Apocalypse Forecast

The instant Ai Qing instinctively drew her gun, she pulled the trigger.

KP snapped his fingers.

And so, what sprayed from the muzzle were no longer bullets, but festive streamers and flowers.

"Calm down, ma'am," KP shrugged, "I believe most problems can be solved through conversation. I'm sure you have many questions too, right?"

Ai Qing frowned, glaring coldly at him. "Do you actually plan on answering them?"

KP shrugged helplessly, "Believe me, even if you know more, it will only make things more difficult for you. And in some ways, I did save you, you know."

"I will judge the situation myself, Mr. KP," Ai Qing said coldly. "What on earth is going on? What's wrong with my memory?"

"Don't worry, it's only temporary amnesia caused by a leap in time."

KP spread his hands and answered, "Simply put, an anomaly was caused by the incorrect triggering of the Philosopher's Stone. To avoid the formation of an isolated zone in the Current Circumstances, I had no choice but to temporarily turn this into a Border area and make it part of the 'Darknet.'

Unfortunately, in the process, your Action Officers got caught up in the record inside the Philosopher's Stone—a fragment of history from the year 1620.

To remedy this, I had no choice but to start this game—as I've said, providing assistance when needed."

"Then end this game!" Ai Qing said coldly. "Bring them back!"

"Sorry, although the Darknet is a virtual world, it still has its own set of rules."

KP shook his head in refusal, his smile increasingly displeasing, "Even I cannot do as I please. The game has begun, Inspector Ai, and if you all fail to clear it, I'm afraid, as the host, there's not much help I can offer."

Ai Qing scoffed. "So, you cleverly orchestrated all this just to play a game with us?"

"Exactly."

KP nodded solemnly, responding as if it were natural, "Isn't a game gentler than reality? I'm just offering you a way to solve problems.

You see, I've successfully turned the record from the Philosopher's Stone into a game. In other words, clearing this game means successfully re-containing the Philosopher's Stone.

Or would you rather abandon this rational and straightforward solution and opt to face a chaotic situation you know nothing about?"

Ai Qing shook her head indifferently. "No, you're just like those bored writers' portrayal of the Almighty, enjoying the thrill of having people in your clutches."

"It's pretty much the same, I suppose."

KP didn't deny it, merely shrugging his shoulders. "But the situation is beyond us, isn't it?"

Ai Qing looked down, flipping the flower-draped gun in her hand, and after a long while suddenly said, "But at least I can refuse."

"What about your Action Officers if you die?" KP asked curiously. "From what I see, you don't seem like the type to lack responsibility."

"So, I must play the game?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

KP laughed softly. "Given the situation, why not enjoy the fun of the game? If you ask me, there's no need to be so serious and hardcore. Relax a bit, treat it like an exploratory computer game... not bad, right?"

After a brief silence, Ai Qing suddenly said, "I request to speak with Huai Shi."

"..."

KP paused, scratching his head in slight astonishment. "Are you sure? Using a Character Card that's out of your control is not a smart move for playing the game. If you ask me, it's not too late to switch to Clement, that NPC card."

Ai Qing remained expressionless. "I insist."

KP fell silent for a moment, then suddenly revealed an expectant smile. "Very well, I'll make an exception for your request!

However, at the same time, I must add a rule—when Huai Shi undergoes a sanity check, you will also do it concurrently, and when Huai Shi loses hit points..."

No more needed to be said.

Ai Qing nodded silently.

"Fantastic!"

KP waved his hand, laughing excitedly. "Go for it, Miss Ai! I am eagerly looking forward to seeing what kind of story you, such an outstanding Player, and Mr. Huai, such an outstanding character, can create together!"

That instant, darkness descended abruptly.

Huai Shi saw the Teenage Girl sitting across from him.

「Ten minutes later.」

Huai Shi finally understood the specifics of the situation and became even more perplexed. "So, for the abnormal Transformation we encountered, to prevent the situation from worsening, KP directly created a scenario on the spot and pulled us into it, right?"

Ai Qing nodded her head in agreement.

But Huai Shi felt increasingly puzzled.

Strange, very strange.

Having read the Book of Fate for so many years, Huai Shi had some experience as a reader. According to usual plot conventions, shouldn't the truth be preceded by a host of foreshadowing and hints? Shouldn't it be revealed as a climax only after one has explored the scenario nearly to its end?

Why was everything provided so straightforwardly from the beginning?

Moreover, what made Huai Shi even more uneasy was...

"Are you certain he mentioned 'record'?"

Ai Qing nodded, not understanding why he was fixated on this particular wording.

Huai Shi felt half relieved and half burdened.

Relieved because the Book of Fate, such an extraordinary item, apparently was not included in the Character Card, meaning Ai Qing was not yet aware of the deadly object he was carrying.

Yet burdened because he felt that KP seemed to have some connection to the Book of Fate.

However, although KP had caused a great deal of trouble so far, he did not seem intent on harming Huai Shi directly... but rather, seemed quite eager to push these Players to clear this absurd game.

Thinking too much about these mind-boggling issues was pointless. It was better to leave them to Ai Qing. For the time being, Huai Shi was focusing on the most pressing matter.

"Now, the most important thing for us is to achieve our character objectives and then clear this instance, right?"

Huai Shi rubbed his hands together and nodded. "Okay, I'll go find Old Xiao and the others in a bit and try to unite..."

"Can you not be so hasty?"

Ai Qing calmly reminded from the side, "Mr. Van Essen."

Huai Shi was stunned.

He finally realized that now Huai Shi had become his Vest, and the Demon Hunter, Van Essen, had become his true identity... a secret he could not disclose.

In this instance, everyone has secrets.

That is to say, everyone might have different objectives beneath the main premise of reaching the New World—his objective was to kill Paracelsus hidden aboard the ship, but what about the others?

Could it be to protect him?

Or to put it more bluntly, simply to find Van Essen on the ship and then kill him—or even that someone has become Paracelsus!

This is the most disgusting part about secrets.

You can't be sure if the other person is harmful to you, yet you can't trust them completely.

"So it means that not only can we not unite as one, but we also have to be wary of each other within the team." Huai Shi scratched his head in irritation. "Because of the existence of the 'Second fifth', I'm afraid we can only be friends on the surface while fighting alone in the dark, right?"

"That's not all."

Ai Qing tapped on the armrest of her wheelchair and gave him the final piece of bad news.

—Besides Huai Shi, the other characters were all directly controlled by other Inspectors.

In other words, the others are as one with their cards, whereas their group had their person and game accounts separated—becoming two instead of one, which might seem an advantage but isn't necessarily so.

It might be a disadvantage instead.

It was the case for both Huai Shi and Ai Qing.

Especially in situations where the two of them had differing opinions. Certainly, Huai Shi could do as he pleased, but oftentimes, the necessary points had to be cast by Ai Qing herself...

In silence, Ai Qing massaged her throbbing forehead and sighed softly. Can we only rely on trust then? It feels like such a thing doesn't exist at all.

"Don't be so pessimistic, Old Pal," Huai Shi reacted with astonishment. "Aren't we in perfect sync?"

Ai Qing countered, "You mean how you backstab others and I clean up after you?"

"Uh..." Huai Shi was at a loss for words. "Okay, although that wasn't very upright, can you at least give me a bit of trust in these life-and-death situations?"

"I'll try."

After pondering for a moment, Ai Qing opened her mouth as if to speak, yet in the end, she said nothing and instead voluntarily changed the subject. "During the ensuing exploration, I'll give you instructions, but be careful about what might be hidden on this ship... during the action."

She suspected that the ship was definitely hiding some secrets.

Just the so-called introduction phase was full of who knows how many traps.

First, there was the mysterious letter, followed by the sudden secret after boarding the ship, and finally the ultimate game-clearing condition—reaching the New World.

Whose letter was it?

Besides causing infighting, what other significance did this perplexing secret have?

Moreover, in the year 1620, aboard a cruise ship that was at least four hundred years ahead of its time, was there any fear of losing direction at sea?

Or rather, was there a possibility that it couldn't reach its destination?

If it were as simple as lying in a room to safely clear the game, wouldn't that be too ridiculous?

Thinking from the viewpoint of KP, Ai Qing could come to this one certainty she deemed unshakeable—something was definitely amiss with this ship. (Changed from "a ghost definitely existed" for better flow and less literal interpretation unless ghost is confirmed later)

Even if there was no iceberg to collide with, there would definitely be some unavoidable event. The classic scenes that would unfold in the enclosed environment of the snowstorm villa were even less worth mentioning.

Before reaching the New World, there would be no lack of troubles.

It was even more likely that if the Investigators didn't unite, they might die off halfway...

Neither of these situations was pleasant.

Ai Qing bit her finger.

As the conversation ended, darkness dissipated, and Ai Qing was once again returned to her original position, as if time had stood still waiting for her and only slowly continued forward after her reappearance.

And everyone else was still completely unaware of what had happened.

KP's smiling face reappeared before her eyes. "The chamber time is over, how do you feel?"

"..."

Ai Qing did not respond but instead asked, "I remember you said that this game is very popular on the Darknet, right?"

"That's correct," KP smiled. "Everyone loves to play it, suitable for all ages."

Then, Ai Qing lifted her head, gazing intently at his expression. "So, as a Player, it wouldn't be against the rules for me to consult the Rule Book, would it?"

KP raised his eyebrows in surprise and didn't speak, but simply snapped his fingers.

BOOM!

A thick stack of books suddenly appeared before Ai Qing, piling up forty centimeters high on the table. The handwriting on the covers came in a variety of scripts, including not only common English, Latin, and Dongxia, but also minor languages like Yingzhou.

"As you desired, Miss Ai," he smiled. "All six editions of the rules plus the house rules and the additional martial arts expansion rules adopted for this time... I hope you can finish them before the game ends.

But now, the time for pleasantries is over."

KP snapped his fingers.

The game, officially began.