out of the question. They had no choice but to change course and aim for the second floor instead.

Fortunately, the museum’s solid construction meant that, despite the massive presence on the roof, there had been no collapse or significant damage.

Ascending the stairs, they reached a corridor on the northeastern side of the museum, where they paired off and each took up a window to observe the outside. But, as expected, all they saw was mist—nothing more.

"Is there any kind of bird big enough to land on the museum and make a thud like that?" Dunn, unable to think of one, asked Aiden.

"No, as far as we know... the largest... bird... is the ostrich, but... they can't... fly," Aiden replied, shaking his head, his answer slow but precise.

"And there are no ostriches in Dunlun City," Dunn added.

They were silent for a few seconds before Dunn couldn’t help asking, "What on earth is that thing above us?"

Aiden rolled his eyes as if to say, "If I knew, would I still be hiding here?"

Suddenly, something enormous blocked Aiden and Dunn’s entire window, plunging the light into gloom. Dunn quickly glanced left toward Lily and Camille’s window, noticing they too were shrouded in darkness—apparently also blocked. He turned back to the window, trying to see what it was.

"Get back!" Aiden ordered in a low, urgent voice.

Dunn abandoned his attempt and retreated with the others to the wall behind them. No sooner had they pressed themselves against it than the massive shape outside lifted slightly, then slammed down again, striking the exterior wall where they had just been standing with a thunderous boom.

The window where Aiden and Dunn had stood shattered under the pressure of the blow, glass splintering to the ground. If they’d still been nearby, they’d have been showered with shards.

But both Aiden and Dunn managed to catch a glimpse of the thing—a tail, lizard-like, with webbing at its edges reminiscent of a duck’s foot.

The tail ceased its flailing and began to rise slowly, like a curtain being drawn up, gradually disappearing from view.

Aiden glanced over at Lily, not far away, and noticed her face had gone pale. He moved quietly toward her to ask what was wrong.

“There’s something… I sense something valuable nearby. But it’s moving, and just now, it passed right beneath our feet, heading to our right,” Lily whispered.

Hearing this, Aiden immediately pulled a Glock from his bag, flicked off the safety, and chambered a round. Though not well practiced, his actions were methodical and clear.

Sandro and Stephenson hadn’t known their group had a gun; their surprise made their eyes light up.

Silently pressing themselves against the wall, they moved to the stairwell at the far right of the corridor. Using the corner of his eye, Aiden cautiously checked up the staircase for any sign of people or creatures—once, twice…

“The sense is gone,” Lily suddenly said.

“How… precise is your sense? I mean, can you tell… if it’s inside or outside the building?” Aiden asked, still vigilant.

“No… You mean, that ‘high-value’ target could be outside the museum?”

“Yeah… and maybe… it’s one of John’s squad,” Aiden said, reassured there was no immediate danger. He put the safety back on the pistol and glanced at Lily and the others.

“Do you have any evidence for that?”

“No.”

“…So, just intuition?”

“No.”

Lily covered her face with her hand, while the others wore similar looks of disbelief.

“Well… maybe there is… something,” Aiden added.