Arknights Alternative

Chapter 11 - A Fateful Encounter

Outside of the Lungmen Convention Centre, 07:00 PM

Walking through the night streets of Lungmen, Ren finally arrives outside of the Convention Centre. The street near the Convention Centre is eerily quiet, a very different atmosphere compared to the streets a few blocks away. Walking up to the entrance, the Convention Centre seems to be closed and the gates on the metal fences aren't open.

Huh... That's weird, it's closed. But her phone is still in there. Did aunty accidentally drop it?

He circled the Convention Centre, feeling the cold air. His eyes scanned the area, seeing all the gates were securely closed. He felt a chill run down his spine, as the quiet surroundings added to his growing unease. Eventually, he circles back to the main gate that is still locked. He pushed the metal gate up, down, right, left, front and back, with each push making loud noises. Taking a step back and looking up at the tall gate, he sighs as he puts his hands on his hip.

"Well... I'll have to climb"

Taking a step forward, he places his hand on the gate and begins to climb. The metal is icy against his palms, with each grab feels colder than the last. The eerie silence around him is punctuated by the faint creaking of the gate as it bears his weight. After reaching the top of the gate, he sits there for a moment to look around.

"Wow, this gate is tall"

He gazed at the convention centre, looking at how different it looked in the night. The vibrant lights and intricate designs that typically adorned the exterior were replaced by a stark, monochromatic scene. The area around him is only illuminated by the street lamps, giving him limited visibility in the dark night.

Suddenly he sees something moving in the shadows, but he couldn't make out what it is. Then a heavy sound is heard, like a massive object just got propelled into the air at a fast pace. He sees below, a figure lunging at him with its hands open. Instinctively, Ren bends his body back, narrowly avoiding its claws, but falling back onto the ground.

Looking up, he sees the figure in the air and it immediately lunges again from above. This time, Ren rolls to the side dodging the second attack. The figure lands on the ground, cracking the pavement. Ren realizing this might be dangerous, immediately put some distance between them. His eyes widen as he sees the figure clearly under the streetlamp. Wearing a long black cloak and a black mask resembling some sort of animal skull. The figure grunts and takes out a black sword.

Ren's body is struck with fear, unable to move an inch.

What... What is that thing?!

His eyes darted around in a panic seeing the streets are void of people. It's only him and this terrifying figure. His legs feel like jelly, feeling that he might collapse anytime soon. Feeling that everything is surreal. But, he forced himself to take a deep breath.

Haah... haah,.. I need to run... I NEED TO RUN!!

Looking at it once more, he tries to push down the feeling of fear. As he breathes raggedly, he looks at his surroundings. Looking around the area in hope of being able to escape it. He grits his teeth, and grips his shaking palms.The figure growls loudly, raising its sword. The figure dashed towards him with a vertical swing. Ren at the last second dodges the swing, avoiding the thrust. But the figure didn't stop there, it immediately swung sideways. Luckily with his short stature, Ren is able to dodge below the second swing and slides under the figure between its legs.

Ren took this chance to run further away from the figure. He runs, hoping to find anyone to at least help. As he gets close to the street corner, he hears a terrifying sound approaching behind him. He instinctively rolls to the side, a massive black energy slash moves past him but unfortunately the attack hits the corner building, giving a shockwave that catches Ren and a nearby street lamp. Throwing him a few meters away to the middle of the empty street.