Once We Lived in Nanjing

"BG4MSR, BG4MSR, this is BG4MXH, I am here, can you hear me clearly? OVER."

Bai Yang released the hand mic, feeling a bit apprehensive.

There was suddenly no sound from the other party. Bai Yang pressed against the headphone, only just able to make out trembling breaths and crying.

"BG4MSR, this is BG4MXH, I've received your signal, OVER."

Bai Yang turned the volume up to the max; it seemed like he could hear the other party murmuring something in a low voice, but he couldn't make it out clearly.

"BG4MSR?"

"You asshole—!!"

The roar of a lioness, a devilish clamor; the girl's voice exploded from both sides at the same time, assaulting Bai Yang's brain. Bai Yang was startled and instinctively pulled away his headphones.

"You scumbag—!"

"Stupid fuck—!"

Bai Yang was cursed until he grimaced, but he dared not say anything.

It was his fault for losing contact for so long. When you're wrong, you stand at attention and take the hits. He could imagine just how much emotion had built up in the other person in the past half-month, how much panic, fear, sadness, and anger needed to be vented. Luckily, he had come back fast enough, while the girl was still only feeling fear and anger, not yet despair.

When Ban Xia heard the voice of BG4MXH through her headphones, her emotions immediately collapsed. She cried until she was speechless, and when she finally caught her breath, she took a deep breath, dried her tears, and cursed into the hand mic, "You scumbag! Asshole! Stupid fuck! Where the hell have you been? Where the hell have you been..."

Her burst of swearing silenced the other party.

The girl slumped down in her chair, her forehead knocking against the table as she slowly caught her breath.

"I'm sorry."

Ban Xia straightened up, wiped her swollen eyes, and sniffled.

"I was too emotional... I shouldn't have cursed at you..."

"The one who should apologize is me, BG4MSR, I'm sorry, it's all my fault for losing contact for so long. My radio was taken away by someone. I only got it back today." The voice from the headphones was explaining, "How is everything on your end? OVER."

"It's not good, not good at all."

"What happened?" The voice in the headphone suddenly tensed up.

"I dare not turn on the lights now," Ban Xia said.

Indeed, she hadn't turned on the lights, sitting alone in a pitch-dark room with the curtains tightly drawn. The only source of light was the indicator lamp on the radio and the dim yellow LCD screen.

She had already spent two weeks like this, in cold, lightless nights, moving about her own home relying on a small LED flashlight. She was so cautious and mindful, walking with softly placed steps, never daring to make a noise.

Over so many nights, Ban Xia curled up in bed, listening to the howling wind outside. Even though she wrapped herself in thick blankets, she could not feel a shred of security. She would always imagine a giant shadow crawling up the walls of Building 11 in Meihua Villa, its eyes rolling around, inspecting each window one by one.

One day, that terrifying eye would come to her own window and peep inside through the crevice of the curtain, spotting the shivering little lump curled up in bed.

And then it would say like a haunting ghost: Come out— I've found you—

Ban Xia could only hug her blue plastic night-light and hide under her blanket, weeping.

She was too small, too helpless, and the people who could support her the most were unreachable.

When did it start? When had that old Icom725 radio become her pillar of strength? Since she got in touch with BG4MXH, Ban Xia felt like she had solid armor and backing, which made her strong, brave, and no longer fearful of facing the world. Yet as one becomes stronger, they also become more vulnerable. Once she lost contact with BG4MXH, Ban Xia immediately found herself isolated and helpless, weaker and more fragile than ever before.

"Why are you afraid to turn on the light? OVER."

"Turning on the light will expose me," Ban Xia replied, "It will be found by 'it'."

"'It'?" Bai Yang was a bit surprised, "What is 'it'? Another Bengal Tiger? OVER."

"No, not a tiger, it's something much more terrifying than a tiger," Ban Xia said. "It's the Big Eyeball, it's back and it's looking for me."

Bai Yang's understanding of the Big Eyeball, or Swordman as the emergency team later codenamed it, was vague. He only knew that it resembled a spider-like monster with six long legs and a huge eyeball, possibly over ten meters in size, capable of freely climbing the exterior walls of buildings. To him, the image even seemed a bit cute and clumsy (although Bai Yang changed his mind after learning that Swordman was fond of slicing humans into thirty-centimeter-long sections).

There was no doubt that the Big Eyeball was a deadly predator of humans, and even Bai Yang could deduce that it was related to the extinction of humanity, a being capable of completely destroying civilization – whether it was a biological entity or a machine, it posed an extreme danger to a lone young girl.

"It was about two weeks ago, I went to Xuanwu Bay to find food because we had run out of fish at home, and I needed to catch some to restock," Ban Xia recalled. "I was digging for crabs on the beach when I looked up and saw a big ball lying on top of the Zifeng Building across the way."

"Was it there before? OVER."

"No, it definitely wasn't there before," Ban Xia shook her head, "I don't know when it appeared. I just stood there, staring and trying to see it more clearly, when suddenly, it sprouted a leg! A leg like a snake's, twisting and squirming like a tentacle."

"And then?"

"Then came the second leg, the third, the fourth, until all six legs were out," Ban Xia continued. "That's when I realized what it was. Oh my gosh, do you know about childhood trauma? It scared me to death; I couldn't believe that Nanjing City still had Big Eyeballs, they've been gone for nearly twenty years!"

"Just that one? OVER."

"I only saw that one," Ban Xia said. "It definitely saw me too because it quickly crawled down from the building and jumped into the water, swimming towards the shore. I ran for my life, not even bothering to put on my shoes, leaving my bike behind, my soul practically scattered, too frantic to recognize any direction, just blindly running, diving into the ruins where it was chaotic, knowing I'd be caught if I ran on the main roads. Can you imagine that feeling? The constant 'clack clack' sounds getting closer and closer behind me. Finally, I hid under a large concrete slab in the ruins and held my breath, listening to something crawling above my head."

The girl described it vividly.

Contacting BG4MXH had given her much comfort.

"I heard it digging, clearing the rubble, with dust and broken stones falling on my head. I dared not move; I thought that even being crushed to death by falling debris was better than being discovered by that thing. It could even talk, which terrified me," Ban Xia said with palpable fear. "It poked its tentacles into the cracks, speaking in a very sharp and thin woman's voice, saying, 'Come out—come out—where are you?'"

Bai Yang listened, utterly horror-stricken.

"I hid under the ruins until it got dark, and when I crawled out, it had disappeared somewhere," Ban Xia went on. "That's when I realized I had run to the South Library; I had no idea how I ended up there. I slowly made my way back home and didn't dare step outside again."

"Did you see it again after that? OVER," asked Bai Yang.

"No," replied Ban Xia with a shake of her head. "It has hidden itself as well, just lurking in the ruins of Nanjing City. It's definitely searching for me."

Bai Yang turned his head; Bai Zhen, Old Wang, Zhao Bowen and others were standing right behind him with increasingly solemn expressions.

"It's all your fault," Bai Zhen twisted Zhao Bowen's arm with force.

"It's your fault!" Zhao Bowen turned and twisted Wang Ning's arm with equal force.

"What the fuck! How is this my problem!" Wang Ning reacted in anger.

"BG4MXH."

"I'm here."

"Can you stay with me all night tonight?" asked Ban Xia, "I'm scared."

"Okay, we will take turns keeping you company tonight, and we'll never leave you alone again," Bai Yang promised. "The rest of us will think of a way to deal with this monster!"