Apocalypse Forecast

When speaking of the Astronomical Society of that time, one must mention the existence of its ruling core—Utopia.

Before the previous president's disappearance, the Astronomical Society was a giant of its era. Its core organizations—Utopia, the Jurisdiction Bureau, the Existence Institute, the Technology Department, and others—were colossal entities capable of mobilizing global power at any moment.

Countless Sublimators pioneered Hell. The Technological Department, composed of scholars, extracted wisdom and technology from all their findings. These discoveries were then applied and tested in the Existence Institute's myriad laboratories. Finally, the Jurisdiction Bureau appropriately and cautiously distributed the results to benefit the Current Circumstances.

And all of this followed the grand blueprint laid out by Utopia.

—To make this world a better place.

It was at that time that the Astronomical Society began to rely on the great pillar at the axis of the world to create many miracles. With the successful exploration and transformation of the Sea of Silver, the Heavenly Kingdom was naturally next on the agenda.

At first, there was an attempt to explore immortality, but it was soon discovered how unrealistic—no, rather, presumptuous—that plan was.

There had never been an immortal object in the world. Even God Spirits faced their own decline after a thousand years, let alone humans.

When the first Natural Enemy died of old age at the Border, the pursuit of everlasting life was temporarily put on hold. Utopia then turned to seeking methods to resist death.

Unfortunately, death cannot be resisted.

So, thereafter... they sought how to avoid the losses brought about by death.

Or rather, how to preserve the value of life.

This was the origin of the Heavenly Kingdom.

"When the Heavenly Kingdom had not yet fallen, all the precious wisdom of the world could be preserved before it was lost," Raven's voice, which had almost fully penetrated the vault's shell, became muffled. "After death."

"Hmm?" Huai Shi was puzzled. "After people die, doesn't their Source Substance dissipate?"

"It does dissipate, yes," Raven said calmly, "but that doesn't stop us from leaving a copy before death, does it?"

"..."

Huai Shi was stunned.

"Right, exactly. The so-called Heavenly Kingdom is not a Paradise for souls, but merely a place that stores valuable records. A... library."

Raven laughed softly. "All precious human knowledge and wisdom shall live on with the backup. After yielding three times, this ideal was realized. Unfortunately, it didn't last long and fell a hundred years ago—tsk, tsk, that was Green Day's claim to fame. Now you know why they're considered terrorists, right?"

Huai Shi was silent for a long moment, looking down at the Book of Fate in his hands.

"So, you mean..." he began.

"That's right. If the Heavenly Kingdom is a library," Raven's voice grew heavy with meaning, "then the one you're holding is its catalog. Now that it has shown signs of life, it's certainly not because of something else—it must be a fragment of the Heavenly Kingdom. If you can obtain it, not only will the Book of Fate grow, but you yourself will also reap tremendous benefits. Right? If you're lucky enough to find records related to martial skills, you won't even need a teacher."

"But... wouldn't the Astronomical Society take good care of such great things?"

"Some were indeed collected, but many more records sank into the depths of Hell during the explosion, likely never to be found again. However, there should be quite a few record conglomerates active in the Current Circumstances, the Border, or Hell. To my knowledge, that pathetic "Faust" was captured. It also seems the three Source Substance poetry collections—"Byron," "Keats," and "Shelley"—were taken away beforehand. "Confession," "Les Misérables," and "Dream of the Red Chamber" don't seem to have escaped at all. They stayed put and were properly contained. They're probably living quite happily now, I suppose?"

Raven continued, "The lazy bum from "White Whale" must be hiding somewhere nobody can find. And there have been recent reports about "Rashomon" and "Maha Maya"... Not one of those guys is easy to deal with. With your current level, you'd struggle against such conglomerates, so it's best not to think about it. I estimate there's only a fragment or two here. Although they have some mystical effects, they won't make people think of the former Heavenly Kingdom. They're still within your ability range, so you can rest assured."

Huai Shi stared at her for a long time, his curiosity piqued. "Are you also one of...?"

"No, I'm not like them," Raven said, a hint of a pleased smile in her voice. "They are prisoners of Fate, while I... am just a temporary resident."

In an instant, she passed through the vault door, treating all sorts of security measures as if they were nothing, appearing abruptly in the tightly sealed treasury like a wisp of mist.

Before her eyes, the light of Source Substance rippled everywhere.

Dozens of boxes were meticulously placed on the shelves, secured and verified layer by layer. Yet, in the center of the vault, a pair of blazing eyes closely watched Raven, who had abruptly arrived.

It was a wolfhound.

On the stone stand in the very center of the vault, the ferocious dog, seemingly cast from steel, appeared to come to life and opened its eyes.

It immediately sensed Raven's presence. It rose aggressively—its movements producing sharp, steel-clashing sounds—and bared its teeth, revealing sharp fangs.

But as the mist contracted and Raven appeared, she merely glanced at it.

And then, nothing.

Its ferocity dissipated; it whined a few times, then crouched back down.

"Good dog."

Raven nodded in satisfaction, retracting her gaze. When she turned to look behind her, Huai Shi couldn't help but gasp.

Eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes...

Behind the tempered glass of the shelves, transparent jars filled with a light green solution held suspended eyeballs...

Each jar contained more than seven or eight eyes. Counting all the jars on the first shelf, there must be over a hundred eyes here!

That was just the most unsettling sight at first glance; the jars in the rows behind them contained either hearts or strange-looking beast embryos, all soaking in fluid.

At first sight, it seemed like one had entered the laboratory of some mad scientist.

The atmosphere was thick with terror.

"What the hell is this?!" Huai Shi nearly leaped from his chair in fright. "I didn't come to the cinema to watch this kind of horror film!"

"It's just common organ smuggling. What's there to be so surprised about?"

Raven glanced at those things and looked away. "Relax, most of them aren't human. To be honest... human eyes are too cheap; they have no value for Border smuggling. On the contrary, certain organ tissues from Border Variants are highly sought-after materials in Potion research and are practically in constant demand."

Huai Shi swallowed hard. "You just said... 'most of them,' right?"

"Look at you," Raven chuckled. "Isn't 'passing off inferior products as good ones' the most common trick capitalists use? You've already bought black market goods; can you still expect them to be genuine?"

"That's not what I meant..."

"And my advice to you is not to get too hung up on it."

Raven didn't dwell on the topic. She glanced past the front shelves and the items that were clearly Border Relics, her attention settling on a flat box in the corner.

Suddenly, she lost her form and seeped into the crack of the box.

And so, Huai Shi saw a fragment of a page, meticulously stored on a red velvet cloth.

It seemed ancient, already yellowed and nearing disintegration, covered with various characters and the faintly visible hand-drawn images of the sun, a lion, a snake, and an embryo.

"So it is... so it is..."

Raven laughed delightedly. "Although our luck in finding a path has been rotten, our luck in finding objects is exceedingly good, isn't it? This record fragment couldn't be more appropriate."

"What? What?"

Upon hearing there was something good, Huai Shi's eyes lit up.

"It's an alchemical recipe from several hundred years ago. It's indiscernible what it was originally used for, but judging by the style of the angel depicted, it should be a manuscript from Count St. Germain. If traced further back, there should be a trace of the God Core from the Sutra of Emerald."

Raven clicked her tongue in wonder. "This time you've really hit the jackpot."

Before she finished speaking, her body suddenly dissipated, returning to Huai Shi's shoulder. Huai Shi turned around in astonishment, his smile slowly fading. "Didn't you say I hit the jackpot?"

"Yeah," Raven nodded.

Huai Shi's eyes widened. "Then why didn't you take it out?"

"Please. Are you seriously asking me, a detection-type ink bottle, to steal things for you? Throwing a grenade for you is already my limit."

Raven rolled her eyes. "Even if I wanted to take it, I'd have to be able to carry that huge box out of the vault. Do you see me doing that? I don't even have hands."

"So what now?" Huai Shi was dumbfounded.

"I've already scouted the path for you and given you a full view. Can't you go yourself?!" Raven glared at him, exasperated. "Robbing from robbers and you're still hesitating? Figure out a way to get it done, damn it!"

"No!" Huai Shi shook his head seriously. "If I go, that's just stealing, isn't it?"

"So it's not stealing if I do it?!"

"Your stealing is your business... If I pretend not to know, that's fine, right?"

Huai Shi sighed. "Besides, can't we think of a legitimate way to do this?"

"The last time a similar alchemical formula was auctioned, an ancient recipe of uncertain authenticity sold for eleven million." Raven gave him a sidelong glance. "And how do you plan to pay for it? With your head?"

"...Forget it. Let's just do the damn job."

Huai Shi clenched his teeth, reaching into his pocket to find his mask and hood for the crime, but Raven stopped him.

"What's wrong?"

Raven eyed him. "Do you think that if someone starts trouble in Xinhai right after you got out of jail, and you just happened to be near the crime scene... Director Fu wouldn't just shoot you on the spot?"

"Uh..."

Huai Shi finally realized and suppressed the impulse to commit a crime. "Maybe we should forget about it?"

"Collecting fragments of the Heavenly Kingdom is one of your missions, after all. You shouldn't give it up, for both practical and personal reasons." Raven pondered for a moment, then smiled. "But we should always plan carefully, right?"

The two exchanged a meaningful glance.

Even though they were teetering on the edge of the 404, Huai Shi found himself eager to try.

"An alibi?" he asked quietly.

"Correct." Raven crossed her wings, striking a comically thoughtful pose. "Ai Qing?"

"Impossible."

Huai Shi shook his head. "She'd shoot me herself, never mind lie to provide a false alibi... Uncle Fang?"

"Even if he did, who would believe him? Besides, he can't even leave his home. How could he provide you with an alibi?"

As they pondered, Raven suddenly asked out of the blue, "By the way, what day is your school's anniversary celebration this week?"

Huai Shi's eyebrows rose.

The human and the bird once again exchanged a meaningful glance.

"In that case..."

Raven whistled cheerfully. "I have a plan!"