Chapter Fifty-Three: The Sunrise I Owe You (Part One)

Xie Liu, cradling Angel in his arms, hid behind the crest of the mountain. He gently set her down, then let out a low groan as he pulled the dagger from his thigh. Blood gushed forth. Tearing a strip from his shirt, he hastily bound the wound, then, with Angel in tow, crawled to the edge of a rocky outcrop to peer down at the brutal battle raging below between Gong Hou and Lin Yang. Xie Liu gave a bitter smile. “They’re almost inhumanly strong,” he murmured. He glanced at Angel, who was sobbing uncontrollably—so much so that only when he stroked her hair did her tears begin to subside.

With trembling hands, Xie Liu fished a small box from his coat. Inside was a single jet-black bullet. When Angel saw it, she froze for a moment, then looked at Xie Liu with a gaze tinged with melancholy and tenderness.

Xie Liu stared at the bullet in his palm. “This is a Doomsday Round—manufactured in the city. By the old standards, it’s considered Level Seven.” Slinging his sniper rifle off his back, he said, “This is our final card to play.” He gripped the bullet. “The last one. The others will never forgive me for using it.”

“This bullet is worth a fortune—so much that we paupers would rather watch our comrades die than let it fly. Even so, it’s not worth a single tear you shed. Those who made you cry, I’ll never let them go. Not a single one!” With that, Xie Liu loaded the round into the chamber.

“Lin Yang! Get Ye Ling out of here!” Xie Liu shouted. Lin Yang immediately understood what he meant. Summoning the last of his strength, he whisked Ye Ling to safety, then spun around to grab Gong Hou, and in an instant, they both vanished.

At that moment, Xie Liu pulled the trigger. The mountainside behind him erupted in an explosion—the entire peak seemed to roll over itself. Xie Liu was flung through the air, smashing into the cliff behind him, which nearly collapsed in half.

But the most terrifying sight wasn’t Xie Liu being hurled away—it was the bullet that screamed from his rifle’s muzzle.

A Level Seven bullet, the crystallization of the city’s most advanced technology. The casing was forged from shadow-metal, fired with the energy of nuclear fusion. The instant it left the barrel, the whole sniper rifle disintegrated into plasma under the overwhelming force.

No substance on earth could withstand such energy—only shadow-metal possessed such strength. The surface was etched with intricate markings, and as the bullet spun out of the chamber, it unleashed a storm.

This was the third time Xie Liu had ever fired this bullet, and each time he was awed by its might. When it left the barrel, it was as if a hurricane swept through—tearing the mountain peak to shreds, and hurling the debris straight at Franny.

“Big Sister!” Wendy cried in horror, struggling to her feet—only to be knocked off balance by the wind’s fury. She was hurled more than ten meters, crashing hard against a distant cliff.

Blood spattered from her lips as Wendy stared, wide-eyed, at Franny—the delicate figure about to be engulfed by the tempest. She tried to move, but the winds pinned her helplessly against the rock. “Big Sister!” Wendy screamed, her voice hoarse and desperate. If the mere edge of the storm could pin her down, what horrors awaited Franny at its eye?

Yet Franny did not flinch. She gazed coolly at the onrushing maelstrom. Arcs of visible light flickered around her. Lifting her hand, she faced the roaring wind.

With a thunderous crash, the hurricane seemed to halt before Franny. All the winds gathered, all the energy condensed—converging in that narrow valley. Centered on Franny, everything within was reduced to ash.

The wind howled, the earth trembled—a doomsday revelry. Everything in the hurricane’s path was ground to dust. The searing heat of friction ionized the very air, blue arcs of electricity lashing out in every direction.

At the heart of the storm, Franny’s eyes grew sharp, her slender hand unwavering. The light before her blazed white-hot. Though her petite frame seemed fragile, she stood unmoved.

And the bullet that had unleashed the storm was now trapped outside the arc of light, its howl like that of a raging dragon—a dreadful sound, accompanied by endless lightning, wind, fire, and plasma. Yet Franny held it all at bay. All this, exceeding the very limits of nature, could not advance a single step further.

Franny’s power and Xie Liu’s bullet struggled for several seconds. Yet those brief moments were enough to alter the weather—the steam rising from the earth condensed into clouds, the sky darkened, and then, after a few seconds, rain began to fall.

In less than twenty seconds, it felt as though the world had traversed from birth to annihilation. At last, the hurricane exhausted its power, and clarity returned to heaven and earth.

Franny lowered her hand. Ten meters before her lay the blackened bullet, which, its energy spent, slowly crumbled and vanished into the air.

She had stopped the bullet.

Franny sighed softly and looked around her, a faint ripple in her expression. The entire valley was dead silent—the ground shattered, the mountains collapsed, all turned to desert. Only the spot where Franny stood retained its shape; all else was reduced to sand. The destructive power of that one shot was equal to a small nuclear warhead.

Franny stepped forward, her feet sinking into the soft sand as though treading a beach. After that bullet’s rampage, every stone had been reduced to powder. The ground was strewn with glass-like shards—sand melted and re-crystallized.

She walked slowly across the yielding earth, climbing the slope where Xie Liu had hidden. In the distance, she heard Angel’s crying. Franny sighed and, drawing nearer, saw Xie Liu lying amidst the rubble, while Angel knelt beside him, shaking his body and weeping.

“To have done so much for this child, you must truly love her. Perhaps I was wrong, after all,” Franny murmured, gazing at the sobbing Angel. “Child, you are unlucky, but also—at this moment—blessed. You are loved.”

“Angel,” Franny called out, uncertain how to speak to the girl before her. Angel turned, her tear-stained face defiant. Seeing Franny approach, she squared her little shoulders, spread her arms, and shielded Xie Liu. “Don’t you dare hurt him!” Her hoarse voice quivered with determination. The small figure stood between Franny and the wounded man.

In that instant, for Angel, the person behind her was not just a gravely wounded man clinging to life, but her entire world. She could not, and would not, retreat.

Franny hesitated. The little girl before her was plainly terrified, possessed no power to protect anyone, had no future—but still, with utter resolve, she stood in Franny’s path.

Just like the mermaid princess in “The Little Daughter of the Sea,” who gave everything without regret...

“Do you love them very much?” Franny’s gaze softened, with a trace of sorrow.

“Angel loves her sister and uncles the most!” Angel shouted, tears streaming down her dirty cheeks. Her stubborn little face was taut, and her eyes shone with a fierce, wild light.

Franny stopped a few meters from Angel and bit her lip, gazing up at the sky. “Oh God, what have I done?” Then she stepped forward, approaching Xie Liu.

“Stay away from him!” came an angry cry from behind. Franny turned to see Gong Hou and Lin Yang climbing up, supported by Ye Ling.

“Haven’t you all had enough?” Wendy staggered up from the other side, still trembling. After witnessing that shot, her body quaked with instinctive fear.

At last, the group gathered atop the small hillock, all eyes on Franny. She stood quietly, then slowly approached Xie Liu.

“Go away!” Angel blocked her path again. Franny shook her head and knelt beside Xie Liu. “You’ve done more than enough.”

Suddenly, Xie Liu’s eyes snapped open. In a flash, he seized Franny’s throat, twisted, and pinned her to the ground. His hand rose, dagger gleaming coldly.

“Big Sister!” Wendy screamed, trying to rush forward, but stumbling and falling. Her body still trembled—in the face of that bullet, her instincts screamed terror.

“That’s enough!” Franny was unafraid. She gazed gently at Xie Liu, at the blood-soaked, tattered, battered man before her—whose eyes, despite everything, blazed with unwavering, almost crazed resolve.

His breathing was ragged, but his gaze was steady.

Looking into his eyes, Franny spoke: “We were all wrong. There was never any need for this battle.”

Xie Liu’s hand gripped her throat dumbly, staring at her sorrowful smile. For a moment, he was stunned.

“Stop!” A frail voice called from behind. Xie Liu faltered, turning to see Angela hurrying toward them with an old man at her side. “All of you, stop this!”

Xie Liu kept his cold gaze fixed on the old man, who came panting up the slope. But in the next instant, Angel sprang to her feet.

“Grandpa!” she cried, rushing into the old man’s embrace.

Everyone stared in astonishment.

Looking down at Franny beneath him, Xie Liu found her still smiling gently. “What, not letting go yet?”

(Evening should bring one more chapter—the chapter of revelation. No matter how I revise it, the characters’ emotions feel pale and abrupt. Perhaps I wrote too little before. If it doesn’t work, I’ll have to cut and rewrite—if so, I won’t make it tonight.)