Bai Li ran along its neck.
A row of small decorative blades unfolded from the plates.
She cut through them as she moved.
The dragon shook.
Bai Li grabbed a horn and held on.
Below, Yan Cijin watched the machine.
Its remaining arms were moving faster.
Two were reaching toward the rooftops.
A family on one roof screamed and ran.
Another arm struck the building beside them.
The wall collapsed.
Yan Cijin fired her normal revolver.
One shot.
The bullet struck the arm.
It barely slowed.
Yan Cijin fired again.
The second shot hit a gear exposed between two plates.
The gear cracked.
The arm stopped.
"Bai Li!"
Bai Li looked down.
"The arms are linked through exposed gears!"
"Got it."
Bai Li turned back toward the dragon's neck.
A thick brass pipe ran beneath the plates.
It glowed white.
She placed her hand over it.
Heat rushed through her palm.
The pipe was carrying the energy from the dragon's head into the stage
engine below.
Bai Li narrowed her eyes.
