When Xia Lun finished his Meditation and left Time Fast-Forward mode, the first thing he heard was a woman cry out.
"Look! Hurry, look! The sky's falling!"
Xia Lun exhaled slowly and looked toward the voice. Several women who earned their living doing laundry in the courtyard were staring up in bewilderment, pointing at the sky.
A deep shadow fell across the courtyard. Darkness rolled over the walls like a tide, washed across their upturned faces, then spread toward the small buildings surrounding them.
An oval airship drifted out of the gray clouds. It was enormous, blotting out nearly half the sky. Countless Rituals covered its swollen gray envelope, forming what looked from afar like a shark's vicious grin.
The hull beneath the envelope was riddled with gunports. A weapon protruded from each one, and every weapon was aimed at Xia Lun's courtyard.
There was no doubt about it. This was the "airship" the newspapers had mentioned months ago.
"Hatton, we have a problem." Xia Lun glanced beside him. "The Kirov Airship is here."
Hatton had been drawing the final section of the Ritual—Other-Dimension Transmigration. He looked up at Xia Lun in annoyance.
"What Kirov Airship?" He sighed. "Don't interrupt me. I'm almost finished with the Ritual. Whatever it is can wait."
Before he had finished speaking, a scream rang out beyond the window, followed by a piercing sound like a kettle boiling and a rush of footsteps.
"Who are you?"
"Hands up!"
"Ah!"
The hurried shouts ended as quickly as they began. Then came the dull thud of rifle stocks striking flesh, the sounds of bodies falling and wooden basins overturning, and cries of distress.
Hatton finally realized something was wrong. He hurried to the window and looked down. His heart seemed to stop.
At some point, a large