The Prettiest Star!

The ground became flat once more quite hurriedly and Song's acceleration was halted sharply when he hit the bottom of the hill. Anya bounced and fell, landing then falling to the ground, just as a light in the distance shone directly at them.

Their childish games were over. Xiao Ji could feel the moment that Song realized and held his breath. Due to his poor eyesight, Xiao Ji had to rely on the others to relay sensory information to him.

"Song, have they seen us?"

"No, I don't think so, haha, let's keep going."

"Song, it looks like the farmers are dispersing into the nearby woods, we should be able to run across this field safely."

"Shhhhh… haha, look, search pups!"

Xiao Ji peered out of the robe into the distance. Like large out-of-season fireflies, the farmers and their lamps spread out across the field, venturing into the nearby forest.

Small huts, greatly distanced, dotted the landscape and Song was crawling faster now, having broken into a crouch. They had almost made it into the darker shadows of one of the huts when a farmer in the distance shouted,

"Over der! It dem in'it?!"

He was pointing exactly at the trio and had broken into a run. A couple of other farmers followed his lead and ran at the little hut.

Xiao Ji's tiny heart began pumping and he struggled to remain still. A loud crack followed by splintered straw and smoke erupted from behind them. The farmers were armed and were eagerly firing their hunting rifles while chattering excitedly.

"Keep da girl alive! We'll keep her until Cove' arrives!"

At that moment, Xiao Ji grew angry, far angrier than he had been before, now that he wasn't impeded by confusion and surprise. The rage meter had appeared once more but now, there were some other words beneath it. It seemed to be the combat user-interface.

Rage Meter: [X][X][X][X][]

Power Level:[X][X][X][][][][][][][]

"Basic Rocket""Basic Interceptor""Bombardment""+LOCKED+"

"Xiao Ji! What are you waiting for, shoot them already haha!"

Xiao Ji nodded and looked up, only now, everything looked different; a thousand hues danced around the world. Hidden highlights and details invisible to the human eye now flashed. It was True Chicken Vision. 

At the flash of a muzzle, Xiao Ji instinctively dodged while simultaneously utilizing the Basic Interceptor attack to destroy a bullet that was expertly aimed at Anya's head.

 Another shot and Xiao Ji retaliated with Bombardment, a sparkle and then a cluster of rockets, like a fireworks display marking the coming of a new year expertly hitting the farmer's weapons.

With every shot, Xiao Ji's power level increased and his new vision ceased to distract him anymore.

He narrowed his eyes, it was if he could feel the exact moment each farmer fired their weapons; a violet corona materializing with each shot.

The farmers took turns aiming and charging but Xiao Ji was prepared; using a combination of Basic Rocket and Basic Interceptors, he managed to destroy the incoming bullets while simultaneously disarming the guns that had fired them. 

Song and Anya kept running, now with the reassurance that the bullets flying toward them would be taken care of.

This was the fastest Song had run for nearly two years and the freedom felt exhilarating.

He had secretly contacted his friend who said that she would be arriving in a moment or two through a telepathic channel though he couldn't see her anywhere now. 

He also looked down at Anya; He felt bad that he was making this girl run but she seemed to be getting along fine which was fairly surprising, even though she was a farmer's daughter.

On his back, Xiao Ji had bit down on the robe's hood with his beak so that he could see better while also slowly increasing his power meter. He had a feeling that when the power meter was full, the mysterious "locked" ability would finally be available. 

His power meter was 9/10 now and he unrelentingly pounded the farmers and their fierce hounds alike with his rockets. Every reload period felt like an eternity but with each reload period came a feeling of pure satisfaction as he unloaded his explosives.

A sudden wave of fear washed over him, however, ending the brief period of energy when Xiao Ji turned around and came face to face with a bullet, just feet from his beak; in his excitement, he had let a bullet get past his line of defense and while he was focused on this one, a hundred more had been fired and were now rushing at his friends. 

The anger that had been partially subdued with the satisfaction of vengeance soon grew back with the thought of his friends dying at his feet.

His small nerves pulsated, almost too much for his heart to bear and he was forced to let go of the hoodie so the heat could circulate out his beak, the bullet in slow motion, growing closer by the millisecond.

In the moment, the rage meter hit full mark and the power meter jumped to ten, also full; Xiao Ji's breath stopped short and his eyes widened.

 Like unleashing raw energy and hatred, his body jerked out of control, the rocket-launchers having scaled up by 200%; unleashing a seemingly never-ending stream of rockets in all directions, flames erupting during the brief intermission between each rocket while ecstasy pulsated through each vein.

The noise of the flames and acceleration deafened his small chicken ears but when he managed to look around, he could see the farmers scattering, each missile precisely hitting its target.

 For a moment, a multitude of frozen explosions, each a painting of its own, hung in the air around the running children. Song had dragged Anya and they had reached the opening of a larger forest. He looked surprised at his own strength.

 Xiao Ji fell back in a trance and the rest happened like a dream.

Song shouted and pointed to the sky, though there wasn't any need to. In slow motion, Xiao Ji forced his head up in the sky, just as the whole field was lit in a moment of dazzling brilliance. 

The most beautiful meteor he had ever seen had just streaked across the sky, heading in the direction that they were running in and in the light, Xiao Ji could see tears streaming down Song's face.